Chapter 624: Welfare

Luo Jiangtao ignored Xu Damao and continued to help Cui Xiu rub her shoulders.

Cui Xiu, however, became anxious; she pointed at Xu Damao's nose and cursed: "You little bastard! He is your stepfather! If you dare to say such things again, I will sever ties with you!"

Xu Damao curled his lips indifferently and smiled with a roguish air: "Mother, if you really want to sever ties with me, I would be overjoyed. By the way, you went to the Lou Family to propose marriage, why didn't they agree?"

Cui Xiu spat and was so angry her face turned green: "All those rotten things you did, Lou Xiaoe knows everything! When I heard what she said, I really wanted to bang my head and die! It's shameful, too shameful!"

Luo Jiangtao hurriedly comforted her: "Junior Sister, the matter is in the past, don't be angry anymore."

Xu Damao pointed his finger at Luo Jiangtao and cursed sarcastically: "Mother, hurry up and kick this man surnamed Luo out! Someone who has been to prison, keeping him at home will ruin my future!"

Upon hearing this, Cui Xiu trembled all over with rage; she pointed at the doorway, her voice cracking: "You little bastard, get out of here right now! Don't you ever come back!"

Xu Damao stiffened his neck, his face full of disdain: "Heh, if I don't come back, I don't come back, what's the big deal?"

After saying this, he turned and left.

Just as he stepped out of the courtyard gate, he ran into Liu Guangqi.

Liu Guangqi stared at him sinisterly: "My Lao Er has gone inside, are you scared? Maybe one day you'll have to go in too, right?"

Xu Damao glared, though he felt a bit hollow inside, his words remained tough: "Your Lao Er hit someone from a high-ranking leader's family, what does that have to do with me?"

Liu Guangqi sneered: "Lao Er is inside, can you guarantee he won't spill the beans on what you all did?"

Xu Damao felt hollow inside, but it didn't show on his face: "Liu Guangqi, I know you've latched onto someone powerful. But don't push me too far, or I'll drag you down with me!"

Liu Guangqi laughed out loud: "Xu Damao, you're scared, aren't you? Want to mess with me? It's not that easy. I've walked my path step by step, I haven't stolen or robbed, what can you do to me?"

Xu Damao glared at him fiercely, his lips moved, but he couldn't say a single word.

He knew clearly in his heart that he really had no way to deal with Liu Guangqi, so he could only spit fiercely and walk away dejectedly.

It was rare for He Yuzhu to return home early; just as he stepped into the Zhongyuan, he saw Ma Yan talking to Shen Guizhi with an anxious look on her face.

As soon as Ma Yan saw him, she immediately stood up to greet him, her voice changing pitch: "Brother Zhuzi, you're finally back! Something big has happened!"

He Yuzhu asked hurriedly: "What happened? Tell me slowly!"

"The Siqiang went to the countryside to collect mountain goods with the deputy director of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and on the way back... the car overturned."

"How is my Siqiang?" He Yuzhu asked urgently.

"The Siqiang is lucky, one leg is broken, but... but the deputy director is gone."

He Yuzhu finally let out a long sigh of relief: "As long as he's alive... as long as he's alive. Which hospital is he in now? I'm going over there right now."

Ma Yan didn't move; she bit her lip and looked at him with complex eyes: "Brother Zhuzi, that deputy director... was Qin Huairu's husband. They still have two children at home."

After hearing this, He Yuzhu was stunned, unable to speak for a long time.

He had helped Qin Huairu escape the fire pit of Jia Dongxu, and she had managed to find a man with a government job through her own ability. Who could have imagined that after all this, she would become a widow again at such a young age.

"Ma Yan, take me to see my Siqiang first!"

The two rushed to the Beijing Hospital.

In the ward, Chen Qingshan lay on the hospital bed, his injured leg suspended high, his face gray and defeated.

As soon as he saw He Yuzhu, his eyes turned red, and he said with a trembling voice: "This accident is all my fault! Xiao Tian was supposed to stay in the village for the night, but I urged him to come back. As a result, a wild boar darted out halfway, he panicked, and the car flipped into the mountain ravine..."

He Yuzhu felt a pang of sorrow and stepped forward to hold his Siqiang's hand: "Siqiang, the matter has already happened, don't blame yourself, just focus on recovering!"

Chen Qingshan calmed down a bit, squeezed out a smile, and said: "Zhuzi, can you help arrange a job for Huairu? She used to work at a restaurant, but after giving birth to two children, she became a full-time mother. Now that her husband is gone, I'm afraid she won't be able to get by."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright, ask her what kind of work she wants to do."

"Any work will do," Chen Qingshan said.

He Yuzhu nodded: "I can still help with this matter for now. Is your restaurant business still okay?"

Chen Qingshan shook his head: "Although those restaurants haven't closed yet, it's about the same as being closed. All year round, we just rely on selling some Little Lobster in the summer to scrape by..." Chen Qingshan sighed repeatedly.

He Yuzhu frowned: "Siqiang, why didn't you come to me sooner?"

Chen Qingshan looked at his Apprentice and smiled bitterly: "You were busy with drought relief and disaster aid, how could you have the energy to manage our few restaurants? These past two years, Huairu's husband took good care of us. Now that he's gone... it will probably be even harder from now on."

After listening, He Yuzhu had a plan in mind: "Siqiang, from now on, I will find a way to handle the supplies for your restaurants. After all, those people have been your old partners for many years."

Chen Qingshan held He Yuzhu's hand tightly.

The great drought and famine that swept across the country had finally, slowly, been endured.

In the Si Jiu Cheng of 1962, although life could not be called wealthy, and Grain Coupons and cloth coupons were still precious, the expressions of the pedestrians on the street were finally much more relaxed.

As soon as He Yuzhu arrived at the factory, he saw He Daqing walking over with a mournful face, holding a document in his hand.

He Yuzhu took it and looked; his expression sank instantly, and after reading it, he was absolutely furious.

This was a notice issued by the Municipal Labor Bureau, ordering the Red Star Rolling Mill to stop distributing the monthly 23-jin grain subsidy and 12-jin dried fish subsidy.

He Yuzhu slapped the table, his veins throbbing: "Dad, haven't we always had special approval? How could this happen?"

He Daqing sighed, his face full of helplessness: "The Labor Bureau has cancelled our special approval policy!"

He Yuzhu suppressed his anger: "Didn't you ask for the reason?"

He Daqing smiled bitterly: "I asked, they said our factory is no longer producing disaster relief materials, so the special approval is gone."

He Yuzhu shook his head slowly; he knew in his heart that various restrictions were coming.

He Daqing leaned in and lowered his voice: "There is some bad news to tell you, the new Labor Bureau Chief is named Zhou Hao. Do you know him? He seems to have a lot of prejudice against our factory!"

He Yuzhu was all too familiar with this name; it was practically carved into his bones. Seeing the anxious He Daqing, he said calmly: "He once pursued Tian Dan, but Tian Dan didn't agree. Out of love turned to hate, he took me as his imaginary enemy and competed with me at every turn. Later, he seriously violated discipline at the Municipal Bureau, and I heard he was demoted to a shipyard in the south. How could he suddenly be transferred to the Labor Bureau as Chief?"

He Daqing sighed: "Zhuzi, although we are now a ministry-level enterprise, the Labor Bureau can still control our recruitment quotas, wages, bonuses, and welfare distribution. This new official is burning his 'three fires' upon taking office, and he wants to use us as an example!"

He Yuzhu was silent for a moment and said: "Then I might as well just give up the position of Factory Director."

He Daqing shook his head, a fierce look in his eyes: "Zhuzi, if you quit, he will use you as an example to investigate. So, you must hold on. He has his strategies, and we have our own ways to counter them..."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu felt it made sense; he no longer hesitated and immediately dialed Tian Dan's number.

As soon as Tian Dan heard it was He Yuzhu, she smiled bitterly: "Are you calling to ask about Zhou Hao?"

"Dan, you don't know, he is now strangling our factory's welfare. The Farm and the fishery were both built by our own hands, why do we need their approval to distribute things?"

Tian Dan's voice also sank: "He is using policy as a pretext now. To tell you the truth, we are also being restricted very strictly. Many people are already dissatisfied with me. Haven't you noticed? I don't even dare to borrow grain from you anymore."

"He has been disciplined, so how can he still be promoted to such a critical position?" He Yuzhu asked helplessly.