Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"He Yuzhu? Silly Zhu?" Another younger worker became interested. "What's his family situation? Isn't he just a bachelor?" Xu Damao glanced around, lowering his voice even further, with a knowing look on his face: "You might not know, but Silly Zhu's father, He Daqing, wasn't exactly a model citizen back in the day. It's said... he abandoned his home, his wife and children, to run off with a widow from out of town!"

How old was Sha Zhu back then? His younger sister, Yu Shui, was even younger and could barely walk! Tell me, if a father can do something like this, how can the atmosphere in this family be upright?

Sha Zhu grew up without a father to discipline him, and he grew up wildly in the courtyard, fighting, cursing, stealing chickens and dogs... Sigh, I only heard it from the old people in the courtyard. He's now twenty-four or twenty-five and still can't find a wife. It's because when people around him inquire about his situation, they all refuse to marry him! That's why he's been delayed until now!

This time, Sha Zhu actually wants to attend the factory's social gathering! The women who attend are all extraordinary people. If any of them don't understand and fall head over heels in, their future will be ruined..." He paused at the right moment, shook his head and sighed, looking conflicted with the expression of "I'm just trying to be helpful."

The workers were stunned, exchanging glances. Some seemed to have vaguely heard something about it, while others knew nothing at all.

"Is that true? He Daqing ran off with the widow? Is it true?"

"No wonder... Sha Zhu has such a bad temper, he's just fundamentally flawed!"

"Who would dare associate with a family like that? If the father is like that, how good can the son be?"

"Exactly! A woman marries a man because he has to provide for her, and she also has to consider the family's character! This kind of family character is something to avoid like the plague!" Seeing the flames had already been ignited, Xu Damao quickly tried to "save" the situation: "Hey, I only heard it from the old folks in the courtyard; it's all old news. Please don't spread it around! I'm just... I'm worried about Master He's future, and I'm also concerned for the women who might not know the truth. Alright, alright, that's enough. You all rest, I have something to do." He waved his hand, leaving the workers still in shock and heated discussion, and then left as if he had accomplished his mission.

Without stopping, he quickly arrived at the relatively spacious rest area outside the fitter's workshop, where there were even more people gathered in twos and threes. He found an old fitter he had known for many years and who was quite respected in the factory—Master Chen, a sixth-level worker—who was explaining blueprints to several apprentices.

"No, it's a bit... a dilemma in life." Xu Damao showed a sincere expression. "You're a senior, very knowledgeable. Tell me, when young people look for a partner to marry, shouldn't they consider the character and conduct of the other person's elders? Isn't there an old saying, 'When choosing a wife, look at her mother; when choosing a husband, look at his father'?"

Master Chen nodded in deep agreement: "Of course! Family tradition is the most important! Parents are a child's first teachers; if the parents are not upright, the child will hardly be upright! This is a principle passed down from our ancestors!"

"Sigh, you're absolutely right!" Xu Damao sighed heavily, his face clouded with worry. "I just thought of Sha Zhu from our factory. I heard he also received an invitation to the social gathering. Of course, young employees have the right to participate. But when I think about his family situation, I get worried for him and for the women who might come into contact with him."

His father, He Daqing, you might have heard of him, right? He was a top-notch man in our area back in the day, but... sigh, he made a serious mistake in his conduct. It's said that he got entangled with a widow of dubious character, and in the end, he abandoned his family, leaving his two children in the courtyard house while he packed his bags and ran off with someone else! All these years, there's been no news of him.

You said, with a father like that, won't Sha Zhu's attitude towards family and marriage be affected? We're all working class, we value revolutionary camaraderie, but marriage is a lifelong matter, shouldn't we be... extremely cautious?"

Master Chen's memories were stirred, and his gray eyebrows furrowed: "He Daqing... um, it seems there was such a thing! No one has mentioned it for so many years! That's right, he ran off with a woman from out of town! Back then, Sha Zhu was just a kid, and his sister was even younger, poor thing!"

With such an irresponsible father, what kind of good example can he set for his child? I think Sha Zhu's current reckless behavior is definitely related to the fact that he grew up without a father to discipline him and messed around in the neighborhood! This kind of family… tsk, they really need to think twice.”

After the lunch rush in the canteen, in a corner where some administrative and logistics staff gathered to chat, Xu Damao switched to a more "patriotic" tone: "Comrades, the factory union's intention in organizing this social gathering is absolutely good, reflecting the organization's care for young employees. But shouldn't we also appropriately consider... their overall situation when selecting invitees?"

For example, what about family background and long-term personal conduct? I'm not targeting anyone in particular, but I'm talking about Comrade He Yuzhu. Leaving aside his personal shortcomings, his family background is...not exactly clean. His father abandoned his family and eloped with someone at a young age. Doesn't this extremely irresponsible behavior reflect a serious flaw in family values ​​and character?

Shouldn't we observe and test children raised in this environment more closely? After all, marriage is not a game; it concerns the lifelong happiness of another person and the stable image of our steel mill workforce!

Xu Damao is like the most insidious worker bee, precisely shuttling between various "flowers" that may breed and spread rumors, scattering his carefully concocted poison powder, a mixture of "fragments of fact," "malicious speculation," and "moral judgment."

He never speaks definitively, always using "I heard," "it is said," and "it seems" as shields, and "I'm just worried," "just chatting," and "out of good intentions" as disguises, cleverly packaging "spreading rumors and slander" as "concerns from someone in the know" and "well-intentioned reminders from an outsider."

He deliberately chose to reveal details during breaks and casual conversations when people were relaxed, more receptive to information, and shared information. Each time he revealed details, he emphasized a little, but the core message always pointed to "Shazhu's father is morally corrupt and abandoned his family, therefore Shazhu himself and his family are questionable."

This "old bomb," which had been dormant for many years and almost forgotten, was reawakened, amplified, and spread wildly at an astonishing speed thanks to Xu Damao's tireless and multi-pronged "detonation" and "blowing" efforts!

In just one day, the bombshell news that "He Yuzhu's father ran away with a wild widow and abandoned his child" spread like wildfire, accompanied by various embellished versions, to every corner of the steel rolling mill.

From the scorching steel mill to the oil-smelling repair crew, from the noisy canteen to the quiet library, from the factory main road to the narrow toilet entrance, almost everyone was whispering and gossiping. "Did you hear? Sha Zhu's dad's a lecherous old man! He's a womanizer!"

"That's not all! I heard he emptied his pockets when he left, not leaving a single penny for Sha Zhu and Yu Shui! He's incredibly heartless!"

"Like father, like son! With a father like that, how good can Sha Zhu be? No wonder he's always causing trouble!"

"A corrupt family tradition will bring disaster to its descendants! The old saying is absolutely true!"

"The union is sending him to a matchmaking event? Isn't that a trap? What girl would dare marry into a family like that? Aren't they afraid of being abandoned later?"

"Exactly! You have to be careful when looking for a partner; never date someone with this kind of family background!"

"Sha Zhu is truly infamous now, but notorious! I doubt he'll ever get married! Unless he finds a slut like his father!"

The rumors continued to ferment, mutate, and escalate as they were passed from person to person. From "running away with a widow," it evolved into "a decadent lifestyle and moral depravity"; from "abandoning his children," it was exaggerated into "worse than a beast, utterly inhuman"; and then it was naturally deduced that Sha Zhu himself "must be morally flawed," and that he had "potential violent tendencies and a very high risk of abandoning his family."

Many people have never even met He Daqing and know nothing about the specific circumstances of that year. Based solely on the fragments spread by Xu Damao and their own rich "imagination," they indignantly labeled Sha Zhu's entire family as having "bad family values" and "corrupt roots."

When these obscene words, which had been maliciously smeared countless times and were no longer recognizable, finally managed to sneak into Sha Zhu's ears intermittently but insidiously through various channels, it was already late the next day, near the end of the workday.

Sha Zhu was cleaning a huge wok in the kitchen when Xiao Liu, a young kitchen helper who had received some help from him and had a fairly good relationship with him, took advantage of the fact that everyone else was cleaning up outside. He shuffled over to Sha Zhu's side, his face full of unease and hesitation, and whispered, "Master He... um... I have something to tell you, please... please don't be angry."

Sha Zhu was scrubbing the bottom of the pot vigorously, not even looking up: "Spit it out! Stop dawdling like a woman!"

Xiao Liu swallowed hard, his voice even lower, almost a mosquito's hum: "It's...it's about your family...some gossip. A lot of people at the factory...these past few days, they've been talking about it..."

"What are you spreading? You're saying I have a bad temper? That I like to drink? Let them spread it! It's not like I'll lose a piece of my flesh!" Sha Zhu said impatiently.

"No...it's not for you, it's...it's for your father...Uncle He..." Xiao Liu's voice was hoarse.

"Clang!" The heavy iron pot brush in Sha Zhu's hand fell into the large pot with a piercing sound. He whirled around, the veins on his neck bulging instantly, his eyes wide and fixed on Xiao Liu. His voice was forced out through clenched teeth, carrying a chilling edge: "Talking about my dad? Talking about my dad what?! You better explain yourself!"

Xiao Liu was so frightened by his fierce appearance that he took a half step back, his face turned pale, and he stammered as he recounted, as simply as possible, but clearly enough, all the disgusting rumors he had heard in the workshop, the canteen, and on the roads around the factory, such as "eloping with a widow," "abandoning his wife and children," "improper family values," and "improper husband."