Chapter 39: The Second Master Has Been Beaten into a Big Tree

"Factory Director Yang, I don't think singing 'The Battle of Wits' will be very effective if we want to beat them." Waking up early the next morning, He Yuzhu arrived at Factory Director Yang's office early with dark circles under his eyes.

He had spent the whole night in a daze, his mind filled with the carpenter's wife's face and whether he looked good himself; he truly lacked the courage to continue rehearsing.

"Oh? Do you have any good ideas?" Factory Director Yang's tone was full of anticipation; after all, He Yuzhu sang 'The Battle of Wits' so well.

"I do. Have you ever heard of 'shouting the mic'?" He Yuzhu smiled mysteriously.

"Shout... shouting to sell?" Factory Director Yang was taken aback, thinking it was those unique ways of hawking wares on the streets and alleys, like the masters who sharpen scissors and kitchen knives, or those selling cloth scraps, which could indeed be turned into little ditties to sing.

But could one rely on this to compete with the comrades from the Cultural Work Department?

"Right! Shouting the mic! Shall I perform a segment for you? There's even a dance to go with it, just watch." Seeing a glimmer of hope, He Yuzhu smiled; as long as he could escape the clutches of Wang Danyang, he was willing to do anything.

"Come, come, come. What you're saying is quite novel; I must take a good look." Factory Director Yang sat up straight, picked up his tea mug, gestured, and stared unblinkingly at He Yuzhu while taking a sip of water.

"Boom—thunder, oh boom—thunder, reform and opening up, swinging the big hammer, boom—thunder..." While singing, He Yuzhu began to dance the classic dance of Nikolai Zhaosi.

"Pfft... Ouch, hiss, cough, cough, cough, cough." Factory Director Yang sprayed out a mouthful of tea, his face turning beet red, which gave He Yuzhu a fright.

"Factory Director, are you alright? How was it? Does this work?"

"Get out! Cough, cough, you get out of here, what kind of nonsense is this, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, uh, cough!" Upon hearing He Yuzhu's words, Factory Director Yang's anger surged uncontrollably, and he threw his tea mug directly at He Yuzhu, who caught it nimbly.

"Please don't be angry; if you don't like this one, I have others." He Yuzhu thought of Wang Danyang, gathered his courage, scratched his head, and continued.

Carefully placing the tea mug to the side, He Yuzhu cleared his throat and continued to sing: "OK, welcome to the Phoenix Dances in the Nine Heavens dance disc, mmm-huh-mmm-huh... hey, hey, what are you doing, ouch..."

As he was humming and twisting his body, He Yuzhu suddenly discovered that Factory Director Yang had picked up a stool and was walking toward him, which gave him a start. Didn't people in the future quite like this? Was such a big reaction necessary?

Sigh, He Yuzhu, fleeing in a panic, looked at the door of the rehearsal room, his heart filled with despair...

If he had known, he would have learned a few more songs. Now it was too late; he only remembered these things he had scrolled through on short-video apps. It looked like Factory Director Yang wasn't too satisfied...

"He Yuzhu, why are you not coming in? Do you have any organizational discipline?" After a while, Wang Danyang's nasal voice came from inside, and He Yuzhu walked in helplessly.

A day of painful rehearsal made He Yuzhu truly feel like going crazy.

Never mind the looks, the key was this accent...

This was supposed to be 'The Battle of Wits'? It would be a miracle if people didn't laugh at them. Forget it, it would be over after the performance tomorrow anyway; just endure it.

The music for the end of the shift rang out, and He Yuzhu immediately stopped his mouth and ran to the side to drink water. Day after day, his throat was almost hoarse.

"Comrade He Yuzhu, I feel like we still need to practice a bit more; why don't we go back a little later?" Wang Danyang looked dissatisfied. This He Yuzhu, not only did he never look at her during rehearsals, but he wasn't proactive at all—his ideological awareness was problematic!

"Cough, cough, stop practicing. You should practice your Mandarin instead; practicing the singing is no longer of much use. I have something else to do, so I have to head back first." He Yuzhu looked at the other rehearsing colleague who was snickering and shook his head speechlessly.

With just these three going on stage, people would laugh their teeth out.

"What could be more important than the Cultural Work Department's gala?" Wang Danyang wouldn't let He Yuzhu go and blocked his path.

He Yuzhu lowered his head to look at her face, immediately took a deep breath, turned his head away, and began to stammer with sweat on his forehead.

"That... I, um, right, our courtyard's Second Master, and our factory's projectionist Xu Damao, are both injured, and I have to go to the Hospital to see them." He Yuzhu was soon covered in sweat, but luckily his brain wasn't slow, and he thought of an excuse immediately.

"Really?"

"Really, I swear. Xu Damao and I are childhood friends; we are incredibly close, even closer than brothers-in-law. As for the Second Master, let's not even mention it; anyway, we are just extremely close. You see, I have no energy for rehearsal because I'm worried about this. I'm sorry, I'll be going now." After explaining, He Yuzhu ignored whatever else Wang Danyang wanted to say and walked quickly toward the outside with an urgent look.

Mounting his bicycle, He Yuzhu felt his mood relax.

Visit Xu Damao? Like hell!

"Comrade He Yuzhu, aren't you in a hurry? Why are you riding so slowly?" Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind. He Yuzhu panicked, the handlebars wobbled, and he almost dove headfirst into a small fruit stall nearby, nearly knocking over the basket.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing!" The stall owner hurriedly steadied the basket filled with apples and began to complain.

If these apples were bruised, no one would want them. He had worked hard to keep them from autumn until now, just to make some money for the New Year.

"I'll buy, I'll buy some apples." Wiping his sweat, he turned his head to look at the persistent Wang Danyang, and He Yuzhu had no choice but to buy a small bag of apples, which made the stall owner very happy.

"No, Wang Danyang, why are you following me?" He Yuzhu looked back at Wang Danyang, who was constantly following him, while riding his bike, looking completely depressed.

"My home is right next to the Hospital; it's on the way."

Fine. He Yuzhu turned his head and accelerated his riding speed.

Sure enough, watching He Yuzhu ride into the Hospital, Wang Danyang stopped her bike and turned toward a small path nearby.

Since he was already here, He Yuzhu locked his bike, threaded a thin iron chain through the tire, and tied it to a tree before he felt at ease carrying the apples inside.

A bicycle was an expensive item; if it were lost, his heart would truly ache, even though he hadn't spent his own money to buy it.

"Check in!"

"Congratulations on your successful check-in. You have received high-purity medical alcohol 10L x 10."

Looking at the ten large bottles in his space, He Yuzhu shook his head; there was never anything good.

Arriving at the nurses' station, He Yuzhu knocked on the table and asked politely, "Comrade, may I ask which ward Xu Damao and Liu Haizhong are in?"

The nurse at the station looked at He Yuzhu, flipped through the notebook beside her, and asked, "What are you to them?"

"A neighbor, here to visit."

"They are both in the special care ward on the east side, the second room on the right."

"Thank you, angel sister, have an apple." He Yuzhu took out a large one and placed it on the nurse's desk. His playful remark made the young nurse giggle, and when she looked up again, He Yuzhu had already walked away.

The nurse touched her own round face and couldn't help but be dazed...

Pushing open the door, he saw Xu Damao in a hospital gown lying on the bed near the door, with a cloth covering his head, not knowing what he was doing.

In the inner bed, the Second Master was wearing a hospital gown with an oxygen tube inserted, his head wrapped like a rice dumpling, lying on the bed without moving, while the Second Mistress sat to the side, constantly wiping away tears.

"Zhuzi? Why are you here?" The Second Mistress looked up and stood up.

He Yuzhu smiled: "I came to see the Second Master. How is he?" As he spoke, He Yuzhu walked toward the inside and casually patted Xu Damao's upturned rear end: "What are you doing?"

"Ow!" Xu Damao let out a miserable shriek, revealed his head from under the cloth, and looked at He Yuzhu with fear.

He Yuzhu immediately remembered the injury he had sustained, nodded awkwardly, and walked quickly to the Second Master's side.

He put down the fruit and carefully observed the Second Master.

"You shouldn't have brought anything when you came. Sigh, take it back when you leave. Your Second Master, wuwu, he won't be able to eat it anymore." The Second Mistress started crying as she spoke.

"Ah? What's wrong with the Second Master?" He Yuzhu was stunned. What did she mean by he wouldn't be able to eat it anymore?

"Waaah, your Second Uncle, he was beaten into a big tree by that god-forsaken wretch, waaah, waaah." The Second Aunt finally could not hold it in anymore and burst into loud sobs.

"A, a big tree?" He Yuzhu was momentarily confused; wasn't this a perfectly fine person?

How did he turn into a plant?