Chapter 39: Incitement

Early the next morning, as soon as Yi Zhonghai finished breakfast, he deliberately loitered in the courtyard, waiting for Liu Haizhong to come out.

Sure enough, before long, Liu Haizhong came out carrying a water bucket to fetch water.

"Lao Liu, morning!" Yi Zhonghai greeted him enthusiastically, deliberately moving closer to Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong was somewhat surprised, but still responded politely, "Morning, Master Yi."

"Did you rest well last night?" Yi Zhonghai lowered his voice and asked mysteriously.

Liu Haizhong frowned, "It was alright, why?"

Yi Zhonghai looked left and right, and only after confirming no one was around did he whisper:

"It's nothing, just heard that Li Mingyuan had chicken and wine again last night, and the noise was quite loud. It must have disturbed your rest, right?"

Liu Haizhong was stunned, then suddenly realized, "No wonder I smelled something so fragrant last night; so it was that kid eating well again!"

He said indignantly, "On what grounds? I've worked at the Rolling Mill for so many years, when have I ever been able to eat this well?"

Seeing that the timing was about right, Yi Zhonghai took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire,

"Exactly! I heard he manages to get meat every day, and the cabinets in his house are stuffed with good things. How could one person eat so much? There must be something fishy going on!"

A flash of jealousy crossed Liu Haizhong's eyes, "Where does this kid get so many good things? Could it be..."

Yi Zhonghai feigned surprise,

"Master Liu, you wouldn't be suspecting..." He deliberately left the sentence unfinished, letting Liu Haizhong's imagination run wild.

"Hmph, in this day and age, anyone who can get their hands on so many good things is either using back-door connections or is corrupt!" Liu Haizhong lowered his voice and said bitterly.

Yi Zhonghai pretended to be worried and said, "Master Liu, be careful with your words! You can't just say things like that."

As he spoke, he gave Liu Haizhong a meaningful look, "However, it is indeed very strange. How could an ordinary engineer live this kind of life?"

Liu Haizhong said angrily, "That kid squeezed us old workers out of the Assault Team, and now he's living this kind of corrupt life. It's simply outrageous!"

Seeing that Liu Haizhong had taken the bait, Yi Zhonghai stopped talking and just gently patted his shoulder,

"Master Liu, as an old revolutionary, just keep this in mind when you see this kind of situation." After saying this, he left with a meaningful expression.

Liu Haizhong stood where he was, his hand gripping the water bucket tightening involuntarily, his eyes flashing with a complex light.

After Yi Zhonghai left, he headed straight for Yan Bugui's house.

Yan Bugui was drying a quilt in the courtyard, and seeing Yi Zhonghai arrive, he hurriedly greeted him warmly.

"Master Yi, a rare guest! Come in and sit." Yan Bugui put down his work and led Yi Zhonghai into the house.

Yi Zhonghai exchanged a few pleasantries and gradually steered the topic toward Li Mingyuan.

"Master Yan, you are an elder in the Siheyuan and the most sensible person here. I have something I want to discuss with you." Yi Zhonghai lowered his voice, looking deeply worried.

Yan Bugui immediately became interested, pushed up his glasses, and said, "What is it? Go ahead."

"It's like this," Yi Zhonghai sighed, "You know that the country now advocates diligence, thrift, and hard work. But some people are living a life of luxury. You tell me, this..."

Yan Bugui immediately understood, "Are you talking about Li Mingyuan?"

Yi Zhonghai pretended to be surprised, "Master Yan, you really are sharp-eyed! I didn't even say it clearly, and you guessed it."

Yan Bugui smiled triumphantly,

"What's hard to guess about that? Who in the whole Siheyuan doesn't know he eats meat and drinks wine every day? Yesterday, those two big fat chickens—my son came back saying he was drooling with envy."

Yi Zhonghai took the opportunity to say, "Exactly, I'm just worried about the bad influence this has on the children. Your Yancheng and Yan Jiefang are at the age where they are growing; seeing other people's children eating big fish and meat, they must feel unbalanced."

Yan Bugui frowned, "That is indeed true! My two sons were clamoring for meat last night, and where would I have the means for that?"

Yi Zhonghai shook his head, looking worried, "This Li Mingyuan hasn't been in the Siheyuan long, and he already took He Yuzhu and his sister in to live there.

On the surface, he says he's taking care of them, but who knows what his intentions are? I heard he often brings women back, deep in the middle of the night, and the commotion is quite something..."

Yan Bugui widened his eyes, "Really?"

"I only heard it too, I can't be sure." Yi Zhonghai acted mysterious, "But for this kind of thing, it's better to believe it exists than to assume it doesn't! Most families in the Siheyuan have children; this kind of atmosphere must not be encouraged."

Yan Bugui nodded repeatedly, "Master Yi is right! This kind of corrupt phenomenon must be firmly resisted!"

Seeing that the timing was right, Yi Zhonghai stood up to leave, "Master Yan, I knew you were the most reasonable. I'm just bringing this up to you first; you can handle it as you see fit."

Yan Bugui patted his chest in assurance, "Master Yi, rest assured, I have it in mind. This kind of corrupt phenomenon cannot be tolerated!"

Yi Zhonghai left Yan Bugui's house satisfied and returned to his own room, a triumphant smile hanging on his lips.

Long Laotai was sitting in his room waiting for news, and seeing him return, she asked impatiently, "How did it go?"

Yi Zhonghai said triumphantly, "Old lady, the seeds have been sown; now we just wait for them to bloom and bear fruit.

Both Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui are interested. In a few days, the whole Siheyuan will know about Li Mingyuan's 'corrupt lifestyle'."

Long Laotai nodded with satisfaction, "Well done. Doesn't this kid like to be arrogant? Once public opinion rises, let's see how he cleans up this mess!"

Yi Zhonghai sneered, "Li Mingyuan, just you wait! You're still too green to fight with me!"

The two looked at each other and smiled, the room filled with the atmosphere of a successful conspiracy.

In the production workshop of the Rolling Mill, machines roared, sparks flew, and it was a scene of great busyness.

Li Mingyuan shuttled between the various workstations, carefully checking the production progress.

"Master Chen, how is the processing of this batch of parts coming along?" Li Mingyuan stopped in front of a modified machine tool and asked.

Chen Dezhong wiped the sweat from his forehead,

"Chief Engineer Li, according to your blueprints, more than thirty pieces have been completed, and the overall speed is within the plan."

Li Mingyuan nodded and continued walking down the line to check other workstations.

Half an hour later, he returned to his office and looked over the progress report with a grave expression.

"No, it's too slow." Li Mingyuan frowned and muttered to himself, "At this speed, it won't meet my plan at all."

He picked up the blueprints and carefully analyzed every production link.

The performance of the modified machine tools had indeed improved quite a bit, but it was far from the efficiency he had expected.

The main problems lie in three areas: insufficient worker proficiency, unsmooth transitions between processes, and production methods that still rely too heavily on manual labor.

Factory Lou Changzhang and Li Shouzheng happened to walk in, and seeing Li Mingyuan's furrowed brow, they couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Li, is there a problem?"

Li Mingyuan looked up, "Elder Li, Factory Lou Changzhang, our production speed is too slow; if we continue like this, we won't be able to complete the task at all."

Factory Lou Changzhang was somewhat puzzled,

"I just looked at the progress chart; at the current speed, producing 500 units a month shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"It's not fast enough!" Li Mingyuan said decisively, his voice revealing a rare sense of urgency,

"We need higher efficiency."