Chapter 4 of Volume 1: Who Can Endure Humiliation and Swallow His Voice

  Make a wish, hoping that the number of red votes every day can exceed the updated word count; otherwise, let's play a game "you vote for how many red votes, I update how many words"?

  Ge Yongqiu had thought that by relying on the prestige of his position as Secretary-General, he could suppress Shen Hua, but unexpectedly Shen Hua was not intimidated by either soft or hard tactics, and Ge found himself at a loss for what to do with this thorny problem.

  Ge Yongqiu could have directly reported the matter to Chen Mingde, after all, Vice Mayor Chen Mingde was still able to suppress Shen Hua, even if there was bias, it was impossible for Shen Hua to make such a mess at the municipal steel plant.

  However, Ge Yongqiu did not expect Shen Huai to be so overbearing, with his words directly targeting the management of the municipal steel factory, which made him think twice.

  Watching her big brother for a long time before daring to get up pitifully, his swollen face was covered in blood, and he didn't know how badly he was hurt. Ge Yongqiu was trying hard to restrain himself, but the anger in his heart was boiling over, and his whole body was trembling.

  It wasn't until after a good while that Ge Yongqiu thought of having someone send his elder brother-in-law to the factory's medical room for treatment.

  Shen Huai glanced around the office at other staff members of the Production Safety Department, and said to Ge Yongqiu: "Secretary Ge, if there's nothing else, I'll head back to the city first." He clutched a copy of the investigation report in his hand and walked out.

  Shen Huai stayed again, also lost his face, Ge Yongqiu had no choice but to take him, naturally hoping that this beast would leave early.

  Ge Yongqiu sat there, his face cold and silent, as Shen Huai swaggered out; the others were even more intimidated by Shen Huai's aura, not daring to speak a word, nor did they dare to comfort Ge Yongqiu.

  All the old employees understand the relationship between Zhou Dàmǔizǐ and Gě Yǒngqiū. Looking at Gě Yǒngqiū's trembling hands, they can tell he is on the verge of an explosion at any moment. Who would dare to stir up this powder keg for no reason? It's not the right time to flatter him either.

  "What happened to all the people at the municipal steel factory?" Ge Yongqiu slammed a glass cup on the table into pieces, it had been so long since the incident, and not one of the leaders from the municipal steel factory was seen, which made him feel both ashamed and annoyed.

  "Director Gu has temporarily gone to Xinjin, and before he left, he specifically asked Director Zhou to receive Secretary Ge first," an old employee replied cautiously, then said, "Otherwise, I'll go see if Director Xu is at home?" He bowed his head and walked out, but didn't return for half a day.

  The municipal steel plant has been in a mess for several years, but after all, it is the largest industrial enterprise in Donghua City, covering an extremely large area.

  Shen Huai drove away and caught up with Zhao Dong, Xiao Li, and Chen Dan on the tree-lined path from the office building to the factory gate.

  "There's still a distance to the station, I'll drive you there!" Shen Huan said, sticking his head out of the car.

  Chen Dan and Xiao Li were a bit hesitant, but also didn't dare refuse; Zhao Dong was uneasy, so he followed them onto the car.

  Xiao Li was like a wounded animal, silent all the way. Shen Hua only saw her occasional glances through the rearview mirror. Chen Dan also only said some words of gratitude. Zhao Dong didn't know what topic to talk about with Shen Hua either, and they were all very quiet along the way.

  When they arrived at the Jiulù Bus Station to return to Meixi Town, Shen Huai stopped the car and turned around to look at Little Li and Chen Dan, saying: "The city is used to being muddy, this matter may not necessarily have a good outcome..."

  Shen Hua is no longer the ignorant municipal government secretary he used to be. Over the years, he has seen through Donghua's every move. Today, beating Zhou Dàmǒu and scolding Chen Mingde won't have serious consequences; at most, he'll get a reprimand or make a self-criticism. The city is unlikely to support high compensation.

  "Fight for as much compensation as possible; as long as it's enough for Little Li to go to college, don't insist on too much more; Director Zhao, you shouldn't have any conflicts with the factory over this either..."

  Shen Huai found a pen on the dashboard, scattered a pack of cigarettes, and copied the phone number onto a piece of paper. He was afraid that giving it directly to Xiao Li and Chen Dan would give them bad ideas, so he handed the note to Zhao Dong: "Director Zhao, if there's anything, you can call this number to find me..."

  Watching Zhao Dong and Xiao Li, Chen Dan get off the bus, Shen Hua endured the pain in his heart and drove away.

  Luckily, there were Zhao Dong and Chen Dan accompanying Little Li, making him feel slightly more at ease. Otherwise, with his virtual age of only 16 and actual age not yet 15, how could he not be worried about living alone?

  Chen Dan brushed her disheveled hair back behind her ears, her face a bit pale but still radiant like a freshly washed complexion; although her clothes were simple and unadorned, they couldn't conceal her mature and plump figure, which was more than what the slender and delicate Xiao Li could match.

  Chen Dan didn't notice that the people waiting for the train on the platform couldn't help but glance at her, and instead gazed absent-mindedly at the small car speeding away, thinking wistfully: If only her husband, Xiao Li's elder brother, had such a bold and domineering personality, he wouldn't have let her and Xiao Li, two weak women, come to the municipal steel factory to be bullied.

  Luckily, there were colleagues like Zhao Dong from the steel factory who helped take care of Hai Wen's family; otherwise, she and Little Li might not even have been able to get into the office building.

  Zhao Dong held a piece of paper with some numbers written on it, and said to Chen Dan and Xiao Li with a bitter tone: "What Secretary Shen said is also true. The best result might be that we can help Xiao Li get the living expenses for university; even if that's not possible, Xiao Li doesn't have to worry about anything. Although Haiwen has unfortunately passed away, I, Haipeng, and Zhou Ming are still your brothers, and we will never let you suffer..."

  So, Zhao Dong also hated himself for being useless.

  A person under the eaves of a house cannot help but lower his head. He has no background, and it's not easy for him to rely on his own efforts to climb to the position of Head of Production Technology Department in the General Office. The situation does not allow him to stand up and confront people like Gu Tong and Zhou Dami.

  Watching Shen Hua drive away in a cloud of dust, Zhao Dong also had an inexplicable sense of envy.

  Although he looks like a small secretary in the city, he dares to beat up Ge Yongqiu's elder brother, Gu Tong's confidant, and the head of the production safety department at the municipal steel plant without any scruples. In the end, he pats his hands clean and leaves unscathed, this is what it means to have a strong background.

  Zhao Dong has been through a lot over the years and has gained some insight into things. Although he doesn't know much about Shen Hua, he knows that Shen's background is not ordinary and he's definitely not just an ordinary municipal government secretary.

  Although Zhou Dazui was punched in the face several times, he had a thick skin and walked away with just a few bruises. He didn't seem to have suffered any serious injuries, earlier his nose was bleeding profusely which scared people, but after being bandaged at the medical room, he recovered quickly.

  It's not that his face was slapped, but rather that he was severely beaten in front of his subordinates by the municipal officials, which hurt his self-esteem even more. Who could swallow this insult? Swallowing this insult would make him a laughing stock for the entire factory.

  The key is that his brother-in-law was standing right next to him, watching him being beaten up by others, which made him even more furious.

  Zhou's mouth was half-covered with gauze, and when he came back to see that there were still employees huddled in the office, his face became even more unbearable. He was so angry that his voice became shrill as he scolded: "Do what you're supposed to do! Why are you all huddled in the office? Are you waiting to eat shit?" He chased everyone else out.

  Ge Yongqiu sat in the office, still fuming, and seeing his eldest nephew return in this state only added to his annoyance.

  "Brother-in-law, you're so shameless! Who are you hitting in the face? You're hitting your own brother-in-law's face! This can't just be dropped like this!"

  "What's the point of talking so much?" Ge Yongqiu said irritably, thinking that if he had some backbone, even if he was fighting with Shen Huai at the time, it would make him look better now. This useless thing, why does he know how embarrassing this is only now?

  "What nonsense am I talking? Isn't this beast your subordinate secretary? Didn't he beat me up in front of you, and then patted my butt and left? If this gets out, how many years will people laugh at us? Brother-in-law, can't you even handle a small fry like this?"

  "You don't understand what's going on, so don't talk nonsense," Ge Yongqiu said, sitting in his elder brother-in-law's office, the pain in his heart being poked at, his face looking even more unpleasant. "Gu Tong has temporarily gone to Xinjin and is not in the factory. As for the other deputy factory heads, who among them would dare to take charge? Do you know why?"

  "Why?"

  Seeing her brother-in-law's tone of inquiry, Ge Yongqiu couldn't help but want to slap him in the face again: What a pig brain.

  The city steel plant has a close relationship with the municipal government. The factory director, Gu Tong, and several deputy directors under him have a good understanding of their relationship with the municipality.

  Everyone knows that Gao Tianhe is a high-ranking official, and Shen Hua is Chen Mingde's secretary. In the office, Shen Hua beat up his own uncle - several deputy factory directors of the municipal steel plant - right in front of him. Who would dare to come over and stir up this muddy water at this time?

  Ge Yongqiu had no choice but to patiently explain to his brother-in-law, "What I'm afraid of is that Chen Mingde intentionally wants this beast to make a big deal out of things."

  "What is Chen Mingde doing?"

  "Are you really stupid or just pretending?"

  Ge Yongqiu felt desperate about his brother-in-law who was ignorant, only knew how to eat and drink, and visited prostitutes. To avoid trouble, he had to calm him down first, otherwise he would run to his sister's place and cause a big commotion at home.

  "...... Chen Mingde was directly sent to Donghua by the province, and as soon as he came over, he became a member of the municipal party committee, and then took on the role of vice mayor in charge of economic work - it's clear that the province hoped Chen Mingde would replace Mayor Gao."

  "Ah?" Zhou Dàmǔ didn't expect that there would be so many wounds on his back, he was stunned with his mouth agape, his face still burning in pain, but he also didn't dare to make a sound.

  He somewhat understood that if Mayor Gao was overthrown, his brother-in-law would not have a good life, and if his brother-in-law did not have a good life, then his own comfortable days at the municipal steel factory would also come to an end. Thinking this way, Zhou Dàmǒu felt that beating Shen Huai up was no big deal: losing face was just losing face, as long as he didn't lose his position it was fine.

  After seeing her uncle calm down, Ge Yongqiu spoke with a heavy heart:

  "You need to know that now every move Mayor Gao makes must be correct, can't let Chen Mingde find an excuse to make trouble. Alright, I'll report this to Mayor Gao first, you stand aside and don't make a sound..."