Chapter 646: Yu Haitang Makes Things Difficult for Xu Damao

As soon as Xu Damao stepped into his home, Xie Xiaolan came up to help him take off his overcoat, asking as she hung it up, "That old leader of yours, did he let you go back to work yet?"

Xu Damao clicked his tongue: "Two Small Yellow Fish, and they still couldn't move him!"

Xie Xiaolan's hands paused, and she was stunned: "What? He didn't agree?"

Xu Damao reached out and gave her bottom a light pat: "Two didn't move him, but four, didn't that move him?"

Xie Xiaolan spat: "This bastard is really greedy enough!"

"Who's to say he isn't? These four Small Yellow Fish are worth a year of my salary. But don't worry, I'm keeping an eye out for an opportunity to earn this money back."

Xie Xiaolan suddenly hugged him from behind, her voice softening: "Damao, listen to me, don't touch those speculative businesses anymore. Now that I have a job too, I can support you, let's just live our lives honestly."

Xu Damao laughed and turned his head to look at her: "Support me? How much do you earn a month?"

"Thirty-six yuan!"

Xu Damao laughed out loud: "Xie Xiaolan, you're something! Aren't you the one who earns the least in your factory?"

"That goes without saying, I'm even an advanced worker for these past two years," Xie Xiaolan said proudly.

"Dabao said you go to a small tavern for a drink every day after work! Confess honestly, are you trying to go seduce wild men?"

"Fart! I'm just taking advantage of the situation. The people in the tavern are almost all people who come to our coal station to buy coal. When they see me bringing Dabao along, they all buy things for Dabao to eat. That way I can save my salary."

Xu Damao laughed: "You've got quite a few clever ideas, don't you? I'm a mortal enemy of He Yuzhu, can Xu Huizhen tolerate you?"

Xie Xiaolan lifted her chin: "It's not just Xu Huizhen; even Chen Xueru from the clothing store fawns over me every day!"

Xu Damao squinted at her, a playful smile on his face: "It's a pity, if you knew a few more characters and had a higher level of education, you could really make a name for yourself in the city."

Xie Xiaolan gave him a light push and said sternly: "Damao, Liu Weidong's wife, Duan Xiaojie, is a good person; she's the one who arranged this job for me. The two of us should go see her together one of these days!"

Xu Damao nodded, his expression becoming a bit more serious: "Good! You're better than me when it comes to social dealings."

At the Red Star Rolling Mill administrative meeting.

Party Secretary Wang spoke first: "Comrade Yang Weiguo is my old superior; back in the day, I was even brought up by him. But now, seeing him step down from a leadership position to become a cleaner, I don't feel good about it either. But personal feelings are one thing, and principles cannot be broken. He has become what he is today because his ideology slipped, thinking that just because he was a leader he was a cut above others, and his stance wavered... From today on, political study must be taken seriously; everyone must self-examine, don't wait until something happens to regret it. Everyone must remember, if the line is wrong, no matter how old your seniority is or how strong your connections are, it's useless. Everyone be vigilant, don't follow in Comrade Yang Weiguo's footsteps..."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Yuzhu slapped the table with a "Clap!": "The Secretary is absolutely right! Yang Weiguo even found me a few days ago, asking me to give him an easier job, and I refused on the spot! I see this as him being unrepentant, not realizing the severity of the problems he has committed..."

After He Yuzhu finished speaking, the whole room was stunned; even Party Secretary Wang looked up at him, feeling that this person had suddenly changed.

He Yuzhu continued passionately: "From today on, I suggest that the administrative departments should report early and report late, study hard, and make progress every day..."

He Yuzhu spoke incessantly for a long time; many of the terms were things everyone had never even heard of, yet they were extremely appropriate and fitting.

After the meeting, He Daqing asked: "Zhuzi, what's wrong with you? Suddenly you're spouting all this, it seems even more professional than what Party Secretary Wang said..."

He Yuzhu gave a faint smile: "The wind has picked up; we can't even protect ourselves, so how can we protect others?"

He Daqing sighed and said: "Old Yang's matter, are you really not going to do anything?"

He Yuzhu said: "It's not the time yet; for now, no one is maliciously targeting him."

As soon as Xu Damao started work, he saw Yu Haitang sitting at her desk writing a draft.

Looking at the beautiful Yu Haitang, he suddenly felt an itch in his heart and leaned over cheekily, saying: "Sister Haitang, I'm Xu Damao, do you still recognize me?"

Yu Haitang is twenty-one years old this year and has grown even more beautiful.

She has a clear voice and is an announcer at the Red Star Rolling Mill broadcasting station, as well as the group leader of the Broadcasting Group.

She glanced at Xu Damao sideways and asked bluntly: "Xu Damao, what benefits did you give Section Chief Li? You just got out from inside, and you can already enter such an important place as the Broadcasting Group?"

Xu Damao was choked up and said: "Yu Haitang, why are you talking like that? I've been in the Propaganda Section for how many years? You weren't even here back then! I did indeed make some mistakes, but that wasn't anything major."

"With your level of awareness, you'll get into trouble sooner or later! I can't be bothered to lecture you on big principles." Yu Haitang scribbled out a list, "The big loudspeaker at the Tractor Factory is broken, and there are two small loudspeakers in the Locksmith Workshop that aren't making any sound. You and Liu Erhei must have them all fixed by this morning."

Humiliated by Yu Haitang, the little thought he had for her in his heart vanished instantly.

"But I'm not skilled in repairs."

Yu Haitang laughed: "You're skilled at showing movies, but why weren't you assigned to the Projection Group, and instead put into our Broadcasting Group? That's because those good things aren't your turn yet; you can only do some odd jobs first."

Xu Damao was choked up again; the little feelings he had for Yu Haitang were completely gone now.

Xu Damao found Liu Erhei, who was in charge of line maintenance, and shook the list: "Liu Shifu, Yu Haitang wants us to go fix a few loudspeakers."

Liu Erhei nodded and said: "Xu Shifu, you carry the ladder."

Xu Damao looked at the long ladder and said: "Liu Shifu, I can't carry this ladder by myself, let's carry it together!"

Liu Erhei laughed: "Before you came, I did all these maintenance jobs by myself. Not only did I have to carry the ladder, I also had to carry the foot pedals and the wires, and sometimes I even had to carry two new big loudspeakers."

"Alright, I get it!" Xu Damao understood in his heart; although Section Chief Li transferred him into the Propaganda Section for the sake of money, he couldn't possibly give him a good job for fear of others gossiping.

Carrying the ladder, just as Xu Damao arrived at the entrance of the Locksmith Workshop, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure holding a large broom, sweeping the floor stroke by stroke.

He was stunned, put down the ladder, and leaned over, lowering his voice: "Isn't this Factory Director Yang? Why are you sweeping the floor here?"

Lao Yang looked up and sized him up: "Who are you?"

Xu Damao hurriedly piled on a smiling face and bowed: "I'm Xu Damao, the one who used to show movies in the factory, don't you remember me?"

Factory Director Yang gave an "Oh" and nodded, then didn't speak again, lowering his head to continue sweeping.

Xu Damao wanted to say something more, but Liu Erhei, who was walking in front, shouted impatiently: "What are you dawdling for, hurry up!"

Xu Damao had no choice but to shut his mouth sheepishly, picked up the ladder again, and walked quickly into the Locksmith Workshop.

As he entered the door, he couldn't help but look back—the man who once spoke on the podium was now bent over, sweeping the trash into the dustpan bit by bit.