Chapter 409

Having endured Liu Haizhong's brutal lesson, Section Chief Ma now dare not look down on anyone; who knows what dogshit luck they might have, suddenly and inexplicably shooting up like a rocket.

Regarding Deputy Factory Director Li's actions, he seemed to have only a slight understanding.

Moreover, Qin Huairu still bears the nickname Qiao Gua Fu of Yagangchang, and her scandalous, age-defying affair with Yi Zhonghai back then caused quite a stir.

Putting it with a damn vulgar saying, if Qin Huairu were to go through Deputy Factory Director Li's connections, it would be beyond the control of a mere Cleaning Section chief like him.

Being cautious is always right.

Just consider it forming a good karmic bond.

When Section Chief Ma left, he specially tossed a bunch of nonsense at Qin Huairu: 'I'm optimistic about you,' 'Being strict with you is for your own good,' 'Don't hold a grudge against my past actions,' and similar rubbish.

Never eaten pork.

But have seen pigs run.

Yagangchang has seen its share of right and wrong over the years.

Even if Qin Huairu had no brains, she would still know what happened to her, and realize that Section Chief Ma had mistakenly understood certain things.

He didn't remind her.

Instead, she lowered her posture as much as possible and replied with a few sentences specially highlighting her determination: 'My Qin Huairu's current status is all thanks to you, Section Chief Ma,' 'I, Qin Huairu, am someone who repays kindness,' and similar phrases poured from her mouth like free money, every word drilling into Section Chief Ma's ears.

Two scheming fellows.

Seeing each other smile, they then exchanged polite remarks.

Section Chief Ma's departure also made the lively scene fall silent.

Not until Liu Haizhong arrived did the scene become fervent again.

Looking around.

All were people.

Those from Yagangchang who had been oppressed by Liu Haizhong, whenever they had time, all tried to appear at the scene; they wanted to first see Liu Haizhong's desolate look, then vent their inner anger, to comfort the spirits of their deceased relatives.

Here he comes, here he comes, Liu Haizhong has come, the Liu Haizhong who brought disaster to Yagangchang has come.

In the midst of excited voices.

Liu Haizhong appeared before Qin Huairu.

To be honest.

Liu Haizhong had imagined many scenarios, but never thought that Qin Huairu, whom he usually disregarded, would now stand before him arrogantly, a faint smile of satisfaction on her face. Her attitude toward Liu Haizhong was exactly the lofty, looking-down stance he used to have toward her during his tenure—except their roles had reversed.

Qin Huairu's gaze toward Liu Haizhong.

Containing a hint of contempt.

Within that contempt lay a hint of light mockery.

Liu Haizhong was completely numb.

He thought that after being assigned to the Cleaning Section, even if he were in charge of toilet-related work, tasks should be assigned by Cleaning Section's Ma Dahua.

But the sight of Qin Huairu before him and the aura she exuded forced Liu Haizhong to confront a bloody result.

He really is good-for-nothing.

A bitter feeling.

Liu Haizhong's whole body seethed.

I, the former Team Captain of the Elderly Assault Team at Yagangchang and the Second Steward of the Siheyuan, am now under Qin Huairu's jurisdiction.

Is there any greater joke under heaven?

He instinctively stopped.

The two Security Section members who had brought Liu Haizhong, seeing him suddenly stop and not move forward, gave him no face and shoved him hard.

A tremendous force.

Moreover, Liu Haizhong was a bit absent-minded.

He was basically taken by surprise.

He stumbled forward and eventually fell flat on his face in front of Qin Huairu.

A teasing voice followed.

"Qin Huairu, do you have any money? Liu Haizhong has knelt and kowtowed for you; you should at least give him some New Year's money—don't be stingy, give a few more cents. Liu Haizhong, at his age, has sacrificed his dignity to kowtow for you, which is already a great concession."

Liu Haizhong, lying on the ground.

He had no time to feel the pain there.

He rolled over, got up from the ground, glared, and looked at the Security Section member who had pushed him.

A tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs.

Moreover, Liu Haizhong is hardly a tiger; calling him a dog is already giving him too much credit.

"Liu Haizhong, are you unwilling to accept this?"

"Brother, no need to ask—of course you're dissatisfied. Liu Haizhong is an awesome figure who has made many at Yagangchang tremble with fear. You'd better apologize to Liu Haizhong, or he'll give you a demerit, saying your clothes aren't proper, adding a fine and a self-criticism."

"Fine, I'll quickly apologize to Team Captain Liu." The Security Section member who had been glared at by Liu Haizhong looked at him with a teasing expression: "Team Captain Liu, I apologize; I was wrong. Please don't treat me as an equal—I really fear you'll give me a demerit. Please forgive me this once, okay?"

His words were not bad.

But his face bore a teasing expression.

He showed not the slightest respect for Liu Haizhong's wishes.

After saying that.

He didn't wait for Liu Haizhong to reply.

He suddenly kicked out, aiming a kick at Liu Haizhong's buttocks.

Another unexpected move.

Liu Haizhong, who had just gotten up, involuntarily knelt before Qin Huairu from that kick.

"Hiss!"

He unconsciously sucked in a mouthful of cold air.

He was about to say something.

Then he heard Qin Huairu, in front of all the workers, begin to sternly reprimand Liu Haizhong.

"Liu Haizhong, I, Qin Huairu, am now the team leader of the newly established Correction and Improvement Group appointed by the factory leadership at Yagangchang. The purpose of this group is to lead by example, so that you, Liu Haizhong, can rid yourself of a series of bad habits, and sincerely devote your whole body and mind to the work at Yagangchang as much as possible, contributing your share to the factory."

Qin Huairu became more and more excited as she spoke.

She felt a sudden, unprecedented sense of glory for no apparent reason.

She only now realized.

Why are so many people eager to climb up?

To be honest.

This feeling of rising up.

It's really great.

"Liu Haizhong, don't think you can get cozy with me; I, Qin Huairu, won't buy that. Inside the courtyard is the courtyard, inside the factory is the factory. In the factory, I am the leader of the Correction and Improvement Group, and you are a member of my group. As the group leader, I must consider your future. I hope you can approach this with an open mind, treat it correctly, have no mental burden, no resistance, no dissatisfaction, because I, Qin Huairu, have also been through this stage. Below, in my capacity as the leader of the Correction and Improvement Group, I hereby make the following demands of you."

Qin Huairu pulled out a small, somewhat worn-looking notebook from her pocket.

She opened it.

Following the content on it.

She read it out in detail.

"Cleaning work is extremely important; it concerns the image of our Yagangchang and also the mood of every worker. A good environment brings a good mood. We cannot think ourselves inferior just because we handle the toilets, nor think we are not part of Yagangchang. That idea is wrong. No matter what happens, we are indispensable parts of Yagangchang; thanks to us, the factory can be even more splendid!"

It amounted to parroting.

Qin Huairu was simply repeating what the Cleaning Section chief had told her.

She applied it word for word to Liu Haizhong.

"Brooms and dustpans are our weapons; at work we must be meticulous and earnest, never slack off or shirk. We must live up to our uniforms and let all Yagangchang workers feel our sincere enthusiasm. Even a tiny task showcases our achievements; we must pour our sweat into this humble post."

The notebook in her hand.

She closed it.

She pointed to the nearby toilet.

She issued a combat order to Liu Haizhong.

"Liu Haizhong, as the sole member of the Correction and Improvement Group, I, as the group leader, order you: you are responsible for all toilets in the Yagangchang factory area; you must keep them spotless. If you encounter coworkers using the toilets during cleaning, you must not show a displeased face; be amiable and enthusiastic."

"Finally, I urge you: don't think, because I, Qin Huairu, am a female comrade, that you cannot enter the men's toilet and thus harbor such thoughts; although I cannot go in, there are comrades who can. I hope the workers on the floor will give more support to our Correction and Improvement Group's work, and help Liu Haizhong comrade as much as possible to avoid mistakes in his work."

Actually, it just gave everyone an excuse to pick on Liu Haizhong.

Everyone's not stupid.

They naturally agreed with Qin Huairu's suggestion.

They echoed in unison.

Shouts of approval.

Even places hundreds of meters away could hear it.

Unlike the workers.

Liu Haizhong felt like dying; he glanced at the excited workers around him, then at Qin Huairu with her serious, businesslike expression.

He silently said to himself.

The future is long.

We'll see how it goes.

He bent down, picked up the broom and dustpan from the ground, and walked toward the toilet under the workers' watchful eyes.

Just as he entered.

The stinging stench made Liu Haizhong gasp, his breath seeming to stop.

He turned back and returned to his original spot.

He panted heavily, gasping for air.

"Liu Haizhong, what's the matter? Do you think this work environment is bad and want to switch?"

The one raising the question was a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old young man.

Someone he knew.

He knew the young man's name.

Liu Zhihao.

Logically speaking.

He and Liu Haizhong share the surname Liu; they might have been related five hundred years ago, but Liu Haizhong deliberately found a pretext to assign Liu Zhihao to clean a section of the toilets in the Cleaning Section.

An even more outrageous thing.

It was that Liu Haizhong, despite having no culture whatsoever, insisted that Liu Zhihao write him a two-thousand-word self-criticism.

Liu Zhihao wrote it.

Liu Haizhong said it wasn't sincere.

He revised it back and forth over ten times before barely getting it over with.

Today.

He specially took leave to come see Liu Haizhong's misfortune.

Seeing Liu Haizhong down on his luck, he was the first to jump out and blame him.

"You said before that even a bad work environment is a tempering for oneself, a hardship before success; why, when it comes to you, Liu Haizhong, does it become something else? Go in then—are you also afraid?"

"Zhihao, we can share the Liu surname."

A hint of worry flashed across Liu Haizhong's face.

He felt like cursing his mother in his heart.

"Hey, now I remember we share the Liu surname. Back then, how did you tell me? You said I, Liu Zhihao, am not worthy of the Liu surname. You were really right. Our two families are not one family. Who are you, you wicked, smoke-bellying bastard? At least someone still says something good about me."

"Liu Haizhong, assigning you to oversee the toilet work is Deputy Factory Director Li's decision. If you don't go in, are you dissatisfied with Deputy Factory Director Li's decision?"

Qin Huairu gave Liu Haizhong a big accusation.

She was a bit angry that Liu Haizhong didn't give her face.

As the group leader.

It was the first time she gave Liu Haizhong an order.

There were still so many coworkers around.

Not going in.

Clearly, he didn't regard Qin Huairu, the group leader, as important.

He was brandishing a tiger skin and raising a big flag.

Qin Huairu knew who held sway in the Yagangchang nowadays, and deliberately used Deputy Factory Director Li to threaten Liu Haizhong.

Her plan worked.

As soon as he heard Qin Huairu give him such a big accusation, Liu Haizhong cursed Qin Huairu's ancestors eight generations over, then gritted his teeth and entered the toilet, busying himself.

……

Siheyuan.

Er Da Ma looked around at the neighbors.

She proudly lifted her head.

She was also brainless.

She mistakenly thought Liu Haizhong's request to Deputy Factory Director Li for an official position was a sure thing, and thus she considered herself the wife of whatever team captain, and could swagger in the Siheyuan.

She didn't even look at the neighbors.

In a boastful tone.

She started showing off to Jia Zhangshi and the others.

"I'm giving you an opportunity, do you understand? Everyone says 'sending charcoal in the snow', but I actually want to give you an added bonus. All the things our Old Liu has done lately are big things; these are all achievements. Deputy Factory Director Li doesn't look at the monk's face but at the Buddha's face; looking at what our Old Liu has done for him, he will surely give our Old Liu an explanation. There's no reason to just dismiss him. When Old Liu returns tonight, he will be reinstated; you all won't be able to escape."

They're just a bunch of ignorant old women.

Moreover, because Liu Haizhong staged a big show of looking down on people with his chin before work today.

He suddenly felt a bit hesitant.

Each began to think.

Could it be that Liu Haizhong has made a comeback and become that team captain again?

Otherwise, Er Da Ma wouldn't be so adamant in saying their Old Liu will rise to prominence!

Small people naturally have their own ways.

Realizing he could not offend Er Da Ma's neighbors for the time being, false smiles of appeasement appeared on his face one after another, and he tried to sweet-talk Er Da Ma as much as possible.

Only Yu Li and Third Aunt kept a calm expression throughout.

Yu Li is because Shazhu told her last night that Liu Haizhong will never amount to anything in this life, so she just expects misfortune.

She believes any word Shazhu says.

Third Aunt is because the Yan family and the Liu family are now enemies, and Liu Haizhong has already done something that will bring ruin to the Yan family.

Xu Daming is backing them from behind.

The two of them looked at Er Da Ma and the neighbors' faces.

Each went back to their own homes!

Too lazy to bother with them!