Chapter 16: Applying Eye Drops

The Siberian cold surge swept in, and overnight the whole city seemed to have entered winter; He Yuzhu glanced at the somewhat drafty house.

Wait until Yi Daye repays the money, then we'll fix the house.

Inside the canteen it was warm as spring; just as he entered, Ma Hua came over with a tea cup, asking what he wanted for lunch, and whether they should add extra meat given the cold weather.

"There isn't that much meat in the canteen; just making it through this month is already difficult." He Yuzhu shook his head, "At noon we'll stew cabbage, then make a hot and sour soup, simmered with big bones."

He was arranging the noon meals here, never expecting someone would stab him in the back.

Yi Daye held an overnight meeting, but the other two elders didn't want to take the money; Er Daye's reason was that, as a leader in the courtyard house, having a bit to eat and drink was no problem.

Er Daye wouldn't take it, and San Daye couldn't possibly take it either.

Yi Daye sighed, but He Yuzhu wouldn't bother with these matters; since he couldn't come up with the money, he was definitely going in, and was just about to tell them that if he went in, he wouldn't let them off.

Er Daye continued, saying to go to the leader and complain about He Yuzhu, have him kicked out of the kitchen; by then he'd be so busy with his own affairs that he wouldn't care about the debt.

Best to send him to the workshop, then see how we can deal with him.

Desperate, Yi Daye agreed to this plan.

"Leader, the matter is just this." Yi Daye said somewhat formally, "He Yuzhu indeed needs some discipline; I think putting him in the workshop for some training would be good."

Li Deputy Factory Director remained silent.

Er Daye added: "This kid has no respect for leaders or elders; if we don't fix him, he won't know his surname. Leader, hand him over to me, and I'll certainly correct his bad habits."

"Hand him over to you? How will the canteen cook, who will be in charge?" Li Deputy Factory Director narrowed his eyes, "Don't bring this kind of nonsense here; can you separate work from life?"

He Yuzhu carries some weight in the leader's eyes, and Er Daye has already started to have second thoughts.

"He's being two-faced, isn't he?"

Seeing that Yi Daye and Er Daye's backstabbing talk was off, the Canteen Director felt anxious; now when talking about household matters, they should be discussing work instead.

"Director Li, I think what Lao Yi and Lao Liu suggested also makes sense; his work these past two days has been poor, the dishes are all messed up, and the staff have given feedback to me."

"Huh?"

"I think letting him go down for some training would be fine; I've already found a replacement, he's had proper training, and he's from my hometown—there's absolutely no problem."

Li Deputy Factory Director pondered, then said: "A few days ago the Factory Director said he wanted to promote him to something else, and that it was a senior leader's intention; are you trying to make me take the blame? But what you say makes sense, I'll look into it again."

Er Daye saw that Li Deputy Factory Director was somewhat moved, placed his synthetic leather bag on the table, and pulled Yi Daye out of the leader's office.

Regarding giving gifts, Yi Daye was strongly opposed; he said he was only speaking the truth, why bother with gifts—this wasn't baseless slander or retaliatory attack.

"Director Qi, what do you think we should do about this?"

Originally the Canteen Director planned to use this opportunity to completely remove He Yuzhu, replace him with someone obedient, so that his family could eat meat, eggs, and dumplings every day.

But now He Yuzhu has the Factory Director and a senior leader behind him; this is using him as a tool.

If mishandled, it's easy to hurt oneself.

"Director Li, I think we can do a promotion in name only, a demotion in reality—what use is a cook who doesn't stir-fry?"

Li Deputy Factory Director nodded; He Yuzhu isn't very obedient, so pressing him a bit would be good, and later giving him a sweet date will surely win him over.

What position should be arranged? Li Deputy Factory Director paced back and forth in the office.

This noon's meal was a great success; the workers ate with great enjoyment, all giving thumbs up and saying the canteen food was delicious, even better than outside restaurants.

"Master, how was this soup made? It tastes so good—does it contain any seasoning?"

"The five flavors are balanced; study it well."

He Yuzhu was about to break his hand to speak frankly when he saw the Canteen Director enter with a fake smile, followed by a short, stout, dark-faced man.

"Hey, He Yuzhu, Old Brother here congratulates you—you're young and about to become a leader; may you rise high, but remember me."

"I don't quite understand what you mean, Director."

The Canteen Director told He Yuzhu that the leadership values talent, raising his salary by one grade, and assigning him as deputy leader of the Supply Group.

Hearing this, the canteen staff were stunned—this wasn't a promotion at all, it was sending He Yuzhu far away.

The so-called Supply Group has no authority; everyone usually calls it the 'scapegoat team,' because ordinary supplies are handled by the Logistics Materials Section, where all the cushy jobs are—even the sweepers are relatives of the leaders.

Other scarce materials also have dedicated purchasers.

The Supply Group's only task is to procure materials for workers; whoever needs something can entrust the Supply Group to purchase it.

Now everything must be supplied by coupon, i. e., backdoor barter; ordinary workers have nothing to offer.

Moreover, this mutual aid measure was advocated by the previous leadership; the current leaders don't take it seriously, so going there likely means spending one's whole life like this.

"Master." Ma Hua said excitedly, "Let's go find the Factory Director."

The Factory Director probably doesn't know about this; such transfers are usually decided by Li Deputy Factory Director, and the appointment has already been issued, so the Factory Director may not want to break face.

Besides, I have a system; procuring supplies isn't difficult.

Now is not the time to act rashly; we need to build strength for a counterattack—as for who put eye drops on him in front of the leader, it's none other than these few beasts, Yi Daye and company.

However, at this level, trying to force me to give up is impossible, and moreover Yi Daye will have to pay an extra price.

He never even went to the Supply Group; spotting a chance, he slipped out and returned to the courtyard house, where San Daye was basking in the sun at the door. Seeing He Yuzhu come back, his small eyes blinked repeatedly, like a monkey emitting green light.

"San Daye, come to my place tonight for a couple of drinks." He Yuzhu said with a smile, "I'll be stewing lamb soon."

When San Daye arrived, He Yuzhu sat there calmly drinking tea, with two cans of yellow peaches on the table.

"How's the investigation going? Who's been sabotaging me behind my back?"

"These two cans aren't enough; aren't we going to eat stewed lamb? Let's talk after we finish."

"San Daye, you'd better figure it out; if you stay silent now, you won't have a chance to speak in two days. Do you think that money was just given away for nothing?"

"Lao Liu and Lao Yi filed a complaint against Director Li, and the gift they gave was provided by Xu Damao."