Siheyuan, my new life

Director Feng closed his eyes. This time, Hao Aiguo had really offended He Daqing and Guo Yongping. If Hao Aiguo had a good relationship with He Daqing and Guo Yongping, asking them to help him buy some grain for his family would not have been a big deal as long as no one complained and no one investigated. Moreover, grain is something that can be considered a dead end unless someone catches it red-handed and eats it afterward.

However, Hao Aiguo dared to openly force He Daqing and Guo Yongping to obtain cheap grain for the residents of the courtyard at a general meeting held in the courtyard. If He Daqing and Guo Yongping were of sound mind, they would never agree to such an extremely stupid request. Otherwise, they would be blatantly handing over their weaknesses to everyone present. If the charge of undermining the national unified purchase and sale policy were confirmed, He Daqing and Guo Yongping would at least be dismissed from their posts and punished, and might even have to go to prison for labor reform.

It is said that cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. Hao Aiguo's behavior is definitely going to ruin He Daqing and Guo Yongping's future, and may even endanger their lives and property.

In particular, Hao Aiguo dared to openly label the family member of a demobilized soldier as a sabotage element without any reason. How could Guo Yongping let it go? Although Director Feng had not had much contact with Dou Dagang, the section chief of the archives department who passed away last month, he was also a section-level cadre at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. Of course, he had heard about Dou Dagang. If it weren't for his serious injuries, Dou Dagang would definitely be one of the main leaders of the steel rolling mill.

Although he had passed away due to a recurrence of his old injuries, Director Feng learned from several department heads during a meeting at the factory that quite a few leading cadres had come to bid farewell to Dou Dagang's remains. Of course, all the factory leaders of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill were present, as were Director Qin of the Security Department and several deputy directors. Even the high-ranking leader who had always stayed at the Security Department's training base and was rarely seen, personally attended the farewell ceremony. It is said that many other leading cadres from other units also came to see him off as Dou Dagang's old comrades-in-arms and former leaders. There were also two young men who were clearly secretaries of high-ranking leaders present.

Although Director Feng is now a section-level cadre, he is very clear that he, as a technical grassroots cadre, cannot be compared with those demobilized military cadres who survived the brutal battlefield. He should know that he was just an ordinary worker working for the big capitalist Lou Bancheng, while those demobilized military cadres were all meritorious individuals with impeccable revolutionary credentials, each of them carrying several military medals.

In fact, Director Feng had long noticed that the leadership of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill was mostly composed of demobilized military officers. Even Deputy Factory Director Xue, who was in charge of technology, was a technician from a military factory in the base area. The heads of the production department and several other major functional departments almost all had military backgrounds.

If Hao Aiguo suggested at a general meeting held in the courtyard that He Daqing and Guo Yongping get some cheap grain for the residents, Director Feng could easily excuse him. The excuse was simple: Hao Aiguo was uneducated, a semi-literate person who hadn't even finished primary school. He claimed that Hao Aiguo didn't understand the national policy of unified purchase and distribution and that he was only trying to solve the grain shortage problem for all the residents of the courtyard, which is why he did something foolish with good intentions.

He believed that as long as he swallowed his pride and pleaded with Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide, the security department would probably show some leniency and not punish Hao Aiguo too severely.

However, what Hao Aiguo shouldn't have done was, in full view of everyone, to fabricate a false accusation and label Guo Yongping a "sabotage element." This was utterly absurd—completely outrageous! It's unbelievable what Hao Aiguo was thinking. How could someone be labeled a "sabotage element" so easily? That could be fatal! In today's society, being labeled a "sabotage element" means being criticized and educated by various levels of government, possibly even paraded through the streets, and in severe cases, even subjected to torture.

As for their jobs, they can forget about keeping them. Even their family members will be labeled as "black five categories." It's no exaggeration to say that once someone is labeled a sabotage element, not only will they be implicated, but their relatives and family members will also be affected.

Although no one from the leadership of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill has come to investigate Hao Aiguo yet, Director Feng is keenly aware that as long as Guo Yongping is of sound mind, he will not let Hao Aiguo off easily, and he might even be reporting to the factory leaders right now.

Director Feng was filled with remorse and regret. He shouldn't have been so lenient with Hao Aiguo. Hao, an ordinary worker in the workshop, would sneak into the workshop director's office whenever he had free time, pretending to read a newspaper. Didn't he realize that he hadn't even finished primary school? Could he possibly recognize all the words on the newspaper? Director Feng even felt that Hao Aiguo's accusation of Guo Yongping as a sabotage element was probably related to the newspapers Hao had read in a haphazard way. He had only a superficial understanding of the accusation and blurted it out without thinking.

With a soft sigh, Director Feng said in a low voice, "Section Chief Chen, all the cadres and employees of our Fitter Workshop No. 2 will severely criticize and educate Hao Aiguo for his erroneous remarks. As the director of Fitter Workshop No. 2, I bear an unshirkable responsibility for the backward thinking among some of the workers in the workshop. I will submit a written self-criticism to the higher authorities."

Deputy Section Chief Chen was clearly somewhat surprised by Director Feng's words. He had expected Director Feng to plead for Hao Aiguo, but instead, he had made his stance clear. In his heart, he had to admit that the other party had reacted quickly. It was clear from the fact that Deputy Director Xiong had personally led the team to arrest Hao Aiguo that the Security Department would not let him off easily. Since Director Feng was already willing to admit his mistake, he couldn't pursue the matter any further. So, after asking the other party to sign the interrogation record, he hurriedly left with the security guard.

After seeing Deputy Section Chief Chen off, Director Feng returned to his office and slumped back in his chair, feeling utterly exhausted. He lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and after a long while, stood up and hurried outside. He knew he had to report this incident to the production department leadership immediately.