Siheyuan: The Counterattack of Passerby

So on the first day of work after the New Year, Liu Haizhong, Li Ergou and Gou Laosan were completely isolated by their colleagues in the workshop. At noon, when they went to the second canteen to get lunch as usual, they met Sha Zhu, who was waiting at the lunch window with a wicked smile. When it was the three of them's turn, each of them was only given a shallow layer of vegetable soup that covered the bottom of the lunch box, and also two small steamed buns made of two grams of flour specially reserved for them. The small ones were less than half of what others had.

This made Liu Haizhong and the other two very angry. They held up their lunch boxes and shouted loudly, letting the workers around them see the meals that Sha Zhu had prepared for them.

Originally they thought that after such a commotion, their co-workers would surely stand on their side. However, when someone revealed the identities of the three of them, the co-workers who had gathered around to speak for them heard that these three guys had just received the wild boar meat that their neighbor in the yard had taken great pains to get for them, and then turned around and wrote a letter of denunciation to report their neighbor early the next morning. Everyone immediately dispersed with curses, and no one spoke for them anymore.

Not only did the co-workers not speak up for Liu Haizhong and the other two, they also said in a sarcastic tone that Sha Zhu was too honest and that he was too generous to give them so much food. After what the three beasts had done, they didn't deserve to eat at all. A dog that is not well fed deserves to eat shit.

This scolding really stunned Liu Haizhong and the others. They stood there in shock. Later, they were so angry that they went to the canteen director to complain about Sha Zhu. However, the canteen director already knew what the three of them had done. He took a look at their lunch boxes and said coldly, "Eat if you like, eat. If you don't like, get out! Our canteen won't serve wicked bastards like you! Go and complain wherever you want!"

Liu Haizhong, Li Ergou and the other two were humiliated by the canteen director, but they were still not convinced, so they went to find the logistics director who was in charge of logistics. When the logistics director heard that it was these three guys who reported Lin Geng, he said impatiently that he couldn't do anything about it and asked them to leave quickly.

Liu Haizhong, Li Ergou and Gou Laosan were so upset that they wanted to go to the factory director to complain again, but the people from the security department scolded them loudly, saying that they should not interfere with the leaders' work and asked them to eat their meal and go back to work.

So the three guys could only swallow their anger and made up their minds to change the canteen to get their meals the next day instead of coming to the second canteen to suffer such a humiliation.

But they underestimated Lin Geng's influence. Now everyone in the canteen knows Lin Geng. In the past few months, Lin Geng has brought back a lot of meat and eggs to the factory, which has improved the food in the canteen a lot. In the past, when the employees could not eat meat, they would curse the purchasing department, the logistics department, and the canteen. Now Lin Geng has brought back a lot of meat to the factory, which made them feel relieved. The employees in the factory no longer curse, so they are all very grateful to Lin Geng.

Lin Geng is now a minor celebrity in the factory. Many people have heard that he brought back a lot of good things such as meat and eggs for the factory, which improved the employees' meals and allowed the employees to eat two more meals of meat and vegetables every month. Even the workers are very grateful to Lin Geng.

So they would rather run farther away and go to the third canteen to get their meals the next day, but they were immediately recognized by some workers, who pointed at the three of them and handed them over to the aunt who was serving meals.

When the aunt who served the food heard about the immoral things Liu Haizhong and his friends had done and that it was Lin Geng who reported them, her face fell all of a sudden. As a result, when it was their turn to get food, they were still given less than half the usual amount. Liu Haizhong and the other three were so angry that they started a quarrel in the third canteen again.

As a result, when the cooks in the kitchen of the third canteen heard the three of them swearing, they rushed out with big spoons and rolling pins, wanting to beat them up. However, none of the workers who were eating supported them. Instead, they cheered on the side and cursed them for being good-for-nothings and saying that they deserved to not have enough to eat.

This has been a real problem for Liu Haizhong and the other three. Since they went back to work after the Chinese New Year, they haven't had a full meal at noon in the factory. No matter which canteen they go to get food, the result is the same. Someone will immediately recognize them and tell the staff who serve the food, who will eventually shake the spoon for them, and the amount of food they get is always more than half less than that of others.

Liu Haizhong, Li Ergou and the other two were so upset that they went to the leaders for complaints many times, saying that the canteen was targeting them, shaking their spoons and making them hungry. However, no matter who they complained to, no matter how the leaders said that they would deal with it, it fell on deaf ears and the canteen still shook their spoons as usual.

Later, in order to have enough food, they went to complain to Director Yang, but Director Yang just comforted them and said that he would seriously criticize the canteen staff for shaking the spoon. But after that, the result was the same. Director Yang did not even talk to the canteen director about the matter.

Not only did the three of them not have enough to eat in the cafeteria, they also suffered all kinds of isolation, exclusion and even difficulties in the workshop. Liu Haizhong was better off, after all, he was a seventh-level blacksmith with good skills and many apprentices, so his life in the workshop was easier.

But Li Ergou and Gou Laosan were in a miserable situation. Both of them were only third-level workers and had no status at all in the workshop. Their fellow workers isolated them, and the workshop director Guo Dapiaozi deliberately targeted them, keeping an eye on them every day and not letting them have any chance to be lazy. He also deliberately sent them to do the dirty and tiring work that apprentices usually did, making the two guys miserable.

Now they finally realized how stupid what they had done was. It can be said that their reputation was completely ruined. In the courtyard, they have become the public enemy of the courtyard. No one pays any attention to them. Whenever the neighbors see them, they look at them coldly and turn around to curse them. People often spit on their doors and windows for no reason, which makes them feel disgusted.

They were targeted everywhere in the factory, did not have enough lunch, were assigned to do dirty and tiring work in the workshop, were watched by many people all the time, and were often scolded by their leaders. Sometimes even their lunch boxes were inexplicably lost, and when they were found, they were often thrown into the toilet.

If they were not afraid of losing their jobs, Liu Haizhong and the other two would have even considered quitting. Their lives were truly miserable.

Even after the Chinese New Year, Qin Huairu and her son had a very hard time in the courtyard. When Banggeng and Xiaodang went out to play, they were often targeted and bullied by children from the same courtyard or the next courtyard, who called them ungrateful people. If Banggeng talked back, he would be beaten by a group of children, and he often ran home crying.

Originally, because Qin Huairu was a pregnant woman, there were still some people in the yard who would take care of her to some extent out of consideration for her being a pregnant woman. But now, when Qin Huairu goes out, she can only be met with a lot of contempt, and she often hears the women in the yard pointing at her and cursing at her behind her back, saying that she is a bad person.

Qin Huairu is now in tears, regretting so much that she shouldn't have reported Lin Geng. As a result, she made herself the public enemy of everyone in the yard. No one is willing to pay attention to her anymore, and she has become a lonely person.