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

Thinking about it, my eldest son, Liu Guangqi, is getting married. But we don't have enough rooms. Meanwhile, Li Xiangdong owns seven rooms. It's infuriating to compare ourselves to others.

"Oh, oh!"

Liu Haizhong spat a thick wad of phlegm at Li Xiangdong, then walked outside with a disdainful expression. He was carrying a newspaper, clearly heading to the outhouse.

Although Liu Haizhong knew that Li Xiangdong was now the deputy factory director and that he was about to suffer, he simply couldn't bring himself to see Li Xiangdong as just a deputy factory director.

In the minds of these beasts, Li Xiangdong was so young. They all lived in the same compound; why was he the deputy factory director, and what were the rest of them?

Liu Haizhong, in particular, felt that the position of deputy factory director should have been his. He believed that Liu Haizhong would be far more capable than Li Xiangdong.

Li Xiangdong's gaze turned cold. This bastard is asking for trouble, so he might as well grant his wish. Liu Haizhong is taking his assessment today anyway, so he might as well ruin it for him.

There were so many people at the outhouse early this morning; Liu Haizhong arrived a bit late. He had to wait outside, a scene that happens frequently.

In those days, latrines were still dry latrines. They were long, about twenty meters long, made of bricks, each section fifty centimeters high and fifty centimeters wide, with a squatting stall every seventy centimeters or so. Along this long strip, there was a ramp for sitting on to urinate.

In front of the platform was a shallow, long ditch, and behind it was a cesspool more than a meter deep. It was steaming hot now, and the heap was almost touching the buttocks of anyone standing on it.

After the morning rush hour, someone will come and push all these things to that big hole over there. Slide down from there, and you'll find yourself in a cesspool that's several meters deep and about five meters in diameter.

Every now and then, someone comes to clean this place at night. This manure is a valuable resource for rural people.

Otherwise, there would still be manure tickets.

Li Xiangdong certainly wouldn't come here; he had a toilet custom-made for him. Early in the morning, Yu Li came to empty and clean the toilet.

Yu Li also came over to use that toilet, because Li Xiangdong had used an old chair, cut a hole in the middle, and placed the toilet underneath. This thing was much more convenient to use.

Furthermore, Li Xiangdong said that when they renovate in the future, they must include a bathroom, the kind with a toilet.

The place where Liu Haizhong was standing was right above the cesspool. The cesspool was covered with a cement slab.

The weather is very cold now, and the heavy snowfall has turned everything into a white expanse. Only the roads have been cleared.

Li Xiangdong's idea was to give Liu Haizhong an electroacupuncture treatment, which would leave Liu Haizhong's arm numb for most of the day. That would definitely affect today's assessment.

Little did anyone know that Liu Haizhong was courting death by standing on the cement slab of the cesspool. Because it was cold, he even stomped his feet frantically.

The first couple of stomps were fine. But when Liu Haizhong stomped for the third time, there was a loud crash, and the cement slab broke.

"what……"

Liu Haizhong screamed as the broken cement fell into the cesspool.

The latrine was over two meters deep, but the buoyancy was still sufficient. Because of its high density, a section of bangs peeked out from underneath.

"Damn it, that's really something." Li Xiangdong hurriedly retreated, where a large crowd had already gathered to watch the spectacle.

However, the nickname "King of the Shithole" for Liu Haizhong will probably spread throughout the steel mill very soon. Didn't you see Xu Damao grinning like he'd found a black ten?

Seeing Li Xiangdong's retreating figure, Xu Damao was puzzled. Why was Li Xiangdong leaving after watching such a lively scene?

Liu Haizhong was thrashing about in the cesspool, but luckily there were many people around. They finally managed to pull him out with a rope.

Liu Haizhong's clothes were soaked with excrement, making them incredibly heavy. It took seven or eight pulls of the rope to finally get him up.

This is still Liu Haizhong tying the rope around his waist.

Liu Haizhong's three sons kept their distance. Liu Haizhong himself was shivering as soon as he arrived. He was freezing.

Liu Haizhong was in a hurry to go home, but Yi Zhonghai blocked him with a stick.

"Old Liu, you can't come into the yard. If you go in like this, what will become of our yard?" Yi Zhonghai said confidently.

Liu Haizhong really looked terrible, and so did his hair. In short, Liu Haizhong truly looked like a piece of shit.

"I'm freezing! What... what should I do?"

Liu Haizhong said, trembling.

"Liu Guangqi, what are you three waiting for? Hurry up and go home to get some water. Make some hot water for Old Liu to wash up. By the way, everyone should provide hot water; who knows how much hot water Old Liu will need." Yi Zhonghai said, "Women, get out of the way. Old Liu should take his clothes off."

"You can no longer wear the clothes you're wearing."

Yi Zhonghai commanded with composure and handled the situation very well.

Yan Bugui jumped in and said, "Well, you need coal briquettes to boil water, but we don't have enough coal briquettes at any of the houses here."

"After Old Liu finishes his work, he'll give your family a lump of coal," Yi Zhonghai said.

"Yeah, yeah. Hurry up." Liu 370 stammered.

Hot water was quickly brought over, and Zhang Cuihua took a large bucket and threw a broken water ladle into it. She then let Liu Haizhong wash himself.

When the water in the bucket runs out, we'll refill it here.

By the time his bangs were clean, he had moved several times. The cold had turned his thick, chubby skin blue.

After putting on his clothes, Liu Haizhong dashed home, leaving behind a strong odor. In just that short time, Liu Haizhong had already been thoroughly marinated.

Li Xiangdong drove Yu Li to work. He gave his bicycle to Yu Dajiang. He originally wanted to give Yu Dajiang a ride in the car, but Yu Dajiang refused.

“Xiang Dong, it’s fine for you to bring Yu Li along. She’s your wife!” Yu Dajiang said. “Bringing me along will cause gossip. Don’t give others any leverage.”

Seeing this, Li Xiangdong could only nod and say, "Well then, you can use my bicycle. It's not for you, but I'll lend it to you for a bit."

Yu Dajiang then accepted it.

When Li Xiangdong arrived at the factory, he conducted the second assessment. This time, it wasn't just fitters, but also forge workers and welders. Anyone at level seven or eight had to undergo the assessment.

They even invited experienced professionals from the assessment department to act as judges, and the matter was completed in just one morning.

Of the more than ninety people, five were demoted.

"Not bad, our factory workers are quite capable," Li Xiangdong said with satisfaction.

Factory Director Yang and Li Huaide were also here, and Secretary Zhang was checking information from both sides.

"Yes, those of you who were demoted one level, you must work hard," said Director Yang. "There will be another promotion exam after the Spring Festival, and the five of you must seize it."

These five people are all quite old; one is an eighth-grade worker and the other four are seventh-grade workers.

“There’s one more person who didn’t participate,” Li Huaide said at this moment. “It’s Liu Haizhong, a level seven blacksmith. Yi Zhonghai, a level six fitter, asked for leave for him.”

Li Huaide said this to annoy Director Yang. He implied that Yi Zhonghai was currently only a level six fitter, and that he would be demoted if given the chance.

“It’s easy to handle him alone. When he starts work, we’ll organize two people to evaluate him,” Li Xiangdong said, raising an eyebrow.

And that was the end of it. Li Xiangdong ate lunch with Yu Li in the office as usual. The lunchboxes they had prepared that morning.

“Dong-ge eats like this every day. You don’t lack money, but you lack tickets…” Yu Li said with some concern as she gnawed on a chicken leg.

"Don't worry, you don't need to worry about food." Li Xiangdong was also gnawing on a large chicken leg.

There are still about fifty tons of these technologically advanced and grueling chicken legs in the warehouse. If Li Xiangdong doesn't eat them quickly, they'll probably turn into zombie meat.

"Fine, Dong-ge, you're really capable anyway." Yu Li's pretty face was full of pride.

Just then, the loudspeaker blared, announcing the decision regarding the handling of Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai was eating in a restaurant when he heard the loudspeaker. His old face looked like a monkey's bottom. But there was nothing he could do but listen with his head down.

Time flies, and before we know it, it's time for the Kitchen God Festival. It's also the Little New Year, a festival that should be celebrated with great solemnity.

Chapter 73 The Arrival of Yu Haitang (Seeking flowers, votes, and full subscription!)

But life wasn't easy these days; being able to eat dumplings was a blessing. And if the dumpling filling was meat, then that family was living quite well.

We're only working half a day today; the other half is for everyone to go home and celebrate the holiday. Also, salaries are being paid early today.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Li Xiangdong took Yu Li and the other person to the finance department. Paydays were being distributed there. All thirty-odd windows were open.

Workers lined up to receive their wages.

"Chief Engineer Li, you even came in person." Jin Dayuan, the head of the finance and accounting department, rushed out of the finance and accounting department: "Come, come, come to my office for some tea."

Li Xiangdong followed Jin Dayuan into his office. While Jin Dayuan poured tea for Li Xiangdong and Yu Li, someone quickly brought over two envelopes.

"Chief Engineer Li, this is your salary, and this is for Comrade Yu Li." Jin Dayuan handed over two envelopes: "Your salary is two hundred and eight yuan, and Yu Li notified us that your salary is thirty-eight yuan!"

"Um, my salary is about the same. But why does Yu Li earn so much? Isn't her salary thirty-two yuan?" Li Xiangdong asked in surprise.

“She brought a pig to the factory, so she got a six-yuan reward!” Jin Dayuan said with a smile. “I reckon the factory is still eyeing the possibility of you getting some more pork.”

"After all, it's almost the New Year. If we can get some pork, at least we can get an extra pound of meat. It's not easy working all year round."

Li Xiangdong nodded without saying anything. He was considering whether he could sell some more pork to the steel mill. Otherwise, it wouldn't do for the meat to sit in the warehouse.

The alfalfa growing on those hillsides in the valley can feed pigs, cattle, and sheep. Another hillside, if prepared, could be planted with corn, soybeans, or something similar.

There are also places where you can raise some chickens, since there are no other wild animals in that mysterious space that could harm these animals.

Of course, he couldn't tell Jin Dayuan about the pork. He'd have to wait for Li Huaide to ask Li Xiangdong. If the steel mill had 10,000 people, and each person took one jin (500 grams), that would only amount to 10,000 jin of pork.

The steel rolling mill already had a pork quota, so it wouldn't be a problem for a worker to take three pounds of pork home.

Li Xiangdong and Yu Li left the office and stood on the second-floor corridor, looking down at the long line of about thirty workers.

"Hey, Liu Haizhong's here to collect his money. Tsk tsk, look at this package." Li Xiangdong said with some surprise, "Tsk tsk, everyone else is keeping their distance from him."

Jin Dayuan saw Li Xiangdong out and looked down from the corridor.

There was no one within a two-meter radius of where Liu Haizhong was standing. However, this allowed him to collect his wages quickly. Everyone was hoping he would get paid soon and then be fired.

"Tsk tsk, it seems like it's true that Liu Haizhong fell into a cesspool." Jin Dayuan said excitedly.