Chapter 32: What? He Yuzhu Got Fired?

After He Yuzhu found Gao Yue, Gao Yue hurriedly asked, "Zhuzi, what did Dean Jiang want with you?"

"Guess what, Xiao Yue," He Yuzhu said with a teasing smile, looking at Gao Yue.

"You dead Zhuzi, your skin's itchy again, huh? Want me, your grandaunt, to scratch it for you?" Saying this, Gao Yue reached her hand toward He Yuzhu's waist.

"No, no, Xiao Yue, look what this is," He Yuzhu said, quickly stopping Gao Yue, and waved the test paper and admission notice in front of her.

Seeing the admission notice, Gao Yue happily said, "You passed, Zhuzi? Is this... your test paper?"

Saying this, Gao Yue took He Yuzhu's admission notice and test paper, opened the notice to confirm the name inside was indeed He Yuzhu, then handed the notice back to him.

Then she opened He Yuzhu's test paper and said, "How did this test paper end up in your hands, Zhuzi?" After seeing the comment, she said, "Zhuzi, who wrote this?"

"You guess?" He Yuzhu said. "He Yuzhu, looks like I really need to give you a good scratch," Gao Yue made a move to twist He Yuzhu.

"Xiao Yue, Xiao Yue, your grandaunt, let me tell you, this comment was written by that person from the Government Affairs Council," He Yuzhu said, seeing Gao Yue about to twist him, he quickly stepped back two steps.

"What? That person from the Government Affairs Council wrote it? You wouldn't lie to me, would you, He Yuzhu?" Gao Yue looked at He Yuzhu with a doubtful gaze.

"Xiao Yue, do you think I'd lie to you? It really was written by that person from the Government Affairs Council; Dean Jiang told me himself," He Yuzhu said.

"Dean Jiang said it? Then it's definitely true, Zhuzi, you're amazing," Gao Yue said, finishing, and looked happily at He Yuzhu.

"This isn't just thanks to your good teaching, Xiao Yue; from now on this will be a family heirloom of our old He family, you'd better keep it safe, Xiao Yue," He Yuzhu said, smiling at Gao Yue.

Hearing He Yuzhu's words, Gao Yue's face turned red; she said, "Pah, who cares about your old He family," rolled up the test paper, with no intention of giving it back to He Yuzhu.

Then she said to He Yuzhu, "Come on, your grandaunt's in a good mood today; I'll personally take you to the admissions office to register."

After the two arrived at the admissions office, they handed the admission notice to the admissions teacher, who asked He Yuzhu, "Are you still working or studying elsewhere?"

"I'm still working at Lou's Yagangchang, what's up, teacher?" After saying this, He Yuzhu looked at the admissions teacher.

The admissions teacher handed He Yuzhu's admission notice back to him and said, "Then you need to go handle your resignation, then transfer your affiliation to our school; otherwise we can't receive your file and won't be able to process your enrollment."

He Yuzhu heard the admissions teacher's words, slapped his forehead, and said, "How did I forget this? Sorry for the trouble, teacher."

He Yuzhu and the two left the admissions office; He Yuzhu said, "Xiao Yue, I'll send you back to the dormitory, then I'll go to the steel mill to handle the paperwork."

"You don't need to send me; I can go back on my own. Hurry up and go—finish early so you can complete the enrollment procedures," Gao Yue said, looking at He Yuzhu.

"It's fine, it's not a big deal; I'll see you off." After He Yuzhu escorted Gao Yue to the dormitory, he found a bicycle and rode to the steel mill.

Steel Mill Cafeteria Office

He Yuzhu told Director Wu about the matter, then handed the admission notice to Director Wu, saying, "Director Wu, I'm really grateful for your care during this period."

"Zhuzi, you're not being overly polite, are you? If word gets out, Old Wu will have produced a college student under me, and I'll gain some face too; besides, looking after you isn't too much, after all I already promised Old He." Director Wu finished speaking and laughed.

Then he patted He Yuzhu's shoulder and said, "Zhuzi, after graduating from university you'll basically be a cadre; you can't forget your Uncle Wu."

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "That's for sure; I might forget anyone else, but I could never forget you, Uncle Wu."

After exchanging more pleasantries with Director Wu, Director Wu said, "Come on, I'll take you to see Lou Dong." Saying that, the two left the cafeteria office and headed toward the office building.

The two arrived at Lou Dong's office; after receiving the admission notice He Yuzhu handed over, Lou Dong said, "Zhuzi, the notice came down so quickly? Weren't you just saying this morning there was still one exam today?"

"That's how it is, Lou Dong," then He Yuzhu explained the situation, but did not mention the test paper.

After hearing He Yuzhu finish, Lou Dong said, "I didn't expect this, Zhuzi; you still have this ability." He then picked up a pen, swiftly wrote something on a sheet of paper, handed it to He Yuzhu, and said, "Since you've gotten into college, as your uncle-in-law I ought to show something; take this money—relying solely on the school's subsidies definitely won't be enough for you and Rainwater's future livelihood."

He Yuzhu took the paper Lou Dong handed over, looked at it, and said, "Lou Dong, this won't do; it's too much for me."

Before He Yuzhu could finish, Lou Dong interrupted, "All right, Zhuzi, that's it; stop being polite. Director Wu, take Zhuzi to the finance office to get the money."

He Yuzhu could only thank Lou Dong again; the two left the office, and Director Wu said to He Yuzhu, "Zhuzi, you're being unfair—your relationship with Lou Dong, you haven't told your uncle?"

"Oh come on, Director Wu," He Yuzhu said, then briefly explained yesterday's affair of going to find Tan Yajing to get a proof letter; hearing this, Director Wu thought to himself, "Good thing I didn't cause trouble for He Yuzhu over that small matter back then."

After leaving the finance office, the two had He Yuzhu's hand with an extra eight hundred yuan; it's clear Lou Dong's investment in He Yuzhu is not small—after all, this is two years of He Yuzhu's salary, but to Lou Dong it's just a drop in the bucket.

After leaving the finance section, Director Wu again took He Yuzhu to the personnel section to retrieve the file; once the matter was settled it was already noon. Leaving the office building, Director Wu pulled He Yuzhu along, insisting on treating him to a meal; He Yuzhu tried to decline but had to agree.

The two didn't go back to the steel mill cafeteria market; instead they went out and found a small restaurant. Director Wu still wanted to have a few drinks with He Yuzhu, but He Yuzhu refused, saying he still had paperwork to finish in the afternoon.

Waiting until afternoon, He Yuzhu brought his file to Huaxia University; seeing his student ID and the school emblem belonging to him in his hand, He Yuzhu felt his starting point had just begun.

When He Yuzhu had just left Huaxia University and arrived at Wang Youde's home, the courtyard house was already in an uproar; several households in the courtyard, all working at the steel mill, didn't know who had said that He Yuzhu had been fired.

They were gathered in twos and threes discussing the matter of He Yuzhu being fired; actually this rumor was spread by Jia Dongxu. At noon today, when Jia Dongxu was getting his meal, he vaguely heard people in line ahead whispering, "If He Yuzhu leaves, the second cafeteria will have no head chef." Jia Dongxu didn't catch the details, but he clearly heard that He Yuzhu had left and the second cafeteria had no head chef.

Jia Dongxu thus concluded He Yuzhu had been fired—otherwise why would a perfectly good head chef just quit? Jia Dongxu still believed the previous incident was He Yuzhu's doing, but lacking evidence he couldn't act on it. Lately he's been thinking how to trip up He Yuzhu; as the saying goes, when you want to sleep, someone brings you a pillow.

Jia Dongxu returned to the cafeteria and said to another apprentice, "Li Zi, have you heard? The head chef of the second cafeteria, He Yuzhu, has been fired."

Upon hearing this, Li Zi said, "Who did you hear this from, Dongxu? This can't be baseless rumor; if it's not true, you'd better watch out—He Yuzhu might come after you."

"It's not me saying it; I just went to the second cafeteria to eat, and I heard them say it," Jia Dongxu replied.

Thus the rumor of He Yuzhu's dismissal spread, leading to the scene just now: seeing He Yuzhu's door always locked, everyone in the courtyard went home to attend to their own affairs.

However, after dinner tonight, the number of people gathering in the courtyard to chat increased considerably.