Chapter 2478: Huddling for Warmth

At the intersection, the overcast sky suddenly seemed to be torn open by an invisible giant hand. The gap grew larger and larger, and the azure sky stretched across the horizon like a bridge.

Golden morning rays shot out from the seam one after another, piercing straight through the thick clouds and spilling onto the earth. It was just like that, caught off guard, the entire world was illuminated in that instant.

Beijing, which had been shrouded in gloom and oppression for several days, was instantly enveloped in golden light. Streets, houses, trees—everything was dyed in a layer of faint gold.

Everyone looked up at the sky. The oppressive mood was illuminated by this golden light, leaving nowhere to hide, and the haze in their hearts dissipated without a trace. Smiles appeared on their faces, and their moods became relaxed accordingly.

Hu Guanghui withdrew his gaze, looked at the Audi 100 parked on the side of the road, and then looked at the Mercedes-Benz parked not far away. A faint smile appeared on his face as he said softly: "Today, we are blessed by Factory Manager Zhou, having the opportunity to sit in this Mercedes."

Zhou Andong muttered something under his breath that no one could hear clearly. Immediately after, his face was filled with smiles, and he made a very enthusiastic gesture of invitation.

"Since you, leader, don't mind and are willing to condescend to sit in my car, then of course I warmly welcome you!"

Wang Jianmin, who was on the side, also laughed and teased: "Mayor, you are borrowing the light of Factory Manager Zhou. As for me, I can only borrow your light to experience what it feels like to sit in this Mercedes."

Gu Bing, the little transparent, was dumbfounded. *Damn it, you guys are sitting in Zhou Dongzi's car, whose car am I supposed to sit in? *

Zhou Andong curled his lips, rolled his eyes secretly, and turned to look at the three principals. With a serious face, he gave instructions: "Today's performance is canceled. We will hold a gala during National Day or New Year's Day, and invite all the staff to watch then."

"Now, hurry up and arrange for people to go door-to-door for visits. There are two main tasks: first, to soothe everyone's emotions and put them at ease. Second, to re-examine the housing situation and see if there are any dangerous houses that were missed before. We must ensure there are no omissions."

"The reconstruction application will definitely be approved today. Once I go back, I will immediately contact Daguang and have them start repairs on the staff dormitories tomorrow. No matter what, we must ensure these houses can hold on for another two years. Once the new dormitory building is built, everyone will be able to move in."

"Like this!" Yan Minru said to Ma Qingmin and Liu Bo: "Leave the matter here to you. After all, the houses that collapsed today were all dormitories for our primary school department, and those buried inside were also staff and family members from the primary school department. As the principal, I must go to the hospital to keep watch."

"Fine!" Zhou Andong looked at Ma Qingmin and Liu Bo: "Leave it here to you. You must find professional personnel to assist in the survey. There must not be the slightest omission. Such things must never happen again. If it happens again, you can roll up your bedding and leave, and I won't have the face to be this factory manager anymore."

"Factory Manager!" Ma Qingmin patted his chest with a *thump-thump* sound, setting a military pledge: "Factory Manager, don't worry, I will definitely handle this matter beautifully. Before the new dormitory building is built and the staff move in, I will be responsible for any problems with these old dormitories."

"And me!" Liu Bo's voice was low and firm, his eyes serious: "I will also be responsible to the end."

"Do you look down on this old woman?" Yan Minru suddenly laughed, her smile revealing a sense of open-mindedness: "Our three generations—old, middle-aged, and young—have always huddled together for warmth and advanced or retreated together. Don't even think about leaving this old woman behind."

Listening to Yan Minru's words, Zhou Andong felt moved as he turned and walked toward the car not far away. In this era, the class sentiment between people was still very deep. In the face of major issues, most people were very responsible.

It was not like later generations, where people believed in "doing more leads to more mistakes, doing nothing leads to no mistakes," with many just muddling along, holding positions without doing their jobs. Especially for work that required taking responsibility, people would avoid it if they could. If they couldn't avoid it, they would definitely think of a way out beforehand, and would never be as eager to take responsibility as they were now.

"Zhou Dongzi!" Gu Bing chased after him: "Those two big shots are sitting in your car, what about me?"

"They are sitting in my car, so go sit in their car," Zhou Andong said irritably: "Getting to sit in the Beijing No. 2 car once is enough for you to brag about for two months."

Gu Bing curled his lips: "When I was a kid, I even sat in the No. 95 car. The Beijing No. 2 car is nothing."

Zhou Andong sneered: "You're awesome. If you're a man, don't sit in it."

"If I don't sit in it, then..." Gu Bing swallowed the rest of his words, then stiffened his neck: "Who do you think you are? Why should I listen to you just because you say don't sit?"

After speaking, Gu Bing walked toward the Beijing No. 2 car, opened the door, and got in.

Watching that idiot get in the car, Zhou Andong shook his head helplessly and walked to his own car. Hu Guanghui and Wang Jianmin had already gotten in, so Zhou Andong could only sit in the passenger seat.

"Wentian, go to Qinghe Hospital first, then to the factory hospital."

Wang Jianmin looked at Zhou Andong's soaked clothes: "Factory Manager, find a shopping mall first and buy some clothes to change into. You'll easily catch a cold like this."

Zhou Andong raised his wrist to check the time. It wasn't even seven o'clock yet: "At this hour, the malls aren't open yet. Let's go to the hospital first, then we'll see."

"Why didn't you wear a raincoat?" Wang Jianmin said: "Jinshiguang has clothes, and it's not far from here. Let's go there first."

Zhou Andong did not object. His clothes were soaked and sticking to his body, which was indeed very uncomfortable: "Fine, I haven't been there yet anyway. I'll take this opportunity to have a look."

Wang Jianmin started the car and drove slowly toward the Jinshiguang Fashion Factory.

Wang Jianmin took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit one for Hu Guanghui first, and then tossed one to Zhou Andong.

"Factory Manager Zhou!" Wang Jianmin took out his lighter, lit one for himself, took a puff, and continued: "Those words Yan Minru used to slander Shi Guoqiang—you taught her those, didn't you?"

"Leader!" Zhou Andong was about to light his cigarette when he heard Wang Jianmin's words and immediately protested: "You can't just say things like that. I, Zhou Andong, am such a simple person, doing things openly and honestly. How could I possibly incite someone to slander a national cadre?"

Zhou Andong turned his body to look at Wang Jianmin in the back, his tone becoming increasingly dissatisfied: "Besides, Principal Yan is over seventy years old. The old lady is already a 'spirit' (wise/clever). Do you really think that old lady is someone I can incite?"

Wang Jianmin: "..."

Hu Guanghui's mouth twitched: "Factory Manager Zhou, do you think Shi Guoqiang would really say such things?"

"That's too believable!" Zhou Andong sat up straight and said lazily: "Principal Yan is so old and has taught for a lifetime. How could she possibly slander Shi Guoqiang with lies?"

Zhou Andong let out a long sigh: "I know that you leaders don't look good because Shi Guoqiang said those things, and you want to hide it. But you can't protect a degenerate like Shi Guoqiang for the sake of face, keeping him in our organization to harm the suffering masses, right?"

Hu Guanghui: "..."

"It's not that we want to protect Shi Guoqiang," Wang Jianmin took over the conversation: "You have to know, besides Yan Minru, over a dozen school leaders came out to testify against Shi Guoqiang."