I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

An older woman helped a deaf old woman out of the hospital and rushed to the steel rolling mill.

They asked the gatekeeper to call Yang Weimin, and only then were they able to enter the factory area.

Yang Weimin sat in his office, his brow furrowed, his mind filled with the image of Zhou Weiguo. The man who had cost him his factory director position had become a thorn in his side.

Back then, he went to great lengths to become the factory director, but unexpectedly, he was demoted by the petty Zhou Weiguo and left a bad impression on his old leader.

Just as he was pondering how to deal with Zhou Weiguo, the gatekeeper informed him that the deaf old woman had come to visit, which startled him. He knew that this old woman never came without a reason, and this time she was probably here to ask him for something again.

The deaf elderly woman, supported by an older woman, slowly walked into the office.

Upon seeing this, Yang Weimin immediately stood up warmly and carefully helped the deaf old woman to the sofa, saying with concern, "Grandma, why did you come all the way here? You could have just had Master Yi pass on the message; why go through all this trouble?"

The deaf old woman gave a bitter smile and said, "Young Yang, I've come to ask for your help again."

Upon hearing this, Yang Weimin's expression immediately became serious. He sat down beside her and solemnly said, "Grandma, please feel free to tell me what you need. As long as it doesn't violate organizational discipline, Party principles, or national laws, I will do my best to help."

The deaf old woman hesitated for a while before deciding not to mention Zhou Weiguo.

She felt that as long as Zhou Weiguo knew that Sha Zhu had been dealt with, he would understand why, and then he could make Xiao Yi pay some money, which might settle the matter.

As for Jia Zhangshi, she simply couldn't be bothered with her.

She then embellished her story about how He Yuzhu brought a boxed lunch home, and how Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi demanded the lunchbox back, leading He Yuzhu to call the police and have the two arrested in a fit of anger.

"What? Master Yi got arrested? Master Yi is one of the best technicians in the factory, all because of a few lunchboxes?"

Yang Weimin said in surprise, "He Yuzhu is usually a bit of a troublemaker. People in the factory often call him 'the one who shakes his ladle,' and he acts like a big shot in the kitchen. I didn't expect him to be so domineering in the yard too. Grandma, don't worry about it, leave this to me. I'll send someone to warn him right away. He's just messing around. This is affecting production in the workshop! I'll also call to find out what's going on. Even the police shouldn't delay our factory's production over such trivial matters."

The deaf old woman quickly said, "Okay, okay, that would be too much trouble for you, Xiao Yang. Um, Zhu Zi might be a bit reluctant about bringing lunchboxes to the Jia family, so please don't punish him, just give him a warning. Oh, and there are two other small things, would you mind if I told you?"

Yang Weimin frowned slightly, feeling that the deaf old woman was pushing her luck, but still said, "Please go ahead."

The deaf old woman's eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "Xiao Yang, Xiao Yi hasn't applied for welfare housing since he came to the factory; he's been living in someone else's house. The landlord came to take back the house a while ago. Do you think you could help him get one?"

Yang Weimin's brows relaxed, and he said, "These are minor matters. Although the housing management department isn't under my jurisdiction, I can still arrange for Master Yi to apply for a house. I'll find someone to handle it right away."

The deaf old woman wondered to herself: "A factory director like him can't even manage the departments below him?" Little did she know that Yang Weimin had already been demoted from factory director to deputy director in charge of production. However, Yang Weimin still considered himself to have some authority in the factory and thought this was a trivial matter.

The deaf old woman continued, "One last thing, I heard the factory is determining worker ranks? Xiao Yi's skills are quite good, could you help him out then? I eat his food and use his things every day, and I feel bad about it."

Yang Weimin's face instantly darkened.

Everything before that was easy to handle, but this last one was really difficult.

He looked troubled and said, "Madam, it's not that I don't want to help. The evaluation of senior technicians requires review by engineers from the department, and I really don't have that authority."

Seeing that things were not going well, the deaf old woman quickly said, "It's alright, Xiao Yang, please do your best to coordinate. If you can do it, then do it. If you can't, I will never blame you."

Yang Weimin frowned and nodded: "This matter is too difficult to handle, so don't have too high hopes. Well, Madam, I have a meeting later, so I won't keep you any longer. You should go home and rest early."

He was genuinely worried that if the old woman made any more outrageous demands, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

The deaf old woman's face stiffened, she nodded and said "thank you," then left the steel rolling mill with a grim expression.

An older woman hailed a rickshaw, intending to return to her courtyard house. The deaf old woman shook her head and said, "Cuilan, today I've used up almost all my connections with Yang Weimin for Xiaoyi's sake. Sigh! I don't know why, but I just don't feel at ease. I'll go to the neighborhood office again and ask Xiao Wang."

.................

When Director Wang saw the middle-aged woman and the deaf old lady walk in, he quickly stood up to greet them: "Grandma, what brings you here?"

The deaf old woman said to the middle-aged woman, "Cuilan, you go out first, I want to talk to Xiao Wang."

After the older woman left, she spoke up: "Xiao Wang, you should know about Xiao Yi's matter, right?"

Director Wang sighed, "I know, ma'am, please don't bother me with this anymore, there's nothing I can do."

The deaf old woman was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Young Wang, is Zhou Weiguo a very important person?"

Director Wang hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

The deaf old woman gasped, her face full of displeasure: "Even if he has powerful connections, he can't bully people like this!"

Director Wang shook his head: "Madam, although this matter is a bit far-fetched, if someone is determined to sue and uses some connections, they can still win. Although it's hard to say how it will be judged in the end, it will definitely be unfavorable to Master Yi."

The deaf old woman smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Young Wang, can't you try to persuade that boy? I don't care about Jia Zhangshi, but Xiao Yi is innocent; he's just being implicated."

Director Wang's face was grim: "Grandma, you know better than I what kind of person Yi Zhonghai is. I won't go into details about what he's done in the compound over the years. But even with all this, the compound still deserves the title of 'Outstanding Compound' every year. I've already done my best to help, so please don't make things difficult for me. I've also spoken to Zhou Weiguo before, but whether or not Yi Zhonghai is released is not up to me."

The deaf old woman became serious: "Xiao Wang, I don't ask for much. Even if it's just a little more compensation, please help this old woman so that Xiao Yi doesn't go to a labor camp or jail. I depend entirely on Xiao Yi for a living. If Xiao Yi goes to jail, I'll definitely lose my job. How am I supposed to live then? I can't survive, and you're saying this..."

Director Wang's face was full of bitterness, and he sighed again: "Deaf old lady, to be honest, I did help you and Yi Zhonghai back then. How can you keep pressuring me? I've never harmed you all these years; on the contrary, I've always helped you and Yi Zhonghai. How can you do this?"

The deaf old woman put on a smiling face: "Xiao Wang, how could I force you? I just want you to think of a solution. Xiao Yi is willing to spend money, as long as Zhou Weiguo agrees, even if it means paying more. I'd just trouble you to make another trip and plead on his behalf, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Director Wang gave the deaf old woman a deep look and said, "Madam, this is the last time. Please don't come to see me alone again, or don't blame me for being ruthless."

The deaf old woman smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, okay, thank you, Xiao Wang. You've gone to so much trouble. I promise I won't come alone again."

After saying this, the deaf old woman turned and walked out, but a sarcastic sneer appeared on her old face.