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

Then everyone kept asking Zhou Weiguo all sorts of questions, until they finally got annoyed and quieted down. Zhou Weiguo followed the crowd with a look of utter despair.

Seeing that it was lunchtime, Li Huaide suggested that they go eat.

Then the group headed towards the small canteen.

As I passed the cafeteria entrance, I heard someone loudly complaining, "We went out of our way for over ten minutes just to get a decent meal, and you serve us this pig swill! We want to eat the food made by Sha Zhu!"

At the food service window, a fat man weighing nearly 200 pounds waved his spoon and cursed viciously, "Are you fucking looking for death? Take my food, eat it; don't, get lost! You want to eat Sha Zhu's food? Sha Zhu was fired long ago by our respected Factory Director Yang! Factory Director Yang and the deputy director of the canteen have decided that I'm in charge of the second canteen from now on. Eat if you can, get out if you can't!"

These words instantly ignited the workers' anger, and they all pointed at the windows and began to shout angrily:

"Impossible! How could Director Yang possibly put you in charge of cooking? The food you make is worse than pig swill! Whoever put you in charge is absolutely blind!"

The fat man inside the window got furious upon hearing this. He grabbed his rice scoop and threw it out, cursing, "Are you fucking asking for it? Do you know who my brother-in-law is? You dare mess with me in the kitchen? Believe me, I'll say one word: you idiots will only get soup and no vegetables at every meal. I'll make all the canteens shake their scoops until you laborers starve to death!"

These words caused an uproar in the entire canteen, and all the workers were on the verge of losing control of their emotions.

Suddenly, a bloated, obese cadre walked out from the side and shouted loudly, "What's going on? Quiet down! Don't you all want to eat? What's all this noise about?"

Upon seeing the newcomers, the fat man inside shouted, "Brother-in-law, look at these bastards! He actually said the food I cooked was pig swill!"

Upon seeing this, Li Huaide quickly ran out and shouted, "Fellow workers, calm down! Please tell me any suggestions or opinions you have. Don't get so emotional. Don't worry, I won't take sides."

Seeing that Li Huaide's attitude was acceptable, the lead worker stepped forward and said, "Director Li, that fat guy in the kitchen is really bullying us..."

Director Wang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Li Huaide go inside to handle the matter. He was about to call a few ministers to the small canteen, but when he looked over and saw that the ministers were already standing at the back of the crowd, he hurriedly followed them.

Zhou Weiguo stood behind several ministers, listening to the whispers of the people in front of him.

Passerby A: "You're saying that Sha Zhu really got fired by Factory Director Yang?"

Passerby B lowered his voice mysteriously, "How could it be fake? He's suspended and sent home now, but being fired is only a matter of time."

Passerby A asked in confusion, "Why fire Sha Zhu? Wasn't he the best chef in the factory? And wasn't Sha Zhu the one who cooked the special meals for Factory Director Yang every day? Now that Sha Zhu's gone, it'll be hard to get a decent meal."

Passerby B looked around to make sure no one was watching before continuing, "It's a long story. He Yuzhu had to work overtime three or four times a week, specifically to cook special meals for Factory Director Yang, without any pay raise. He was busy in the kitchen all day, and then had to work overtime until eight or nine o'clock at night. The only good thing was that he could bring some leftovers home."

Passerby A exclaimed, "No way? Didn't they say the cooks had the best lives in the factory? You're making it sound so tragic!"

Passerby B scoffed, "That's nothing! A few days ago, Master Yi, the best craftsman in our fitter factory, felt his apprentice wasn't getting enough to eat. So, he went back to the yard and, using the old man's name, got Sha Zhu to give his apprentice's family the leftovers he brought home. Of course, Sha Zhu refused; he worked himself to the bone all day, only to have his leftovers stolen."

Passerby A exclaimed indignantly, "This is outrageous!"

Passerby B continued, "The worst was yet to come. One night, Master Yi, along with his apprentice's widowed mother, directly tried to steal lunchboxes. Sha Zhu, enraged, called the police. After Yi Zhonghai was arrested, Factory Director Yang told Sha Zhu to go to the police station immediately to ask for Yi Zhonghai's forgiveness, saying otherwise it would affect production. But you know Sha Zhu—though he has a foul mouth, he's also quite upright. He refused Factory Director Yang on the spot. And sure enough, he was fired within two days."

Passerby A exclaimed in shock, "So that's how it is! Director Yang handled this matter quite well... And then?"

Passerby B said smugly, "My third uncle's second uncle's sister-in-law's cousin's eldest nephew works at the police station. He told me that our factory director, Yang, has connections everywhere. After dealing with Sha Zhu, he just made a phone call to the police station, and he was released. Poor Sha Zhu worked so hard for so many years, and in the end, he was fired. So, we workers should just be obedient and behave ourselves. Do you really think we can turn things around? Don't dream. Just listen to what officials say; if you take it seriously, you're a fool."

These words caused Director Wang's expression to change drastically, and Ministers Li, Jiang, and Song also looked at him seriously.

Director Wang trembled under his gaze, unsure whether it was from anger or fear. In this day and age, some things cannot be said carelessly.

He glanced suspiciously at the two people speaking, and upon closer listening, discovered that they were not the only ones who shared this view.

"Yang Weimin!" Director Wang spat out the name through gritted teeth.

Just then, Chief Engineer Song walked over unnoticed and suddenly asked, "Weiguo, isn't Shazhu your eldest nephew?"

Everyone turned to look at Zhou Weiguo, whose face was grim as he said, "So that's why Zhu Zi looked so unhappy when he came home yesterday. This isn't just targeting Zhu Zi; it's clearly aimed at me!"

Director Wang walked up to Zhou Weiguo and said in a deep voice, "Weiguo, can you tell me the specifics?"

Zhou Weiguo did not hide anything and gave a general account of what he could say.

After hearing this, Director Wang's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot: "For the country, don't worry, I will give you an explanation."

Zhou Weiguo shook his head with a wry smile: "Uncle Wang, this has nothing to do with you, you don't need to worry about it."

Minister Song said meaningfully, "For the sake of the country, why don't you come back to the Second Ministry of Machine Building with me? We can bring your eldest nephew along too; we happen to need a good cook there. It'll be easier to do things on your own turf, and you won't suffer any injustice without anyone knowing."

Minister Li chimed in, "That's right! If you don't want to go to the Second Ministry of Machine Building, you can choose any of the First Ministry of Machine Building or any of its subordinate factories! I guarantee no one will dare to trip you up or interfere with your research and development work. I still have quite a few problems with the prototype machine tools, and I need your help to solve them."

Minister Jiang continued, "Although you're a bit unreliable, we Tsinghua people can't be bullied like this. Why don't you come back to the university? I'll set up a research lab for you, so you can do whatever you want and won't have to put up with this kind of humiliation! Oh, and bring your nephew along too; I've been thinking of raising the food standards at Tsinghua."

P.S.: Please urge me to update more and give me good reviews. Thank you!