Chapter Twenty-Six: Sha Zhu's Pettiness

In the television drama, He Dazhu is able to accept his fate and live peacefully with Widow Qin in the end, and that must be because Lou Xiao'e, after getting together with him, leaves him again. But now, He Dazhu is obsessed with marrying, and having been awakened from his reverie—with Chen Liang fanning the flames by his side—it's likely that life in Widow Qin's household will be much harder in the future.

He Dazhu does covet Widow Qin, but there are stages to it. At this point, there's only a hint of ambiguity between them. It’s only after Lou Xiao’e runs away in the middle period that He Dazhu starts seriously desiring the widow. In the later period, with Yi Zhonghai's help, He Dazhu finally gives up resisting and resigns himself completely.

And rightly so—just look around the neighborhood; who else’s old lady is as plump and well-fed as Jia Zhang?

All the way there, after Chen Liang finished stirring things up, he fell silent. With He Dazhu’s shrewdness, he must have made a decision in his heart.

If He Dazhu continues to pine after Widow Qin, then Chen Liang’s words were wasted. But if Chen Liang truly manages to cut off He Dazhu’s infatuation, that would count as a good deed.

In the drama, if Lou Xiao’e hadn’t borne He Dazhu a son in the end, He Dazhu would truly have been devoured by the Jia family, with a miserable old age ahead of him.

So those modern DINK couples, don’t be fooled by how carefree they seem now—childless, doing whatever they please—but wait until they’re old and living in a nursing home, and they’ll see what suffering is. The old saying about raising children for one’s old age is not without reason.

Arriving at the Red Star Steel Mill, there was no need for He Dazhu’s help. As soon as Chen Liang spotted Lu Youwei, the deputy director of the Security Division, he respectfully hurried over, handed him a Hongta Mountain cigarette, and called out, “Uncle!”

Lu Youwei took the cigarette without hesitation, lit it, and then pointed at Chen Liang, introducing him to his Security Division colleagues: “This is the second son of Chen Dashan, and also my nephew. Get to know him, everyone!”

“Whoa! Chief Lu, so this is the nephew you’re always bragging about? Doesn’t look like he’s got three heads and six arms to me!”

Lu Youwei wasn’t offended; he just sneered at the speaker, “Don’t be so sure. Even three of you together wouldn’t hold your ground against him!”

Then he turned to Chen Liang, “I heard from your father that you’ll be coming to work here after the New Year?”

Chen Liang nodded, “Yeah, that’s what my dad said. But, Uncle, do you think you can get me into the Security Division?”

“That’s true—sending someone with your skills to flip flatbreads in the workshop would be a waste. I’ll see what I can do. We’ll talk about it when you actually join,” Lu Youwei replied, thinking it would indeed be a waste for his nephew to end up in the workshop.

“I’ll wait for your good news, then. I’ll be going now, Uncle!” Having greeted him, Chen Liang took his leave.

Off to the side, He Dazhu was surprised that Chen Liang actually knew someone from the Security Division. “Chen Liang, you know Chief Lu?”

“Of course I do. He’s my uncle—what do you think?” Chen Liang urged him, “Let’s go. I’ve got a pile of things to do!”

After leading Chen Liang to the Third Canteen, He Dazhu went off to find the canteen director. The two of them whispered in the office for quite a while before He Dazhu came out and motioned for Chen Liang to go in.

The moment he stepped into the office, the canteen director greeted Chen Liang with enthusiasm, but Chen Liang didn’t bother with pleasantries. He said bluntly, “Director, let’s not beat around the bush. He Dazhu’s already told you my terms, hasn’t he?”

The director pondered for a moment. “There are bicycle tickets, but you’ll have to compensate me at market price. I had to trade for them myself.”

“No problem—I wouldn’t expect you to pay out of your own pocket,” Chen Liang agreed readily.

Seeing him agree, the director raised another issue. “As for the pork, I can’t buy it at market price. I can offer you thirty cents a pound—can you accept that?”

Chen Liang couldn’t help laughing in disbelief. “Director, are you trying to take me for a fool? Thirty cents a pound? Why don’t you just go rob someone?”

At this time, pork went for seventy or eighty cents a pound. Thirty cents was a joke—he might as well go to sleep and dream.

The canteen director wasn’t offended; it was just business. He could ask an exorbitant price, and Chen Liang could bargain as low as he wanted.

“How about this—I’ll add another dime a pound. After all, you’re not getting this meat through official procurement channels. That’s my final offer.”

Chen Liang refused, “If it weren’t for the bike coupon, you think I wouldn’t just go straight to the buyer? Here’s my counter-offer: same terms as before, sixty cents a pound, and I’ll throw in some offal for free.”

But the director, used to getting his way, insisted, “My offer stands—forty cents a pound, and you’ll have to throw in extra offal. Otherwise, there’s no deal.”

Chen Liang shot him a strange look but said nothing. As he stood to leave, the director spoke up again, “You’d better think carefully, kid. Miss this chance, and you won’t get this price again. Next time you want to sell meat, it won’t be this generous.” His words were full of veiled threat.

At that, Chen Liang gave a snort and sat down again, glancing at the smug canteen director. “I’m guessing you must have offended He Dazhu, or he wouldn’t have set you up like this.”

He paused, observing the director’s surprised expression. “Do you know who I am? I bet He Dazhu just told you I’m some unemployed loafer, didn’t he?”

“But he didn’t tell you everything. Sure, I’m unemployed, but my father is Chen Dashan, my brother is Chen Jian, and He Dazhu just met my uncle—Lu Youwei. Do you know him?”

Ignoring the director’s increasingly awkward expression, Chen Liang continued, “After the New Year, I’ll be joining the factory staff. Just now, my uncle promised, right in front of He Dazhu, to get me into the Security Division. If you hadn’t crossed He Dazhu, would he have left all that out?”

“So, Director, do you still think I’m an easy mark?” Chen Liang crossed his legs and looked at him with disdain.

It wasn’t that Chen Liang looked down on the canteen director, but with his background, there was no need to worry about anything in the Red Star Steel Mill.

Out of the thirty or fifty thousand people working at Red Star Steel Mill, how many eighth-level workers were there? You could count them on one hand, and his father, Chen Dashan, was among them. A worker of that caliber was renowned not just at Red Star, but even at the Ministry level.

His elder brother, Chen Jian, was the youngest fifth-level worker, and promotion to eighth level was only a matter of time. With those two, even the plant director would be eager to keep them happy.

As for Lu Youwei, he was a formidable figure in his own right. Though not as famous as an eighth-level worker, as a deputy chief of security, he was a real power-holder in the factory—a canteen director was hardly someone who could afford to make an enemy of him.

He Dazhu, damn it, really set him up for trouble!