This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

"No, no!" Liu Dong quickly waved his hand. "Uncle Yang, I'm already married!"

"Uh..." Yang Hongbing paused for a moment, then gave an awkward laugh.

But then he immediately added, "You can read, right? Our propaganda department is short of a broadcaster. I think you have a presentable appearance and speak fluently, so you'd be a good fit."

Liu Dong was immediately stumped: broadcaster? Or medic?

One is all about smooth talk, the other about healing and saving lives...

"What? Do you have other ideas?" Director Yang noticed his hesitation.

Liu Dong frankly admitted, "Uncle Yang, I graduated from junior high school and can read without any problem, but I would prefer to go to the infirmary and learn some medical skills."

"Why be a medical worker!" Yang Hongbing waved his hand firmly, "Don't mess around! Go be a broadcaster!"

"This job is extremely important—every day we broadcast policies, read documents, and relay speeches from leaders; thousands of people in the entire factory are listening!"

"If you do a good job, you'll get more exposure and more opportunities for advancement!"

After listening, Liu Dong pondered for a moment.

Fine.

Since Uncle Yang is so insistent, let's trust him this time.

A broadcaster, that'll do!

"The publicity department is on the second floor. Go down there first to report for duty, understand your job responsibilities, and then go on a tour of the workshop with the other new colleagues!"

"No one in our steel rolling mill can be completely ignorant about the production line!"

Factory Director Yang patted Liu Dong on the shoulder, his tone heavy with emotion.

Liu Dong nodded, listening attentively: "Okay, Uncle Yang, I'll go right away!"

"Go."

Director Yang's office was on the third floor, and Liu Dong walked down the stairs step by step.

Upon reaching the corner on the second floor, a small room came into view, with a sign hanging on the door: Publicity Department.

He pushed the door open and went in.

Oh, it's someone I know.

He spotted Xu Damao's father, Xu Fugui, at a glance.

Old Xu is a long-time employee in the publicity department, and his main job is to show movies to the workers.

There was another man in the room, who looked to be in his mid-forties. He was tall with a thin face. Although he was not young, he had a very refined and scholarly air about him, like a former schoolteacher.

"Hello..." Liu Dong began, "I'm Liu Dong, the new guy, here to report for duty today."

"Hehe, I know, I know!" The man greeted him with a smile. "You're the new broadcaster from the publicity department, right? Come, come, let me introduce you."

"My name is Yu Liansheng, I'm the deputy section chief, and I'm under your jurisdiction."

"This is Xu Fugui, the film projectionist in our department."

"Before, it was just me and Lao Xu eating in this house. Now it's great, we have fresh blood! Xiao Liu, from now on you'll be in charge of the broadcasting and publicity. You'll be reading notices and documents. The work isn't heavy, but you have to be careful and can't make any mistakes!"

"Understood!" Liu Dong stood up straight.

Indeed, being a broadcaster is basically just reading from a script; it doesn't require much skill.

but--

You must not mispronounce it.

One slip of the tongue is understandable, but it's really unacceptable to mispronounce words or read them out of order every day.

Liu Dong was certain of this.

In his past life, he graduated from a respectable university with a bachelor's degree in journalism, a popular major known as "graduation equals unemployment".

Although I've never been a host, I've taken a basic broadcasting course, so I'm not bad at recognizing characters and punctuating sentences.

I never imagined that the knowledge I thought I had learned in vain back then would come in handy here now.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Deputy Section Chief Yu and Master Xu, Liu Dong went downstairs and headed straight for the workshop.

At that time, the steel rolling mill was not very big, with 150 old employees and more than 200 newly recruited employees, totaling less than 400 people.

In a few more years, by the mid-1960s, the number of people here will surge to over three thousand.

But right now, there's still no sign of it.

The workshop structure is also very simple, with one large factory building supporting the entire area.

It was divided into several areas: welding area, fitter area, forging area, and a newly established lathe area.

The lathe section is newly built because a new equipment line was recently imported from the Soviet Union.

By the time Liu Dong arrived, it was too late.

"Hey, isn't this Liu Dong?" Old Jia was wearing work clothes stained with oil, surrounded by seven or eight new workers.

His face was full of smugness, but his eyes revealed a hint of disdain as he glanced sideways at Liu Dong and said, "You're too late, aren't you? Look at me, I've already taken in all seven disciples. If you want to become my apprentice now, I can't accommodate you!"

"Master Jia is amazing!"

"Master Jia is truly a top-notch technician!"

"I've long heard that you're the best fitter in the factory!"

A group of people around him took turns praising him.

Not only these newcomers, but even the veteran workers on the sidelines greeted Lao Jia with a nod.

"See that?" Old Jia stood ramrod straight. "During the technical skills assessment during the public-private partnership, I was the only one in the entire workshop to be rated as an eighth-grade fitter!"

"Now my monthly salary plus seniority allowance is over 910,000!"

"If you become my apprentice, I guarantee you'll advance three levels within six months, maybe even reaching level four!"

"In this workshop, who doesn't give me some respect?"

"From now on, if anything happens, I'll be there for you!"

"Think about it quickly, or you'll miss this opportunity!"

After saying that, Old Jia slowly took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff with his eyes half-closed.

"Liu Dong, my master is genuinely trying to help you!" Yi Zhonghai chimed in from the side. "You don't understand his importance! Let me be frank, if he doesn't take you on, no one in this workshop will dare to accept you as an apprentice!"

"Without a mentor, how would you know how to measure dimensions? How to cut angles? How to use calipers?"

"If you don't understand these things, you won't become a fitter even if I give you three years!"

"By then, we won't even be able to stand still; we'll have to pack our bags and leave!"

While Yi Zhonghai's words may have been somewhat exaggerated, the logic is sound.

Without a mentor to guide you through the process, it's truly difficult to make any progress in the workshop.

But Liu Dong knew that becoming an apprentice wasn't a free lunch; Old Jia had already made his conditions clear—he wanted wine.

"Liu Dong," Old Jia leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Don't you have some wine? Give me a jar, I won't take advantage of you, 300,000 yuan a jar in cash, at 'market price,' how about it?"

This isn't a transaction; it's clearly taking advantage of someone's misfortune.

Three hundred thousand?

Or the market price?

Liu Dong almost burst out laughing.

He gently smoothed his hair, didn't respond, and didn't even glance at Lao Jia. He walked straight past him and headed deeper into the workshop.

"you……"

Old Jia froze instantly, as if he had been hit in the chest with a hammer.

What do you mean? I've been talking for so long, and you haven't even said a word?

Yes, not a single one.

Liu Dong didn't open his mouth once from beginning to end.

Old Jia was so angry that his face turned purple.

"You just wait!" He suddenly raised his arm and roared, "Liu Dong! How dare you disrespect your master craftsman like this? I'd like to see who in this workshop dares to take you on as an apprentice!"

These words took effect immediately.

The experienced craftsmen, who were initially hesitant, all shook their heads to avoid suspicion upon hearing this.

If Liu Dongzhen is assigned to the workshop, he's probably doomed this time.

Fortunately, he wasn't even on the workshop's payroll.

After looking around, Liu Dong left and returned to the publicity department on the second floor.