After Xu Damao and Jia Dongxu discussed their strategy for dealing with Sha Zhu and Zheng Ya, they each left to ask their superiors for leave.
Zheng Ya had already driven back to the planting base. As soon as he got out of the car, Old Zheng pulled him to the foundation of the courtyard house to discuss the waste filling of the gas pool and the installation of gas pipelines.
Brigade Commander Lei also joined in the fun, not believing that Zheng Ya could fill a cement pool with crop straw to generate combustible gas. Zheng Ya then explained the function of a gas pool to them and personally taught them.
More than 600 people were working at the planting base, creating a passionate and enthusiastic scene of large-scale labor.
In the steel rolling mill's publicity department, Xu Damao asked the head of the publicity department for leave, lying that he had been injured by Sha Zhu and was in great pain, thus planting a seed of trouble in advance.
The head of the propaganda department, unsure of the truth and not daring to delay Xu Damao's vital treatment, granted him three days of sick leave.
In fact, the work of the publicity department is very leisurely. Apart from writing, drawing, making publicity and broadcasting, the only other tasks are hosting conferences and cultural performances. The workload is very small on weekdays.
As for projectionists like Xu Damao, they are busy traveling back and forth when they go to the countryside to carry out projection tasks.
Back at the factory, life was so leisurely, like retirement. They'd occasionally show a few movies, and there was nothing else to do.
With winter approaching and temperatures plummeting, the film screenings have been largely put on hold. Preparations are underway to keep the equipment warm and maintain it, in anticipation of a large-scale screening in the countryside before the Spring Festival.
Xu Damao would send the projection equipment directly to the repair department, reporting that the projector was old and needed replacement parts, thus making a profit while having more free time.
This is equivalent to dumping the maintenance of the projection equipment onto the repair department!
The repair shop workers were happy to earn a little money without doing any work, and colluded with Xu Damao to embezzle the steel mill's repair fees.
As a result, Xu Damao had a leisurely period of work time, and taking leave was no longer a problem.
Comparatively speaking, it was more difficult for Jia Dongxu to ask for leave from the workshop director. The director refused to grant leave and severely reprimanded Jia Dongxu for being lazy and shirking his work all day.
The worst worker, the one who damages the most workpieces, and still wants to take leave? No way!
However, Jia Dongxu immediately collapsed to the ground, clutching his manhood and rolling around in a sweat, pretending to be injured. He claimed that he had been kicked in the groin by Sha Zhu and needed to take leave to go to the hospital to treat his manhood, thus planting a seed of trouble in advance.
The workshop director knew he was faking it, but dared not gamble on whether it was real or not, so he granted him three days off and sent Jia Dongxu away.
Jia Dongxu pretended to be in pain, limped away from the production workshop, and started jogging when he reached the deserted area. There was no trace of illness on his face.
Just then, Xu Damao, who had taken leave, rode his bike out of the factory. Jia Dongxu jogged over, sat on the back of Xu Damao's bike, and said, "Let's go, to Liujiatun in the eastern suburbs..."
"Hey, Dou Tong gambles not in the city, but in the suburbs!" Xu Damao suddenly realized, and hurriedly rode his bicycle with the heavy Jia Dongxu on the back towards the eastern suburbs.
Jia Dongxu sat on the back of the bicycle, his arms tucked into his sleeves, enjoying the massage-like sensation of the bicycle's bumpy ride, and said smugly, "What do you know?"
With the recent crackdown, gambling in the city is practically asking for trouble, isn't it?
"Haha, you're right. It's a crackdown period now, so it's safe for you to gamble in the suburbs."
So, you've been gambling in more than one or two places..." Xu Damao started racking his brains, preparing to dig a pit for them.
Unfortunately, Jia Dongxu said warily, "Xu Damao, put away your little schemes, or don't blame me for not warning you."
Gamblers are also desperate people; they're all about the thrill.
If you push someone too far, people will die, you understand?
"Ahem, never mind, never mind." Xu Damao understood. The gamblers who had been in contact with Jia Dongxu were no ordinary people; some of them might even be in danger.
The two chatted idly as they rode their bicycles.
In the back kitchen of the steel rolling mill, Sha Zhu squatted down next to Liu Lan and helped her wash cabbages, while discussing ways to get rid of Dou Tong, the vampire: "Lanzi, I think we should call the police to deal with Dou Tong."
Dou Tong is rotten to the core; without labor reform, it's impossible for him to change his bad habits of eating, drinking, gambling, whoring, and smoking..."
"Shazhu, Dou Tong's father did not want his children and grandchildren to disgrace the ancestors' reputation. He insisted that Dou Tong only gambled a little for fun and never gambled big when he didn't have the money. He always thought that Dou Tong was just spoiled from a young age and had a great playfulness."
"Give Dou Tong a few more years, and he'll grow up and become sensible..." Liu Lan said, her voice trembling with tears. He's twenty-five or twenty-six years old and still hasn't grown up?
So, Liu Lan is only nineteen years old, is she already a toddler?
However, given the old-fashioned ideas of the elderly and their tendency to spoil their sons, there's no way to criticize or persuade them.
Unable to reason with or persuade him, and also having to consider filial piety and gratitude, Liu Lan was at her wit's end with her father-in-law.
Even though Liu Lan suffered a lot after marrying into the Dou family, she was still better off than at her parents' home. She was well-fed and clothed at the factory, which became her excuse for working hard without complaint and for absolving herself of any resentment. It would be a lie to say that she had no regrets or any thoughts about enduring this hardship.
But living conditions were generally like this in those days, so what could you do?
Wanting more is wishful thinking; in the end, you have to accept your fate!
If Sha Zhu hadn't confessed his feelings to her, Liu Lan probably would have continued to persist.
Sha Zhu couldn't bear to see a woman wiping away tears, and said with heartache, "Lanzi, I know you remember that Lao Dou bought you into his family, which is equivalent to saving your family, and you are grateful for Lao Dou's kindness."
But as you said, Old Dou spoils Dou Tong too much, which is not a solution.
Actually, calling the police to deal with Dou Tong is the best way to solve the problem once and for all. Perhaps Dou Tong can still be saved. If it is delayed any longer, Dou Tong will be completely ruined and beyond saving.
Old Dou wouldn't want Dou Tong to end up being executed, right?
"Yes, that's what I think too!" Liu Lan also felt that Dou Tong needed to experience imprisonment to truly reform himself and start anew.
Otherwise, if he continues to procrastinate, he'll only end up with a miserable life, and sooner or later he'll ruin himself.
You owe more than 500 in gambling debts?
That's an astronomical figure for Liu Lan's monthly salary of 18.5 yuan!
If Dou Tong hadn't talked in his sleep about selling his daughter, Liu Lan wouldn't have been so determined to leave the Dou family and agree to go along with Sha Zhu. She was afraid that her daughter would be sold by Dou Tong.
Just as Liu Lan and Sha Zhu were discussing calling the police to arrest Dou Tong, Xu Damao brought Jia Dongxu to find Dou Tong. They left the Liujiatun cellar casino and came to the slanting woods to explain their purpose.
When Dou Tong learned that Sha Zhu had stolen his wife Liu Lan and they had become accomplices, he was furious and shouted, "Damn Sha Zhu, is he asking for death?"
"Dou Tong, you owe Brother Liu 875 yuan. You have to pay it back by tomorrow night. Otherwise, you know what will happen." A middle-aged man with a cigarette butt in his mouth walked into the woods and issued his final ultimatum.
This greatly shocked Xu Damao and Jia Dongxu. With so much gambling debt, Dou Tong was finished, but now there was hope for them?
The two exchanged a glance, understood each other's feelings, and smiled.
Dou Tong bowed and scraped to the middle-aged man, hugging him to return the money. After seeing the man off, he felt numb and anxiously paced around.
Jia Dongxu stepped forward and said, "Old Dou, kidnap him, sell him..."
"What? Kidnapping my daughter? Liu Lan will fight me to the death! No way..." Dou Tong knew that his daughter was Liu Lan's lifeline, and besides, his father wouldn't allow it!
Xu Damao seized the opportunity and said, "Zheng Ya also has a daughter. His family is extremely wealthy. If you kidnap his daughter, you won't have to worry about not having money to pay off your gambling debts..."
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