Having learned about Yi Zhonghai's character, Jia Dongxu's goodwill towards him diminished considerably. Although he didn't hate Yi Zhonghai to the point of hatred, a knot remained in his heart that he could never untie.
Qin Huairu was considering how to utilize this relationship and make good use of Yi Zhonghai. Since everyone was preoccupied, after dinner, the entire Jia family went to bed to rest. Qin Huairu didn't even do any chores in the kitchen.
The next day, Jia Dongxu didn't go to the hospital because he had to go to work at the steel rolling mill. To find out if his mentor was hiding something, Jia Dongxu kept observing others at work.
It would have been better if he hadn't observed it; the more he observed, the worse Jia Dongxu's mood became. Jia Dongxu discovered that many of the key points Yi Zhonghai had taught him were wrong, or rather, not wrong, but rather that Yi had held back some crucial information. No wonder he had failed every assessment.
Jia Dongxu learned from others while working. He knew he had to take advantage of Yi Zhonghai's injury to learn as many skills as possible. Once Yi Zhonghai returned to the steel rolling mill, it would be difficult for him to learn new skills later.
With Yi Zhonghai around, no one dared to teach him the techniques. With proper demonstrations, Jia Dongxu's skills continued to improve. After all, Jia Dongxu had worked for seven years, and Yi Zhonghai only dared to tamper with things in some key areas, not daring to teach Jia Dongxu haphazardly.
If he were to do that, Yi Zhonghai would be heavily criticized. Therefore, he only dared to use underhanded tactics in crucial areas. He mostly employed methods used by advanced fitters. However, these methods require a strong foundation, which a novice simply couldn't master.
Yi Zhonghai's brilliance lies in the fact that even if others discover these things, they won't pay attention. They'll just assume Yi Zhonghai is teaching Jia Dongxu some special techniques. Even if someone does notice something, they generally won't warn Jia Dongxu. After all, Yi Zhonghai is Jia Dongxu's master.
Those who didn't know the reason might have thought that Jia Dongxu failed the assessments because he was too nervous. Knowing the real reason, Jia Dongxu started correcting his mistakes from the basics.
Jia Dongxu was honing his skills, and so was Wei Hua. Through secret comparisons, Wei Hua realized his skills were around level 4 fitter. Anyway, he figured he could do anything a level 4 fitter could do.
To avoid revealing his true abilities, Wei Hua often slacked off at work, trying his best to appear reasonable.
He used to be seen as a blockhead by everyone. Even though his parents' death changed him, skills had to be learned step by step. So Wei Hua only dared to demonstrate a level 2 skill.
Then, he gradually showed his abilities to everyone in his daily work. This way, his progress would seem reasonable. Soon, news of Wei Hua's breakthrough spread throughout the workshop.
However, no one took Wei Hua too seriously, after all, Wei Hua had a father who was a level six fitter. What father wouldn't secretly teach his son some skills?
Wei Hua must have been too pampered before, so she never took her work seriously. Now that Wei Baoguo is dead, and Wei Hua is the only one left in the Wei family, she has suddenly come to her senses.
Even if Wei Hua only had a level 2 fitter skill, not many people would really take him seriously, let alone a level 3 fitter skill.
There are plenty of fitters below level 5 in the steel rolling mill. To become a master fitter, you need at least level 5 fitter skills. Otherwise, you won't have much say in the workshop.
The steel rolling mill employs nearly ten thousand workers. Who would really care about the performance of two Level 1 fitters? Wei Hua and Jia Dongxu were secretly honing their skills, at least that's how it appeared to outsiders.
In reality, Wei Hua was slacking off the whole time. Hearing the bell ring at the steel rolling mill, Wei Hua left the workshop. Seeing the canteen so close by, Wei Hua felt a bit annoyed.
Everyone's quota is fixed; even if you received 8 jin of meat coupons last time, you can't squander them recklessly. If you can't explain where they came from, it will cause a lot of trouble.
This made Wei Hua hesitant to indulge in lavish meals at the steel mill and the courtyard house. Fortunately, the meat coupons awarded by the system didn't need to be redeemed. Taking out two ounces of coupons, Wei Hua got himself a large meat dish and a vegetable dish. Looking at the piece of pork belly in front of him, Wei Hua took some rice and left.
Many of the others swallowed hard when they saw the piece of pork belly in Wei Hua's bowl. It wasn't that no one could afford it, but rather that very few were willing to eat it.
Those with low wages and benefits can only dream about it. Those with high wages and benefits usually have families to support; it's not that they can't afford to eat, but rather that they can't bear to. Even if they did manage to get a piece of pork belly weighing nearly two ounces, they would find a way to bring it home to share with their families.
Only someone like Wei Hua, who lives alone, would indulge in such extravagance. Wei Hua had barely sat down for a moment when Xu Damao sat down like a ghost.
"Hua Zi, you're something else! This pork belly must weigh about two ounces, right? I never thought that after Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei left, your standard of living would not only not decline, but would actually get better and better."
"Just tell me what you want! If there's nothing wrong, you definitely wouldn't be trying to get close to me. As long as it's related to me and beneficial to me, this piece of meat is yours."
"You said it yourself. A real man means what he says. You can't go back on your word after I finish speaking."
"Spit it out if you have something to say. If you don't speak, I'll eat this piece of meat."
"When I was drinking with our section chief, he told me that the steel rolling mill will be conducting assessments in about two weeks, and this assessment is for everyone. If you want to get promoted, you should quickly ask your mentor or others for advice on related matters."
"I don't know much about fitter skills, but the assessment criteria are pretty much the same. You just need to ask those who have taken the exam what exactly is being tested, and then provide targeted training. That will make the assessment much easier."
"Dude, this stuff should be useful to you, right? I not only told you the news, but I also came up with a solution for you. For all of this, it shouldn't be too much to ask for a piece of your flesh, right?"
Upon hearing Xu Damao's words, Wei Hua immediately transferred the pork belly from his bowl into Xu Damao's bowl.
Xu Damao looked at the pork belly with a small bite taken out of it, but didn't mind at all. He picked it up and started putting it in his mouth.
"Hua Zi, you're really straightforward. If you ever want to ask me anything in the future, just come to me. I, Xu Damao, may not have many other skills, but I do have some talent for gathering information."
"Then I'll come to you if I need anything in the future, but please don't find me annoying."
“We’re all childhood friends. Now we’re both working at the steel mill. If we don’t stick together, are we going to fight every day?”
"So, according to you, you and Shazhu have made up? Is there any serious problem with your injury from last time?"
"I'll pass on Sha Zhu and me. I don't want to associate with someone as clueless as him, lest I get dragged into this one day. As for the injury, it's nothing serious, it just hurt for a couple of days."
After saying that, Xu Damao didn't care at all and started eating the meat in big mouthfuls. Unfortunately, there were only two ounces of meat, and Xu Damao finished it in just a few bites.
The two chatted and ate together, and then returned to their respective jobs. But when Wei Hua finished work in the afternoon, he ran into Xu Damao again at the factory gate.
Anyone with half a brain knows that Xu Damao was deliberately waiting for him.
"Xu Damao, what brings you here this time? If you weren't waiting for me on purpose, I don't believe it's such a coincidence that we met."
"You understand me best, Hua Zi. Would you like to come with me to see something interesting?"
Hearing Xu Damao's words, Wei Hua nodded. Since he had nothing to do that night, he might as well go with Xu Damao to see what was going on and pass the time.
Wei Hua followed Xu Damao to the steel rolling mill canteen.
"Don't say or do anything later, just stay here and watch quietly."
Hearing Xu Damao's words, Wei Hua roughly understood what had happened. Since it involved Sha Zhu, it must be either the lunchbox or a woman. Besides those two things, Sha Zhu wouldn't make any other mistakes.
Sure enough, a short while later, Sha Zhu came out of the cafeteria carrying a lunchbox.
"We'll just follow Sha Zhu home. Once we get to the Intermediate People's Court, you'll understand everything."
Even without Xu Damao saying anything, Wei Hua knew what was going to happen.
"Are you trying to say that Sha Zhu will give the lunchbox to Jia Dongxu's wife, Qin Huairu?"
"Holy crap! I thought I was the first to find it, but you found it even before me. Do you think Sha Zhu has lost his mind?"
"It's one thing for them to take the leftovers from the cafeteria back with them, but they also have to give away these hard-earned things to others every day. I know a bit about the kitchen staff; often they prepare some food in advance so they can take it with them."
"It would be understandable if Sha Zhu took it back for himself and his sister, but why would he give it to Qin Huairu? Do you think something might have happened between Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu? Otherwise, why would he do this?"
"Everyone knows that Sha Zhu is lusting after Qin Huairu. Otherwise, why would Sha Zhu give the lunchbox to Qin Huairu?"
Upon hearing Wei Hua's words, Xu Damao was stunned. He then stared at Wei Hua in disbelief.
Seeing Xu Damao's behavior, Wei Hua realized he had misspoke. After all, it was only 1958, and many things hadn't happened yet. Jia Dongxu's salary was about the same as Sha Zhu's, and with Yi Zhonghai's help, the Jia family's life wasn't any worse than Sha Zhu's.
Before Jia Dongxu died, Qin Huairu couldn't possibly have been having an affair. Even if she were to do such things, she wouldn't dare to do it openly.
"What are you looking at? It's as obvious as a louse on a monk's head. I used to go to the backyard a lot, and I also had a good relationship with that old woman. Sha Zhu also had a good relationship with that old woman. I often saw Sha Zhu staring at Qin Huairu when he had nothing to do."
"Words can deceive, but eyes do not."
Upon hearing Wei Hua's words, Xu Damao immediately put on a knowing look. Then he quickly pulled Wei Hua along and slowly caught up with them.
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