Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, Li Jianjun checked in and found that the reward was all money. Not wanting to dwell on it, he tossed it into his spatial ring and got up to make breakfast. Having a bicycle meant he could take his time eating. Once full, he rode his bike toward the Rolling Mill. The people on the road watched him with envy; a bicycle was still a rare and precious commodity.
Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong also saw him.
"Lǎo Yì, do you think we should buy a bicycle too?" Liu Haizhong asked, green with envy.
"That... depends. We don't have the coupons," Yi Zhonghai replied with a shake of his head. He wanted one badly, but bicycle coupons were only issued to those in leadership positions.
"Sigh!" Liu Haizhong sighed and had no choice but to walk to the factory.
Before long, Li Jianjun arrived at the Rolling Mill and found his apprentice diligently working on the tasks he had assigned. He was quite satisfied; the lad was a good apprentice.
"Jianjun, could you help me out? I just can't seem to get this part right," a coworker asked, looking embarrassed.
"No problem, let me take a look," Li Jianjun replied with a smile and a nod.
In this line of work, everyone ran into difficulties sooner or later. He remembered his own early days; if it hadn't been for the kindness of others in teaching him, he wouldn't have progressed so quickly. He had a lot of goodwill toward his fellow workers.
He finished the task quickly. The coworker was immensely grateful, as failing to complete the part would have disrupted the workshop's assembly line.
"Jianjun, thank you so much. If you ever need anything, just say the word," the coworker said with a grin.
"It's nothing," Li Jianjun waved him off. "You all helped me in the past, so don't mention it. Get back to work."
They returned to their tasks.
Soon, it was lunchtime. Li Jianjun didn't need to stand in line; his apprentice had already gone to fetch his food. He waited at his station, but to his surprise, his apprentice, Zhou Dashan, returned with a look of fury on his face.
"What’s wrong, Dashan?" Li Jianjun asked, confused.
"Master, the guy serving the food is absolutely vile. Look at these portions—it’s barely enough for one person, let alone two," Zhou Dashan fumed.
"Who was it?" Li Jianjun asked.
"There, the one at Window Number Five." Zhou Dashan pointed.
Li Jianjun looked over and saw it was Shazhu. This guy was using his position to settle a personal score? That was something he would not tolerate. He walked over, accompanied by Zhou Dashan.
"Shazhu, you’ve got some nerve. You only served us this much food?" Li Jianjun stared coldly at him.
Seeing it was Li Jianjun, Shazhu sneered internally. "Hmph! Get lost. It’s none of your business. I serve as much as I want—what are you going to do about it?" Shazhu shrugged, completely unafraid.
He wanted revenge for being beaten so badly and humiliated. Besides, he was the Rolling Mill's head chef and was highly valued by the leadership; he wasn't afraid of Li Jianjun, even if he was a Level 6 fitter.
"Fine, Shazhu. You’ve got guts. I’m going to see Director Yang right now and see if he cares about this kind of behavior," Li Jianjun said icily.
Was Shazhu itching for a beating? If he didn't teach him a lesson, the man would really think he was untouchable.
"Haha! Do you think Director Yang is going to listen to you? He values me highly, and he even takes me along to cook for the Grand Leader. Get lost, or I'll make sure you regret this," Shazhu said dismissively.
"Jianjun, we’ll all go with you to see Director Yang," many workers stood up to support him.
They had been sick of Shazhu for a long time. The man played favorites, giving large portions to those he liked and pathetic scraps to those he didn't. Naturally, they were furious.
Shazhu was a bit surprised to see so many people stand up, but he quickly calmed down, banking on Director Yang’s favor.
At that moment, Director Yang happened to walk into the canteen. Seeing so many people standing, he frowned. "What’s going on?"
"Director Yang?" Many people looked over, surprised to see him.
"Director Yang, you’ve come at the right time. Look, this is the food He Yuzhu served us—two portions, but it’s only enough for one person," Li Jianjun said, handing the lunch boxes to the Director.
"That's right! Mine is the same," others chimed in, holding up their boxes.
Director Yang looked; the portions were indeed pitiful, some barely half a serving. His face turned grim.
"Comrade He Yuzhu, I never expected this from you. You act honest and upright, yet you pull something like this?" Director Yang glared at Shazhu.
He had valued He Yuzhu in the past—the man was a good cook and had been with the factory for a long time. Whenever there were guests, he would have him prepare special meals. But today, he was deeply disappointed.
"Director Yang... no, no, it's not like that," Shazhu stammered. He was dumbfounded; he never expected to be scolded like this. He usually got away with everything. Seeing the Director’s anger, he panicked. *Damn that Li Jianjun! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be getting yelled at by the Director.* He cursed Li Jianjun under his breath.
"That's enough!" Director Yang barked. "Everyone, He Yuzhu is indeed in the wrong. I am stating here and now: if he ever does this again, tell me immediately, and I will fire him on the spot. Furthermore, he is fined two months' salary as punishment."
As soon as Director Yang finished, the workers broke into applause. They finally didn't have to put up with Shazhu's nonsense anymore.
"Director Yang, I..." Shazhu’s face went pale.
"Shut up! Are you not satisfied? If you're not, go scrub the toilets!"