Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Jia Zhangshi was completely charmed and sided with her, even forgetting about being "extorted" by Widow Li before.

He Daqing was completely infatuated with Widow Li, chatting with her every day at the same time and obeying her almost every word.

Widow Li asked him to help chop wood, and he picked up the axe without saying a word.

Widow Li asked him to go to the street corner to buy soy sauce, and he ran there as fast as he could, afraid that he would upset her if he was a step too slow.

But whenever Widow Li tried to subtly incite him to speak ill of Lin Weidong, He Daqing would immediately frown.

"Wei Dong is a good kid, capable and kind-hearted, and he has helped our family a lot. You can't just say things like that carelessly."

He also warned me sternly, "Don't gossip about him in front of me anymore, I don't like hearing it."

Widow Li ran into a snag several times and cursed He Daqing inwardly as a clueless lecher who would protect outsiders at a crucial moment.

She decided to change her mind. Since He Daqing refused to get involved, she would just treat him as a errand boy and focus on targeting Jia Zhangshi as her pawn.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Widow Li found the deaf old woman and told her her plan:

"Grandma, that old bastard He Daqing is infatuated with women. He can be ordered around to do chores, but he turns hostile as soon as Lin Weidong is mentioned. It seems we can't count on him to spread rumors."

"However, I have Jia Zhangshi completely under my control. This old woman is gossipy, loves to take advantage of others, and hates Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing. It's perfect for her to spread rumors."

"Just say that Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing have improper conduct and are having illicit relationships. This will not only ruin their reputations but also force the factory to punish Lin Weidong."

"When Sha Zhu loses Lin Weidong as his backer, you can win him over again, and he will naturally serve you again."

The deaf old woman didn't think the idea was very good, but she still said, "Good idea! Let's do it!"

That afternoon, Jia Zhangshi began spreading rumors in the courtyard.

She chatted with Yan Bugui at the door, casually remarking, "Third Uncle, don't you think Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing are getting too close?"

"They're inseparable, going to work and leaving get off work together, and staying in the west courtyard late into the night. It's just the two of them in the courtyard, a lone man and woman. Who knows what they're doing?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui immediately pressed, "Really? You saw it?"

Jia Zhangshi lowered her voice and said, "Of course it's true!"

"Last night when I got up to use the bathroom, I specifically glanced towards the west courtyard."

"The two of them were talking in the yard, chatting quite intimately. Lin Weidong even handed Su Wanqing water! I think there's definitely something going on between them!"

Yan Bugui, who loved spreading such gossip, quickly said, "You can't just say things like that! But... if it's true, that would be really outrageous!"

"Lin Weidong is a senior engineer, and Su Wanqing is a technician; they are both respectable people. How could they do such a scandalous thing!"

"Who can argue with that!"

Madam Jia sighed and continued, "I'm only doing this for their own good, afraid they'll ruin their reputation. Don't tell anyone else, I'm just nagging you."

He said that, but secretly he wished the whole hospital knew.

Not long after, she went to Liu Haizhong's house again, embellishing her story and adding a special emphasis: "Second Uncle, you have to do something about this! If this gets out, our entire courtyard will be utterly disgraced!"

He Daqing was so angry when he heard the rumors circulating in the courtyard that he blew his beard and glared.

Upon finding Jia Zhangshi, he yelled, "You old woman, spouting nonsense! Weidong and Technician Su are perfectly legitimate colleagues, discussing work! If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Jia Zhangshi was scolded so badly that she shrank back and dared not talk back, but she still did what she wanted and would go up to people to gossip, and the rumors spread more and more fiercely.

Sha Zhu overheard these words and went to He Daqing: "Dad, everyone in the yard is gossiping about Wei Dong and Technician Su. It's outrageous!"

"Don't listen to those gossipy old women! It's all made up by that old woman Jia Zhangshi. We know exactly what kind of person Wei Dong is!"

Su Wanqing noticed that recently, people in the courtyard had been looking at her and Lin Weidong strangely, and some were even pointing and whispering behind their backs.

Once, when she went to the well to fetch water, she overheard two women whispering, "That's her. I heard she has a special relationship with Chief Engineer Lin."

"He looks quite refined; I never expected him to be this kind of person."

That evening, when the two returned home from get off work, Su Wanqing couldn't help but say, "Weidong, haven't you noticed that the people in the compound have been acting a bit strange lately?"

Lin Weidong was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "What's wrong?"

"The way they looked at us was strange, and some people were whispering behind our backs."

"I think I heard them say... that our relationship isn't normal."

Lin Weidong's face instantly darkened.

He never expected that someone would spread such a rumor.

He looked at Su Wanqing and quickly said, "Don't listen to their nonsense! We have nothing to hide."

"Who do you think spread these rumors? Could it be Sha Zhu?"

After thinking for a moment, Lin Weidong said, "It shouldn't be him. Although he jokes, he would never spread rumors."

"I suspect it's either Jia Zhangshi or the deaf old woman."

At this moment, Su Wanqing said, "Haven't you noticed? Recently, that widow Li, whom the deaf old woman brought along, has been getting quite close to Uncle He, hasn't she?"

Lin Weidong scratched his head and said, "I've been busy with the deployment of machine tools lately, I haven't had time to inquire about these things."

"It's okay, I'll go back and talk to my mom later, and she can go out and explain things to the people in the yard."

Su Wanqing nodded, but she was still very uneasy.

She knew that the power of rumors was immense, and if they were not stopped in time, the consequences would be unimaginable.

When Lin Weidong got home, he told his mother what had happened. After listening, Zhao Xiulan slammed her hand on the table.

"This is outrageous! They've spread rumors all the way to my house. If I find out, I'll definitely teach them a lesson."

After saying that, Zhao Xiulan went out to organize a meeting.

Soon everyone in the hospital was in the courtyard, with Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing standing beside Zhao Xiulan.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhao Xiulan said, "Recently, there have been rumors circulating in our courtyard about Weidong and Wanqing."

"I don't need to name names! Everyone should know who spread it."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi, who was in the crowd, felt a pang of unease. She was afraid that Zhao Xiulan might abandon her in the countryside at the slightest provocation.

Now she regrets listening to Widow Li.

The deaf old woman and Widow Li stood in the crowd, seemingly indifferent to the situation.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhao Xiulan continued, "No matter what you think or think, I don't want to hear these rumors anymore."

After saying that, Zhao Xiulan turned to look at Jia Zhangshi and said, "If even one more rumor spreads in the courtyard, you will immediately go back to the countryside."

After saying that, Zhao Xiulan left with Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing without waiting for Jia Zhangshi's reaction.