Chapter 515

Shazhu came to see Factory Director Yang today.

Two meanings.

First meaning.

Purely to avoid trouble.

Huaihua, because of last night's chicken-eating incident, angered Shazhu and the others, and will not give her any chance; if Shazhu keeps Bai Xu.

It's inconvenient for Li to work.

If Huaihua goes over Li to plead with him, some things really can't be said.

Huaihua is a young girl.

She didn't speak, just cried and snuffled as she stepped up to Shazhu; surely there would be hot-blooded youngsters who like to fantasize, rushing to speak up for Huaihua.

Right or wrong, let's not mention it for now.

In the end, it just added some trouble.

These past few days, Shazhu especially dislikes trouble.

Second meaning, I want to ask about He Yuzhu's situation.

Since Factory Director Yang resumed his post, more than half a year has passed.

During this time, those who did many wicked deeds were dealt with, and some of the bullied also received this justice.

Only He Yuzhu is neither seen alive nor found dead.

Outsiders are still okay to say.

Either way, it's fine either way.

But Shazhu can't just stand by; since he's on good terms with He Yuzhu, he can't possibly act coldly indifferent.

As a member of the steel mill, He Yuzhu also got implicated by Deputy Factory Director Li, and Shazhu believes Factory Director Yang must know He Yuzhu's news.

The key is how to bring it up.

It truly stumped Shazhu.

Asking directly makes it seem like he's just looking for trouble; asking indirectly worries that the other will be evasive, and Shazhu fretted for a moment.

A faint worry appeared on his face.

Seeing Shazhu come uninvited, Factory Director Yang guessed he had something to ask, and noticing Shazhu's depressed expression further confirmed his guess; he smiled and asked.

"Shazhu, with that frown you've lost the bearing of our steel mill's top chef—what trouble have you run into? Tell me."

"Factory Director Yang, you noticed?"

"With that look of yours, anyone not blind can see it—speak up, what's the matter? As long as I can help, I'll do my best."

"Factory Director Yang, I can't put it well, don't blame me, I just want to ask about He Yuzhu." Shazhu saw Factory Director Yang's expression change, quickly added a sentence to cover himself, made up a reason: "No other meaning, just want to ask—our courtyard's Liu Haizhong, you also know, back then he followed Deputy Factory Director Li and messed around, now he's sentenced to twenty years' meals; He Yuzhu later also became that deputy director, right? Liu Haizhong was sentenced; if He Yuzhu made a mistake, would he also have to go in? I haven't heard any news about him; in the courtyard, He Yuzhu has a small house, some people in the courtyard have their eyes on that house, once they act, there will definitely be trouble."

Shazhu's words amounted to saying nothing.

But Factory Director Yang also understood Shazhu's meaning.

A warm feeling inexplicably flashed in his heart; that's also why he thought highly of Shazhu.

Shazhu is not like those people in the steel mill who habitually flatter superiors and kick down inferiors—when you rise, they treat you like a grandfather to be served, even making you kneel and kowtow; when you fall, they instantly turn on you, smearing you with foul dog feces. Shazhu, no matter the time, can keep his original heart, just as when Deputy Factory Director Li was in power, everyone treated the ousted Factory Director Yang like a flood beast, fearing to bring disaster upon themselves; only Shazhu continued to respect him as before, greeting him when they met, sending him food and drink—he could do that for himself, let alone for He Yuzhu.

Factory Director Yang knew Shazhu and He Yuzhu were on good terms, with over a decade of friendship.

He slightly leaned his body back.

Looking at Shazhu.

"Factory Director Yang, if you think this is troublesome, just pretend I said nothing—it's all fate."

"Shazhu, we can't rely on fate; everything we have comes from our own struggle." Factory Director Yang faced Shazhu, raised his hands, "It created everything."

"What you say is reasonable."

"Alright, stop sucking up—I get your meaning, Shazhu. To be fair, if you didn't come to ask me about He Yuzhu's recent situation, you wouldn't be He Yuzhu; outsiders may not know who He Yuzhu is, but how could I not know?"

Factory Director Yang's complexion.

It eased a little.

But Shazhu didn't notice those miscellaneous things; he noticed a word in Factory Director Yang's earlier explanation.

He Yuzhu's recent situation.

Just five simple words cleared up Shazhu's doubt; the question of how He Yuzhu is, asking Factory Director Yang, was indeed asking the right person.

"He Yuzhu, don't worry about him; he should be fine. If you're not reassured, take a look at this."

Factory Director Yang rose from his chair, walked over to a row of cabinets, used a key to open a locked drawer, and rummaged inside for a moment.

An unsealed file bag appeared in his hand.

He confirmed it.

He placed the file bag in his hand before Shazhu.

As Shazhu pulled out the documents inside, Factory Director Yang gave him a reminder.

"Shazhu, even if you already know this, I still need to remind you: you may look, but the contents must not be leaked; I let you see because what you're doing now is similar to mine—using the leaders' words, we're feeling our way across the river by touching the stones."

Shazhu nodded.

On one hand, he was worried about He Yuzhu, somewhat indifferent; on the other hand, it was Factory Director Yang's intention—he understood that if they truly didn't want him to know, they wouldn't have given him the file bag at all.

He pulled out the relevant materials from the file bag.

He stared at them without blinking.

He Yuzhu neither received the twenty-year sentence like Liu Haizhong, nor continued doing his previous work like some people.

He settled in a place unknown to Shazhu and them, with people guarding his safety around him, and his three daily meals were handled by dedicated staff.

As long as He Yuzhu's responsibility is cleared, he can return to the courtyard.

Shazhu doesn't think He Yuzhu has any problem.

Xu Daming has nothing major going on; when he rose to power, Yagangchang had already been messed up by Liu Haizhong to the point of being unrecognizable. The thing that Xu Daming really can't explain clearly is the matter concerning his ex-wife Lou Xiaoe's family. The people from the Foreign Affairs Group have already made contact with Lou Xiaoe's family over in Hong Kong.

The other side harbors an innate aversion to returning to Yagangchang.

Yagangchang believes they must give Lou Xiaoe an explanation, and in exchange for that explanation they hope to obtain technical and financial support from Lou Xiaoe's family.

As Lou Xiaoe's ex-husband, Xu Daming also served as a lackey for Deputy Factory Director Li for a while, and naturally ended up being investigated. If it's nothing serious, he should be back in a few days; if there is something, he probably won't come back.

Shazhu never expected that inquiring about Xu Daming's affairs would unexpectedly let him hear news about Lou Xiaoe.

According to the data shows.

Lou Xiaoe's family settled in Hong Kong over ten years ago, relying on the connections and funds they left behind; they are now a well-known tycoon in Hong Kong, engaged in real estate and steel industries, ranking eighty-seventh on Hong Kong's list of the wealthiest hundred, with a net worth said to exceed ten billion, and they also own hotels.

What Yagangchang has its eye on is Lou Xiaoe's steel plant, which contains the machine tools and latest processing production technology that Yagangchang most urgently needs.

Xu Daming is very unfortunate.

He has become the pawn in the game between Yagangchang and Lou Xiaoe's family.

Just think about it.

It's also retribution for holding a grudge.

Who let Xu Daming, relying on his identity as a film projectionist, fool around for so many years; he should now suffer some consequences for holding a grudge.

……

Jiēdào

Jia Zhangshi came here excitedly.

Her confidence was high.

She believed that once she stepped in, there would be no trouble she couldn't resolve.

Bangeng's job issue is also a small matter easily settled; no matter what, we must find him a position as a cadre. Given Bangeng's talent, not making him a cadre would waste his talent and knowledge.

In Jia Zhangshi's own words, if Bangeng could come to their factory as a cadre, that would be a blessing they had cultivated.

The gatekeeper at the entrance, whom Jia Zhangshi knew; back when Jia Zhangshi made a mistake, the person responsible for cleaning the street toilets was this lame old man, who acted as Jia Zhangshi's supervisor for cleaning toilets.

"Old Liu, I'm Jia Zhangshi, are you on duty today?"

Having said that.

She then went on her way down the hallway.

But Old Liu stopped her.

"Jia family woman, you need to register. Do you think this is your family's vegetable garden where you can just walk in? Register first, then go inside."

"We know each other; do we still need to register?"

"Even if my son comes, he still has to register. This is as stubborn as a turtle's ass—rules are rules. What's the name?"

"Jia Zhangshi."

"What are you here for?"

"Find a job for my eldest grandson, Bangeng."

Jia Zhangshi's tone.

Full of a strong desire to show off.

She always felt that Bangeng was the most talented person in the world.

Despite the lesson of ruining Bangeng's job prospects, Jia Zhangshi doesn't remember it at all; for something that hasn't even begun to take shape, she firmly believes it's already done.

"Old Liu, let me tell you something big: my grandson Bangeng came back yesterday from the countryside, where he stayed for over three years, a little less than four years—actually he stayed a year and a half longer than some people. This shows our Bangeng faithfully carrying out Jiēdào's policy. Given his spirit of hard work and endurance, Jiēdào giving him a job isn't too much, is it? Jiēdào assigning him a cadre position isn't too much, is it? Our Bangeng has talent; who doesn't know our Bangeng is Jiēdào's top-notch good kid, Bangeng."

The lame old man, impatient, interrupted Jia Zhangshi's boasting.

He lifted his eyes and glanced at Jia Zhangshi.

He thought to himself, people really weren't wrong when they said Jia Zhangshi is brainless—can she just spout nonsense like that?

And still want to be a cadre.

Pah.

There are simply too many youths returning to the city; the job problem immediately highlights the real situation of many wolves and little meat.

Jiēdào, at most, can only provide thirty jobs; most of those thirty jobs involve manual labor—either sweeping the streets or cleaning toilets. Jobs like those at Yagangchang or the supply and marketing cooperative simply don't exist, or if they do, they aren't listed on Jiēdào's job roster for some unspeakable reason.

Therefore Jia Zhangshi's words.

Purely just wishful thinking.

The lame old man pointed to the line of dozens of people beside him and gave Jia Zhangshi a reminder.

Looking for a job, where do you go to line up?

Jia Zhangshi followed the lame old man's finger with her gaze.

She instantly lost the will to continue.

With such a long line, you'd have to wait until the Year of the Monkey and the Month of the Horse.

Her eyes rolled.

She wanted to cut in line.

Just as she took a step, the lame old man's warning voice rang in her ears.

"Jia family woman, if you want your Bangeng to never find a job, just go ahead and cut in line; I'd like to see whether it's you, Jia Zhangshi, who's being stubborn, or the Jiēdào Security Section that's tough."

Jiēdào also has a Security Section, but it's not as formidable as Yagangchang's Security Section.

The lame old man, for instance, belongs to Jiēdào's Security Section.

Jia Zhangshi didn't understand the inner workings, thinking all Security Sections were equally tough; she stood there, pondered for a few seconds, then obediently went to the back of the line.

The lame old man muttered under his breath, 'What a disgrace—still wanting your Bangeng to enter the factory as a cadre; that factory would be blind to hire a Chen Shimei as a cadre.'

Bangeng has returned.

His reputation as a Chen Shimei who abandoned a widow's wife also came back with him.

They also resented You Fengxia for being too beautiful; Wang Yaxiong and the others all regarded Bangeng as the top candidate for elimination. After the Dayuan meeting ended last night, this group began to fan the flames and spread rumors everywhere. They even, overnight, married Bangeng off to a widow, and in order to return to the city they dumped the widow— the publicity spread like wildfire, and everyone knew.

Many people wanted to see the Jia Family's joke.

However, Jia Zhangshi was unaware of this; seeing the long line ahead, she started calculating. There were only a few good jobs, and whoever got in first would secure one. By the time it was her turn, wouldn't the good jobs already be cold? She therefore tried to persuade the people ahead with her words to give her a spot so she could go in first to find a job for Bangeng.

"Little comrade, you're also here looking for work? I, Jia Zhangshi of the Red Star Courtyard, let's discuss between the two of us: I'm old, my legs are bad, and I'm also sick—I can't stand for long. You should show your vigor and let me get ahead of you in line. As soon as I saw you, this young man, I knew you were a good person and kind-hearted. If I weren't feeling unwell, I couldn't possibly let you give up your spot for me, aunt."

"Aunt Jia, at your age, you're still out looking for work?"

"It's not Aunt Jia looking for work; it's Aunt Jia finding work for my grandson Bangeng. Our Bangeng is a good child—he just got back from Dongbei yesterday."

"If Bangeng is looking for work, why isn't he coming himself? Why are you, his grandmother, coming in his place? Bangeng is really unfilial, Aunt Jia. A child like Bangeng who is unfilial deserves a good spanking—how can he sleep soundly at home while letting his elderly grandmother stand in line for him?"

As soon as Jia Zhangshi heard the other party lecturing Bangeng,

She became unhappy.

As Jia Zhangshi, who is good at nothing but excels at protecting her child, she would not allow anyone to bring up Bangeng.

"I say, young man, what are you doing? Whether our Bangeng looks for work or not is none of your business; what right do you have to comment on our Bangeng? Just tell me straight—will you let him or not?"