Siheyuan: I just came across and wanted to chase me away

Chapter 1014 List

Gu Nan then turned his gaze away, walked to the cradle, made a face at Gu Shiwan, and deliberately told a joke in a high-pitched voice: "Once upon a time, there was a little duckling, who fell into a mud puddle and turned into... a mud duck (you)!"

Little Shiwan giggled, waving her little hands to grab his fingers. Gu Nan's expression relaxed, as if his earlier admonition had never happened.

Ran Qiuye stood aside watching, saying nothing more. She knew Gu Nan was doing it for the good of the family, but she still had some doubts—Lu Jia's eyes were earnest when she spoke, and she didn't seem like a bad person. Perhaps… she was overthinking it?

Sunlight streamed through the window, warming the family of three. But behind the door, a pair of wary dog ​​eyes held a barely perceptible sharpness, guarding the tranquility of this small courtyard.

Gu Nan had just put down his chopsticks and picked up a handkerchief to slowly wipe his mouth when there was a loud, urgent knocking on the wooden door of the courtyard. He glanced at Ran Qiuye, who was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) breastfeeding her child, and smiled slightly. "I'll go see who it is. Leave the dishes there; I'll clean them up later."

Ran Qiuye gave a soft "hmm," her attention entirely focused on the little one in her arms. The baby was smacking his lips, eating heartily, his little cheeks puffing out, occasionally frowning as if complaining that the milk was too hot or too cold. His adorable expression filled Ran Qiuye's eyes with tenderness.

Gu Nan opened the door and saw Xu Damao standing there, his face as red as a monkey's bottom, reeking of alcohol that wafted in through the crack in the door, making people wince – he had clearly drunk quite a bit. Gu Nan stepped aside, his face expressionless, and asked indifferently, "Damao, what brings you here at this hour?"

Xu Damao chuckled, a deliberately ingratiating smile plastered on his face, his back bent a little more than usual: "Deputy Factory Director Gu, you're still not resting? Deputy Factory Director Li is hosting a dinner today, and I specially wrote down the guest list for you. Take a look at the details here." As he spoke, he pulled out a crumpled piece of cigarette paper from his pocket, on which more than a dozen names were scrawled in pencil. They were all minor heads of several departments in the factory, even Wang, the logistics officer, was on the list.

Gu Nan took the paper, rubbed its rough surface between his fingertips, and quickly understood after a quick glance—Deputy Factory Director Li was revealing his assets. He didn't say much, casually folded the paper twice, and stuffed it into the pocket of his Zhongshan suit.

Seeing this, Xu Damao quickly embellished the story of what happened at the dinner table—who clinked glasses with Deputy Factory Director Li three times, who slammed the table and said, "From now on, I'll acknowledge Deputy Factory Director Li," and even who secretly slipped a pack of cigarettes into Deputy Factory Director Li's pocket. Finally, he leaned forward, lowered his voice, and spoke as if revealing a huge secret: "Deputy Factory Director Gu, isn't the meaning obvious? Deputy Factory Director Li is openly building his faction. In my opinion, you should treat them to a meal. We need to hurry up with this factionalism; otherwise, there won't be any good spots left!"

Gu Nan had never been interested in the intricacies of office politics. For a factory to run smoothly, it needed solid production, not factionalism. But he didn't refuse Xu Damao's request, and just smiled faintly: "Alright, I've got it in mind. I'll think about it later. If I really want to treat everyone, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to make an errand and book a decent restaurant."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao was overjoyed, feeling that he had made the right move. He patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry! Just say the word, and I'll go through fire and water for you! Running errands is nothing, I'll take care of it!" After saying that, he turned around and went back with a smile, his steps almost floating, as if he could already see the days when he would rise to prominence with Deputy Factory Director Gu.

Gu Nan closed the door, turned around and walked into the house. Just as he crossed the courtyard, he bumped into He Yuzhu standing at the door of the east wing. He Yuzhu had originally wanted to come over and say a few words, hoping to get some information about the factory from Gu Nan, but to his surprise, Gu Nan didn't even look at him and went straight into the main room, not giving him even a second glance, as if he were just a pillar in the yard.

He Yuzhu stood there, his anger flaring up instantly. He clenched his fists, almost unable to contain himself—Gu Nan was being far too arrogant! But then he thought, Gu Nan was now the deputy factory director, while he was just a canteen cook. What good would it do if he lost his temper? He could only forcefully suppress his anger. He knew that now that the factory director was in trouble, the only people in the steel rolling mill who could speak up were Gu Nan and Deputy Factory Director Li. He and Gu Nan had never gotten along well; they had even argued over changing the gas cylinders years ago. There was no hope of getting any benefits from him. It seemed that he could only try to get in touch with Deputy Factory Director Li and see if he could take this opportunity to get a raise, even if it was just five yuan.

The thought of his salary made him even more aggrieved—the family now depended on him and Lu Jia's income, but since Lu Jia became pregnant, the maternity allowance from the workshop, combined with her basic salary, was actually two yuan more than his. Although Lu Jia never complained and always said, "Keep your money for baby formula," he, a grown man, still felt uneasy about earning less than his wife. He always felt ashamed and couldn't hold his head up in the yard. Even Qin Huairu would tease him, saying, "Now you have to rely on Lu Jia to support you."

Just as he was pondering how to get in touch with Deputy Factory Director Li, he heard footsteps behind him. Yi Zhonghai returned from outside with his hands behind his back, his jacket still stained with machine oil—he must have just finished his shift in the workshop. Although his relationship with He Yuzhu hadn't been particularly warm lately, and had even become somewhat strained because of Jia Dongxu's matter, they could still exchange a few words when they met, out of consideration for Aunt Tan—Aunt Tan had delivered vegetables and grains to He Yuzhu's family quite often over the years.

Seeing He Yuzhu standing there staring blankly at Gu Nan's door, Yi Zhonghai stopped and asked, "Yuzhu, what are you doing standing here? What happened?" He had actually heard about Lu Jia's pregnancy from Qin Huairu long ago, but he didn't want to get involved in such family matters, only telling Qin Huairu to "take good care of her." He knew he couldn't afford to completely ruin his relationship with He Yuzhu now; who knew if he'd need the favors He Yuzhu had in the factory canteen when it came to performance reviews and housing allocations?

He Yuzhu was furious and had nowhere to vent his anger. He didn't want to talk to Yi Zhonghai, but when he thought of Aunt Tan bringing him hot buns in the dead of winter, he suppressed his anger and said irritably, "Uncle Yi, you don't know, do you? Xu Damao came to see Gu Nan sneakily just now, saying that Deputy Factory Director Li was inviting people to dinner. He's openly trying to compete with Gu Nan for the factory director's position!"

He Yuzhu was also very angry. If it were before, he would definitely have invited her, but now it seemed like she had nothing to do with him at all.