Siheyuan: Start with a big car

"This damn Li Weidong always has Director Yang helping him. But this time, he actually chose a woman as the workshop director. Even Director Yang can't stand on his side. This time, I will make him know what is at stake!"

Deputy Director Wang cursed Li Weidong in a low voice while walking quickly towards the laboratory of the steel mill. The tune he hummed was a bit sarcastic. He was fully confident that he could finally catch Li Weidong's handle this time and punish him so that he would not be able to show off his power in the factory.

Arriving at the door of the laboratory, he was about to walk in with a swagger, but was stopped by two young security officers. One of them said seriously, "Excuse me, Deputy Director, no outsiders are allowed to enter the laboratory without Director Li's order. This is the rule, please understand."

Upon hearing this, Deputy Director Wang was immediately furious. His eyes widened and his face flushed red: "What? How dare you stop me? I'm the deputy director of the steel rolling mill. Is there any place in this factory that I can't go to? You two little bastards are looking down on others!" He cursed and waved his arms, and his momentum seemed to swallow the two security officers alive.

Although the two security officers were a little afraid, they still stuck to their posts: "Deputy Director, we are just following the regulations. Please don't make things difficult for us." They knew that Deputy Director Wang was not someone to be trifled with, but they dared not disobey Li Weidong's orders and were caught in a dilemma.

Deputy Director Wang didn't care about all this. He felt that his authority was greatly challenged. He lost face in front of the two young clerks and became even angrier: "Rules? I am the rules! If you don't get out of the way, believe it or not, I will make you pay for it!" His voice echoed at the door of the laboratory, attracting the attention of many passing workers.

Seeing that Deputy Director Wang was so unreasonable, the two security officers looked at each other, a trace of helplessness flashed in their eyes, and then they simply ignored his shouting and scolding, and just stood quietly guarding the door of the laboratory like two door gods.

When Deputy Director Wang saw that he was being ignored, his anger suddenly reached its peak. His face was grim, and he roared, "How dare you ignore me!" Then he rushed towards the laboratory door desperately, trying to force his way in.

"Deputy Director, you can't do this! If you do this again, we will not be polite!" The security officer warned loudly. They didn't want to make a big deal out of it, after all, the other party was the deputy director. However, Deputy Director Wang seemed to have lost his mind, turned a deaf ear to their warnings, and continued to rush towards the door.

Seeing Deputy Director Wang so crazy, the security officers had no choice but to stop him in order to fulfill their duties. One of the officers kicked him and the other pushed him. Deputy Director Wang was caught off guard and fell heavily to the ground with a plop. His hat also flew off, and he looked very embarrassed.

Deputy Director Wang was stunned. He never expected that he would be knocked to the ground by two small security officers. He was shocked and angry for a moment and it took him a long time to recover.

Huang Jing was holding a pile of documents and just came out of the document room, preparing to deliver them to other departments. She heard a commotion from a distance, and when she got closer, she saw that it was Deputy Director Wang who was making a scene at the door of the laboratory, trying to force his way in, and was knocked to the ground by the security officer. This scene scared her, and she knew that something was wrong. If the commotion got out of hand, it would have a bad impact on the factory.

She didn't bother to deliver the documents, and hurriedly turned around and ran towards the director's office. She ran out of breath, and when she reached the office door, she rushed in without even knocking.

"Director Li, it's bad! Deputy Director Wang is making trouble at the door of the laboratory. He is trying to force his way in and now he is in conflict with the security officer. The situation is very bad!" Huang Jing said anxiously, her eyes full of worry.

Li Weidong frowned when he heard this, and he immediately stood up from his seat: "Let's go and take a look!"

When Li Weidong rushed to the gate, he saw Deputy Director Wang still sitting on the ground. His embarrassed appearance almost made him laugh. However, he quickly put away his smile. He knew in his heart that this was not the time to laugh at jokes. The preparation and construction of the new energy vehicle workshop was at a critical stage. Deputy Director Wang must not be allowed to mess things up here.

"Hey, Deputy Director Wang, what happened to you? How could you be so careless and fall down?" Li Weidong deliberately said in a teasing tone, but there was a hint of vigilance in his eyes.

Deputy Director Wang was already full of rage, and when he heard what Li Weidong said, he was even more furious. He suddenly got up from the ground, pointed at the two security officers, and shouted at Li Weidong: "Li Weidong, you still dare to laugh! Look at your subordinates, they are committing crimes! I am a deputy director, and I came to this laboratory to do something, but they dared to push me to the ground. Is there any law? You have to take good care of them!"

Li Weidong raised his lips slightly, with a hint of disdain in his eyes. He shouted back to Deputy Director Wang: "Deputy Director Wang, please don't make random accusations. The security officers are performing their duties and following the factory's regulations. You also know that our steel rolling mill laboratory is a national key laboratory. The technology here is related to the interests of the country and we cannot afford to be careless."

He paused, glanced at the workers watching, and raised his voice to continue, "How can anyone know if you have other intentions if you force your way in? What if you want to steal technology? We can't joke with the interests of the country and the collective."

After hearing what Li Weidong said, the workers around nodded in agreement and started talking among themselves.

"Director Li is right. The safety of this laboratory cannot be ignored."

"Deputy Director Wang is so impulsive. It really makes people suspicious."

Deputy Director Wang was so angry that his face turned red. He pointed at Li Weidong, his lips trembling but he couldn't utter a complete sentence: "You...you...you are talking nonsense!" He was angry and anxious. He didn't expect Li Weidong to say that, which put him in such a passive situation. He wanted to make trouble for Li Weidong, but he didn't expect to be blamed. Now the eyes of the workers around him are like sharp swords, stabbing him and making him feel ashamed, but he couldn't find a reason to refute for a while. Deputy Director Wang saw Huang Jing standing next to him, his eyes lit up, as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw. He suppressed the anger in his heart, tried to make his tone sound calmer, and asked Li Weidong: "Li Weidong, I heard that you are going to let this girl, Huang Jing, be the director of the new energy vehicle workshop?"

Li Weidong glanced at Deputy Director Wang, then at Huang Jing, and nodded firmly: "Yes, that's my decision. Although Comrade Huang Jing is young, she is very capable, knowledgeable, and motivated. I believe she can be competent for this position."

Deputy Director Wang sneered, "Humph, Li Weidong, you are really amazing! You actually gave such an important position as workshop director to an inexperienced female comrade? Are you kidding me about our new energy vehicle project? The work in this workshop is heavy and complicated, and not just anyone can handle it. Why are you making a decision so rashly?"

Li Weidong's eyes flashed with understanding. He knew that Deputy Director Wang had finally revealed his true purpose. He frowned slightly and responded seriously: "Deputy Director Wang, what era is it now? What matters is gender equality. Women can do the same things that men can do, and they may do it better. Comrade Huang Jing is a college student. She is knowledgeable and capable. She has shown extraordinary talent in our research and development process. I believe she can be competent for the position of workshop director and lead everyone to produce new energy vehicles well."

Deputy Director Wang curled his lips in disapproval. He raised his voice and said with a hint of disdain: "Humph, Li Weidong, it's easy for you to say that. Production in this workshop is not as simple as drawing blueprints in the laboratory. There is a lot of physical work and complex personnel management. It requires a person with courage and decisiveness. Women are naturally weaker. How can they take on such a heavy responsibility? You are blindly confident and will mess up our factory's new energy vehicle project. Moreover, your casual arrangements are basically wasting the factory's money. I will never allow you to do this!" As he spoke, he looked around, trying to get the onlookers to agree with his point of view.
Huang Jing was still struggling with whether to accept the important task of workshop director. Deep down, she actually preferred to stay in the laboratory and continue her research. But at this moment, she was furious when she heard the derogatory words from Deputy Director Wang.

She took a step forward and stood in front of Li Weidong. She looked at Deputy Director Wang firmly and said loudly, "Deputy Director Wang, you can't discriminate against women like this. Although I am a woman, my ability is no worse than that of men. In the previous research and development of new energy vehicles, I have made as much effort as anyone else, and I have a deep understanding and mastery of technology. I am confident that I can manage the workshop well."

Deputy Director Wang looked Huang Jing up and down, then laughed harshly: "Haha, little girl, you are so naive. Do you think you can do it just by having confidence? You can do all the heavy physical work in the workshop and all those experienced workers? Do you think this is just a game? Don't come to Li Weidong crying for help, that would be embarrassing." His eyes were full of contempt, with a mocking smile on his lips, and he continued: "This is not like fiddling with those bottles and jars in the laboratory. There are many tricks involved. What do you, a little girl, know?"

Huang Jing was just a young girl after all, how could she withstand such a sarcastic insult from Deputy Director Wang. Her eyes suddenly turned red, tears welled up in her eyes, and she tried hard not to let them fall. Her lips trembled slightly, and she wanted to say something but was too angry to speak.

When the workers around saw this scene, they all frowned and expressed their dissatisfaction with Deputy Director Wang's behavior.

"Deputy Director Wang, you are going too far! The girl hasn't even started working yet, how can you discourage her like this?"

"That's right. Men and women are equal. We can't look down on female comrades. Comrade Huang Jing's performance in the research and development process is obvious to all. You can't slander her like this."

"What are you arguing about? Women are inferior to men. This is because of the liberation. If it were before the liberation, a little girl like Huang Jing would not be allowed to leave the compound at all." Deputy Director Wang curled his lips in disdain when he heard the workers' discussions.

At this time, Zhang Dahong, the director of the Women's Federation of the steel mill, came with several comrades from the Women's Federation. Zhang Dahong was a hot-tempered person by nature. When she heard the remarks of Deputy Director Wang discriminating against women, she immediately flew into a rage. She rushed forward and loudly questioned Deputy Director Wang: "Deputy Director Wang, what are you talking about? It's a new society now, but you still hold on to such feudal and decadent ideas. You are openly insulting us female comrades!"

When Deputy Factory Director Wang saw that it was Zhang Dahong, his heart skipped a beat. He knew very well that Zhang Dahong was very powerful and was always very concerned about protecting the rights of female comrades in the factory. She also had great prestige in the factory. But when he thought that he could take this opportunity to get the position of workshop director and make his plan come true, he gritted his teeth and insisted on his statement: "Director Zhang, I don't mean to insult female comrades. I am just speaking the truth. The job of workshop director is not suitable for female comrades. This is an objective fact." As he spoke, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his eyes a little evasive.

Zhang Dahong was so angry that her face turned red. As the director of the Women's Federation, she had always been committed to fighting for equal status and rights for female workers. Now, hearing Deputy Director Wang blatantly belittling female workers, she felt like someone was trampling on the beliefs she had always upheld. Without saying a word, she rolled up her sleeves and rushed towards Deputy Director Wang.

Deputy Factory Director Wang turned pale with fear when he saw this. He never expected Zhang Dahong to take action. He backed away and shouted in panic, "Someone come! Someone grab her! You workers and security officers, why are you all standing there like idiots? Come and help!"

However, the workers and security officers around just watched quietly, and no one wanted to help. The workers were already very disgusted with Deputy Director Wang's discriminatory remarks, and the security officers also felt that Deputy Director Wang's behavior of breaking into the laboratory just now was inappropriate, and everyone was dissatisfied with him. At this moment, seeing him being chased and beaten by Zhang Dahong, they all felt relieved, so they all tacitly chose to stand by and watch.

Deputy Director Wang became even more panicked when no one paid attention to his call for help. He hid in the crowd, looking very embarrassed, which was in sharp contrast to his previous arrogant appearance. Zhang Dahong chased him closely from behind, and kept shouting: "I'll teach you a lesson today because I look down on female comrades!"

While running away in a panic, Deputy Director Wang was tripped by a stone and fell forward, landing face first on the ground. His face and hands were covered with dust, and he looked extremely embarrassed.

Zhang Dahong saw this and rushed forward. She took out a pen from her pocket and drew on Deputy Director Wang's face at lightning speed. After a while, a turtle pattern appeared on Deputy Director Wang's face. The workers around were stunned at first, and then burst into laughter.

Deputy Director Wang was shocked and angry. He tried to wipe the pattern off his face with his hands, but it became dirtier. "Zhang Dahong, you are going too far! You are insulting the leader!" he shouted angrily.

Zhang Dahong put her hands on her hips and responded fearlessly: "Humph! Why didn't you think about the consequences when you insulted our female compatriots? This is a lesson for you, so that you won't dare to discriminate against female comrades in the future!" (End of this chapter)