The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

"You...you...you..."

Yu Lanfen, who has a tough personality but is also a warm-hearted person, had her blood pressure spike and her brows furrowed into a knot.

She was genuinely worried. With He Xiaomeng's personality, she wouldn't suffer any losses or grievances with their protection at the factory.

You can only protect someone for a while, not forever. What will happen after they get married? What if they encounter a difficult and mean mother-in-law and a clueless husband? Won't they be bullied to death?

Zhang Qin, Yan Kailei, and Zheng He also looked worried; they all liked this gentle and kind little sister very much.

Liu Hao took a towel used for wiping the table, poured some water from an enamel teacup onto the chair, wiped it vigorously, sat down, turned to look at He Xiaomeng, and said seriously, "Come on, let me teach you a few Northeastern phrases. Next time you encounter a scoundrel like Yang Weimin, be a little tougher and just curse him out."

He Xiaomeng nodded hurriedly.

"Okay, wait a minute, Brother Hao, you're from Tongxian, how come you speak Northeastern dialect? Oh, Sister Juan must have taught you!"

Liu Hao recalled that the little queen had said that she and He Xiaomeng were classmates, and that she often protected the overly gentle He Xiaomeng when they were in school.

"Didn't your older sister teach you how to be more assertive when you were in school?"

He Xiaomeng lowered her head awkwardly and said weakly, "I was taught, but I can't learn it."

"..."

Liu Hao refused to believe it, cleared his throat, and struck a pose as if he were a teacher giving a lecture.

"Listen up, first thing: to deal with someone who's taking advantage of you, just tell them straight up: What are you looking at? What's it to you if I look at you again? I'll beat you up if you keep looking!"

"Remember, your tone should be forceful, your eyes fierce, and you have to convey that tough, unyielding spirit of a Northeasterner!"

He Xiaomeng blinked her bright, clear eyes, hesitated for a long time, and then spoke in a soft voice.

"What...what are you looking at? What's wrong with looking at you? Look again...and I'll...I'll cut you up!"

Her voice was soft and gentle, like a marshmallow. It had no intimidating power whatsoever, and the end of her voice even had a timid tremor, making her sound just like a cute but fierce little rabbit.

Liu Hao's forehead vein throbbed. He took a deep breath and then uttered an even harsher remark.

"Change it to this one, say it with a fierce, stern face: 'Don't give me that nonsense, get the hell out of here, or I'll show you why flowers are so red!' You have to shout it out, the tone has to be powerful!"

"Don't...don't give me that nonsense, get out of here, or I'll show you why flowers are so red."

He Xiaomeng's voice remained gentle and soft, even the word "get lost" was pronounced in a soft and sweet voice, as if she were being coquettish, without any hint of fierceness.

Yu Lanfen and the others nearby were amused, their shoulders shaking as they tried to suppress their laughter.

Liu Hao was utterly speechless. He put one hand to his forehead, looking at the gentle and lovely girl in front of him, wishing he could give her half of his queenly aura.

"You're not swearing, you're singing a lullaby! With a voice like that, wouldn't someone buy you a candied hawthorn on the spot to cheer you up?"

He Xiaomeng blushed, picked at the hem of her clothes in embarrassment, and muttered to herself.

"I...I've already tried my best..."

Liu Hao's lips twitched violently a few times, then he suddenly slapped his forehead, cursing himself for almost going astray.

This was in the 1960s. Using legal arguments to label someone was the ultimate weapon, a hundred times more effective than rambling on and on.

He immediately decided to change his strategy and teach He Xiaomeng to put on a big accusation.

"I forgot to tell you, when dealing with those shameless, scoundrel-like people, don't argue with them, just take it to the extreme."

Yu Lanfen, Yan Kai, and the others' eyes lit up, thinking to themselves that Liu Hao's brain was indeed very useful.

This kind of over-the-top approach is indeed very suitable for He Xiaomeng.

"Listen carefully, next time anyone dares to pester you, just keep an eye on them. You don't need to raise your voice, but your expression must be stern, and you must speak clearly."

"Let me take Yang Weimin as an example!"

Liu Hao said coldly, "Comrade Yang Weimin, let me make it clear to you that I have no good feelings towards you. Please stay away from me."

"And let me remind you, this is a new society that emphasizes gender equality and upright conduct. If you dare to harass me, you are undermining the factory's discipline and bringing shame to our Third Steel Rolling Mill. I'm going to the factory's security department and the police station right now to let the organization judge this matter and see how the organization will deal with someone as shameless and morally questionable as you."

He Xiaomeng's eyes widened, and she immediately understood. She followed along, learning word by word, and her standard Mandarin became very powerful.

"Comrade Yang Weimin, let me remind you, this is a new society that emphasizes gender equality and proper conduct... What you're doing is indecent behavior and a violation of factory rules and regulations..."

Liu Hao nodded in satisfaction, then added an even harsher remark.

"If he still insists, then add another sentence: This shameless and despicable behavior, at best, is just being a scoundrel; at worst, it's causing trouble for socialist construction. I want to see which comrade in the whole factory will stand on the side of someone like you who specializes in crooked ways!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Lanfen couldn't help but clap her hands and applaud.

"Okay, that's how we should label him. It's much more effective than yelling at him."

Yan Kai said with a smile, "Xiao Liu's idea is great, it's perfect for Xiao Meng, Xiao Meng, you should learn from it."

"Remember this: if you encounter trouble, don't be afraid. Scare him into going to the security department, the police station, or the Women's Federation. If anyone dares to use their family background to coerce you, just say you'll write a letter in blood and go to the square to file a complaint!"

Holy crap, bro, you're the real tough guy.

Even Liu Hao was shocked. This move was the ultimate kill. Who wouldn't panic?

He Xiaomeng nodded vigorously, making sure she remembered these words.

She really couldn't learn how to argue, but Liu Hao taught her this trick, which was both simple and practical.

But to Liu Hao's surprise, He Xiaomeng would soon use the trick he taught her to do something that would shock the whole country and alarm the central government.

……

Fourth floor, factory manager's office.

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive. Yang Xingguo sat on the sofa smoking, looking very troubled. He glanced at the deaf old woman sitting opposite him, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.

In 1942, he was an apprentice at a steel factory in Beiping. Once, he was chased by debt collectors for gambling debts and was almost beaten to death. On his way out, he bumped into a deaf old woman who happened to know the debt collectors and saved him.

He would never forget this life-saving grace.

He joined the army in 1947, and in 1952 he was demobilized and returned to the Third Steel Rolling Mill as deputy director of the fitter workshop. In 1957 he was promoted to factory director. The deaf old lady came to him for help and rated Yi Zhonghai as an 8th grade fitter.

According to the standard assessment procedures, Yi Zhonghai is at most considered a senior level 7 worker, and his technical skills do not reach level 8.

However, in order to repay the kindness of the deaf old lady, and because two level 8 fitters from the steel rolling mill had been transferred away to carry out secret missions, the factory needed a level 8 fitter to fill the position.

He eventually agreed and used his power to help Yi Zhonghai pass the performance evaluation.

Later, Sha Zhu stole leftover food from the kitchen, and even stole grain and intercepted ingredients for the banquet. He was reported many times, but it was the deaf old lady who came to plead for him, and he forcibly suppressed the reports.

All these years, Sha Zhu has been doing petty theft and living such a comfortable life, all because he's been protecting him.

Last August, Yi Zhonghai messed up the processing of special parts. The ministry ordered a thorough investigation. If the allegations were true, Yi Zhonghai would not be fired, but a demotion would be a certainty. The deaf old lady shamelessly came to ask him for help again.

He was already impatient at that point and made it clear that this was the last time, and that they would be even afterward.

The deaf old lady agreed readily, but now that Sha Zhu has caused trouble, you're coming to me to beg for mercy.

The deaf old woman who was secretly observing Yang Xingguo also knew very well that this was truly the last time, as there would be no third time.

"Little Yang, I don't want to put you in a difficult position, after all, Zhu Zi was punished on the orders of the department leaders. But he's my only grandson, can I just stand by and watch him suffer in the foundry workshop?"

"Give this old woman one last bit of face. From now on, we're even, and we owe each other nothing. How about that?"