The entire courtyard is full of villains

After reading it, Secretary Su did not say anything and passed it on to Li Huaide.

Li Huaide took a look and sneered inwardly—could Sha Zhu really write such a "profound" self-criticism? He was the first to doubt it. It seemed that the man surnamed Yang was determined to protect him.

P.S.: Shamelessly asking for more updates, keeping up with the updates is very important to me lately!

Chapter 171 Exchange of Interests

Since Secretary Su remained silent and Li Huaide also kept quiet, Yang Limin had no choice but to have Sha Zhu's self-criticism circulated around. It was soon passed to Zhang Erhe.

He took it and glanced at it:

"Respected leaders: My name is He Yuzhu..."

After reading it, Zhang Erhe sneered inwardly—the handwriting was Sha Zhu's, but the content was definitely not something he could have written. Given Sha Zhu's habit of constantly using vulgar language, could he possibly write something so literary? If it really came from him, Zhang Erhe would dare to livestream himself criticizing a five-speed electric fan.

However, he didn't expose it on the spot.

Seeing that no one had expressed their opinion after the document was circulated around, Yang Limin had no choice but to give a wink to the head of the production prescription department.

Director Fang sighed inwardly: what sins had his superiors committed to repeatedly protect this cook? But the order had been given, and he could only grit his teeth and stand up.

"Comrades, I have also read Comrade He Yuzhu's self-criticism. It is clear that he has truly realized his mistakes, and the content comes from the bottom of his heart. We cannot condemn him outright; we should give him a chance to reform. Rather than dismissing a worker, we should help him correct his thinking and let him continue to contribute to the revolutionary cause of the steel mill."

"Great!" Yang Limin led the applause.

The applause from the crowd was sparse. Zhang Erhe didn't move at all, Li Huaide didn't clap either, and Secretary Su remained expressionless. Only a few people around Yang Limin reluctantly joined in, and the applause quickly faded, creating an extremely awkward scene.

Yang Limin was embarrassed and inwardly resentful. He turned to Secretary Su and Li Huaide, softening his tone:

"Secretary Su, Deputy Factory Director Li, I also believe that Comrade He Yuzhu should be given a chance. Of course, not punishing him is also not an option. I suggest withholding three months' salary as medical compensation for the canteen director, and ordering him to make a public apology on the radio. In addition, he should receive a major demerit and be demoted to a tenth-grade cook. What do you two think..."

Secretary Su still didn't respond, so Yang Limin had to lower his voice and add:

"Secretary Su, He Yuzhu is indeed very good at preparing special meals. Our factory has a lot of tasks in receiving comrades from other places, and he... is still quite useful."

Having said that, Secretary Su could no longer remain silent, so he turned to Li Huaide and asked, "Huaide, what do you have to say?"

Li Huaide was blunt:

"Secretary Su, I personally suggest that someone like He Yuzhu should not be kept. As for the private kitchen—the new chef Nan Yi's skills are only better than his, not worse. Moreover, Chef Nan started organizing training for large-scale cooking as soon as he arrived at the factory, which is incomparable to He Yuzhu's bossy behavior in the canteen. Besides, we are not Cao Cao, talking about 'appointing people based solely on talent.' When it comes to hiring people, we must first look at their character. Someone as morally corrupt as He Yuzhu is a disaster to keep in the factory. I insist on recommending—hire him."

Yang Limin was speechless and turned pale.

Secretary Su also turned his head, his tone calm but his stance clear:

"Director Yang, I know you're doing this for the factory's sake. But I think Huai De's words make sense. We can't just focus on He Yuzhu's skills and ignore his ideological issues. You should reconsider this matter."

Consider it? Consider it my ass!

Yang Limin cursed inwardly, but could only suppress his anger on the surface. It seemed that this matter could only end here on the surface. If they continued to argue, it would involve the exchange of interests between himself and Li Huaide, which would be even more of a loss.

He stood up sullenly and announced the meeting was adjourned.

Before leaving, Yang Limin secretly glanced at Zhang Erhe, who was talking quietly with Li Huaide.

It's Zhang Erhe again.

He suddenly felt a pang of regret—why hadn't he noticed this kid's talent back then? If he had been able to recruit him then, wouldn't he, Yang Limin, be the one now making a name for himself in the steel mill and thriving?

Unfortunately, there's no going back.

After the meeting, Li Huaide pulled Zhang Erhe into his office. The two sat down, each lit a cigarette, and only then did Li Huaide speak:

"Erhe, how can you be so sure that Yang Limin will protect Shazhu? As far as I know, they don't have any special relationship."

“It’s not Yang Limin who wants to protect Shazhu, it’s the deaf old lady in our compound.” Zhang Erhe exhaled a puff of smoke. “As for what her relationship with Yang Limin is, I don’t know yet.”

Li Huaide frowned: "Who exactly is this old lady who would go to such lengths to protect someone as promising as Yang Limin?

“Brother Li, I suggest you start by investigating Yang Limin’s resume. He definitely has a shady relationship with this old lady—either it’s a transfer of benefits, or she has something on him. I think the latter is more likely.”

Li Huaide nodded slowly: "Okay, I understand. I'll have someone investigate later."

The two chatted for a while longer before Zhang Erhe got up to leave—he'd rather go back and see his son than waste time chatting with Li Huaide. The little guy changes every day.

When he arrived at the hospital, he found Old Guan and Zhang Jiao there as well. It turned out that Zhang Jiao had insisted on coming to see her younger brother.

"Didn't you think your little brother was ugly?" Zhang Erhe smiled and patted his daughter's head.

“He’s still my brother, even if he’s ugly!” Zhang Jiao argued. “Mom and Dad, you can’t dislike him just because he’s ugly.”

Zhang Erhe and Guan Xue exchanged a glance, not knowing whether to laugh or cry—well, they had ended up being lectured by this little girl.

In the steel rolling mill manager's office, the secretary nervously brought in the third ashtray. Yang Limin remained expressionless, chain-smoking. The secretary put down the ashtray and quietly slipped out.

After Yang Limin finished smoking the cigarette in his hand, he reached for the cigarette pack and found it was empty.

He let out a long sigh.

On one hand, there was almost unanimous opposition from the factory; on the other hand, there was the weight behind the deaf old lady's words, "I just want to eat well in peace and quiet"... To be honest, he really didn't want to let go now—he was used to living a high and mighty life, and if he were really brought down, or even go to jail, he would rather die.

With that thought in mind, Yang Limin finally made up his mind. He picked up his coat and walked towards Li Huaide's office.

Half an hour later, Li Huaide, all smiles, saw Yang Limin off at the door, and the two even shook hands. Yang Limin, however, suppressed his anger and left with a livid face.

Li Huaide turned around and went to Secretary Su's office. He stayed there for a while before slowly going to Yang Limin's office after leaving the secretary's office.

When Zhang Erhe arrived at work the next day, the steel rolling mill's loudspeaker had already broadcast a notice regarding the disciplinary action taken against He Yuzhu:

...After deliberation by the factory leadership, it was decided to remove He Yuzhu from his position as head chef of the canteen, demote him to apprentice, and transfer him to the foundry workshop for three months of labor training. Furthermore, he was ordered to read his self-criticism aloud over the factory's public address system during his daily lunch break for one week as a form of punishment…

The sound from the loudspeaker echoed repeatedly over the factory area, attracting the attention and discussion of passing workers.

P.S.: It's almost the end of the year, and the update data is very important. Although I know that... I'm still shamelessly begging for more updates!

Chapter 172 The Poop-Scooping Boy

Li Huaide entered the office building as the announcement faded. He didn't go back to his own office, but went straight to Zhang Erhe's. When he pushed open the door, Zhang Erhe was engrossed in signing documents.

Li Huaide sat down, looked around with interest, and then frowned:

"Erhe, you're the head of the purchasing department, how come your office is so shabby?"

“Hey, Brother Li,” Zhang Erhe said, standing up after signing the last document. “You know how many days a month I, the head of the purchasing department, can actually spend in the office? Enough is enough.”

“This isn’t a matter of mere decoration; it’s a matter of compensation.” Li Huaide shook his head. “I’ll have the logistics department tidy it up for you later.”

"Alright then." Zhang Erhe smiled. "You came to see me today because of the report from this morning?"

"Did you hear that?"

"I heard that. I reckon Yang Limin must have bled quite a bit yesterday, right?"

“Of course.” Li Huaide lowered his voice. “The head of the finance department is retiring next month, and the recommendation right is mine. Also, there’s a deputy head position in the personnel department, and Secretary Su recommended his person.”

Zhang Erhe raised an eyebrow: "Well, Yang Limin has three powerful departments under his control—production, personnel, and finance—and you've managed to poach two of them?"

Li Huaide's expression turned serious: "This means... there's a greater chance that Yang Limin has been caught red-handed. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so unwilling to hand over power."

"Therefore, we need to hurry up and investigate his case."

Li Huaide nodded. He had spoken with his father-in-law last night, and the father-in-law had agreed to investigate Yang Limin's resume as soon as possible.

At the street office, former Director Wang looked miserable.

Early in the morning, Yang Ruihua knelt upright at the entrance of the subdistrict office. Director Wang was supposed to attend a meeting in the district today, but a phone call brought her back. She suppressed her anger and spoke:

"Yang Ruihua, what are you doing?"

"Director Wang," Yang Ruihua said stubbornly, "why can't our family be registered as an impoverished household?"

Director Wang's headache worsened upon hearing this: "Didn't the staff member explain this to you before?"

"An explanation has been given, but—"

"There are no buts!" Director Wang interrupted her. "Your family is classified as small business owners, so according to regulations, you are not eligible to apply for poverty alleviation status for the time being."

“Director Wang, when we were doing our initial assessment, we owned a shop, but we sold it! The money from the sale was stolen, and I filed a case at the police station! Now we are a genuine impoverished household! I only earn 22 yuan a month, my husband is bedridden, my eldest son is mentally challenged, and I have three younger children to go to school… Director Wang, I really have no other choice!”

Just as Director Wang was about to speak, the phone rang. She quickly went to answer it:

"Hello, this is Jiaodaokou Subdistrict Office."

The voice on the other end was harsh: "I'm looking for Wang Qiuju!"

"I am."

"Are you even fit to be the head of this neighborhood committee? Making people kneel at your door so early in the morning, what kind of government office is your neighborhood committee?!"

"Boss, we didn't make her kneel, she did it herself..."

"I don't care what she does! What kind of impact did it have when people knelt in front of the neighborhood office? Can you take responsibility for that?!"

Director Wang could only listen to the barrage of insults. Only after they finished did they ask for the details. Director Wang quickly explained Yang Ruihua's family situation.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone: "So now, her family is indeed struggling financially, but they're stuck because of their family background?"

"Yes, yes, impoverished households are required to have a clean background, which we really..."

"Are you brain-dead?" the other person suddenly said. "If her family's income meets the standard, wouldn't you prevent her family's income from 'not meeting the standard'?"

Director Wang was taken aback: "What... should we do?"

“Arrange a temporary job for her, 18 yuan a month, let her do it temporarily, and then take it back after this period. Add that to her current 22, and her monthly income will be 40, right? With six people, that's more than 5 yuan per person. What basis is there for applying for poverty alleviation status?”

"...You pig-brain, do I have to teach you this?" The phone slammed down.

After hanging up the phone, Director Wang glared at Yang Ruihua with annoyance:

"Yang Ruihua, kneeling down at the entrance of the subdistrict office—was that your Yan Bugui's idea?"

Yang Ruihua's heart tightened, and she hurriedly explained, "No, no, I just..."

"Alright, stop making excuses," Director Wang interrupted impatiently. "With a brain like yours, you wouldn't come up with such a dirty trick. Go back and tell Yan Bugui to put his mind to something worthwhile and stop scheming these crooked ways!"

"Director Wang, about our family's application for poverty alleviation status..."

"Go back first, and we will notify you once we have investigated the matter."

"Okay... then thank you for your help, Director Wang."

"I knew it would cause trouble, so why did I go through all this trouble!" Director Wang waved his hand dismissively and chased the man away.

She then called the sanitation worker in charge of the streets and asked which public toilets were short-staffed. The worker thought for a moment and said, "Master Shi, who works at several public toilets in Nanluoguxiang, is about to retire."