Chapter 381: Defective-Goods Keeper Shazhu

Completely unaware that the masses of the Second Canteen had pinned the blame on Liu Haizhong's head, Shazhu was in the process of handing over duties with the sole defective-goods keeper.

Four warehouses.

It ranks last.

It is also called the Fourth Warehouse.

From the number of keepers, it's clear that the Fourth Warehouse is not valued at all by anyone in the Steel Mill, a situation of being unloved by father and mother.

For over ten years.

It has consistently maintained a situation with only one keeper.

If it weren't for the Steel Mill's rule that a warehouse cannot be left unmanned, the last keeper would probably have applied to transfer elsewhere to work.

It is truly a no-man's-land.

The Steel Mill workers jokingly call the Fourth Warehouse keeper an obscure department that even the Cleaning Section can't compare to.

If the Cleaning Section performs well, one day it might return to the original workshop, achieve results by cleaning toilets, and possibly be assigned a few subordinates.

Once you become a defective-goods warehouse worker, you should never even think about transferring or changing jobs.

This is a place even worse than prison.

Besides loneliness,

there is only solitude.

Working here, you'll be completely ruined.

Having heard that Shazhu was coming to replace him,

Guolaicheng, who had been a keeper for over ten years, was as happy as during New Year; from the moment the broadcast announced the notice, he stood at the doorway, gazing ahead like a wife‑waiting stone, hoping Shazhu's figure would appear sooner.

One minute.

Ten minutes.

Thirty minutes.

When Shazhu finally appeared before Guolaicheng, this keeper who had watched the warehouse for over ten years felt as if he had seen his own parents.

That was an eager longing.

He grabbed Shazhu's hand and, taking three steps at a time, arrived at the Fourth Warehouse.

It is called a warehouse,

but in fact it is just an open space the size of a standard sports field, surrounded by walls over two meters high; the sole opening is a rotten wooden gate that would fall apart if moved slightly, to the right of the gate is a row of semi‑old shelters resembling bicycle sheds, and to the left is a twenty‑square‑meter hut, presumably inhabited, which is dilapidated yet sturdy.

According to the keeper's explanation,

This hut

is the office of the Fourth Warehouse keeper.

Shazhu followed Guolaicheng inside and saw a coal‑burning stove set on the floor.

To the left of the stove stood a solid‑wood table bearing a hot water kettle, a large tea jar, and a stack of folders with unknown contents; behind it was a back‑rest chair.

Opposite the table, against the wall, stood a row of filing cabinets containing some kraft‑paper envelopes, bulging as if stuffed with something unknown.

Shazhu guessed they were probably the yearly statistics of defective goods moving in and out of the Fourth Warehouse.

On the south‑facing wall,

a window was open.

The not‑very‑clean glass seemed to serve as a so‑called privacy shield.

On both sides of the window were pasted several sayings spoken by elders; due to their age, some dust had settled on the slogans.

On both sides of the north wall's window were hung two portraits of elders.

After finishing the indoor introduction,

Guolaicheng then pulled Shazhu outside to the yard, pointing at the pile of old junk resembling a small hill, and gave a detailed explanation.

"Master He, aside from the keeper, our Fourth Warehouse sees no living outsider all year round. Do you see these things?"

He kicked the broken bricks and wood in front of him with his foot.

"Nobody wants this junk even if it's given for free; it's just a heap of worthless rubbish. You've just arrived, but you'll find out soon enough."

The key in his hand

was shoved into Shazhu's hand.

There were three keys in total.

One for the main gate, one for the room door.

The remaining key, Shazhu glanced toward the southeast corner, where there seemed to be a hut neither big nor small; he guessed the third key was for that hut's lock.

He shaded his eyes with his hand and looked in that direction.

He was about to pull Guolaicheng along to go there.

Then he heard Guolaicheng urgently say his farewells to Shazhu.

"Master He, I've handed over all the keys; the Fourth Warehouse is now officially transferred from my hands into yours. We have plenty of time ahead—let's grab a drink together someday."

Having said that,

He slipped away oily‑footed toward the outside of the gate.

in a hurried manner.

It was as if a wild dog were chasing him from behind.

Watching Guolaicheng's frantic escape, fearful of being pursued, Shazhu wordlessly shook his head, then strode forward along the mountain‑like pile of trash to the hut whose door was locked.

It must be because no one has come here for years.

Dust had piled up on the hut's door, and even the lock was covered in spiderwebs.

Shazhu brushed away the spiderwebs on the lock with his hand, inserted the key into the keyhole, and turned it a few times, but the lock wouldn't budge.

It had not been opened for many years.

Moreover, it had not been maintained.

The spring inside the lock head had rusted.

Shazhu remembered that on the way he had just come, there was this waste machine oil; he retraced his steps, found a waste oil can on the ground, picked it up and brought it to the hut, and submerged the entire lock head in the oil.

More than ten minutes passed.

Noticing that the oil had lubricated away all the rust inside the lock head, Shazhu wiped off the oil on the lock head with some old scrap paper and reinserted the key.

He exerted a little force with his wrist.

He then heard a slight click sound.

Looking again at the lock head in his hand, it had already been opened by Shazhu.

He removed the lock head.

He pushed open the hut door.

A wave of aged, rotten moldy smell surged into Shazhu's nostrils with the air; he instinctively stepped back a distance and also vigorously fanned the air in front of his nose with his hand.

After waiting about ten or so minutes at the doorway, feeling that the indoor smell had lightened a bit, Shazhu then stepped inside.

Near the door, he found the pull cord of the electric light.

He gave it a hard pull.

He heard a snap.

The pull cord broke.

Shazhu couldn't help but give a wry smile.

This hut.

It seemed that no one had come here for over ten years; even the pull cord had corroded and broken, and the broken pull cord, having exerted its last bit of strength, switched off the light.

In the dim light, everything was piled up in disorder.

There were tables, chairs, and a stack of books and calligraphy whose contents could not be seen, plus some large wooden boxes fastened together; because they were covered with lids, it was unknown what they contained.

Shazhu walked as much as possible through empty spaces.

He pondered inside and out.

This is a house with an area exceeding seventy square meters.

It is divided into inner rooms.

The interior is over thirty square meters.

The exterior is about forty square meters.

Everything was filled with miscellaneous items like chairs and stools; Shazhu even saw some porcelain bottles and jars, whose outward patterns were truly beautiful to the extreme.

He had a rough idea in his mind.

Shazhu returned the way he came, repaired the light pull cord, and then locked the hut door.