Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Ergazi devoured his meal, cleaning the pot of pork ribs and potatoes, leaving not a trace of soup.

When he finally put down the rough porcelain bowl, which was bigger than his face, he was so full that he let out two burps.

After finishing his hot meal, Ergazi's originally pale and thin face finally regained some color, and he looked much more energetic.

Zhao Shanhe didn't say anything, but casually picked up the bottle of Beidahuang liquor on the table, took an empty bowl, poured out a little less than half a bowl, and steadily pushed it in front of Ergaizi.

Looking at the clear liquid in the bowl and smelling the pungent aroma, Ergazi couldn't help but swallow.

"Brother, how strong is this liquor?"

Zhao Shanhe glanced at him: "Around sixty degrees."

Ergazi's face fell: "Then I can't drink that much."

Old Sun tapped his pipe next to him, and seeing his timid appearance, he suddenly grinned.

"Look at you, you coward, cowering like a turtle." Old Sun curled his withered lips and exhaled a puff of smoke. "A grown man like you can't even drink a shot of strong liquor? You should reach down and feel your crotch right now, see if that thing is still there?"

Erga Zi blushed deeply at the crude remark, and even his neck felt hot.

He opened his mouth, then subconsciously turned to look at Zhao Shanhe across from him.

Zhao Shanhe didn't speak, nor did he put the wine bowl away. His deep black eyes just stared at him quietly.

Ergazi gritted his teeth and made a snap decision.

He picked up the large, rough porcelain bowl with both hands, tilted his head back, and gulped down a large mouthful.

The fiery liquor felt like swallowing a burning knife as soon as it went down my throat.

"Cough cough cough!"

Erga's face instantly contorted in pain as he coughed violently from the potent alcohol, his face turning purple and tears streaming uncontrollably down his cheeks.

But as he finished down the strong liquor that burned through his internal organs, he completely relaxed.

Zhao Shanhe didn't waste any more words. He took out the half-pack of Pegasus brand cigarettes, which were soaked with sweat and softened, and put one directly into Ergaizi's dry and cracked mouth.

Then, he took out the windproof lighter.

"Click".

A cluster of flames shot out.

Zhao Shanhe leaned forward slightly and steadily lit Erga's cigarette. He then took out one for himself, lit it with the flame in his hand, and lit it as well.

After exhaling a puff of bluish-white smoke, the calmness in Zhao Shanhe's eyes completely vanished, replaced by a cold and sharp expression.

"it is good."

Zhao Shanhe said in a deep voice, "Now tell me properly what happened during the two weeks I was away."

Erga took a deep breath and spoke.

This conversation lasted for almost half an hour.

From Zhao Tiezhu having his leg broken in the middle of the night and guarding the key to Workshop No. 1, to Liu San'er being terrified and dying in the street.

From the moment Wang Guowei was forced to reveal Sun Changgui and Lao Ba's identities, to the moment Sun Changgui was quietly silenced at home.

Then Xu Xiangdong led his men to block the entrance of the Hongxing Machinery Factory and cause trouble. Da Niu was forcibly handcuffed and beaten. Sun Weidong drove his old Jiefang truck like a madman and crashed into Xu Xiangdong in front of the factory gate, killing him in front of everyone.

Erga took a deep drag on his Pegasus brand cigarette, the acrid smoke making his eyes red.

"Big Brother Niu and Big Zhuang were arrested on the afternoon that Brother Weidong killed Xu Xiangdong."

Erga Zi gritted his teeth, his voice filled with resentment: "The city police drove their police cars straight into the factory without even showing an arrest warrant. They just said Xu Xiangdong was dead, and that Brother Da Niu and the others were prime suspects and had to be taken back for questioning. To avoid implicating us, Brother Da Niu put his hands out and let them handcuff him."

"The very next day, the city issued an official document."

"It was said that Factory Director Liang and Factory Director Zhang mismanaged the factory, condoned and even incited workers to violently resist, leading to a serious murder. Both factory directors were immediately dismissed from their posts, all their benefits were suspended, and they were placed in their homes for investigation."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shanhe paused slightly, the fingers holding the cigarette between his fingers.

Cigarette ash fell in a soft rustling sound onto the rough wooden table.

"So who's in charge in the factory now?" Zhao Shanhe asked.

"A new acting factory manager, Gao Wenbin, was parachuted in from above."

Mentioning that name, Erga's facial muscles contorted, and he spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground: "I heard he's a college graduate who just passed the college entrance exam after it was reinstated, and was assigned to the city to get some experience! That bastard is ruthless and heartless; he used a megaphone at a factory-wide meeting and splashed dirty water in front of everyone!"

"He said the factory was doing just fine before, but because he listened to your ridiculous plans, Zhao Shanhe, this huge tragedy happened, and so many people died!"

Ergai gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot with resentment: "He pinned all the blame on you, saying that the reason the workers can't even get food or pay their wages is all because of your and Director Liang's messing around!"

"His words completely enraged the workers. The weirdest thing was, this bastard somehow got hold of a large sum of money and immediately paid everyone a month's back wages!"

"That's not all."

Erga Zi clenched his fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging: "That bastard Gao Wenbin, in order to completely win over the people, even publicly declared at the meeting that he would sell all the machinery in Warehouse No. 1! He said he would sell everything he owned to pay the workers their remaining wages!"

"The workers took the money, and then he said he was going to sell the machinery and split the profits. They all went crazy. Who would speak up for us now?"

Ergazi grew more and more resentful as he spoke, tears welling up in his eyes: "Gao Wenbin took the opportunity to completely disband our security department and even issued a death order, saying that we were all accomplices of murderers, and anyone who dared to step out of the factory gate would be immediately arrested by the police!"

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Only the tobacco in Old Sun's pipe was burning intermittently.

Zhao Shanhe threw the cigarette butt with the filter tip on the ground, crushed it out with the sole of his shoe, and looked up at Ergaizi.

"Where are the brothers now?" Zhao Shanhe raised his eyelids to look at him, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger. "Why are you alone? Why didn't they come back with you?"

These words were like suddenly piercing through the last hard shell in Erga's heart.

This young boy, who had never uttered a sound of suffering even when he was dizzy from hunger, suddenly began to tremble violently, and his eyes reddened.

Large tears mixed with the dirt on her face, leaving two murky tear streaks.

"I...I can't come back..."

Erga Zi choked up, raising his dirty hand to frantically wipe his face: "After that bastard Gao Wenbin scattered us, he had our dormitories sealed off, refusing to let us continue living in the factory's original place."

"He said that all of us peasants were prime suspects and needed to cooperate with the city police investigation at any time. Anyone who dared to step out of the factory gate would be considered a fugitive, and the police would be notified immediately to arrest them!"

"The brothers couldn't get out and had nowhere to stay, so in the end they had no choice but to roll up their old quilts and blankets and hide in the abandoned old boiler room to sleep on the floor."

Erga felt increasingly aggrieved as he spoke, tears streaming down his face: "It's been raining heavily for the past two weeks, and the roof of the old boiler room has long since collapsed, leaking everywhere. Every night, the brothers sleep on bricks in the dampness, and many of them have fallen ill. They have high fevers but can't go out to buy medicine, and there's nothing we can do but grit our teeth and endure it."

"But that's nothing compared to what's truly despicable—that bastard Wang Guowei!"

Ergai gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with intense hatred: "That bastard Gao Wenbin deliberately promoted Wang Guowei to head of the new security department just to get back at us!"

"We'd dealt with Wang Guowei before, and he'd harbored a deep hatred for us. As soon as he gained power, he immediately recruited a bunch of idle thugs from the workshop as his lackeys. These bastards come to the boiler room every day to cause trouble and wreak havoc, and in the middle of the night, several of them gather outside and sneak up to beat people up!"

"Brother Tiezhu was already injured from guarding Workshop No. 1. The night before last, he went out to relieve himself and was beaten black and blue by Wang Guowei and his men, who put a sack over his head. Now he can't even get out of bed!"

At this point, Ergazi raised his dirty hand and wiped his face.

"Fortunately, the preliminary investigations of Director Liang and Deputy Director Zhang were completed. Although they were not reinstated to their original positions, at least they were released."

"When the two factory directors saw how miserable we were, they really went to great lengths. They spent their own money overnight to buy a large number of thick quilts, grain, and anti-inflammatory medicine and sent them to us. Not only that, Director Zhang also secretly found a few reliable bricklayers to help us repair the dilapidated roof of the boiler room, which was leaking like a sieve, and built a few windproof sheds for us inside."

"If it weren't for the two old factory directors protecting them so desperately by contributing money and effort, those brothers with high fevers would probably have died in the mud and water of the boiler room long ago."

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Only the tobacco in Old Sun's pipe was burning intermittently.

Zhao Shanhe remained silent.

He sat quietly on the broken wooden bench.

The dim light shone on his expressionless face, illuminating the deep, impenetrable darkness in his eyes.

He slowly pulled out the half-pack of crumpled Pegasus cigarettes, took one out and bit it between his chapped lips, then clicked the lighter.

A cluster of dark flames shot up.

Zhao Shanhe leaned over and lit a cigarette, his chest heaving deeply as he inhaled a large, pungent puff of smoke.

The scalding smoke swirled in his lungs before he slowly exhaled it through his nostrils, enveloping his hard jawline in a bluish-white haze.

He didn't get up or turn around; he simply held the cigarette with its crimson embers burning, his gaze calmly fixed on the half-closed wooden door beside him.

"Xiuer".

Zhao Shanhe's voice was very soft: "I have to go out for a bit."