Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

This time, he sneaked off to gather information, and the neighbor recognized him immediately—that's him.

He Daqing spoke with certainty, raising an eyebrow with a hint of smugness.

He squatted in front of the cigarette stall for half a day and spent five yuan to pry the man's mouth open; Yi Zhonghai also spent three yuan to investigate his affair with Huiyun, which shows that the old man really cared.

"Fine, as long as the person is confirmed." He Yuzhu's eyes turned cold, and the fire in his heart suddenly ignited. "He was the one who threw dirty water at me a while ago, and now he dares to do something underhanded? This time, I'll teach him a lesson he won't know who he is... He better not make me really do it, otherwise, he'll die out there and no one will collect his body."

Upon hearing this, He Daqing was terrified and quickly stopped him: "Zhuzi! Calm down! You are now a precious gem, while Yi Zhonghai is just a broken pot. Do you really want to go head-to-head with him? It's not worth ruining yourself for someone like him!"

"What are you thinking?" He Yuzhu glanced at him sideways, a cold smile playing on his lips. "This is a new society. Do you still think I'm going to pull out a knife and start a fight? Do you think I'm that stupid?"

He had already planned it out in his mind—wasn't Yi Zhonghai a busybody and a gossipmonger? Fine, he'd give him a "big gift"—a trip to Xinjiang in the Northwest, to reclaim wasteland in the Gobi Desert, so that he'd never be able to come back and gossip about him for the rest of his life.

The next day, just as dawn broke, He Yuzhu arrived at Li Huaide's house carrying some gifts, smiling and bowing, "Brother Li, wishing you an early Happy New Year!"

What he was carrying were no ordinary New Year's gifts: two bottles of medicinal wine, a pound of braised beef, and a few health-strengthening pills wrapped in beeswax.

All of these are genuinely high-quality goods, especially the medicinal wine. It's made with Xifeng liquor as a base and infused with over a dozen precious medicinal herbs. Anyone who knows their stuff can tell it's incredibly valuable just by smelling it.

If a bottle of this were to appear on the market, it would start at eighty yuan, and they wouldn't sell it for a penny less.

Li Huaide's eyes lit up, and his hand steadied as he took the gift box.

He has good taste and understands the significance behind this gift.

Although the braised beef smelled delicious, he casually put it aside without touching it. Instead, he carefully put the medicinal wine into the cabinet and deliberately placed it under the old books—he couldn't let his father-in-law see it, otherwise someone would steal a bottle.

Having safely hidden the treasure, he beamed, "Zhu Zi, you're not going anywhere for lunch today. Stay and have some of your sister-in-law's cooking!"

"Hey, let me do it!" He Yuzhu grinned. "With a proper level eight chef like me here, why would you let your sister-in-law do the cooking? That would be a waste of her talent! Let her be a diner today too."

Li Huaide felt a surge of warmth in his heart, and his mouth watered.

But out of politeness, I still had to decline, saying, "No, no, you're a guest. How can I let a guest cook? I'd lose face if word got out."

"Hey Brother Li, why are you still talking to me like that?" He Yuzhu waved his hand. "We're like brothers, aren't we? I'll cook, and you can taste the dishes. That's what it means for both host and guest to have a good time."

Besides, how many minutes does a meal take? You can just sit and have some tea while we wait for the meal to begin.

Before the words were finished, a crisp reply came from inside the house: "Don't refuse, why are you two being so polite with your relationship?" Li Huaide's wife poked her head out of the kitchen, her eyes shining, "It's rare for Zhuzi to come all this way, let him show off his skills, and I'll have a taste too."

"I ate his braised pork hock last time, and I can still smell its aroma in my dreams."

She tasted it once when her father celebrated his birthday, and she hasn't had the chance to try it since. She's been longing for it ever since.

Seeing that his wife had spoken, Li Huaide immediately relented: "Alright, alright, then go buy some good meat and a bottle of Moutai. Let's have a drink tonight!"

"Don't worry, you know how I handle things, right?" The daughter-in-law quickly grabbed her bag and left, her steps light as if she were going to the market.

As soon as she left, He Yuzhu followed Li Huaide into the study.

This house was a cadre apartment allocated to him by his father-in-law. It had three bedrooms and a living room, and was very spacious. One of the bedrooms was specially set aside as a study, and the bookshelves were filled with policy documents and internal materials.

The two sat down, and as soon as the tea was brewed, He Yuzhu got straight to the point: "Brother Li, I've come to see you this time because I need your help with something."

Li Huaide nodded, having expected this: "Tell me, as long as it's within my power, I won't hesitate."

He Yuzhu sighed, his tone turning somber: "In our courtyard, there are a few families who are jealous of my good life and are always trying to trip me up."

A while ago, I was working overtime at the factory, and they spread rumors behind my back, saying that I had problems with my conduct and ruining my reputation.

If my friends hadn't come looking for me and chatted with me for ages, I would still be completely in the dark.

He paused, then lowered his voice: "If they had really messed things up, I would have lost all face. How could I ever hold my head up again? In the end, I reported it to the neighborhood committee, which finally put the matter to rest and fined a few of the troublemakers into labor camps."

But I know these people won't give up.

"There are such scoundrels?" Li Huaide slammed his fist on the table, his face ashen. "You're working your butts off for the country, and they're stabbing you in the back? Isn't this sabotaging production and undermining morale?!" said the street office director.

He Yuzhu narrowed his eyes, his tone low but sharp: "However, I finally found out who was behind this yesterday—it's Yi Zhonghai from our institute, the seventh-level fitter in Workshop One."

He paused for a moment, then recounted the whole story: His father had just returned to Beijing when he bumped into Yi Zhonghai at the entrance of an alley, where Yi was furtively inquiring about his background.

Not to mention the matter of changing class status, which can no longer be kept secret.

But now? The status of a farmer is no longer useful.

He married Lou Xiao'e; what does his status as a businessman matter?

As long as Lou's father truly establishes himself in Hong Kong and makes a name for himself, sending tens of millions of dollars worth of goods to the mainland every year, they will be highly sought after. If they make contributions of thirty or forty million dollars, they will be able to easily be awarded the title of "patriotic businessman," and who would dare to hold a grudge about their class background? Such political risks can be wiped out with a single stroke on the merit list.

He Daqing was just a country cook who had never seen the world. He was so frightened by the slightest sound that he ran away overnight.

If it were anyone else, they would have learned to turn a blind eye long ago.

Li Huaide himself couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters—who doesn't have some "water" in their accounts these days? Unless someone files a formal complaint, who would be so bored as to investigate the cook in a factory?

"Yi Zhonghai from Workshop One... a level seven fitter." Li Huaide frowned slightly, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "Zhu Zi, to be honest, firing him won't be easy."

You have to think about it and let me think of a way..."

Despite saying that, he had already chosen sides in his heart.

The Lou family is about to become the Ministry of Foreign Trade's covert "white glove," and with He Yuzhu's intelligence and methods, their future is limitless.

An old fitter? He's not even good enough to fill a tooth gap.

However, he hasn't intervened in production scheduling yet, so a direct confrontation would indeed be difficult to handle.

"Brother Li, I'm not telling you to kick him out of the factory." He Yuzhu smiled, but his eyes turned cold. "That would be too conspicuous and could easily backfire on you."

He took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Isn't there a severe shortage of manpower in the Northwest recently? I heard the factory director mention in a meeting that we should mobilize single employees to sign up to support the construction of the frontier."

If we just get Yi Zhonghai to sign his name, indicating he's voluntarily going to the Northwest, wouldn't that make perfect sense?

"Hmm?" Li Huaide's eyes lit up, and he sat up straight.

That's a brilliant move!

Not going? Then you're defying the nation's call! You have a problem with your ideology! You won't even need orders from above; you'll be sent directly to a farm for ideological reform, and even the factory director won't be able to plead for you.

As for that "voluntary application form"? That's easy to handle.

Just slip it into his payslip or year-end summary and have him sign it to collect the money.

Which worker would meticulously read through their paycheck line by line when receiving their wages? A moment's inattention, and the outcome of a competition can determine their fate.

When he arrives in the Northwest, he'll be faced with endless yellow sand and a decade-long infrastructure project. Who will care whether he's there or not? He might not even make it in time for his grandson to be born.

"Fine!" Li Huaide slammed his hand on the table, his voice low but ruthless. "I'll take this job! I hate these kinds of backstabbing scoundrels the most!"

The title of a seventh-level fitter sounds respectable, but in today's Third Steel Rolling Mill, its importance has long since diminished.

Especially after the Red Star Machine Tool Project was gradually launched, the focus of technology shifted, making it difficult for these traditional technicians to make a significant impact on the overall situation.

Sacrificing Yi Zhonghai to allow He Yuzhu to focus on development—this is a calculation anyone can do with their eyes closed.

Just then, Li Huaide's wife returned, and the two immediately changed the subject.

He Yuzhu got up and went into the kitchen, where pots and pans clattered and clattered. Before long, he brought out a table full of steaming hot dishes: braised pork knuckle glistening with oil, spicy chicken cubes with a pungent aroma, stir-fried liver tips in soy sauce, and water spinach with garlic sauce. The dishes were a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, making one's mouth water.

At the dinner table, the two talked about the greenhouses in the factory.

Now, that land is used for rotating crops all year round, producing more than 200,000 catties of vegetables each season, which is an astonishing figure in Beijing.

The problem is that steel mills simply can't handle that much.

Once the Ministry of Industry gets involved, the vegetables will have to be distributed to other regions; the Ministry of Agriculture, seeing the potential for profit, also begins to stir.

This is a worker-peasant cooperative project, so everyone is nominally involved. A joint management group might be established next season.

The steel mill's hard-earned foreign exchange projects ended up being the epitome of "selfless dedication," with nothing left but scraps.

The two men grew increasingly frustrated as they talked, but what could they do? One was the canteen manager, and the other was the deputy factory director; they were several levels apart when it came to challenging the ministries.

After chatting for a while after the meal, He Yuzhu got up to say goodbye.

Before leaving, Li Huaide insisted on giving him two bags of imported milk powder, which he couldn't refuse.

"Take it, don't be shy." Li Huaide whispered, "Don't worry about Yi Zhonghai's matter. I'll take care of it for you on the first day back to work after the New Year."

The night breeze was slightly cool. He Yuzhu carried the milk powder back to the second courtyard house in Zhengyangmen. As soon as he opened the door, he found that Elena had come again.

She still looked eager, wanting him to continue making her medicinal wine.

He Yuzhu shook his head, his tone firm: "It's really not possible now."

One person's strength cannot support so many.

Let's wait until Uncle Lou has completely established himself in Hong Kong before making any moves.

After saying that, he gently closed the door.