Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

The coal stove in the main room was burning brightly.

Accompanied by a series of heavy, chaotic footsteps, the curtain was suddenly lifted.

Dazhuang, Ergazi, Liu Sanye, and Li Baotian, along with a dozen or so men who were shivering from the cold, rushed in, their bodies covered in a chill mixed with snowflakes.

Zhao Shanhe sat at the head of the octagonal table, and without saying a word, pulled out a thick stack of ten-yuan notes from the drawer and slammed them onto the table with a "thud".

"My family suffered a mishap during the day, and my brothers took their weapons and stood guard outside the courtyard wall. I, Zhao Shanhe, will remember this camaraderie for which we risked our lives."

Zhao Shanhe pushed the money in front of Dazhuang Noodles, his tone revealing the honesty of a leader: "In this snowy weather, we stayed up all night to count and put those three large cartloads of hides into storage. Take this money, and tomorrow we'll buy ten pounds of fatty meat for each of our families, so we can eat as much as we want!"

The dozen or so men immediately beamed with joy, and the atmosphere in the room instantly became lively.

Da Zhuang didn't mince words. He grinned, stuffed the money into his pocket, and his eyes were full of enthusiasm: "Brother, we feel safe working with you! Tomorrow at daybreak, we'll take some men and gather all the thugs from those neighboring villages!"

"I won't accept it."

Zhao Shanhe picked up his enamel mug, took a sip of hot water, and said in an extremely calm tone, "From now on, all the loose leather goods from other villages will be discontinued."

Upon hearing this, the previously noisy main room instantly fell silent.

Ergaizi scratched his head anxiously and squeezed forward two steps: "Brother! There are so many villages around here! This is a lucrative business that's laying golden eggs every day, we can't just give up like this!"

Da Zhuang rubbed his hands together, his face full of anxiety: "Yeah, bro, this is the time when we're all full of energy. If this business has to stop..."

"Erga Zi".

Zhao Shanhe ignored their anxiety, put down his teacup, glanced at the group of brothers who had followed him into the old forest and risked their lives, and a very pleased smile appeared on his lips.

He looked at everyone and dropped a bombshell, saying each word slowly and deliberately: "Your brother here has become the director of the Red Star Machinery Factory."

Dead silence.

The entire main room fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the faint crackling of the embers in the coal stove. The dozen or so people present were completely dumbfounded, their mouths agape in shock.

Da Zhuang's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and his voice trembled: "Factory manager? Brother, are you serious?"

Zhao Shanhe nodded sharply, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

Erga swallowed hard and leaned forward tentatively: "Brother, is it... that Red Star Factory, the most famous one in the county, with several thousand workers?"

Zhao Shanhe grinned and nodded again: "Yes, that's it."

"boom--"

The main room erupted in chaos!

After a brief moment of extreme shock, the group of peasant men erupted in extremely enthusiastic cheers.

"My God!"

Dazhuang, his face flushed with excitement, grabbed Zhao Shanhe's arm, grinning so wide his back teeth were showing: "Brother! He's the factory manager! That's not just any ordinary worker, he's a big shot who manages thousands of people!"

Ergaizi rubbed his hands together with joy, his eyes reddening: "Brother! I knew you were different from us! We usually don't even dare to glance at the gates of the Red Star Factory when we pass by, but you'll be sitting inside giving orders every day from now on!"

Old Liu's hand, holding the pipe, trembled, and his old face beamed with a wide smile: "Shanhe, I've always thought you were destined for greatness! Now you've become the director of a major state-owned factory—that's truly a meteoric rise!"

The room was filled with noise, all expressing genuine joy for Zhao Shanhe.

But after this initial euphoria, the atmosphere in the room gradually cooled down and became somber.

Everyone realized an extremely cruel reality.

These dozen or so brothers were only united because of Zhao Shanhe's ruthlessness and cunning.

Now that the eldest brother has made it big and moved to the city, this business has lost its leader and is on the verge of falling apart.

Without Zhao Shanhe leading the way, their group could only engage in small-scale activities in the village and would never amount to anything like what they have today.

Ergaizi glanced down at his mud-stained cotton shoes, his earlier excitement gone, replaced by a voice tinged with disappointment and unease: "Brother, you've made something of yourself, we're all genuinely happy for you... But what about us brothers from now on? Just stay in the village and keep collecting hides?"

Da Zhuang silently released Zhao Shanhe's arm, lowered his head and remained silent. All the men in the room lowered their heads as well.

Looking at his brothers who looked like wilted eggplants, Zhao Shanhe suddenly grinned.

"Look at you all, you bunch of cowards."

Zhao Shanhe pointed at them, his tone extremely relaxed and teasing: "I'm up now, how could I not take you guys with me? You're all coming with me!"

A dozen or so people suddenly looked up, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Erga pointed to his nose, his voice cracking: "What? We...we're going too?"

"yes!"

Zhao Shanhe curled his fingers and slammed them heavily on the table: "Why bother collecting hides? Just keep one or two people to collect hides from our own village!"

"State-owned factories are notorious for being shallow and full of scoundrels, a bunch of arrogant old men. I, Zhao Shanhe, went in all alone, with only the empty title of factory director. Who would listen to me?"

Zhao Shanhe reached out and tapped Dazhuang and Ergazi on the head, laughing and scolding, "What? So you're just planning to stay in the village and watch the show, watching your own brother face those difficult living devils alone? You heartless bunch, don't you feel guilty?"

Upon hearing this, all the men in the room were stunned.

Da Zhuang suddenly realized what was happening, his dark purple face instantly turning bright red, his voice trembling with excitement: "Brother! You mean...we're going with you too?!"

"nonsense!"

Zhao Shanhe chuckled and scolded, his tone extremely spirited: "We brothers who've risked our lives for each other must stick together! Come with me, let's go get those secure jobs at this state-owned factory!"

When those words, scalding with passion, were poured down, the dozen or so men exploded like a powder keg that had been ignited!

Da Zhuang slapped his thigh hard, howling like a black bear in excitement: "My goodness! A secure job! We country bumpkins who live deep in the forest can finally have a government job?!"

Ergai jumped up excitedly, clutching his hair tightly with both hands, his eyes bloodshot, and his voice cracking: "Brother! I never dared to dream of this in my entire life! I, Ergai, can work at the Red Star Factory one day! This can't be a dream, can it?!"

The other men in the room also went mad, their faces turning purple and red as they howled.

Some people were so excited that they slammed their fists on the table, while others clung tightly to their brothers, jumping and leaping. The roof of the entire main room was almost blown off by the roars of these wild men.

In the midst of this extreme excitement that felt like the roof was about to be blown off, Uncle Liu puffed on his pipe, let out a heavy sigh, and spoke with a hint of dejection.

"Ke Shanhe, what are we going in there for?"

Old Liu, his face full of worry, rubbed his calloused hands nervously: "I'm getting old, I can't carry anything heavy. As for math, I only ever used an abacus a couple of times when I was an apprentice in the old days. We peasants don't know anything, wouldn't we just be embarrassing you if we went?"

Upon hearing Liu Sanye's words, Dazhuang and Ergazi, who had been excitedly shouting, instantly deflated like balloons that had been pricked by needles.

Erga rubbed his hands, his excitement turning into apprehensive worry: "Brother, what are we going there for? I didn't even finish elementary school, I can't read a single word, won't the workers laugh at me to death if we go in?"

Standing in the corner, Li Baotian swallowed hard, feeling uncertain: "Shanhe, my wife Xiulan forced me to attend night school for a few days. But with my limited education, I'd just be a gofer; how could I possibly keep those state-run bosses in check?"

Hearing them say that, Erga felt increasingly guilty and subconsciously took a half step back, ready to back down: "Brother, how about... I stay in the village and lead the people to collect hides? I'm afraid I won't be able to get through the factory manager's gate."

"fart!"

Zhao Shanhe's face suddenly darkened, and he slammed his hand heavily on the octagonal table, causing the water in the teacup to splash out.

He stood up, pointed at the group, and angrily rebuked them: "How can you be so spineless! Such a great opportunity has fallen into your lap, and you all shrink back? If you don't know how, go learn! Every worker in the factory started as an apprentice, working your way up from the bottom!"

Zhao Shanhe's sharp gaze swept over the dozen or so men, his voice deafening: "Boss Jin will soon be bringing in a batch of top-of-the-line imported machines, and he'll even send in a special instructor! As long as you study diligently, you'll master them even if you're a pig!"

Zhao Shanhe ripped open his collar and pointed at his own nose, cursing loudly.

"I've never been a factory manager before, but I'm doing it anyway! Learning to use a foreign machine is nothing. Just think of it as digging corn in the field or castrating wild boars in the backyard! As long as you have strength and ruthlessness, you can learn anything!"

Zhao Shanhe grabbed a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from the table, tore open the packaging, and slammed it into the middle of the table.

"Whether you dare to come with me and strip away the skin off the state-owned factory, and smash our brothers' rice bowls into pure gold, it's up to you!"