1959Siheyuan, a Turnaround

At noon, the sunlight shines through the glass windows of the cafeteria onto the neat dining tables, forming patches of mottled light and shadows.

Li Dahe followed his groupmate Chen Tianlei and walked into the steel mill's cafeteria for the first time.

The cafeteria was bustling with people, with colleagues sitting in groups of three or four or enjoying lunch quietly alone.

Li Dahe looked around, a hint of nervousness and anticipation showing on his face.

In a corner of the cafeteria's kitchen, Wang Guifang was busy cleaning the kitchen.

She helped with chores like washing vegetables and tidying up in the kitchen. When it was time for lunch in the canteen, her job was to clean the kitchen and wash the kitchen utensils.

When she saw Li Dahe and Chen Tianlei walk into the cafeteria, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

She knew that Li Dahe came to report today, and she also knew that he had already started working.

She put down the work in her hands, walked up to Li Dahe, and greeted him warmly: "Dahe, you're here! I heard that you have joined the company, that's great! I work in the kitchen, come and see me if you need any help."

Li Dahe was infected by the enthusiasm of his sister-in-law Wang Guifang, and his nervousness was relieved a lot.

He smiled and responded: "I know, sister-in-law, this is my new colleague Da Leizi, whose full name is Chen Tianlei. Da Leizi, this is my sister-in-law!"

"Hello, sister-in-law!"

"Hello! Dahe, you guys line up here to get your food! I have to go back to the kitchen to get busy!"

"Sister-in-law, go get busy!"

Then the two of them behaved well and lined up like everyone else to wait for their meals.

The person in charge of serving meals today is He Yuzhu. He stands in front of the steaming food, holding a spoon in one hand, and is busy serving meals to his colleagues.

When he saw Li Dahe waiting in line, he raised his head, showing his white teeth, and greeted him enthusiastically: "Brother Dahe, are you starting work today? Come, I'll make you a meal!"

Li Dahe smiled and nodded in response: "Yes, Brother Zhuzi, please give me a vegetarian dish and a multi-grain steamed bun."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu quickly filled Li Dahe's bowl with food and handed him a hot multi-grain steamed bun.

He handed over the food and said with a smile: "Brother Dahe, come to our cafeteria to eat from now on. I will make sure you are well fed with me here!"

Li Dahe was not clear about the meaning of this sentence. He just felt that it was great to eat in the factory, with a lunch box full of vegetables and multi-grain steamed buns.

He took the full lunch box, his heart filled with gratitude and satisfaction.

After thanking He Yuzhu, he and Chen Tianlei found an empty seat and sat down.

The two chatted while enjoying the delicious meal.

Although the food in the cafeteria is not the most delicious, for the workers working in the steel mill, being able to eat their fill is enough to satisfy them.

Li Dahe felt even more satisfied and was glad that he got the job in the steel rolling mill.

In a corner of the cafeteria, Yi Zhonghai sat there alone, but his eyes were shot straight at Li Dahe like a cold arrow.

There was coldness and resentment in his eyes, as if they wanted to pierce Li Dahe.

Last night, Li Weiguo made him lose face in front of everyone in the courtyard, and now he blamed Li Dahe for it all.

Yi Zhonghai gripped the chopsticks tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

He clenched his teeth, the anger in his heart growing stronger.

The noise around him seemed to be blocked out by him, and his eyes were only on Li Dahe who seemed to be indifferent.

"Humph! A peasant from the countryside wants to work in a steel mill. That's just wishful thinking!"

He has already arranged what the old lady asked him to do. If you want to blame someone, blame Li Dajiang for meddling in other people's business. He can't even protect himself, but he still wants to help others!

Since they had destroyed his retirement plan, he naturally couldn't let them go easily!

In the courtyard, Banggeng was sneaking back to the Jia family.

He held his clothes in his hands, which were bulging, as if there was some treasure hidden inside.

After he entered, he immediately closed the door tightly for fear of being discovered by others.

Jia Zhang was sewing a shoe sole that was already covered with starch and was working hard on it. When she looked up suddenly, she saw the sneaky Bang Geng.

She frowned and asked in confusion, "What are you hiding in your clothes? Why are you sneaking around like that?"

Bang Geng was startled when he heard this. He quickly came over and said with a smile: "Grandma, look what I brought back!"

As he said this, he carefully opened his clothes to reveal a piece of black flesh.

When Jia Zhang saw the meat, her eyes lit up. She snatched it away and looked at it carefully.

"This is meat. Bang Geng, tell me where did you get this meat from?"

Bang Geng raised his little face and replied proudly, "I picked it up!"

"Picked it up? How is that possible? This is meat, not dirt. You can't just pick it up! Where did this meat come from?"

Jia Zhang naturally knew that the meat was not easy to pick up, but he still wanted to make things clear.

"Bang Geng, tell grandma where this meat comes from? Come on!"

Bang Geng was questioned again and again by Jia Zhang, and the smug smile on his face disappeared instantly, and he looked around guiltily.

"Yes... it's from the Li family. Li Weihua's family has been eating fish and meat these past two days. I crawled into the Li family's kitchen and took the meat back. Grandma, do you think I'm awesome?"

"Bang Geng, how could you do this? Do this..."

How can you do this! Jia Zhang's eyes widened. Although she usually acted like a spoiled brat in the courtyard, she had never done anything illegal.

However, the Li family has been really irritating these past two days. Everyone is tightening their belts to make ends meet, but why does his family eat fish and meat every day and not let him get any advantage at all? She is very unwilling to accept this at the moment.

She thought about it and came up with an idea: "Bang Geng, no one saw you taking the meat, right?"

Jia Zhang lowered her voice and spoke softly to Bang Geng.

"Don't worry, grandma! I was very careful and no one saw me!"

"That's good, that's good, Bang Geng, let's not tell anyone about this, and don't go out this afternoon. When this is over, grandma will cook meat for you!"

"But grandma, I want to eat meat now! There is meat at home, so why don't you let me eat it?"

"Bang Geng, we can't eat it now, we can eat it after this matter is over!"

"No! This is the meat I brought back. You can't stop me from eating it..."

When Banggeng heard Jia Zhang say that he would not be given any meat to eat yet, he suddenly became anxious and shouted loudly.

"Little ancestor, stop shouting. It's not that grandma doesn't let you eat it, but you can't eat it now. Once we eat it, the Li family will know that the meat was taken by us, and they will take the meat back, and you won't be able to eat it!"

"No... the meat is mine, it's my meat now..."

"Bang Geng, listen to grandma. Let's hide the meat first. When this matter is over, we can take it out and eat it, okay?"

Bang Geng gave up struggling after hearing what Jia Zhang said: "Grandma, you didn't lie to me? Are you really going to wait two days before eating?"

"My dear! It's absolutely true. Grandma would never lie to you. But you can't tell anyone about this, not even your mother. We'll take out the meat and eat it in a few days!"