Chapter 127: The Security Section

After He Yuzhu finished preparing to build the Bat Cave, he also planned to create an underground escape tool. Once things reached a point of no return, he could use the "Earth Escape" technique to escape underground and hide for a few days at a depth of tens or even hundreds of meters.

This escape tool didn't need to be as advanced or precise as a tunnel boring machine; it only needed to be able to withstand pressure and, with the cooperation of his consciousness space, have the ability to move forward. Of course, He Yuzhu also had to prepare many oxygen tanks, ventilators, and other items.

Such things weren't difficult for He Yuzhu. In a word: it's great to have a cheat.

Tonight, He Yuzhu didn't go out. He had keenly sensed that the patrols outside the Ninety-five Courtyard had not only been greatly strengthened, but many people were also hiding near the Siheyuan.

Since he couldn't go out, He Yuzhu honestly slept at home.

That night, nothing happened, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Early the next morning, just as He Yuzhu was ready to go to work, he saw Xu Zhongyi and Ming Tai walking to work with the others in the Siheyuan.

Ming Tai was relatively cold. Although he had tried his best to mingle with everyone, he had the demeanor of a noble family and a noble temperament, which made him out of place with everyone.

Compared to Ming Tai, Xu Zhongyi could easily mingle with everyone, perfectly blending in.

"Yo~ Director He, going to work? Let's go together," Xu Zhongyi greeted him enthusiastically.

"You work at the Rolling Mill too?" He Yuzhu asked, pretending to be ignorant.

"Yes, I work in Procurement Section Three," Xu Zhongyi said.

"Procurement Section, that's not easy to do," He Yuzhu said casually.

"You can say that again. It's not just hard; it's really hard. Director He, you're in charge of the kitchen, so you should know—in this day and age, where can you even procure anything..." Xu Zhongyi was a self-familiar person and started chatting away until they reached the Rolling Mill, when everyone dispersed.

After He Yuzhu arrived at the canteen kitchen, he saw Liu Lan and pulled her into the office.

"Pillar, don't. The factory is strict now. It won't be good if we're discovered," Liu Lan said nervously.

"It's fine," He Yuzhu said indifferently, and began practicing the "Bite Technique" and "Kun Character Technique" with Liu Lan. From beginning to end, He Yuzhu kept his bare feet on the ground, which was equivalent to radar, allowing him to anticipate the enemy's moves.

After Liu Lan left, He Yuzhu sat in the office chair, smoking a cigarette while keeping one foot on the ground, sensing the direction of the Security Section's armory.

Fortunately, the armory wasn't far from He Yuzhu's office, and in terms of three-dimensional space, it didn't exceed the 10,000 cubic meter range of his perception.

Just as He Yuzhu was about to use the "Earth Escape" technique to take away the weapons in the armory, he felt someone walking quickly toward his office.

This was the disadvantage of indirect perception through the ground—he could only sense people stepping on the ground and couldn't tell what they looked like or who they were.

He Yuzhu immediately stopped his plan. Before long, there was a knock on the door. He Yuzhu opened it and saw that the visitor was actually Xu Zhongyi.

"Xu Zhongyi, why are you here?" He Yuzhu asked curiously.

"Director He, I have a private matter to discuss with you," Xu Zhongyi said, entering the office as if he were at home.

He Yuzhu's heart stirred, so he welcomed Xu Zhongyi into the office and poured him a glass of water.

"Feel free to say whatever private matter you have," He Yuzhu said.

"It's a small matter, absolutely a small matter for you, Director He. I just moved into the Siheyuan, and I happen to have some connections to get two catties of pig offal. I heard that your cooking is the best in our Rolling Mill, so I wanted to trouble you to help cook it into soup tonight so everyone in the courtyard can have a taste," Xu Zhongyi said with a smile.

"Sure, no problem! You can count on me," He Yuzhu said, patting his chest.

He Yuzhu understood that Xu Zhongyi's actions weren't to curry favor with the beasts in the Siheyuan, but to take the opportunity to get close to him.

"Since that's the case, I'll just use you as a witness," He Yuzhu thought to himself. The shoe on his right foot had disappeared without a trace, and at the same time, the weapons in the Security Section's armory also disappeared, stored in He Yuzhu's consciousness space via the "Earth Escape" technique.

"Then thank you very much, Director He," Xu Zhongyi said with a smile.

"Hey, what's there to thank? I'm just a deputy director. Although I'm called a deputy director, I'm actually just a cook. I'm too lazy to manage the messy affairs of the canteen; I'm only responsible for cooking the big pot meals and the small stove. By the way, Brother Xu, forgive my presumption, but you don't look like a novice. You must be an old procurement officer, right?" He Yuzhu asked.

He Yuzhu couldn't let Xu Zhongyi leave. Heaven knows when the Security Section would discover the weapons were missing. If Xu Zhongyi left now, who would be He Yuzhu's witness?

He Yuzhu took a cigarette out of his pocket and handed one to Xu Zhongyi.

Xu Zhongyi was still thinking about getting close to He Yuzhu, so he naturally didn't want to leave either.

"Sigh, to tell you the truth, Director He, I've always worked in logistics. I was at the Cotton Mill Two before, and it was just by chance that I was transferred to the Rolling Mill to fill a deputy section chief position," Xu Zhongyi said with a smile.

"Oh, oh, I understand, I understand. You want to make progress, that's nothing to be ashamed of," He Yuzhu said, acting as if he understood.

"Oh my god, a soulmate! Director He, you're so right. I just wanted to make progress so much that I came to the Rolling Mill to do a big job with my own skills, striving to make more progress in two or three years," Xu Zhongyi said excitedly, as if he had met a soulmate.

"Brother Xu, we hit it off at first sight. It's too formal to call me by my title. How about this: you call me Brother Pillar, and I'll call you Brother, how about that?" He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"That's great! I didn't expect to meet a relative just after being transferred to the factory. Oh my god, this is great. How about this, Brother Pillar, I'll get two hard dishes and some small wine tonight, and we brothers will have a good drink."

"I don't have any other skills, but I do have the ability to find some food and drink," Xu Zhongyi said.

"That's great, brother. You just get the dishes, I'll provide the wine. Brother, let me tell you, they say a cook won't starve in a famine year, but that's only not starving. It's too hard to get any oil and water."

"There's a workshop director watching from above, and so many eyes watching from below. There's simply no oil and water to fish. The only time you can fish for oil and water is when the leaders treat guests. At that time, the oil and water are rich, but no matter how you fish, you can only eat the leftovers."

"Let me tell you, our leaders are very cunning. These dishes can't be skimmed at all. Let's take a chicken as an example: a chicken has two legs and two wings. We can't just intercept a leg or a wing in advance. On the surface, the leaders don't say anything, but in secret, they will definitely make things difficult for you, so you can only eat the leftovers."

"Besides this, all I can do is add more water and boil more soup. This is the so-called: the leaders eat the meat, and we follow to drink the soup. He is really drinking the soup, just tasting a bit of the meat flavor," He Yuzhu started chatting with Xu Zhongyi.

Both of them were interested, and the more they talked, the more excited they became. As they talked, they talked about Ming Tai.

"I think our new neighbor is not an ordinary person. He has a noble air about him. Do you know his background?" He Yuzhu asked.

"I asked, but I didn't get any useful information. I guess this kid Ming Tai might be from a big courtyard and is probably just here to gild himself before leaving," Xu Zhongyi said.

Xu Zhongyi didn't actually know Ming Tai; he just smelled the scent of his own kind on Ming Tai and vaguely felt that Ming Tai was one of his own. "Oh, I see. Making progress, that's nothing to be ashamed of," He Yuzhu said.

"Everyone wants to make progress, but progress is different from progress. His way of making progress is different from ours. He will be transferred after staying below for a year or half a year without doing anything, while we have to work hard," Xu Zhongyi shook his head and said.

"Brother, it's you who wants to make progress. I don't want to make progress, and I can't make progress. I'm just a cook. Where else can I make progress? Why don't I manage the warehouse? I get a headache when I see those numbers. Besides, I don't know how to look at accounts. What if someone digs a hole for me?"

"Simply put, I don't manage it. I just specialize in cooking the small stove. Brother, haven't you heard this saying: as long as you don't want to be a section chief, you are a department head. Wanting to make progress has its benefits, and not wanting to make progress has its fun."

"Look at me, managing this one-acre-three-fen land in the kitchen. After a while, I'll teach my apprentice, and then I won't do anything. I'll just check when the dishes are served. How comfortable," He Yuzhu expressed his lack of desire to make progress to the fullest.

Xu Zhongyi gave a thumbs up upon hearing this. Just as he was about to speak, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door, followed by a knock.

"Brother Pillar, are they looking for you?" Xu Zhongyi asked with some surprise.

"Damn! Could it be that Ma Hua and the others burned the dishes?" He Yuzhu asked, knowing the answer.

He Yuzhu guessed that it must be the people from the Security Section who discovered that the weapons in the armory were missing, so they blocked the scene and came to look for He Yuzhu at the first opportunity.

He Yuzhu opened the door and saw that it was indeed Li Huaide and his secretary, Secretary Wang.

"Factory Director Li, are you in such a hurry because you want me to cook a small stove?" He Yuzhu asked straightforwardly, and then welcomed Li Huaide and Secretary Wang into the office.

"Oh, Section Chief Xu is here too. Have you been together the whole time?" Li Huaide asked after seeing Xu Zhongyi.

"Yes, I came to ask Director He for some help. We chatted until now. Good heavens, I didn't know until I looked—we've been chatting for over an hour," Xu Zhongyi said, looking at the watch in his hand, and looked at Li Huaide with confusion.

"Director He, I brought Section Chief Li here in such a hurry to tell you that I, Deputy Factory Director Nie, and Section Chief Li have reported your problem from yesterday to the higher-ups. After discussion, the higher-ups have made a decision: from now on, if the Security Section wants to arrest or interrogate workers, they must have the worker's direct leader, the Labor Union leader, and the Factory Committee neighbor present."

"As for your suggestion to organize an inspection team, the higher-ups did not pass it," Li Huaide said to He Yuzhu.

"That's fine too. I was just too scared. I heard they have a kind of torture called the 'Gongzi Frame,' where they handcuff people to a Gongzi frame so they can't stand straight or squat down."

"As long as it exceeds two or three hours, a person's spine will deform, and they will slowly become a hunchback. The key is that they won't be able to use their strength to work in the future. This will cause hidden injuries. This kind of torture is killing without blood, and you don't even have evidence."

"I'm not talking nonsense. Didn't Hu Delu from the Third Workshop offend someone in the Security Section? The Security Section found a random reason to arrest Hu and put him on the Gongzi frame, which caused this injury."

"Factory Director Li, although I am a leader, there's no guarantee that I won't be arrested by the Security Section one day and suffer this kind of torture. That's why I strongly suggested doing this," He Yuzhu said sincerely.

Li Huaide frowned upon hearing this, and his face darkened.

Li Huaide asked himself if he would be arrested by the Security Section, but one should always be prepared for the worst. If he were to fall and encounter that kind of hot-headed youth who arrested him and made him suffer this kind of torture, even if his father-in-law saved him, it would take time. If it really exceeded two or three hours and caused hidden injuries, that would be troublesome.

"Factory Director Li, I have another suggestion: if the Security Section wants to arrest female workers, in addition to the leaders required before, the leaders of the factory's Women's Federation must also be present," He Yuzhu said.

"Okay, I know. I will report this to the higher-ups. Section Chief Xu, come here, I happen to have something to ask you," Li Huaide said and left He Yuzhu's office.

"Xu Zhongyi, are you sure you've been with He Yuzhu the whole time, until now?" After entering his office, Li Huaide had Secretary Wang guard the door and asked Xu Zhongyi in a deep voice.

Li Huaide naturally knew Xu Zhongyi's identity.

"I've been with him the whole time. I arrived outside Director He's office at 9:30. I went there specifically at that time. The people in the kitchen saw it. What happened?" Xu Zhongyi asked in a deep voice.

"Are you sure it was 9:30?" Li Huaide asked again and checked his watch with Xu Zhongyi.

"I'm sure it was 9:30. I checked my watch before I knocked on the door," Xu Zhongyi said.

"The weapons in the Security Section's armory are lost. Since the explosion at the Rolling Mill last time, after investigation, it was discovered that the explosion was likely to cover up the loss of weapons. Since then, there must be four guards outside the armory, and they must guard the door 24 hours a day, and check every half hour."

"At 9:30, the weapons were still there, not a single bit lost. When they checked again at 10:00, all the weapons in the armory had disappeared, and even the boxes were gone," Li Huaide said in a deep voice.

"Could it be that the people in the Security Section were working from the inside?" Xu Zhongyi pondered for a moment and asked.

"According to common sense, the people in the Security Section are indeed the most suspicious," Li Huaide sighed, then took a cigarette from the drawer and handed one to Xu Zhongyi, and the two started smoking.

Xu Zhongyi immediately understood what Li Huaide meant. According to common sense, but what about not according to common sense?

"The investigation team hasn't left. While investigating the people in the Security Section, they are also monitoring He Yuzhu from afar. He Yuzhu really didn't leave the office, and there were no big holes in the Security Section's armory. Everyone is inclined to believe that either the people in the Security Section were stealing, or the people in the Security Section and the transport team joined forces to transport the weapons out."

"After all, not many things were lost, but it was a full 60 long guns and 20,000 rounds of ammunition," Li Huaide said.

"Why are there so few weapons?" Xu Zhongyi asked in surprise.

"It's because of the last incident. The Security Section didn't dare to keep too many weapons," Li Huaide said.

Li Huaide knew that not only was the Rolling Mill losing weapons, but the Security Sections of other factories had also lost a lot. He heard that the troops had lost even more.

"I will report the detailed process of this incident to the higher-ups," Xu Zhongyi said.

Xu Zhongyi understood that he didn't have the power to make decisions and could only report what he saw and heard.

Li Huaide nodded, let Secretary Wang come in, took Xu Zhongyi to an office, and let Xu Zhongyi write a report to the higher-ups.

In fact, Li Huaide thought that the higher-ups were making a mountain out of a molehill. How could someone like He Yuzhu be a mysterious person? If He Yuzhu had that ability, he wouldn't be stuck in a small kitchen.

If He Yuzhu were an enemy agent, the leaders of the Rolling Mill would have been poisoned eight hundred times, including those big leaders. Every time someone from above came, He Yuzhu was the one cooking.

It's just that Li Huaide was already past that age. Whatever the higher-ups arranged, he would cooperate.

Immediately, Li Huaide also started writing a report, reporting what he saw and heard word for word, and also wrote down He Yuzhu's suggestion.

He Yuzhu wasn't idle either; he went to the Third Workshop and found Hu Delu.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 128 =====