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

Factory Director Yang and Xu Damao rushed as fast as they could and finally arrived.

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I heard Jia Zhangshi's outrageous and unruly words.

Factory Director Yang, his face ashen and eyes wide with anger, strode in.

Li Jianguo was an expert he had gone to great lengths to recruit! He took on the most important project as soon as he arrived, and his abilities were evident to all. Even the old professors praised him highly!

This precious child of his, he cherished him so much he was afraid of dropping him. And now, he's being bullied in the yard by a few hooligans?!

They were standing right in his face, pulling his hair, and slapping him across the face with both hands!

Factory Director Yang felt a sharp pain in his face, and his anger surged to the top of his head.

He stood in the center of the courtyard, his gaze sharp as a knife, sweeping over everyone present. Finally, his gaze fixed on Jia Zhangshi, his aura so intense it seemed he wanted to devour her.

"Factory...factory manager, what brings you here?"

When Yi Zhonghai stepped forward to greet him, he was stunned, and his voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Hmph!" Factory Director Yang said coldly, his gaze sweeping over him. "If I hadn't come, I'm afraid Director Li would have been bullied to the end by you all?"

"Where...where did you even begin to say that?"

Yi Zhonghai forced a smile, but as soon as he met Director Yang's gaze, he hurriedly lowered his head.

Factory Director Yang turned his head, instantly putting on a gentle smile, and strode towards Li Jianguo:

"Director Li, you haven't been wronged, have you?"

Li Jianguo shook his head: "Factory Director, why did you come in person?"

"And you're right, why didn't you report this to the factory sooner? You didn't need to handle it personally, we're here for you."

Director Yang's tone was a mix of complaint and concern: "I understand you don't want to cause trouble for the factory, but right now your priority is the project, and these miscellaneous things shouldn't take up your time."

As he spoke, a hint of self-reproach appeared on his face.

"This is also my fault. The factory leadership team did not show enough concern for you. This is our dereliction of duty, and we must sincerely apologize to you."

As he spoke, he bowed his head sincerely, a scene that stunned everyone in the courtyard.

What is Director Yang's status? He's someone who can shake hands and meet with leaders, yet he's so respectful to Li Jianguo!

Those who already thought Li Jianguo was not simple and not to be trifled with now looked at him with even greater respect.

Good heavens, what were they thinking, daring to mess with this guy?

Immediately, everyone's gaze towards the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai changed.

These are the real "brave warriors"—ever since Li Jianguo entered the compound, this group has never stopped causing trouble.

Now you're dumbfounded, aren't you? You've kicked a hornet's nest!

"Factory Manager, you're too kind. I feel bad for bothering you with such a small personal matter. Thank you so much for coming today!"

Li Jianguo's words were sincere and his attitude was humble, which made Director Yang feel very comfortable.

This child is teachable!

So young, yet so talented, and so humble and sensible. How can such a talented person be bullied? Absolutely not!

Factory Director Yang turned to look at the Jia family members, his smile vanished instantly, and his imposing presence and dignified aura became palpable.

"How dare you gang up on the factory's new engineer!"

When Director Yang got angry, everyone present lowered their heads and dared not breathe.

At this moment, perhaps confused, Jia Zhangshi suddenly stood up and, upon seeing Factory Director Yang, appeared delighted.

"Director Yang, you've come at the right time! You're here to stand up for us, aren't you?"

She pointed at Li Jianguo and yelled, "You can't be biased! He's an engineer, and my son is a worker. Neither of us is superior to the other! What right does he have to bully my son? You have to give me an explanation, or else... or I'll go to the factory and cause a scene!"

Jia Zhangshi was arrogant, thinking that with such a big factory, as long as she was willing to cause trouble, no one would care.

Factory Director Yang hadn't expected such an absurd scene. He ignored Jia Zhangshi—an old woman, not a factory worker, and if she really started throwing a tantrum, things would get messy. His gaze fell directly on Jia Dongxu:

"Jia Dongxu, explain yourself. What does your mother mean by that?"

Jia Dongxu usually couldn't even get a glimpse of Director Yang, but now that the director had personally called him out, he was so frightened that he couldn't even speak properly.

"What do you mean by this, boss? You're bullying my son!"

The fiercely protective Jia Zhangshi immediately stepped in front of her son, glaring angrily at Factory Director Yang: "Let me tell you, with me here, no one can touch my son! Li Jianguo caused my son to fall into the latrine, he has to pay compensation! Otherwise, I'm not done with this today!"

Jia Zhangshi is Jia Zhangshi after all; even with the factory manager present, she still throws a tantrum when she feels like it.

Factory Director Yang's face darkened completely, and he decisively cut the Gordian knot:

"Where are the security guards? Take these troublemakers away!"

Two people rushed over immediately and grabbed Jia Zhangshi.

"What are you doing! Is there no law anymore! What right do you have to arrest me? Come and see, the factory manager is bullying people!"

Jia Zhangshi was no pushover; even when restrained, she continued to shout.

But what kind of situation hadn't Director Yang seen? He completely ignored her and waved for the security department to take her away.

He gave Jia Dongxu a cold look:

"Jia Dongxu!"

When his name was called, Jia Dongxu shuddered and stood up straight.

"Factory...factory manager!"

"Do you even know what you've done?" Factory Director Yang's suppressed anger exploded. "You're slacking off, sabotaging the national plan! You've delayed Director Li's work and hampered the project's progress. Can you take responsibility for that?"

Jia Dongxu was stunned into silence by the scolding.

"If you don't want to do the work the factory assigns you, then don't do it!"

When Director Yang first heard that Li Jianguo was going to bring Yi Zhonghai and his team into the new project, he thought it was to take care of their neighbors and let them benefit from it.

This project was tough in the early stages, but once it yielded results, all participants would benefit. Who would have thought these people were so short-sighted, complaining and causing trouble after only one day, and even daring to target Director Li? They're utterly lawless!

"Director Yang, you have to stand up for me! Li Jianguo is deliberately trying to kill me!"

Jia Dongxu's throat felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, his voice so sharp it almost cracked. His eyes reddened instantly, his eyelids blinking frantically, trying to squeeze out a tear or two to prove his grievance.

"We were doing just fine working in the canteen, so why did he just kick us out to move ore with a single sentence? Isn't that treating us like animals?"

He took half a step forward, hunching over, his face full of pleading and ingratiating words.

"Just let me go back to the kitchen! From now on, I'll avoid Li Jianguo whenever I see him! I'll absolutely not provoke him, I'll treat him like he's invisible!"

He was genuinely scared.

He feared that Director Yang's next words would be to throw him out of the steel rolling mill like a dead dog.

These days, a worker's job is a secure one. Under normal circumstances, it's indeed unbreakable. But "normal circumstances" is never a get-out-of-jail-free card. What Factory Director Yang is clutching in his hand is that "special circumstance" that can shatter someone's job.

"Return to your original position?"

Factory Director Yang's gaze was like two nails, fixed firmly on Jia Dongxu's face. The corners of his mouth twitched, the curve filled with undisguised sarcasm.

"If you honestly admit your mistake today, there might still be room for reconciliation. But look at what you've done! You throw a tantrum and try to extort Director Li at the slightest provocation, and you even teamed up with a bunch of people to try and drive him out of the compound? I heard that your Jia family previously occupied someone else's house?"

His voice suddenly rose, like a red-hot iron rod, stabbing fiercely into the eerily quiet courtyard, creating a scalding echo.

"Someone like you doesn't deserve to stay in the steel rolling mill!"

"The steel rolling mill has no place for a black sheep like you!"

"You're fired, effective immediately!"

"What?!"

Jia Dongxu felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his entire body frozen in place, his eyes unable to move.

Expelled?

No, it absolutely cannot be expulsion!

There are six mouths to feed in their family, all relying on his and Qin Huairu's meager salaries to survive. If he loses his job, what will his family eat? They won't even be able to get enough to eat!

"Director Yang! You can't do this!"

He rushed over, his voice finally breaking into a genuine sob.

"My whole family depends on me for survival! If you fire me, how will they live? My mother is old, and my children are still young. Aren't you trying to kill them?!"

Factory Director Yang didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.

Jia Dongxu's wails, when they reached his ears, sounded no different from the whimpers of stray dogs fighting for food on the street. He waved his hand irritably, and the security guards immediately stepped forward, grabbed Jia Dongxu like a chick, and dragged him outside.

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Yi Zhonghai watched helplessly as things developed to this point, and finally, the tension in his heart broke.

"Director Yang..."

He stepped forward with a stiff upper lip, his voice dry as if he had chewed a mouthful of sand.

"Isn't this...too harsh? The Jia family is indeed in dire straits; the whole family depends on his meager salary for a living..."

It would have been better if he hadn't spoken out.

As soon as he stepped out of the station, Director Yang instantly recalled what Xu Damao had said on the way—Yi Zhonghai was biased towards the Jia family to the extreme, and they had joined forces to bully Li Jianguo, an outsider.

His anger flared up instantly, burning so intensely that his eyes turned red.

"Master Yi!"

Director Yang's voice was as cold as a knife in the dead of winter, scraping painfully against one's face.

"I haven't even had a chance to talk to you yet! You're the oldest man in this compound, the factory's pillar, an eighth-grade fitter, a master craftsman! But look at the kind of work you've done! Jia Dongxu isn't thinking straight, and you're clueless too? Don't you know how important Director Li's project is?"

A barrage of reprimands came crashing down on him, each word like a brick, making Yi Zhonghai see stars.

He opened his mouth, but his lips trembled for a long time, and he couldn't utter a single word.

"You've disappointed me so much!"

These words struck Yi Zhonghai like a heavy hammer blow. His face turned ashen, his lips drained of color, and he dared not utter another word in Jia Dongxu's defense. He was terrified that he himself would be the next one to be fired.

"Alright."

Factory Director Yang took a deep breath, suppressing his anger.

"You're a senior worker, this time you're fined a month's salary as a lesson. Think carefully about how you should act in the future!"

"Yes...yes, factory manager, I've got it."

Yi Zhonghai nodded vigorously, not daring to utter another word.

The courtyard was deathly silent.

Everyone thought that the matter was over—Jia Dongxu was fired, Yi Zhonghai was fined, and it was time to call it a day, right?

But at that moment, Li Jianguo spoke up.

"Is that all?"

All eyes, as if drawn by an invisible thread, instantly focused on him.

Factory Director Yang reacted the fastest.

"Director Li, what are you dissatisfied with? These people are indeed despicable, and all I can do is fire them. As for anything else... I don't have that much authority. If you have any thoughts, please feel free to speak up, and I will definitely consider them carefully."

He figured that Li Jianguo probably felt the punishment was too lenient and wanted to send all of them to jail.

If that were the case, he really couldn't do it.

These words were also meant to give Li Jianguo a way out—don't go too far, or he won't be able to help.

"Director Yang is overthinking it."

Li Jianguo's voice was flat, like a frozen lake in winter, without a ripple.

"I didn't intend to do anything to them."

He paused.

"The punishment you just gave was for their passive resistance to work. But there's still no explanation for what happened today regarding their extortion and defamation of me."

His gaze slowly swept over Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai, like two dull knives grinding back and forth on their faces.

"One thing at a time. I want to deal with this matter seriously."

He knew it perfectly well.

For someone like Jia Dongxu, simply dismissing him isn't enough.

This family will never admit they're wrong. They'll only think that Director Yang is biased, that Li Jianguo is up to no good, and that the whole world is against them.

If it's going to be treated, it needs to be treated completely in one go.