Courtyard House: Starting as an eighth-grade worker, with too many wives.

He took the documents Chi Cheng handed him and began to look through them. He flipped through them very slowly. First page, second page, third page. When he reached the fourth page, he stopped. His eyes were fixed on a certain spot, and he stared at it for a long time.

Then he looked up.

His expression changed.

"this……"

He didn't finish speaking. Director Jiang had already snatched the documents away.

Director Jiang read even faster. He flipped through the pages rapidly, but with each page he turned, his brow furrowed more deeply. When he finished, he didn't say a word.

The two remained silent.

The workshop suddenly fell silent.

The silence was different from before. Before, it was a focused silence; now, it was a silence suppressed by something. The workers looked at each other, their eyes filled with questions.

After a while.

Factory Director Yang spoke up.

"The theories here are enough to save us from taking twenty years of detours."

Director Jiang nodded.

His feelings were extremely complicated.

How complicated is it? Even he himself can't figure it out.

After all that trouble he'd caused, held so many meetings, and lost his temper, in the end, he still had to rely on Li Jianguo.

What a mess.

"Who exactly is this Li Jianguo?" Chi Cheng asked.

He looked at Director Jiang, then at Factory Director Yang.

"He told me not to talk about it. But I can't take the credit. He provided the materials, and I drew the blueprints, but without his theories, I wouldn't have been able to draw anything."

Factory Director Yang gave a wry smile.

"Who is he?" he asked. "Director Jiang's future son-in-law."

Chi Cheng was taken aback.

He glanced at Director Jiang. Director Jiang was blushing—the blush started from the roots of his ears and went all the way down to his neck.

"Alright, alright," Director Jiang waved his hand quickly and urgently, as if he was rushing to finish something. "That kid, wait until he gets back and I'll teach him a lesson..."

He paused.

"By the way, Chi Cheng, make a copy of these drawings. Show them to the other workers in the factory later. Good things shouldn't be kept secret."

"Okay," Chi Cheng nodded, "that's what I was planning to do anyway."

"High level of awareness."

Factory Director Yang made a compliment. Then, with a hint of sourness, he added:

"Director Jiang, you've found a good son-in-law."

Director Jiang did not respond.

Turned around and left.

Factory Director Yang followed.

The sound of their footsteps echoed in the workshop—the soles of their leather shoes clicking on the cement floor, one after the other. The sound grew fainter and fainter.

The workers were still surrounding Chi Cheng.

They asked all at once. Their voices buzzed like flies.

Chi Cheng responded perfunctorily, nodding and humming in response. But in his heart, he was thinking of Li Jianguo—

Who exactly is this person?

Those materials, if just a little bit of them were thrown out, could enlighten someone.

Really...

He couldn't think of a suitable word.

The sunlight shifted again. Now it fell on the lathe. That old lathe, with its cast iron body, had rust exposed where the paint had peeled off. In the sunlight, the rust gleamed with a dark reddish light.

the other side.

Yu Li and He Yushui got up very early.

It's really early. So early that the market hasn't even opened yet, and the breakfast vendors have just started their stoves.

They went to find Li Jianguo.

No one is home.

The door was locked. Yu Li peered through the crack in the door, but couldn't see anything. She knocked again, but no one answered.

There was no one at the factory.

The security guard said he didn't see it.

Yu Li became anxious.

She just spent sixty yuan yesterday to buy information from Xu Damao—sixty yuan! That's enough to buy so many kilograms of cornmeal. And now she can't find him?

Was all that money wasted?

"Could he have run away?" She gripped He Yushui's hand tightly. "Could Li Jianguo have run away?"

He Yushui's hand hurt from being gripped so tightly. She tried to pull away, but couldn't.

"No way...maybe he went to work?"

"I went to the factory, but they're not there!" Yu Li's voice cracked. "Jiang Min isn't there either, none of them are here! Do you think they're...?"

She didn't continue.

But He Yushui understood what she meant.

elopement.

The word stuck in their throats, unspoken, but they both knew it.

The two then went back to the factory.

This time it's even more painful.

The way the factory workers looked at them—how to put it—was like they were being looked at as thieves. They sized them up from head to toe, and after sizing them up, they would exchange glances with the people next to them.

Yu Li knew.

It's because of what happened with Yu's mother.

She felt aggrieved.

But there's no way to say it.

It went around twice.

Still haven't found them.

"Find Xu Damao," Yu Li said.

Xu Damao was loitering at the workshop entrance. He was walking back and forth with his hands behind his back, like a leader on an inspection tour.

Upon seeing the two of them, his face fell.

The expression changed so quickly—one second he was relaxed and carefree, the next he looked like he'd swallowed a fly.

"What are you doing now?"

Yu Li got straight to the point.

Where is Li Jianguo?

Xu Damao looked around. Only after confirming that no one was around did he lower his voice.

Why are you asking about him?

"Just tell him where he is!"

I won't tell.

Xu Damao shook his head. He shook it very quickly, like a rattle-drum.

"He's away on a business trip right now. This is a factory matter. If I speak up and something goes wrong, who's responsible?"

"you--"

"Stop saying 'you, you, you'."

Xu Damao interrupted her.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing. Why are you looking for him? Explain yourself before I can tell you."

Yu Li took a deep breath.

She stared at Xu Damao for several seconds. Her gaze was hard and piercing.

Then she held back her anger.

"We're looking for him because we're afraid he'll run away. We just paid for information yesterday, and he's gone today. Wouldn't you be worried?"

Xu Damao thought about it.

That makes sense.

But he still shook his head.

"You promise not to keep coming to me like this. I can tell you this time, but this is a one-time exception."

He Yushui was not happy.

"Why should we? What about our money?"

"I can't refund the money, but this time it's free."

Xu Damao said.

"If you keep bothering me, I'll call the security department."

Yu Li stopped He Yushui.

She stared at Xu Damao for several seconds.

Then he nodded.

"Okay. Go ahead."

Xu Damao breathed a sigh of relief.

The relief was obvious – his shoulders slumped.

"He's away on a business trip. He's gone to another region to inspect agricultural machinery. I can't say exactly where he went, or I'll be in trouble."

"When are you coming back?"

"I don't know. It could take anywhere from ten days to two weeks, or even one or two months."

Yu Li fell silent.

Good riddance.

It's not about running.

She was about to ask again—

A sudden commotion arose from the steel rolling mill.

The sound was very loud. It was a buzzing, like a pot exploding. You could hear it from a great distance.

"What happened over there?"

Xu Damao turned his head and looked.

"I don't know. I'll go check."

He walked over.

Squeezing into the crowd.

I listened for a while.

Understood.

It's Li Jianguo again.

This time it's because of Chi Cheng's matter. The news has spread throughout the workshop—it's said that Li Jianguo provided the information, Chi Cheng drew the blueprints accordingly, and Director Jiang's problem was solved. The workers are talking about it with great enthusiasm, spittle flying everywhere, as if they witnessed it with their own eyes.

Xu Damao was pleased to hear this.

Li Jianguo got promoted, how could he be bad?

He turned and walked back. After a few steps, he stopped again.

Forget it.

It's best to say less.

Yu Li and He Yushui were still waiting in the same spot.

Upon seeing Xu Damao return, Yu Li went to greet him.

"How so?"

"It's nothing. Just something from the factory."

Xu Damao said.

"It's none of your business."

Yu Li stared at him.

I know he's lying.

That gaze, like a knife, scraped across Xu Damao's face.

But she didn't expose it.

"Let's go."

She pulled He Yushui along.

We'll talk about it later.

The two of them left.

Xu Damao watched their retreating figures.

Yu Li walked quickly, and He Yushui was almost dragged along. Their shadows stretched long on the ground, one in front of the other, getting further and further away.

The sun was very strong.

The ground turned white from the sun.

Xu Damao squinted and watched for a while.

He started to make plans in his mind.