Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

When the workers who were watching saw that even the head of the security department had come out to speak, they naturally believed that there was a reason for the arrest and that people were not being arrested without cause.

"Take him aside, so as not to disturb the other comrades going home," Zhou Jiasheng instructed Li Shuguo.

"Let's stay here, there's no rush."

"Yes, yes, this place is just fine. If there's anything, we can talk things out in front of you. It won't hurt to go back a few minutes later."

If there's one thing that people across the country have in common, it's probably that they love watching the drama unfold.

None of the workers came out of the gate; they surrounded Zhou Jiasheng, Li Shuguo, and Jia Dongxu in three or four circles.

Those who arrived late saw hundreds of people blocking the entrance and quickly inquired about the situation.

"What happened up ahead? The gate collapsed? Everyone's stuck and can't get home?"

"The security department arrested a worker, saying he had committed a crime. Everyone wanted to see how serious the crime was."

As more and more workers arrived and the surrounding conversations grew increasingly noisy, Zhou Jiasheng grew anxious. "Li Shuguo, hurry up, don't waste time."

"Yes," Li Shuguo replied, and immediately began searching the person.

Following the top-to-bottom order, he found nothing in the two pockets of his shirt. Just as he was about to pat his pants pockets, Jia Dongxu mustered all his strength and managed to break free from the control of another armed officer, trying to run out the door.

"You dare to run away!"

Li Shuguo was right in front of Jia Dongxu when he casually pulled him, causing Jia Dongxu's feet to move forward while his upper body involuntarily leaned backward.

"Bang!"

Without any protective measures or precautions, Jia Dongxu simply fell backward onto the ground, kicking up a layer of dust.

"Clang, clang."

As he fell to the ground, four files fell out of his pocket, clattering against each other with a crisp metallic sound.

Li Shuguo bent down to pick up the file, and in the process, pulled Jia Dongxu up.

"What is this?"

Upon hearing Li Shuguo's question, Jia Dongxu's eyes darted around, sending a distress signal to Yi Zhonghai.

"Ahem, comrade, this is a file that we fitters often use. Dongxu probably forgot to put it back in the toolbox after finishing his work and just put it in his pocket."

"Yes, yes." Jia Dongxu nodded hurriedly, "I hadn't finished my work when it was time to leave. I was busy packing up my tools, so I probably didn't notice and put it in my pocket."

"This isn't a big deal, is it? Why treat me like a criminal? Look at how I got all dirty."

Jia Dongxu had felt uneasy earlier, but after the file fell out, he calmed down considerably. He not only gave reasons based on Yi Zhonghai's words, but also launched a counterattack against Li Shuguo.

The onlookers in the inner circle nodded in agreement, siding with Jia Dongxu and pointing fingers at Li Shuguo.

"That makes sense. Don't say you forgot to pack it. It's not a big deal to bring it home. You can just bring it to work tomorrow."

"Isn't the security department just making trouble out of nothing? Why do they have to keep harping on factory rules?"

"Yeah, we're lacking some useful tools at home, can't we even take some home to use?"

Seeing that everyone was speaking in his favor, Jia Dongxu felt more confident, raised his head, straightened his back, and looked directly at Li Shuguo.

Ever since Yi Zhonghai took the seven thousand yuan from his slush fund as compensation for the lock, Jia Dongxu set his sights on the factory's scrap materials.

He knew before that someone was stealing scrap, but the logistics workshop had too little scrap. They relied on magnets to collect iron filings, but they couldn't even sell two kilograms a month.

There's a saying that goes, "When things are bad, you have to change; when you change, you'll succeed."

Having no money on him, Jia Dongxu realized the truth that very night.

If there are no conditions, we can create them.

The next day when he arrived at the factory, he took the initiative to find Yi Zhonghai and proposed to use the scrap materials to polish the craft and make things such as hammers, files, chisels, and wrenches.

Jia Dongxu has always been very self-important, believing himself to be exceptionally intelligent, even better than others at stealing scrap materials.

Taking scrap materials directly would not only fail to fool Master Yi Zhonghai, but if he were to be caught, he wouldn't even have a chance to defend himself.

Making a tool that's roughly the same is a completely different story.

Although he lacks the ability to work independently, he has his own toolbox. Once he puts the finished hammerheads in the toolbox, Yi Zhonghai won't have any ulterior motives.

Before leaving get off work, secretly slip it into your pocket; no one will know.

As for why the toolbox isn't full after making so many things, that's something Yi Zhonghai had to think of first.

Moreover, Jia Dongxu didn't stuff all the waste into the toolbox; he would hand over a portion every day, and that was enough for him to buy cigarettes.

"Comrades, quiet down."

Li Shuguo focused his energy in his dantian and produced a deep, resonant voice with extremely strong penetrating power.

"Our security department would never wrong an innocent person."

"Jia Dongxu, if you refuse to tell the truth, I don't mind bringing over Station Master Zhang from the Gulou scrap yard to confront you."

"The hammer you sold him last time is still sitting at the junkyard as evidence."

Having worked in the security department for almost four months, Li Shuguo finally had his chance to shine. Of course, he wanted to perform well and let everyone in the factory know that the security department had a highly capable officer named Li.

"How...how did you know?"

Jia Dongxu's cool demeanor lasted only three seconds before he deflated like a punctured balloon. If he hadn't been supported by two people, he would have collapsed to the ground.

His plan was flawless; even Yi Zhonghai, who worked with him every day, didn't notice any flaws. How could Li Shuguo have traced it all back to the scrap yard?

"You think you're being discreet? Let me tell you the truth, I've been watching you for days. I follow you every day after get off work, you just haven't noticed."

"Would you like me to explain in more detail?"

"Three days ago, you came home for less than twenty minutes, then came out alone, your clothes and pants pockets bulging, and went straight to the Gulou scrap yard."

"I sold eight pounds of hammerheads for three thousand two hundred yuan, then turned around and bought a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes. I lit one as soon as I left the Sugar and Tobacco Store."

"Is there anything wrong or missing?"

Li Shuguo truly didn't waste Gao Xiaosheng's hard work, taking all the credit for himself.

Of course, this was Gao Xiaosheng's intention; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so shameless.

"I...I..."

Jia Dongxu was utterly desperate. What kind of monsters were in the security department?

The onlookers' attitudes have completely reversed; they were just speaking up for Jia Dongxu, but now they've all turned against him.

"Wow, this young man is a bit cunning. He polished the scrap material before taking it out. If it weren't for the sharp eyes of the security department, we would have been fooled by him."

"Pah, he's a disgrace to us workers. He stole scrap materials just to smoke a cigarette. The factory didn't pay him his wages."

"That's right. Smoking only costs a few dollars. I go through a pack of economy cigarettes every two days, and it only costs a little over ten thousand dollars a month. You can't even bear to spend that little bit of money?"

Yi Zhonghai is probably the only one among everyone who understands Jia Dongxu.

A few days ago, when Jia Dongxu was smoking Daqianmen cigarettes, he asked him about it, but his apprentice said that the money was given by Jia Zhangshi, so he didn't ask any further questions.

Looking back now, there were indeed loopholes.

Jia Zhangshi's personality was like that of a greedy creature that only took in but never gave out, comparable to Yan Bugui.

"Alright, the matter is clear now. Jia Dongxu was caught smuggling scrap materials to sell for money, and the security department has detained him in accordance with the law and regulations."

"Li Shuguo, Gao Xiaosheng, you two take him to the detention room for interrogation."

"Comrades, hurry home, don't block the entrance."

Seeing that the dust had settled and noticing the work group leaders approaching from afar, Zhou Jiasheng quickly stepped forward to disperse the crowd.