The train driver in the courtyard

The adults exchanged a few pleasantries and then dispersed, but a group of children crowded around them.

A pair of large, dark eyes shone brightly, fixed intently on Li Aiguo.

In their minds, Li Aiguo was the great hero who captured Dieter at that moment.

When Liu Guangtian, Liu Guangfu, and Nan Xiaoying saw Bang Geng coming over, they shoved him aside and sneered, "Your mother is Yi Zhonghai's apprentice. Yi Zhonghai is a big spy, and you're just a little spy! Don't hang out with us!"

Bang Geng's face flushed red, and he retorted with a stiff neck, "I'm not a spy! From today onwards, I sever all ties with Yi Zhonghai!"

That's how kids are; when everyone's cheering them on, they get carried away.

Bang Geng, unwilling to bear the reputation of being Dieter's grandson, ran to Yi Zhonghai's house.

At this moment, inside Yi Zhonghai's house, an older woman had just prepared hot water for him and was about to wash the mud off his body.

Banggeng ran in and said to Yi Zhonghai, "Old Yi! From today onwards, I have nothing to do with you! And don't even think about making me call you grandpa again!"

Before Yi Zhonghai could react, Bang Geng turned and ran away.

Yi Zhonghai was so angry that he trembled all over, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time: "This kid...this kid is a complete ingrate!"

Although Bang Geng is now under Liu Haizhong's supervision, Yi Zhonghai has always had the idea of ​​"casting a wide net" and may have even considered having Bang Geng take care of her in her old age and see her off in death.

They usually take great care of Bang Geng, often coaxing him with White Rabbit candies, but they never expected it to end like this.

"It was Li Aiguo! That kid deliberately dropped that bomb. He just wanted to pin the blame on me and leave me without anyone to support me in my old age!" Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth.

Seeing his state, the old woman angrily threw down the towel: "Old Yi, be reasonable! The militiamen stopped you back then. If you had come back obediently, would all this have happened?"

How can you put all the blame on Li Aiguo? He's already been lenient by not making a big deal out of it this time!

“Have mercy? He’s ruthless! Now the neighborhood committee is giving me trouble, the factory knows about it, and everyone in the compound is looking at me differently.”

Also, I didn't bring the fish back, and the deaf old lady definitely won't let it go!

Upon hearing the mention of the deaf old lady, Yi Zhonghai's expression changed instantly. He didn't even bother to clean himself up and turned to leave.

An older woman quickly stopped him: "Old Yi, where are you going?"

"The old lady is still waiting. The more disheveled I am, the faster her anger will subside." Yi Zhonghai pushed away the old woman's hand and strode out of the house.

The older woman shook her head helplessly as she saw his disheveled figure.

"We shouldn't have helped Jia Dongxu oppose Li Aiguo in the first place. Now look what's happened, a whole bunch of troubles have come knocking on our door..."

By this time, the deaf old lady had already heard the news from outside. When she saw Yi Zhonghai push the door open and come in, she leaned against the bed and remained motionless, like a living dead person.

Yi Zhonghai's heart was in his throat. He said in a low voice, "Grandma, the fish wasn't brought back, but the responsibility isn't mine. It's that kid Li Aiguo who knew you wanted the fish as a medicinal ingredient and deliberately used a bomb to blow me up."

"Useless thing!" The deaf old woman was disappointed, but she soon realized that she was in an awkward situation.

If Yi Zhonghai is gone, who will take care of Sha Zhu when he gets out?

Furthermore, she had already prepared a plan for Sha Zhu, and she still needed Yi Zhonghai's help.

"Old Yi, you should go now."

Thinking of all this, the deaf old lady waved her hand helplessly at Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai had prepared himself to be scolded, but he was stunned by the situation. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and backed out of the house.

The deaf old woman looked at the dark ceiling, a sinister smile creeping onto her lips:
"Since that's the case, let Li Aiguo live a few more days. Once Shazhu gets out, I'll settle this score with him slowly..."

The eerie sound grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared into the pitch-black room.

*****
"Brother Aiguo, what is this?"

When Chen Xueru came home from get off work, she saw Li Aiguo holding a thick stack of brand-new cotton cloth and quickly took it from him and asked him what was wrong.

"Help me sew some mesh fabric." Li Aiguo approached the sewing machine and carefully explained the cutting method of the lining, the size of each grid, and the seam allowance to be left when piecing the fabric pieces together. He even gave special instructions on making sure the stitches were close together and that the fabric wouldn't fall apart when pulled.

Although Chen Xueru didn't know what the mesh fabric was for, she didn't ask and got busy at the sewing machine.

The old women and young wives outside the compound were heartbroken to see Chen Xueru cutting the brand-new cotton cloth into small pieces.

But no one actually said anything to stop them.

The example of Yi Zhonghai is still there.

It must be said that Chen Xueru's craftsmanship is indeed excellent; the mesh fabric she made was thick, sturdy, and very elastic.

The next day, as soon as Yi Zhonghai entered the steel rolling mill, he was notified that a large meeting was to be held.

"Master Wang, I can't take it anymore, my stomach is suddenly hurting terribly, I need to go to the hospital to get it checked out..." Yi Zhonghai wasn't stupid, and seeing this situation, he quickly asked for leave. "Old Yi, Director Li instructed that you are the one in charge." The director knew Yi Zhonghai's personality all too well and immediately stopped him.

This time, Deputy Factory Director Li was furious. In recent years, the cooperation with the Qianmen Locomotive Depot had been so pleasant, and the steel rolling mill was even thinking of getting more orders by relying on the locomotive depot.

As a result, Yi Zhonghai actually stole other people's secrets. Isn't this like biting the hand that feeds you?
Yi Zhonghai wanted to leave, but several officers from the security department had already come over.

At the steel rolling mill's general meeting, in front of all the factory's employees, Deputy Director Li called Yi Zhonghai to the podium.

"We, the working class, value integrity and believe that collective interests come first! The factory's honor is my honor, and the factory's shame is my shame!"
You, Yi Zhonghai, are paid the highest salary in the factory and enjoy the benefits of a level seven worker. Instead of thinking about how to contribute more to the factory, you've started to have crooked thoughts and do these shady things!

After deliberation by the factory's Party Committee, the following severe punishment was imposed on Yi Zhonghai.

First, all bonuses for this year will be deducted; second, a major demerit will be recorded; and third, the employee will be transferred to another position.

Our steel rolling mill's cleaning team is desperately short-handed right now, so you can go and clean the toilets!

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of applause erupted from the audience.

Liu Haizhong and several workshop directors suddenly stood up and clapped the most enthusiastically, their palms turning red.

"That's right! That's exactly how it should be done!"

"We must not be lenient with those who betray their own people!"

"Director Li is wise; this is already a lenient approach!"

Yi Zhonghai's face drained of all color in an instant, turning from deathly pale to ashen, and then to purplish, just like a traffic light.

But faced with the chorus of condemnation, he couldn't utter a single word.

After the meeting, Yi Zhonghai seemed to have lost his soul and was led towards the sanitation team.

Zhang, the captain of the cleaning team, was also somewhat bewildered when he saw Yi Zhonghai.

"Yi Zhonghai? Am I seeing things? Didn't your former apprentice, Jia Dongxu, also clean the toilets here?"
"What, is our cleaning team some kind of treasure trove? Are you two rushing here to 'gild your resume'?"

Yi Zhonghai cursed Captain Zhang's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart, but he forced a smile that was more like a grimace on his face and hurriedly pulled out a packet of sunflowers from his pocket.

"Captain Zhang, look at what you're saying. We've known each other for many years in the factory. I'll have to rely on you to take care of me in the future..."

Captain Zhang's face hardened, and he raised his hand to shove the cigarette away: "Old Yi, don't give me that! If I take care of you, someone else might take care of me tomorrow—I don't want to end up like you."

He turned to a young officer next to him and shouted, "Which toilets did Jia Dongxu clean last time? Give those to Yi Zhonghai and let him properly 'inherit' his apprentice's work!"

"Yes!"

Yi Zhonghai received the tools and was taken to the latrine.

"Master Yi, you know the rules, don't make things difficult for us!" The clerk warned Yi Zhonghai twice before leaving.

The latrine reeked and was swarming with flies.

Yi Zhonghai pinched his nose, put on a mask, and had just taken a step inside when he heard a familiar yet irritating voice: "Hey, isn't this the old man?"

Xu Damao was squatting there when he saw Yi Zhonghai and immediately grinned: "I've only ever heard of sons inheriting their fathers' businesses, but this is the first time I've ever seen a master inherit his apprentice's toilet business! Grandpa, you'd better do a good job and not embarrass your apprentice!"

Yi Zhonghai was so angry he almost fainted.

Xu Damao's next sentence almost made Yi Zhonghai fall to the ground again.

"I forgot to tell you, the neighborhood committee is also holding a meeting this weekend to specifically discuss your little mess with Uncle San. You'd better be prepared, or you might find yourself speechless!"

Xu Damao stood up, fastened his pants, and left.

Yi Zhonghai was left standing there dumbfounded in the outhouse.

"Li Aiguo, I'm not finished with you!"

*****
"Achoo! Who's thinking about me again?" In the workshop of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, Li Aiguo tried on the flight helmet he had just assembled and rubbed his nose.

"Patriotism, hurry up, the leaders and aviation experts are here."

At this moment, Section Chief Xing strode into the studio, looking extremely excited.

Li Aiguo was somewhat puzzled.

Section Chief Xing is someone who has received higher-level leaders before, so what's going on?
When Li Aiguo stepped outside, he saw an elderly man wearing black-rimmed glasses getting off a bulletproof SUV, and his eyes widened instantly.

"Dean Chen, what brings you here?!"

(End of this chapter)