The entire courtyard is full of villains

"No, no! I'm not itchy! I..." Liu Haizhong hurriedly waved his hands to explain.

Yi Zhonghai glared at Liu Haizhong fiercely—what the hell are you explaining?! Then, with a livid face, he looked at Zhang Erhe.

Fearing they might start arguing, Yan Bugui quickly gave Yi Zhonghai a wink and forced a smile:

"Erhe, we need to talk to you about something. How about... we go to your house to talk?"

"It's inconvenient." Zhang Erhe crossed his arms and remained motionless. "My wife and kids are asleep. We can talk here if you need to."

“Well… Erhe,” Yan Bugui said, forcing a smile, “we’re here to congratulate you on becoming the deputy director of the workshop.”

"That's it?" Zhang Erhe scoffed. "Three old geezers who are almost a hundred years old combined, coming to offer congratulations empty-handed? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the men of Beijing?"

Before the three could react, he glanced at them one by one:

"Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, both of your families have sons, right? On their wedding day, I'll come over to 'congratulate' them—of course, I won't go for nothing, I'll give you a grandson!"

Finally, he fixed his gaze on Yi Zhonghai and said slowly:

"Yi Zhonghai, don't laugh. When you're buried, I'll light two firecrackers for you, guaranteed to send you straight to the top. Pretty generous, right?"

Yan Bugui forced an awkward smile: "Erhe, Erhe... We didn't think this through today. Later, I'll have your third aunt prepare a 'gathering of heroes' and invite Lao Liu and the others to bring a couple of bottles of good wine. We'll treat you to a proper meal at my house!"

Zhang Erhe's sneer deepened: "A gathering of heroes? Yan Bugui, I think it's a meeting of radishes! With your stingy nature, to pull this stunt—you must want something from me, right? Tell me, what is it? I'm in a good mood today, as long as it's not too outrageous, I'll agree."

Yan Bugui seemed oblivious to the barb in his words and quickly replied shamelessly, "Erhe, I heard you've become the deputy director of the new workshop... Is the factory still hiring?"

"Yes, we'll be hiring some apprentices."

"Then... I'll volunteer! My eldest son, Jiecheng, you've watched him grow up since he was a child; and Lao Liu's Guangtian, he's about the same age. How about... you get him into the factory too?"

"anything else?"

"There's more?" Yan Bugui's eyes almost disappeared with laughter. "Jiefang is still a year away from being released, but you're the deputy director. It shouldn't be a problem to make an exception, right?"

Zhang Erhe glanced at Yan Bugui with almost pity, then turned to Yi Zhonghai: "Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong did it all for their sons, but what about you? Your precious apprentice went in, and his wife took over the job. You can't possibly let your ancestor, or your lover Jia Zhangshi, go into the factory, can you?"

"Zhang Erhe! What nonsense are you spouting!" Yi Zhonghai's expression immediately changed. "Jia Zhangshi is not my lover!"

"Yi Zhonghai, what kind of triangular basket are you that can hold so much? In the two years after Lao Jia died, I saw you and her sneaking into the cellar quite often! What, now that she's become a 'jar,' you're denying everything? You turn around and enjoy being stabbed, huh?"

"Zhang Erhe! You're not giving the three of us any face!"

"You have absolutely no dignity!"

Yan Bugui, who was standing to the side, tried to pull Yi Zhonghai back, but Yi Zhonghai shoved him away abruptly: "Yan Bugui! Why the hell are you still trying to pull me back? Can't you see he's just messing with you? You're nobody! Don't come looking for me with this kind of thing again!" After saying that, he turned around and walked away from the Intermediate People's Court.

Yan Bugui couldn't stop him, so he turned back and cautiously asked, "Erhe, about this... how about we discuss it again? I'll pay!"

How much can you give?

Yan Bugui gritted his teeth: "Two hundred!"

"Go to hell with you! Get lost!" Zhang Erhe said without any politeness. "Old Man Yan, if you dare to come to my doorstep again, I'll beat you up!"

Yan Bugui was pushed by Zhang Erhe and staggered back a few steps. He hurriedly steadied himself and frantically adjusted his slipped glasses.

"Erhe..."

"roll!"

"Okay, okay." Yan Bugui didn't dare to say another word and slipped away without looking back.

Now only Liu Haizhong was left. He nervously wrung his hands, "Erhe, I...I..."

"What? You want to steal a workstation too?"

"No, no... I won't rob you... I, I'll pay!" Liu Haizhong hurriedly declared, "Workshop apprentices, four hundred each, I'll give you four hundred and fifty!"

“That makes more sense,” Zhang Erhe said, his tone softening. “But I haven’t decided yet. When there’s a vacancy that no one wants, I’ll sell one to you.”

"Okay!" Liu Haizhong breathed a sigh of relief, responded, and quickly left.

Walking home, Liu Hai felt a surge of pride: Yi Zhonghai had been scolded and driven away, Yan Bugui had been chased away, but Zhang Erhe was the only one who spoke to him politely. It seemed he was the most respected person in the courtyard!

After chasing the three away, Zhang Erhe returned to the house. Zhang Jiao was already asleep in the inner room. Guan Xue took his coat, her face filled with worry: "Erhe, about the workstation quota..."

"No rush, my master will take care of things later."

"But you just promised Liu Haizhong..."

"What did I promise him? Did I promise to give him a spot?"

Guan Xue thought about it carefully and realized that Zhang Erhe hadn't made any promises. She couldn't help but look up at her man—he seemed more shrewd and adept at maneuvering than before.

After helping Zhang Erhe wash up, the two lay down on the bed. Guan Xue quietly leaned closer and whispered, "Erhe, today Sister Yan from across the street told me that men with power are prone to going astray... If you don't want us anymore, just say so. I'll take Jiaojiao and move away. When Jiaojiao is still little, you can give her some money every month, but once she's older, you don't have to worry about her anymore."

"Guan Xue, are you bored all day? What are you listening to their nonsense for?" Zhang Erhe frowned. "When did I ever have a lover outside?"

"I didn't mean now," Guan Xue hurriedly explained, "I meant later..."

"fart!"

Although it was a scolding, Guan Xue felt a sweet warmth in her heart. She gently pushed Zhang Erhe's arm away and snuggled into his arms.

"I'm just afraid..."

"What are you afraid of!" Zhang Erhe hugged her tighter. "Didn't you promise to continue the Zhang family line? If you don't make sure the line is strong, you're not getting away!"

Guan Xue looked up, her eyes filled with Zhang Erhe's image. Zhang Erhe looked into her watery eyes and bit his lip—

It seems tonight is destined to be a "fierce battle".

Chapter 71 I'm Jealous Too

Time flies, and it was January 1960 in the blink of an eye.

After several months of adjustment, the well-drilling equipment manufacturing workshop of the steel rolling mill has begun mass production of equipment.

Inside the office building, Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide was frowning and smoking by the window. The holiday was fast approaching, but there was still no sign of distributing holiday gifts to the workers. Just then, Secretary Wang Chao timidly knocked on the door.

"What's wrong, Xiao Wang?" Li Huaide walked quickly back to the table and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Factory director... Secretary Su, Secretary Su, please have all factory leaders attend a meeting in the conference room."

"Okay, got it."

Li Huaide waved for Wang Chao to leave, tidied his appearance using the reflection in the glass, then picked up his notebook and walked towards the conference room.

In the conference room, Secretary Su was forcing himself to sit in the main seat. He had worked on the military industry front in Yan'an for many years in his early years, and his health had long since deteriorated. After liberation, he joined the steel rolling mill, but he also frequently took sick leave and rarely showed up except for important meetings. Most of the factory's work was handled by Yang Liming.

Li Huaide had been at the factory for so long, and this was only the second time he had seen him, aside from the time he took office. He quickly took two steps forward:

"Secretary Su, you look much better than last time."

"Not at all, not at all, it's the same as always." Secretary Su waved his hand and asked with concern, "How is Huaide doing at the factory?"

"It's alright, but I'm a bit worried lately... You know how supplies are tight this year."

Secretary Su patted him on the shoulder: "Huai De, our factory has more than 3,000 workers, and they are counting on you for the New Year."

Li Huaide gave a wry smile. Just then, Yang Liming walked in, and the two of them stopped exchanging pleasantries and took their seats.

The meeting proceeded as usual. After Secretary Su made a few opening remarks, he handed over the speaking rights to Yang Liming.

Yang Liming stood up and took over the conversation: "Comrades, let me first share some great news—the well-drilling equipment produced by our factory has passed the review of the Ministry of Metallurgy and the Ministry of Agriculture and has been officially shipped to agricultural machinery stations across the country!" His voice was loud and clear, tinged with pride. "The feedback from our farmers has been excellent. The local well-drilling teams are full of praise for our equipment. The ministry has even issued a special commendation, praising us throughout the entire industry!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Secretary Su led the applause, and the whole room erupted in enthusiastic applause. Amidst the applause, Li Huaide thought to himself: Wu Liqun and Zhang Erhe, who designed this equipment, are truly talented. If I want to gain a foothold in the factory in the future, I need to cultivate relationships with people like them!

After briefly summarizing the year's work, Yang Liming turned the conversation to Li Huaide: "Director Huaide, the New Year is just around the corner. The workers have worked hard at the factory all year, could you give them some good benefits at the end of the year?" He then turned to the finance department and asked, "How much budget do we have left this year?"

Liu Ping, the head of the finance department, quickly stood up: "Factory manager, there is still nearly five thousand yuan in the account."

“Okay,” Yang Liming waved his hand, “we’ll squeeze some money from other projects and make it six thousand yuan. With over three thousand workers in the factory, let’s try to ensure each one receives a two-yuan bonus. What do you think?”

Li Huaide stood up with a wry smile: "Director Yang, Secretary Su, thank you both for your support of my work. But... money alone isn't enough." He sighed, "This year, supplies are really scarce. A batch of pork that we had arranged was recently intercepted by the light industry system—after all, we produce iron lumps, while textile factories produce cloth, so the level of scarcity is incomparable."

He looked around the room and said in a heavy tone, "I've been trying to make contact these past two days, but... everyone must be prepared for the worst."

Secretary Su and Yang Liming exchanged a glance. Although they had anticipated a shortage of supplies at the end of the year, they hadn't expected it to reach this point—even the Light Industry Bureau was personally scrambling for resources.

Secretary Su cleared his throat and said, "The workers' welfare is a big deal, and we can't put all the pressure on Huai De alone. How about this, after the meeting, I'll try to pull some strings and see if I can get some meat back."

He turned to Yang Liming: "Director Liming, didn't you just say that our well-drilling equipment is very popular with the Ministry of Agriculture? Go and try to pull some strings with the Ministry of Agriculture to see if you can get a batch of wheat flour—at least three thousand catties, try to get as much as possible. We can give each worker a catty of wheat flour, along with some meat, so that everyone can have a bowl of dumplings on the New Year's Eve dinner table after a year of hard work. What do you think?"

After a moment's thought, Yang Liming nodded and said, "Secretary, I'll take care of this after the meeting. Let's sound them out first."

Li Huaide immediately replied, "Secretary, rest assured, no matter what method we have to use, I, Li Huaide, will do my best to ensure that our workers can eat that bowl of dumplings on New Year's Eve!"

"Good!" Seeing that both factory directors had expressed their support, Secretary Su was very pleased. "Then let's take action for the workers' dumplings!"

After the meeting, Li Huaide returned to his office and began making phone calls and pulling strings. After much trouble, he finally secured 500 jin of pork. He breathed a sigh of relief, sat down to wipe his sweat, and picked up his teacup to take a sip of water, only to find it was already empty.

Just as I was frowning, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in."

Secretary Wang Chao pushed open the door and entered, sweating profusely: "Factory Director, it's cold today, and the boiler room is slow to heat water. I had to wait in line for a while to get some. Are you thirsty? I'll pour you some right away."

Li Huaide's heart skipped a beat; it seemed he had misunderstood him earlier.

"Xiao Wang, how many years have you been working at the factory?"

“It’s been three years,” Wang Chao put down the thermos and quickly stood up straight to answer.

Do you know Wu Liqun and Zhang Erhe?

“I know! They’re big shots in the factory now.” Wang Chao said enthusiastically. “They’re master and apprentice. Wu Liqun is Zhang Erhe’s master. Master Wu worked in the factory before Liberation, and after the public-private partnership, he became the group leader of the maintenance department. Zhang Erhe joined in 56, but…”

"But what?" Li Huaide pressed.

Wang Chao lowered his voice: "I'm not talking about him behind his back, but Zhang Erhe used to work sporadically at the factory, while secretly doing business in the pigeon market. Then, for some reason, he suddenly changed his ways. He stopped going to the pigeon market and started working diligently at the factory. I heard that he designed the well-drilling equipment this time."

"What? He designed it?" Li Huaide was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought that the equipment was mainly Wu Liqun's achievement, and Zhang Erhe was only involved.

“Absolutely true!” Wang Chao patted his chest to assure him, “Wu Liqun said this in front of everyone in the workshop.”

Li Huaide stroked his chin and pondered, "Zhang Erhe is not bad. He did a good job and didn't forget to help his master."

“Who says otherwise!” Wang Chao chimed in. “Many of the experienced workers in the factory envy Master Wu for having such a good apprentice.”

“Indeed,” Li Huaide admitted frankly, “If it were me, I would be jealous too.”

Chapter 72 Desperate Measures