All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Liu Haizhong swallowed hard. He hadn't eaten dinner yet, but Xu Damao's words made his stomach rumble with hunger. But what was his status now? Wasn't it normal for someone to invite him to dinner?

So Liu Haizhong pretended to be calm, adjusted his flat glasses which he had specially gotten to improve his cultural level, and acted completely composed.

"As the leader of the steel plant, Director Li always told me that we should go deep into the community to understand the people's hardships and needs. That way, we can talk over a meal and get our demands out to you as soon as possible!"

When Xu Damao saw that Liu Haizhong agreed, his eyes lit up and he quickly began to lead the way. When they arrived at their destination, the food and wine were served.

After a round of compliments, the two completely relaxed.

Xu Damao looked at Liu Haizhong, who was still putting on airs, and smiled with his eyes narrowed.

"Team Leader Liu's speaking skills are truly exceptional now. I think it won't be long before your position is promoted!"

Chapter 27: Let's get a divorce!

"Be careful what you say, be careful what you say!"

Liu Haizhong was taken aback by Xu Damao's flattering words and was momentarily speechless. He kept saying he should be careful with his words, but his face was beaming with joy.

While eating, he laughed, and with that laughter, bits of food flew everywhere. Xu Damao saw the bits of food fall into the hot pot, and he immediately felt nauseous, but he still had to flatter him.

Liu Haizhong was so flattered that he became even more arrogant!

Xu Damao spared no expense on this meal; after a bottle of fine wine, the atmosphere at the table became much more lively.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right and everything was ready, Xu Damao realized that the atmosphere was just right.

Xu Damao picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. Suddenly, he slammed the glass down on the table with a loud thud, startling Liu Haizhong across from him. Liu Haizhong nearly choked on the wine he had just swallowed. He immediately became furious and shouted at Liu Haizhong.

"Xu Damao, I'm doing you a favor by coming here for this meal. What are you trying to do by making such a fuss?"

Seeing that he had overacted, Xu Damao quickly apologized, lowering his posture and speaking with a hint of bitterness and embarrassment.

"Team Leader Liu, to be honest, the reason I invited you to dinner today is because I have a favor to ask!"

Liu Haizhong coughed once, pretended to put down his wine glass, and said in a solemn tone.

"If you have something to say, just say it. Why make such a fuss?"

“Team Leader Liu, I want to report Lou Xiao’e. She has an unstable class stance, is hiding a large amount of gold and jewelry in her home, and she also speaks ill of so-and-so, which has a very bad influence. I want to break ties with this kind of person, so I ask Team Leader Liu to help me apply to the factory committee to divorce Lou Xiao’e and sever all ties with her!”

Liu Haizhong was startled by Xu Damao's words. Forgetting about his meal, he hurriedly asked with a greedy look in his eyes.

How do you know her family has a large stash of gold and jewelry?

Perhaps realizing he was being too hasty, Liu Haizhong quickly coughed to cover it up, and then said in a righteous tone.

"Comrade Xu Damao, you have a high level of political awareness. Your report was correct and excellent! You were not blinded by Lou Xiao'e's capitalist ways. You put righteousness before family and eliminated a scourge for the people. I fully support you in this matter! I will stand up for you and support your divorce!"

Who is Xu Damao? When it comes to greed and ruthlessness, Liu Haizhong can only be considered his younger brother. He saw through Liu Haizhong's greedy nature at a glance. Seeing that the other party had been fooled, he quickly narrowed his eyes, smiled and continued to flatter him, and raised his wine glass to continue to toast him!

The meal was a great success, and the two ate until late at night, returning home tipsy.

Since Lou Xiao'e cracked his skull, their relationship had completely broken down, and Lou Xiao'e went back to her parents' home for a while.

However, during this period, perhaps he has come to terms with things and returned to this home. Although the two of them are now sleeping in the same bed, they are not truly together, and their blankets are separate.

When Lou Xiao'e saw Xu Damao staggering home drunk, she rushed over to help him up. But Xu Damao, without saying a word, slapped her across the face. Lou Xiao'e was stunned. She covered her face and stared at the arrogant Xu Damao, not knowing what she was thinking.

Ever since Lou Xiao'e slapped his head open, Xu Damao has endured the humiliation and has not retaliated against Lou Xiao'e. During this time, the two have been in a cold war.

Because Lou Xiao'e didn't expose Xu Damao's affair, Xu Damao originally wanted to get a peaceful divorce first, but Lou Xiao'e directly told him, "Forget about it!"

So during this time, Xu Damao was planning how to divorce Lou Xiao'e and take revenge for the head injury he had suffered. If he was going to do something, he would kill the old woman to stop her from spreading rumors everywhere!

Now, the more Xu Damao looks at Lou Xiao'e, the more he dislikes her. Today, he has put his plan into action and has had a few drinks, so he has no more scruples. This slap is a way of releasing all the emotions he has been feeling these past few days!

This slap completely broke Lou Xiao'e's heart. She knew that this man had completely changed, and this marriage and this relationship were now over.

She looked at Xu Damao, whose eyes were blurry with drunkenness, and the white gauze wrapped around his head. She took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly and solemnly.

"Xu Damao, let's get a divorce!"

Xu Damao was staggering in his room looking for water when he heard this. He froze, turned around, and looked at Lou Xiao'e, whose eyes were already filled with tears, for a long time.

Suddenly, Xu Damao burst into laughter, pointing at Lou Xiao'e while cursing.

"Lou Xiao'e, you want a divorce? Hahaha, let me tell you, this isn't a marriage you can just decide to end on a whim! You've tormented me for so many years, what can I say? You're a worthless woman who can't even lay a child, yet you occupy this place, making me thirty years old and still childless, and I have this head of mine. You can hit me if you want, Lou Xiao'e. Let me tell you, the divorce is final, but I won't let you, Lou Xiao'e, or your capitalist parents go. I'll make sure you're all dead, one by one!"

Xu Damao became increasingly frantic as he spoke, almost like a madman. He laughed loudly, but he couldn't even stand up straight and swayed as he tried to find something to lean on.

Lou Xiao'e felt a surge of fear rising in her heart. The man in front of her, who was in a frenzy, was so unfamiliar. She had never seen the true face of the man she had shared a bed with for so many years!

Lou Xiao'e was both angry and scared, and stood there stunned for a long time.

Xu Damao was probably really drunk. He stumbled into the inner room, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep immediately, muttering things like, "I'm going to kill you."

Lou Xiao'e was restless at this moment. She felt dizzy and found a chair to sit down by the table. In the dead of night, Lou Xiao'e sat there alone, tears silently falling from her eyes in the darkness.

She was filled with regret for her past choices. Recalling all the moments of the past years, she couldn't control her grief and buried her face in her arms on the table, crying uncontrollably.

Xu Damao's threats left her at a loss. Her parents' status as capitalists was always a ticking time bomb. The more she thought about it, the more frightened and worried she became. She forced herself to be strong, stood up, wiped away her tears, secretly closed the door, and ran outside...!

This was clearly just the beginning, far from over. In 66, many people's fates were tossed about by the tides of the times, and their lives were full of twists and turns!

He Yuzhu had almost been persecuted during this time and had no time to deal with the trivial matters in the compound. The struggle between Deputy Factory Director Li and the Factory Director had entered a heated phase, and judging from the situation, it was clear that the Factory Director's side was still on the defensive.

During this period, in order not to give the other side any clues, both sides reduced their eating and drinking, and the small canteen was already empty.

It's one thing that the small canteen is empty, but the rationed food for the steelworkers is getting worse and worse. White flour steamed buns are nowhere to be seen anymore; it's all cornbread and coarse grains.

Besides staple food, all that was left was cabbage and radishes. Who could stand eating like this every day? It had long since made the workers dissatisfied.

He Yuzhu, the canteen director, had no choice but to give in to those two bastards. He was so fed up with eating cabbage and radishes every day that he was getting tired of it.

He Yuzhu estimated that he wouldn't be able to stay in his position as canteen director for long. When Deputy Factory Director Li took over, he would definitely promote his cronies, and he couldn't stand Li's ways.

Liu Haizhong is a typical example. He rose to power by currying favor with Deputy Factory Director Li, which made many ambitious people start to look for opportunities at any time.

Xu Damao is one of them!

Since He Yuzhu's job as the canteen manager was coming to an end, he was itching to do something better for everyone, seeing how bad the food had become lately!

Chapter 28: One Chicken Leg, Please

Ultimately, He Yuzhu was confident in his culinary skills. He knew he would be dismissed from his position as canteen director sooner or later, but with his skills, he could ensure that when Deputy Factory Director Li took over, he would have to cook special meals for him.

While I'm still the canteen manager and have a little power, I might as well treat the workers to a few good meals. For a whole month now, they've been eating nothing but cornbread, cabbage, and radishes every day. Who can stand that?

So when a large bowl of golden-brown fried chicken appeared in the steel mill canteen that noon, the workers were all excited.

It's been so long since we've had meat in the cafeteria.

Many of the workers who have been working at the steel mill for two months are the most qualified to speak on this matter, because they haven't tasted meat since the day they entered the factory.

Two large basins of golden, tempting fried chicken legs were carried into the canteen, and the aroma of chicken made all the workers cheer in unison.

Everyone's eyes were filled with longing, and those hungry looks startled Liu Lan, who was serving the food.

She looked at the golden, tempting chicken leg, swallowed hard, and then glanced at He Yuzhu, who was standing at the kitchen doorway with his hands on his hips, watching all this with a smile. She couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration.

Liu Lan had personally witnessed He Yuzhu spending the entire morning in the kitchen preparing these two large bowls of chicken legs, mixing flour, bean products, some glutinous rice flour, and four or five kinds of seasonings that he didn't recognize.

Finally, pound it for half an hour to let it ferment and settle. Then shape it into the shape of a chicken leg, coat it with flour, and fry it in oil. The shape is exactly like a real chicken leg, isn't it?

The most amazing thing was that He Yuzhu cut open a "chicken leg" and the inside was all white, which really looked like chicken. The aroma of chicken was irresistible. The taste was so good that Liu Lan still salivates when she thinks about it. His skills were truly amazing.

Looking at the workers with their expectant eyes, He Yuzhu couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. Isn't this the greatest honor for a chef?

Making dishes that make everyone's mouth water is my greatest satisfaction in this world.

When the first batch of workers received their chicken legs with their tickets, many young men were already drooling.

He picked up a chicken leg and took a big bite. The aroma of the white chicken meat under the golden skin made the throats of the other workers in line next to him go dry. A man he knew looked at him with longing eyes and asked him a question.

"Lin Xiang, is it really chicken? Is it good? Oh dear, it's my turn! I want two chicken drumsticks!"

"One per person, ticket only, hurry up, there are people waiting behind us."

"I don't want cornbread, can I have two chicken drumsticks instead?"

"no!"

"Yes, Liu Heizi, hurry up, we're still waiting."

The news that the canteen was serving chicken legs today spread quickly throughout the steel plant as the workers who had already eaten them began to swarm into the canteen!

This incident had a huge impact and quickly attracted the attention of the factory leaders. At this time, Deputy Director Li and the factory director were in the midst of a fierce struggle, and both were afraid that their own people would be caught by the other.

The matter was quickly reported to Liu Haizhong, whose eyes lit up upon hearing it, and he immediately ran to Deputy Factory Director Li's office.

He Yuzhu suddenly abused his privilege as the canteen director to purchase chicken legs. To put it mildly, He Yuzhu's actions caused serious losses to the factory.

To put it bluntly, He Yuzhu's behavior—indulging in gluttony and yearning for the life of the capitalist class—is nothing short of treason. Such a person must be arrested and subjected to both criticism and struggle sessions!

This was also the best weapon to bring down the factory director. So when Deputy Factory Director Li heard the news, he was overjoyed. He didn't even have time to think about where He Yuzhu had gotten so many chicken legs.

Right now, all we want to do is get He Yuzhu under control as soon as possible, and then torture him severely to force him to identify the factory manager.

"Liu Haizhong, quickly take the security team to the cafeteria and detain He Yuzhu. Oh, and He Yuzhu, detain everyone else in the cafeteria kitchen as well. I suspect they are engaging in organized betrayal of the Party!"

Liu Haizhong nodded obsequiously and then began to gather his men. Soon, a group of people stormed into the cafeteria.

By this time, a large bowl of chicken legs had already been served. The second large plate of chicken legs was carried onto the counter by several people in the kitchen, and the people in line immediately cheered.

Liu Haizhong stormed in with the security guards, his eyes widening at the sight of a large basin of golden, glistening chicken legs. He swallowed hard, waved his hand, pointed at the basin of chicken legs, and shouted.

"Put everything down! This is factory property, and no one is allowed to take any more!"

If Liu Haizhong said this normally, everyone would agree, but now that half the chicken legs have been distributed, you're offending half the workers. How could anyone possibly agree to that?

Someone in the crowd shouted something.

"Old Liu, this is not a place for you to run wild. Get out of the cafeteria right now!"

With someone taking the lead, the other workers all became bolder and roared in unison.

"Get out of the cafeteria! Get out of the cafeteria!"

Liu Haizhong was also frightened. He had only been relying on someone else's power to bully others, and now, after being yelled at by the worker, he was so scared that he left the canteen one after another, and went to find Deputy Factory Director Li to complain.

Upon receiving this news, Deputy Factory Director Li glanced at Liu Haizhong with a disgruntled expression, thinking that the guy was truly unreliable. He then led several leaders and swaggered into the canteen.

He was very good at handling people. He walked up to the worker who had just gotten his food with a smile, patted him on the shoulder, and said...