Chapter 116

"Deputy Factory Director Li, hurry and call an ambulance!" a voice came from upstairs.

"I already called it, the ambulance is already here," Li Huaide shouted from downstairs, while simultaneously noting the person who spoke.

"Before, you called me Deputy Factory Director Li, and I didn't mind. Now that Old Yang is in this state, you still call me Deputy Factory Director Li? Wasn't Old Yang's beating in vain?" Li Huaide thought to himself.

Ambulances already existed at this time, of course, but only for the leadership class. If ordinary people wanted to call an ambulance, there was no chance; the other side would just hit you with, "According to regulations, your rank isn't high enough," and shut you down completely.

After the Security Section carried Factory Director Yang downstairs, Li Huaide immediately went over to look. He saw the director covered in blood, breathing his last.

"Old Yang, how are you?" Li Huaide asked with a look of anxiety.

By now, Factory Director Yang was already unconscious and couldn't answer Li Huaide at all.

At this moment, the doctor and nurse from the ambulance pushed through the crowd. After a brief check, the doctor said urgently, "Leaders, please clear a path! The patient is seriously injured and needs surgery immediately."

Upon hearing this, Li Huaide and the others hurried to clear a path. The nurse had people lift the director into the ambulance, which sped off toward the hospital.

Just as everyone was letting out a sigh of relief, the ambulance, having not gone far, plunged headfirst into a large pit about five meters long, wide, and deep.

"It's over!" Li Huaide closed his eyes and thought to himself. He no longer knew whether to be happy or worried.

"Damn it, this road was fine, where did this pit come from? I've been driving this way for years and never saw any collapse. Why did it have to collapse today?" someone said in disbelief.

"It's too late for that, hurry and save them!" another shouted.

Because the pit was so deep, the ambulance had flipped over inside. The Security Section had no tools and couldn't pull it out, so they had to go down first to see if anyone was still alive and drag the survivors out.

Seeing that this wasn't working, Li Huaide hurriedly called for a crane and reported the incident.

This incident was too coincidental; it was exactly the same as what happened to Factory Director Yang over a month ago. A month ago, he had also fallen into a pit like this, and now, it was the same again.

Unaccountably, Li Huaide and the others shivered.

Li Huaide wasn't a fool who understood nothing. He knew this kind of large pit couldn't possibly be a cave-in; there were no tunnels, basements, or underground rivers below. How could it collapse?

More importantly, why didn't it collapse sooner or later, but exactly at this time? The key was that the pit was perfectly square; one look and you knew it was man-made, not natural.

This clearly showed someone was targeting Factory Director Yang.

Li Huaide was also a bit scared and decided to stay away from Factory Director Yang in the future. It was too terrifying. He had taken this same road back, and he was in a car too. If it had collapsed then, he would have been the one falling in.

Also, at home, if it weren't for someone coming to pay their respects and him drinking a little with them out of courtesy, he probably would have been crushed to death by Factory Director Yang.

This was naturally He Yuzhu's doing; he was becoming increasingly adept at these kinds of things.

As for whether it would implicate others?

He Yuzhu would say that when an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent; before a flash flood, no drop of water thinks it is guilty.

People say this era is good, but He Yuzhu didn't see what was good about it—one wrong word could cost you your life.

The breeze does not know how to read, so why bother flipping through books?

Those who understand, understand. Everything is constantly cycling through history, and the only lesson people learn from history is that humanity never learns from history.

He Yuzhu believed that even if Factory Director Yang didn't kick the bucket this time, he would be crippled. The rest would be left to fate; sometimes, living is harder than dying.

Knowing that a lockdown would surely follow, He Yuzhu left silently and returned to his home just as quietly.

As expected, in the middle of the night, the street where He Yuzhu lived was placed under lockdown. With such a major incident, the authorities were bound to send professionals to investigate.

However, no matter how professional they were, it was useless; they couldn't possibly investigate such a supernatural event.

He Yuzhu slept comfortably until dawn, but Li Huaide and the others didn't dare sleep. First, they were afraid their own buildings would collapse and leave them half-dead;

Second, the authorities had sent people to investigate, and Li Huaide and the other leaders had to cooperate.

Even if they didn't have to cooperate, they didn't dare live in the buildings anymore. Li Huaide made a decision: no more living in buildings; he would live in a single-story house and get himself a two-courtyard Siheyuan to live in.

It wasn't that Li Huaide couldn't get a three or four-courtyard Siheyuan, but that would be too flashy. At a time like this, it was best to keep a low profile.

Those were things for the future. For now, Li Huaide had to stay at the Zhaodaisuo. He now had psychological trauma and didn't dare live in a building. Fortunately, the Zhaodaisuo had single-story rooms, and after being investigated, Li Huaide made do for the night in one.

Early the next morning, He Yuzhu arrived at the kitchen happily and still gave Liu Lan four eggs, though this time he didn't let her leave fully loaded.

The factory had established an investigation team again, and everyone from Li Huaide down to the temporary workers had to cooperate fully. He Yuzhu didn't dare mess around at a time like this.

"Eat them all, don't leave anything behind," He Yuzhu said to Liu Lan.

Liu Lan also knew the severity of the situation. If the investigation team searched her and found eggs in her pocket, it would be trouble.

Everyone else was eating chaff and vegetables; even the leaders weren't extravagant enough to eat three or four eggs in the morning. How could a kitchen staff member eat so many?

By then, even a small thing would become a big issue.

Liu Lan ate the eggs in a few bites and threw the shells directly into the stove to burn.

He Yuzhu also went to work honestly—not because he was afraid, but because there was no need to invite trouble.

While He Yuzhu was teaching Ma Hua, Pangzi, and Liu Lan culinary skills, Li Huaide wandered into the kitchen. After taking a look around, he went to stroll through other departments.

Li Huaide didn't dare work in the office building anymore, fearing he would follow in Factory Director Yang's footsteps. Whether falling down to crush someone or being crushed by someone, neither was a good thing.

Li Huaide planned to work in a single-story house, though he hadn't considered that even a single-story house could collapse.

"Bamboo, have you heard? Last night, Factory Director Yang's house collapsed, falling from the third floor to the second. The second floor is where Factory Director Li lives. Luckily, he wasn't in the bedroom, otherwise, if he had been hit, he'd be dead or crippled," Liu Lan said mysteriously after finishing her work.

"What the hell? The director's house collapsed and fell from the third to the second floor? Aren't the buildings leaders live in supposed to be sturdy? How could something like this happen?" He Yuzhu said, pretending to be surprised.

"Who knows," Liu Lan said.

"Could it be that they cut corners and used inferior materials when building it?" Ma Hua said. "Impossible, who would dare cut corners when building for leaders? That's like lighting a lantern in a latrine—looking for death," Pangzi said.

Everyone started discussing it. He Yuzhu listened for a long time, but no one hit the mark—no one said how the director was, whether he was dead or alive.

"If he kicked the bucket, they'll hold a funeral soon. Do I have to give a gift?" He Yuzhu muttered to himself.

"Gift money? What gift money?" Liu Lan asked.

"I mean, if Factory Director Yang kicked the bucket, do I have to give a gift? You guys don't have to, but I'm a leader, I can't not give one," He Yuzhu said.

He Yuzhu was already a Deputy Director of the Canteen; no matter how low his position was, he was a member of their circle and had to give a gift.

Liu Lan rolled her eyes upon hearing this: "Are we talking about the same thing? We're saying Factory Director Yang's house collapsed, and you're thinking about eating at the funeral..."

When it was time to get off work, He Yuzhu didn't go to the Small Tavern. The investigation team was checking so strictly that it was better to avoid extra trouble. Besides, he couldn't go to the Small Tavern every day; his salary wasn't enough for that.

If they really investigated, it would be easy to find problems.

He Yuzhu returned home leisurely. Yangshi Lei had already tidied up the side rooms and the covered walkway, and it was time to clean the main house, so He Yuzhu moved into a side room to make do for a few days.

He Yuzhu suddenly thought of He Yushui. It would be better to let her stay at school for now until the house was completely tidied up.

He Yuzhu went straight to the school to find her and explained the situation.

"Staying at school is fine. Brother, do you have enough money?" He Yushui asked with some concern.

"Don't worry, your brother lacks nothing but money. Sigh, your brother is so poor now that I only have money left. This money, I can't spend it all, I really can't spend it all. Come, brother will take you to eat roast duck," He Yuzhu said.

"Really? That's great! Brother, can I bring my classmate?" He Yushui asked cautiously.

After all, in this era, eating was a big deal; usually, when visiting someone's home, you had to bring your own grain coupons.

"Sure, no problem," He Yuzhu said.

"Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll go call my classmate." He Yushui immediately ran back to the dormitory and brought her classmate over.

He Yuzhu initially thought He Yushui had called Yu Haitang, but when he looked, it wasn't her. This classmate of He Yushui's, while pretty, was far from the level of a "factory flower."

"Brother, this is my classmate and roommate, Yang Shuzhu; this is my brother, He Yuzhu," He Yushui introduced them.

"Hello, Brother He, I'm Yushui's classmate, Yang Shuzhu," Yang Shuzhu said with a smile.

Seeing Zhang Shuxia reveal two little tiger teeth when she smiled, He Yuzhu knew who she was. In the original story, He Yushui had introduced Zhang Shuxia to Silly Bamboo, and Silly Bamboo had mocked her two big teeth and given her the nickname "Tiger Tooth Girl."

He Yuzhu looked at Zhang Shuxia carefully and understood why Silly Bamboo would think that. Zhang Shuxia didn't fit the aesthetic standards of the time, but she fit the aesthetic standards of the future.

Silly Bamboo was so bewitched by Qin Huairu at the time that he naturally didn't like Zhang Shuxia.

"Hello, I'm He Yushui's brother, He Yuzhu. Let's go, I'll take you both to eat roast duck," He Yuzhu said with a wave of his hand, and the three headed straight for Quanjude.

After entering Quanjude, Yang Shuzhu was a bit timid, clearly having rarely or never been to such a place. Fortunately, He Yushui comforted her.

He Yuzhu ordered two ducks, and the three started eating. Before long, the two ducks were finished. After each drank a large bowl of duck frame soup, the three lay back in their chairs, satisfied, enjoying this moment of peace.

"Are you full?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Full, full. It's been a long time since I've been this full," Yang Shuzhu said quickly.

"When you get back to school, don't rush to the dorm. Walk around the playground a few times to digest. After being hungry for a long time, eating such greasy duck all at once is hard on the stomach," He Yuzhu said.

"It's fine, we're young and our stomachs are good. We'll just drink more water when we get back," He Yushui said dismissively.

He Yuzhu didn't try to persuade them further. One must have boundaries; if you keep insisting, it's not persuasion, but making others listen to you—isn't that just a disguised way of controlling others' behavior? How is that any different from Yi Zhonghai?

"You two aren't in a hurry to get back to school, right? If not, come home with me. I'll give you some eggs to take back to school for breakfast," He Yuzhu said.

"Okay, okay! We're not in a hurry to get back, and we can walk a few more steps to digest," He Yushui said excitedly upon hearing there were eggs to eat.

What could Zhang Shuxia say? He had already treated her to roast duck. She could only accompany He Yushui and He Yuzhu back to the courtyard, though she didn't mind; deep down, she was even a little excited.

"Maybe I can mooch off Yushui's meals and eat eggs too," Yang Shuzhu thought to herself.

After the three reached the Siheyuan, He Yuzhu told them to wait in the courtyard while he went inside. A moment later, he came out with a schoolbag containing thirty eggs—enough for He Yushui to eat for a while.

At this time, He Yushui and Yang Shuzhu were chatting away, with Yang Shuzhu marveling at the size of the house and envying He Yushui for having her own room.

He Yuzhu gave the eggs to He Yushui and then sent them back to school. As he left the middle courtyard, he glanced back at Qin Huairu's house and saw her curtains fluttering.

He Yuzhu couldn't help but sneer; Qin Huairu had learned Jia Zhangshi's tricks, peeking from behind the curtains.

"No, I must get a hold on Shazhu! Giving so many eggs to He Yushui just like that... Shazhu, oh Shazhu, how did you become like this? You used to give all your good things directly to your Sister Qin," Qin Huairu thought to herself after seeing He Yuzhu leave with the eggs.

He Yuzhu didn't care what Qin Huairu thought. To get something, you have to pay for it. Just like the "Hu Ya Mei" Yang Shuzhu today—she seemed to have paid nothing on the surface, but in reality, she had paid quite a bit.

First, Yang Shuzhu provided emotional value; she called him "brother" repeatedly, which made He Yuzhu feel both tickled and satisfied.

Second, Yang Shuzhu would definitely become closer to He Yushui in the future. Regardless of the motive, one should judge by actions, not intentions.

Furthermore, even if Yang Shuzhu were a wolf in sheep's clothing, He Yuzhu felt he hadn't lost anything by judging her through this one meal.

Finally, He Yuzhu was happy. Treating such a pretty young girl to a meal and feeling her admiring gaze was an emotional pleasure in itself.

After sending them back to school, He Yuzhu returned to the Siheyuan. As soon as he entered the middle courtyard, he found the Deaf Old Lady waiting for him at the door.

"Old Lady, it's late at night, why are you blocking my door? What do you mean by this?" He Yuzhu frowned and asked impatiently.

(End of chapter)