"Xu Damao, he's a team leader? I've never heard of that. It's probably just something someone said casually, you can't take it seriously. If Xu Damao really became a team leader, with his smugness, he would have already announced it all over the world, why would you be asking him?"
Liu Lan knew Xu Damao very well. Before, Xu Damao would often try to get close to her, but she simply wasn't interested in little kids.
“You’re right. If he really were the team leader, Xu Damao would be the first to come and brag to me, no one else would say anything. That bastard can’t keep a secret.”
Sha Zhu thought about it and realized it made sense. "Never mind," he thought, grabbing the lunchbox he'd prepared and heading home. The cleaning was handled by other helpers; the chef didn't need to do it. Thinking of Qin Huairu's alluring gaze on his way home, Sha Zhu quickened his pace.
At this time, Jia Dongxu was still around and had a good relationship with Sha Zhu, but that didn't affect his feelings for his brother's wife. Moreover, through Sha Zhu's observation, whenever he brought a lunchbox or other delicious food, Qin Huairu was always willing to talk to him.
Every time Qin Huairu approached, the unique fragrance emanating from her body would intoxicate Sha Zhu. Although he knew she was someone else's wife, he couldn't stop licking her, his passion only growing stronger.
Sha Zhu knew that constantly hovering around someone else's wife wasn't a good idea, and he considered completely ignoring Qin Huairu. For a while, he even stopped speaking to her when they met, only nodding in acknowledgment. But each time, he couldn't maintain this for more than two days; a single word or a gesture of concern from Qin Huairu would always break him down, and he couldn't keep going. That's the tragedy of a simp.
Sure enough, when Sha Zhu returned to the courtyard and passed Yan Fugui, the gatekeeper, he saw Qin Huairu washing clothes in the middle courtyard.
"Zhu Zi, you're back so late. Is there some special food for you tonight?" Qin Huairu said, smoothing her stray hairs with her hand.
"Yeah, Sister Qin, you know, the boss doesn't hire any other chefs, he just makes me cook all the time. Luckily, there are still some leftovers," Sha Zhu boasted smugly. Qin Huairu's movements were undeniably beautiful.
"You're like a well-fed person who doesn't know the hunger of an starving person. These days, what's wrong with working overtime if you can bring home food? Look at my brother Dongxu, he comes home right after work, but all he gets is his fixed salary. Our whole family hasn't seen any meat in days. Your cook is the best."
Qin Huairu flattered him while moving closer to Sha Zhu.
"That's right, that's one of the advantages of being a cook. Sister Qin, don't worry, I have two lunchboxes here, I'll give you one to help you recover. The food at the factory is pretty good tonight, you should try my cooking."
Before Qin Huairu could even speak, Sha Zhu was already captivated. The brief touch between their fingers as he handed her the lunchbox nearly made him lose control.
After Qin Huairu went home, Sha Zhu still lingered and sniffed his hands.
That night, Sha Zhu realized his idea in his dream again. He woke up twice, but managed to keep the dream going. It's true what they say, anything can happen in a dream. This caused Sha Zhu to be an hour late for work the next day, almost missing the chance to prepare the communal lunch.
"Shazhu, I asked the ladies in the personnel department today. Xu Damao is now the head of the film screening team in the publicity department. He was just appointed a few days ago."
When Liu Lan saw that Sha Zhu had arrived, she immediately shared the information she had found out.
"Is there a mistake in the message not being replied to? This bastard hasn't been showing off in front of me for the past few days." Sha Zhu was a little incredulous.
"The information from HR is probably correct. However, it's possible that his team leader position is too low-level to be worth bragging about."
Previously, Xu Damao's group only had one person, who was in charge of himself and was essentially the group leader. Now there's one more person to manage, but it only adds up to an extra 3 yuan in subsidies each month; nothing else has changed," Liu Lan analyzed.
"Oh, he's got people to manage now. But he still doesn't manage as many people as I do. I manage the whole cafeteria, so I have at least seven or eight more people than him. Hehe."
Sha Zhu comforted himself. Actually, he wasn't wrong. If Xu Damao hadn't tripped him up last time, Sha Zhu would be a team leader, managing the top ten people.
Xu Damao hadn't expected Liu Lan to be so good at intelligence gathering. His desire to keep a low profile hadn't even lasted a week before the entire courtyard knew about it.
At lunchtime, Sha Zhu casually mentioned it to Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu, and soon everyone in the courtyard, including Liu Haizhong, knew about it. Some were envious, some were disdainful, but no one offered congratulations.
Even more shockingly, Liu Haizhong took some time in the afternoon to visit Xu Damao.
"Da Mao, not bad, you're a team leader now. Isn't this the big guy from our forging workshop? How come he's the one working here?" Liu Haizhong pushed open Xu Da Mao's office door.
"Uncle, you're a rare guest. What team leader or not, isn't it all about serving the people? But you'll have more responsibilities from now on, and there will be more things to consider. You know this young man, right? He used to be a blacksmith."
"Come on, Changqing, go get Comrade Liu Haizhong a glass of water. He's the second oldest man in our compound, you can call him that too."
Xu Damao instructed Chen Changqing to pour water.
"Young man, go and get me some more hot water. I like it hotter," Liu Haizhong said to Chen Changqing.
Chen Changqing was a little confused when Liu Haizhong made such a bizarre request. He had just filled his water bottle that morning, and it seemed strange that he wanted to drink such hot water on such a hot day. He then looked at Xu Damao.
Xu Damao nodded.
"Second Uncle, what's wrong with your health?" Xu Damao asked knowingly.
“What do you mean there’s something wrong with you? I think you’re the one with the problem. Now that the young man is gone, tell your second uncle who he went through and how much money he spent. Don’t worry, your second uncle will keep it a secret for you.”
"Liu Haizhong asked mysteriously."
"Uncle, what road and what money? This is the leader's way of showing me his new appointment and support. You're so old, yet you still don't have this much political awareness?"
"Da Mao, what you said makes sense. Then let me ask you, why haven't I been able to become a workshop team leader all these years? Can you analyze it for me?"
"Second Uncle, you can't ask me here, you have to ask your workshop director. The group leader position is nominated by the workshop director. However, I think that when leaders appoint people, they consider five aspects: morality, ability, diligence, performance, and integrity. If you can figure this out, I estimate you won't be far from becoming a group leader."
When Liu Haizhong saw that Li Changqing had returned, he didn't ask any more questions. He could only think about these five aspects while blowing on the hot water.
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