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

Zhou Jianguo carried the aluminum lunchbox, strode through the canteen gate, and headed straight for the factory office building.

Behind him, a murmur of discussion immediately arose in the cafeteria, followed by a heart-wrenching scream.

"You little bastard! You stop right there!"

Amidst the frantic running sounds, He Yuzhu, like a wild boar with bloodshot eyes, raised the large iron ladle, still dripping with vegetable soup, high in his hand. His apron strap was half-loose, and he charged out of the back door, exuding a strong smell of cooking oil and a murderous aura.

"If I don't tear your mouth apart today, I'll write my name, He Yuzhu, backwards!"

Sha Zhu was really desperate.

He had been running rampant in the steel mill canteen for so many years, relying on his mastery of Tan family cuisine and his ruthless and unruly nature. Even the factory manager had to appease him.

But today, Zhou Jianguo actually tore his fig leaf to shreds in front of hundreds of workers and even went to file a complaint.

If this really gets to Deputy Factory Director Li or Factory Director Yang, not only will they lose face as the "canteen tyrant," but they'll probably lose everything too.

Zhou Jianguo listened to the sound of the wind behind him and a smile appeared on his lips.

Run? Why run?

really.

Just as Zhou Jianguo was about to turn into the small square in front of the office building after passing through the workshop passage, a figure in dark blue overalls rushed in from the side and precisely blocked the middle of the road.

"Jianguo! Stop!"

The man was around fifty years old, with a square face and an upright demeanor, but his usually dignified face was filled with anxiety.

It was Yi Zhonghai, an old man from the courtyard house, an eighth-grade fitter.

Yi Zhonghai was just being fawned over in the workshop, but when he heard from his apprentice that Sha Zhu was going to fight Zhou Jianguo with a knife in the canteen, he was terrified.

Sha Zhu is a carefully cultivated candidate for retirement; he absolutely cannot be let down here!

"An old man?" Zhou Jianguo paused, a playful glint in his eyes. "You're quite nimble on your feet. Are you here to try this canteen's special swill?"

Yi Zhonghai's face stiffened. He glanced at the lunchbox, then looked back at Sha Zhu, who was charging towards him like a mad dog. He lowered his voice and adopted the posture of a close and trusting elder:

"Jianguo, what are you doing? It's such a small matter, why take it to the factory leaders? We're all neighbors living in the same courtyard, we see each other all the time. Zhuzi may be a bit of a troublemaker, but he's not a bad person at heart. By making a scene like this, aren't you going to ruin Zhuzi's future? Take my advice, let's talk about this back in the courtyard, I'll make him apologize to you, okay?"

Before he could finish speaking, Sha Zhu had already arrived.

"Huff...huff..." Sha Zhu was panting so hard he almost passed out. He took a step to Zhou Jianguo's side, and the large ladle in his hand almost poked Zhou Jianguo's nose.

"Run? You little bastard, try running again!" Sha Zhu's eyes flashed with malice as he pointed at the lunchbox in Zhou Jianguo's hand. "Pour that thing out! Right now! Immediately! Otherwise, I'll loosen your bones right here in the factory and show you how many eyes the King of Hell has!"

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai not only didn't reprimand Sha Zhu for his violent act, but instead slightly shifted his body to the side, subtly blocking Zhou Jianguo's escape route, and earnestly added insult to injury:

"Jianguo, look how angry you've made Zhuzi. Just give in, throw away the lunchbox, and we'll call it a day. Young people should be more magnanimous. Don't ruin neighborly relations over a little food, and definitely don't push Zhuzi to fight. You'll be the one who suffers in the end, won't you?"

One is a scholar, the other a warrior; one sings, the other harmonizes.

One is responsible for moral blackmail to make you unreasonable, and the other is responsible for military intimidation to make you cowardly.

More and more workers gathered around, and within half a minute, they had surrounded the area in layers.

Everyone watched this scene with mixed emotions, even some pity.

"This week, Jianguo is in trouble. He's been blocked by these two plagues."

"Hey, this old man is really taking sides to an extreme. There really was swill in that lunchbox."

"Shh! Keep your voice down. Yi Zhonghai is an eighth-grade worker, the factory's prized possession. Do you dare offend him?"

In everyone's eyes, Zhou Jianguo, an honest man who is isolated and helpless, has no other choice but to swallow his anger and suffer in silence.

Zhou Jianguo looked around at the faces that were either fearful or numb, and finally his gaze settled on the old man and the young man in front of him.

"Oh."

A soft laugh broke the deadlock.

Zhou Jianguo's hand slipped silently into his collar, and his fingertips pressed lightly beneath the old patch.

[Ding! Host has spent 50 yuan to successfully redeem an item from the system shop: Miniature Button Sound Recorder (Extra Long Battery Life Version).]

Recording function is now enabled.

He raised his head, looked directly into Yi Zhonghai's eyes, and his voice suddenly rose, clear and resonant like a bell:

"Comrade Yi Zhonghai! Please watch your words!"

That shout, full of energy, startled Yi Zhonghai.

Zhou Jianguo took a half step back, straightened his back, and his eyes sharpened:

"Great men have taught us that waste is a grave crime! We must practice thrift and oppose waste!"

"He Yuzhu, as a factory cook, received a salary from the state and was in charge of the working class's food scoops. Yet, he neglected his public duties for personal gain, using the despicable method of tossing the food rations that belonged to the workers to deduct from their rations, turning them into swill. What kind of behavior is this?"

Zhou Jianguo stepped forward, staring intently at Yi Zhonghai:

"This is artificially creating conflict!"

"And you, Yi Zhonghai! As an eighth-grade fitter, with years of education, faced with this heinous act of sabotaging production and oppressing workers, instead of reporting it, you use so-called neighborly relations and your own future to silence me? Where is your stance? Is your back on the side of the workers, or on the side of those who are causing the destruction?!"

boom--!

What was originally a personal grudge about not getting enough meat in the meal was escalated by Zhou Jianguo to the point of disrupting production.

This hat is so big, it could crush a person!

Yi Zhonghai's face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat poured down his forehead in a flash.

His lips trembled as he tried to refute, but he found himself unable to utter a word.

He was used to using morality to suppress people, but he never thought that someone would use such rigid logic to fight back!

The workers watching were thrilled.

"Damn it, I always thought Sha Zhu was awful for flipping the wok, but it turns out it's a crime!"

"This old man has nothing to say now, right? Harboring bad elements is a serious crime!"

Public opinion has shifted.

The crowd, who had just thought Zhou Jianguo was doomed, now looked at Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu with anger and scrutiny.

Sha Zhu's underdeveloped brain completely short-circuited.

He didn't understand how things had gone from just a conversation about serving food to suddenly turning into him committing a crime.

"You...you're talking nonsense!" Sha Zhu's eyes turned red with anger, and he waved the spoon wildly in his hand. "Zhou Jianguo, don't try to pin this on me! Let me tell you, this cafeteria is my territory! What if I don't serve you food? What if I don't like the look of you?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai realized he was in trouble.

"Zhu Zi! Shut up!" Yi Zhonghai roared fiercely, his voice trembling.

But how could Zhou Jianguo let this opportunity slip by?

He looked at the furious, foolish Zhu with a mocking gaze:

"Your territory? He Yuzhu, you've got quite the nerve. Anyone who didn't know better would think this Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill belongs to the He family. You really think nobody knows about your petty affairs? Every day you take the company's lunchbox home, calling it leftovers, but it's actually all the good meat and vegetables you've been hoarding, isn't it?"

Zhou Jianguo sneered: "I don't dislike you because I don't like you; you're afraid I'll expose the truth that you're treating the public canteen like your own kitchen! You're afraid everyone will know that you're sucking the blood of all the factory workers to fatten yourself up!"

"Bullshit!"

Sha Zhu completely lost it.

His most private sore spot was exposed in public, and coupled with Zhou Jianguo's contemptuous gaze, he lost all his remaining rationality.

The veins on his neck bulged, and in front of hundreds of workers, he roared at the top of his lungs:

"That's all with the factory manager's tacit approval! I earn my living with my skills! What's wrong with me bringing three lunchboxes every day? That's what I deserve! I can give whatever I want from this canteen to whomever I want, and they can take whatever they want! The factory manager doesn't care, so who do you think you are, daring to question my accounts?!"

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

The entire small square was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After yelling, Sha Zhu's chest heaved violently, and he even raised his chin smugly, thinking he had intimidated the crowd.

But he didn't notice that Yi Zhonghai beside him was now ashen-faced, swaying slightly and almost collapsing.

The workers around him were so shocked their jaws dropped to the ground.

Even the workshop foremen who had originally just come to watch the spectacle were now ashen-faced, wishing they could disappear into the ground.

They admitted it?

So you're admitting it?

This is practically a public embarrassment! Not only did they brazenly justify stealing public property, but they even dragged the factory manager into it, claiming that the manager had tacitly approved it?

If this gets out, not only will Sha Zhu be finished, but even Factory Director Yang will be caught in the crossfire and might even lose his job!

Zhou Jianguo looked at Sha Zhu's still-shouting, stupid appearance, and a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.

This is enough.

He raised his hand, pretending to straighten his collar, but actually gently pressed the tiny button to stop the recording.

The evidence has been secured.

"Okay, very good."

Zhou Jianguo nodded, his tone calm.

He didn't argue with Sha Zhu anymore, nor did he glance at Yi Zhonghai again.

"He Yuzhu, remember what you just said."

"I hope that you can still shout this loudly in front of the security department, in front of Director Yang, and even in front of the city's inspection team."

After saying that, Zhou Jianguo turned around.

This time, no one dared to laugh, and no one dared to stop them.

The crowd that had been packed tightly together automatically parted to the sides the moment he turned around, making way for a wide avenue leading to the factory office building.

Only Sha Zhu remained standing there, still holding the large ladle, watching Zhou Jianguo's back. His previously arrogant expression gradually froze.

"Uncle...uncle..." Sha Zhu mechanically turned his head to look at Yi Zhonghai, his voice trembling, "Where...where is he going?"

Yi Zhonghai closed his eyes, sighed in despair, and instantly aged ten years.

"It's over...it's all over."