I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

"My team has just started operating, and there are only a dozen or so people and seven or eight guns."

"Ugh—" With a violent vomiting sound, Xu Damao bent over at the entrance of the courtyard, leaning on his bicycle. His face was flushed red, and the veins on his forehead were bulging. He dry heaved for a while.

He wiped the drool from his mouth, glanced down at the puddle he had vomited in, smacked his lips, and muttered to himself, shaking his head, "What a waste of this Moutai..." He then let out a long burp and swayed as he pushed the cart inside.

Reaching the central courtyard, he swayed and looked up, only to see Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu chatting at Sha Zhu's door. Xu Damao's lips curled into a sly grin, and he began to speak in a drawn-out tone:

"Hey—what's going on? What mischief are you two plotting again?"

"Hey Xu Damao, you can't say anything nice!" Sha Zhu suddenly turned around, his eyes glaring. "Nobody in our compound is as bad as you!"

"Hey, Sha Zhu, let me tell you something," Xu Damao raised a finger, seemingly pointing at Sha Zhu's chest, his eyelids rolling upwards, his tone light and casual, "From now on, just listen to me. Don't think that just because Director Li put you in charge of a few disgraced 'backward elements' in the cafeteria kitchen, you can challenge me. Let me tell you, if you're smart, you'll address me respectfully from now on—I'm about to be promoted to deputy director! If you make me unhappy then, I'll make sure you regret it!"

"Bullshit!" Sha Zhu retorted, his jaw clenching. "Even if you become the head of the department, I won't give you a second thought! What? Want to try? Let's see if your words are tougher, or my fists are tougher!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao not only wasn't angry, but instead moved his face closer, laughing animatedly, "You're calling Sha Zhu a shrew, what are you so proud of? You're a bachelor who can't even find a wife, and by the way, you treat my leftovers like treasures? How about that? You didn't even get to eat my leftovers, did you? Hahaha—you don't even get a chance to wash the pot!"

Sha Zhu was so angry that his face turned a deep liver color. He gritted his teeth, took a couple of deep breaths, rolled up his sleeves, clenched his fists, and charged at Xu Damao.

"Shazhu! Shazhu! No—" Yi Zhonghai grabbed Shazhu's arm, dragging him forward two steps, his voice trembling.

As Sha Zhu's dark face drew closer, Xu Damao instantly sobered up considerably. His pupils contracted sharply, and he frantically waved his hands, shouting, "Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Stop!" But Sha Zhu wouldn't listen, and was right in front of him. Xu Damao's eyes darted around, and in a flash of inspiration—he pushed his bicycle, put his feet together, straightened his back, raised his hands above his head in a standard starting position, and began to sing at the top of his lungs:

"Dear Chairman, let me sing you a song—"

After saying that, he actually started dancing on the spot, each move precise and skillful, with a smug smile on his face.

Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai froze on the spot as if they had been struck on pressure points. Sha Zhu's face was ashen, his lips trembled, and his cheeks clenched so tightly they cracked—but he also slowly raised his arms and jumped up.

He was impulsive, straightforward, but not stupid. He knew that if he didn't jump in, a label of "disrespecting the leader" or "disloyal to the leader" would be slapped on him, which could kill him instantly, and his poor peasant background wouldn't save him.

As Xu Damao jumped, he tilted his head to look at Sha Zhu's face, which looked so aggrieved that he was about to cry, his mouth almost stretched to his ears.

Some residents in the courtyard were watching the commotion through their windows, but upon seeing this, they recoiled as if burned, slamming their windows shut with a bang. No one dared to look any longer—what if they were pulled down and jumped with them?

After the dance ended, Sha Zhu was panting heavily. He had just caught his breath and hadn't even had a chance to move when he saw Xu Damao smilingly striking the starting pose again. Without saying a word, Sha Zhu turned around abruptly and walked into the house without looking back.

"Hey—where are you going? Why are you running away?" Xu Damao craned his neck and shouted at Sha Zhu's retreating figure, "Didn't you want to hit me? Come on! I'm standing right here, try touching me!"

"Bang!" Sha Zhu slammed the door shut, causing dust to fall from the door frame.

Yi Zhonghai frowned, turned around, and said in a low voice, "Da Mao, you're a leader now, why are you always gossiping about Sha Zhu?"

"Hey—Yi Zhonghai, how dare you call me 'Da Mao'? You're so rude!" Seeing Sha Zhu flee in disarray, Xu Damao became even more arrogant. He put his hands on his hips and poked Yi Zhonghai's nose with one finger. "I'm telling you, you old bastard, you're the worst in our department. You've always been biased against me! I just forgot about you because I was busy. Who the hell do you think you are? Trying to act like a senior in front of me? Damn it! Let me tell you, from now on, stand at attention when you see me and call me Team Leader Xu or Committee Member Xu—or maybe Deputy Director Xu in a few days!"

Yi Zhonghai's face turned pale and then red as the finger poked him, his lips trembling for a long time, but he didn't dare to utter a sound. He knew that Xu Damao was now a prominent figure in the steel rolling mill, and he also controlled the special task force; he couldn't afford to offend him.

"Why the hell do I get angrier the more I look at you? Look at your face, it's fucking unlucky!" Xu Damao withdrew his hand, then looked Yi Zhonghai up and down, as if remembering something. "I just threw up in that puddle at the gate, you go clean it up right now! If I see it there again when I go to work tomorrow, I'll make sure you, you damned childless wretch, regret it!"

"Pah—spit!" Xu Damao spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground, picked up his bicycle, and swaggered to the backyard, leaving Yi Zhonghai standing there alone, his face ashen and his eyes blazing with fury.

Xu Damao parked his car in front of his house, patted the seat, and chuckled twice: "Old buddy, you're about to be laid off too. Once I become a deputy director, I'll get a car. Damn it, I, Xu Damao, am finally getting my day! Hahaha!"

"My Da Mao, what are you muttering about at the door? You scared me!" Qin Jingru pulled back the curtain, saw Xu Da Mao through the glass, and opened the door with a smile on her face.

"Hehe, I'm so happy!" Xu Damao swayed as he entered the house.

"What's making you so happy?" Qin Jingru helped him sit down and poured him a glass of water.

"Director Li said during our drinking session last night that he wanted to promote me to deputy director of the factory!" Xu Damao leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and his face was full of smugness.

"Really? You're getting promoted again?" Qin Jingru's eyes lit up, and she moved closer to sit down next to him.

"Of course! You don't even know who I am." Xu Damao reached out and pinched her cheek. "With my work ability, a promotion is just a matter of time, a sure thing!"

"How high a rank is that deputy director?"

"Hey—that's about the same level as your county magistrate."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jingru's eyes darted around, and her voice softened a bit: "Well, you see... you're the county head now, can you think of a way to get my household registration sorted out for me? I still have a rural household registration."

"What's the rush?" Xu Damao waved his hand dismissively. "You haven't become a permanent employee yet, have you? Once the required years are up, I'll talk to Brother Li, and you can transfer your household registration right away."

"Yes, what can't Brother Li get done?" Qin Jingru blurted out with a bright smile.

Xu Damao hiccuped, then suddenly paused, turning his head to stare at her: "Why are you calling me Brother Li too?"

Qin Jingru's smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal: "Hey, I'm just... you can say it but I can't? You're always talking about Brother Li, I'm not going to learn from you, am I?" As she spoke, she gently pushed Xu Damao.

Xu Damao stared at her for two seconds, seemingly accepting the explanation, then looked away, picked up his cup, and took a sip of water. Qin Jingru quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Bang!"

Yi Zhonghai stormed into the house, slamming the door shut. Startled, Aunt Yi rushed to greet him, "What's wrong? I heard you arguing with Xu Damao?"

"Don't even mention it!" Yi Zhonghai slammed his hat on the table, plopped down in a chair, his chest heaving violently. "After Liu Haizhong left, Xu Damao came in—he's a complete scoundrel! I've known him as a bad seed since I was a kid!" He grabbed an enamel mug, gulped it down in one go, and slammed the mug heavily on the table.

"Alright, don't be angry. We can't afford to mess with them, so let's just stay away."

"Hide? Where can we hide? We live in the same courtyard!" Yi Zhonghai slammed his fist on the table.

"Hey, let's just take it one step at a time."

Yi Zhonghai sighed, sat with his head drooping for a while, then suddenly stood up and walked out.

"Old man, where are you going?"

"Cleaning!" Yi Zhonghai's indignant voice came from outside the door, mixed with a heavy sigh.

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