Chapter 308: Xu Damao's Social Death Scene

In the Siheyuan, Qin Huairu's gossip still swirled everywhere.

Sha Zhu's inner rage, poisoned by Xu Damao's hot sauce that caused him to lose face before the leaders and be fined and written a report, had been stuck in his chest, making him unable to eat or sleep.

He was like a wounded beast lurking in the dark, grinding its claws, eyes glinting green, staring fixedly at Xu Damao, waiting for a chance to bite his throat in one bite.

The opportunity arrived quietly on a Sunday night, accompanied by the whir of the Projector and the scent of meat and wine.

At the Steel Rolling Mill, a story film about workers, peasants and soldiers bravely vying for the lead was playing on the white screen. Xu Damao, as the Propaganda Section's Projectionist, bustled back and forth, adjusting the equipment, essentially the centerpiece of this cultural event.

When the film ended, as usual there was a reception meal, and a few junior leaders from related departments gathered with Xu Damao, the "meritorious official", at a table.

Xu Damao was decent at his job, but his greatest skill was flattering superiors at the drinking table. He invented a loyalty stunt called "One Big, Three Small"—as the name suggests, when a leader drinks one cup, he must accompany with three small glasses.

When this rule was set, the leaders naturally flushed with pride, thinking Comrade Xu was "sensible" and "sincere", and Xu Damao, amid a chorus of praises like "generous" and "prompt", kept pouring cup after cup of the spicy "burning knife" into his belly without refusal.

In his drunken heat, Xu Damao had long forgotten his weight, only feeling the world spinning, his feet unsteady, his tongue swollen, still shouting "deep feeling, one gulp". In the end, he slipped like a puddle of sludge under the table, unconscious.

After the event, everyone scrambled to carry the dead‑drunk Xu Damao to the cafeteria's back kitchen for temporary placement, then dispersed. Late at night, the cafeteria held only the thunderous snoring Xu Damao and… a silent, ghost‑like figure slipping in—Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu looked at Xu Damao sprawled on the stool, reeking of alcohol, drool at the corner of his mouth, and twisted a cold, cruel smile. "Xu Damao, Xu Damao, you finally got what you deserve!"

Without any hesitation, like handling a pig or sheep awaiting slaughter, he deftly used a prepared hemp rope to bind Xu Damao's hands and feet to the legs of two heavy stools, tying them tightly so that even if he woke, he couldn't move. Then, with a near‑ritual sense of vengeful pleasure, he began stripping Xu Damao's clothes.

Coat, pants, sweater, undershirt… each was tossed onto the floor. The early‑spring night was still chilly; the unconscious Xu Damao seemed to feel the cold and curled up involuntarily, but that didn't stop Sha Zhu.

Finally, even the triangular underwear printed with a tacky red peony was ripped off by Sha Zhu with a look of disgust.

Seeing Xu Damao, naked and white as a hair‑stripped fat pig bound between the stools, Sha Zhu finally found an outlet for the foul anger that had been building inside him.

He picked up the underwear, pinched it with two fingers disdainfully, walked to the still‑warm Stove, struck a match, and tossed it in.

The orange‑red flame licked the cotton, quickly turning it into a small pile of ash and an unpleasant burnt smell.

"Hey, that's clean now, no more flaunting!" Sha Zhu muttered lowly, then glanced at his "masterpiece", clapped his hands with satisfaction as if he'd completed a remarkable artwork, and silently vanished into the night beyond the cafeteria.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Ma Hua, the cafeteria's breakfast helper, yawned and was the first to the back kitchen to start a fire. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she pushed open the half‑closed door, muttering, "Who didn't lock the door last night…"

The next second, all their drowsiness vanished in an instant, driven away by the horrifying sight before them!

In the dim light of the stove area, a stark white figure was bound between the stools in an extremely shameful posture, completely naked, and in the weak morning light, the white flesh was glaringly bright.

"Ah—! A ghost!!" Ma Hua was terrified, letting out a harrowing scream, rolling and crawling out of the kitchen, with a small patch of his pants getting wet.

His scream attracted more early‑arriving cafeteria staff. Everyone gathered at the kitchen doorway, staring at the "white pork strip" inside; first they were collectively petrified, then an uncontrollable burst of uproarious laughter and heated discussion erupted.

"My god! Isn't that Xu Damao?"

"How did he… end up like this?!"

"Who did this? That's just too vile!"

"Look! He seems to be waking up!"

Xu Damao was awakened by the cold and by the noisy chatter and laughter at the doorway. He groggily opened his eyes, feeling a splitting headache and his whole body icy. He tried to move, only to find his limbs tightly bound! Then, looking down again…

"Ah—!!!" A scream even more harrowing and desperate than Ma Hua's erupted from Xu Damao's throat! He struggled desperately, trying to curl up and cover the exposed parts, but the rope was tied extremely tight and the stool heavy; he could only writhe like a fish nailed to a cutting board, his stark white body twisting futilely, feeling the gazes from all sides like solid beams, eyes full of astonishment, contempt, mockery and unabashed schadenfreude!

Social death! At that moment, Xu Damao wished there were a crack in the ground he could crawl into! Xu Damao, who worked at the Steel Rolling Mill, was at least a person of some standing, but now he was utterly ashamed to face anyone!

The news sprouted legs and instantly spread throughout the entire steel plant. The story of Xu Damao's naked, bound body in the cafeteria even eclipsed the day's production‑task discussions.

He almost clutched his head, amid pointing fingers and raucous laughter, wrapped in an unknown tattered burlap sack, and fled back to the Siheyuan.

However, the disaster at home was only just beginning.

Wang Cuihua, seeing her husband return in such a disheveled state, was startled at first, then the shrewdness and spiciness of the rural widow quickly took over. She not only felt no sympathy, but crossed her arms and spat directly onto Xu Damao's face:

"Well, Xu Damao! I asked where you disappeared last night! Turns out you were out fooling around! Tell me! Which shameless wild woman you were screwing, got caught, stripped and thrown out, huh!"

"No… it's not that! Cuihua, let me explain…" Xu Damao, frantic and angry, still hungover, found his tongue clumsy.

"Explain what?" Wang Cuihua ignored him, grabbing Xu Damao's ear, "Look at your conduct! You've disgraced the old Xu family's face! We can't live like this!"

The back‑yard quarrel grew chaotic, naturally drawing the attention of the three elders. Such a 'moral corruption' incident was a perfect chance for them to assert authority and straighten the atmosphere.

Yi Zhonghai's expression was solemn, Liu Haizhong's mood was complicated (his own troubles still unresolved), and Yan Bu Gui wore a pained look of 'declining social morals'. After a brief 'investigation', the three elders unanimously concluded that Xu Damao had stayed out all night, behaved drunkenly, was naked, and caused extremely harmful impact, severely damaging the reputation of the Siheyuan and even the Steel Rolling Mill!

The meeting was convened quickly. Yi Zhonghai sternly condemned Xu Damao's 'bourgeois hedonistic thinking' and 'improper lifestyle', Liu Haizhong added an emphasis on 'deep self‑reflection', and Yan Bu Gui expounded from the perspective of 'protecting collective honor'.

Finally, the punishment: Xu Damao must write a written self‑inspection to be read publicly at the next all‑campus meeting; he is sentenced to sweep the Siheyuan and nearby public toilets for a week, to observe the effect!

Xu Damao stood in the middle of the courtyard, head lowered, his face flashing blue then white, feeling a hollow anger ready to explode! He knew he had been framed! And the only one capable of the motive, means, and such despicable, smoking‑filled act was Sha Zhu—no one else!

Sha Zhu! It has to be you, you bastard! He roared madly inside, but he has no proof! He was drunk and unconscious last night, knew nothing. Accuse Sha Zhu? Who would believe? He might even be counter‑accused of framing a good person!

That mute fool ate so solidly he couldn't even let out a single fart!

In the Central Courtyard, at Sha Zhu's home, he leaned against the doorway, leisurely munching sunflower seeds, watching Xu Damao's dejected, rooster‑like posture under the three elders' scolding, feeling delighted as if eating chilled watermelon in the scorching midsummer!

Grandson! Fight the grandfather? Plot against me? This is the consequence! Sha Zhu thought smugly, the great revenge is served! Thrilling! He seemed to already see that for a long time ahead, Xu Damao would live under the shadow of this 'naked horror', becoming the after‑dinner joke for everyone. That feeling was a hundred times more satisfying than cooking a perfect pot of Red Braised Pork!

As for Xu Damao's poisonous glare and the next round of retaliation brewing in his heart? Sha Zhu didn't care! When soldiers come, he'll block them; when water comes, he'll dam it. He Yuzhu will stay by his side till the end! The Siheyuan's chaos—chickens flying, dogs leaping—is destined to keep playing out.