Chapter 28

"Where's Yingying?" Chu Tianshu sat opposite Zhang Wei and asked.

"She's been sent to her grandmother's house." Tan Yufen said as she handed a bowl of porridge to Chu Tianshu.

Chu Tianshu looked at Tan Yufen's beautiful face and smiled, "Sister-in-law, thank you."

"For what? You've spent a lot of money taking care of Yingying." Tan Yufen shifted her body and placed a small bamboo basket of baked cakes in front of Chu Tianshu. "I know you've been sleeping all morning, so Zhang Wei specially asked me to make your share."

Chu Tianshu smiled, "Hehe, whenever Brother Wei comes home for a meal, I always get to benefit."

"Hehe. Xiao Chu, are you busy with work?" Zhang Wei took a bite of the cake and, seeing Chu Tianshu's somewhat ambiguous smile, quickly changed the subject.

Chu Tianshu took a sip of porridge and said, "It's okay, just some miscellaneous things every day, not really busy."

"You haven't been around for the past two nights. Are you feeling unwell?" Tan Yufen sat down, wrapped some leek and egg in a cake, and handed it to Chu Tianshu, still concerned.

Chu Tianshu took it and shook his head, "No, Sister-in-law."

Zhang Wei said, "Yufen, Xiao Chu is already a grown man. He should have his own things to do. Don't worry so much."

"Until he gets married, he's still a child." Tan Yufen smiled, looked at Chu Tianshu, and said, "Xiao Chu, you've been wearing the same clothes for two days. It's summer, and they're starting to smell. Why don't you change and let me wash them for you?"

Chu Tianshu blushed and said, "No need, Sister-in-law. I have nothing to do today, I'll wash them myself."

Tan Yufen gave him a look and said, "Look at you, you're even being polite to your sister-in-law. Brother Wei's clothes haven't been washed yet, so a couple more won't tire me out."

Chu Tianshu was deeply moved. Over the two years of renting, Tan Yufen had truly treated him like a younger brother.

As they were talking, a middle-aged man with a full beard walked in from outside the yard, carrying a bloody bag in his hand.

Zhang Wei quickly stood up and greeted him warmly, "Master, you're here?"

The man was Zheng Xiaomin's father, Zheng Butcher, who had been Zhang Wei and Tan Yufen's master at the factory.

Tan Yufen quickly brought over a small stool and said with a smile, "Master, have some food with us."

"I've already eaten. I came today to thank Director Chu." Zheng Butcher's meat stall was set up at the intersection where the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) staff got off work. Later, Zheng Xiaomin applied for a job as a receptionist at the SASAC office building, so he was familiar with the SASAC staff, calling everyone "Director."

The SASAC staff were also familiar with him, calling him "Zheng Butcher."

Zhang Wei asked Zheng Butcher to sit down and asked, "Master, what's the matter?"

Zheng Butcher placed the bag by the table leg, wiped his eyes, and said, "Zhang Wei, you know, your master is in the hospital..."

"What's wrong with your master? I saw her the day before yesterday, and she seemed fine." Tan Yufen handed a cup of tea to Zheng Butcher and asked quickly.

Zheng Butcher sighed and said, "There's still a shortfall of about 20,000 yuan for the hospital fees, and she's insisting on being discharged."

"That won't do. It's the last course of treatment; you can't give up now." Zhang Wei said, "Master, if it's not enough, I'll help you raise the money."

"No, no." Zheng Butcher waved his hands, "Yesterday morning, Director Tian from the SASAC office came to the hospital and paid 30,000 yuan in one go. He said it was a donation from Director Chu and himself."

Chu Tianshu quickly said, "Master Zheng, it's what I should do."

Tian Tuzi was considerate enough to take half the credit, which made Chu Tianshu feel uneasy, but he couldn't explain, so he just mumbled a few polite words.

Zheng Butcher stood up and bowed respectfully to Chu Tianshu.

Chu Tianshu quickly put down his chopsticks and held Zheng Butcher's hand, saying, "Master Zheng, you can't do that. You're Brother Wei's master, and therefore my master too."

Tan Yufen, moved to tears, said, "Master, Xiaomin is so lucky to have such good colleagues and leaders. You should thank them properly."

"Yes, yes." Zheng Butcher said, "I don't know where Director Tian lives, but I know Director Chu lives here. So, I brought a few pig trotters and some offal. Yufen, could you cook them for me? I want to invite Director Chu to have a few drinks tonight as a token of my gratitude. Director Chu, you can't refuse."

"Sure!" Zhang Wei patted Chu Tianshu's shoulder and said, "Brother, you're a man of honor. Yufen, prepare a few dishes. I'll come back early tonight and join Master in having a few drinks with Brother Chu."

After the meal, Zhang Wei and Zheng Butcher left together.

Tan Yufen quickly washed the clothes Chu Tianshu had changed out of and the pajamas he had brought back the day before.

Chu Tianshu returned to his room, called Liu Chunna to greet her, and took a short nap. After resting, he went to the street to buy two bottles of wine and some cold dishes.

Around 6 PM, Zheng Butcher and Zhang Wei returned early, and Tan Yufen had already set the table.

The three of them sat in the yard and started drinking.

The yard was home to former factory colleagues, who, although they had been laid off and were now making a living in different ways, still lived under the same roof and helped each other in times of need. They had deep feelings for each other, and Zhang Wei, being a man of honor, called out to Da Hu, Lao Wan, and others to join them for drinks.

When they heard that Chu Tianshu had donated a lot of money for Master Zheng's wife, they all raised their thumbs and toasted to him. Zheng Butcher also expressed his gratitude.

Da Hu, Lao Wan, and others were straightforward people, and the two bottles of wine were quickly finished. Da Hu then brought another bottle from his house, and as they drank, they all became a bit tipsy.

As they drank and chatted, Zhang Wei and the others started talking about the factory.

Chu Tianshu couldn't join in the conversation, so he just listened with his glass in hand.

Zhang Wei said, "Master, today I heard from the old workshop director that the factory is going to be sold."

Zheng Butcher was surprised, "No way! Didn't they say the provincial electromechanical group was going to merge with us? How could it change so quickly? Everyone was waiting to be rehired after the merger."

Zhang Wei said, "I heard from the old director that Secretary Guo and Factory Director Liu never wanted to cooperate with the provincial electromechanical group, so the negotiations didn't go well."

Zheng Butcher said, "Why? Merging would give everyone a job, wouldn't that be great?"

Da Hu took over, "The leaders are not good. After the merger, they would have to compete for their positions. What can Secretary Guo and Factory Director Liu do besides drinking and partying? Of course, they don't want to be merged."

Zheng Butcher cursed, "Damn, a good factory is being destroyed by these two scoundrels."

Lao Wan, holding his glass, suddenly said, "If that's the case, I'm sure Secretary Guo and Factory Director Liu are getting some benefits from it."

"Master Wan, you can't say that outside," Da Hu pulled on Zheng Butcher's sleeve. "We can't afford to offend these scoundrels."

Lao Wan's hand holding the glass trembled, "What can we do? I heard that in a month or so, the factory won't even be able to pay the layoff benefits."

Zhang Wei said, "Now a developer is interested in the factory land and wants to build houses for real estate. Secretary Guo and Factory Director Liu plan to sell the entire factory to the developer at once."

Da Hu cursed, "Damn scoundrels, selling the factory. What will happen to us?"

Zhang Wei said, "For the employees, I heard they plan to use the money from selling the land to buy out our contracts."

Zheng Butcher said, "Damn, how much can a buyout be? With a few ten thousand yuan, how can we live the rest of our lives?"

Da Hu, dejected, said, "Yes, if the factory is sold, we will have no hope at all."

At this moment, Tan Yufen suddenly interjected, "Zhang Wei, won't the storefronts be gone too?"

Zhang Wei said, "That's right. When they heard this, the neighbors Mao Tou and Xiao Wu started cursing."

Tan Yufen, worried, said, "If this happens, how will everyone live?"

Zheng Butcher, anxious, said, "Zhang Wei, you need to discuss this with everyone. There are thousands of people in the factory. We can't let a few scoundrels fool us."

Zhang Wei suddenly remembered something and turned to Chu Tianshu, "We are a state-owned unit, so we should be under the SASAC. Xiao Chu, I heard the initial plan has been submitted. Do you know about it?"

Zhang Wei was right; state-owned enterprise reform and restructuring were indeed under the SASAC's jurisdiction.

However, the Comprehensive Department was always the last to know about official business. Chu Tianshu had no idea if the Instrument Factory's restructuring plan had been submitted. His face turned red, and he mumbled, "No, I don't."

Zheng Butcher, full of hope, said, "That's good. Xiao Chu, you're a good person and a leader at the SASAC. You must stand up for us laid-off workers."

This made Chu Tianshu feel ashamed, wishing he could find a hole to hide in.

Sigh, as a mere clerk, he was at the mercy of others, let alone standing up for thousands of laid-off workers.

Listening to Zhang Wei's discussion and seeing Tan Yufen's worried face, Chu Tianshu felt a deep sense of unease and silently lamented: the common people at the bottom are truly suffering!

However, Guan Haoyu, Huang Roshan, and others in the air-conditioned offices only heard reports from Secretary Guo and Factory Director Liu. They couldn't hear the cries of the laid-off workers or see their hardships. What they cared most about was their own positions, not the legitimate rights of the laid-off workers.

At this moment, Chu Tianshu deeply realized that his previous ambition to become an official was just to buy a house, a car, and find a good wife, to avoid being bullied by people like Tian Keming, and to make Liu Chunna's family live a good life. These goals seemed so trivial and vulgar compared to the survival of thousands of laid-off workers!

Chu Tianshu wished he could become the SASAC director tomorrow. Even if he couldn't do much for the laid-off workers, he could at least help them protect their legitimate rights.

Seeing Chu Tianshu's silence, Zhang Wei slammed his chopsticks on the table and said loudly, "If there's no other way, we'll go on a collective petition."

Zheng Butcher, Da Hu, and Lao Wan also slammed their glasses on the table and said, "Yes, we'll go all out."

Seeing Zhang Wei and the others' passionate response, Chu Tianshu was also filled with enthusiasm!

To be an official, a big official, for the sake of his familiar family and friends, for the sake of the suffering people at the bottom!