Chapter 48: Kind Words Build Kind Bonds, Harsh Words Wound the Heart

He Yuzhu shook his head; facing these innocent children, he felt fear from the bottom of his heart.

They were hot-blooded, impulsive, and fanatical, looking exactly like the "Ai Kun" of later generations; not only were they not afraid of trouble, they stirred it up everywhere.

Which Kun? Naturally, it's the "Mixing Origin Thunderbolt Hand" Cheng Kun; what are you thinking about, you little hater?

Looking at the messy courtyard, He Yuzhu cleaned it up in silence.

"Zhuzi, Zhuzi, have they all left?" First Elder's wife and the others poked their heads out from the room and asked quietly.

These young students had all come to the courtyard together, which had scared them to death, making them hide in their rooms and pray to heaven and earth.

Especially the Third Elder's family; his family is all about "knowledge," so they are the easiest to get "ah-ha-ed."

"They're gone, First Elder's wife, you can put your heart at ease; they probably won't come back again," He Yuzhu said, looking up with a smile.

"Phew, thank heavens, that's good, that's good. Why are you all just standing there? Come out and help, everyone," First Elder's wife let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly called for the others to come out and help clean up.

Xiao Dang and Huai Hua also ran out shouting; there was still plenty of food on the table, and they had long been drooling with greed.

He Yuzhu took one look and thought, fine, no need to clean up; he distributed the leftovers and the remaining candies to everyone. No one was picky—in this day and age, having food was enough, and besides, leftovers from children weren't bad.

Soon, the courtyard was swept clean, and the plates and bowls were washed by everyone. He Yuzhu carefully carried them back into his room.

Lying on the bed, the corners of He Yuzhu's mouth curled up. Little things, you want to fight me? Too green.

As he thought, sleepiness welled up; He Yuzhu yawned and slowly closed his eyes.

Wait, no, I haven't washed my feet yet. When was the last time I washed them? It's been half a month, right? Maybe I'll wash them tomorrow; I'm so sleepy.

Two little figures fought in He Yuzhu's head, and in the end, the towering little lazy person defeated the ant-sized diligent person.

It must be the influence of the original body, otherwise how could I be so lazy...

Then, he drifted into dreamland.

On the other side, Jia Geng stared blankly at Wang Xiumei, who had already walked away. His mind was as complex as the second-to-last meme on your phone, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.

He could only return to First Elder's room with his heart pounding, messily take off his clothes, wash up, and lie on the bed; tonight, he was destined to be unable to sleep.

Early the next morning, He Yuzhu yawned, rubbed his eyes, and climbed out of bed. He put on his clothes blankly, picked up his toothbrush, and went to the courtyard to wash up.

"Look! This is the Advanced Individual He. I told you such an advanced person would definitely get up early. Everyone, applaud!" Wang Xiumei's voice suddenly arrived. He Yuzhu shivered violently and opened his eyes.

He saw Wang Xiumei standing in his courtyard with a dozen or so classmates around her age. There was still a bit of dew and frost on their heads, and they were looking at him with smiles while applauding.

"Huh? *Cough, cough*, Student Wang Xiumei, why are you here so early?" He Yuzhu hurriedly rinsed his mouth, looking anxious. Good heavens, they wouldn't have gotten addicted to sponging off his food, would they?

"Haha, it's like this: we are organizing an activity today, so we came to find Jia Geng. By the way, I brought a few classmates who didn't have a chance to see you, Advanced Individual He, yesterday to learn from you." Wang Xiumei gathered a lock of her hair, her voice clear and crisp.

Only then did He Yuzhu set his mind at ease and hurriedly invited everyone into the room.

"Come, come, come, it's too cold outside. Come in first, and I'll get some badges for these new classmates."

Everyone entered the room and stood honestly in place, looking at the portraits covering the walls with expressions of worship.

"Don't just stand there like fools, pour your own water from the thermos. I'll tidy up the quilt; I didn't have time earlier, don't laugh at me." He Yuzhu took a plate of peanuts and candies out of the cupboard, placed them on the table, opened the window to let in some fresh air, and tidied up on his own.

Normally, he was too lazy to fold the quilt, as no one ever came to his room, and he spent his days with his head full of famous paintings and calligraphy—where would he find the time for this?

But today was different; didn't he hear them call him an "Advanced Individual"?

Soon, the sheet was pulled straight and the pillow was placed correctly; He Yuzhu folded the quilt into a standard "tofu block," which made Wang Xiumei and the others even more envious, secretly sighing that He Yuzhu was indeed an Advanced Individual.

"Have you all eaten? I'll go call Jia Geng," He Yuzhu asked. Seeing that everyone looked a bit embarrassed, he understood and walked out.

He grabbed Jia Geng, who was sleeping soundly, pulled him up, and incidentally gave him some money to go buy breakfast.

Just like that, Jia Geng muddled through putting on his clothes—even buttoning them wrong—and with sleep in his eyes, he bought back meat pies, fried dough sticks, and mung bean milk.

"Student Jia Geng, I have to criticize you. You are so close to Advanced Individual He, you must learn more from him. You can't even manage your own personal hygiene; if you are a mess yourself, how can you carry the banner of 'ah-ha'?" Wang Xiumei looked serious as she criticized the dazed Jia Geng, then re-buttoned his incorrectly fastened buttons and patted his shoulder earnestly.

He Yuzhu stood to the side, nodding in total agreement and echoing her words.

Jia Geng rolled his eyes at them speechlessly and lowered his gaze.

Learn from He Yuzhu? Learn what? To not shave his beard or wash his feet?

Soon, they devoured the breakfast Jia Geng had bought for several people like wolves and tigers, thanked He Yuzhu respectfully, and left his room.

"Jia Geng, what I told you yesterday, have you considered it?" Wang Xiumei surrounded Jia Geng with the others and asked in a low voice.

"Um, that, this, I, hey, hey, hey, don't twist my ear! That... fine, I agree, is that enough?" Jia Geng wanted to push back, but soon surrendered to Wang Xiumei's Martial Arts.

Jia Geng thought for a moment, went back into the room, took out all his money, stuffed it into his inner pocket, and then disappeared from the Siheyuan with the others.

By the time He Yuzhu came out, they were already nowhere to be seen.

He Yuzhu wrapped his scarf around his neck, hunched his shoulders, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and walked toward the Rolling Mill. There was a leadership meeting at the factory today, and he had to be there because everyone was waiting to eat the lunch he cooked.

In reality, many of the dishes the leaders ate now were cooked by Ma Hua, with him at most offering a pointer or two from the side.

But as long as he was there, Ma Hua had confidence, and the food tasted better.

He wasn't there for the meetings, he wasn't there for the meals, but the cooking was all his—this Deputy Director position of his was truly miserable.

However, not attending meetings had its benefits, because there was nothing for him to do anyway.

It was all because of the "Great Ah-ha Leap Ah-ha Forward" in recent years, which led to a decline in steel production, and their Rolling Mill was just suffering the consequences.

Soon the day passed, and He Yuzhu took a chicken and hurried to the Big Leader's house.

"Why are you here again? Didn't I tell you to come less often?" The Big Leader scolded He Yuzhu with a sour expression.

He Yuzhu wasn't angry; he knew the Big Leader was looking out for him, telling him to avoid suspicion. But the more it was like this, the higher his impression score in the Big Leader's heart became with every visit.

"It's fine, I'm just a cook, who's going to make things difficult for me? Haha, you're just overthinking it." He Yuzhu skillfully pushed open the door and entered the kitchen. His arrival made the Leader's wife happy, as the chef had resigned and she didn't know how to cook...

"Zhuzi, listen to me, don't come again in the future. You are so simple-minded, you will suffer for it!" The Big Leader followed He Yuzhu into the kitchen and said earnestly.

He Yuzhu turned his head, wiped his dry eyes, blinked hard, quickly recalled the tragic experiences of his two lives, squeezed out a few tears, and looked at the Big Leader with a wronged expression: "I just want to cook you a good meal. They are going too far, pushing everything onto you. The production problem is clearly..."

"Shut up! Is that something you can just say? You, oh you... fine, hurry up and cook. Leave quickly when you're done. I understand your heart, but I cannot implicate you." The Big Leader sighed, his tone full of helplessness.

"It's fine, at worst, I'll just stop being this Deputy Director and be your personal cook."

"Are you truly not afraid?"

"Not afraid!"

"Good, then come over tomorrow morning. There are a few Subei comrades coming over; you prepare a meal for them and accompany them for some drinks while you're at it. My body can't keep up with them anymore."

"I guarantee I will complete the mission!"

After finishing the cooking, He Yuzhu smilingly declined the offer from the Big Leader's wife to eat together and took his leave.

Once He Yuzhu had left, the Big Leader put down his chopsticks, shook his head with a smile, and said, "This kid, his acting is too poor. I almost couldn't keep a straight face, haha."

"What acting? That was a genuine outpouring of emotion. It's just you who always thinks of people's hearts as so complicated." The Big Leader's wife rolled her eyes at him.

"You, you don't understand; that's a woman's perspective."

"Fine, fine, fine, you understand. Have you heard this saying?"

"What saying?"

"Kind words forge kind bonds, while harsh words wound the heart. It's fine to say it behind his back, but you must never wound the heart of Zhuzi to his face."