Li Jianghai dragged his heavy steps on his way to work, looking as droopy as an eggplant hit by frost.
The cold wind in the early morning was blowing, blowing air into the collar of his split work clothes.
"Alas..." He sighed heavily, and white mist condensed into a fog in the cold air.
When passing by the breakfast stall, the aroma of fried dough sticks wafted over, and he touched his empty stomach - he didn't even have a bowl of hot porridge in the morning. Guifang was busy going to the store and didn't even have time to make breakfast.
"Master Li! Would you like some fried dough sticks?" the stall owner, Lao Zhang, greeted enthusiastically.
Li Jianghai waved his hands and sighed: "Forget it, I have no appetite..."
When he reached the factory gate, the gatekeeper, Old Wang, with his pipe in his mouth, squinted his eyes and looked at him: "Hey, Old Li, what's wrong with you? You look like you lost money."
"It's worse than losing money..." Li Jianghai muttered. He even went in the wrong direction of the boiler room!
When he reached the boiler room door, he pushed it open mechanically without even hearing the greetings of his fellow workers.
Li Jianghai walked into the boiler room with his head hung down, and the soles of his shoes rubbed against the coal dust, leaving two long marks.
Old Cui was shoveling coal into the furnace. Seeing Li Jianghai looking listless, he immediately perked up.
He dug his shovel into the coal pile, put his hands on his hips, and began to perform: "Oh my, isn't this our great model worker Li? The way he was eager to work yesterday, I thought he was going to run for a national model worker!"
He deliberately stood on tiptoe to look behind Li Jianghai, "What's the matter? Didn't you bring your big red flower here today?"
Several workers nearby looked over here, trying to hold back their laughter.
Old Cui got even more excited, and he pinched his voice to imitate Li Jianghai's tone from yesterday: "'I'll do this job!' 'I'll shovel this coal!'"
His voice suddenly returned to its original state. "What happened? The novelty only lasted a day? So, you just pretended to be late..."
Li Jianghai didn't even bother to lift his eyelids and slowly walked towards the workbench.
I threw the tool kit onto the workbench and it made a clang sound. I didn't know what happened.
He picked up the wrench next to him and dropped it to the ground with a loud bang, which was particularly harsh in the silent boiler room.
Lao Cui immediately jumped back exaggeratedly: "Ouch! Is Mr. Model Worker Li angry?"
He turned to the other workers and winked, "Don't you think this guy is weird? Yesterday he was so full of energy, but today he looks even more like a sick chicken than the sick chicken I lost yesterday!"
"If you ask me," Lao Cui came closer to Li Jianghai and lowered his voice deliberately, "this guy should stop pretending. Look, he only persisted for one day and made a fool of himself!
"If you know you are a sparrow, don't try to act like a chicken. A dog will never stop eating shit!" He said this and burst out laughing.
Seeing that Li Jianghai still didn't respond, Lao Cui simply dragged a stool and sat next to him: "Lao Li, I don't mean to criticize you, but it's easy to pretend for a day, but it's hard to pretend for a lifetime.
Look at you, yesterday I thought you were getting over your laziness, but today your true colors are revealed, right?
He reached out and poked Li Jianghai's tool kit: "What's wrong? Can't even hold a wrench? Do you want me to take a sick leave for you?"
Just say...our model worker Li worked too hard yesterday and sprained his back?
Xiao Wang next to him couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
Lao Cui immediately shifted the focus: "Xiao Wang, what are you laughing at? Do you want to emulate Master Li and become a model worker for a day?"
He shook his head and sighed, "If you ask me, the feng shui of this boiler room is just not good. It can't produce true model workers, only some pretentious sick chickens..."
Old Cui ridiculed him for a while, but he became more and more excited. He chased after him with a shovel in his hand: "Model worker, there's dust on the boiler today. Hurry up and wipe it up!"
Li Jianghai couldn't stand it any longer and threw the wrench onto the table: "Get out! Whoever wants to go can go!"
"Okay~" Lao Cui responded in a strange tone, turned around and winked at the others, "Did you see it?
This is the Li the Sly we are familiar with! "
Li Jianghai simply slumped down in his chair, crossing his legs high: "What's it to you? This is just how I am!"
As he said this, he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, not even bothering to light it.
Lao Cui came over to light the fire for him: "Hey, Lao Li, why is the fire so big today? Could it be..." He lowered his voice, "that you came home smelling of sweat yesterday and your wife kicked you off the kang?"
"Fuck you!" Li Jianghai slapped his hand away, and the cigarette fell to the ground.
He bent down to pick it up and happened to see the director's leather shoes dangling in from the door. He quickly pretended to fiddle with the pressure gauge.
The director walked in with his hands behind his back. Seeing Li Jianghai's behavior, he was so angry that he asked, "Li Jianghai! Have you checked the water level? Is the pressure gauge recording?"
Li Jianghai said without even looking up: "Right away, right away..."
"Right away!" the director kicked the coal at his feet. "Look at what time it is now?"
Lao Cui chimed in, "Director, Lao Li is a very busy man now. He runs a shop at home. How could he be interested in our salary?"
Li Jianghai was so angry that his teeth itched, but then he thought - I'm going to leave sooner or later, why should I argue with them here? Whatever happens!
So, our Comrade Li Da completely let himself go.
He just made a few random marks on the pressure gauge that he was supposed to look at, and he just kicked the pipes that he was supposed to check twice and that was it.
The workers looked at each other in bewilderment - well, the familiar Li Dahuatou is back!
Li Jianghai has been making jokes all morning like a dead fish.
After finally making it to lunchtime, he immediately put two steamed buns that were hard enough to kill people in his pockets, and stared at Lao Tietou's bottle of precious chili sauce!
At this time, Lao Liang came over with a rice bowl bigger than his face, like a rich man with a big belly.
Seeing Li Jianghai's leisurely and hardworking look, he immediately asked in a loud voice, which the guard at the factory gate could probably hear: "Hey! Li Jianghai! You still have the leisure time to eat steamed buns here?
Old Xie is digging deep inside the factory looking for you. He looks like he's just about to call the police!
You're still here dawdling on your 'stone bun', do you think you're a tortoise, so slow to gnaw?
When Li Jianghai heard this, he almost dropped the steamed bun in his hand. He asked in confusion, "Looking for me? What do you want from me? I didn't get caught slacking off today!"
Lao Liang curled his lips and said with disgust: "Look at how scared you are! Who knows what I want to do with you?
But seeing how Old Xie looks, he's not angry. Just go and ask him yourself! Don't just stand there. If you keep dawdling, Old Xie will come and invite you for tea himself."
Li Jianghai was so nervous, as if he had a jumping rabbit in his arms, his heart was beating up and down, and it was jumping "boom, plop, plop" from time to time!
There was no other way, so I had to bite the bullet, look back every few steps, and move slowly towards the factory office!
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