Courtyard House: Starting by inheriting the tradition and suppressing the barbarians.

Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, Workshop 1, Handling Group.

This is the noisiest and dustiest place in the entire factory area.

The huge overhead cranes roared, and the sound of steel clashing together was deafening.

Sha Zhu was wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket whose original color was no longer discernible, and a shiny black towel was draped over his shoulder.

At this moment, he was hunched over, struggling to lift a bundle of steel bars weighing dozens of kilograms.

His once gleaming hair is now a mess, covered in coal dust and rust.

Those hands that were once used for chopping vegetables and tossing food, and were well-maintained.

Now it's covered in calluses and frostbite, and in some places it's cracked open and oozing blood.

He was dismissed from his job by Xu Damao a few months ago on the grounds of "ideological reform" and sent here to work as a porter.

Shazhu felt like he was living in hell.

"He Yuzhu! What are you dawdling for!"

The foreman, holding a notebook, stood in a sheltered spot and roared, "We're still short half of today's quota!"

"If you don't finish moving, don't even think about going home tonight!"

Sha Zhu gritted his teeth, feeling as if his legs were filled with lead.

He wanted to yell back, but he didn't dare.

Now the entire steel rolling mill is under Xu Damao's control.

If he dares to cause trouble, he won't be moving steel bars tomorrow, he'll be cleaning toilets!

......

At that moment, a commotion arose at the workshop entrance.

"Director Xu has come to inspect!"

"Cheer up, everyone!"

Xu Damao was wearing a military overcoat and brand-new leather gloves.

Surrounded by a group of officials, he swaggered in.

His ruddy complexion and arrogant demeanor contrasted sharply with the dusty and disheveled workers.

Xu Damao's gaze swept around the workshop.

Finally, his gaze settled on Sha Zhu, who was working hard in the corner.

"Hey, isn't this our Chef He?"

Xu Damao deliberately walked over and stood in front of Sha Zhu.

He covered his nose with his gloved hand, looking disgusted. "What's wrong with you, acting like this?"

"He's only been doing it for a few months, and he's already giving up?"

Sha Zhu put down the steel bar on his shoulder, panting heavily, and looked up, staring intently at Xu Damao.

Those bloodshot eyes held a murderous rage!

"Xu Damao, you've come to laugh at me, haven't you?" Sha Zhu's voice was hoarse.

"Watching a joke?"

"No, no, no, I'm here to check on your renovation progress."

Xu Damao chuckled and turned to ask the foreman, "Old Zhang, how's He Yuzhu been doing lately?"

The foreman, a man who knew how to treat people differently, immediately bowed and scraped, saying, "Reporting to Director Xu, He Yuzhu is indeed a hard worker."

"That's the attitude... he's still a bit arrogant, and sometimes he even talks back to his coworkers."

"Arrogant attitude? That just means your thinking hasn't been thoroughly reformed yet!"

Xu Damao's face darkened, and he sighed dramatically, "Comrade He Yuzhu..."

"We've placed you at the grassroots level so that you can integrate with the working class."

"I didn't expect you to act like a boss!"

"Okay, to help you understand your mistake more deeply..."

Xu Damao's lips curled up slightly as he pointed to the sewage ditch outside the workshop, which was filled with waste engine oil and industrial garbage.

"Starting today, in addition to moving the steel, you'll also be in charge of cleaning that sewage ditch."

boom!

The surrounding workers all gasped in shock.

That sewage ditch is the dirtiest and most toxic place in the entire factory!

It freezes in winter and stinks in summer; it's full of chemical waste, and anyone who gets in contact with it will get skin diseases.

This job used to be done by several people taking turns, but now Sha Zhu is doing it all by himself?

Do we also need to add the task of moving things?

This is practically killing someone!

"Xu Damao! You've gone too far!"

Sha Zhu finally snapped, slamming the towel in his hand to the ground. "Are you trying to kill me with exhaustion!"

"I quit!"

"You're quitting? Fine!"

Xu Damao sneered.

Then, he took a step closer and whispered in Sha Zhu's ear, "You don't have to do it..."

"The moment you step out of this factory gate, I will charge you with 'sabotaging production and resisting the organization'."

"At that time, not only will you have to take off this work uniform, but you'll also have to eat cornbread in jail."

"Oh, by the way, your sickly Sister Qin, and her whole family, are all counting on your meager salary to survive."

"If you go in, those women and children will probably really be left to starve, won't they?"

This sentence directly hit Sha Zhu's Achilles' heel.

Although the pregnancy was fake, Qin Huairu's health did deteriorate.

With Banggeng gone, the Jia family has completely lost its support.

If He Yuzhu falls from grace, that family will truly fall apart.

His damnedly kind heart and his established habit of forming cliques made it impossible for him to simply let go and ignore the situation.

Sha Zhu's clenched fist trembled violently, veins bulging.

After a long while, he released his grip.

He deflated like a punctured balloon.

"I'll do it... I'll do it, okay?"

Sha Zhu squeezed out those words through gritted teeth, filled with endless humiliation.

"That's right! Labor is the most glorious thing!"

Xu Damao patted Sha Zhu's face, which was covered in coal dust, and laughed heartily, "Work hard!"

"Master He, I believe in you!"

After saying that, Xu Damao led his men away.

Only Sha Zhu was left standing in the cold wind, like a dog whose spine had been broken.

......

Noon, canteen.

Sha Zhu dragged his foul-smelling body to the window to get his food.

The fat guy in the window, now the class monitor, is swaggering around with a big ladle.

"Oh, Master's here?"

"Get away from me! Get away from me! This smell is too strong! It'll ruin my food!"

The fat man covered his nose and shouted loudly, which drew laughter from the people eating around him.

Sha Zhu, head down, handed over the lunchbox: "Fatty, give me the full portion, I'm tired from working this morning."

"Full marks? Sure!"

The fat man grinned maliciously and scooped up a spoonful of food.

Then, in front of everyone in the cafeteria, he frantically shook his wrist.

Shake! Shake! Shake!

Finally, only a few rotten vegetable leaves and some soup were left, which were then stuffed into Sha Zhu's lunchbox.

"What? Not satisfied?"

"If you're not satisfied, go find Director Xu!"

Sha Zhu stared at the soup in the lunchbox.

He then looked around at the workers who had once begged him to give them more meat, but now pointed fingers at him.

He didn't make a scene or curse.

He simply picked up the lunchbox silently, turned around, and walked to the swill bucket in the far corner.

He squatted down and shoveled the rotten vegetable leaves into his mouth, bite by bite.

Tears mingled with the food as I swallowed.

Xu Damao stood by the railing on the second floor, watching this scene, and laughed wildly.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"He Yuzhu, He Yuzhu, you've finally met your match."

"I'll show you who's really in charge in this factory!"

......