My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 241: The Long Line at the Infirmary

The next morning, Zhang Lei was woken up by Ye Shuqin while he was still asleep. Ye Shuqin looked at him, still half asleep, and said softly, "Honey, wake up, the sun's already high in the sky."

Zhang Lei glanced out the window, yawned, and asked while getting dressed, "Where are they?"

Ye Shuqin replied irritably, "Honey, they went to work a long time ago. Now it's just the two of us at home."

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and suggested with a smile, "Wife, why don't you rest a little longer?"

He opened his arms to hug Ye Shuqin, but she dodged him and urged, "Husband, hurry up and eat breakfast." Zhang Lei smiled, finished washing up, and quickly started eating breakfast.

After finishing breakfast, Ye Shuqin looked at Zhang Lei, who was still standing there in a daze, and asked, "Honey, what are you standing there for? Aren't you going to work?"

Zhang Lei smiled awkwardly upon hearing this, then remembered that he needed to go to the factory to hand in his monthly tasks. He replied, "Yes, I'm going to work," and prepared to leave. Last night, he had specifically told Ye Shuqin to call him to the steel rolling mill early in the morning.

Soon, Zhang Lei arrived at the steel rolling mill on his bicycle, his basket filled with supplies he had prepared in advance. However, as soon as he reached the factory gate, he was stopped by security personnel who asked, "Sir, what can I do for you?"

Zhang Lei's face immediately darkened, and he quickly took out his work ID: "Comrade, I am the purchasing agent of our factory, this is my ID."

The security guards looked Zhang Lei up and down with suspicion, making him feel incredibly embarrassed. He hadn't expected that no one at the steel mill would recognize him, and he secretly resolved to make a more visible presence at the factory in the future, otherwise he might be arrested as a suspicious person next time.

After checking the identification, the security guard nodded and said, "Okay, go in."

Zhang Lei sighed and pushed his cart inside. The head of security saw this and patted the officer on duty on the shoulder, saying, "This man is Zhang Lei. Remember him. He's not often in the factory, but he's definitely one of our employees."

The staff member on duty asked in confusion, "Section Chief, I've been here for so long, why haven't I seen him?"

The section chief explained with a smile, "You haven't been here long. He works in the purchasing department and is often out and about, so he rarely shows up at the factory. He only comes once or twice a month."

Upon learning that Zhang Lei only needed to come to the factory once or twice a month, the staff member on duty was immediately filled with envy. The section chief glanced at his expression and said, "Alright, stop being envious. They have it just as easy as we do running around outside. Besides, what era are we living in? Supplies aren't so easy to find." The staff member on duty nodded in agreement, feeling a surge of admiration for Zhang Lei.

Zhang Lei was strolling leisurely into the factory when he suddenly saw someone rushing towards him in a great hurry. The person was shouting as they ran, "Comrade, make way! Make way!"

Zhang Lei was momentarily stunned when he saw the woman running towards him and forgot to dodge. She crashed into his bicycle with her tools.

Zhang Lei was immediately embarrassed and quickly stepped forward to help her up: "Are you alright?" The woman said angrily, "What's wrong with you? Didn't I tell you to stay away?" Zhang Lei quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I was just lost in thought."

After seeing the other person's face clearly, Zhang Lei asked suspiciously, "Are you Liang Ladi?" Liang Ladi looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze: "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

Zhang Lei quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand, I learned about you through Comrade Ding Qiunan. She described you quite similarly to me, so I guessed it was you."

Upon hearing Ding Qiunan's name, Liang Ladi paused for a moment: "Oh, it's her. You know her?" Zhang Lei nodded: "Comrade Liang Ladi, she's a good friend of my wife's and has visited my home before."

Upon learning the reason, Liang Ladi's attitude softened somewhat, but she still complained, "Is that so? Well, you're really clueless. The factory is such a big place, and you don't even know to move aside when you're pushing a bicycle." As she spoke, she quickly picked up the tools from the ground.

Zhang Lei asked again, "Comrade Liang Ladi, what are you rushing off to?" Liang Ladi glanced at him and said, "I'm here to learn. I heard there's an experienced teacher giving a lecture, so I'm in a hurry to get there."

Zhang Lei quickly apologized, "I'm so sorry to have taken up your time. Are you alright?" Liang Ladi patted the dirt off her clothes, "I'm fine, I'm fine. You should go now, I have things to do."

Watching Liang Ladi's hurried departure, Zhang Lei smiled. He hadn't expected his first meeting with Liang Ladi to turn out like this.

Soon, Zhang Lei arrived at the purchasing department. The department head, upon seeing him, immediately teased, "Oh, who's this? I've never seen him before!"

Zhang Lei replied with a smile, "Section Chief, I'm your top lieutenant, how could you forget me?" The Section Chief said irritably, "You still remember you're from the purchasing department? I only see you once a month; anyone who didn't know better would think you'd disappeared."

Zhang Lei complained with a smile, "Section Chief, you don't know the situation right now. It's so hard to get supplies. I've barely managed to accumulate enough for this month's workload." Zhang Lei lied without thinking, just spouting nonsense.

The section chief glanced at the large piece of pork, seven or eight fish, and the bag of at least two hundred pounds of grain on the back seat in the basket, and nodded: "Alright, hurry up and put these things into the accounts."

Zhang Lei offered a cigarette to his section chief and continued, "Section Chief, you know my situation. There are basically no supplies left in the places I'm familiar with, so I have to go to even farther places. This round trip is really time-consuming."

The section chief nodded thoughtfully: "Alright, I've already reported your situation to Deputy Factory Director Li in advance. Deputy Factory Director Li said not to ask me too many questions about you. Of course, I also know your capabilities. In our group, you're the first to complete the task this month."

Hearing that no one else had completed their tasks, Zhang Lei suddenly realized he had been somewhat careless. The section chief, thinking he was thinking, patted him on the shoulder: "Alright, don't worry about the others. Everyone has their own workload; you can't possibly complete all of everyone else's work." Zhang Lei nodded: "Section Chief, I understand."

After finishing with the supplies, Zhang Lei left the purchasing department and, after thinking for a moment, headed towards the publicity department. He quickly found Ye Shuqi chatting there. Ye Shuqi was overjoyed to see Zhang Lei and, without a word, led him into the department.

Zhang Lei took out a bag of candy from his small cloth bag and followed Ye Shuqi into the publicity department with a smile. The people in the publicity department were very enthusiastic when they saw Zhang Lei coming. Zhang Lei casually distributed the candy and looked at his female colleagues in the department, finding it pleasing to the eye.

After exchanging a few words with everyone, Zhang Lei and Ye Shuqi headed towards the infirmary. As soon as they arrived, they saw a long line of people waiting outside. Zhang Lei asked in bewilderment, "Are there so many sick people?"

Ye Shuqi explained with a smile, "There aren't many sick people here, they're all here to see a beautiful woman. They all heard that a great beauty came to the infirmary, so they're all vying to pretend to be sick." Hearing Ye Shuqi's words, Zhang Lei smiled, "I didn't expect Ding Qiunan to be so charming."