The Courtyard House: He Yuzhu Returns with Boundless Hatred for Revenge

That morning, the district committee's working group officially entered the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, merging the two cases into one. There was little small talk in the meeting room; they went straight to the point. The working group handed Tan Jin the materials detailing Wang Xuemei's confession from the street office.

Tan Jin quickly flipped through the pages. When he saw that Wang Xuemei admitted to being manipulated by Long Xiaocui because Long had something on her, and that Wang Xuemei's confession mentioned that Long Xiaocui had even come to see Yang Weiguo, his face grew increasingly gloomy.

In the factory manager's office, Yang Weiguo hadn't slept a wink all night; his eyes were sunken and his hair was disheveled. He had been resting at home yesterday, clinging to his last hope, trying to contact the high-ranking leader he had always relied on. The call went through, but it was the leader's secretary who answered.

The secretary's tone was polite, merely conveying that the leader was currently very busy and unable to answer the phone, asking Director Yang to focus on factory affairs and not to worry, before quickly hanging up. Hearing the busy tone from the receiver, Yang Weiguo felt a chill run through him. He knew he had been abandoned. Having navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for so many years, how could he not understand this?

When Tan Jin pushed open the door, he saw Yang Weiguo looking distraught and filled with anxiety.

"Old Yang." Tan Jin's voice wasn't loud, but it made Yang Weiguo tremble violently, almost jumping up. He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Secretary Tan, you wanted to see me? What's up?"

"Sit down." Tan Jin sat down on the sofa himself and gestured for Yang Weiguo to sit down as well.

Yang Weiguo sat down nervously. He knew that Tan Jin's visit at this time was definitely not for anything good.

"The district committee's working group has just officially entered the steel rolling mill. I am now speaking to you formally on behalf of the department's Party committee," Tan Jin said bluntly. "Regarding the disciplinary action against Comrade He Yuzhu, you need to give the organization a thorough and responsible explanation."

"Secretary Tan! I admit I made a mistake, a serious mistake! But I swear, I absolutely did not intend to frame Comrade He Yuzhu! I just listened to Wang Xuemei's words; she informed me in her capacity as the director of the subdistrict office, and I assumed the facts were clear and the evidence conclusive! This was biased listening and believing, this was bureaucracy, I apologize! I deeply apologize!"

Yang Weiguo was agitated and tried his best to explain that it was an unintentional mistake, hoping to get a chance for leniency.

Tan Jin listened quietly until Yang Weiguo finished speaking before slowly opening his mouth, "It is precisely because the preliminary investigation shows that you did not act intentionally that I am the one sitting here talking to you today. Otherwise, it would have been the comrades from the supervisory department who came."

"However," Tan Jin's tone shifted, his eyes sharpening, "you are guilty of negligence. For the director of a factory with tens of thousands of employees to so carelessly handle a single worker, causing such a negative impact, is more than just a simple work error. Moreover, we learned from Wang Xuemei's confession that the deaf old woman named Long Xiaocui also directly approached you. What special relationship do you have with her? Why did you help her?"

Yang Weiguo's face turned pale. He knew he couldn't hide the truth any longer, so he could only answer honestly, "Secretary Tan, it's like this: Before liberation, when I was doing underground work, I was once followed by the enemy. The situation was extremely critical. Just when I was about to be caught, Long Xiaocui opened the door, hid me in her house, and saved my life."

"I've always remembered this kindness. This time, she came to me to report some problems He Yuzhu was having in the courtyard. I thought I should help her as much as I could, without violating any principles. But I emphasized to her that the street office had to have a clear opinion on how to handle the situation before the factory could follow up. I never expected to be tricked like this by Wang Xuemei! I was only doing this out of gratitude, I had no other intentions, Secretary Tan."

Yang Weiguo's voice was choked with sobs, filled with an injustice more profound than that of Dou E. Who could have imagined that his unintentional act would lead to such a disaster?

Tan Jin pondered for a moment, his fingers lightly tapping the sofa armrest. Yang Weiguo's explanation of the life-saving grace sounded reasonable and explained why he was so concerned about Long Xiaocui's matter.

"The organization will verify your explanation," Tan Jin finally said. "But in any case, this cannot be an excuse for your dereliction of duty. Putting personal interests before public duty is a grave taboo! You allowed personal grudges to override organizational principles and workers' rights—this mistake is extremely serious!"

"Given your current situation, and after preliminary consideration by the Party Committee of the Ministry, Comrade Yang Weiguo, you should suspend all your current work. What you need to do now is to write down all the issues you have involved in this incident, including your past with Long Xiaocui, the process of receiving false information from Wang Xuemei, the considerations for making the disciplinary decision, etc., in full and without omission, and submit it to the working group and the Ministry, awaiting the organization's final investigation and handling opinion."

"Stop, stop working?" Yang Weiguo was struck dumb. This was practically tantamount to being suspended from his duties for investigation! His political career could very well be over.

He wanted to say something more, but seeing Tan Jin's unwavering gaze, all the words stuck in his throat. He understood that this was already the best outcome he could achieve at the moment.

"Yes, Secretary Tan, I will definitely reflect deeply and write a serious report..." Yang Weiguo replied in a trembling voice, slumping dejectedly into his office chair. The once spirited factory director Yang now looked utterly dejected, like a lost dog.

. . . . .

Meanwhile, inside the meeting room, Chief Zhao of the Security Department was reporting the investigation results regarding the rumor-mongering incident to the working group.

"Based on our joint investigation and visits with the police station, as well as the testimonies of some residents of No. 95 Courtyard, it has now been basically determined that the source and main disseminators of the series of rumors against Comrade He Yuzhu all came from this courtyard."

Inside the steel rolling mill, led by Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, several residents working at the mill systematically spread rumors. Outside the mill and in the wider community, women closely associated with Yi Zhonghai and his associates actively disseminated the rumors, defaming Comrade He Yuzhu's reputation.

Section Chief Zhao handed a report with a detailed list to the head of the working group. The working group members circulated the list, their faces grim. So many people were involved in this whole courtyard house; it had practically become a small clique that harbored wrongdoing and persecuted dissidents!

Tan Jin arrived at the conference room at this time. After listening to the report, he didn't hesitate and immediately ordered, "Then arrest them! Everyone on the list working at the steel rolling mill, except for those who voluntarily confessed earlier, everyone else involved in spreading rumors, every single one of them, is to be taken into custody!"