In the evening, Jia Dongxu went to pick up Jia Zhangshi and brought her back.
However, her face was pale, and her eyes were sunken.
It was obvious she had suffered quite a bit at the steel mill.
Leon pretended to be passing by, and Jia Zhangshi appeared at her door right on time.
Her eyes were filled with hatred, as though she wanted to bite him.
“Oh my, isn’t this Aunt Jia?
You’re out?” “You little beast, you’ll die a horrible death!” Jia Zhangshi roared, and the residents of the courtyard immediately ran out to see what was going on.
“Die a horrible death?” Leon drawled as he looked at the photos hanging on the wall inside the Jia family’s house.
Hiss!
Many people felt their teeth ache.
Leon had said nothing, yet it was as if he had said everything.
“You son of a bitch, I’ll fight you to the death!” Jia Zhangshi bared her teeth and claws, about to rush over.
This time, however, Leon neither dodged nor retreated.
He simply stood still.
“Come on, hit me.
But you’d better make sure I get injured.” Leon casually lit a cigarette and said, “When that happens, it won’t be a matter of five hundred yuan anymore…” The last sentence seemed to freeze Jia Zhangshi in place.
She knew that although Yi Zhonghai had paid money on behalf of Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu, he had made them write IOUs for three hundred yuan each.
Yi Zhonghai had not said when they had to repay the money, but the IOUs were in his hands.
If things really escalated, they would not be able to deny the debt.
“You damned little beast, you deserve to die, you deserve to die…” Jia Zhangshi was furious but powerless.
“The damned one is already dead, right?” Leon laughed.
“Hiss!” The onlookers all felt a little uncomfortable.
Why was it that whenever Leon spoke, they always thought of Old Jia?
“I’ll fight you to the death!” Jia Zhangshi was so angry that she lost her mind and suddenly rammed toward Leon.
Seeing this, Leon dodged slightly, and Jia Zhangshi crashed straight into the doorway.
“Hey!
Aunt Jia, what are you doing!?” With a cry of pain, a slick-haired young man was knocked to the ground and rolled around.
“Xu Damao, don’t you know how to dodge!?” Jia Zhangshi said angrily.
“Aunt Jia, you hit me, and you still think you’re in the right?
First Uncle, come out and judge this…” Xu Damao sat on the ground and shouted loudly.
Seeing this, Leon shook his head.
Xu Damao might seem cunning, but in reality, he was completely under Yi Zhonghai’s thumb.
Asking Yi Zhonghai to come out and judge was like asking a ghost for a prescription.
It was pure suicide.
Sure enough.
After Yi Zhonghai came out, he dismissed Xu Damao with a few words.
Xu Damao had no choice but to shake hands with Leon as he passed by.
“Hello, Dr.
Cole.
I’m Xu Damao, the projectionist at the factory.” “Brother Xu, I know you.” Leon handed him a cigarette, then handed one to Yan Bugui, who had already appeared beside him at some point.
Only then did he smile and say, “The factory speaks very highly of you.
They say your projection skills are exceptional.” “Brother, I’m not bragging, but when it comes to projection skills, I dare say I’m second to none in all of Beijing…” Xu Damao was very pleased.
He thought this Dr.
Cole had excellent judgment.
“Really?” Leon smiled and said, “I’m also very interested in your work showing movies in the countryside.
We should talk about it sometime…” “No need to wait.
Whenever you have time, we can do it today.” Xu Damao grabbed Leon’s hand and said loudly, “Dr.
Cole, you have good taste.
I just happened to get a chicken today.
Let’s have a drink.” “That would be too embarrassing,” Leon said shyly.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about?
If you need anything at the factory in the future, just let me know.” Without further ado, Xu Damao pulled Leon toward the backyard.
“…” Yi Zhonghai and the others all wore gloomy expressions.
Xu Damao was already a troublemaker.
For so many years, his attention had mostly been focused on Sha Zhu, which was why he had not caused any major chaos.
But if these two got together, the courtyard might be turned upside down.
That night.
Leon and Xu Damao chatted happily, and both became slightly tipsy.
Many people were furious.
Why was Leon able to extort so much money from them and still drink and eat meat every day?
The more they thought about it, the more resentful they became.
But their resentment did not last long, because the factory’s punishment and the neighborhood committee’s punishment were issued at the same time.
“Yi Zhonghai, eighth-grade fitter of Workshop One, failed to distinguish right from wrong and wronged an innocent person.
He is hereby punished with one week of toilet-cleaning duty and given a minor demerit.” “Liu Haizhong, seventh-grade fitter of Workshop Four…” “He Yuzhu, chef of Canteen One…” The loudspeaker sent Yi Zhonghai and his group to clean toilets.
The factory was busy with production tasks, and an eighth-grade fitter was a top-level skilled worker, an indispensable talent in the factory.
It was impossible to make him clean toilets forever.
Sha Zhu was also indispensable in the small kitchen, so the factory handled them leniently.
They had originally wanted to fine their wages, but after hearing that they had already compensated Leon, they gave up on the idea.
They could not push people too far.
Yan Bugui was ordered by the school to make a self-criticism in front of all the school leaders, causing him to lose all face.
Everyone thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, the neighborhood committee also issued a notice ordering Yi Zhonghai and the others to sweep the streets for half a month.
This time, Jia Zhangshi was included as well.
Jia Zhangshi was not an employee of the steel rolling mill, so the mill had no authority to punish her, but the neighborhood committee would not tolerate her.
Sweeping the streets was no easy task.
They had to get up at four in the morning every day.
The streets had to be swept before everyone went to work, and special personnel would come to inspect the sanitation.
If it did not meet the standard, the punishment period would be extended.
… When Leon got up in the morning, he happened to see them returning with brooms.
“Oh, the hardworking little bees are back?” “Leon, shut up!” Sha Zhu shouted angrily, raising his broom.
“What?
Did Dr.
Cole praise you wrongly?” Xu Damao also appeared.
He and Sha Zhu were mortal enemies.
“Brother Xu, you can’t say that.
Workers deserve respect,” Leon said seriously.
“Besides, Sha Zhu even cleans the factory toilets.
Go take a look when you have time.
The floor is as clean as if it had been licked.” Pfft!
The onlookers burst into laughter, but as they laughed, a wave of nausea washed over them.
“Dr.
Cole, don’t disgust people so early in the morning.” “Yeah, are we even supposed to eat breakfast after hearing that?” “Dr.
Cole, did that fool really lick the toilet floor clean?” Many residents of the courtyard gathered around.
Some of them did not work at the steel rolling mill and were not very aware of the recent events.
They only knew that Yi Zhonghai and the others had been punished by cleaning toilets.
“Get lost, get lost!
What business is it of yours!?” Sha Zhu roared.
“I think it must have been licked.
Otherwise, how could it be so clean?” Leon said uncertainly.
“Haha, then I have to go see it for myself today.” Xu Damao was overjoyed.
Didn’t they see that Sha Zhu’s eyes had turned red with anger?
“All right, everyone go to work.” Yi Zhonghai dispersed the crowd.
He was nearing fifty years old.
He had gotten up at four in the morning, and he would not finish work until five in the evening.
He really did not have the energy to deal with Leon right now.
But he had no intention of letting Leon go.
He was waiting for an opportunity, waiting for a chance to crush Leon.
When Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu saw Xu Damao pushing a bicycle with his arm around Leon’s shoulder, they were furious.
These two scoundrels had gotten together.
How could they possibly have a good life from now on?