I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

The meeting was over, and the drinking mood of the group had been ruined. Yang Laowu returned to his room and became angrier the more he thought about it. It was rare for him to have a good meal, but this courtyard was always full of all sorts of trouble, especially the Jia family across the street! He only had this one hobby, and it was always being disturbed. Yang Laowu was extremely depressed. After thinking it over and over again, for the sake of his future happy life, he finally came up with an idea.

The next day, upon arriving at the workshop, Yang Laowu checked the condition of his apprentices' machine tools, performed some routine tasks, and quickly found Sister Hua.

"How's your apprentice's technique coming along?"

Sister Hua shook her head. "This woman is indeed clever, but unfortunately she doesn't use her intelligence for good; she's too scheming!"

Yang Laowu's eyes darted around. "How about I take care of her for a month or two?"

Sister Hua immediately became alert. "What do you want? Although he's not the most diligent worker, he's still passable. Don't think you can bully my apprentice just because you're a level eight worker!"

Seeing Sister Hua instantly turn into a flustered chicken, Yang Laowu subconsciously took a few steps back. Qin Huairu quickly walked behind him, grabbed Sister Hua's arm tightly with both hands, her eyes filled with fear, and looked at Yang Laowu with pleading eyes!

"Hey, Sister Hua! I've been here for a while now. Do you think I'm that kind of person? Come out here, I have something to say to you..."

Sister Hua glanced at Qin Huairu behind her. Qin Huairu looked as pitiful as a little white rabbit, her eyes instantly reddening. Sister Hua sighed and looked at Yang Laowu. "Say what you have to say right here! All of us female workers are listening. Let's see what you're up to!"

Damn it, these tiger women are really not to be trifled with! Yang Laowu thought to himself. Seeing seven or eight women staring at him, Yang Laowu felt a little uneasy, which attracted the attention of many people around him.

"Sister Hua, I don't mean any harm, it's just that saying this in front of everyone isn't good for Qin Huairu's future. Don't worry, I guarantee you with my integrity, I'm not trying to make things difficult for her. After you've heard it all, if you feel something's wrong, just slap me across the face!"

"What?! We can't even hear it, honestly!" Several women around them were clearly dissatisfied. Sister Hua lowered her head and thought for a moment. "Fine, let's see what kind of nonsense you can come up with."

Qin Huairu held a rag in both hands, watching the two figures walk away with anxious eyes, muttering to herself, her heart pounding in her chest.

Yang Laowu led Sister Hua out of the workshop, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it. "I genuinely wanted to help Qin Huairu because of her family's difficulties. She's a very perceptive person, but unfortunately, she hasn't used her intelligence in the right way! I guarantee you, if you hand her over to me, I guarantee she'll be a competent Level 1 worker within a month. If I can't train her to Level 2 within three months, I won't have the face to stay in the workshop anymore!"

Hearing this, Sister Hua looked at Yang Laowu strangely, and after a long while, she suddenly realized. "Oh dear! You're already this old, why are you doing all this fancy stuff? You've got your eye on her? I'll play matchmaker for you! It's a good thing..."

"Cough cough cough..." Old Yang almost choked on the woman's train of thought. "That's not what I meant!"

Sister Hua gave a meaningful smile. "You men are all the same, aren't you? Who are you trying to fool? Tell me, when did you take a liking to her?"

Looking at the woman's gossipy expression, Yang Laowu was speechless. "I'm not planning on thinking about personal matters yet, hey, I'll be honest with you!"

Seeing that things were getting worse the more he explained, Yang Laowu simply chopped his foot. "Well, now that my kids are all grown up, I don't have any other hobbies besides eating!" Yang Laowu said, recounting what had happened in the yard.

"Tell me, every time I host a feast, her family makes a scene, ruining the atmosphere of the whole courtyard. It's their business to be frugal, but I don't need to! My son is a cadre now, my daughter is married, I have more money than I can spend, and I don't have a wife, so why shouldn't I eat and drink a little? What am I after?"

"Hahahaha!" Hearing Yang Laowu's complaints, Sister Hua laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up. "I've heard about her mother-in-law too; she's a pitiful woman. You really want to help her, or are you after her?"

As she spoke, Sister Hua looked Yang Laowu up and down. "You're only in your forties, it's not like you can't get a wife..."

"No, no, no! Sister Hua, I beg you." Seeing this woman, Yang Laowu had no choice but to give in. "My son is a cadre, it won't be easy for me to find a wife! Raising two children all these years has exhausted me! I just want to live out the rest of my life comfortably! When I'm old, I'll go back to my hometown and take care of my grandchildren, that would be good enough!"

"It's so nice to have a wife to do your laundry and cook for you..."

When Yang Laowu heard Sister Hua launch into another long-winded speech, he quickly interrupted her. "Alright, alright, I'm scared of you! As for Qin Huairu, just tell me if you agree or not? I guarantee everything will be under your watchful eye. Her family is always causing trouble, and I've been thinking about it all night—it's because they're poor. I can't boast about anything else, but back in the old workshop back home, if I had someone on my side, even a pig could be taken down by me."

Sister Hua pondered for a moment. "If she gets promoted to level three, her salary will be more than enough to support several of her children! But how do you plan to teach them?"

When Yang Laowu talked about his apprentice, he laughed. "I've got a lot of experience training apprentices. I'm not bragging, but I have apprentices all over half the workshops in the main factory. But someone like Qin Huairu can't do without some hardship! You can't just stand by and do nothing!"

"Then you must promise me you won't use this opportunity to settle personal scores!"

Yang Laowu rolled his eyes dismissively. "If I really wanted to settle a personal score, would I need to go through all this trouble? I could just talk to Factory Director Yang and get her transferred to another position—it wouldn't be a problem at all!"

Sister Hua sighed, knowing that what Yang Laowu said was true; an eighth-grade worker held a very important position in the eyes of the leaders!

"Okay, I agree!"

"It's settled then, a deal!"

When the two returned, the female workers looked at them curiously. Qin Huairu's heart was pounding faster than a rabbit's, like a lamb awaiting judgment.

Sister Hua walked over to Qin Huairu and patted him on the shoulder. "Your luck has turned! Master Yang has taken a liking to you!"

Upon hearing this, the mouths of all the female workers formed an "O" in surprise! Yang Laowu, standing nearby, wanted nothing more than to throw a wrench at her. Did this woman even know how to talk?

Seeing the gossipy expressions on her friends' faces, Sister Hua realized she had caused a misunderstanding. Feeling a little embarrassed, she looked at Yang Laowu and took a long time to explain herself. Qin Huairu's mood was like a rollercoaster ride.

The gazes of the surrounding female workers towards Qin Huairu shifted from envy to shock, and then to pity, all within a span of less than 10 minutes.

Seeing that Sister Hua had finally finished speaking, Yang Laowu didn't waste any more time. "Qin Huairu! From now on, I'll arrange your work!"

"Okay, okay, Master Yang." Qin Huairu's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, and her peach blossom eyes looked pitifully at Yang Laowu.

Yang Laowu looked around and picked a very basic, level-one workpiece. "Let's try it out, we'll use that machine!"

A crowd gathered around in the workshop. Qin Huairu's hands were trembling as he held the workpiece. Wang Laowu frowned at the sight. "The basic qualities of a fitter are a steady hand and a steady mind. No matter how many eyes are around you, your eyes should only be on the workpiece... Understand?"