Courtyard House: A Major Power's Heavy Industry, Hand-Crafted Nuclear Fusion

The arrival of "Honest Person No. 1" was nothing short of an earthquake for the steel mill canteen.

In just one day, the atmosphere in the cafeteria underwent a dramatic change.

At lunchtime, the once crowded, noisy, and complaining food service windows have become orderly.

That aluminum alloy machine stood like a tireless guardian in the most conspicuous window.

"Click, click, click."

The brisk, mechanical sounds have replaced the impatient shouts of the master craftsmen.

The workers took their lunchboxes, swiped their tickets, received their food, and left. The whole process was smooth and efficient, without any pauses or disputes.

"Wow! This shredded potato dish today is so generously portioned, I can hardly believe it!"

"That's right! Before, when Sha Zhu served food, his spoon shook like he had Parkinson's; he'd spill a third of half a spoonful. Now look at this, every single dish is measured perfectly!"

"Chef Su has really done a great thing! We won't have to put up with the cook's attitude anymore!"

The workers held their lunchboxes, their faces beaming with genuine smiles.

This feeling of "freedom to eat" is even more joyful than the Lunar New Year for them, who have been suffering from mistreatment for many years.

However, human joys and sorrows are not shared.

The kitchen, the food preparation area.

Sha Zhu sat amidst a pile of cabbages, holding a cucumber in his hand, chewing it fiercely as if he were chewing Su Zheng's flesh.

"Master, we've run out of vegetables. Director Liu told us to restock quickly."

Liu Yang cautiously approached, holding an empty basin in his hand.

"What supplements?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

Sha Zhu slammed the half-cucumber to the ground. "That broken machine's got all the tricks up its sleeve! Why doesn't it just conjure up vegetables by itself? What do you want from me?"

Ma Hua shrank back in fright: "But... the machine can only cut and slice, we still have to cook the dishes ourselves. And Director Liu said that if the supply is cut off, our bonuses will be deducted."

"He dares!"

Sha Zhu glared at him, "I'm a level eight cook! Without me, could this canteen even function? That lousy machine's potato shreds are soulless! How can they possibly taste good?"

Just then, Lao Liu, the canteen manager, walked in with his hands behind his back.

In the past, Lao Liu would always enter the kitchen with a smile on his face, afraid of upsetting Sha Zhu and causing him to quit.

But today, Old Liu stood up straight, and his expression was frighteningly serious.

"He Yuzhu, what's wrong with you?"

Old Liu asked coldly, "Hundreds of workers are waiting for their meals, and you're here smashing cucumbers? Are you trying to rebel?"

Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment.

He never expected that Lao Liu, who was usually so timid, would dare to speak to him like that today.

"Oh, Director Liu, you've gotten quite temperamental?"

Sha Zhu stood up sarcastically, "I'm just taking a break, what's the big deal? Isn't that machine fully automatic? What use is a craftsman like me?"

"You really shouldn't take yourself too seriously."

Old Liu sneered, "I just went to check, and the workers are very satisfied with the vegetables the machine cuts! They all say they're cut more evenly and flavorfully than yours! As for stir-frying..."

Old Liu took a step forward and stared intently at Sha Zhu.

"The factory manager said the focus now is on 'standardization.' As long as the seasoning ratios are set and the heat is controlled, it doesn't matter who cooks it. Ma Hua, Fatty, you've been following He Yuzhu for so many years, don't you understand how to cook a large batch of food?"

Liu Yang and the fat man next to him exchanged a glance, a strange light flashing in their eyes.

Sha Zhu usually kept them in check, not letting them cook, for fear that he would teach his apprentices and starve his master.

Director Liu's words clearly indicate that he intends to support them!

"Director! We can do it!" the fat man was the first to declare. "We've memorized the recipe; we guarantee it'll be just as good as the master's!"

"You..." Sha Zhu stared at the fat man in disbelief. "Fatty, you traitor!"

"That's enough!"

Old Liu slammed his hand on the cutting board. "He Yuzhu, I'm officially informing you. Given your recent negative work attitude and serious 'spoon-shaking' habit, starting today, you're suspended from serving food at the window and will be solely responsible for kitchen hygiene and raw material handling. If I hear you complaining or shirking your duties again, I'll report you directly to Factory Director Yang and have you transferred to the foundry workshop!"

"Did you hear me? Foundry!"

These four words were like a heavy hammer blow, slamming into Sha Zhu's heart.

He looked at Lao Liu's no longer ingratiating face, at the eager eyes of his apprentices, and listened to the "click" sound coming from the machine outside.

At that moment, Sha Zhu finally realized that the world had changed.

That era of privilege, where "we won't eat without me," came to a complete end with the advent of that machine.

He gritted his teeth, the veins on his neck bulged, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

But under the threat of the "sand foundry," he finally let go and lowered his proud head.

"I heard...I heard you clearly."

Sha Zhu's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Listen carefully and get to work! Move that pile of cabbages inside!"

With a wave of his hand, Lao Liu felt a surge of triumphant satisfaction that made him feel incredibly refreshed.

……

It was evening, around the time I was leaving get off work.

The factory's loudspeaker was playing the end-of-get off work bell.

The workers walked out of the workshop in small groups, and their conversations still revolved around the amazing "Honest One".

Su Zheng walked calmly among the crowd.

Zhao Ming followed behind him, head held high and chest puffed out, like a proud rooster.

"Master, you didn't see it, but when I went to the cafeteria to get hot water, I saw Sha Zhu carrying cabbages! He was covered in dust and dirt, and didn't dare to utter a sound!"

Zhao Ming said excitedly, "Director Liu is really tough now, ordering Sha Zhu around like he's his grandson."

Su Zheng smiled slightly: "That's what 'momentum' is. Before, the momentum was on his side because he was irreplaceable. Now the momentum is on the machine's side, and he has become dispensable, so naturally he can't be so assertive anymore."

As they were talking, the two walked onto the main road of the factory area.

Enemy road is narrow.

Sha Zhu was pushing a cart loaded with cabbage stalks out of the side door of the canteen, preparing to take out the trash.

Eyes facing each other.

Sha Zhu stopped in his tracks and stared intently at Su Zheng.

His eyes were filled with resentment, unwillingness, and a deep sense of fear.

If looks could kill, Su Zheng would probably be torn to pieces by now.

Zhao Ming instinctively took a step forward, blocking Su Zheng's path: "What? Master He, want to have a go?"

Sha Zhu was furious at Zhao Ming's arrogant and domineering attitude.

But he remembered Lao Liu's warning, Director Yang's gaze, and that tireless machine.

He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart.

"Gesture? I wouldn't dare."

Sha Zhu gave a forced smile and said, "You guys are the stars of the factory now, the pioneers of reform. I'm just a lousy cook, how dare I compare myself to you?"

Although these words were an admission of defeat, the tone still carried a barb.

Su Zheng gently pushed Zhao Ming aside and walked up to Sha Zhu.

He did not become arrogant because of the victory; on the contrary, he appeared unusually calm.

"He Yuzhu, I know you're not convinced."

Su Zheng looked into Sha Zhu's eyes. "You feel like you've been defeated by a cold, impersonal machine, and you feel this is unfair, right?"

"snort."

Sha Zhu snorted coldly, turning his head away. "Machines are inanimate, people are alive. Cooking is about human touch. What your broken machine produces is just enough to fill an empty stomach; it's like animal feed!"

"Human touch?"

Su Zheng laughed, "Your so-called human touch is just giving Qin Huairu a break and letting the workers you don't like have a few extra spoonfuls? That's not human touch, that's 'personal favors'."

"Professional dignity is not maintained by privilege, but by expertise."

Su Zheng pointed to the cabbage stalks in Sha Zhu's cart.

"Just like this cabbage. Machines cut standard shreds, but you cut shreds with soul. If you're truly skilled, you should focus on the 'taste,' so that people respect you because it tastes good, not because they're afraid of going hungry."

"You either learn the skills to make your dishes irreplaceable, or you learn the rules and honestly become a server."

"Don't always try to manipulate others with your petty cleverness. Times have changed, and the days of using collective resources as personal bargaining chips are gone forever."

After saying this, Su Zheng patted Sha Zhu on the shoulder—just like he had patted Zhao Ming in the cafeteria back then.

"Take care of yourself."

Su Zheng turned and left with Zhao Ming, leaving Sha Zhu with a tall and straight back view.

Sha Zhu stood there, watching Su Zheng leave, without moving for a long time.

"Professional...disciplined..."

Sha Zhu muttered to himself, then spat out, "Pah! What are you pretending to be so great for! You just built a piece of junk, right? Once this storm passes, I'll find a chance to kill you!"

Although he remained defiant, he knew in his heart that the "confidence" that had once made him so unbridled had completely vanished.

……

By the time we got back to the courtyard house, it was already dark.

Instead of going straight home, Sha Zhu carried two bottles of Erguotou liquor and a bag of secretly hidden pig's head meat, and knocked on Yi Zhonghai's door.

"Grandpa, are you asleep?"

"It's Zhu Zi? Come in."

Inside the room, Yi Zhonghai was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper under the dim light of a bulb.

But his furrowed brows showed that his mind was not on the newspaper at all.

As soon as Sha Zhu entered the room, he slammed the wine on the table, plopped down on a stool, and looked utterly dejected.

"Uncle, I can't live like this anymore!"

Yi Zhonghai put down his newspaper, glanced at Sha Zhu's defeated rooster-like appearance, and sighed:

"What's wrong? Still upset about that machine?"

"It's more than just feeling hot and bothered! I'm absolutely suffocating!"

Sha Zhu unscrewed the bottle and took a big gulp. "You have no idea how arrogant that Old Liu is now! He used to treat me like a grandson, but now that he has that broken machine, he wants me to carry cabbages! He even said he'd send me to the foundry!"

"Uncle, what kind of situation is this? I, He Yuzhu, have worked in the steel rolling mill for so many years. I may not have made any great contributions, but I have certainly put in a lot of hard work, right? Just because that Su Zheng made some lousy thing, I've become superfluous?"

Sha Zhu became more and more aggrieved as he spoke, and his eyes even reddened.

Yi Zhonghai listened quietly, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"Pillar, haven't you figured it out yet?"

Yi Zhonghai's voice was somewhat cold, "That kid Su Zheng isn't just targeting you, nor is he only targeting that cafeteria."

"Then who is he targeting?"

"He's breaking people's hearts."

Yi Zhonghai stood up and took a few steps around the room.

"In the past, people respected experienced masters and older men because we had skills and resources that could help people solve problems, or make things difficult for them. This was a kind of 'order'."

"But what Su Zheng is doing now—writing technical books and letting machines serve meals—is telling everyone: you don't need to ask for favors, you don't need to be subservient, as long as you follow the rules, everyone can live well."

Yi Zhonghai suddenly stopped and turned to look at Sha Zhu.

"Think about it, if in the future everyone in the workshop can learn skills by reading books, and everyone in the canteen can get enough to eat by machines, then what's the point of having us 'old folks'? What's the point of having an old man like me?"

"He's digging up our very foundation!"

Sha Zhu felt a chill run down his spine. Although he was muddle-headed, he wasn't truly stupid. Yi Zhonghai's analysis immediately made him understand the implications.

"Then... what do we do?"

Sha Zhu panicked. "We can't just stand by and watch him do this, can we? If he keeps going like this, who in this courtyard will listen to you? Who will be afraid of me?"

"Of course we can't let him have it so easy."

Yi Zhonghai sat back down at the table, picked up his wine glass, and clinked it against Sha Zhu's.

"Technically, he's really skilled; we can't do anything about it for now. The machine is inanimate, and we can't break it. But..."

A glint of light flashed in Yi Zhonghai's eyes.

"People are alive."

"No matter how powerful Su Zheng is, he's still just a human being. As long as he's human, he has weaknesses, selfish desires, and vulnerabilities."

"He formed cliques in the workshop to win people over; that's called 'forming factions for personal gain.' He worked on the machines in the canteen, supposedly for the sake of fairness, but were there any financial issues involved? Where did the materials for those machines come from? Did he misappropriate public resources?"

Sha Zhu's eyes lit up: "That's right! Those aluminum plates and motors must have come from the factory! If we sue him for 'stealing state property'..."

"No rush."

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand, "This kind of thing requires solid evidence. Besides, Director Yang is currently supporting him, so we can't confront him head-on."

"What should we do then?"

"To praise someone to death."

Yi Zhonghai said quietly, "Let him be arrogant, let him be proud. Young people are prone to becoming carried away when they achieve success. The moment he thinks he is invincible is the moment he makes a mistake."

"And then there's Zhao Ming."

Yi Zhonghai then changed the subject, "He's Su Zheng's eldest apprentice and a key member of that 'clique.' If something happens to Zhao Ming, can Su Zheng just ignore it? If he does, won't he be making a mistake? If he doesn't, won't he alienate everyone?"

Sha Zhu nodded repeatedly, "Grandpa, you're so wise! So what you mean is..."

"Martial arts contest."

Yi Zhonghai narrowed his eyes. "This competition is crucial. Zhao Ming has a very high reputation now. If he makes a big fool of himself in the competition, or even... has an accident, then wouldn't Su Zheng's myth of 'god-level teaching' be shattered?"

"Once the myth is shattered, people's hearts will also fall apart."

"It has to be you, sir!"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu grinned broadly, then picked up the wine bottle, filled his glass, and toasted Yi Zhonghai:

"Come on, sir, I wish you great success tomorrow!"