Courtyard House: In times of famine, my hamster became a spirit.

He spent the entire afternoon peeling that mountain of potatoes, leaving He Yuzhu completely bewildered. It wasn't until the kitchen started its final cleaning and the sound of cold water being splashed on the floor that he snapped out of his daze.

No matter what, we can't go back empty-handed.

The image of Qin Huairu's expressive peach blossom eyes flashed through He Yuzhu's mind, and his heart tightened.

He glanced furtively at the stove—a little bit of leftover food that Chef Yang had deliberately set aside, about half a bowl of cabbage and vermicelli, with a few slices of fatty meat floating on top.

"As long as I'm quick, no one will notice..." He Yuzhu frantically brainwashed himself, "This is leftovers! It's meant to be thrown into the swill bucket to feed pigs anyway. I'm saving food for the country, how can it be considered stealing?"

He glanced around warily and saw that the kitchen helpers were busy wiping the stove and mopping the floor, and no one was paying attention to the corner.

He Yuzhu took out the shiny aluminum lunchbox from his pocket, crouched down, and slipped past along the wall.

One step, two steps.

There was still half a meter between us and the dish.

Those few pieces of fat seemed to transform into Qin Huairu's gentle smiling face, and the voice of Bang Geng worshipfully shouting "Silly Uncle".

His hand trembled slightly with excitement as he reached out, his fingertips about to touch the large ladle.

"cough."

A light cough sent chills down He Yuzhu's spine.

He stiffly turned his neck.

In the shadows, Director Liu leaned against the doorframe, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, a mocking smile playing on his lips as the smoke swirled around him.

Behind Director Liu, two security officers wearing red armbands stood with their arms crossed, their eyes cold.

That expression clearly said, "Try moving? You'll die if you do."

The fear of being dominated yesterday surged into my heart.

He Yuzhu's hand froze in mid-air, trembling violently. The spoonful of food that was so close at hand now felt like an insurmountable chasm.

"Looks like yesterday's lesson wasn't profound enough." Director Liu exhaled a smoke ring and walked over slowly, his leather shoes making a "tap-tap" sound on the ground, each step resonating with He Yuzhu's heartbeat.

"Director Liu... I just... wanted to help empty the swill..." He Yuzhu pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

"Pour out the swill? Use a lunchbox to do it?" Director Liu walked to the stove and glanced at the empty aluminum lunchbox with a half-smile.

Then, he waved his hand dismissively, his smile vanishing completely.

It's fallen over.

Without saying a word, the two officers strode forward and picked up the bowl of leftover food.

"Splash—"

Cabbage, vermicelli, and fatty meat, mixed with tempting broth, were poured into the swill bucket that reeked of sour stench, under He Yuzhu's desperate gaze.

Immediately afterwards, Director Liu pulled a heavy iron lock out of his pocket.

"Snap!"

The crisp metallic clang locked the lid of the slop bucket, effectively extinguishing He Yuzhu's last remaining thoughts.

"Starting today, all swill in the cafeteria must be locked up and disposed of in a centralized manner."

Director Liu dusted off his hands, his eyes filled with disdain: "He Yuzhu, trying to take advantage of public resources? I'll weld this door shut for you too."

"Now, get out."

……

"Clang—clang—clang—"

Just then, the clock struck midnight, ringing out over the steel rolling mill, making He Yuzhu's head throb with pain.

"No... I can't go back like this."

"If I go into the hospital empty-handed, Sister Qin's eyes will torture me to death, won't they? Even if I bring some scraps of meat, or even two pounds of cornmeal, that would be fine. At least it would shut that guy's mouth up."

He habitually reached into his pocket, wanting to grab a cigarette and take stock of his possessions.

When my fingers touched the bottom, besides a few bits of tobacco residue, I only found a few crumpled bills.

He took out his meager change and counted it three times under the dim streetlights.

Three mao and two fen, plus a grain coupon worth half a liang.

He Yuzhu stared at the meager possessions in his palm, frozen in place.

In the past, when he received his salary, before he had even opened the envelope, Qin Huairu would appear at the door on time, teary-eyed, saying that Banggeng needed to pay tuition and Huaihua needed to buy cloth to make clothes... He would always wave his hand generously and say, "Take it! I have the cafeteria to cover my expenses, I won't go hungry!"

Yes, the cafeteria used to cover all expenses.

The oil and fat in those leftovers were more substantial than wages.

But now?

He Yuzhu shivered.

Only now did he realize that without that spoon, he, He Yuzhu, was a penniless man who could barely afford to eat!

"God... this is driving me to my doom!"

No, I can't just accept defeat like this.

Can a living person suffocate urine?

I've been working in the factory for so many years, I'm quite popular!

At this time, the main road leading to the factory gate was teeming with people.

The workers walked in twos and threes, their lunchboxes rattling in the mesh bags—a symphony of people leaving get off work, but to He Yuzhu it sounded like mockery.

He Yuzhu's eyes scanned the crowd like radar, and soon he locked onto his target.

"Hey, isn't this Old Zhao!"

He Yuzhu took two quick steps, his body somewhat hunched, but his voice was still incredibly loud, and he blocked the way in front of the fitter Lao Zhao's bicycle.

Old Zhao was bragging to his coworkers when he was startled by the sudden shout and slammed on the brakes.

Upon seeing that it was He Yuzhu, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, but he still nodded politely: "Oh, it's Sha Zhu, what's up? Getting off work early today?"

"Ugh, don't even mention it, it's just part of experiencing life." He Yuzhu waved his hand casually, but his eyes were a little uneasy. He didn't dare to look Old Zhao in the eye and lowered his voice, saying, "Well, Old Zhao, I was in a rush to leave today and forgot my money. There's a bit of an emergency at home, do you have any spare change? Can you lend me a couple of yuan to tide me over? I'll pay you back as soon as I get my salary!"

As he spoke, he deliberately bumped Old Zhao with his shoulder, striking a friendly pose as if they were "as close as family."

If this were in the past, let alone two yuan, even five yuan would have been enough for Lao Zhao to readily hand over—hoping that Sha Zhu would be merciful when serving the food and give him a couple more pieces of fatty meat.

But today...

The air fell silent for two seconds, an awkward silence so profound it made one want to dig out a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment.

The smile on Lao Zhao's face vanished at a visible speed, and his hand instinctively covered his shirt pocket.

He reversed half a turn of the pedal under his feet, increasing the distance between himself and He Yuzhu.

"Oh dear, Zhu Zi, what bad timing." Old Zhao's facial muscles twitched, and his eyes began to dart around. "You wouldn't believe it, my wife's been really strict lately. My salary was taken away as soon as I got it, my pockets are emptier than my face. Anyway, it's getting late, I need to hurry back and cook. See you later!"

Before He Yuzhu could react, Old Zhao pushed off with his foot, and the bicycle shot off like it had wheels of fire, as if afraid of getting any bad luck.

"Hey! Old Zhao! You..." He Yuzhu's hand froze in mid-air, his smile frozen.

Before, Old Zhao would call him "Brother Zhu" all the time, just to get a special meal from him. Now, he treats even borrowing two yuan like he's avoiding a plague.

"Tch, what a load of rubbish! Plastic brotherhood!" He Yuzhu spat fiercely, unable to suppress the anger in his heart.

He refused to believe it and turned his gaze to Liu Datou in Workshop Two.

Liu Datou used to be a frequent customer who asked him for favors!

"Big Head! Big Head!" He Yuzhu rushed forward again, grabbing Liu Datou's bicycle handlebars. "Don't run! I need to talk to you about something..."

Liu Datou was forced to stop and saw that it was He Yuzhu.

"Borrowing money?" Before He Yuzhu could finish speaking, Liu Datou interrupted him with a raised eyebrow and a half-smile. "Zhuzi, it's not that I don't want to lend it to you. You're currently peeling potatoes, so how are you going to pay it back? With potato peels?"

"You!" He Yuzhu's neck veins bulged with anger as he pointed at Liu Datou's nose and cursed, "You son of a bitch, don't look down on me! I'm just a tiger fallen into the plains! Wait until I'm back in office in a couple of days, and you'll be begging me for food. I might just shake my hand and you won't even get a drop of soup!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Datou, who had originally only intended to watch the show and leave, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha! Listen to this, everyone!" Liu Datou pointed at He Yuzhu and shouted at the workers who had gathered around, "This idiot Zhu is still dreaming! He wants to shake the ladle for me? Bah!"

The surrounding workers burst into laughter.

Liu Datou's face changed, and he pointed at He Yuzhu's nose: "Silly Zhu, wake up! You think everyone used to call you Master He out of respect? It was because they were afraid of your lousy spoon! It was because they were afraid you'd shake all that meat off!"

"Exactly! Before, getting food was like begging; his stinky face made me want to vomit!" A young worker nearby chimed in. "Now, look how good Chef Yang is! He scoops out a full spoonful in one go, never does any of those fancy tricks!"

"Without that spoon, you're nothing!"

"From now on, just stick to peeling potatoes and stop embarrassing yourself in public!"

He Yuzhu stood in the center of the crowd, his expression changing repeatedly.

He wanted to argue, to curse, to hit someone, but looking at the pairs of disdainful eyes around him, he suddenly felt an unprecedented panic.

So... so in their eyes, I was just a jerk who bullied people with a spoon?

It turns out that without that stove, I'm really nothing at all.

Just then, a commotion came from the direction of the factory office building.