Chapter 627: Making Trouble Behind the Scenes

Qin Huairu glanced at the look in Xu Damao's eyes, and felt a wave of nausea in her heart.

However, having worked as a Manager in restaurants for so many years, what kind of person hadn't she seen? Her way of speaking had long since been honed—soft yet firm, and still able to leave people with a bit of face.

She smiled and said, "Xu Damao, I recognize you. Have you forgotten? I lived in the No. 95 Siheyuan for a long time."

Xu Damao slapped his forehead: "Oh my! I remember now! Sister Qin, you don't know, back then in the eyes of us little brats, you were a fairy descending to earth! Especially that Liu Guangqi, he thought about you every single day and even said quite a few lewd things."

Qin Huairu gave a faint smile and didn't take the bait: "I know you and Liu Guangqi don't get along, you don't need to tell me about his affairs."

Xu Damao leaned forward half a step and said with a fawning face: "Sister Qin, let me tell you something serious. I'm a bachelor now, and you're raising two kids; why don't we just make do and get together? It's such a perfect match!"

Qin Huairu was stunned by his shamelessness, and her face flushed red—even though she was already a mother of two, her skin was still thin.

She backed away: "Xu Damao, don't talk like that. If you keep spouting nonsense, I'm not going to pay attention to you anymore."

Xu Damao chuckled: "Sister Qin, you don't know, I just love children. I look at your son and daughter, and I find them absolutely adorable! Seriously, you should really consider me. Don't listen to the rumors those people outside spread; actually, I'm a pretty good person, and I've got a bit of savings in my hands."

Qin Huairu sighed: "Xu Damao, we are colleagues, after all. Don't say things like this in the future; it's inappropriate."

Xu Damao put away his smile and said solemnly: "Sister Qin, I'm speaking from the heart. My reputation in this neighborhood is rotten, but that's all rumors made up by those bastards like Liu Guangqi and Yan Jiefang. In truth, I'm really not that kind of person."

Qin Huairu pursed her lips and shook her head: "What kind of person you are has nothing to do with me; the point is that we aren't a good match."

Seeing there was no chance, Xu Damao didn't linger and left sullenly. After walking a dozen steps, he looked back to make sure no one was around and spat at the wall: "Pah! Isn't she just a stinking widow? Dragging two burdens along, she really thinks she's some kind of prize!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he looked up and saw He Yuzhu walking toward him.

A smile immediately piled up on Xu Damao's face: "Oh! Factory Director He! Are you, a busy man, also back to attend Yan Jiefang's wedding?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "The banquet is about to start, why are you leaving?"

Xu Damao waved his hand: "Hi, I just came to drop off a gift. If I really go to the venue, Xiaomei won't be happy to see me, so why bother?"

He Yuzhu glanced at him and reminded him: "The Propaganda Department has quite a few complaints about you lately, saying you basically never return to the factory to clock in and spend all day living in the village. You should be careful."

Xu Damao bowed and scraped: "Understood, understood, I'll keep it in mind." Watching He Yuzhu walk away, he spat at the wall again.

Just as Xu Damao exited the alley, he was stopped by someone.

A man wearing glasses, looking refined and gentle, blocked his path and asked: "You are Xu Damao, right?"

Xu Damao was already full of pent-up anger with nowhere to vent, so he rolled his eyes: "Yeah, what of it?"

"I'm Liu Weidong, from the Labor Bureau." The bespectacled man's attitude was quite polite, "Our leader would like to get to know you, would that be convenient?"

Xu Damao was startled and sized the other person up: "Sorry, show me your work ID. What if you guys are scammers and kidnap me?"

"Comrade Xu really knows how to joke!" Liu Weidong hurriedly took out his work ID and handed it over.

Xu Damao took it and looked at it carefully: "Section Chief Liu Weidong..." A smile immediately piled up on his face, "I was blind, please forgive me! That... why does your leader want to see me? May I ask?"

Liu Weidong adjusted his glasses: "To be honest, we haven't been investigating He Yuzhu for just a day or two. Therefore, we want to find a few people around him to understand his situation. We hope you can cooperate with our work."

As soon as Xu Damao heard the words "investigating He Yuzhu," he was so happy he almost jumped on the spot.

Over these years, He Yuzhu hadn't done much to him, and had even helped him.

But in Xu Damao's heart, He Yuzhu was a mountain pressing down on him, making him unable to breathe.

He hated He Yuzhu even more than he hated Liu Guangqi.

He hurriedly leaned in, his face full of smiles: "I have time! I have plenty of time! I grew up with He Yuzhu; I know all his dirty business best. This guy, he doesn't do a single decent thing and commits every evil act. I'm just puzzled, are the leaders blind? How could they let him be a Factory Director? He's just a cook! Hmph! He might not even be fit to be a Head Chef!"

Listening to this, Liu Weidong frowned slightly. The person before him was painting He Yuzhu as completely worthless; wasn't this going too far? He felt a vague sense of unease.

But there was no time to worry about that now; Liu Weidong waved at him: "Let's go, get in the car with me."

Xu Damao got in the car, and after several turns, he was brought to the Hongbin Building.

As soon as they entered the private room, he saw a man in a Zhongshan suit sitting inside, looking upright and clearly not an ordinary person.

Liu Weidong hurriedly introduced: "This is Comrade Zhou Hao."

Xu Damao bowed and scraped: "Your aura is incredible, you must be from a high-ranking cadre background, right?"

Zhou Hao frowned: "Comrade Xu Damao, don't say that. I wasn't born into any high-ranking cadre family."

Xu Damao smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits: "I heard the organization wants to investigate He Yuzhu? I will firmly cooperate! I'll say whatever you ask, and I absolutely won't hold anything back!"

Zhou Hao was unhurried; he beckoned the waiter to order dishes, poured a cup of tea for Xu Damao, and took a sip himself before speaking slowly: "No rush, Comrade Damao. Tell me from the beginning, what kind of person is this He Yuzhu, really?"

Xu Damao had finally found his chance, and once he opened his mouth, he couldn't stop.

Starting from his earliest memories, everything He Yuzhu had done, hadn't done, what he'd heard, and what he'd made up, he poured it all out at once. When he reached the exciting parts, spittle flew everywhere.

When he spoke of the time He Yuzhu and Liu Rusi saved his Siqiang, Xu Damao's eyes lit up: "Bureau Chief Zhou, you don't know! Back then, when He Yuzhu latched onto that woman surnamed Liu, it was incredible! It's said that woman was from the Military Statistics Bureau, and she had a huge crowd of people following her around; the spectacle was massive! Back then, they even dared to raid a prison!"

Hearing this, Zhou Hao sighed: "Comrade Damao, I know about this matter. At the time, He Yuzhu was trying to save a few of our comrades... In this matter, he did nothing wrong."

The smile on Xu Damao's face stiffened; he thought to himself, *Oh no, I wanted to smear him, why did I end up praising his merits instead? *

His eyes darted around, and he hurriedly tried to make up for it: "This man is too ruthless! Bureau Chief, you don't know, my father was killed by people He Yuzhu hired back then! And Li Yong from our courtyard, and Li Yong's father, they were all finished off by He Yuzhu using his connections... This kid, he recognizes no kin and is cold-blooded and vicious!"

Liu Weidong was on the side scribbling away with a pen, but the more he wrote, the more he felt something was wrong—he couldn't even tell which parts of what this man was saying were true and which were false.