Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

"Water buckets! And that push-button valve! They're selling like hotcakes!" Lou Yu-fan's voice was almost a roar. "After the typhoon, the whole of Hong Kong is scrambling to buy water storage containers! Our PC water buckets, and that push-button valve you designed, are already booked until next year!"

"And another thing! That household Maifan stone water purifier you asked me to find someone to make the mold for production, I tried to get two thousand sets out, and they were all snapped up in an hour! Now those foreign companies and department stores are waving cash and blocking the gate of my factory, wanting as many as I have!"

Cheung Yiu-yeung listened to the phone call and a smile appeared on his face.

Typhoon Wanda was a natural disaster for others, but for him, it was an unexpected windfall.

What are we waiting for? Let's work overtime! Let's make money!

The police should be given a bribe, and as long as it's not excessive, the triads can give a little something to let everyone know they're safe.

We're here to make money; there's no need for us to be aggressive or violent.

Zhang Yaoyang specifically instructed Lou Yufan that he didn't care how Lou Yufan waged price wars with his other products. However, anything related to "Mixue Ice Cream"—water buckets, push-button valves, and small household maifan stone filters—would all be affordable and of high quality!

What I want is for everyone to give a thumbs up whenever "Mixue Ice Cream" is mentioned in the past two years!

Once you master this, making money will be a piece of cake!

Lou Yufan naturally understood what he meant. Everyone tacitly agreed to focus on building a strong brand first.

With a good reputation, future development will be much easier.

------------

Recently, the atmosphere at the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill has become unusually strange.

With the tightening of policies from above, the factory has been extremely strict in its discipline and conduct rectification.

The practice of nitpicking and tattling on each other spread rapidly throughout the workshops.

If you say the wrong thing carelessly, you might be summoned to the security office for questioning the next day.

Yi Zhonghai's days in the first workshop were extremely difficult.

Although he is currently only a fourth-level worker, he also has five sixth-level worker apprentices under his supervision.

He pinned all his hopes on the grade exam next April.

If these five apprentices can successfully advance to level seven, he can reapply for reinstatement of the level examination based on his "meritorious service in mentoring apprentices".

With his skills and abilities, passing the Level 7 exam on the spot is a given, and passing Level 8 is not impossible.

So during this period, Yi Zhonghai was as well-behaved as a grandson in the workshop.

He never interrupts other people's conversations, and he even goes to the toilet at the exact time, for fear of being caught slacking off.

The old man who used to preach morality and official jargon in the courtyard house is now too afraid to utter a single word.

Liu Haizhong was also very cautious in the second workshop.

He was uneducated and only managed to get the title of group leader because of his eldest son Liu Guangqi's connections with Li Huaide and because of Da Biao's influence. It wasn't exactly a substitute job, but at least he had a title and everyone recognized him as the group leader.

Things are tense at the factory right now; countless eyes are watching his position.

Liu Haizhong arrives at the workshop early every day, eager to clean and wipe the machines.

He speaks to the workers politely, and the imperious and domineering manner he used to display is nowhere to be found.

The old order of the older generation has completely collapsed in the face of this storm of the times.

------------

The fact that Sha Zhu was making bone broth could not be kept secret in the end.

He scraped his skin for three days straight, and finally caught the attention of Director Ma of the cafeteria.

That evening, Sha Zhu had just smashed a large bone and was preparing to put it into an aluminum pot.

The kitchen door was suddenly kicked open.

Director Ma stormed in, accompanied by two security officers.

"Silly Zhu! You've got some nerve!"

"The workers in the entire factory are starving, and you dare to undermine the collective by stealing meat from the kitchen!"

Director Ma pointed at the aluminum pot on the cutting board, spitting out saliva that flew far away.

Sha Zhu, still holding the iron hammer, retorted with a stiff neck.

"Which eye of yours saw me stealing meat?"

"This is just a cleaned-out bone fragment. What's wrong with me smashing it up and making some soup?"

Director Ma sneered and stepped forward to lift the pot lid.

"Bone fragments? What's with the oil floating on top of this soup?"

"You dare say you didn't scrape the skin off the meat from the cutting board?"

Sha Zhu was speechless for a moment.

He did indeed scrape off the skin, but in the past, nobody would have wanted that kind of stuff.

Just then, Xu Damao staggered in from outside. He had been having dinner with the head of the publicity department and Li Huaide that day, and had drunk a little too much.

He happened to be passing by the kitchen when he heard the commotion and came over to see what was going on.

Upon seeing that Sha Zhu had been caught red-handed, Xu Damao immediately felt smug – he was completely out of control!

"Oh my goodness, Director Ma, this is catching them red-handed!"

"That silly Zhu is always slacking off in the kitchen. We have to investigate him thoroughly this time; he might even have stolen food coupons!"

Upon hearing Xu Damao's words, Sha Zhu's eyes immediately turned red.

He raised the iron hammer in his hand and lunged at Xu Damao.

"Xu Damao! I'll fuck your grandma! You dare to scheme against me!"

Xu Damao screamed in fright and quickly hid behind the security officer.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

Two security officers quickly pulled out their batons and pinned Sha Zhu to the ground.

Xu Damao sobered up at this point. "Damn it, how could I have been so rude?"

What should we do?

He was starting to panic.

Sha Zhu was strong and struggled desperately, banging on the kitchen cabinets with loud thuds.

"Let me go! I didn't steal anything! This is retaliation!"

Director Ma felt a little scared looking at the crazed Sha Zhu.

This kid is a real troublemaker; if you push him too far, who knows what he might do?

Moreover, the factory manager had also instructed that Sha Zhu's cooking skills were top-notch, and they would have to rely on him when entertaining guests; they couldn't just dismiss him outright.

After weighing the options, Director Ma decided to take the opportunity to back down.

"Alright! Silly Zhu, since you usually put a lot of effort into your cooking, I won't send you to the security office this time!"

"But this pot of soup is confiscated! Your entire bonus for this month will be deducted!"

"If this happens again, you'll be fired!"

Director Ma waved his hand, signaling someone to pick up the aluminum pot, and then left with his staff.

Seeing that things were not going well, and that Sha Zhu's eyes were now bloodshot, Xu Damao immediately slipped away.

Sha Zhu slumped to the ground, staring at the empty cutting board, and angrily slammed his fist against the wall, causing his knuckles to bleed profusely.

------------

In the evening, Sha Zhu returned to the courtyard house empty-handed and dejected.

Xu Damao also returned early, hiding in the house and locking the door, not daring to come out. He knew he had gone a bit too far today, but apologizing to Sha Zhu was out of the question.

Qin Huairu waited by the pool in the central courtyard.

I saw Sha Zhu walk in with his head down, not carrying that familiar aluminum pot.

Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat; she knew something was wrong.

She went up to talk to him, and Sha Zhu wanted to explain, but he didn't know what to say. In the end, he shook his head and went back into the house alone.

Qin Huairu was stunned for a moment, then went back to her room.

Jia Zhangshi was lying on the kang waiting for dinner when she saw Qin Huairu return empty-handed, and immediately rolled her eyes.

"That good-for-nothing Zhu didn't bring anything back today? What a waste!"

Qin Huairu ignored her mother-in-law's curses. She sat on the stool, her mind racing.

Sha Zhu can't even get leftovers and bone broth now, how will the Jia family survive in the future?

A glint of light flashed in Qin Huairu's eyes; she couldn't wait any longer.

You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub; you can't catch a rogue without risking your wife!