Chapter 661: Sending People Away Overnight

He Yuzhu was stunned for quite a while, then raised his hand and slapped himself across the face.

"A lifetime of heroism, ruined in a single moment."

He muttered to himself, why did he have to drink at the Lou Family? Why didn't he take precautions in advance? He still trusted others too much.

It was useless to say these things now.

He put on his clothes, preparing to leave.

The door opened.

Lou Xiao'e walked in, and seeing that he was awake, her face turned bright red; she was caught between entering and retreating.

He Yuzhu looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and said softly, "Xiao'e, you shouldn't have done this! What are we supposed to be now?"

Lou Xiao'e lowered her eyes, her voice low: "Brother Zhuzi, for so many years... the person I have liked in my heart has always been you. But I am friends with Xueru, and I didn't want to ruin your relationship. I am leaving, and in this life, I will never see you again. I didn't want to leave nothing behind, so I thought of this clumsy method..."

As she spoke, her eyes turned red.

He Yuzhu looked at her pitiful appearance, and his heart softened after all.

He sighed: "Xiao'e, when you get over there, you will still have to marry. Doing this... it's not worth it."

"I don't care," Lou Xiao'e bit her lip, "Whether it's worth it or not is for me to decide."

He Yuzhu let out a long sigh: "Fine! When the time comes, I will see you off!"

Lou Xiao'e's tears fell in streams: "Brother Zhuzi... I'm sorry..."

He Yuzhu raised his hand and gently patted her head, as if coaxing a child: "What silly things are you saying."

He stood there, his heart in turmoil. After all the twists and turns, he still arrived at the same outcome as in the TV show.

Thinking of this, that child named He Xiao would likely be coming too.

Early the next morning, just as He Yuzhu reached the entrance of the Rolling Mill, he saw a group of students blocking the gate completely.

There was a sea of people, and their slogans were deafening.

He squeezed to the front to ask and only then learned that someone had leaked the news; the students were targeting Lao Yang and several demoted Cadres today, intending to drag them out for a struggle session.

He Yuzhu's heart tightened, and he hurriedly stepped forward to persuade them. After much talking, he finally managed to hold the students back temporarily and kept them from rushing in.

But he knew clearly in his heart that this situation would not last long.

He hurriedly convened a factory administrative meeting.

The meeting room was filled with smoke, and everyone's face looked grim.

He Yuzhu got straight to the point: "The group of students outside is blocking the factory gate every day; they will rush in sooner or later. When that happens, normal production in the factory will also be thrown into chaos. I propose sending Lao Yang and the others to the Dongbei Nongchang for labor; everyone, please raise your hands to vote!"

Several leaders in the factory knew clearly—sending them to the Red Star Farm was not for them to suffer, but to enjoy a good life.

That place had long since achieved mechanization; going there wouldn't be tiring, and it was a hundred times better than staying in the factory.

Secretary Wang thought for a moment; after all, it was Lao Yang who had promoted him, so he had to show some respect. He was the first to raise his hand.

He Daqing followed and raised his hand as well.

Li Huaide sat there, not saying a word for a long time.

He Yuzhu glanced at him, his eyes filled with a warning.

Li Huaide cleared his throat and said slowly: "Factory Director He's proposal is very good. A person like Factory Director Yang should be sent to farm and experience how difficult it is for the working people. I agree."

After the round of voting, it passed unanimously.

Everyone agreed to send Lao Yang and the other Cadres to the Red Star Farm in the Northeast early tomorrow morning.

When returning home in the evening, He Yuzhu spotted Bang Geng at the entrance of the alley at a glance.

That kid was mixed in with Liu Guangfu's group of students, walking along with the crowd, holding a small flag in his hand.

He Yuzhu waved at him from the side of the road.

Bang Geng saw it was him, quietly slipped out from the back of the line, and followed him into the courtyard.

The two sat down in the East Cross Courtyard living room, and He Yuzhu lowered his voice to ask: "Why aren't you guys having classes at your primary school?"

Bang Geng curled his lip: "Our Teacher Ran is already sweeping the streets, what classes are there to have? Let me tell you, Yan Laoxi has also been suspended!"

"How many days have you been following Liu Guangfu?"

"Five days," Bang Geng said.

"Whose houses have they been to?" He Yuzhu asked.

Bang Geng spilled everything about which houses they had visited and what they had done over the past few days.

Finally, he suddenly remembered: "I heard them discussing that they are going to grab Yang Weiguo and those people early tomorrow morning, and it's not just us, there are people from other places too."

After listening, He Yuzhu's expression darkened, and he stared at him, instructing: "Bang Geng, this intelligence of yours is very timely and very good. But you must remember, absolutely do not follow them in smashing things or hitting people, you hear me? Otherwise, if something happens, no one will be able to protect you!"

"I know!" Bang Geng gave a cheeky grin, with a bit of a rogue air, "Siqiang, I'm just going through the motions—poking the door a couple of times, poking the wall a couple of times, not doing anything for real. If I don't do anything at all, it won't look good to others."

He Yuzhu sighed, his tone softening: "Just keep drifting along for now. Next year, I'll find a way to get you into the factory as an apprentice. Once you're old enough, I'll make you a permanent employee."

Bang Geng heard this, but there was no expression on his face.

He couldn't see what the future held either.

Anyway, school was suspended, and wandering the streets all day made the days feel quite full.

Zhao Yingzi had mentioned it to him several times, wanting to get Bang Geng into the factory as an apprentice.

But at the moment, the factory's recruitment quotas were being watched very closely, and he didn't dare to rashly bring Bang Geng in.

He was thinking that early next year, he would find a way to produce some civilian goods and recruit more people.

By then, it would be easy to justify sneaking Bang Geng in.

He packed some things at home and drove the military vehicle from the Computer Laboratory directly to Lao Yang's house.

"Lao Yang, we are leaving immediately. Someone leaked the news; early tomorrow morning, people are going to intercept you and won't let you leave," He Yuzhu said.

Lao Yang said: "But I still have some paperwork that I haven't finished."

"Forget the damn paperwork, come with me now," He Yuzhu ordered.

He Yuzhu picked up Lao Yang and then brought the other six Cadres along one by one, leaving Beijing together. On the way, he made a phone call to Secretary Wang to explain the situation, and Secretary Wang also agreed to let He Yuzhu take them to Red Star Farm.

Qianmen Small Courtyard.

As soon as Xie Xiaolan saw Xu Damao enter the door, her face immediately blossomed into a smile.

"Damao, you smell terrible! I've boiled a big bucket of water for you; it's keeping warm in the wooden tub, so hurry to the courtyard and wash up."

Xu Damao lowered his head to sniff himself, frowning as he muttered, "Damn it, I've been cleaning toilets for another day. I can't even smell the stench on myself anymore; do you think my nose is broken?"

Xie Xiaolan giggled, "How does that idiom go... stay in a room full of orchids and you won't smell the fragrance after a while; stay in a shop selling salted fish and you won't smell the stench after a while. You've just gotten used to it!"

"Stop showing off your vocabulary," Xu Damao waved his hand, "Do you really think you've become an intellectual just by going to the Small Tavern for a few days?"

Xie Xiaolan wasn't annoyed; she leaned in and kissed him, her eyes smiling, "Damao, I have a huge piece of good news to tell you."

Xu Damao suddenly darkened his face, "Are you trying to disgust me? I'm cleaning toilets, for God's sake—what kind of good news could there possibly be?"

Xie Xiaolan didn't bicker with him; she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and waved it, "See this? I'm pregnant."

Xu Damao was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened, "Xie Xiaolan, you didn't go messing around with some wild man, did you?"