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

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

When Zhou Jianguo pushed his half-worn bicycle across the threshold, he felt refreshed and invigorated.

After a good night's sleep, and nourished by the system's high-tech food, his complexion was rosy.

In contrast, the courtyard was shrouded in gloom and despair.

It was rush hour, and the residents walked out with their necks hunched and sleeves tucked in, their faces sallow and ashen, their eyes sunken.

Last night's fire, coupled with the tantalizing smell of braised pork in the latter half of the night, kept everyone in the hospital on edge, and no one could sleep soundly.

As he passed the Intermediate People's Court, Zhou Jianguo paused.

The door to Sha Zhu's room was tightly closed, exuding a gloomy atmosphere.

"Is he planning something bad?"

He snorted lightly, completely ignoring the evasive, fearful, and secretly jealous gazes of his neighbors. With a long stride, he mounted his bicycle, and with a crisp "ding-a-ling," he sped out of the alleyway like a gust of wind amidst a crowd of complex eyes.

……

Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, Workshop 3.

As soon as Zhou Jianguo entered the workshop, he keenly sensed that something was amiss.

His former colleagues, whom he used to only nod to, were now gathered in twos and threes in a corner, pretending to wipe parts while glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes.

"Have you heard? Zhou Jianguo from our workshop set fire to our neighbor's house last night!"

"That's not all! They say they set up a trap for wild boars and broke the neighbor's kid's leg. Apparently, the bone fragments were exposed, and the screams could be heard two streets away."

"Really? He usually seems like a very honest person, you can't get a word out of him."

"That's what you call a barking dog that bites! I heard he's a tough guy; someone's kid broke his leg, and he was at home frying braised pork to eat. Is that something a human being would do?"

Rumors spread rapidly, and the versions became increasingly outrageous.

Zhou Jianguo walked to his workstation without changing his expression and slowly wiped the pliers with cotton yarn.

He could sense the fear and alienation in those eyes, and some people even deliberately avoided his workstation.

But that's exactly the effect he wanted.

In this special era, in this courtyard full of beasts and in this factory with its complicated interpersonal relationships, only by making people fear you can you prevent others from taking advantage of you.

"Clang—clang—clang—"

As soon as the lunch break bell rang, the workers, carrying aluminum lunchboxes, rushed to the canteen like hungry wolves.

Zhou Jianguo walked at the very back, taking his time.

The canteen was bustling with noise, and the aroma of boiled cabbage mixed with rapeseed oil filled the air. A long queue had formed, and Zhou Jianguo stood at the end of the line, his expression indifferent.

As the line gradually shortened, that familiar figure came into view.

Silly Pillar.

He wore an apron so dirty that its original color was unrecognizable, a white hat askew, and his face was bulging with fat. His beady green eyes were scanning the crowd with a sinister look.

Until his gaze settled on Zhou Jianguo.

In that instant, Sha Zhu's mouth snarled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth—a smile full of malice and mockery.

He tapped the long-handled iron ladle in his hand twice on the edge of the vegetable basin.

That was a signal to declare war.

Finally, Zhou Jianguo stood in front of the window.

The two were separated by a half-meter-wide windowsill.

Sha Zhu didn't rush to get the food.

He deliberately leaned forward and slammed the spoon in his hand against the edge of the huge tin bowl.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The three crisp sounds quieted down the noisy cafeteria considerably.

"Hey, isn't this our big shot in the institute, Comrade Zhou Jianguo?"

Sha Zhu yelled in a sarcastic tone, "I heard the food at home was quite good yesterday! Fried mantou slices with braised pork, the oil was sizzling! What's wrong? You think you can look down on this meager meal in our canteen today? This cabbage is beneath your notice?"

That shout instantly ignited a firestorm of hatred.

These days, nobody's got enough to eat, so if someone's family is eating a lot of meat and fish, they're just asking for trouble.

Sure enough, the way the surrounding workers looked at Zhou Jianguo changed, with more jealousy and displeasure.

Zhou Jianguo seemed not to hear any of this nonsense, and without even raising his eyelids, he handed over the aluminum lunchbox and a food ticket.

"Get the food." The voice was cold. "One serving of potatoes and cabbage."

When Sha Zhu saw that Zhou Jianguo didn't respond, he felt like he had punched a cotton ball, and his anger flared up instantly.

"Fine, potatoes and cabbage, is that it? You'll get your way!"

Sha Zhu sneered and took the lunchbox.

His gaze was fierce as he plunged the long-handled ladle into the oily soup bowl.

"Splash—"

This time it was the real deal, a whole spoonful was scooped up.

That was the thickest part at the bottom of the bowl, containing not only thick chunks of potatoes and large cabbage leaves, but also a few slices of fatty meat as garnish.

The workers at the back of the line swallowed hard, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Has this silly Zhu changed his ways today? Why is he giving his enemy such a thorough beating?

However, just as the spoon was about to fall into the lunchbox...

The performance has begun.

Sha Zhu's wrist began to tremble violently.

The frequency is extremely high and the amplitude is extremely large.

"Da da da da..."

The spoon spun in the air like a sieve.

With the first shake, those precious slices of fatty meat slid back into the dish with a "whoosh".

With the second shake, those thick potato chunks, as if they had grown legs, rolled back with a "thump, thump".

The third shake caused even the last few slightly larger cabbage leaves to be lost.

The whole process lasted about three seconds. But to those around them, those three seconds looked like a live demonstration of how to toss a wok.

When the spoon finally tilted and poured the contents into Zhou Jianguo's lunchbox, only a spoonful of murky, pale yellow soup remained, with two rotten vegetable leaves the size of fingernails floating on top.

"..."

The surroundings were deathly silent.

Everyone knows it's common for cafeteria chefs to have shaky hands, but this isn't just shaky hands! This is clearly treating people like idiots! This is outright robbery!

Sha Zhu threw the lunchbox onto the windowsill with a crisp "thud".

He crossed his arms, a provocative smile on his face, his eyes saying: You little bastard, I'm going to mess with you, what are you going to do about it?

Zhou Jianguo looked down at the meager amount of soup at the bottom of the lunchbox.

He didn't fly into a rage, nor did he overturn the table.

He simply raised his head slowly, his eyes calm.

"He Yuzhu".

Zhou Jianguo's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chillingly oppressive quality: "Are you suffering from epilepsy, or is your hand broken? Is this how you're supposed to waste the working class's food?"

This question completely stunned Sha Zhu.

He had expected Zhou Jianguo to curse and even hit him, but to his surprise, the first thing Zhou Jianguo did was ask him if he was sick.

"Can't I just accidentally drop it?"

Sha Zhu felt uneasy under that gaze, but his reckless nature kicked in, and he decided to tear off the mask of civility.

He slammed the spoon into the basin, leaned forward, pressed his greasy face against the iron bars, and whispered:

"Besides, Zhou Jianguo, you eat and drink well at home every day, why would you care about a little bit of oil? I'm just doing justice! Anyway, you're an orphan, no parents, no children, eating so well is a waste of food! It's better to save it and give it to those poor families with many children to help them get better!"

The atmosphere became tense at the cafeteria window.

Everyone held their breath and stared at Zhou Jianguo.

Logically speaking, if you don't rush up and punch Sha Zhu a couple of times at this moment, you can't be considered a real man.

Sha Zhu's eyes gleamed with excitement.

He was prepared; if Zhou Jianguo dared to make a move, he would immediately lie down on the ground.

When the security department arrives, Zhou Jianguo will not only have to pay compensation, but he will also be disciplined!

However, Zhou Jianguo made a move.

But instead of throwing a punch, he turned around, faced the hundreds of coworkers eating behind him, and raised the lunchbox with only soup in his hand high.

"Fellow workers! Fellow workers! Everyone, please stop talking and look up!"

Zhou Jianguo's voice was loud and clear, full of energy.

Everyone looked up in astonishment, still with steamed buns in their mouths and pickled vegetables on their chopsticks, completely bewildered.

Zhou Jianguo was still holding the lunchbox, his face serious, his brows furrowed with anger.

"This is the food that He Yuzhu, the head chef of our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill canteen and an eighth-level cook, prepared for us frontline workers!"

"I, Zhou Jianguo, am also a member of the steel rolling mill. I bleed and sweat every day in the workshop! I paid five cents and two ounces of meal tickets as required! This is the ration the state gives to us workers!"

At this point, Zhou Jianguo turned around, pointed at Sha Zhu, whose face had turned deathly pale, and shouted sternly:

"And what did we get in return? A spoonful of swill!"

"He Yuzhu! You're not just bullying Zhou Jianguo alone! You're settling a personal score! You're withholding workers' rations! You're exhausting the workers' physical strength! You're hindering the steel rolling mill's production and construction!"

This series of accusations is heavier and more severe than the last.

If it's fighting or swearing, that's a private matter; everyone can have some fun.

But once it escalates to withholding workers' food rations and disrupting production and construction, the nature of the matter changes completely!

These days, who dares to go against production?

Who would dare touch the workers' food rations?

"Splash—"

Many workers stood up and looked at Sha Zhu in the window with hostility.

Sha Zhu's shaky hands have been a problem for a long time, and everyone had been holding back their anger for a while. Zhou Jianguo's words today finally ignited the powder keg.

Sha Zhu was completely dumbfounded.

Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

He opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.

He never expected that Zhou Jianguo, who was usually so quiet and reserved, would be more adept and ruthless at accusing people than the factory's propaganda officer!

"You...you're talking nonsense! I didn't..." Sha Zhu stammered, trying to explain.

"I'm not eating this meal."

Zhou Jianguo didn't give him a chance to speak at all.

He gave Sha Zhu a cold look, his eyes filled with mockery.

With a "snap".

Zhou Jianguo slammed the lunchbox lid shut.

He didn't throw the box of soup back at Sha Zhu's face. Although it would have felt good that way, it would have turned into a fight, making him seem like he was in the wrong.

He carried the lunchbox and loudly announced:

"I will keep this box of soup unopened. It is irrefutable proof of your actions, He Yuzhu, in sabotaging production and oppressing workers!"

"I'm going to find Deputy Director Li, Director Yang, and even the Ministry of Metallurgy! I want to ask the leaders, is this steel rolling mill's canteen still the people's canteen? Is He Yuzhu our workers' chef, or a tyrannical landlord?!"

After saying that, Zhou Jianguo didn't even glance at Sha Zhu. He picked up his lunchbox and strode towards the cafeteria door amidst hundreds of stares.

Only Sha Zhu was left frozen at the window, still holding that big iron ladle in his hand.

His hands were still shaking, but this time, they were really shaking; he was terrified.

His heart pounded wildly as he watched Zhou Jianguo's departing figure.

It’s over.

This kid is going to kill him!