The entire courtyard is full of villains

"Please don't make things difficult for me again, like what happened with Yi Zhonghai last time..." Yang Liming hurriedly waved his hand.

"That was a smear against Zhonghai, it's long gone now," Old Madam Long interrupted him, speaking slowly. "This time it's about his apprentice, Jia Dongxu, you remember him, right?"

"Jia Dongxu?" Yang Liming frowned and pondered for a moment. "I feel like I've heard of him before. What's wrong?"

"He committed a crime and was arrested by the police. I reckon he'll be sentenced," said Grandma Long.

“Then it’s no use you coming to me. I have no connections with the police.” Yang Liming immediately declined.

“I’m not asking you to plead with the police,” Grandma Long shook her head. “I want his wife, Qin Huairu, to take his place at work, so that when the verdict comes out, the factory will take back his job and the whole family will be left destitute.”

Yang Liming frowned instantly: "Grandma, this won't do, you're making me make a mistake!"

"What constitutes a mistake?" Old Mrs. Long leaned forward with her cane. "Jia Dongxu hasn't been sentenced yet, so it's reasonable for his family to cover for him. Once the verdict is in, if he's really no longer at the factory, then we can let his wife leave her job. What does that have to do with the factory? This way, we can protect his family's livelihood and prevent the factory from being labeled as 'forcing people into a desperate situation.' It's a win-win situation."

Seeing that Yang Liming was still hesitating, Old Lady Long pressed her advantage and said, "Young Yang, just this once, please, I'm begging you. I won't bother you again in the future."

Upon hearing "no more trouble," a barely perceptible hint of joy flashed in Yang Liming's eyes, but he still pretended to be conflicted: "Well, alright, ma'am, I'll agree for your sake. But you're getting on in years, so you should avoid running around for these things in the future to prevent yourself from getting tired."

Although Old Lady Long was advanced in years, her eyes were still sharp. She immediately caught the barely perceptible joy in Yang Liming's eyes and thought to herself: Let you be smug for now. I'll have no trouble finding a reason to bother you later. After all, this old woman is getting on in years. Isn't it perfectly normal for her to forget what she said earlier? Confucius said, "Women and petty men are the most difficult to deal with." When this old woman gets confused, she is more difficult to handle than ordinary women.

While secretly plotting, she smiled kindly and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Xiao Yang. The old lady will remember your kindness."

Yang Liming immediately called his secretary and instructed, "Take Qin Huairu outside to the personnel department and process Jia Dongxu's replacement employment procedures for her."

With the factory director's secretary personally accompanying her, the personnel department was exceptionally efficient, quickly completing the formalities for Qin Huairu. At her insistence, she was still assigned to the third workshop as a fitter. After the formalities were completed, the secretary, not wanting to bother two people, took her to collect her work protective equipment. Only after the entire process was finished did she return to the factory director's office.

Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Old Lady Long stood up and smiled as she bid farewell to Yang Liming. Contrary to his previous coldness, Yang Liming warmly escorted her to the door, a scene that secretly surprised Tan Saihua and Qin Huairu—it turned out that Old Lady Long had such a strong relationship with Factory Director Yang; her connections were indeed extraordinary.

In the conference room of the Dongcheng District Branch, Director Song, Political Commissar Su, Wang Xianyong, and Chief Zhang of the police station gathered together. All of them were heavy smokers, and soon the room was filled with smoke.

“Old Zhang, I know you have a grudge about what happened 53 years ago, but you can’t do this to me!” Director Song broke the silence first, his tone tinged with helplessness. “Such a big thing, and you’re only telling me about it today? And what about your grudge with Wang Zhian? Why didn’t you mention it before?”

"How was I supposed to know Wang Zhian would be transferred to our bureau?" Director Zhang Guowei said, his voice filled with grievance and anger. "If I had known earlier, would I have kept quiet?"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing." Political Commissar Su acted as a peacemaker. "Now is not the time to blame each other. We need to figure out how to resolve this matter first."

"What else can we do?" Zhang Guowei stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "The evidence against Jia Dongxu for false accusation is conclusive. He should be sentenced according to the proper procedure!"

"How are we going to explain this to Minister Li?" Director Song stubbed out his cigarette, his brow still furrowed.

“Don’t worry about that. They’ll handle Zhao Erhe’s commendation themselves,” Zhang Guowei said. “We just need to resolve the false accusation case and Wang Zhian’s matter.”

"Jia Dongxu's case is simple; send it directly to the court. As for Wang Zhian, have the Municipal Bureau send an investigation team, and then report the results to Minister Li. Also, Lao Zhang, you should also talk to Zhao Erhe and explain the situation clearly."

After the group finalized their decision, Director Song stayed in his office to call the municipal bureau, while Political Commissar Su contacted the court to have someone come and take Jia Dongxu away. Because it was a special case handled by the police, the judgment was delivered to the courtyard house in just two days.

With a livid face, Jia Zhangshi saw off the policeman who delivered the documents, then turned and stood in the courtyard, jumping up and down and cursing, listing the faults of each of the neighbors who had gathered to watch the commotion. Everyone in the courtyard knew she was in a terrible temper, and no one wanted to get involved, so they all went home, closed their doors and windows tightly, and only watched secretly through the glass.

Madam Jia was so angry that her mouth was dry from cursing when she suddenly heard Xiao Dang crying from inside the house. She then stopped cursing and turned to go inside.

In Workshop 3, Guo Da Piezi led in a timid-looking Qin Huairu, clapped his hands, and shouted, "Everyone, please stop what you're doing. I'd like to introduce a new colleague to you. This is Qin Huairu, Jia Dongxu's wife. Dongxu has suddenly fallen ill and can't come to work for the time being, so she will be filling in for him."

The steel rolling mill is a heavy industry unit, and female workers are already scarce, with most concentrated in logistics. When a decent-looking woman suddenly appeared in the workshop, she instantly attracted a lot of attention, especially several young men, whose eyes lit up and they seemed particularly excited.

"You lot, I'm talking to you!" Guo Dapizi pointed at the group of young people and warned, "Qin Huairu is new here. If any of you dare to bully her, see how I deal with you!"

The people whose names were mentioned quickly composed themselves and replied with smiles, "Don't worry, Director Guo, we will definitely help Comrade Qin out!"

Guo Dapizi then turned to Qin Huairu, but immediately faced a dilemma—there were no female workers in the workshop, so who should she learn from? Yi Zhonghai was Jia Dongxu's mentor and would have been the best choice, but he was still in detention. After pondering for a moment, he pointed to a dull-looking mentor in the corner: "Master Wang, let Huairu learn from you from now on."

"Me?" Master Wang looked up abruptly, first glancing quickly at Qin Huairu, then waving his hands and shaking his head like a rattle drum. "No way! If my husband finds out I've taken on a female apprentice, he'll tear me apart!"

Upon hearing this, a burst of laughter erupted from the crowd. Guo Da Piezi was at a loss and tried to nominate two more people, but both declined. Finally, having no other option, he conscripted a master named Li. Master Li couldn't refuse and reluctantly agreed to become Qin Huairu's master.

But after just one morning, Master Li felt like "the sky had fallen." It wasn't that Qin Huairu was unwilling to learn, but her brain seemed unable to keep up. She would forget everything about the fitter's work as soon as she was taught it, and by the end of the morning, she couldn't even recognize all the tools. On the contrary, as soon as work stopped at noon, she would grab her lunchbox and run to the canteen immediately, her movements incredibly swift.

Looking at the unfinished workpiece in his hand and thinking about the frustrating morning, Master Li suddenly felt that life was exceptionally difficult.

Chapter 43 Class Group

As soon as the lunch break bell rang, Zhang Erhe lazily sat up from his recliner. The maintenance department was one of the smallest departments in the factory, with a very streamlined staff. The department head was an engineer from the technical department, and the deputy department head was Old Huang—the ever-smiling old man who was known for his excellent relationships within the factory. Because the engineer who also served as department head was usually busy with the technical department's work, Old Huang handled most of the maintenance department's affairs.

The department was divided into two groups. One group consisted of veterans recruited by Lou Bancheng in the early days, while the other group consisted of workers transferred from various places after liberation. Zhang Erhe joined the first group when he took over the job. Most of the masters in the group were old partners who had learned their craft together before liberation, and they had a close relationship with each other.

When he first joined, he was personally mentored by Lao Zhang's junior apprentice and was never bullied in the work group. Although the relationship between Group 1 and Group 2 wasn't exactly close, it was still passable. However, recently, when news spread that Lao Huang was retiring, rumors circulated in the factory that one of the two group leaders would be promoted to take over the management of the maintenance department as a temporary worker. This completely ignited the tension between the two work groups.

Zhang Erhe's mentor, Wu Liqun, was the team leader of the first shift. This morning, when he saw Zhang Erhe come to work, he called him into the room: "Erhe, is your injury completely healed? There are no hidden dangers, right? When I went to see you at the hospital a couple of days ago, you were still unconscious. Later, I heard that you had woken up and wanted to go see you again, but something happened with my son. I just got back yesterday. I was thinking of going to see you after get off work, but I didn't expect you to come first."

"Master, what happened to my junior brother?" Zhang Erhe asked hurriedly.

Wu Liqun sighed, his face full of helplessness: "Hey, don't even mention it. He got together with a girl in school, but her father is the deputy county head of Miyun. He looks down on us because we're all workers and have no status, so he absolutely refuses to be with her."

“Master, don’t worry,” Zhang Erhe hurriedly advised. “Since they look down on us, let’s just let our junior brother have his way. Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged girls are everywhere. There’s no need to hang yourself on one tree.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Liqun slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That's what I told him too! But that kid is a stubborn mule, like a yak in Tibet, clinging to that yurt to the spot."

“There’s no other way. I can’t just watch him stay at home, listless and lifeless.” Wu Liqun rubbed his temples, his voice full of exhaustion. “I took leave from the factory and asked an acquaintance in Miyun to bring some gifts to visit him, hoping to put in a good word for him with the deputy county head. But unfortunately, he wasn’t home. His wife was quite polite, though, and invited me in for a cup of tea. But she kept dodging the issue, saying that the child was still young and it would be better to wait a couple of years. Look at me, I’ve been so worried these past few days, my hair has turned completely white.”

"Didn't the girl say anything?" Zhang Erhe pressed.

“That girl is quite stubborn; she won’t marry anyone but your junior brother.” Wu Liqun sighed and shook his head. “But marriage isn’t just a matter between two people. In the end, it depends on the opinions of both families. No matter how good they are, they can’t get past the parents’ approval.”

At this point, his voice deepened, tinged with self-reproach, "It's also my fault as a father for being so useless and uneducated. I used to think that as long as I could master the skills and make a living, I would be content. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have let him go to vocational school. It would have been better if he had stayed in the factory and learned the trade from me. That way, I wouldn't have had so many worries."

“Master, you can’t say that,” Zhang Erhe quickly advised. “Junior brother was able to get into a vocational high school, which is a talent that only a handful of students out of a hundred can achieve! Besides, he’s about to graduate and will be able to work in an office, a respectable job, which is much better than us doing hard labor in the factory. People should live better and better from generation to generation, how can we go back to the past?”

Wu Liqun sighed deeply, his brows still furrowed: "That makes sense, but he's been listless and lethargic at home every day, it's really bothering me."

“Master, I have an idea.” Zhang Erhe leaned forward. “Since they think you’re not respectable enough as a worker, isn’t it perfect timing since Lao Huang is retiring? If you can secure that position of ‘worker-in-charge’, even though it’s not a full-fledged cadre position, you’ll still be the deputy head of the maintenance department. Who will look down on you then? Your junior brother will be the assistant, and you’ll be the deputy head. Maybe their attitude will change.”

Wu Liqun waved his hand, “Erhe, you’re still too young. Our group consists of veterans left behind by Lou Bancheng back then, unlike the second group who were recruited after liberation. Director Yang clearly trusts them more and has never been close to our side. Although this time it caused a big commotion, everyone in the group knows that the position is probably reserved for Zhang Dagang, the leader of the second group. I didn’t even have that thought.”

He changed the subject, his gaze falling on Zhang Erhe, his tone turning serious: "Let's not talk about me, let's talk about you. Your master isn't good with words, but I have to remind you, that black market isn't a legitimate business. Now that you're in the factory, you should work hard and diligently. I promise to teach you all my skills, so stop working half-heartedly."

“Back then, I had to force you to get that Level 1 repairman certificate. Listen to your master, take this opportunity to cut ties with the black market and work peacefully at the factory. I’ll teach you well, and you should put in the effort. Try to get the Level 2 certificate next month, okay?” Wu Liqun looked at him, his tone full of expectation. “I know you’re smart, you just haven’t put your heart into it before.”

"Yes, Master!" Zhang Erhe quickly replied, feeling quite touched. He knew that his master was usually a man of few words, so for him to say so much today showed how much he cherished him.

Worried that Zhang Erhe hadn't fully recovered, Wu Liqun specifically instructed several apprentices in his class to take on more work so that Zhang Erhe could rest well for the next couple of days. These apprentices, who often mooched cigarettes from Zhang Erhe, patted their chests and assured him, "Master, don't worry, we absolutely won't let Brother Erhe overwork himself!"

The bell signaling the end of lunch break had just rung when Zhang Erhe stood up, and several apprentices crowded around him. "Brother Erhe, are you going to get lunch?" one of them, Xiao Yuzi, asked first. "Give me your lunchbox and meal tickets, and I'll get it for you!"

Zhang Erhe chuckled, "Good job, Xiao Yu, you know how to handle things, you've got a good eye." Xiao Yu scratched his head and chuckled, "Master Wu specifically told me this morning." The other apprentices joined in the commotion, each grabbing their master's lunchbox and rushing to the canteen. Before long, they returned with their meals.

Zhang Erhe took two cans of food out of his bag and placed them on the table, calling out, "Come on, everyone, let's eat together." Everyone in the group knew he had "connections," so they weren't surprised to see him take out cans of food, and they gathered around, laughing and joking.

However, everyone knew the rules, and each person only picked up one chopstick before stopping. Several apprentices were so reserved that they didn't dare to touch their chopsticks. Zhang Erhe picked up some for each of them, and then brought the rest to Wu Liqun: "Master, it's time to eat."

Wu Liqun put down his tools, wiped his hands with a rag, walked over, glanced at the canned goods on the table, and frowned slightly: "Erhe, you've done this again..."

“Master, don’t worry.” Zhang Erhe quickly explained, “You said this morning that you had cut off the black market, but I didn’t have time to explain in detail. I really intend to quit. This can of food is what was left over from before.”

"Okay, okay, it's good that it's broken." Wu Liqun breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his chopsticks, and said, "If you feel better this afternoon, I'll teach you something new. Get ready."

"Alright, Master!" Zhang Erhe replied. It was a good opportunity to learn something from his master and see if what he had learned in his previous life was still useful!

Chapter 44 Qin Huairu

At the entrance of the third canteen, Qin Huairu stared at the signboard, clutching her lunchbox tightly as she went inside. Jia Dongxu had told her earlier that Sha Zhu worked in this canteen. Just as she entered, she saw a queue already formed at the food serving window. She hesitated, wondering where to stand, when a voice suddenly called out from behind, "Sister Qin, come over here!"

Looking up, she saw Xu Damao with his donkey-like face. Qin Huairu's eyes lit up, and she quickly walked over. The people at the back of the line were unhappy and shouted, "Xu Damao, what are you doing? Letting people cut in line?"

Xu Damao quickly turned around, took out cigarettes from his pocket, and offered one to each of the men behind him, saying with a smile, "Sorry, brothers, this is our neighbor in the courtyard. I only asked her to come over because she didn't know the way. Have a cigarette, have a cigarette, please bear with me." Seeing his attentive attitude and the cigarettes he offered, the men didn't object and waved their hands in acquiescence.

"Sister Qin, what brings you to the factory? Brother Jia, he..." Xu Damao lowered his voice, his eyes lingering on Qin Huairu. Qin Huairu lowered her head, her voice tinged with grievance: "Damao, you know what happened in the yard the other day. With Brother Jia like that, the family can't fall apart. I'm the only one who can take over his job first, so at least I can earn a living."

A glint of greed flashed in Xu Damao's eyes. Jia Dongxu had gone in, Qin Huairu had just taken over, and the Jia family was going through a tough time—a thought suddenly popped into his head: could this be his chance? Back when Qin Huairu first entered the courtyard house, every young man there was captivated by her. Now, she was at the peak of her charm, still breastfeeding Xiaodang, and the faint scent of milk emanating from her made him even more restless.

"So how much do you earn now?" he asked again. "An apprentice's wage, eighteen yuan and fifty cents a month," Qin Huairu replied, her gaze drifting towards the food service window. Seeing that it was almost her turn, she looked at the cook at the window and couldn't help but ask Xu Damao, "Didn't you say Shazhu was in the third canteen? Why haven't I seen him?"

“Shazhu is here, but he’s a chef now, so why would he need to do something like serving food?” Xu Damao said. Qin Huairu’s face showed disappointment. She had originally thought that having Shazhu as an acquaintance would allow him to give her more food, but she didn’t expect that there was no chance at all.

When it was Qin Huairu's turn to get her food, she quickly bought it, grabbed the lunchbox, and headed out. She still had to rush back to breastfeed Xiaodang; Guo Da Piezi from the workshop had specially approved her leave, allowing her to come to work later. Xu Damao got his food, turned around, and went back to the projection team. As soon as he entered, he was slapped across the face, causing him to stumble.

"Xu Damao! Which woman were you all lovey-dovey with in the cafeteria just now?" His father, Xu Fugui, stood in the room, his face ashen. Xu Damao covered his face, both angry and bewildered: "Dad, what are you doing? That's Qin Huairu, Jia Dongxu's wife. She's here to take Jia Dongxu's place."

"Jia Dongxu's wife?" Xu Fugui was stunned for a moment, a look of understanding flashed across his face, but his brows furrowed even more, and he didn't say anything more, only his eyes showed a more complicated expression.

"You little brat, I'm warning you, the Jia family is a stinking ditch! Especially Qin Huairu, she's no pushover." Xu Fugui pointed at Xu Damao's nose, "You're not married yet, don't be all lovey-dovey with her at the factory, or you'll ruin your reputation and see how you get married in the future!"

"I know, Dad." Xu Damao rubbed his aching face and explained in a low voice, "I just helped her out because she was new to the factory and didn't know the way around, and we're neighbors in the same building. I didn't have any other intentions."

"That would be for the best." Xu Fugui snorted. His son had this problem since he was a child. He loved to go up and talk to pretty women. He didn't know who he got this personality from. If he wasn't kept an eye on him, he would definitely cause trouble.

On the other side, Qin Huairu was running home with her lunchbox in hand. As soon as she entered the courtyard gate, she bumped into Auntie San. Auntie San looked at her work clothes and then at the lunchbox in her hand, and hurriedly asked, "Qin Huairu, where did you go this morning? Your little one cried several times. The police came by just now. I wanted to go to the Intermediate People's Court to help, but your mother-in-law went crazy and scolded us all."

"Auntie, I'm sorry, I have to go to work." Qin Huairu didn't have time to explain further and continued walking. "I'll go check on Xiaodang first; she's crying terribly."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a faint cry came from the courtyard, like a kitten's soft whimpering. Qin Huairu rushed in and saw Jia Zhangshi sitting at the table, her face full of worry as she grumbled and cursed. Little Dang was curled up on the bed, whimpering. She quickly put down the lunchbox, ran over, and picked up the child: "Little Dang, be good, Mommy's back."

When Xiao Dang opened her eyes and saw her, her cries immediately intensified, and she snuggled closer to her. Qin Huairu gently patted the child's back while unbuttoning her clothes to breastfeed until Xiao Dang latched onto the nipple, at which point the crying gradually subsided. Only then did she look up at Jia Zhangshi and ask softly, "Mom, what's wrong? You look so pale."

After stomping around and cursing in the yard for a long time, Jia Zhangshi's madness had subsided, and her voice was exhausted as if all her strength had been drained. Her eyes were red: "Huai Ru, Dong Xu... Dong Xu was sentenced to a year and a half and has just been sent to a labor camp."

"So fast?" Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat. Although she had expected it, she still couldn't help but panic when she heard the result. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law exchanged a glance, all the words stuck in their throats. The courtyard fell silent for a moment, with only the soft sound of Xiaodang nursing.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Banggeng ran in from outside, shouting as soon as he entered, "Mom, Grandma, what's for lunch? I'm hungry!"

"Eat, eat, all you ever think about is eating!" Qin Huairu glared at him, annoyed. "I asked you to stay home and watch your sister this morning, where did you go?"

Banggeng reached into his pocket and found the two cents he had secretly saved. He swallowed back the words "go steal coal briquettes" that were on the tip of his tongue, and just muttered with his head down, "Grandma, I'm hungry..."

"Alright, stop scolding the child." Madam Jia sighed and looked at Qin Huairu.

"There's a lunchbox I brought back from the factory on the table." Qin Huairu coaxed Xiaodang in her arms, tilting her head towards the table. "Mom, you eat some with Banggeng first, just leave me a bite."

Seeing that Qin Huairu was busy breastfeeding Xiaodang and couldn't get up, Jia Zhangshi went to the kitchen to get some bowls and chopsticks herself. As soon as they opened the lunchbox, the grandmother and granddaughter's eyes were glued to it, and they both swallowed hard—although it was just factory-style food, the steel mill was a physically demanding place, so the food was quite oily, and with Sha Zhu's cooking skills, it was much more delicious than the bland boiled vegetables at home.

Jia Zhangshi's Adam's apple bobbed, but she didn't dare to be greedy. She put some vegetables into her bowl and picked up a cornbread. Qin Huairu had to breastfeed and go to work, but she was the "old ox" of the Jia family. Her son still had to stay in the labor camp for a year and a half, and the family's livelihood depended entirely on her. She couldn't let her collapse. Thinking this, she put more oily vegetables into Qin Huairu's bowl, left two cornbreads, and then buried her head in her stalks to eat the rest of her food.

Qin Huairu fed Xiaodang until he was asleep, then tiptoed out to find the grandmother and grandson wolfing down their food, the soup on the table almost empty. She frowned slightly, said nothing, picked up the bowl and chopsticks left by Jia Zhangshi, and silently began to eat. The food was already cold, but she ate with extra care; this was a rare moment of peace during her day when she could enjoy a hot meal.

After finishing the meal and cleaning up, Qin Huairu instructed Jia Zhangshi: "Mom, Xiaodang is full and should be sleeping soundly this afternoon and won't cry anymore. Please keep a close eye on Banggeng and don't let him run around or cause trouble. Don't wash the lunchbox yet. When I get back tonight, I'll rinse it with boiling water after cooking the dishes, and we can still have some soup."

Jia Zhangshi wiped her greasy mouth and waved her hand: "I know, I know, you'd better hurry up and go to work, or you'll get your wages docked."

Chapter 45 An Disgrace to Civilization

Qin Huairu hurried out, and just as she reached the gate of the courtyard house, she bumped into Yan Bugui. Yan Bugui had no classes in the afternoon, and after lunch he had gone home early, intending to take his fishing rod to Houhai Lake to fish.

"Third Uncle is back?" Qin Huairu greeted him hurriedly, her feet never stopping as she continued walking quickly. Although Guo Da Piezi had given her special permission to come to work later, it was still her first day on the job, and she couldn't afford to be too slow.