Siheyuan: At the beginning, I can integrate everything!

Liu Haizhong's feat of standing upside down in a manure bucket spread like wildfire throughout every corner of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill.

Even Xu Damao, who had just been kicked out of the house and was cleaning toilets in the bathroom, heard about it.

"Serves you right! You fatso always act like some big shot with me!"

Xu Damao threw the foul-smelling brush in his hand and spat viciously into the urinal.

He's now seething with anger and has nowhere to vent it.

Lou Xiao'e divorced him and emptied his pockets, leaving him with nothing, not even his spacious courtyard house.

Now we can only huddle in that drafty, dilapidated woodshed, shivering from the cold at night.

What's even more hateful is that Yang Lixin, that old bastard, actually fired him from his proud projectionist position on the grounds of "moral depravity."

Let him clean this disgusting public toilet!

Xu Damao blamed all of this on Zhang Huaimin, that five-year-old brat.

"Zhang Huaimin, Yang Lixin, you just wait!"

Xu Damao gritted his teeth, his triangular eyes flashing with a venomous light.

Just then.

His ears, which were used to observing people's expressions and eavesdropping for years, vaguely caught the conversation between two workers in the corridor outside.

"Have you heard? Consultant Zhang managed to build a generator out of a pile of scrap metal in that abandoned warehouse!"

"Really? You can build a generator from a broken pot? Didn't Liu Haizhong get himself into trouble by that little fortune teller's words when he went to check on safety?"

"Absolutely true! I heard from Xiao Li in the workshop that the generator was completely silent, yet the light bulbs were blindingly bright!"

Upon hearing this...

Xu Damao shuddered, his eyes darting around.

Using scrap metal to illegally build generators?

There wasn't even a sound?

In the eyes of a petty person like Xu Damao, who has a low level of education and is full of political struggle mentality.

This is hardly a high-tech invention.

This is clearly forging official seals, reselling state-owned goods, and engaging in underground capitalist activities!

"Good for you! Good for you, Zhang Huaimin! Good for you, Yang Lixin!"

Xu Damao was so excited that he trembled all over, as if he had caught some earth-shattering evidence.

"Why leave proper Soviet machine tools unused and allow a five-year-old to work on this filthy, unsanitary stuff in a state-owned factory!"

"If this gets reported to higher authorities, not only will Zhang Huaimin go to jail, but Yang Lixin will also be in serious trouble!"

Xu Damao didn't bother cleaning the toilet anymore.

Without even washing his hands, he sneaked out of the restroom like a thief and headed straight for the office building.

He knew that he was now a convict and his words carried no weight.

To escalate the situation, you need to find a powerful backer.

In this factory, the only people who hate Yang Lixin and Zhang Huaimin the most, besides Xu Damao, are Deputy Factory Director Li!

Li's office.

The heating is on full blast.

Deputy Factory Director Li was sitting in a large leather chair, smoking a cigarette with a dark expression.

Not only did Liu Haizhong fail to secure the supplies, but he also made such a fool of himself.

Now the whole factory is laughing at Deputy Factory Director Li.

"Bang bang bang!"

A series of urgent knocks sounded on the door.

"Who is it! Get in here!" Deputy Factory Director Li roared irritably.

Xu Damao pushed the door open and came in, and a stench from the toilet wafted in with him.

Deputy Factory Director Li covered his nose in disgust, his brows furrowing into a knot.

"Xu Damao? What are you doing here? Who let you in!"

"Director Li! This is fantastic news! Absolutely fantastic news!"

Xu Damao locked the door, took a few steps to the desk, lowered his voice, and his face showed undisguised elation.

"I've caught Yang Lixin and that brat in a fatal trap!"

Deputy Factory Director Li was taken aback, his hand holding the cigarette frozen in mid-air.

"Clue? What clue?"

Xu Damao didn't keep anyone in suspense and immediately gave a embellished account of the news he had just heard.

"Director Li, please think about it!"

Xu Damao's spittle flew everywhere.

"That brat used scrap metal from the factory to build a machine that doesn't even make a sound."

"What do you call this? This is called embezzlement! This is called manufacturing unlicensed machinery!"

"Yang Lixin condones these things he does in the factory; this is clearly a form of capitalist private black market operation!"

"He is undermining the foundation of socialist construction!"

Xu Damao kept piling on one big accusation after another, getting more and more excited as he spoke.

As Deputy Factory Director Li listened, his eyes gradually lit up.

He came from a political work background and knew nothing about mechanical technology.

But he was all too familiar with accusations of "wrong line" and "engaging in capitalist black market activities."

In those days, such a charge could be fatal!

"Are you sure that's an illegally manufactured, unlicensed machine?" Deputy Factory Director Li stubbed out his cigarette and stared intently at Xu Damao.

"Absolutely true!"

Xu Damao patted his sunken chest and made a promise.

"They didn't even get the blueprints approved by the factory committee, and they're using scrap aluminum pots. What is this if not illegal activity?"

"Great! Excellent!"

Deputy Factory Director Li slammed his hand on the table, a sinister and smug smile spreading across his face.

He was originally worried about how to bring down Yang Lixin, but now, Xu Damao is practically a knife delivered to his doorstep.

"Da Mao, you've done a great job this time!"

Deputy Factory Director Li opened a drawer, took out a thick stack of letter paper and a fountain pen, and pushed them in front of Xu Damao.

"Write it for me right now!"

"Write down everything you just said, word for word! Write it down deeply, write it with heartfelt sorrow!"

Xu Damao was so excited by the leader's praise that he was like a man possessed.

He picked up his pen, leaned over the table, and began to write furiously.

It contained over three thousand words!

In the letter, he portrayed Zhang Huaimin as a petty spy corrupted by bourgeois ideology.

Director Yang was portrayed as a reactionary lackey who shielded spies and attempted to sabotage the country's industrial production with superstition and supernatural means.

Every word was written in blood, and it was truly shocking.

After finishing writing, Xu Damao blew the ink dry and respectfully handed it to Deputy Factory Director Li.

Deputy Factory Director Li glanced at it and nodded in satisfaction.

"Da Mao, if you succeed in this, I guarantee you'll be reinstated and I'll even get you a nice house!"

Xu Damao was so excited that he almost knelt down before Deputy Factory Director Li.

"Thank you, Director Li! From now on, I, Xu Damao, will be your dog!"

Deputy Factory Director Li put the letter into a yellow envelope and skillfully sealed it with glue.

Then, he took out two special stamps from the very back of the drawer and stuck them on.

"I will not send this letter to those civil servants in the Ministry of Industry."

A calculating glint flashed in Deputy Factory Director Li's eyes.

"I'll use my connections from my time in the military to send it directly to the military region's expert team during the inspection!"

"Those old military leaders are the most intolerant of any wrongdoing, and they especially despise this kind of 'capitalist black market'."

He sneered, as if he could already see Director Yang being taken away for questioning.

"Yang Lixin wants to protect this kid? He wants to use this kid to turn his life around?"

"This time, let's see who can protect him!"

It was evening.

The closing bell at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill rang through the sky.

Xu Damao, clutching the heavy letter of accusation, slipped out of the factory area like a thief.

He jogged all the way to the entrance of Nanluoguxiang Hutong.

There stands a green mailbox there.

Xu Damao looked around to make sure no one was paying attention.

A smug and malicious grin curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Zhang Huaimin, Yang Lixin, you can both die!"

He stuffed the envelope into the dark mailbox slot.

Listen to the "thud" of the letter falling to the bottom.

Xu Damao seemed to hear the salute of his impending comeback and return to the top.

He hummed an off-key Peking Opera tune, wrapped his tattered overcoat tighter, and swaggered back to the courtyard house.

They prepared to wait quietly in the woodshed for the earth-shattering storm that was about to engulf the steel mill.

however.

The gears of fate often like to play unexpected jokes.

The next morning.

The sunlight had not yet pierced through the thick winter fog.

A black Hongqi sedan with military license plates and an alarmingly low-profile license plate number.

Silently, like a lurking black panther.

It came to a steady stop in front of the main entrance of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill office building.