The Jia family couldn't extort money from Wang Weidong, so they took their anger out on Silly Pillar. In Jia Zhangshi's opinion, if Silly Pillar had stood up for them just now, Wang Weidong might have backed down. Silly Pillar was thoroughly scolded and shamefully returned to his room.
Not long after, Qin Huairu, who had returned from the hospital, knocked on Silly Pillar's door. She asked to borrow money. Banggeng needed fifty yuan for medical expenses.
She knew Jia Zhangshi had money, hidden away. However, getting Jia Zhangshi to part with her money would be as likely as the sun rising from the west. Qin Huairu had no choice but to borrow one hundred yuan from Silly Pillar to pay for the medical expenses.
Silly Pillar rummaged through his belongings but couldn't scrounge up a hundred yuan, so he had to shamelessly borrow thirty yuan and twelve fen from the Deaf Old Lady. He Yushui delivered the money to the Jia family. Jia Zhangshi clutched the extra fifty yuan in her hand, while Qin Huairu could only watch from the side with longing.
After returning home, He Yushui heard Silly Pillar muttering softly in bed: "Jia Zhangshi is too detestable. This is the last time I'll help Qin Huairu; I won't bring leftovers to the Jia family anymore." She tried to persuade him for a long time, talking about how hard Qin Huairu worked and how pitiful her three children were.
However, Silly Pillar was completely heartbroken this time, especially since the useless Jiǎ Xùdōng was still alive, giving him no hope of taking over. For several days, even if there were leftovers in the cafeteria, Silly Pillar returned empty-handed. Without Silly Pillar's leftovers, the Jia family's quality of life plummeted.
In the past, their dinner table included coarse whole-wheat buns stewed with leftovers, occasionally with a tiny bit of meat that tasted delicious. Now, their three meals a day consisted of thin noodle soup, and only one bowl, leaving Jia Zhangshi, Jiǎ Xùdōng, and the three children with gaunt faces. More importantly, Liu Guojun, the workshop director, had listened to Wang Weidong's words and felt that Qin Huairu's behavior threatened his authority.
He reported Qin Huairu as a case of deliberate slowdown to his superiors. Her wages for this month were docked 10 yuan, and she only received 5 yuan. How could 5 yuan be enough for this large family to eat and drink?
After only a few days, the flour bin was nearly empty. As they faced starvation, Banggeng, Xiǎo Dāng, and Xiǎo Huáihuā would stand at the door with their mouths agape, waiting to eat the northwest wind. She had intended to "borrow" some money from Silly Pillar to get through the famine.
To her surprise, that heartless scoundrel Silly Pillar refused her, using the excuse that he still owed money to the Deaf Old Lady. Qin Huairu also knew that Silly Pillar had just lost 100 yuan to the Jia family and had no extra money for now, so she didn't bother trying to milk him. At the Red Star Rolling Mill, in Workshop 1.
"Sigh, this life is unbearable." Qin Huairu sat at her workstation, sighing and slacking off. Having learned from the last incident, Qin Huairu's current slacking had reached an art form.
She used a black iron rod to repeatedly insert and withdraw from a sleeve, only making one workpiece per day. This way, she could laze around and also guard against the workshop director. Her colleagues nearby overheard and muttered, "Look at Qin Huairu, she's so good at slacking.
She can spend a whole day on one workpiece." "I'll learn from her tomorrow!" "Sigh, it's because she has an experienced master looking out for her.
What about you?" "Keep your voices down, Yì Zhōnghǎi is coming." The workers in the workshop were dissatisfied with Qin Huairu.
As Qin Huairu was slacking off, she saw the First Grandfather, Yì Zhōnghǎi, enter the workshop. Her eyes lit up. Yì Zhōnghǎi had a compassionate heart and had helped her many times before.
Qin Huairu elegantly tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear with one hand, poked out her small, ruby-red tongue to lick her lips, and nodded twice at Yì Zhōnghǎi. Yì Zhōnghǎi was instructing his apprentice, Wang Gangdan, on how to process channel steel. He caught a glimpse of that charming glance, and a surge of warmth rose within him, causing him to shiver all over.
He took a deep breath, suppressed his inner excitement, and put on a stern face: "Gangdan, the master leads the way; cultivation is up to the individual. You need to comprehend this problem yourself." "Master is right to admonish me!"
Wang Gangdan was surprised. Master Yì had just been about to teach him how to do it, so why did he suddenly change his mind? "Yes, continue to work hard!"
Yì Zhōnghǎi's mind was buzzing like a beehive, how could he concentrate on teaching his apprentice? He clasped his hands behind his back and casually ambled behind Qin Huairu. As he got closer, he smelled a unique, delicate fragrance, like orchids and musk, faint yet alluring.
He saw Qin Huairu's mature, alluring body crouching on a small wooden stool, her large buttocks almost completely engulfing it. Yì Zhōnghǎi swallowed his saliva and gave a light "cough" to ease his excitement. After regaining stable breathing, he slowly said, "Little Qin, your skill in inserting the sleeve is well-practiced and commendable."
"Master, I... I can't go on living..." Qin Huairu's eyes turned slightly red, and she exuded an air of pitiful charm, like a green tea bitch.
"Encountered difficulties? Tell Master!" Yì Zhōnghǎi's heart leaped with joy.
"You know, last month that bastard workshop director deducted 10 yuan from my wages. My family has 6 people; how can we live on 5 yuan?" Qin Huairu said, her body trembling slightly, crystal tears flowing from the corners of her eyes, but she held back from crying out loud for fear of being noticed by her colleagues.
"You, a woman, raising three children and also supporting your mother-in-law and husband, life is indeed difficult." Yì Zhōnghǎi nodded, putting on a sanctimonious demeanor. "Neighbors should help each other."
"How about this, I have ten jin of cornmeal at home. I'll give it to you first... to help your family through this famine."
Ten jin of cornmeal was worth much more than two steamed buns! Qin Huairu's heart leaped with joy, and she quickly stopped crying, her face breaking into a smile: "Thank you, Master. I knew you were a good person."
"Well, it's too crowded and noisy during the day. Meet me under that big locust tree in the courtyard tonight." Yì Zhōnghǎi said, then turned and left.
He was going to the lounge to rest properly. Looking at Yì Zhōnghǎi's retreating back, Qin Huairu shook her head with a wry smile. Truly a good man...
.... At the Red Star Rolling Mill, the truck team. Ten trucks were parked quietly on the cracked concrete ground.
The paintwork on the truck beds, depicting large, expressive eyes, stood out prominently under the sunlight. "Don't tell me, ever since I started painting these big eyes like Wang Weidong, I feel like I can see further when I'm driving." Liu Guojun squatted in front of the dispatch office.
"Yeah, in the past, when it got dark in the evening, my vision was blurry. The past few days, I feel much better." Skinny Monkey squatted beside him, took a puff of his cigarette, and blew out a smoke ring.
His skin was dark and he was as thin as a stick. "Skinny Monkey, that's because you haven't been driving long distances these past few days, and your body isn't as weak. Go back and have your wife buy more pig kidneys to nourish yourself.
If this continues, you'll die on the women's belly sooner or later." Captain Niú Zhìjūn glared at him. Among the drivers, Skinny Monkey was the most troublesome.
"Brother Weidong is a good person. He let me eat his chicken leg." Yú Chángshēng nodded heavily.
Although several days had passed, he could still taste the unique aroma of chicken in his mouth. ... Today, the truck drivers at the Red Star Rolling Mill were not out on the road.
Instead, they were gathered in front of the dispatch office, waiting for Wang Weidong. Wang Weidong said he was going to install water sprinklers on all the trucks, so they wouldn't be afraid of not being able to brake on King of Hell Laughs anymore. The drivers were puzzled.
Water sprinklers? For showering? Would washing the trucks clean scare away the King of Hell?
However, Wang Weidong was a clever kid; he must have his reasons. They would wait and see.