Chapter 584: Suffering Grievances

With a single lighthearted sentence, He Yuzhu choked Xiao so badly that his face turned ash-gray; his lips trembled for a long time, yet he was unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.

He Yuzhu slowly scanned the room, his voice not loud, yet every word struck the heart of everyone present: "Within half a month, I want to see tangible results."

As his voice fell, the conference room was silent for two seconds, followed immediately by thunderous applause.

Those mid-level Cadres clapped until their palms were red, their eyes full of satisfaction—finally, someone was dealing with this bunch of old loafers!

When the meeting adjourned, the faces of Zhang, Xiao, and Ma were longer than a donkey's, looking exactly like three defeated roosters.

Before their seats were even warm after returning home, the three of them huddled together again.

Xiao could no longer suppress the anger he had been holding in all the way; he slammed a fist against the wall and cursed: "Too bullying! By what right does he, He Yuzhu, do this? With one sentence, he sends me, a Zhengong Cadre, off to reclaim wasteland? Who does he think he is!"

Deputy Director Zhang narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice: "This kid likely guessed that we were the ones behind the manufacturers coming to demand payment. I didn't expect him to strike so ruthlessly and so quickly."

Deputy Director Ma took a hard drag of his cigarette, the smoke spraying from his nostrils, the flesh on his face twitching: "Old Xiao, I'm even worse off than you! He said he wants to take charge of maintenance personally; isn't that aimed right at me? If he digs his heels into the Maintenance Team, what am I, a Deputy Director, worth?"

Deputy Director Zhang bit down, his cheeks bulging with ridges: "He split my Logistics Department in two with one stroke; he intends to completely sideline me! We can't endure this anymore; let's submit a joint petition and report him!"

Deputy Director Xiao's face was gloomy, his eyes bloodshot: "I've lifted a rock only to drop it on my own feet... I proposed that the maintenance department go down to the grassroots, originally to slow down progress. Who knew he would borrow my knife to cut us all down! This kid is young, but his belly is full of schemes!"

Deputy Director Ma's eyes turned vicious, his voice extremely low and filled with malice: "Doesn't he want to repair the machines himself? Then let's... tamper with the ones he's repaired!"

"Shut up!" Deputy Director Zhang turned hostile on the spot, "We are fighting He Yuzhu; we cannot make a joke of state property!"

Stung by this shout, Deputy Director Ma realized he had let his tongue slip and lowered his head sheepishly: "Then... then we can't just let him be this arrogant, can we?"

Deputy Director Zhang shot him a cold glance: "You haven't worked in this line much. You don't know the ins and outs. Equipment leaving the factory must be inspected, and it must undergo a second inspection upon reaching the drilling team. If you dare to tamper with it, you'll be eating prison food if you're caught!"

As soon as the meeting broke up, He Yuzhu rolled up his sleeves and charged into the Maintenance Department.

He took off his coat and began repairing the equipment himself.

After working in the workshop all day, he narrowed his eyes, having a good idea of the situation—he had a rough grasp of who was there to work and who was there to slack off.

The next day, when forming groups, Deputy Director Ma was quick and nimble, gathering all his cronies into one group.

He Yuzhu didn't even lift his eyelids, taking a group of green youngsters to start anew.

Although these young people were inexperienced, they had ideals; they wanted to learn, to work, and to make something of themselves!

He Yuzhu liked this kind of young person.

They specifically chose to work on the scrap metal that had been discarded and left to gather dust for years, which no one else wanted to touch.

He Yuzhu taught them hand-in-hand, how to listen for faults, how to craft parts themselves, explaining the principles as they repaired, making everything clear and thorough.

In his past life, he had studied mechanical design, and in this life, he had personally manufactured countless things; his hands were more deft than those of veteran masters who had worked for over a decade.

Several young people nearby watched as He Yuzhu completely overhauled an ancient drilling rig.

They exclaimed with genuine admiration: "Director He's craftsmanship is peerless!"

In half a month, these greenhorns were reborn under He Yuzhu's guidance, their skills soaring.

The Drilling Team at Dongying Village started work the next day.

But just then, Expert Li fell ill.

It started as a small cold, but who knew it would turn into pneumonia three days later; the illness came on aggressively.

Man Yatou was frantic, her lips chapped from trying to persuade him to go to a big hospital.

But the stubborn old man shook his head like a rattle-drum and refused to leave, no matter what.

With no other options, Man Yatou had to report it up the chain.

The higher-ups did take it seriously and sent a medical team to the village that very day.

After treating the pneumonia, they discovered a kidney ailment.

The medical team tried repeatedly to persuade him to go to the hospital for recuperation, but he was as if welded to the drilling site; he would get angry at anyone who tried to persuade him.

Man Yatou looked at this stubborn old man, feeling both angry and heartbroken.

Fortunately, before she left, Brother Zhuzi had given her a large box of good things—milk powder, malted milk extract, canned goods, and honey, packed to the brim.

She tried every way to nourish Expert Li, even running to nearby villages to buy old hens to stew soup.

Just as Expert Li showed signs of improvement, trouble broke out at the drilling site.

They hadn't even drilled eight hundred meters when the Drill Bit got stuck.

A flash of inspiration struck Man Yatou, and she suddenly remembered how Brother Zhuzi had used two large engines to forcibly pull out a stuck drill bit back in the day.

She hurried to find the Drilling Team leader, Ma Qian, and explained her idea.

Ma Qian wouldn't listen at all.

Man Yatou wore herself out trying to persuade him to no avail, so she had to go talk to her Siqiang.

Expert Li lay on the bed, knitting his brows in thought for a long time, before finally making the decision: "Girl, go call Director He and borrow that set of equipment. It's much more cost-effective than drilling a new well."

Man Yatou ran to the commune that day to make the call; as soon as the line connected—

"Brother Zhuzi..." As soon as she called out, tears fell like broken beads, and she couldn't even speak clearly.

On the other end of the line, He Yuzhu grew anxious: "Yatou, don't cry! What happened? Tell me slowly!"

Man Yatou sobbed and told him everything that had happened over the past few days—Expert Li falling ill and refusing to leave, no one listening to her, feeling both anxious and wronged...

After listening, He Yuzhu sighed: "Yatou, do you feel that now that Expert Li is ill, the people below don't take you seriously?"

Man Yatou gave a wronged "Mm."

"Don't worry," He Yuzhu's voice was full of encouragement, "Once this well actually produces oil, you will be an expert; who would dare look down on you then?"

"Really?" Man Yatou's voice suddenly brightened.

"Of course! By then, you'll be a great expert!" He Yuzhu laughed, "Yatou, what else do you need over there? I'll ship it all to you this time."

Man Yatou felt embarrassed, but thinking of the hardships of the drilling team, she said: "Teacher Li and the comrades of the Drilling Team are suffering out in the wild every day; the work is heavy, and the food is poor..."

He Yuzhu agreed readily on the other end: "Alright! It's getting cold now; I'll ship you some meat; it won't spoil!"

On the eighth day, the Drilling Team received two behemoths.

Once the two Tank Engines were placed there, they looked full of power.

Ma Qian circled it several times, muttering to himself, "This thing... with such high horsepower, won't it snap the Drill Bit?"

Man Yatou got angry the moment she heard this and retorted on the spot, "Since you can't get it up anyway, even if it breaks, wouldn't the result be the same?"

Ma Qian was choked up and lost face, but upon second thought, he really couldn't refute those words.

He glanced at those two hunks of iron, then looked at Man Yatou's confident expression, and gritted his teeth: "Fine! Since we've waited so many days, let's treat a dead horse as a living one!"

The Engineers connected the engine to the drilling rig.

Man Yatou held her breath, imitating the way Zhuzi used to do it, and turned on the switches simultaneously.

In an instant, the roaring sound made people's ears go numb, and the "creak-creak" noise sounded as if it were about to tear the heavens and earth apart.

Suddenly, with a "Boom"—

The Drill Rod shuddered violently! It moved!

"It moved! It moved!" Ma Qian jumped high, his voice cracking, "It worked! It actually fucking worked!"

When the Drill Bit was brought up, Man Yatou carefully examined the rock sample and said decisively, "Drill down another six to seven hundred meters."

Ma Qian was stunned: "But our drilling rig here, its limit is only thirteen or fourteen hundred..."

Man Yatou pointed to the two steel behemoths still roaring nearby: "With them here, what are you afraid of?"

Ma Qian paused, then slapped his thigh: "Hey! Man Yatou, your little brain is really fucking sharp!"

Man Yatou rolled her eyes at him hard; this man always opposed things first, and she had truly never seen him praise anyone else.

Another three days passed.

Under Man Yatou's meticulous care, Expert Li's complexion became rosy, and he could get out of bed and walk around.

"Girl," Expert Li looked at this stubborn little Apprentice, his eyes full of emotion, "Master has benefited from your light this time. I only now understand why you were unwilling to acknowledge me as your master back then—that Master He of yours is indeed a person with true ability."

Man Yatou didn't respond, just silently made a cup of honey water and handed it over, then reached out to open the two large leather suitcases nearby.

As the cases opened, Expert Li's eyes went straight—they were packed neatly with food and nutritional supplements, many of them foreign goods.

"These are the supplements Zhuzi sent for you."

Expert Li hurriedly lowered his voice: "Girl, quick, hide them! Don't let anyone see!"

A smile curled the corners of Man Yatou's mouth.

Just then, someone outside suddenly shouted: "Oil! Oil has come out!"