Liu Lan was frozen in place, her mind blank. Just as she was about to struggle instinctively, the fat man eagerly went to pick the peaches...
Liu Lan chased after the fat man and hit him twice, feeling both ashamed and angry: "You fatso! You look honest, but you're full of bad intentions!"
"..."
The afternoon passed peacefully, and the fat man continued doing his job.
When it was time to prepare dinner, Chef Wang approached him for a suggestion: "Fatty, how about we make two dishes for dinner, one for each of us?"
In that era, factories and mines like Hongxing Factory adhered to the policy of "production and supply nearby" and supplemented by adjustments. The daily vegetable supply mainly consisted of a few kinds such as Chinese cabbage, radish, and potato, which could not meet the needs of the employees at all.
Early-season crops such as spinach, green beans, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and leeks are expensive, which increases the cost of living for employees.
Pork supply was even more insufficient. Each year, employees could only get a few kilograms of pork and a small amount of fish, including salted fish. There were almost no bean products. Can you believe that tofu was a luxury at that time?
Even local shops rarely supply items like pickled vegetables, fermented bean curd, and stinky tofu; Hongxing Factory has to source these from cities like Shenyang.
Before the fat man traveled through the area, he had watched a period drama. It was about a factory canteen, but one day the blackboard in the canteen actually said "three meat dishes and three vegetable dishes"!
The meat dishes included "ants climbing a tree" (a Sichuan dish) and braised lion's head meatballs, while the vegetarian dishes even included boiled cabbage in clear broth! Wow, but...
For dinner that evening, Fatty stir-fried some radish peel.
This dish is all about one word: spicy!
The fat man removed the seeds from the dried chilies and cut them into sections; then he deep-fried them using the same method he used to stir-fry the saposhnikovia root—a method not commonly seen in the north. Master Wang even came specifically to learn from him.
After frying the dried chilies until crispy, leave some oil in the pan, add the chopped radish peel and stir-fry quickly over high heat. Just before taking it off the heat, add the dried chilies back in, and you're done.
That evening, the stir-fried radish peel that Fatty made was, unsurprisingly, well-received by the employees.
There was someone who couldn't eat spicy food, who would stick out their tongue and shovel rice into their mouth while making "hissing" noises, and then they would definitely say, "Hiss~ That's so satisfying!"
Liu Lan had prepared a lunchbox with both dishes in advance and brought it to Deputy Factory Director Li's office before he left work.
Deputy Factory Director Li chuckled upon seeing the stir-fried radish peel: "This was cooked by Fatty."
After saying that, he tried another dish of stir-fried potato slices with vinegar, but after one bite he stopped eating: "Old Wang's cooking is still a bit lacking."
Taking the opportunity, Liu Lan asked him, "What are your plans for Fatty?"
Deputy Factory Director Li, who was eating chili peppers, was taken aback and looked at her in confusion. Liu Lan explained, "A whistleblower told Sha Zhu what happened last night."
Deputy Factory Director Li smiled, but his eyes didn't; he seemed insincere, and it was rather unsettling.
Beneath his smiling face seemed to be brewing some kind of conspiracy. He said to Liu Lan, "Isn't that perfect? True gold fears no fire. Let Sha Zhu test him."
"..."
As soon as Fatty entered the courtyard that evening, he sensed something was off.
When they were almost at the Intermediate People's Court, they ran into Yan Jiecheng and said to him, "You're back just in time! Let's have a court-wide meeting!"
A general meeting of the entire courtyard? That's a traditional event in this courtyard house. The fat man asked him, "Why?"
Yan Jiecheng shook his head and said, "Shazhu beat up Xu Damao. He also pushed Lou Xiao'e, who fell and hit the coal rack, getting a cut on her head. She was yelling that she wanted to go to the police station, so an old man called for a general meeting of the whole courtyard."
Is Sha Zhu's ball not hurting anymore? And Yi Zhonghai, if Sha Zhu is in trouble, he'll really step in!
With a look of anticipation, the fat man went back inside to drink a bowl of water, then carried a chair to the backyard for a meeting.
Qin Huairu saw him and waved to him; after the fat man moved a chair over and sat down, she covered her mouth with her hand and whispered to him, "Do you understand?"
The fat man nodded: "I ran into Yan Jiecheng on the way back."
Qin Huairu nodded: "I'll speak up for your master later."
The fat man chuckled, not saying a word, but thinking to himself, "See?"
Forty years in another world taught the fat man that to survive within the system, one must neither be too conspicuous nor be completely ignored or have no presence.
Otherwise, when you need help, you won't even be able to find someone to help you.
The right approach is to show some positive qualities while maintaining an innocent and harmless demeanor. This way, you won't attract too much attention or make people constantly watching you.
craning his neck to look, Xu Damao's face was bruised and swollen; Sha Zhu really went all out!
Looking at Lou Xiao'e again, her face turned deathly pale, her forehead was wrapped in gauze, and she sat there leaning on the table, feeling sorry for herself.
"Hey, where's Sha Zhu?" Fatty stood up a little more and then realized that Sha Zhu was lying on the recliner...
After hitting someone, he still looked dejected, as if to say, "Putting aside the facts, is Xu Damao completely without fault?"
Inside this courtyard house, there's a small group consisting of the deaf old lady, Yi Zhonghai, the Jia family, and Sha Zhu.
Xu Damao and Liu Haizhong were in cahoots, and Yan Bugui was their partner; they were allies when there was profit to be made, but stood by and watched when there was no profit.
Liu Haizhong was a careerist; at every plenary meeting, he would rush to speak: "Today's meeting is mainly to discuss the matter of Sha Zhu beating Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e, this..."
Before he could finish speaking, Sha Zhu jumped up from the recliner: "Second Uncle, how can you talk like that? I hit Xu Damao because he deserved it! But he is him, and Lou Xiao'e is Lou Xiao'e. I didn't even lay a finger on her!"
"Then what happened to the injury on her forehead?"
Liu Hai was furious that Sha Zhu had interrupted his speech for no reason.
Lou Xiao'e stood up angrily and said, "Shazhu! You're the one who pushed me!"
The fat man learned for the first time that the word "puffed up" could actually be a verb...
Sha Zhu was fearless. As long as he was in this courtyard and as long as Yi Zhonghai was still the eldest man in this courtyard, he would be fine.
That's how it's always been played! The reason Xu Damao always gets beaten up by Sha Zhu is because he can't see things clearly.
Sha Zhu has spent so much money and fattened up so many people over the years, all for this day!
Sure enough, Liu Haizhong had barely started speaking when Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but step forward: "Xu Damao, what did you do to Zhuzi when he was injured? Have you forgotten everything?"
It would have been better if he hadn't brought it up; the matter was almost over. But after Yi Zhonghai reminded them, all the wives in the courtyard covered their mouths and laughed.
The gossip quickly drowned out Yi Zhonghai's voice: "Xu Damao flicked Sha Zhu's balls, how could Sha Zhu not avenge that?"
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