Chapter 23: Getting Into Trouble

Shazhu said he was treating Yu Haitang, but in reality, he was just fleecing the factory; if he gave everyone else a little less, wouldn't that solve it?

With hands that had been stir-frying for over a decade, he knew exactly how much every gram weighed.

"Yo, isn't this my good brother Xu Damao?"

Shazhu raised an eyebrow, looking at Xu Damao in front of him with a grin.

"Ha... ha..."

"Zhuzi, give me fifty cents' worth of meat dish, I want that stir-fried meat, and four steamed buns!"

Xu Damao forced a smile onto his face.

Shazhu wore a fake grin as he took Xu Damao's lunch pail, then stirred it around in the basin of stir-fried meat, serving a bowl filled mostly with broth.

It wasn't too excessive, though; if you looked closely, there were still two pieces of meat in there.

"Damao, it's still your brother here who treats you best; all the nutrition is in the meat."

"Here, these are five corn buns, they go best with this meat broth; this is a great tonic!"

Shazhu slammed the bowl down in front of Xu Damao with a 'bang'.

Half of the meat broth in the bowl splashed right out.

Xu Damao couldn't hold it in anymore and blurted out, "Screw your mother, He Yuzhu, are you looking for trouble on purpose?"

"I am looking for trouble, what can you do about it? If you're not convinced, come over and hit me," Shazhu sneered.

Xu Damao originally wanted to continue arguing, but there was a long line behind him, stretching almost to the outside of the Canteen.

The people behind saw Xu Damao lingering at the front and started cursing and swearing.

"You idiot at the front, can you hurry up after getting your food? I'm starving!"

"Exactly, it's good enough to have some meat broth; we're stuck eating plain cucumbers, damn it."

"As a Locksmith, it wouldn't be excessive for me to carry a wrench, would it?"

"And I'm the one who kills chickens in the back kitchen..."

Xu Damao, who had wanted to act tough, wilted on the spot and had no choice but to take his bowl and leave in a dejected manner.

Liu Huozi and the others received similar treatment to Xu Damao; their tomato scrambled eggs had only tomatoes and no eggs, and when they asked for smashed cucumbers, they were given a whole cucumber.

They weren't given steamed buns either, just yellow corn buns instead.

These guys didn't dare say anything about it; after all, Shazhu was not only a strong fighter himself, but he also had solid connections, which wasn't something they could afford to provoke.

"Damn it, let's go sit over there, brothers; I don't believe this kid can keep being arrogant forever."

Xu Damao couldn't help but curse.

He took his brothers to find a seat closer to the window; Shazhu saw them too, but didn't take it to heart at the time.

He even gave the people who came after them full, heaping spoonfuls of food.

This made the group itch with rage.

Xu Damao kept looking around, wondering where Zhao Gangzi had run off to; he hadn't come over to get his food yet. If he dared to give that kid the 'shaking spoon' treatment, that would be a show worth watching.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Factory Director Yang had some free time today and had finally come to the factory Canteen for a meal; it was a coincidence that he ran into Zhao Gangzi as soon as he arrived.

He already had a good impression of this young man, and with Lao Zhao's influence, the two of them were soon chatting away.

"Gangzi, you must work hard for me in the future. With your skills, it won't be a problem to be promoted to a Level 4 Fitter or even a Level 5 Fitter in a few years!" Yang Feng looked at the young man in front of him with great satisfaction.

"Then I'll thank the Factory Director in advance!"

Zhao Gangzi quickly put on a smile.

Although he didn't have a good attitude toward those people in the Siheyuan, he understood the ways of the world and knew he should be humble when dealing with his superiors.

If he could successfully establish a relationship with Factory Director Yang, it would be convenient to get things done in the future.

"Factory Director, you go sit over there for a moment, I'll go get your food for you."

Zhao Gangzi was very capable; he arranged for Factory Director Yang to sit down in a spot five or six rows away from Xu Damao's group, where they couldn't see what was happening.

Then he took the bowl from Factory Director Yang and went to join the line with his own bowl.

Seeing how sensible Zhao Gangzi was, Factory Director Yang couldn't help but nod with satisfaction.

"It seems I didn't misjudge him!"

Moreover, Zhao Gangzi was sensible enough not to ask the Factory Director for meal tickets; after all, it wasn't a large sum, so he could pay for it himself, and it would win the Factory Director's favor.

Although the line was quite long.

Shazhu was quite fast with his spoon.

After waiting for only five or six minutes, it was almost Zhao Gangzi's turn.

On the other side, Xu Damao, who had been constantly watching, clearly noticed Zhao Gangzi and quickly called over the others who were busy stuffing their faces, saying:

"Look, look, Zhao Gangzi is over there; wait and see the show!"

Hearing Xu Damao's words, the group quickly put down their corn buns and looked over.

"Silly, does Zhao Gangzi have such a big grudge with He Yuzhu? You make it sound quite scary," Liu Huozi wasn't very interested in this.

"Heh, you guys probably don't know, but last time Shazhu's hand was broken by this kid; would you say the grudge is big?"

"Is that so?"

"Then he's done for; Shazhu is the type to hold a grudge for everything..."

Under the curious gazes of the crowd, the line finally reached Zhao Gangzi. Zhao Gangzi looked up; although the guy was wearing a mask, that sleazy look was definitely Shazhu.

"Hmm?"

Shazhu's eyebrow twitched again. Speak of the devil, he hadn't expected to run into Zhao Gangzi just like that.

A sleazy smile formed under his mask; he couldn't wait to see Zhao Gangzi looking flustered and exasperated.

Zhao Gangzi pretended not to recognize who was in front of him, handed over two bowls directly, took out a one-yuan meal ticket, and said, "Master, please serve forty cents worth of vegetables in each of these two bowls, and give me six steamed buns. Put a bit more in this black bowl."

"Alright, alright, alright, I'll serve you right now!"

"I'll make sure you eat well and drink well, and get your fill."

Shazhu sneered while once again displaying his signature spoon-shaking skill; he didn't even serve ten cents worth of vegetables for the forty cents.

Both bowls contained only a few vegetable leaves, mostly just some broth, and a few chicken bones fished out from the pot.

"Shazhu, don't think I can't recognize you. What is the meaning of this? Do you know that this behavior violates the rules?!"

Zhao Gangzi frowned and said to Shazhu with extreme dissatisfaction.

Such behavior might be fine in the courtyard, but it was different in the Rolling Mill Canteen; this was a public canteen, and Shazhu was only working for the public.

If the leaders found out about this, having his wages docked would be considered light!

"What behavior? What rules?"

"I'm telling you, Zhao Gangzi, in this canteen, I am the rule. Whatever opinions you have, you'd better keep them to yourself!"

Shazhu finally felt arrogant for once.

Then, with another shake of the hand holding the spoon, he poured a ladle of clear water into the bowl and urged Zhao Gangzi to get lost quickly and not to interfere with his work.