The train driver in the courtyard

The sun hung low over the steel rolling mill's dormitory building.

Xu Damao seemed particularly happy when he was called over.

Since things have already turned ugly, and he's gone from an anonymous whistleblower to a named whistleblower, there's nothing to worry about anymore.

Yi Zhonghai was somewhat bewildered, and as he walked, he kept wondering to himself, "Could it be that Deputy Factory Director Li is looking for trouble because he sees me getting close to Factory Director Yang?"

When Yi Zhonghai saw Xu Damao, he sensed that something was wrong.

When Yi Zhonghai saw Li Aiguo again, he was somewhat frightened.

When Yi Zhonghai finally saw Jia Dongxu again, he was completely dumbfounded.

"Dongxu, it's working hours now. Why are you disturbing Director Li's work? Go back right now." Yi Zhonghai entered the office and began to reprimand Jia Dongxu in a mock manner.

This little scheme of his could not escape the notice of Deputy Factory Director Li.

"Alright, Yi Zhonghai, I called you here today because you assisted Dieter in his escape."

"Huh?!" Yi Zhonghai racked his brains but couldn't figure out why.

But what does this have to do with him?
Where has he ever done such a thing?
Yi Zhonghai felt he was more wronged than Dou E.

The Minister of Armed Forces walked up to Yi Zhonghai and asked, "Master Yi, how many sets of work clothes do you have?"

Yi Zhonghai answered honestly: "It has been issued every two years since our factory became a joint state-private enterprise, and there are a total of four sets."

The head of the armed forces department frowned and asked, "Are they all at your home?"

"..." Yi Zhonghai then thought of the Armed Forces Department's inspection of work uniforms and immediately realized the problem.

If it were anything else, Yi Zhonghai might have covered for Jia Dongxu, but if it involved Dieter, he could be in jail.

"I, I'll lend you Jia Dongxu a set!"

"Master, you..." Jia Dongxu had been thinking that since Deputy Factory Director Li had no evidence, he couldn't do anything to him, but he didn't expect Yi Zhonghai to betray him directly.

"Jia Dongxu, what exactly did you do? Tell me honestly right now, or you'll get people into trouble!" Yi Zhonghai said anxiously.

With a disciplinary record already in place, if Jia Dongxu were to cause any more trouble at this point, he would be in deep trouble.

Jia Dongxu tried to argue, but the Armed Forces Minister walked up to him and said, "Jia Dongxu, I'm asking you, I'm asking you, where did your work clothes go? Did you sell them to Dieter?"

Xu Damao, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh. Upon hearing this, he immediately stood up and criticized and educated him, "Our factory often holds training sessions to require us to be more vigilant. Jia Dongxu, you've learned it all but the dog's belly."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongxu felt a pang of guilt, but he stubbornly replied, "I'm just trying to help others, is that wrong?"

Just kidding. Facing Xu Damao, Jia Dongxu already had a stress response; he would even try to make black out of white.

Xu Damao smiled mysteriously, pointed at Jia Dongxu and said, "Boss, look, he admitted it."

Jia Dongxu only then realized he had been tricked, but it was too late.

“Jia Dongxu, you actually sold the work clothes to Dieter.” The Armed Forces Minister pointed his finger at Jia Dongxu’s nose.

"I...I don't know that guy either." Jia Dongxu's mental defenses collapsed instantly, and he began to tremble.

“If someone wants to buy it, I'll sell it to them. It's not like Dieter’s name is written all over his face. Am I wrong?”

"I think you're just doing this to make money."

After understanding the situation, Yi Zhonghai was extremely disappointed in Jia Dongxu.

It's bad enough that they caused a huge disaster, but the worst part is that they dragged him down with them.

I'm counting on this guy to support me in my old age. What if I get old and can't make money anymore, and he sells me off?
This is not critical.

The key is how to extricate yourself from the situation.

Yi Zhonghai sincerely apologized: "Director Li, Minister Ma, I was wrong. I didn't discipline my apprentices properly. I failed to detect Jia Dongxu's conspiracy in time and fell into his trap, which brought serious negative impact to the factory's investigation. I made a serious mistake."

“Master.” Jia Dongxu hadn’t expected that Yi Zhonghai would abandon him at such a crucial moment.

Yi Zhonghai said coldly, "Jia Dongxu, if you make a mistake, you must admit it and actively reform your thinking."

Li Aiguo watched with great interest from the sidelines. Otherwise, Zhonghai would have been a cunning old fox, turning a serious investigation into a mentor-apprentice training session.

But Deputy Factory Director Li wasn't someone to be trifled with; now that such a good opportunity had presented itself, he naturally wouldn't let it slip by.

"Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai, you two explain the problem to Minister Ma. Go on."

Deputy Factory Director Li's decision took everyone by surprise.

Logically speaking, since Yi Zhonghai is now considered Director Yang's man, Deputy Director Li should take advantage of Director Yang's lack of reaction and strike hard to take down Yi Zhonghai directly, instead of delaying the process.

It's like a movie reaching its climax, and then suddenly, the power goes out, leaving all the audience stunned.

No one dared to object. Minister Ma led the two away, and Xu Damao also left.

Deputy Factory Director Li stood up, poured Li Aiguo a cup of tea, and handed it to him, saying, "I'm sorry you had to see this."

"When the forest is big, you'll find all kinds of birds." Li Aiguo never interfered in other people's work, so he didn't continue talking about what had just happened. Instead, he gave a brief overview of the progress of the spring project.

"It seems that this guy with bangs is quite capable."

Deputy Factory Director Li stood up, closed the door, and asked in a low voice, "Aiguo, do you still have that medicinal wine?"

"Yes, Uncle Li, I'll bring it to you tomorrow."

"Oh, that's great!"

After chatting for a few minutes, Li Aiguo left the office.

At this moment, Xu Damao, who was hiding behind a flower bed, saw Li Aiguo come out and hurriedly went to greet him. "Brother Aiguo, is Deputy Factory Director Li afraid of Factory Director Yang? Otherwise, why didn't he deal with Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu on the spot?" Xu Damao felt very indignant. Such a good opportunity had been wasted.

Li Aiguo stopped, took the Zhonghua cigarette from Xu Damao, and pointed it at him: "I'm asking you, who is Deputy Factory Director Li's enemy?"

"Of course it's Director Yang." As soon as he said it, Xu Damao immediately understood and his face changed drastically: "The reason why Deputy Director Li handed the two over to Minister Ma was to give Director Yang a chance to intervene."

This case has already caused quite a stir. If Director Yang protects the two men, Deputy Director Li will find an excuse to deal with him.

Li Aiguo had something else he didn't say: Deputy Factory Director Li's plan was not that simple, and the most crucial person in it was Minister Ma.

Li Aiguo understood the nature of the factory's armed forces department. People like Minister Ma, who were veterans, were generally straightforward, and because of their special positions, they usually wouldn't get involved in the power struggles between the factory director and deputy director.

By handing the two men over to Minister Ma, Deputy Factory Director Li was essentially putting Minister Ma on the spot.

Once Director Yang helps Yi Zhonghai, the first person he'll have to deal with is Minister Ma.

Despite his usual cheerful demeanor, Deputy Factory Director Li is actually quite cunning, and Li Aiguo became secretly wary.

Xu Damao had figured it out by now. He took a puff of his cigarette and frowned again: "What if Director Yang doesn't show up?"

"Those who follow Director Yang will be disheartened."

"No matter what Director Yang does, it's inappropriate. This Deputy Director Li is too terrifying." Xu Damao's voice trembled slightly.

In the sweltering summer heat, after figuring out the reason, Xu Damao's forehead was covered in a dense layer of cold sweat.

He considered himself a smart man, but his methods were like child's play in front of Deputy Factory Director Li.

"Brother Da Mao, it's time to go home for dinner."

At this moment, Li Aiguo's words pulled Xu Damao out of his thoughts.

"Yes, yes, come home for dinner. I've missed my Xu Hua terribly all day."

The thought of Xu Hua's smiling face made Xu Damao forget all about the scheming and intrigue.

After chatting with Xu Damao for a while, Liu Haizhong arrived. Upon learning the outcome of their discussion, Liu Haizhong's expression changed slightly, and he sighed that a strong wind was about to blow through the steel mill.

Although the decision on how to deal with Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu has not yet been made, the people in the courtyard have already received the news.

Huh? Who's talking so fast?

Of course it's Xu Damao.

"No wonder Jia Dongxu's family has been doing so well lately; it turns out they sold their clothes to Dieter."

"Where's my husband?" an older woman asked quickly.

“He’s been arrested now and is at the Armed Forces Department giving instructions to Jia Dongxu,” Xu Damao said.

"What a tragedy! How could Jia Dongxu do such a thing?"

"That's right, he made a mistake himself, and he still tried to drag Yi Zhonghai down with him."

"Like begets like. If Jia Zhangshi is like that, how much better can Jia Dongxu be?"

"Isn't this just because Yi Zhonghai is greedy and wants Jia Dongxu to be his son?"

After the neighbors found out the truth, they started talking all at once.

Qin Huairu stood at the door, her mind momentarily dazed.

Just a few days ago, Jia Dongxu made a lot of money. Qin Huairu thought he had become smarter, but she didn't expect that the person who bought the clothes was Dieter.

Then look at Li Aiguo, he arrested Dieter.

If I hadn't changed my mind back then, I wouldn't be in such a predicament now.

Qin Huairu was absolutely certain that she regretted it.

The old woman was no longer in the mood to listen to any of this. She didn't care about avoiding the crowd and hurriedly pushed open the door to the deaf old woman's house and rushed inside.

A moment later, a furious voice came from inside the house.

"Jia Dongxu is too bold!"

Then came the pitiful plea of ​​an older woman: "Grandma, my husband is in big trouble this time. If you don't help, then..."

The sounds coming from inside the house grew fainter and fainter until they were almost inaudible.

Li Aiguo ate his fill of melons, then turned and went back into the house, satisfied.

Looking at Li Aiguo's back, Xu Damao felt that Li Aiguo had also used similar methods to those of Deputy Factory Director Li in the compound.

If the deaf old lady doesn't show up, it will disappoint Yi Zhonghai and the older woman; if she does, it will cause resentment among the residents and the neighborhood committee.

Regardless of the choice made, Li Aiguo will ultimately be the one to benefit.

This is too terrible.

"It shouldn't be that bad. Brother Aiguo is a really good person. How could he have so many ulterior motives?"

Xu Damao became increasingly frightened as he thought about it, and quickly shook his head, trying to shake the thought out of his head.

He turned around and went back into the house, picking Xu Hua up in his arms: "Daughter, play sticky games with Daddy."

"Daddy smells bad."

(End of this chapter)