Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 406

Today was the day a group of leaders came to take office, and the whole machinery factory was filled with joy. Around ten o'clock, the new leaders finally arrived.

Director Li personally led a team to deliver a deputy secretary and two deputy factory directors, and formally appointed the leadership team in the conference room.

The factory director is still the same Director Shen, but the new one is Zhang Hongliang, the full-time deputy secretary.

Next was He Yuzhu, who served as the factory's deputy director and deputy secretary, in charge of technology and production—arguably the most important position.

The two newly appointed deputy factory directors are Zhang Yajie and Duan Fei, who are responsible for other tasks respectively.

These five people are also members of the leadership team, each responsible for one area.

After confirming that these five leaders would be responsible for some important departments and workshops, Tong Zhi and Da Zhuang finally agreed to start work together today.

Tong Zhi is the head of the technical department, and Da Zhuang has also been entrusted with an important task: the director of the light industry workshop.

Meanwhile, today is also an auspicious day for the unveiling ceremony. After the leaders confirmed their appointments, the unveiling ceremony was held.

Director Li, Factory Director Shen, and He Yuzhu together lifted the red veil. At the top was the name of Jiaodaokou Street, Dongcheng District, followed by the five large characters "Limin Machinery Factory".

The brand-new signboard also signifies that the machinery factory is no longer an ordinary collective unit, but a formal department-level unit.

There was warm applause.

Many people looked at He Yuzhu with envy, as he became a section-level cadre at the young age of 25.

This is a height that many people can never reach in their entire lives.

For two days in a row, the machine factory was bustling with activity, everyone enthusiastically discussing factory matters, before gradually calming down.

He Yuzhu gradually adapted to the new working methods, where many things required meetings and discussions, and he exchanged opinions with several other people.

There are two meetings: one is a meeting of the three secretaries, and then the other is a meeting of the five-member leadership team.

Lu Xiaomi treated He Yuzhu with great respect and was conscientious and responsible in her work, but her attitude was somewhat distant. However, they got along peacefully and passed through the hot summer.

"Have you heard? This little canteen has finally gone out of business." During the lunch break that day, Xu Xiaomei suddenly said this.

"What canteen?"

Xu Xiaomei said, "It's the canteen in the courtyard. We had a falling out yesterday, but today each household will still go there to cook for themselves."

He Yuzhu asked, "Why?"

Xu Xiaomei said, "I heard from my mother that it was because Jia Zhangshi ate a lot and was lazy that everyone had a lot of complaints, and then they started arguing."

The situation in the city is different from that in the countryside. In the city, there is a monthly ration, and small canteens have been set up. There is no surplus food, so you can't eat too much at the canteen.

But Jia Zhangshi was different. She ate as much as she wanted at every meal. While others could eat two bowls, she could eat three.

At first, Yi Zhonghai could keep it under control, but as time went on, others accumulated a lot of resentment, which finally erupted yesterday.

One by one, they accused Yi Zhonghai of favoring his apprentice's family, saying that not only did Jia Zhangshi eat more, but Qin Huairu and a few others also ate more grain, which was unfair.

"Why does this have to do with Qin Huairu?"

Xu Xiaomei countered, "Don't you know Qin Huairu still has a rural household registration?"

"I didn't notice that. Didn't she register her household registration in a city or town?"

Right after liberation, household registration was not strictly managed, and there was no such thing as urban household registration. Rural household registration was straightforward, but it was officially established in 1955.

Xu Xiaomei said, "Qin Huairu has two other children who are registered as rural residents. The grain they receive from the land they own in the countryside is all in its husk and is not processed."

The ration booklet for urban residents can be used directly at grain stores to buy rice, flour, and various other grains.

However, the grain distributed in rural areas was different. It was all with the husk on. Although the ration was also 30 jin, after removing the husk, the amount would be much less.

Qin Huairu and her group handed over less grain than others, yet they ate more, which is a major contradiction.

He Yuzhu said, "It seems that my decision not to eat in the courtyard house was the right one."

Xu Xiaomei sighed, "Your family got away with it, but my dad and the others are in trouble."

He Yuzhu chuckled. It's best to stay out of things in the courtyard house; that way, you can save yourself a lot of trouble.

After getting off work, He Yuzhu went back to the courtyard house and found that every household had smoke rising from their chimneys, returning to the era of cooking for themselves.

Yi Zhonghai was somewhat surprised to see He Yuzhu come in, and casually greeted him.

He Yuzhu asked, "Uncle, why aren't you eating in the cafeteria with us today?"

"You...how could you not know?" Yi Zhonghai saw that He Yuzhu was carrying meat boxes, eggs and other food, and knew that he had already received the news that the small canteen had been disbanded.

He said irritably, "My eldest son's wife just got back yesterday, of course she told you."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment before realizing that the eldest daughter-in-law Yi Zhonghai mentioned was Xu Xiaomei.

If it weren't for Yi Zhonghai's reminder, I would have forgotten that Xu Xiaomei had already married his eldest son, Yi Wending.

“I had forgotten that Xu Xiaomei is still your daughter-in-law if you hadn’t mentioned it.”

Yi Zhonghai was furious. His eldest son's wife only entered the house on their wedding day and then went to live with her sister.

Not to mention her father-in-law, even her husband, Yi Wending, had never met his wife.

"He Yuzhu, stop being so sarcastic."

"hehe."

He Yuzhu ignored him and turned to go into his own home.

Seeing that there was no water left, he carried the bucket out and put it in the sink. Just as he turned on the tap, Jia Zhangshi came out from the west room.

He Yuzhu was somewhat surprised; Jia Zhangshi in front of him was actually a size bigger than before, it seemed she had gained quite a bit of weight.

"Who is this? He's so fat I don't even recognize him."

Jia Zhangshi glared at her triangular eyes and said urgently, "He Yuzhu, stop talking nonsense. Where am I fat?"

He Yuzhu said, "Since you asked, I'll say that your face has gotten fatter, your neck has gotten thicker, your arms have gotten fatter, your thighs have gotten fatter, your waist has gotten thicker, you've gotten fatter from head to toe. You've gotten fatter, so why are you bruised and swollen?"

Jia Zhangshi was stunned for a moment, not expecting He Yuzhu to say that.

Then, in a fit of rage, he yelled, "Damn you, you're the one who's gotten fat!"

Actually, what Xu Xiaomei said today was already very tactful. Yesterday, the courtyard house not only had a quarrel, but also a fight.

Everyone said that the Jia Zhang family ate a lot and took up other people's food, and that they were all as fat as pigs.

Jia Zhangshi was unhappy and started arguing with several older women. At that time, the people who went to work had not yet returned.

Jia Zhangshi was isolated and helpless, and couldn't win the argument at all. So, naturally, a full-blown fight broke out, and the angry old women gave Jia Zhangshi a severe beating.

When Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu returned, they were furious to see Jia Zhangshi with a bruised and swollen face. They then held a meeting and tried to get justice for Jia Zhangshi.

However, everyone had been holding back their anger, which finally erupted, leading to a bitter argument and the small canteen being unable to continue operating.

After being ridiculed by He Yuzhu, Jia Zhangshi forgot how ruthless he was and raised her arm to scratch him.

He Yuzhu wouldn't tolerate her, so he opened his hand and slapped Jia Zhangshi's fat face hard.

"Pfft!" Madam Jia spat out a mouthful of blood, along with a tooth.

"Stop!" Yi Zhonghai shouted.

"Silly Zhu, I'll fight you to the death."

Jia Dongxu also ran towards He Yuzhu, holding a broken brick high in his hand.

He Yuzhu raised his foot and kicked him in the stomach. Jia Dongxu was sent flying into the air and then landed on the ground.

Yi Zhonghai said angrily, "He Yuzhu, you are a menace. Whenever you come back, you turn the courtyard upside down."

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Old Yi, you're half right."

Yi Zhonghai was stunned. This was the first time He Yuzhu had agreed with his point of view, but something seemed off.

He Yuzhu stood on the corridor and asked, "Brother, what do you mean by that?"

He Yuzhu looked at Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu beside him and said, "Hasn't my return caused chaos and disorder?"

Yi Zhonghai and He Yuzhu immediately understood that the chaos He Yuzhu was referring to was Jia Zhangshi and her son Jia Dongxu!

Chapter 295 Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival

Yi Zhonghai was so angry his nose was crooked. He snorted and went to help Jia Dongxu up.

They knew that there was no point in confronting He Yuzhu, so they could only accept their bad luck and went home together.

He Yuzhu ate dinner at his hometown that evening before leaving.

After leaving the courtyard, I didn't immediately get on my bicycle but pushed it around for a while, as the alcohol I had just drunk had a bit of a kick in me.

We pushed the cart for a short distance and passed through a small alley. I vaguely heard someone crying inside.

He Yuzhu had already gone over, but then, out of curiosity, he felt the voice sounded somewhat familiar and stepped back.

Standing at the entrance of the alley, I could see that it was indeed a familiar face inside. Qin Huairu was squatting there, crying softly.

He Yuzhu hesitated for a moment, then planted the bicycle and went inside. Qin Huairu was probably heartbroken and didn't notice He Yuzhu.

While she was crying her heart out, Qin Huairu felt someone pat her shoulder. Startled, she immediately stopped crying and turned to look.

The first thing you see is a large hand holding a handkerchief and handing it over.

When she looked up again, she saw He Yuzhu's old face and hurriedly wiped away her tears with her hand.