All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

"Da Mao, you'd better get a divorce soon!"

"Okay, okay, you can go now!"

Watching Qin Jingru walk out from the inner courtyard, Xu Damao felt nervous thinking about the scene of Qin Jingru meeting Lou Xiao'e. He only felt relieved when Qin Jingru's figure was completely out of sight and there was no noise from the other side.

He then came to his senses and saw Qin Jingru's bowl and chopsticks on the table. He quickly ran back, poured all the food from the bowl and chopsticks into his own bowl, and cleaned up the dishes.

He rushed to his bedroom and saw the bedsheets scattered all over the place. He quickly tried to tidy them up, but as he pulled and stretched them, he discovered a lot of long hair on the bedsheets. Xu Damao was so frightened that he quickly started picking up the hair.

Lou Xiao'e has short hair, and Qin Jingru has long hair; it goes without saying who knows. Wait, why is there curly hair too?

Qin Huairu, who was chatting with Lou Xiao'e in the middle courtyard, felt relieved when she saw her cousin come out from the inner courtyard. However, looking at Lou Xiao'e, who was still chatting with her enthusiastically, she suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

During the Spring Festival, Qin Jingru took advantage of the occasional New Year's visit to come to Qin Huairu's place on the third day of the Lunar New Year. As a result, she was tricked by Xu Damao and ended up sleeping in Xu Damao's room for the past two days.

Qin Huairu tried to persuade her several times to no avail. She was originally prepared to send this old lady back to the countryside no matter what, but Lou Xiao'e suddenly returned, which caught her off guard!

Xu Damao is still married, and for a young woman to sleep in his house like this is bound to attract a lot of gossip. Moreover, in this day and age, if someone reports this, she'll be paraded through the streets with her shoes hanging up her head.

She knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but given Xu Damao's personality, it seemed a bit risky.

Lou Xiao'e saw a somewhat familiar face come out of the inner courtyard and was a little surprised. Then she saw Qin Huairu say something.

"Xiao'e, this is my cousin Qin Jingru. She came to visit me for a few days during the Spring Festival and is just about to go back today!"

"Oh, no wonder you look familiar. You've been to our hospital a few times before, haven't you?"

"Yes, yes, Xiao'e, you go ahead with your work, I have something to do!"

"Okay, then you go ahead and get busy. I've been walking all day and I'm tired!"

Lou Xiao'e didn't notice anything amiss. She smiled and said goodbye, then picked up the large and small bags she had brought back from her parents' home and headed towards the inner courtyard.

Qin Jingru kept her head down, secretly glancing at Lou Xiao'e, but she didn't say anything. This was the first time the two had officially met.

Seeing Lou Xiao'e leave, Qin Huairu finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pulled Qin Jingru back to her home.

As soon as she entered the room, Qin Huairu hurriedly said.

"Hurry up and pack your things, I'll take you back right now. Qin Jingru, do you even have any shame? A young woman like you sleeping in someone's house like this? If the rest of the compound finds out, do you know how many people will talk about me?"

"Sister, Da Mao said he'll divorce Lou Xiao'e this month, and I'm all his now!"

Qin Huairu said this while tidying up Qin Jingru.

"Who is Xu Damao? Do you know better than me that there wasn't a single word of truth in his words? He's not Xu Damao at all. Let me tell you, Qin Jingru, I'm keeping an eye on things here for you. As long as Xu Damao doesn't get a divorce, you're not allowed to come over, understand? You'll understand later how important reputation is to a woman!"

Lou Xiao'e arrived at her doorstep carrying large and small bags, just in time to see Xu Damao eating with a bowl in his hand, his legs crossed.

He saw Lou Xiao'e at the door with a contemptuous expression, showing no sympathy for her carrying so many bags.

Lou Xiao'e's eyes welled up with tears when she saw this scene. She forced herself to be strong, picked up her things, crossed the threshold, and went back into the inner room.

As soon as she put her things down, Lou Xiao'e still felt wronged and heartbroken, unable to calm down. She sat on the edge of the bed, sulking.

Suddenly, she glanced at the pillow and her eyes were immediately fixed on it. There, on the side of the pillow, was a black hair that was half covered by the pillow.

Lou Xiao'e gently picked up the hair and slowly pulled it out. The hair grew longer and longer until a single, intact hair appeared before her eyes.

Chapter 26: Liu Haizhong's Rise to Power

Tears fell silently from Lou Xiao'e's eyes. With trembling hands, she gently lifted the pillow, and sure enough, there were two more long hairs underneath.

At this moment, Lou Xiao'e's heart was completely dead. She picked up a pillow, rushed out of the inner room like a madwoman, and started wildly hitting Xu Damao on the head, who was eating.

The food on the table was overturned and spilled all over the floor. Xu Damao's bowl and chopsticks were also knocked over and broken in two.

When Xu Damao saw the pillow in Lou Xiao'e's hand, he immediately understood the situation; it was probably Qin Jingru's hair that caused the trouble.

That silly girl Qin Jingru has bad kidneys! Her hair is falling out!

While internally ranting, Xu Damao used his hands to block Lou Xiao'e's attacks. After all, he was in the wrong and could only try to smooth things over for the time being.

"Lou Xiao'e, are you crazy? Let me tell you, don't go looking for trouble. I'm not going to argue with you right now!"

As he spoke, Xu Damao wanted to take the opportunity to escape temporarily. After all, if this matter escalated, he would not have an easy time either. These days, a married man having affairs is not a moral issue, but a political one.

Xu Damao's concession did not stop Lou Xiao'e.

Lou Xiao'e was a wealthy young lady who married an ordinary projectionist. Because she had no children, she had suffered countless mistreatments. Now, seeing the hair on her bed, Lou Xiao'e completely broke down.

Seeing Xu Damao trying to escape, Lou Xiao'e grabbed his sleeve and bit down hard on his arm!

"Ah! Lou Xiao'e, you madwoman! Mad dog, mad woman, ah...ah...!"

The pain caused Xu Damao to completely lose his mind, and he slapped Lou Xiao'e hard across the face!

The crisp sound of the slap brought the farce to its climax.

The slap mark on Lou Xiao'e's face quickly swelled up, and a trace of blood trickled from her nostrils. She was disheveled and completely dazed. This slap had utterly shattered Lou Xiao'e's rationality.

One second, two seconds, as if frozen in time, Xu Damao looked down at the bloodstains on his arm, and hatred was growing in his heart!

"Xu Damao, go to hell! I'll fight you to the death!"

Lou Xiao'e suffered a complete mental breakdown and began smashing things like a madwoman until the room was in complete chaos.

She was still not satisfied, so she picked up the last porcelain bowl on the table and smashed it over Xu Damao's head as he was about to leave!

……

He Yuzhu only found out about what happened in the yard when he got home that night. Xu Damao had his head split open and needed more than a dozen stitches. His ear had a long cut from the back of his neck.

He Yuzhu didn't care about this matter, because in the original novel, Lou Xiao'e would divorce Xu Damao, and the reason was also because of Xu Damao's affair with Qin Jingru.

However, in the original story, Yu Haitang intervened, and Qin Jingru almost lost everything.

In this world, Yu Haitang wanted to stay at the courtyard, but because He Yuzhu wasn't home, she couldn't find a place to stay, so she hasn't been staying there for the past few days.

So Xu Damao wasn't given a chance, but things developed in a way that was even more serious than in the original story, something He Yuzhu hadn't expected.

Who is Xu Damao?

He had disliked Lou Xiao'e for a long time, and now the two of them had completely broken off relations.

Perhaps it was Xu Damao's injury that brought Lou Xiao'e to her senses. She had already married Xu Damao, and as the saying goes, "a woman follows her husband wherever he goes." Even if Xu Damao was a scoundrel, this was still a family matter. So, Lou Xiao'e didn't tell anyone in the yard about the reason for their fight.

Lou Xiao'e wouldn't say anything, and Xu Damao certainly wouldn't either, but Lou Xiao'e's attack had completely solidified Xu Damao's resolve: he would divorce that woman as soon as possible, and he would also make her suffer. His injuries had been for nothing.

But divorcing your wife without any reason is a very difficult thing to do in this day and age, unless...!

Unless the two are no longer suitable to be husband and wife, but are class enemies!

In 66, the domestic situation was on the verge of eruption, and Xu Damao quickly sensed this boost.

At this moment, besides Xu Damao, there was another person in the courtyard who also realized that the situation was about to change: the ambitious Second Uncle.

My second uncle isn't very educated, but he loves listening to the radio, especially the factory broadcasts. Recently, the factory broadcasts have been frequently filled with criticisms of certain people.

This "so-and-so" refers to certain factory leaders, headed by the factory director. Among these criticisms, one person is conspicuously absent: Deputy Factory Director Li.

Uncle Er felt he had grasped the key point, so one day after get off work, he knocked on the door of Deputy Factory Director Li's office!

Xu Damao was still racking his brains about how to kill Lou Xiao'e when news suddenly came from the Zha Steel Plant that the plant's committee had appointed Liu Haizhong as the deputy head of a certain committee and concurrently as an officer in the plant's security department.

This news caused a huge uproar at the steel plant. Who was Liu Haizhong?

An old man in his fifties, a level seven fitter, who was just a few years away from retirement, suddenly took on a leadership position at the steel plant, which shocked many people!

Everyone at the steel mill has been talking about Liu Haizhong lately, but Liu Haizhong's biggest wish in life is not to become a level seven fitter, but to become a manager.

Now, this dream has finally come true!

Liu Haizhong naturally knew who had given him this hard-won dream, so he unhesitatingly became a loyal old dog of Deputy Factory Director Li, biting anyone he could catch without any mercy.

The struggle among factory leaders intensified with Liu Haizhong's involvement, but this had little to do with ordinary workers for the time being; they continued their work as usual and their lives went on as normal.

He Yuzhu, who was already the canteen director, could sense that something was amiss. The struggle between the factory director and Deputy Factory Director Li had reached a fever pitch.

As the canteen director appointed by the factory director, I was naturally affected as well. It started with people from Deputy Factory Director Li's side, who would find fault with me from time to time.

Because He Yuzhu often brought lunchboxes home, Liu Haizhong and the security department caught him red-handed. In the end, the factory director protected him, and he was not punished.

He Yuzhu simply stopped bringing his lunchbox during this period. So what if he had to skip a couple of snacks while drinking? He could manage on his own.

Once Second Uncle Liu Haizhong gained power, he completely put on airs. While there were people suppressing him at the factory, once he got off work and returned to the compound, he acted as if he were back on his own turf.

But he still carries the title of "Second Uncle," while the First Uncle is still in power.

So, without hesitation, he convened a meeting in the compound and announced the dismissal of the old man from his post, allowing him to return to the community. From then on, he was the old man in the compound.

Liu Haizhong's dismissal this time completely shattered the peace in the compound and turned it into a one-man show by Liu Haizhong.

This impeachment received strong support from the Third Uncle. The First Uncle stepped down and the Second Uncle took over, so naturally, the Third Uncle also had to move forward. He successfully rose from the Third Uncle to the Second Uncle!

The main reason why the third uncle supports Liu Haizhong is that he knows Liu Haizhong has now achieved success and brought prosperity to his entire family and friends.

Liu Haizhong had only been in office for less than a month when he got his two sons into the steel mill, and I heard they're about to be promoted to permanent positions.

When the third uncle thought about his son, who was still working as a temporary laborer, his ulterior motives were obvious.

Xu Damao was originally thinking about how to get rid of Lou Xiao'e, and preferably kill this bitch in one go to avenge his injury.

Liu Haizhong's rise to power was unclear to the other workers at the steel plant. They just thought the old dog was lucky. But who was Xu Damao?

He quickly realized the real reason behind Liu Haizhong's rise to power.

That was the struggle between Deputy Factory Director Li and the Factory Director, and Deputy Factory Director Li needed a dog to bite people for him.

Liu Haizhong's rise to fame was simply due to finding the right person at the right time.

Xu Damao knew Liu Haizhong's personality perfectly well: uncultured, pretentious, greedy, yet timid and hesitant. This kind of person was the easiest to control.

Xu Damao stroked his chin and quickly came up with an idea: if this matter were handled well, it could achieve three goals at once!

Without further ado, Xu Damao waited for Liu Haizhong at the gate of the compound that day, just as Liu Haizhong returned from get off work.

Upon seeing Liu Haizhong's figure appear at the gate, he quickly stepped forward and greeted him warmly.

"Second Uncle, I have something important to report to you!"

"Xu Damao, how can you be so clueless? Can't you see I'm getting off work so late? I've been working hard for the people all day and haven't even had dinner yet. Whatever it is, we can talk about it tomorrow!"

Xu Damao quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly nodded and bowed, his face full of flattery.

"Oh, Second Master... no, now I have to call you Team Leader Liu, and now I also have to call you Grandpa Liu. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's my fault. I'm used to calling you that and haven't changed it yet. Team Leader Liu, how about this, I'll make amends. I'll treat you to a meal at Donglaishun and a bottle of good wine... what do you think?"