Dou Baoguo was practically begging for trouble. Yesterday, after calling the bureau, he had gone to Zhou Chunming and told him Director Chu was coming for an inspection the day after tomorrow, so Zhou Chunming had better be prepared.
He had meant to sabotage Zhou Chunming, but he had unwittingly dug a pit only to bury himself.
And the one shoveling the dirt on top of him was none other than Li Ruhai.
After hearing what Zhou Chunming had to say, Li Ruhai’s eyes narrowed into a smile. "Uncle, I get it! I’ll split the story into a Part One and a Part Two. I’ll tell the first part today, and the second part tomorrow."
"Mm-hmm." Zhou Chunming nodded and gave Li Ruhai a long, searching look. "You’ve got such a sharp mind. It’s a shame you’re not focusing on school. I really don’t understand why a kid like you wants to be a gatekeeper."
Li Ruhai chuckled at Zhou Chunming’s praise. "Uncle, I can’t wait. I’m off."
With that, Li Ruhai took off running in the direction of Cafeteria Number One.
"Slow down!" Zhou Chunming sighed as he watched Li Ruhai’s retreating figure. He then turned and went upstairs, telling his secretary, Yu Quanjin, to go to Cafeteria Number One to pick up lunch and, while he was there, to see what kind of show Li Ruhai could put on.
Yu Quanjin had just stepped out of his office when he ran into Li Chaoyun, who was coming out of the room next door. They exchanged a look, and both let out a cold snort, yet they still walked toward the cafeteria side-by-side.
On the way, Li Chaoyun, still in the dark about what was going on, grinned at Yu Quanjin. "Secretary Yu, what are all those lunch boxes for? Your Secretary Zhou might not be..."
Realizing he’d misspoken, Li Chaoyun hastily corrected himself, "...might not be back for a while."
But Yu Quanjin, who already knew the outcome, just gave a faint smile and said nothing.
As the two of them reached the cafeteria entrance, they saw a tall, burly middle-aged man walking out. He was holding a lunch box full of dishes in one hand. In his other hand, he held the lid, on which sat two mixed-grain steamed buns.
Behind him was an even taller and broader young man, holding the same meal.
Yu Quanjin and Li Chaoyun both recognized the pair: Li Dayong from the dispatch team and Li Baoyu from the transportation fleet.
But why weren’t the father and son eating inside the cafeteria? Why had they come outside to eat, squatting under a large tree?
Pondering this question, the two secretaries stepped into Cafeteria Number One together. The moment they were inside, they froze.
The serving counter, where a long line should have been forming, was completely empty. Behind the five windows stood a single person, Zhao Youcai. With one hand on his hip and a long ladle in the other, he was listlessly tapping the edge of a serving pan, muttering to himself, "Is nobody else getting food? The glass noodles are going to turn into a solid lump!"
But his voice was drowned out by a much louder one.
At the very back of the cafeteria, nine tables had been pushed together to form a large, square platform.
On this platform was a table, a stool, and a young man, holding forth with great confidence.
He declared, "As the Head of Production, Dou Baoguo is incompetent and ignorant! He deceives his superiors and bullies his subordinates, he installs his own cronies, and he even condoned them as they beat up four of our inspectors! In this day and age, under the clear, blue sky, that such a villain is allowed to exist—if this is to be tolerated, what won’t be?"
SLAM! Li Ruhai slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Fellow workers, can you tolerate a rat-like scoundrel like him?"
"We can’t!" someone in the crowd yelled, pumping their fist in the air. Countless others roared in agreement, and one person shouted, "Make that bastard Dou step down!"
"Step down!"
"He doesn’t even know how to measure a flare joint! No wonder people say he’s incompetent!"
At that, Li Ruhai raised both hands, and the cafeteria fell silent in an instant. Then, his voice boomed once more, "As the saying goes: the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small! Dou Baoguo has committed endless evil, and his reckoning will come! Just as he stood there, speechless from Zhao Jun’s tirade, he saw a dark shadow flying straight for his face! Then, with a cry of ’AHH!’ he saw..."
He drew out the final word, his gaze sweeping over the audience gazing up at him. Then, he slammed his palm down hard on the table and continued, "Blood splattered everywhere! If you want to know what happened next, then you’ll have to wait for the next installment: The Foolish Director Plays Favorites, and Zhao Jun’s Three Blows to the Black-Hearted Dou!"