Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

On Sunday, Li Yu spent the whole day at the library by himself, focusing on books on steelmaking. On his way back to the steel mill dormitory, he borrowed a few books to take with him.

He plans to look through it whenever he has free time, so that others will know the source of his skills.

While Li Yu was leisurely reading in the library, Yang Weimin was summoned to the Ministry of Industry by a high-ranking leader.

The stove crackled in the office, and the winter wind howled outside the window. The big boss hadn't said a word or even glanced at Yang Weimin since he entered.

He simply stared at the red flag slogan for safe production on the wall, his fingers lightly tapping the table.

Yang Weimin stood in front of his desk, clutching his hat tightly in his hand; the hat was almost soaked with sweat from his hands.

Just as Yang Weimin stood there nervously, unsure of what to say, the high-ranking leader said slowly in a deep voice, "Comrade Yang Weimin, please sit down."

Yang Weimin remained standing, not daring to sit down, and said somewhat awkwardly, "Sir, I'll just stand here and listen to your instructions."

Suddenly, the big boss slammed his hand on the table, causing the water in his tea to spill out.

"Stand still! The enemy has even infiltrated your steel mill's technical department! The deputy head of the technical department is a Japanese spy, who has been undercover for three years!"

"Sun Dafu, the head of the security department, was corrupted, important documents were stolen, and two workers lost their lives!" At this point, the high-ranking leader suddenly stood up and stared into Yang Weimin's eyes.

"Yang Weimin, are you, as the factory director, managing an important production department for the country, or opening the gates to the enemy?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Weimin was so frightened that his throat tightened and his face turned pale. He said in a trembling voice, "Leader... it was my dereliction of duty. Sun Dafu of the Security Section is an upright person and usually performs very well. The head of the Technical Section also passed the political review. I didn't expect them to be so good at pretending."

The high-ranking leader sneered and said, "Unexpected? Would enemy agents wear the word 'enemy agent' on their faces? Why didn't you pay attention to the obvious abnormality that Sun Dafu's daughter was sick and that he inexplicably had a large sum of money to treat her?"

"Comrade Li Yu, a genius technician who had just been registered in the ministry, was almost killed! If it weren't for his intelligence and skill in cleaning up the mess for your steel mill, you'd be going to jail!"

As he spoke, the senior leader grabbed the documents faxed over from the Municipal Public Security Bureau and threw them at Yang Weimin's face. "Look at the report from the Municipal Public Security Bureau! Japanese spies are using the technology we obtained from the Soviet Union with countless lives to make foreign exchange!"

"Just because the technicians in the technical department discovered the collusion between the Japanese spies and Sun Dafu, the couple were silenced."

"Yang Weimin, this is the new China, not the concessions of the old society."

Yang Weimin lowered his head, his hat distorted from his grip, and said in a trembling voice, "I... request disciplinary action from the organization. I am willing to accept any punishment."

The senior leader took a deep breath and slowly said, "Discipline? You think removing me today and replacing me with someone else tomorrow will solve the problem?"

After saying that, he sat back down on the stool and looked at Yang Weimin, saying, "I need you to answer a few questions for me. First, how exactly does the steel rolling mill conduct political vetting?"

"Secondly, have you received any reports regarding the unusual sources of income for the head of the security department?"

Yang Weimin looked up and met the direct gaze of the senior leader, his eyes already red. He said, "The investigation did rely too much on the files and did not delve into the interpersonal relationships. Sun Dafu from the security department, some workers previously reported that his daughter's hospital fees had been paid in full."

"But I didn't notice anything particularly unusual about him usually, so I didn't pay much attention."

The senior leader paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Xiao Yang, you've been at the steel rolling mill since the public-private partnership began in 54. Back then, you'd often go for days without sleep. I even called you the 'Iron Man of Industry.'" He sighed and continued...

"But what about now? Production has expanded and there are more workers, but you've become complacent. The enemy never exploits loopholes in technology, but rather in people, especially in your hands, Factory Director Yang."

As he spoke, the senior leader took a document from his drawer, handed it to Yang Weimin, and said, "This is the ministry's decision. You will lead the team to conduct a new political review of the Technical Section and the Security Section."

"You must write a self-criticism in front of the entire steel rolling mill, and in addition, I will not allow any mistakes in the newly established research workshop!"

Yang Weimin stood up straight and said in a firm tone, "Please rest assured, leader, if there is still half an enemy agent left in the steel rolling mill a month from now, I, Yang Weimin, will come to you with my head."

The high-ranking leader waved his hand and said, "Keep your head for building the country. Just do your job well. You can go back now!"

Yang Weimin saluted the senior leader and then turned and left the office. The senior leader stood up, looked at the gray sky outside the window, and said in a low voice, "The battlefield in peacetime, although there is no smoke of gunpowder, is still cruel."

Yang Weimin did not go home after leaving the Ministry of Industry, but went directly to the steel rolling mill. He planned to come up with the next action plan today.

Now Yang Weimin's mind is filled with thoughts of how to eliminate the enemies within the steel rolling mill.

Li Huaide, who was resting at home, was also invited to his father-in-law's house for dinner.

Vice Minister Wang briefly explained the contents of the information that the Municipal Bureau had sent to the Ministry of Industry to Li Huaide, and emphasized the importance of maintaining a good relationship with Li Yu.

"Judging from the current situation, although Yang Weimin was not taken down this time, many leaders have already sentenced him to death in their hearts," Vice Minister Wang said to Li Huaide.

"Dad, what do you think? Should we give him a hand and force him to step down?"

"Fool! Do you think you're safe just because they didn't talk to you about this today? You're the deputy factory director, so how can you expect to be okay if he's in trouble? Even if he steps down, you won't be the next factory director."

"If Yang Weimin steps down and someone with stronger methods and a more powerful background comes in, you will have even less hope. So you not only can't cause trouble, but you also have to do your best to help him stabilize the steel mill."

"Furthermore, I've already negotiated with Yang Weimin's backer today. You can find someone to fill the vacant positions of head of the security department and deputy head of the technical department yourself."

Upon hearing what Vice Minister Wang said, Li Huaide knew what to do. After having dinner at his father-in-law's house, he took his wife, who was even fatter than Pigsy's second aunt, and went home.

Vice Minister Wang sighed whenever he thought of Li Huaide. Li Huaide was good in every way, especially in his interpersonal skills. It was just that his political acumen was too poor; he could only see immediate gains.

This is one of the key reasons why Li Huaide did not advance further in the later stages of the original novel.