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

"Quick! Quick! Make way! Make way!"

Several people carried a stretcher and rushed out of the factory area. The surrounding workers, seeing this, quickly scattered in panic.

"What happened now? What's wrong again?"

"Who knows? We've had several accidents this month, haven't we?"

"Don't you think there's something eerie about this?"

"Shh! What nonsense are you spouting? What kind of time is this? How can you say such monstrous things? Are you out of your mind?"

"I was shocked by this too, and it made the connection. Our factory has never had so many problems before, several in just one month. Is it because we switched to new machines and the production line staff aren't familiar with them yet?"

"I don't think that's possible. The machines are pretty much the same, how could something be so strange? The last one was a veteran with over 20 years of experience, and he still failed, didn't he?"

"Oh, what bad luck. I knew the guy they just carried out; he was only in his early twenties, and his second child had just been born. And now... it looks like he's either dead or crippled. How are they going to live?"

Several coworkers who were discussing the incident looked apprehensive and still shaken. A man nearby listened to the conversation, his eyes darting around, before quietly disappearing into the crowd and heading straight into a secluded, dark little hut in the factory area.

The wooden door opened with a creaking sound.

In the dimly lit room, three people were idly sitting. One was reading a newspaper, another was holding a small radio to his ear to listen to opera, and the third was gesturing in the middle of the room, as if he was exercising.

The person who entered was the same one who had been eavesdropping on his coworkers' conversation outside. He walked in and closed the door, drawing the attention of the three men. He took off his hard hat and put it in his lap, nodding and putting on a fawning expression: "Director Fei, Committee Member Zhang, Committee Member He."

"Xiao Lin, how many times have I told you? I'm not a director anymore. Didn't the original Revolutionary Committee members of our factory all leave? Why are you still calling me that? Aren't you afraid they'll make things difficult for you? Just call me Lao Fei." The middle-aged man who was reading the newspaper took off his glasses, glanced at the man, and then his eyelids drooped again.

"Hehe, Director Fei, please don't say that. I don't care about them, but in my heart you are the director, always will be." The man bowed even more deeply, his face radiating obsequiousness.

"Xiao Lin, it's too late now. No matter how nicely you say it, I can't promote you. I'm just a safety officer in the factory now." Director Fei picked up the newspaper on the table, spread it out, and wanted to continue reading.

The other two joined in: "Hey Lin, what's up? Why are you here to see us three?"

"Heh, heh heh, Committee Member He, Committee Member Zhang, this is really something new." Xiao Lin didn't keep them in suspense and continued, "Today, another person in our factory got caught in a machine."

"Hey, what's the big deal? I thought something interesting was going on." Committee Member He looked annoyed, turned around and went back to his desk, picked up the large tea mug to get a drink of water, but when he saw that it was empty, he threw it on the table, then picked up the cigarette case from the table to light a cigarette.

Seeing this, Xiao Lin quickly grabbed the kettle from behind the door and poured water for Committee Member He, then refilled the kettles for Director Fei and Committee Member Zhang as well. While pouring the water, she said, "Listen to me, since we switched to the new production line, there have already been three or four accidents like this in just one month, and each one was quite serious. When have we ever had so many accidents before?"

"Hmph." Committee Member Zhang snorted, took the cigarette Committee Member He tossed him, lit it, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "That's it, the new leadership insists on increasing production, what about the new equipment? They don't treat workers like human beings! Tell me, our Revolutionary Committee is the workers' own people, the ones who stand with the workers. They just want to follow the bourgeois ways, treating the workers like people from the old society. With such exploitation, how can things not go wrong?"

"Hey, Director Fei, the newspapers have been full of articles about it lately. The old cadres who were promoted are being criticized all the time, aren't they? Is there some loosening of the policy, and they're going to suppress this trend?" Committee Member He took a sip of water, suddenly leaned close to Director Fei with a cigarette between his fingers, and asked with wide eyes.

The other two also looked over, their eyes lighting up.

Director Fei snapped the newspaper shut and took off his glasses. "Who would know about this kind of thing? The upper echelons are constantly changing. No matter how they change, it's unlikely they can reach our little place. It's not like before, when we could just shout and the whole mining area would be turned upside down. That's not possible now." Director Fei sighed and took a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his eyes.

Committee members He and Zhang looked disappointed, sighed, and returned to their desks.

"Hey, you three leaders, this time it's different!" Kobayashi said urgently, standing in the middle of the office. "These recent accidents weren't natural disasters, they were man-made." Kobayashi said excitedly, drawing the attention of the three men again. "It's true, it's true. A while ago, the installation and commissioning engineers from the Japanese manufacturer hadn't left yet. One of the Japanese guys could speak a few words of Chinese. He revealed that our production lines actually lacked necessary safety equipment. That's why the number of casualties has increased recently." Kobayashi excitedly rattled off everything he knew.

"Oh? You mean you're short of equipment? No way, why would you buy a production line when you could buy a complete set? Why isn't it complete?" Director Fei muttered, frowning.

"Did the factory leaders embezzle funds?" Committee Member He suddenly stood up and slammed his hand on the table.

"It's possible, it's possible," Committee Member Zhang chimed in.

"What's the use of having no evidence? Who would believe that?" Director Fei said, frowning.

"Why not? Director Fei, don't forget that you led a few of us in a rebellion back then, and everyone responded immediately. You took over our mining area right away. So, with such a good opportunity this time, it's been reported in the newspapers, and there are rumors of a rectification movement. Shouldn't we take advantage of this opportunity to reclaim our lost territory?" Committee Member He looked at Director Fei with excitement.

"Yes, yes, Lao He is right," Committee Member Zhang echoed. "Director Fei, I think if we make this a big deal, we'll definitely get a lot of support from the workers. You know the factory is operating normally now, and sometimes they're even working overtime. A considerable number of workers have gotten used to taking a break these past few years, and now they're full of complaints. We can use these people. As long as we create momentum, I think we can still accomplish what we did in 2006, and take our factory back from these capitalist roaders."

Director Fei looked up at the three men's eager gazes, then glanced at the newspaper article criticizing some veteran cadres for attempting a restoration of power. His mind raced. Suddenly, with a bang, a fist slammed on the table.