While Zheng Ya and his mentor, Old Master Sun, were alone in the study reminiscing about the past and grieving over old friends, Yi Zhonghai, standing at the entrance of the steel mill's logistics canteen, was greeted by Aunt Er's complaints: "This old man, you've been called for ages and still won't come out. People were thinking you were dead!"
"How dare you speak like that, Auntie? This is a steel rolling mill. Don't talk nonsense. Don't you know it's a bad influence?" Yi Zhonghai was almost driven mad by her words. What about Liu Lan and the other workers in the canteen?
This time, I've completely lost face!
Liu Lan and the others had been blocked at the entrance of the cafeteria by Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu. They had been chatting for a long time but hadn't seen them and were even heard crying. Curious, they peeked out and were stunned by what they saw.
This statement sounds like it could be a major scandal!
If gossiping is a woman's nature, then the old ladies in the steel mill canteen are even more so.
On weekdays, while washing and preparing vegetables and helping in the kitchen, they are always busy chatting about interesting things happening in the neighborhood, gossiping to pass the time, making their work easy and enjoyable!
This is obvious.
After all, the canteen is a place without the noise and commotion of machinery in the factory, where people can communicate freely and have some fun.
If a person devotes all their attention to work, although time passes quickly, it also takes a toll on their mind and body, wasting their energy, which is very tiring.
This stems from the monotonous work at each station, which can feel dull and tedious, and if you don't take breaks to relax and enjoy yourself, problems will arise.
Humans are social creatures, adapted to living and engaging in group activities.
When a loner appears in a crowd, he will not only be ostracized and targeted by the crowd, but he will also isolate himself, waste his energy in vain, and ultimately come out worse off.
It is an unconscious process that encourages people to get together and gossip, which is a normal part of life.
Otherwise, why would Yi Zhonghai like to use moral blackmail in the hospital to isolate and target those who oppose him?
Don't underestimate this kind of operation; it can cause significant harm to individuals.
Zheng Ya's predecessor was bullied to the point of becoming withdrawn by Yi Zhonghai and others.
As evidenced by the current situation, Liu Lan and her group gathered around to watch Yi Zhonghai's antics, jokingly saying, "Oh, our factory's level seven fitter is dead?"
“Yes, it’s outrageous that dead people are getting paid and occupying state assets…” Liu Lan chimed in, unable to stand Yi Zhonghai’s instigation of Sha Zhu to steal everyone’s leftovers.
The canteen only provides a small amount of leftover food as a perk, which is then distributed to the canteen staff to take home and support their families, thus easing their burden.
During this famine, when food and supplies were in short supply, every employee in the canteen relied on leftovers to feed their family.
However, this very benefit was taken away by Yi Zhonghai's instigation, with a large portion of it being taken away by Sha Zhu.
The reason given was to provide relief to impoverished households.
At first glance, it sounds very sophisticated and shows a high level of awareness.
But after finding out who the impoverished households were, all the staff in the canteen were furious.
Because the poor household that Sha Zhu and Yi Zhonghai mentioned was Jia Dongxu's family, a first-level fitter whose monthly salary was 27.5 yuan, they were also called poor households.
That's absolutely ridiculous.
Of course, Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu provided an excuse: Jia Dongxu's family was only represented by him, who had an urban household registration and was entitled to a grain quota.
Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, and Xiaobanggeng in the family still have rural household registrations. Back then, they believed that labor was the most glorious thing according to national policy and did not want to give up their plan to earn more income by farming in the countryside. They did not register for non-agricultural household registration in the city, which meant they missed out on the allocation of grain quotas.
Back then, wealthy landowners distributed land to every household, meaning that farming guaranteed food sustenance, which was far better than the grain quotas allocated to cities.
With the implementation of the "iron rice bowl" policy and the centralized management of farmland, Jia Zhangshi was no longer allowed to embezzle rural grain rations. The entire family of four relied on Jia Dongxu's quota of commercial grain to make a living.
The Jia family's life was indeed somewhat difficult, but not to the point of being considered an impoverished household as described by Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu.
After all, Jia Zhangshi had the compensation money for Old Jia's death at his workplace, and there were still gold rings and sewing machines at home. She was not in a situation where she was freezing, starving, or had lost her property and needed assistance.
Everyone is well aware of this situation.
It was clearly Yi Zhonghai who was scheming to help Jia Dongxu with his retirement, secretly and openly benefiting Jia Dongxu's family, and tricking Sha Zhu into depriving the canteen staff of their benefits, all to do good deeds and help the Jia Zhang family.
Therefore, Liu Lan and her group of canteen employees seized every opportunity to kick Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu when they were down, humiliating them to death.
Yi Zhonghai was so angry that he couldn't breathe, his lips trembling and he couldn't speak. When he got desperate, Sha Zhu roared at Liu Lan and the others: "Don't you have any work to do?"
What's all this commotion about? Go back to work!
"Tch, he's just the head of the cafeteria."
Why are you yelling? Is it because we didn't do our job well, or is it because we didn't do our job well that you had the opportunity to swagger around like an official?
"Apologize, or come talk to us at the Women's Federation?" Liu Lan and the other women weren't afraid of him at all; they were ready to make a scene.
Sha Zhu immediately chickened out, lowered his head and apologized: "I'm sorry, I was wrong, please forgive me, ladies and aunties?"
Please, this old man has no bad intentions..."
"Haha, he didn't even have the heart to urge you to take away our welfare benefits, trying to kill our family and let people starve to death."
"What a fine conscience!" the old woman retorted, leaving Sha Zhu speechless and lowering his head.
Don't let Sha Zhu's usual boasting about his cooking skills fool you; in the eyes of the old women, he's just a cockroach, an unkillable pest.
Sha Zhu was shirking his duties by giving the factory workers a spoonful of food and skimping on their meals. In the end, he managed to get the canteen staff to cooperate, and the women in the canteen were happy to see this happen, which is why they didn't unite to suppress Sha Zhu. This was essentially a prerequisite for their cooperation, an unspoken rule.
The current situation is merely a pretext for protecting rights and welfare.
This made the second aunt feel a sense of crisis. If Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu were to suffer at the hands of their employees, she, the instigator, would ultimately be the one to suffer. She immediately waved her hand and said, "Stop arguing, this aunt is pregnant. Whether you come back or not..."
"What? My wife is pregnant? Hahaha!" Yi Zhonghai jumped up and ran outside as soon as he heard the news, instantly forgetting about Sha Zhu.
Now that there are descendants, the elderly can all go to the egg-laying ground.
Sha Zhu suddenly felt a wave of loneliness wash over him, and dejectedly turned back to the cafeteria, becoming withdrawn.
An unexpected disturbance vanished without a trace.
The women started a new round of conversation about Yi Zhonghai's wife's pregnancy, and they gathered together to chat.
The second aunt turned and walked up to Yi Zhonghai, saying, "Don't worry, wait for me. I'm telling you, the people in the compound say the child isn't yours..."
"What? Who is spreading rumors and slandering us behind our backs?" Yi Zhonghai stopped, turned around, and roared angrily. His excited smile turned into a face twisted with hatred, and a sinister aura filled the depths of his heart.
The joy of having a child and the resentment of being cuckolded surged deep within her, making it difficult to control herself.
Another voice was trying to salvage his fading sanity: The child is mine, the child is my own, my own flesh and blood…
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