Courtyard House: Starting as an engineer, crushing a yard full of poultry

Chapter Thirty-One: Yi Zhonghai's Demotion (Seeking Flowers and Votes!)

“No problem,” Yu Dajiang readily agreed.

Li Xiangdong arrived at Workshop 1, where Factory Director Yang and Li Huaide were already there. Deputy Section Chief Zhang, along with several technicians, was instructing a few fitters on how to repair a machine tool.

That's the machine tool that crushed Jia Dongxu.

Li Xiangdong threw out five copies of the wax-printed exam papers and told the five level-eight fitters to do the questions.

Yi Zhonghai was furious. The other four eighth-grade workers looked at him as if they wanted to tear him apart.

Yi Zhonghai knew these people hated him. If it weren't for him, they wouldn't have been brought in for a re-assessment of their skills.

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath and focused on answering the questions. He didn't want to give Li Xiangdong an excuse to kick him off the eighth level.

Yi Zhonghai would rather bear the reputation of being a fraud than not stay at Level 8.

If Yi Zhonghai has two months' salary withheld and is then demoted, how will he ever be able to face anyone again? Not to mention the financial losses he'll suffer.

Li Xiangdong watched the machine tool being repaired, offering suggestions from time to time. The repair was then quickly completed. Of course, Deputy Section Chief Zhang and his team had spent the entire day yesterday organizing it.

Li Xiangdong and Deputy Section Chief Zhang reviewed the papers together, and they all passed. However, Li Xiangdong frowned and said, "Yi Zhonghai, your level is really too poor!"

"You barely passed. Others got at least 75 points and as high as 96. You only got 61. You were so close that you didn't even get a chance for the practical exam."

Yi Zhonghai's face turned as purple as a pig's liver. But he couldn't say anything yet, his head bowed, his heart filled with rage as he wanted to cut Li Xiangdong into seventeen or eighteen pieces.

"Alright, now do a hands-on exercise making one part. Finish it within half an hour. Two rounds should be enough." Li Xiangdong continued, "Yi Zhonghai, you should have been preparing for practice. Make sure you do it seriously."

Li Xiangdong appeared to be comforting Yi Zhonghai, but in reality, he was putting pressure on Yi Zhonghai.

Half an hour passed quickly, and five parts were completed. Li Xiangdong didn't take measurements but instead handed the task over to Deputy Section Chief Zhang.

This makes him seem magnanimous, even though everyone knows Li Xiangdong is targeting Yi Zhonghai. But he uses an open strategy, leaving you no room to say a word.

Deputy Section Chief Zhang, along with several technicians, carefully conducted the measurements. Then they announced the results: out of ten measurement points, Yi Zhonghai only met the requirements for five.

All four fitters met the standards.

If you fail to meet even one of these standards, it means you don't have the skill level of an eighth-grade worker. And you, Yi Zhonghai, have failed five of them.

“Yi Zhonghai, you failed in all five of these areas, all within the top three.” Li Xiangdong concluded, “You only have the skill level of a seventh-grade fitter, but even among seventh-grade fitters, you are among the top.”

"So you're now a level seven worker. You're entitled to the benefits of a level seven worker."

"I hope you can study hard and become a true Grade 8 worker as soon as possible."

Li Xiangdong's words were like daggers, stabbing straight into Yi Zhonghai's heart, leaving him with a lump in his throat.

"Alright, alright. Everyone get back to work. Yi Zhonghai has been demoted; he'll be receiving a level seven worker's salary from now on," Li Huaide added, delivering another blow.

Seeing that things were not going well, Factory Director Yang stepped forward to comfort Yi Zhonghai, saying, "Master Yi, keep practicing. There will be an upgrade assessment during the New Year. You're welcome to return to the ranks of Level 8 workers then."

Director Yang's words calmed Yi Zhonghai down considerably. He swallowed back the blood that had risen to his throat.

Ignoring all that, Li Xiangdong immediately turned and went to prepare the workshop. Factory Director Yang and Li Huaide hurriedly followed.

They are the leader and deputy leader of the research team, so they need to understand the research details. Otherwise, when the results are in and the higher-ups come to inspect, if they can't say a word, they'll make a fool of themselves.

The workshop had cleared out a space of about 100 square meters. Zhao Dafa even found sheet metal and used scrap steel bars to make pillars, thus enclosing the space.

There are several machines in this space. They are fully equipped with lathes, milling machines, and planers, as well as several fitter's benches.

"Director Zhao did a great job," Li Huaide said, patting Zhao Dafa on the shoulder.

Li Xiangdong immediately understood that Zhao Dafa was one of Li Huaide's men.

"Director Yang, Deputy Director Li, I need to salvage some useful parts from those old, discarded machines." Li Xiangdong said, "This will require your permission."

"Needless to say, take as many as you want. These things are just left here for the purpose of disassembling parts," said Factory Director Yang.

That was the decision, and it was lunchtime. Li Xiangdong carried his lunchbox to the cafeteria himself.

There are many canteens in the steel rolling mill. But the one closest to the office area is Canteen No. 1. And the factory's receptions are all held in Canteen No. 1.

The head chef of Cafeteria No. 1 is Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu was sitting on a recliner in the cafeteria, holding a large tea mug. Watching the staff busy serving food at the window, Sha Zhu felt like he was in charge of all of this.

There were eight food serving windows in the cafeteria, and Sha Zhu immediately spotted Yi Zhonghai queuing there. Sha Zhu hurried over.

"Get out of here, MCA! I'll take over!"

Sha Zhu snatched the large ladle from his apprentice's hand: "What does Grandpa want for lunch today?"

"Zhu Zi, two steamed buns made from two kinds of dough." Yi Zhonghai forced a kind smile on his face and said, "One braised tofu with pork cracklings, and another braised pork with cabbage."

Sha Zhu immediately poured two large, pointed spoons into Yi Zhonghai's lunchbox. Two steamed buns made from two different types of dough were then handed out.

That big spoonful of braised tofu with pork cracklings was mostly just pork cracklings. And the braised cabbage with pork was mostly just slices of fatty pork. Other people's big spoonfuls might only have a couple of slices of meat in them, which is considered good.

Liu Haizhong handed over a lunchbox: "Zhu Zi, make one like Lao Yi!"

Sha Zhu rolled his eyes. Although he didn't give Yi Zhonghai as much, it was still acceptable.

Xu Damao cursed his bad luck inwardly; he was also in this queue. If he went to another window to rejoin the queue, that idiot Zhu would definitely follow him. It was better to confront the idiot Zhu head-on here.

"Shazhu, I want two steamed buns made from two kinds of dough!" Xu Damao said.

"Okay, anything else?" Sha Zhu asked.

"That's enough. I won't eat any more vegetables. If you're so capable, break a steamed bun in half for me. That'll be something else," Xu Damao said through gritted teeth.

"Damn it, I bet you can eat nothing but steamed buns every day," Sha Zhu said through gritted teeth.

"You idiot, can't I go to another cafeteria tomorrow?" Xu Damao said disdainfully.

Sha Zhu was furious, his face turning ashen. He kept shaking his ladle as he served food to the workers, leaving them angry but unable to say anything.

Li Xiangdong watched from behind, shaking his head. Now it was his turn. Sha Zhu was stunned when he saw it was Li Xiangdong.

"Give me braised pork with cabbage and stir-fried shredded potatoes," Li Xiangdong said casually. "And two steamed buns, please!"

Chapter Thirty-Two: Cutting Off Sha Zhu's Escape Route (Seeking Flowers and Votes!)

Sha Zhu grabbed the spoon and smacked the spoon at the tip, but his hand was like someone with Parkinson's disease. It trembled a few times, and only a tiny bit remained.

Sha Zhu tried to pour the food from his spoon into Li Xiangdong's lunchbox, giving Li Xiangdong a provocative look. But when Sha Zhu saw Li Xiangdong's calm gaze, he didn't seem angry at all.

But Sha Zhu immediately snapped to attention, remembering Li Xiangdong's identity. Li Xiangdong was the head of the technical department, someone who could disregard Factory Director Yang. Wasn't doing this just courting death?

"Hehe, just kidding, I'm a neighbor from the same compound."

Sha Zhu smiled and said, "I'll fill it up for you right away."

Sha Zhu ladled two large spoonfuls of food for Li Xiangdong, and then handed him two steamed buns.

After taking it, Li Xiangdong said calmly, "I would suggest putting up a suggestion box outside the cafeteria. Anyone who is dissatisfied can submit a letter of criticism. Of course, it should contain something concrete."

"The act of shaking the ladle is considered embezzlement. Once verified, it will be sent directly to the police station!"

After finishing his sentence, Li Xiangdong took his food and went to find a place to eat.

The workers cheered, but Sha Zhu felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that if he wanted to work as a ladle shaker in the future, he'd better think it over carefully.

The cafeteria staff were also unhappy. They could give this person a bite less, or that person half a bite less. This way, with fewer people, they could save a lot of food. When they finished get off work, they could divide it up, and everyone could take two large boxes of food home.

"This cuts off our source of income."

A chubby boy muttered to himself.

Sha Zhu's face was grim; he was the one taking the lion's share of the profits. He'd seen this going on every day for the past few years. Otherwise, how could he have raised Jia Zhangshi's pigs like pigs?

Qin Huairu was skimped on her food at the Jia family's residence, yet she still grew up plump and healthy. It was all thanks to Sha Zhu.

Of course, Sha Zhu himself didn't have much money left over. He used leftover food from the cafeteria. The only money he contributed was thirty yuan when Jia Dongxu died.

Li Xiangdong found a corner to sit down and quickly ate, wolfing down his food. The taste was just so-so. It was a cheap, almost welfare-like place.

I had just finished packing up my lunchbox and was about to leave when I saw Liu Haizhong walking over.

"Hello, Section Chief Li," Liu Haizhong said, bowing and scraping. His demeanor was completely different from his previous arrogant attitude.

"What do you want?" Li Xiangdong asked casually.

At this moment, Li Xiangdong walked out of the cafeteria and was heading towards his office.

"Section Chief Li, I just wanted to ask when the re-examination for our forging workers will be held?" Liu Haizhong asked humbly.

"Just focus on honing your skills, don't ask so many questions. Do you think the boss will tell you in advance what he's decided?" Li Xiangdong said disdainfully.

"Don't think about anything else, get back to work."

Liu Haizhong left, somewhat apprehensive.

Liu Haizhong was quite confident in his level seven blacksmithing skills. His failure to pass the level eight blacksmithing assessment several times was simply due to his third-grade elementary school education.

But Liu Haizhong was afraid that Li Xiangdong might throw a hard time at him during the assessment, making him wear the shoes. So, should he wear them or not?

Liu Haizhong then remembered the methods he had used in the compound. Since people ignored him, they were completely ineffective.

But Li Xiangdong, with his overt and blatant schemes in the factory, could make them suffer terribly. Yi Zhonghai not only got demoted, but he also lost face and was trampled on.

The stigma of selling counterfeit goods will likely stick with Yi Zhonghai for the rest of his life.

In the afternoon, Li Xiangdong, along with some level four and level one and two workers, was in the preparation workshop. They disassembled many parts from the old machine tools and took them to the research lab.

Two level-eight workers also made an appearance. Li Xiangdong greeted them politely and told them to come over the next morning.