Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 664 Factory-Run Kindergarten

Steel rolling mill.

Transport team.

"Where do you think you're going, you brat! You think you can get away with what you've done? You think you can escape!"

"Today I'm going to teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!"

"Clap clap clap!"

A group of apprentices were chasing after several chattering, unruly children. Their laughter and shouts sounded particularly jarring amidst the noise of the transport team.

They grabbed them and pulled down their pants, and the apprentices pulled out teaching aids—rubber tire strips.

I just slapped the naughty kid's bottom.

The tire blades can strike you without causing serious injury, but they can also cause pain that lasts for half a day.

The children privately called the transport team "Red Butt Hell."
They only let go after beating them until they were wailing and their buttocks were red.

"Ah woo~"

Hearing the crying, the apprentices released them.

"Remember this, don't come to the transport team again! Do you hear me?"

"heard it."

They say they've heard, but they'll come back once they're healed; these kids are always jumping between adventure and excitement.

"Let's go!" The apprentices waved their hands, and the group of mischievous kids, one hand covering their bottoms and the other rubbing their eyes, fled in a sorry state.

"These little brats, they never learn their lesson."

The apprentices shook their heads helplessly; these children would soon forget today's "lesson."

The transport team hates unruly kids the most. If they see one sneaking in to deflate a tire, they'll give him a good beating.

There are many trucks in the transport fleet. If you're not careful, hitting a child is a minor matter, but running them over and killing them is a big problem.

"I'll tell the team leader to go to the kindergarten teacher at our factory and ask her to keep an eye on the children. What if something happens to them after they run over here?"

Behind the steel rolling mill, there is a kindergarten where most of the children are the children of the steel rolling mill workers.

Since many families do not have elderly relatives to help take care of their children, the workers send their children to kindergartens so that the teachers can help look after them.

The curriculum in kindergarten is not heavy, and children spend most of their time playing.

When it's time to get off work, the parents will come to pick up their children.

If the child eats lunch at the kindergarten, additional food coupons will be required.

Therefore, families with help taking care of their children often do not choose to send their children to kindergarten.

This is one of the reasons why so many people are desperate to get into big companies—the benefits are comprehensive.

Large companies not only provide stable jobs and income, but also offer employees significant protection in areas outside of work.

Whether it's children's education or healthcare, large companies can provide comprehensive care and support.

"Let's go find the captain together."

After the apprentices reached a consensus, they went straight to Zhang Jinwu's office.

Zhang Jinwu walked through the passage connecting the steel rolling mill and the kindergarten, directly to the kindergarten's small gate.

This gate is for workers who pick up their children after get off work. They can't possibly walk around the gate after work to pick them up; it would take them a long time to walk home.

Upon seeing someone at the entrance, the kindergarten teacher immediately went up to ask them questions.

"Hello, what's the matter?"

"I'm Zhang Jinwu, the captain of the transportation team. I'm looking for the kindergarten principal. Is she here?"

"Yes, please wait a moment." Upon hearing Zhang Jinwu introduce himself, the teacher immediately opened the small door.

"By the way, weren't a few children coming back just now?"

"Yes, did they do something wrong? I'm sorry we weren't watching them closely enough. Was their mistake serious?" The teacher immediately became serious.

"It's alright, they didn't do anything wrong. The apprentices have already taught them a lesson."

"That's wonderful, I'm so sorry to have troubled you." The teacher felt even more apologetic.

Not long ago, several children did come home crying. They didn't even need the gate to open; they would find a gap in the fence and squeeze through.

Despite the numerous protective measures implemented, it still couldn't stop their desire to 'venture out into the world'.

Mischievous kids are full of clever ideas and can always find secret places that teachers haven't discovered.

Occasionally, a few mischievous children will sneak out when the teacher isn't looking.

Teachers are also exhausted by dealing with these unruly children.

"pat~"

Finally, the teacher opened the small door.

"Thank you." Zhang Jinwu walked confidently toward the principal's office.

The kindergarten's architecture is simple yet warm, with red bricks and white walls that stand out against the backdrop of green trees.

The courtyard is filled with various children's play equipment, such as slides, swings, and sandpits, where children play and frolic, their laughter echoing throughout.

This is the time for children to play outdoors.

The teachers moved among the children, constantly watching over their safety and reminding them from time to time:

"Be careful, don't fall!"

"Don't fight over the toys, take turns playing with them!"

"Don't fight! Whoever fights won't be allowed to play!"

A group of children were sitting around the sandpit, intently piling up sand, their little hands busy, their faces beaming with satisfaction and joy.

Not far away, several children were chasing an unknown insect, excitedly shouting, "Quick, catch it!"

On the other side, in the classroom.

The walls were covered with colorful pictures and alphabets, and the table was filled with various toys and teaching aids.

"Come on, students, repeat after me: one, two, three."

"Look, this word is pronounced 'I,' it means 'myself,' 'me.'"

The teachers are patiently guiding the children in some simple cognitive activities, such as counting and recognizing characters.

We passed a classroom.

Zhang Jinwu noticed that several children had tear stains on their faces.

When they saw Zhang Jinwu, they immediately lowered their heads in fright; he was clearly one of those mischievous kids.

"Come on, children, look over here. Today, your teacher is going to tell you a story about safety."

On the platform, a kind and approachable teacher stood among them, holding a picture book with beautiful illustrations.

Her voice was gentle and captivating, instantly drawing the attention of all the children.

The cover of the picture book features a cute little bear standing by a busy road, its face showing hesitation and fear.

The teacher gently opened the picture book and began to tell the story:
"Once upon a time, there was a little bear named Bear. He lived in a neighborhood near a factory. One day, Bear sneaked out of the house when his mother wasn't looking..."

As the teacher narrated, the children seemed to be drawn into the world of the story.

They stared intently at the illustrations in the book, listening to how Xiong Xiong nearly got into danger because of his curiosity, and how he was eventually rescued by a kind worker.

"Children, do you know that bears' behavior is very dangerous?"

The teacher paused her lecture at the right moment, her gaze sweeping over each child.

“There are many unseen dangers hidden in places like roads and factories in our lives.”

"Therefore, we must listen to our parents and teachers, not leave safe places casually, and never do dangerous things."

The children listened intently, some nodding to show they understood, while others looked terrified.

The teacher continued telling the story, interspersing it with some simple safety information.

As he listened to the teacher's lecture, Zhang Jinwu nodded in agreement.

He thought the kindergarten didn't care about anything, but it turns out they did; it was these few naughty kids who caused the problem.

They originally came to demand an explanation, but now it seems the situation should change; perhaps the kindergarten is innocent as well.

Zhang Jinwu went straight to the principal's office.

"Dong Dong~"

"Please come in."

Kindergarten director Li Cuifen looked up and saw Zhang Jinwu: "Captain Zhang, is there anything I can help you with? Have those naughty kids caused trouble again?"

"I'm so sorry, there are too many children in the kindergarten and the teachers are not supervising them properly. Don't worry, I will take care of this immediately."

Judging from Li Cuifen's practiced manner, it was clear that this had happened more than once.

"Your kindergarten kid ran into the transport team again. Luckily, nothing serious happened." Zhang Jinwu briefly explained what had happened.

"I'm so sorry," Li Cuifen apologized skillfully.

Zhang Jinwu waved his hand: "Alright, I'm not here to interrogate you. You can't always rely on teachers for supervision. Have you spoken to your superiors about this?"

"They said they were going to install wire mesh fencing at the kindergarten, but it still hasn't been installed." "The factory is busy, and they have to be careful when working for our kindergarten. Don't they want to do it?"

The workshop is busy, that's one thing, but the other is installing guardrails. If a child gets hurt, who's responsible? It's the kindergarten's fault for not protecting them properly.

The problem lies with the workshop where the installation was done improperly, failing to address potential safety hazards.

Many of the children in this kindergarten are the children of leaders and cadres in the logistics department.

The kindergarten is directly under the management of the logistics department. It doesn't matter if other children get injured, but it's a problem if their children get injured.

Zhang Jinwu nodded: "Alright, I understand. I'll arrange for the transport team to come and install the guardrails when I have some free time. Keep an eye on these children and don't let them get close."

In crucial moments, you still have to rely on yourself.

"Thank you so much, Captain Zhang," Li Cuifen said gratefully. With the safety railing, these mischievous kids could finally stop running around.

She doesn't need to worry about the kids running around and making mistakes; as long as she takes good care of the railings, everything will be fine.

"By the way, do you have the materials?"

"Yes, yes, yes, they're all in the warehouse. Let me show you." Li Cuifen quickly led the way to the warehouse.

Zhang Jinwu nodded when he saw that there were protective railings in the warehouse.

Zhang Jinwu had previously proposed installing barbed wire fencing in the transportation team, but the proposal was rejected by the logistics department because it would "damage the factory's appearance."

If the transport team can't carry it, then the kindergarten will have to carry it.

"Okay, I'll take care of this for you today. I don't know exactly when, so be prepared."

"What do you mean by 'determined'? I'll wait all day long," Li Cuifen said with a smile. It's good enough that someone is responsible for the installation; why would I be picky?

"Okay, I'm leaving now."

Zhang Jinwu left through a side door, escorted by Li Cuifen.

At noon, the head of the logistics department took the child away through a side gate.

Go through the small door and head straight to the canteen where the leaders and cadres eat.

The section chief, seeing his restless son, scolded him, "Eat your food properly, what are you doing fidgeting around for!"

The child was scolded and immediately became teary-eyed with grievance.

"Stop crying! What kind of man cries? Take it back!"

Upon hearing this, the child couldn't hold back any longer and burst into loud sobs.

"Awoo~" The crying was loud.

"Why cry!"

"Ouch, my butt hurts! It hurts so much!"

"Your butt hurts? You deserve a beating!"

The section chief immediately pulled the child up, took off his pants, and saw several light red marks on his buttocks, clearly from the waistband.

"Who hit him?!"

He instantly flew into a rage. He himself couldn't bear to hurt his child, so how could he tolerate others hitting him?

"Dad will stand up for you! Who hit you?!"

"It was the transport team that beat me! A lot of people beat me. They took off their pants and beat me. They beat several of us."

"What?! This is outrageous! Come on! I want to see who hit you!"

He was so angry that he refused to eat and went straight to the transport team to demand an explanation.

On the way out, they happened to run into several other cadres.

After exchanging a few words, the group realized it was the same thing, and immediately felt a shared sense of righteous indignation, rushing headlong towards the transport team.

"Zhang Jinwu! Zhang Jinwu, come out here!"

A group of logistics department cadres were shouting outside the transportation team's office.

The group, who had just finished eating and were about to rest, rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

Seeing the aggressive demeanor of the leaders from the logistics department, everyone frowned.

"What is it?" Zhang Jinwu came out upon hearing the voice.

The section chief immediately rebuked him: "Zhang Jinwu, how do you manage people as the captain of the transportation team? You don't even know that your subordinates are not being honest?"

“Look what your men did to my son, his butt is all red.”

As she spoke, she pulled up her son, turned around, and pulled down his pants, revealing his slightly red buttocks.

"If you don't give me an explanation for what happened today, this isn't over. You also need to hand over that apprentice who had the nerve to do that!"

"My son doesn't need an outsider to discipline him!"

These words were immediately echoed by others.

"That's right, this matter won't be over until we give them an explanation!"

"I wouldn't even discipline my own son, so how could a stranger, a mere apprentice, possibly discipline you!"

"Son, point to which bastard hit you?"

One by one, the mischievous kids pointed at the apprentices who were spanking themselves.

They trembled involuntarily upon being accused, even though there was a reason and a legitimate cause.

But their parents are government officials, and their social status is inferior. Now that they've been approached, how can they not be afraid?

Immediately, everyone turned to look at Zhang Jinwu, hoping he could stand up for them.

"Hmph!" When someone comes knocking on your door, you have to argue even if you're in the wrong.

Now that he has a better reason to stand, Zhang Jinwu naturally wants to uphold the dignity of the transport team.

"Trying to cause trouble for my transport team? My apprentices did a good job, they only gave them a few slaps on the bottom, not enough! Too light!"

"If I'm going to take action, I'll beat them until they're completely crippled, so they'll know the pain and what death truly means!"

These words instantly enraged them.

"Zhang Jinwu, what do you mean by this!"

"What do you mean? This is exactly what I mean. You didn't even ask what your precious son did. You dare to come here and interrogate me without even getting to the bottom of things?"

Immediately, one or two cadres realized the deeper meaning behind it and looked down at their children.

Seeing that they all lowered their heads and avoided seeing him, he knew there was something fishy going on.

Zhang Jinwu said directly, "Your good son did a great job. He was in kindergarten during class, and he actually sneaked out when the teacher wasn't looking."

"Of all the places to run, it had to come to my transport team's location. If the driver wasn't careful, he would have been run over and killed!"

“In the past, my transport team would give the kids a break and teach them a lesson as a token gesture, but now you dare to come knocking on our door.”

"Alright, let me make this clear first. From now on, if any of your children die here, our transport team will not be responsible. They deserve to die!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the faces of the parents of those unruly children changed drastically; they were almost charcoal-black under the bright sun.

Even if what Zhang Jinwu said was true, it didn't have to be so heartless, and she immediately became furious.

"Zhang Jinwu, what do you mean by this!"

That's exactly what I mean! What's wrong with that?

Zhang Jinwu retorted angrily: "The kindergarten principal has applied for the installation of safety railings several times. Has someone in your logistics department died? Haven't you seen it for so long?"

"I think it's because not many children have died yet that you won't realize how serious the situation is until you've been taught a lesson. By then, it will be too late to regret it!"

Zhang Jinwu unleashed his full firepower, leaving them speechless. Upon reflection, they realized that the kindergarten had indeed applied for assistance in coordinating the work several times.

But they found it too troublesome and were too lazy to deal with it, so it just disappeared without a trace.

When the apprentices saw Zhang Jinwu standing up for them, they couldn't help but feel proud and arrogant!
"Hmph, we'll handle it ourselves, we don't need you to teach us!" one of the cadres retorted defiantly.

Zhang Jinwu retorted, "Handle it? By the time you get around to handling it, it'll be too late. We don't need you anymore. My transport team can handle the installation of the guardrails ourselves."

"You can't even get your shit hot in time. What's the use of your logistics department? A bunch of old men sitting in the office all day, not knowing how to do anything practical."

"That's right!" This statement was immediately echoed by the rest of the transport team.

Some of the workers had long been dissatisfied with the logistics department, as they dragged their feet on important matters and didn't act like they were doing anything right.

Things that could have been handled quickly were instead made complicated by using one's limited power to boss people around.

The cadres, including "you all," were rendered speechless by the rebuttal.

"You brat, you deserve a beating!"

When they're angry, they can only take it out on their own children.

"Go hit the child somewhere else, don't do it in my transport team's area, it's disturbing my team's rest!"

"Good, very good!" Looking at the menacing transport team, they didn't dare to utter a single harsh word, fearing they wouldn't be able to leave.

The group slunk away in a sorry state.

"The Captain is awesome!"

"The Captain is awesome!"

Zhang Jinwu clapped his hands, looked at everyone, and shouted, "Let's go, let's all go to the kindergarten to work!"

(End of this chapter)