Siheyuan: Sizhu starts blindly and takes a new path

Chapter 233 Exposing Materials

Two days later, a thick "reveal material" was placed on Li Huaide's desk. In this material, which Xu Damao prepared overnight, Lou Bancheng's donation of shares in the steel mill was described as a "disguise forced by the situation", the daily living habits of the Lou family were described as "bourgeois decadent lifestyle", and even Lou Xiao'e's trip abroad to visit relatives was described as "collusion with foreign countries".

Li Huaide flipped through the materials and nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad, very comprehensive." He picked up a red pen and wrote a few words on the materials, then handed them to Xu Damao, "Take them and hand them over to the dictatorship team, and take action tonight."

That night, a group of people wearing red armbands kicked open the door of Lou's house. Lou Bancheng was reading in the study room, and before he could react, he was pushed to the ground. Lou's mother rushed over crying, but was pushed away.

"Lou Bancheng! You colluded with foreign forces and hid gold. You are guilty of a heinous crime!" Liu Haizhong stood at the front of the crowd and announced righteously, "By order of the Revolutionary Committee, we will implement the dictatorship of the proletariat on you!"

When Lou Bancheng was taken away, he looked back at the mess on the floor of his house and suddenly laughed: "Liu Haizhong, God is watching what you do."

It was Xu Damao who exposed the Lou family, so why was it Liu Haizhong who went to arrest them?

It turned out that after Xu Damao received the task, he could not wait to pack up the materials and prepare to lead people to search the Lou family. He specially changed into a brand new blue cloth Zhongshan suit, pinned a shining Chairman Mao badge on his chest, and even slicked his hair to a shiny finish.

"Team Leader Xu, where are you going in such a hurry?" As Xu Damao walked to the factory gate, he was stopped by Liu Haizhong and two young workers.

Xu Damao frowned and subconsciously hid the materials in his hand behind his back: "Second Uncle, I have an important task, which was assigned to me by Director Li himself."

Liu Haizhong narrowed his eyes and his gaze fell on the file bag in Xu Damao's hand: "Oh? What task is so important?" He suddenly lowered his voice, "Is it about the Lou family?"

Xu Damao's heart skipped a beat, but he pretended to be calm: "Second Master is well-informed."

Liu Haizhong chuckled and leaned close to Xu Damao's ear: "Da Mao, I'm not saying anything bad about you. After all, you and the Lou family are related by marriage. If this gets out and people say that you, Xu Damao, led people to raid your father-in-law's house, how bad will that be?"

Xu Damao's face changed: "Second uncle, what do you mean by this? I am loyal to the revolutionary cause!"

"Of course I know you're loyal." Liu Haizhong patted Xu Damao's shoulder with such force that he grimaced. "But the public has sharp eyes. How about this, I'll go and tell Director Li to let me handle this task. Don't worry, you'll get a lot of credit."

Without waiting for Xu Damao to answer, Liu Haizhong pulled Xu Damao and turned to walk towards the office building. Xu Damao was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet, but he was not as strong as Liu Haizhong, so he could only be dragged by Liu Haizhong: "Second uncle! Second uncle! There is really no need to trouble you with this matter..."

The two came to Li Huaide's office one after the other. Liu Haizhong straightened his back as soon as he entered the room: "Director Li, I heard that the Lou family will be searched tonight? I think it is not appropriate for Comrade Xu Damao to go!"

Li Huaide was drinking tea. Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows: "Oh? What do you think, Team Leader Liu?"

Liu Haizhong said righteously: "Comrade Xu Damao was once the son-in-law of the Lou family, so he will inevitably have some ideological baggage. It is safer for me, an old worker, to take the lead in this major event of class struggle!"

Xu Damao was so anxious that he was sweating: "Director Li, I promise you that I will definitely..."

Li Huaide raised his hand to interrupt him, his eyes behind the mist flashing with shrewdness: "Team Leader Liu is right." He turned to Xu Damao, "Damo, you have prepared the materials very well, and I will give you a share of the credit. But let Team Leader Liu take charge of the team."

Xu Damao opened his mouth, but saw Li Huaide looking at him meaningfully, so he had to swallow his words back: "Yes... Director Li is thoughtful."

Liu Haizhong proudly puffed out his chest, and the wrinkles on his face were smoothed out: "Director Li, don't worry! I promise to complete the task!"

That night, when Liu Haizhong and a dozen young workers rushed into the Lou family, Xu Damao could only hide behind the crowd and watch as Liu Haizhong snatched away his "glorious moment" that should have belonged to him. He saw Liu Haizhong kick open the mahogany door of the Lou family, heard him shouting revolutionary slogans at the top of his lungs, and was so angry that his teeth itched.

"Xu Damao! Come here!" Liu Haizhong suddenly turned around and called him, "Don't you know best where the Lou family hides things? Lead the way!"

Xu Damao was so angry, but he had to pretend to be positive: "Here! There must be something in the study!"

A group of people rushed into the study and rummaged through the cabinets. Xu Damao secretly glanced at the secret compartment in the corner - that was the treasure hiding place that Lou Xiao'e had told him about. He was about to go over, but Liu Haizhong pushed him away: "Let me do it!"

Liu Haizhong pried open the secret compartment and found a few gold jewellery and a roll of US dollars. He held up the "trophy" like a victorious general and said, "Look, comrades! This is the evidence of the bourgeoisie's crimes!"

Xu Damao stood aside, the smile on his face uglier than crying. He had wanted to take this opportunity to gain another merit in front of Li Huaide and enrich himself, but he didn't expect that Liu Haizhong would ruin everything.

On the way back, Liu Haizhong deliberately said loudly: "Comrade Xu Damao performed well today. Although he was once the son-in-law of the Lou family, he was able to sacrifice his relatives for the greater good, which deserves praise!"

Xu Damao listened to these seemingly praise but actually sarcastic words, and wanted to rush over and tear Liu Haizhong's mouth. But he could only force a smile: "It's all thanks to the good leadership of Team Leader Liu..."

Lou Xiao'e, wrapped in a gray scarf, stood under the locust tree at the back door of the steel mill, her eyes swollen like two walnuts. She had been running around for seven consecutive days. Her father was secretly detained and her mother was taken away for investigation. She and her brother Lou Ming went through all the connections they could think of, but they couldn't even find out where her parents were detained.

"Brother, this won't work." Lou Xiao'e grabbed her brother's sleeve and said in a hoarse voice, "We have to think of another way."

Lou Liming adjusted his glasses, his eyes bloodshot behind the lenses: "What else can we do? No one dares to get close to our family now." He smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Yesterday I went to see Uncle Wang, but he said through the door that he was not at home..."

Lou Xiaoe bit her lip and suddenly said, "I thought of someone - He Yuzhu."

"Shazhu?" Lou Ming was stunned for a moment, "That cook? What can he do?"

"He is now the director of the steel mill. I heard that he has cooked for a senior leader for several years." Lou Xiao'e lowered her voice, "I heard from the deaf old lady that the leader liked Sha Zhu very much and often brought gifts to Sha Zhu..."

The brother and sister looked at each other and saw a glimmer of hope in each other's eyes. But then Lou Liming frowned again: "But if we do this now...will it implicate him?"

Lou Xiao'e's tears suddenly burst out: "I know this is risky...but Mom and Dad..." She was choked with sobs and couldn't speak.

That evening, Lou Xiao'e came to the courtyard alone. She hid behind the grocery store at the entrance of the alley and looked at the gate from afar. As the sky gradually darkened, she finally saw Sha Zhu coming back with a bicycle. There was a cloth bag hanging on the handlebars. It seemed that he had just got off work.

Lou Xiao'e took a deep breath and was about to step forward when she suddenly saw Xu Damao coming from the other direction. She quickly shrank back. Xu Damao and Sha Zhu said something at the gate of the courtyard. Sha Zhu looked unhappy and walked straight into the courtyard. Xu Damao hummed a little tune and walked out of the alley.

Lou Xiao'e didn't dare to come out until Xu Damao was far away. She walked into the courtyard quietly and came to the door of Sha Zhu's house, but hesitated and didn't dare to knock. While she was hesitating, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

"Ezi?" Yu Li's eyes widened, she pulled her into the house and quickly closed the door, "Why are you here? It's so dangerous outside!"