Courtyard House: Starting as an engineer, crushing a yard full of poultry

Page 170

Several old women sat in the courtyard, cracking melon seeds and chatting idly while gesturing and pointing at Qin Huairu. Their voices were loud, making no attempt to hide their presence from Qin Huairu.

Just as they were chatting happily, Qin Huairu walked up to them with a basin of water and a beaming smile.

"Hey, Huai Ru, don't get me wrong, we weren't talking about you!"

"Really? Could it be that there's another Qin Huairu in this courtyard?"

After saying that, Qin Huai splashed a basin of cold water in his hand onto the faces of the old women, then turned and went back into the house.

"Qin Huai, have you gone mad!"

"You just wait, when your mother-in-law comes back tomorrow, I'm going to make sure she gives you a good talking to!"

"This kind of woman deserves to bring misfortune to her man!"

The old women, enraged, pointed at Qin Huairu and launched into another tirade of abuse.

Chapter 215 Zhang Feng Falls into the Trap

"Director Yang, you've been dealing with He Yuzhu for a while, so I'll hand him over to you for now."

"Don't worry, Section Chief Li, I will definitely handle this matter well."

Back at the security department, Li Xiangdong immediately sent someone to summon Factory Director Yang. He was busy studying the new parts and equipment and had no time to argue with He Yuzhu.

"He Yuzhu, what... what can I say about you?"

"If you ask me, you're just like your stubborn master—you deserve it!"

As soon as Li Xiangdong left, Factory Director Yang let out a deep sigh.

"I...I was on my way to find my sister, who knew Li Xiangdong would suddenly appear out of nowhere!"

"Director Yang, not only am I cleaning toilets every day now, but I've also gotten into a fight and owe four hundred yuan in debt. You can't punish me any more severely!"

Seeing Li Xiangdong leave, He Yuzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief and started playing the victim in front of Factory Director Yang.

"I've heard everything. You've been breaking and entering and swindling money. How can I protect you?"

Factory Director Yang knew perfectly well what Li Xiangdong meant by asking him to handle this matter, and he looked troubled.

"No matter how powerful Li Xiangdong is, aren't you the factory director of our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill? How you deal with me is just a matter of your word."

"Alright then, we'll cancel your eligibility to participate in the assessment three months from now, and you'll be responsible for the entire factory area's sanitation for the next six months."

"Six months? Complete cleaning?"

"Yes, besides cleaning the toilets, you are responsible for cleaning all the floors and walls in the factory area by yourself."

"How...how can I do all this work by myself?"

"This is already very lenient with you. If Section Chief Li had handled it personally, you probably wouldn't have been able to keep your job."

He Yuzhu thought that Director Yang would make an exception for him, but he didn't expect that Director Yang had already become Li Xiangdong's prisoner. In order to keep his job, he had no choice but to accept it.

"Yu Bin, these are the blueprints for the new parts. Take a look."

At the same time, Li Xiangdong arrived at the workshop with a stack of blueprints he had studied.

"Yu Bin, Yu Bin, all he does is look for Yu Bin every day, as if he's afraid no one doesn't know that he's his brother-in-law."

Standing not far from Yu Bin, Zhang Feng saw Li Xiangdong enter and muttered with a resentful expression.

"Alright, keep your voice down, or he'll hear you and we'll be in trouble."

"What's there to be afraid of? As a factory leader, he openly used connections, and people can't even talk about it?"

I don't know what possessed Zhang Feng today, but he completely ignored the advice of his coworkers and continued to speak rudely.

"Your name is Zhang Feng, right? Yi Zhonghai's apprentice?"

Zhang Feng's loud voice naturally caught Li Xiangdong's attention, and he leaned closer to ask. He had long heard that Yi Zhonghai had another apprentice besides He Yuzhu, whose skills were decent but who seemed to have taken a long leave of absence for his wedding. Judging from his attitude, it was probably true.

"That's right, my name is Zhang Feng, Yi Zhonghai is my master, and He Yuzhu is my senior brother!"

Zhang Feng tilted his head back, seemingly intending to provoke them.

"Wow, I've heard so much about you! I've heard you're incredibly skilled. If I'd known you were here, I would have just given this job to you. What would Yu Bin have to do with it?"

Li Xiangdong's beaming smile left everyone around him bewildered, except for Yu Bin, who went back to his work with a vague understanding.

"No problem. Yu Bin is just a greenhorn. When it comes to real skill, it has to be me."

·· ·····Requesting flowers·· ·

It seems that Zhang Feng, who has just returned from vacation, is completely unaware of Li Xiangdong's abilities and status. But that makes sense, since his so-called master and senior brother have fallen from grace, there is naturally no one to advise him.

His words and actions were nothing more than a way to show off his power and, incidentally, avenge his master and senior brother.

“You’re right. These parts are related to our new equipment, so it’s safer to let you make them.”

"However... I need it urgently, it must be handed to me before I leave work tomorrow afternoon."

Li Xiangdong continued speaking with a smile, leaving everyone present dumbfounded.

..... 0 ...

"Tomorrow afternoon? That's way too soon..."

Zhang Feng paused. Tomorrow was the day his master, Yi Zhonghai, was released. He had already promised to pick him up in person, but he hadn't had time to ask for leave for tomorrow.

“Even a greenhorn like Yu Bin said he could finish it in two days, so it’s a piece of cake for you.”

"Alright, give me the blueprints."

Li Xiangdong had put it so bluntly that Zhang Feng, to save face, had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the job. However, he couldn't refuse Yi Zhonghai's offer; it seemed Yi Zhonghai would be working overtime today.

"You little brat, I'm not falling for your act."

Li Xiangdong turned his head and smiled slightly before leaving. The best way to destroy something is to first make it grow too powerful; only Yu Bin understood Li Xiangdong's strategy.

"Section Chief Li, I've already taken care of He Yuzhu's situation."

Li Xiangdong had just sat down in his office when Director Yang pushed the door open and came in with a beaming smile.

"As expected of Director Yang, his efficiency is much higher than that of ordinary people in less than an hour."

Li Xiangdong responded and said.

Chapter 216 He Yuzhu Subdues Xu Damao

“This act of breaking into the factory and extorting money is indeed egregious. I have disqualified him from the assessment three months from now, and he will be responsible for cleaning toilets for the next six months. He will also be responsible for cleaning other parts of the factory area except for the toilets.”

“Okay, people like He Yuzhu who don’t follow the rules should be taught a lesson.”

Li Xiangdong was fairly satisfied with Director Yang's actions; it seemed that the stubborn Director Yang had finally figured out which side to take.

He Yuzhu was already late today, and then Director Yang added so much work to his schedule. He picked up a broom and went into the toilet, not knowing when he would finish, completely forgetting that Xu Damao was still at home crying for food.

"Where did that kid He '507' Yuzhu go? I've been starving all day!"

Xu Damao is now completely immobile without external assistance. It's almost 8 p.m., and he hasn't eaten since he got up at 5 a.m. to stake out He Yuzhu's spot.

As soon as Xu Damao finished speaking, a foul stench wafted through the courtyard.

"You idiot Zhu, you son of a bitch, aren't you going to come in and serve your grandpa?"

If Xu Damao hadn't shouted that, He Yuzhu, who was exhausted after a long day, would have completely forgotten about this matter and would have rushed into Xu Damao's house.

"Silly Zhu, why does the stench of shit on you get stronger every day?"

He Yuzhu, whom he had been waiting for all day, finally returned, but the smell on He Yuzhu almost made his skull pop out. It was fortunate that he hadn't eaten all day, otherwise Xu Damao would have vomited everywhere.

"I'm just a toilet cleaner at the factory now, how can it not smell bad?"

"Alright, alright, go home and wash yourself before you come back..."

Xu Damao didn't want to say anything more to He Yuzhu. He simply pinched his nose with one hand and quickly chased He Yuzhu away.

"You think I smell bad, huh? Fine, Grandpa's going to take a nice bath today. Want some food? Just you wait!"

He Yuzhu pursed his lips, turned around, and slowly walked out the door. In his opinion, his bad luck today was partly due to Li Xiangdong, but the main reason was still that slippery Xu Damao.

Almost two more hours passed, and it was nearly ten o'clock when He Yuzhu finally arrived at Xu Damao's house, swaying leisurely.

"You idiot Zhu, you're really ruthless. Who takes two hours to take a shower?"

"Xu Damao, stop talking nonsense. It's not that you think I smell bad, but of course I have to wash myself properly to make you satisfied!"

"I think your brain has been completely suffocated by the stench. Have you forgotten what was written in the settlement agreement this morning? If you don't serve me properly, you'll be going to jail!"

"Alright, that's enough, Xu Damao. Aren't you afraid that this little mess you've made will get back to your wife, Lou Xiao'e?"

Seeing that Xu Damao was using the imprisonment issue to pressure him again, He Yuzhu decided to go all out and confront Xu Damao head-on.

Xu Damao was known throughout the courtyard for being afraid of his wife. Lou Xiao'e had long suspected him and Qin Huairu. If Lou Xiao'e found out about this, Xu Damao would probably be paralyzed for the rest of his life.

"You... hurry up and get me some food."

Upon hearing He Yuzhu's words, Xu Damao immediately lost his previous bravado. Lou Xiao'e was scheduled to return from her parents' home in a few days, and if this shrew found out, he would be in deep trouble.

He Yuzhu peered into Xu Damao's kitchen for a while and found that besides the few pieces of braised pork from yesterday's pot, there wasn't anything else to eat. He simply lit the pot, heated up the pork briefly, and then handed two pairs of chopsticks to Xu Damao...

"Is this the meal you prepared for me? I cooked this meat myself yesterday."

"Who cares what it is, as long as it's edible?"

He Yuzhu said impatiently, picking up a large piece of fatty meat and putting it into his mouth.