svetikya Page 21
Page 21
Jia Dongxu was so angry he didn't know what to say. Taking things from the factory was perfectly normal, since it was a capitalist's factory.
But these kinds of things can only be done, not talked about. Everyone knows it, but they keep it from each other.
If this had happened before, it would have been over, but recently I haven't gotten along with He Yuzhu. Today, it must be He Yuzhu who came to block me, trying to find something to use against me.
At this point, Jia Dongxu felt that his foot was not so painful anymore, and he should be able to walk or run without any problems after a little activity.
Suddenly, he exerted his strength and pushed He Yuzhu, then turned and darted into the alley next to him.
He Yuzhu didn't expect this outcome either; Jia Dongxu still had the strength to run.
Fortunately, I wasn't pushed to the ground.
He Yuzhu swayed a few times, took two steps back and then stood firm, and then chased after him.
Jia Dongxu was still injured in his foot, and he only started running when he felt a dull pain. He wasn't very fast, and he was caught by He Yuzhu from behind after running less than 50 meters.
Gasping for breath, the pain in his feet intensified. Jia Dongxu was seething with hatred, but today he had fallen into He Yuzhu's hands.
Jia Dongxu secretly groaned. If he and He Yuzhu had switched places, he would definitely have dragged him to the factory and made the other lose his job.
He quickly begged for mercy: "Zhu Zi, we've been neighbors for years. I've played with you since we were little. You can't turn your back on me."
Although Jia Dongxu was confident that he could defeat He Yuzhu, the fight would still take at least a considerable amount of time.
If He Yuzhu shouts loudly, the police officers patrolling the road will definitely be called over, and things will become even more out of control.
"Oh, so you remembered we've been neighbors for years now? When you borrowed my house, why didn't you say you'd been neighbors for years? When your mother beat my sister, why didn't you say you'd been neighbors for years?"
"Zhu Zi, look at what you're saying. We have to pay rent to borrow your house. We actually want to rent your house, so you can't think badly of us."
He Yuzhu didn't want to dwell on those things; dealing with today's matters was more important.
"Alright, enough of that nonsense. What's the problem now? How about we go to the steel mill and ask if this bearing belongs to them?"
Jia Dongxu secretly groaned. He had taken the bearing from the factory. If the matter reached the factory, he could fool them and say he found it on the road, but the factory manager would never believe him.
The managers would not let him off easily; at best, he would be fined and have his wages deducted, and at worst, he would be kicked out of the steel mill.
“Zhu Zi, you know those factories belong to capitalists, and we’re just ordinary working people. What’s wrong with taking two bearings? Isn’t this what we should do?”
It's still 1951. The public-private partnership won't start until 1955. Right now, the steel rolling mill is still a small factory with three to five hundred people, and it's still a factory jointly established by a group of capitalists.
The theft of bearings by Jia Dongxu is not a serious matter; the value of the two bearings alone is not enough to warrant a criminal sentence, so there is no need for further investigation.
However, He Yuzhu did not intend to let him off easily: "They are private individuals, but they are also national capitalists. They don't have the blood of workers on their hands. Those who have the blood of workers on the mountain have long since fled to the southern islands."
Jia Dongxu couldn't refute He Yuzhu's words. Since the capitalists who remained were all doing business honestly and developing slowly, they didn't have any lives on their hands, nor were they reactionaries.
"So what do you want?" Jia Dongxu knew he was now at He Yuzhu's mercy.
"So, do you admit that this bearing was stolen from the factory?"
Jia Dongxu's face changed color, and he gritted his teeth, uttering a single word:
"Yes."
"That makes things easier. Let's write down the details."
He Yuzhu spoke, then took out a pen and a piece of paper from his pocket and handed them to Jia Dongxu.
Jia Dongxu asked, somewhat stunned, "You want me to write it down?"
"Yeah, what's the problem?"
"Then... can I not write it down?" Jia Dongxu certainly didn't want to write it down on paper, because that would become evidence and give Sha Zhu leverage over him.
"If you don't want to write it, then I'll have to send you to the factory."
"No, no, no, it hasn't come to that."
Of course, Jia Dongxu didn't want to write anymore. He begged He Yuzhu for a long time, even offering him 20 yuan, but He Yuzhu shook his head and refused.
He Yuzhu was convinced that if Jia Dongxu didn't write things down clearly today, he would send them directly to the steel rolling mill.
Jia Dongxu was furious, but he had no choice but to submit. He pleaded for a long time, but it was no use. In the end, he was forced to squat down and write a confession.
After signing his name, Jia Dongxu felt like dying and wanted to give He Yuzhu 20 yuan to let him go.
But He Yuzhu remained unmoved, which means he didn't even care about the 20 yuan.
Now that He Yuzhu has this confession in his hands, the price I'll have to pay to get it back will definitely be far more than 20 yuan.
It's really bad luck. I didn't steal much each time, and I couldn't sell it for much money. Now, I've been stealing for months for nothing.
He Yuzhu took the pen and paper, read through the confession from beginning to end to confirm that there were no problems. Although no fingerprints were taken, the words were written by Jia Dongxu himself, and there was also his signature at the bottom. With this evidence, Jia Dongxu would be able to behave obediently in the future.
"Okay, let's go back to the courtyard house."
Jia Dongxu followed behind, feeling frustrated, all the way back to the courtyard house. He ignored Aunt Yan's greetings.
Aunt Yan was so angry that she cursed at them from behind.
After entering the house, Jia Dongxu washed his face and then went to the east wing.
"Master, please save me."
"What's wrong?" Yi Zhonghai asked hurriedly.
Jia Dongxu sat down and recounted his encounter with He Yuzhu in detail.
"How could you be so careless?" Yi Zhonghai complained first.
Jia Dongxu had only recently completed his apprenticeship and didn't earn much. He handed over all his wages to Jia Zhangshi, so he would occasionally take some spare parts out to sell as pocket money.
Jia Dongxu said angrily, "Sha Zhu went there specifically to ambush me."
"Master, you must save me, otherwise I will be expelled and sent to jail."
Chapter 30 Yi Zhonghai: Okay, I'll give you 300 yuan!
Yi Zhonghai sighed, blaming himself for letting Jia Dongxu steal parts, which led to Sha Zhu catching him red-handed.
Everyone in the factory knew that the workers were taking materials from inside, but they covered for each other and were rarely caught.
If this blows up, Jia Dongxu will be a prime example, and as his mentor, he will also lose face and his reputation will be ruined.
Labeled as a thief, Jia Dongxu will find it very difficult to find a job in the future.
Right now, the only thing we can do is talk to He Yuzhu about getting that note back.
"Go to the street and buy two portions of braised dishes and a bottle of wine. We'll treat Zhuzi to dinner tonight."
Jia Dongxu said with a bitter face, "Master, I have no money."
Yi Zhonghai sighed and could only ask his wife to get the money for Jia Dongxu. After he left, Yi Zhonghai got up and went into the main room.
He Yuzhu had a guess in his heart that Yi Zhonghai was a very capable person and would most likely come over to invite him to dinner tonight. So when he got home, he didn’t rush to cook. Instead, he looked at the textbook with He Yushui.
Although simplified Chinese characters have existed since the Republic of China era, they were only for simplified writing. Current textbooks still use traditional Chinese characters, which He Yuzhu found very novel.
This also subtly reminded me that when writing outside in the future, I must remember not to write simplified characters.
Looking up, I saw Yi Zhonghai walk into the room.
"What's up?"
"I have something I want to tell you. I asked Dongxu to go buy some wine and meat. Let's eat and talk to each other tonight."
Because she didn't know what He Yuzhu was thinking, and was afraid he wouldn't give her face, she smiled and asked He Yushui:
"Would you like to go to Grandpa's house for some meat?"
Upon hearing that he could eat meat, He Yushui immediately greeted him with a grin, calling him "Grandpa" and nodding in agreement.
Yi Zhonghai first took He Yushui's hand, and then called He Yuzhu to go eat together.
He Yuzhu had no choice but to get up and follow them to the east wing.
First, they sat down to drink tea. A moment later, Jia Dongxu bought two braised dishes, pig's head and pig's ears, and a bottle of wine.
Aunt Yi cooked two hot dishes, one meat and one vegetable, and made a bowl of egg drop soup, making a total of four dishes and one soup.
Yi Zhonghai didn't bring up the note first, but instead talked about He Yuzhu's childhood.
Jia Dongxu would also occasionally mention taking He Yuzhu outside the city to catch fish, shrimp, climb trees, and raid bird nests when they were young.
Unfortunately, He Yuzhu has a different core and is no longer the same He Yuzhu.
Playing the emotional card with the two people won't have much effect on He Yuzhu right now.
After they had almost finished eating, Aunt Yi took He Yushui to the bedroom.
Yi Zhonghai then said, "Zhu Zi, you've only just started working here, so you don't know what's going on in the factory yet. We're just ordinary people, and it's perfectly normal for us to take some parts from the factory."
Jia Dongxu said, "Yeah, do you remember? I used to sell scrap metal to buy you candy."
He Yuzhu reached into his pocket, took out a hard candy, and stuffed it into Jia Dongxu's hand: "Here, here's your hard candy back."
Jia Dongxu looked down at the two pieces of hard candy in his hand, feeling both amused and exasperated. Did I ask you for hard candy? I wanted that note.
Yi Zhonghai said directly, "Zhu Zi, let's not beat around the bush, what are you thinking?"
The current situation is very passive for them; they can only wait and see what conditions He Yuzhu offers.
He didn't want to set the conditions too high, since in his opinion He Yuzhu was only 16 years old and had always been honest and kind, so he shouldn't be able to set excessive conditions.