Chapter 269: Dangerous Situation

He Yuzhu walked on the road back to the New Factory Area, his mind repeatedly mulling over the matter of Bai Jiarui and the three others stealing from the very place they were meant to guard.

Was Zheng Yusong, this Security Section Chief, truly unaware, or was he turning a blind eye?

What worried him even more was that person who was hell-bent on pushing those refractory materials.

It was certain the materials were substandard, but was the other party simply looking to make money, or did they have another goal? What was the motive behind this? He had to find out clearly.

Keeping his many suspicions to himself, he decided to observe in secret for a while longer.

After confirming the patrol team was not nearby, he climbed over the wall and quickly found the patrol.

"Deputy Section Chief, you took long enough in the restroom," the squad leader Lv Fang teased. "We thought you'd gone straight back to sleep."

"Since we said we'd patrol together, we must come and go together," He Yuzhu said sternly. "If you don't lead by example when commanding troops, how can you win their respect?"

"You're too serious," Lv Fang said with a simple smile. "The brothers don't care about that. As long as we can eat a meal of meat every day, we won't be sloppy about patrolling ourselves!"

"Rest assured," He Yuzhu promised. "As long as I, He Yuzhu, am here for a day, I will never let the brothers go hungry!"

The second half of the night passed without incident. At four in the morning, they changed shifts; He Yuzhu went back to his room to nap for a while, then got up promptly at six-thirty to wake the team members one by one.

"Get up! Everyone assemble!" His voice was exceptionally loud in the morning mist. "Run ten kilometers around the factory area, starting now!"

As it turned out, after the run, half of them hadn't been able to keep up.

He Yuzhu stood before the panting team and said, "Today was ten kilometers, and many of you finished. I won't punish you, but I'll give everyone ten days to practice. If you still can't finish it after ten days, then I'm sorry, you'll have to leave the team."

The team immediately broke into a buzz of discussion.

After arranging the patrols in the morning, He Yuzhu strolled over to the old factory area to observe in secret.

He discovered that the Rolling Mill's security was basically just for show; most of them huddled in the guard booths, and those who occasionally came out to stroll around were just going through the motions, never checking anything carefully.

He subsequently entered the Forging Workshop and found Liu Haizhong.

"Liu Shifu, did your workshop lose anything yesterday?"

Liu Haizhong shook his head: "Haven't heard of anything."

He Yuzhu pondered: Did he really not know, or did he not want to say? It seemed nothing could be pried out of these old slippery characters.

Liu Haizhong looked him over: "Zhuzi, I heard you became a Deputy Section Chief? Hurry and teach me, how can one become an official?"

He Yuzhu smiled: "It's easy if you say it's easy; it's just about making the leadership trust you."

"It's that simple?"

"This is not simple at all," He Yuzhu said. "My cousin is my leader. Although there is a bit of a family connection, I also relied on being sweet-talked and frequently giving her gifts to slowly build up trust. Leaders don't just go out of their way to give you an official position."

After hearing this, Liu Haizhong nodded thoughtfully.

Coming out of the Forging Workshop, He Yuzhu went to the Locksmith Workshop.

He deliberately bypassed Yi Zhonghai and went straight to Jia Dongxu, who didn't have as many schemes.

When Jia Dongxu saw him, he wanted to pretend he hadn't, but was stopped by He Yuzhu.

"I told you yesterday I was going to be a Deputy Section Chief, and you didn't believe me. Do you believe it now?"

Jia Dongxu's words were laced with jealousy: "You're impressive, much better than your old man; he never even managed to become a logistics section chief."

"No time to shoot the breeze with you today," He Yuzhu cut to the chase. "Ask you something, does your workshop often lose things?"

"Why should I tell you?"

He Yuzhu took out two Big Ocean coins and weighed them in his hand. "You've been in the factory for quite some years. If you're willing to tell me the truth and reveal all those shady dealings in the factory, these two Big Ocean coins are yours."

Jia Dongxu's eyes lit up. "Are you for real?"

"Why would I lie to you?" He Yuzhu raised the corner of his mouth. "But I only listen to the truth; making things up won't do."

Jia Dongxu looked around vigilantly, pulled him into a corner of the workshop, and lowered his voice: "The water in this Rolling Mill is murky! The people in charge are either the Factory Director Lou's godson or his relatives; they've long since formed a clique. Take our Locksmith Workshop, for example; there are often people doing private work, and some even steal parts to sell after finishing them. As long as they offer tribute to Section Chief Zheng of the Security Section, he turns a blind eye. It's the same over at the forging side. When they checked the accounts at the end of last year, the incoming materials and outgoing goods were way off, and later a warehouse caught fire... Everyone said it was outsiders robbing the place, but anyone with eyes knows..."

He Yuzhu understood everything at once. This factory looked formal, but at its core, it was still a big workshop with rotten management systems.

Thinking of the refractory materials, his heart tightened—this matter had to be treated seriously; if something went wrong, it could explode and kill people!

He stuffed the two Big Ocean coins into Jia Dongxu's hand and immediately rode his bike to find Liu Rusi to report.

After listening, Liu Rusi said: "Next time you encounter this, you must catch them red-handed. Otherwise, I have no way to convince Boss Lou; they have years of friendship. How can we just listen to our side of the story?"

He Yuzhu nodded. "I see that those relatives of Boss Lou have already woven a web, shielding each other, and covering things up when trouble happens. We can only rely on ourselves for the New Factory Area."

"Private factories are all like this," Liu Rusi sighed. "Our Bicycle Factory isn't much better."

"Then you must manage it well!" He Yuzhu said.

Liu Rusi smiled: "In another two years, when you're a bit more mature, I'll hand the position of Bicycle Factory Director over to you."

"Don't!" He Yuzhu waved his hands quickly. "I'm used to being lazy; it's best if you remain the Factory Director."

In the days that followed, besides occasionally going home to bring food and snacks for his younger sister He Yushui, He Yuzhu spent almost all his time at the factory.

Through repeated secret investigations, he not only figured out the tangled web of relationships in the factory and identified the well-connected accomplices who colluded with Bai Jiarui, but he also got to the bottom of Cao Guoyong—this man was the younger brother of Boss Lou's wife, who had the final say in the factory and loved going to Badahutong most of all.

As long as someone invited him to visit the brothels, procurement matters were easy to handle.

The political situation was also changing.

In early January, Tianjin was liberated. The sound of artillery outside the city of Beiping grew denser, and planes flew back and forth in the sky, all helping high-ranking officials transport their belongings and confidants.

The entire ancient city was in a state of panic, and the common people were all hoping for news of a peaceful liberation.

Just at this time, several factories were set on fire in the night, the flames reddening half the sky.

Boss Lou found He Yuzhu, full of worry: "Zhuzi, those people from the Military Statistics Bureau have gone mad! My friend's chemical plant was burned down; you must protect the factory!"

He Yuzhu spoke frankly: "Boss Lou, I can't guarantee the entire factory area; I only have thirty people under me. But for the New Factory Area, I guarantee there won't be any problems!"

Boss Lou gripped his hand tightly: "I've heard of what you've done, I trust you!"

Early that morning, He Yuzhu was inspecting the factory gate when suddenly two trucks slowly approached.

His heart stirred, the Scanning System activated instantly, and his pupils shrank—those two trucks of refractory bricks actually contained Explosive!

"Let them in," he signaled the guards calmly, while secretly mobilizing his men.

Just as the trucks stopped and the workers were about to unload the cargo, he gave an order, and the security guards quickly pinned down all six people who had come with the trucks.

"What are you doing! This batch of goods was approved by Section Chief Cao!" a middle-aged man with a face full of flab roared.

"Ma Yu, go invite Section Chief Cao and Lou Laoban over," He Yuzhu ordered.

Ma Yu hurriedly got on his bicycle and left.

That middle-aged man was still clamoring: "Stinking security guard! If you don't kowtow and admit your mistake to me today, I'll have all of you kicked out!"

He Yuzhu walked up and delivered a slap, knocking two of his teeth flying instantly.

Zhou Lian, standing to the side, was stunned, muttering to himself: Did this kid eat gunpowder? How is he suddenly so ruthless?

At this moment, Cao Guoyong ran over in a flustered rage; seeing his drinking buddy tied up, he exploded on the spot: "You surnamed He! Just because you're a lousy Deputy Section Chief, you've forgotten your own name? This factory can't hold you anymore, right?"

He Yuzhu did not back down at all and sneered: "Aren't you just relying on being Lou Laoban's brother-in-law? Don't pull that stuff with me! Because this bunch of people took you to Badahutong a few times, you want to blow up the entire factory?"

"You're slandering me!" Cao Guoyong's face flushed red, "Anshan Iron and Steel can use the firebricks from Zhaojia Kiln, why can't we?"

"Open your eyes and look at this bunch of people!" He Yuzhu said sternly, "Those hands are hands that have held guns all year round!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

"Just wait and see, and you'll see how stupid you are," He Yuzhu retorted.

Just as the two were arguing intensely, Lou Laoban arrived.

He frowned and scanned the scene: "What exactly is going on here?"

He Yuzhu stood tall and said: "Lou Laoban, this good relative of yours wants to blow your factory to the sky, and you're still being kept in the dark!"

Cao Guoyong hurriedly interrupted: "Brother-in-law! Don't listen to his nonsense! Zhaojia Kiln sent two trucks of goods, and he didn't even look at them before tying people up. Who will do business with us in the future? I think you should fire him immediately!"

"He Yuzhu, on what grounds did you tie people up?" Lou Laoban asked with a dark face.

"These people are colluding with Cao Guoyong to cause an explosion in the Converter Workshop!" He Yuzhu said.

"You're slandering me!" Cao Guoyong shrieked.