But if the fat man doesn't answer, then they'll trap He Yushui. No wonder he's called the "Master Strategist," such a deep scheme.

The next day at work, Lao Wang was a completely different person.

She changed into a clean apron and sleeves, combed her hair meticulously, and even wore a pair of leather shoes!

At that time, most people wore cloth shoes, but some wore yellow rubber shoes. Yellow rubber shoes, capri pants, professional sorcerer... I'm getting sidetracked again. Like Brother Yang and his friends, they often liked to wear a pair of yellow rubber shoes.

As soon as the fat man arrived, he called out, "Master!" Old Wang patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction and said, "From now on, you don't need to do the washing of pots and pans. Just focus on cooking. Okay? Help me out, and we'll make this canteen a success."

The implication is that there's a specific role for every role, and if one role is removed, another role becomes available.

Before Aunt Pang and Liu Lan arrived, Fatty told Old Wang in advance, "Master, I might have to go to the factory leader's office later to plead for Master He."

Old Wang, being a man of social graces, simply said four words upon hearing this: "Don't worry, I've got you covered."

"..."

Fatty waited until 9 a.m., when there was nothing much going on in the kitchen, before going to Deputy Factory Director Li's office.

As soon as he sat down, he got straight to the point: "Boss, I'm here to plead for Sha Zhu."

Deputy Factory Director Li said with great interest, "Oh?"

"That's right. Yesterday, when I returned to the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai from Workshop 1, Qin Huairu from Workshop 2, Liu Haizhong, the projectionist Xu Damao, and the neighbors in the courtyard all came to give me a pep talk. I could only submit to the majority."

Deputy Factory Director Li took out a cigarette and tossed it to the fat man, laughing as he said, "You little rascal..."

That concludes the plea for Sha Zhu. Next, Fatty chatted with Deputy Factory Director Li about food.

Finally, Deputy Factory Director Li suddenly said to him, "What will you do if Sha Zhu goes back to the canteen?"

The fat man thought for a moment and said, "The two of them are like enemies. They both want to kill each other, but they have to work together. It's a difficult situation."

Deputy Factory Director Li said, "He's really young and impetuous; he can't tolerate any nonsense."

The fat man also said, "What kind of young person wouldn't be full of vigor?"

Then they both laughed. Deputy Factory Director Li opened a drawer and took out a few receipts: "The New Year is coming soon. Take these home to buy some New Year's goods."

The fat man was moved to tears; Deputy Factory Director Li then said, "Take advantage of the New Year to settle down on this important life event." The fat man continued to be moved to tears.

Back in the kitchen, Liu Lan, the "BBK e-reader," came over and said, "Li Huaide asked me to test you. There's a back room that you can move into right away; and there's also that separate east wing room. He wants to see which one you choose."

The so-called "reverse-facing house" refers to the southernmost row of houses in the entire courtyard. Because its doors and windows face north and receive poor lighting, it is generally used as guest rooms or rooms for servants.

Generally, the easternmost part was the private school, the westernmost part was the toilet, and the middle room was usually for servants.

"Waiting for the state to build houses, relying on the organization to allocate houses, and having a work unit provide houses" was a typical characteristic of welfare housing allocation in this era.

When allocating rooms, married couples are usually given priority, and then the allocation time and room size are arranged according to factors such as length of employment and job position.

If you are single, it is very difficult to get a separate house. You can usually only get a small room in a house as a temporary measure. You will only have the opportunity to get a separate house when you get married.

That old fox Li Huaide has really set a trap for Fatty! First, he sent Sha Zhu back to the kitchen, then the two of them are bound to fight again. Sha Zhu has already lost power in the kitchen, so he can only bring up the house.

When he's ready to buy the house, Liu Lan will then tell Fatty the news. What will Fatty do next?

No wonder this guy outmaneuvered Director Yang and later even managed to outmaneuver Xu Damao; he's a true master of politics.

However, what Li Huaide didn't expect was that Liu Lan, his mouthpiece, had already betrayed him. And then there was He Yushui; she took away Sha Zhu's lease yesterday, meaning that if anyone wanted to terminate the contract, they had to contact her.

How could the back room be enough? For the sake of his happy life with Yu Li, Fatty is determined to have the east wing of the courtyard house!

Before we knew it, the year was drawing to a close.

Sha Zhu was hospitalized for a few days. Then he was isolated and investigated by the factory's discipline inspection department for a few more days. In the end, he was given a disciplinary warning and his monthly shift bonus and year-end bonus were withheld.

At this time, year-end bonuses are mainly in kind.

For example, this year's year-end bonus at Hongxing Factory is 3 catties of frozen ribbonfish per person. Those who don't want ribbonfish can exchange them for crabs; they are also frozen large crabs, and even the smallest ones are bigger than a fat man's palm.

Having worked at the factory for three months, this was the first time Fatty had come to the cleaning workshop, which was also the workshop where his older sister Chen Rong worked.

Even though it was the dead of winter outside, stepping into the workshop felt like being in Africa.

The high temperature quickly made the fat man's forehead sweat. When he found the older woman, he almost didn't recognize her...

It's already this month, and Chen Rong is still wearing her summer work clothes. A towel is wrapped around her neck, and she's wearing a hat. Fine beads of sweat look like a layer of oil on her skin.

The fat man walked over with a pained expression. Chen Rong was also taken aback when she saw him, and then asked loudly, "Why are you here?"

The deafening roar made it impossible to hear anything. Chen Rong led him to the work group's break room and closed the door to block out the noise.

Chen Rong picked up the now-cold water glass and gulped down more than half of it. Afterwards, wiping her sweat, she asked the fat man, "Why aren't you at work? What are you doing here?"

The fat man said, "Isn't it time to give out year-end bonuses? I just want to ask if we both want ribbonfish, or if one of us wants ribbonfish and the other wants crab?"

Chen Rong sat wearily on the bench, patted the person next to her, and the fat man sat down next to her. He couldn't help but say, "Big sister, you're working too hard. This job isn't for you."

Chen Rong ruffled his hair and whispered, "What should you do and what shouldn't you do? You should bring fish with you. If you bring crabs back, Mom will pinch your ear again."

After saying that, he reached out and pinched the fat man's ear. Those big earlobes felt so good!

After leaving my older sister's place and returning to the kitchen, I found the atmosphere tense again.

It turned out to be that idiot Zhu's grandson returning. Even though he was no longer an official or in any position, he still sat down in a chair like a big shot, with a long face, as if someone owed him hundreds of dollars.

Then I saw that Ma Hua had returned. In the entire kitchen, only Ma Hua was huddled up in front of Sha Zhu, chattering away.