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

At the entrance of the Workers' Club, a striking banner hangs high, which reads: "Warmly welcome leaders, subordinates and brother units of the Ministry of Metallurgy to visit the steel rolling mill for guidance."

Inside the club, a spacious auditorium was bustling with people, the atmosphere lively. Several revolutionary slogans hung above the stage, and on stage, the ballet "The Red Detachment of Women" was being performed. The lead actress, Liu Yuanyuan, stood in the center of the stage, her graceful figure radiant in her red dress.

The audience below the stage were all watching the performance intently. Sitting in the front row, directly facing the center of the stage, were the leaders of the Ministry of Metallurgy and Li Jing'an, the director of the Revolutionary Committee of the Steel Rolling Mill.

At this moment, Li Jing'an was talking quietly with a middle-aged man in military uniform beside him, occasionally letting out a knowing laugh. This soldier was the current director of the Revolutionary Committee of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry.

On the surface, the two got along well, but in reality, they were wary of each other. Military representatives were mostly appointed by the vice commander-in-chief's side, naturally belonging to that camp; while Li Jing'an was ostensibly backed by the Cultural Revolution Group. The two sides cooperated but were also wary of each other, maintaining a delicate balance of not interfering with each other.

Li Jing'an's gaze kept sweeping over Liu Yuanyuan in the center of the stage, and he secretly thought to himself: This outfit looks really good tonight. Why don't I let her wear it again tonight? It would probably have a different feel to it.

Around Li Jing'an and the military representative sat several deputy directors and members of the Revolutionary Committee, but they were merely figureheads; the real power had long been divided up by Li Jing'an and the military representative.

Following them were the leading cadres of the steel rolling mill and other state-owned factories in Beijing. This visit was organized because the steel rolling mill had performed outstandingly during the revolution, and it was intended to be promoted as a model. Of course, this was also because Li Jing'an concurrently served as the director of the steel rolling mill's revolutionary committee—keeping the benefits within the family.

Due to heavy political tasks, no production was scheduled at the factory that day; instead, each workshop was conducting propaganda, performing loyalty dances, or holding ideological meetings.

In one of the workshops, workers gathered around their workstations, some standing and some sitting on the machines, watching several people in overalls dancing in the middle.

The leader was Wang Manqi, whose face was plastered with a stiff, fake smile. Her movements were stiff and lifeless, like a paper doll.

As she danced, she glared indignantly at the workers around her. Ever since she was selected to work in the workshop, she had been forced to perform during her free time while working during the day.

The title of "elder brother of the workers," which she was once proud of, has become an irony here. At work, there are always people who make sarcastic remarks to stop her; when she asks questions, she is also subjected to unpleasant insinuations.

The male workers often talked loudly around her workstation, and the conversation always veered towards women, their words full of lewdness. Although there were few female workers, some of them were jealous of her and deliberately tripped her up and spread rumors.

As she danced, those gazes were not appreciative, but rather blatant stares, fixed on her chest and back, occasionally accompanied by unsettling laughter.

To make matters worse, she and Li Chao had a falling out. Someone told her that it was because Li Chao had previously visited Li Jing'an that Li Jing'an disliked her, believing them to be opportunistic and gossipy people, which led to her being voted out and sent here.

She confronted Li Chao, who admitted to going to see Li Jing'an, but denied pressuring or spreading rumors, saying he only wanted to give her a fair outcome.

After the falling out, her situation worsened. Previously, as the head of the amateur performance troupe, Li Chao would at most let her perform one show; now, however, she was given two shows a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, without any time to rest.

Wang Manqi moved her body perfunctorily, relying on muscle memory, but her thoughts drifted to the club. She had thought today was an opportunity to be called back to perform, but it was all for nothing. Nobody paid any attention to her; she felt completely abandoned.

She felt that she and Liu Yuanyuan were worlds apart: Liu Yuanyuan was under the spotlight, wearing clean clothes, with professional backup dancers, and surrounded by leaders, radiating brilliance; while she was wearing work clothes stained with machine oil, in a workshop filled with the smell of smoke and machine oil, amidst malicious gazes and slander, feeling that her life was over just as it began.

The dance finally ended, and she walked blankly to the side. As soon as she stood still, a lewd, boisterous voice rose from beside her:

"Hey, look how well Wang Manqi jumps! Her hips are swaying, and her legs are so straight!"

"What a pity! I heard they used to dance without clothes on! Just socks!" a boy exclaimed.

"What nonsense are you spouting! She dances wearing only socks? Naked?"

"Get lost! Don't talk nonsense, that's called a bodysuit!"

"What does 'tight-fitting' mean?"

"It's like wearing nothing at all, hahaha!"

"Hahaha."

The sound was shrill, but Wang Manqi was used to it. She stared blankly at her colleagues performing in the open space, not even knowing what they were performing, only knowing that after they finished, it would be her turn.

The performance at the club was a great success. Li Jing'an and other leaders of the Revolutionary Committee of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry walked onto the stage and shook hands with each of the performers.

"Director, this is Liu Yuanyuan, the lead actress in our performance of 'The Red Detachment of Women' today," Li Jing'an introduced.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent! This dance is wonderful! The performance is great, the dancers are even better, and it has revolutionary significance. I never imagined your steel rolling mill had such a professional dance troupe!" the director exclaimed.

"It's mainly because the actors are excellent. Our steel rolling mill not only cares about production, but also needs to carry out a revolutionary transformation in our thinking. We will have the performers give performances for the employees from time to time."

"That must be really tough. Look at Comrade Liu, he's so young, yet he has such a heavy workload. It's not easy for him."

"It's all for the sake of revolutionary work. Our factory's revolutionary committee has decided to commend Comrade Liu Yuanyuan as an advanced model worker."

"Of course, of course."

Li Jing'an led the director and performers to shake hands with each of them.