Chapter 682: Acting Factory Director

Seeing that He Yuzhu was truly enraged, Xu Damao was terrified of getting another beating, so he scurried off to the front courtyard and stood by the entrance, ready to bolt at any moment.

He Yuzhu smiled and cupped his hands toward the crowd, saying, "I'll lay it out here today: I am no longer the Factory Director. From now on, if I hear anyone spreading gossip about me and Qin Jingru behind my back, and I catch you, I won't be polite to anyone."

After finishing, he cursed at Xu Damao: "Xu Damao, you listen to me too, damn it. Just because I've been tolerating you doesn't mean I'm afraid of you. Don't think I don't know about the dirty things you've done; don't wait for me to spill it all out at once!"

"You did shameful things yourself, yet you're afraid of others talking? I'm not afraid of your threats!" Xu Damao retorted stubbornly, then turned and ran, heading straight for Deputy Director Nie's house.

Seeing his bruised and swollen face, Deputy Director Nie frowned and asked, "Xu Damao, who beat you up like this?"

Xu Damao cried and complained with snot and tears: "It was He Yuzhu! This is retaliation! I clearly went to the Investigation Team to expose him today, but I don't know how it happened—he was actually released! He ran into me in the courtyard and started hitting me without a word. I took this beating for you, so you can't just ignore me!"

Deputy Director Nie's thoughts raced, and he pondered for a long while before asking, "What do you want? If I promote you, but you fail to take He Yuzhu down this time, and he continues to be the Factory Director, wouldn't he just fire you again later?"

Xu Damao sighed: "Deputy Director Nie, just let me go to the countryside to show movies. I heard those young people don't want to go to the countryside, so they are just short of people."

"I can agree to this," Deputy Director Nie nodded and said.

"Then could you incidentally promote Liu Haizhong to Deputy Director? His son Liu Guangfu has a good relationship with Liu Yahui, and Liu Yahui is on Committee Member Zhou's side; he asked me to put in a good word for him with you. I can't burn bridges." Xu Damao seized the opportunity to ask for another favor.

Mainly, Xu Damao was already feeling vaguely uneasy; the fact that He Yuzhu could be released so quickly meant that there was a high probability he wouldn't fall this time. He had taken three hundred yuan from Liu Haizhong, so he had to help pass this message along.

Deputy Director Nie waved his hand: "We'll talk about that later."

"Deputy Director Nie, I've completely offended He Yuzhu this time. I want to go to the countryside to show movies precisely because I don't want to run into him again. But if I do that, you'll have one less person by your side to offer you ideas. Liu Haizhong once went to Lingnan for construction aid with He Daqing and He Yuzhu, so he knows a lot about their affairs and is someone who can be utilized."

"I need to think about this; you go back first."

"Regardless of whether you promote Liu Haizhong or not, it's best to have a talk with him once and say that I helped him pass the message, otherwise, it will be hard for me to face people in the future!" Xu Damao didn't forget to remind him.

"Understood."

Only then did Xu Damao trot away happily. He calculated to himself that although he got beaten up today, he had at least pocketed three hundred yuan from Liu Haizhong, so the beating wasn't in vain. If he hadn't been beaten, Deputy Director Nie might not have given him this face.

When He Yuzhu returned to the East Cross Courtyard, He Yulu immediately ran over excitedly: "Brother! I've long found Xu Damao an eyesore; you finally dealt with him, that's great, that's great!"

He Yuzhu asked helplessly: "Yulu, you're a young lady, why do you love watching fights so much?"

"You don't know, Xu Damao is incredibly arrogant in the courtyard, and he often speaks ill of our family in front of me, saying that the He Family covers the sky with one hand in the factory. I get angry just hearing it, but I can't beat him."

He Yuzhu smiled helplessly: "Yulu, you are a young lady; you should prioritize your studies."

He Yulu pouted: "At school, one moment there are teachers, the next there aren't; sometimes we learn industry, sometimes we learn agriculture, and they barely teach anything from the books."

He Yuzhu said: "Then you should study on your own. Isn't your Teacher Ran very good at English? You should learn more from her."

"Teacher Ran has been sent to sweep the streets now!" He Yulu said.

"Then invite her to our home to teach you," He Yuzhu said.

"But last time Teacher Ran came to our house, Yan Laoxi stared at her like she was a thief; he might have even gone to report her," He Yulu whispered.

"In the future, have Teacher Ran come to the East Cross Courtyard to teach you; you all use that small gate in the East Cross Courtyard," He Yuzhu arranged.

He Yulu rolled her eyes: "Brother, nobody is studying, why should I be the only one? I think it's fine the way it is now."

He Yuzhu said in a deep voice: "You are lazy now, and you will definitely regret it in the future. When you grow up, what will you rely on to stand in society?"

He Yulu was indifferent: "Dad said, just let me play happily."

He Yuzhu sighed: "Don't listen to our dad. He doesn't understand things about the future."

He Yulu was unconvinced: "Sister He Yushui just sings, doesn't she live just fine?"

He Yuzhu sighed softly: "In the era you and He Zheng will live in, you need culture to stand firm. If you don't study hard now, you will definitely regret it when you grow up."

"I don't believe it!" He Yulu made a face and scurried away.

Watching his younger sister's retreating figure, a sense of loss welled up in He Yuzhu's heart.

He opened a bottle of Moutai for himself, took two cans of pork from his space, and began to drink alone, one spoonful of meat and one sip of wine at a time.

Just then, the phone suddenly rang. He Yuzhu picked it up and heard Secretary Liu's voice; he quickly put down his wine glass, and his whole person instantly sobered up.

Secretary Liu's tone was exceptionally stern this time: "He Yuzhu, you went too far this time. Claiming a village girl is a scientist—do you think the people above are fools? No one is pursuing you, they just don't want to make trouble."

He Yuzhu sighed: "Leader, please listen to my explanation. To be honest, I was indeed acting out of spite this time. I also know many people won't believe it, but I just wanted to try! I invented a machine; don't I even have the qualification to arrange for an ordinary worker to enter the factory? If I am to be punished for this, then I might as well do nothing at all."

Secretary Liu's tone softened immediately: "Zhuzi, even if you told the truth, nothing would happen. The higher-ups sent Secretary Zhao to participate in the whole process, which was the original intention. But you made such a scene, which instead put Secretary Zhao in a difficult position. If he believes you, it makes him look incompetent; if he doesn't believe you..."

Secretary Liu didn't continue, and He Yuzhu understood.

To put it bluntly, it was that his methods were too childish.

He Yuzhu quickly said: "Leader, why don't you just remove me; I will focus on being an Engineer and continue working on the Heavy Truck Project."

Secretary Liu said: "That won't work for now. The higher-ups attach great importance to that Typewriter of yours and hope you can build several hundred of them within a few months, the more the better."

He Yuzhu smiled: "Then what about the position of Factory Director?"

Secretary Liu said: "Your position will be left vacant for now; let Li Huaide act as the Factory Director."

"Leader, the factory will be in total chaos then!" He Yuzhu quickly warned.

"The interests on Li Huaide's side cannot be ignored. If we don't let him try, how will we know he can't do it? The faster you build the Typewriter, the sooner you will be restored to your original position," Secretary Liu said.