Chapter Sixteen: A Single Word Causes Havoc, Turmoil Erupts with a Change in Weather

  Ye Haodong heard that there was a way out and gratefully bowed: "I'd like to thank you first, you must want to know why I said that it's because of you. Today, I'll tell you the truth, I'm saying this not only because my brothers under me have no other choice, but also for the stability of our squadron in the future."

  He Ruo Qiu gave him a strange look, then suddenly smiled and asked: "Oh? There's this saying too? Tell me, how can you little guy connect the fact that I'm being used as a shield with the stability of the squadron?"

  "You didn't ask me, but I was just about to say it. Gu Mingchen is a scourge in our squad! With you, I have nothing to hide and no secrets to keep. Today, I indeed beat him up, but I didn't do it just to avenge my brother. More importantly, I wanted to get rid of this scourge as soon as possible. As long as he's around, our squad will eventually meet with disaster!"

  He Ruqiu was very interested and asked: "What did he do? You said it so strangely, how could he harm our squad?"

  Yeh Hao-dong retorted: "You say as prison administrators what are you most worried about?"

  He Ruò Qiū: "Prison break, but here, you can try whatever you want."

  Ye Haodong's mind was racing as he nodded thoughtfully: "What you said is correct, but from what I know, there's another thing that's even more important than prison breaks in the management and prevention of prison work - it's riots!"

  He Ruofei furrowed her brow and became serious: "Are you saying that Gu Mingchen wants to instigate a riot?"

  Ye Haodong shook his head: "I didn't mean it that way, but I think this thing can also be said like this. Gu Mingchen may not have thought about it subjectively, but objectively he has already done so. First of all, as a big miscellaneous worker coordinating with cadres to manage prisoners, he should have been fair and strict in his management, careful in his work, understanding the dynamics and abnormalities of the prisoners, and reporting problems in time. This is what he should be doing, but in fact, he has never put effort into these aspects. He spends most of his time bullying and beating prisoners, now each group has a big opinion about this person, at this busiest and most tiring time for Mian Tian, everyone's rest time is very short, cadres try to give everyone more rest time, but Gu Mingchen every day must have ten public errands to do work, which group doesn't give him trouble, he finds fault with that group, if the work in the group is not done well, he doesn't give them trouble, he has nothing to do and finds fault. If it were a normal busy time, his behavior wouldn't be a big deal, but now Mian Tian has too much work, everyone is exhausted, can't stand him messing around, at this critical moment, if he continues to mess around, something big will happen."

  He Ruoxi furrowed her brow and sank into deep thought for a moment, before finally asking: "Are you really thinking this way or have you heard some rumors? Or are you just making up words to deceive me?"

  "Report to Captain He, the prisoner Ye Haodong has confessed to using you as cover and deceiving Lieutenant Luo Si Bao. Please deal with me as you see fit, consider my previous words unsaid."

  He Ruoqiu raised an eyebrow, sneering: "Using retreat as advance? You're quite something, but the effect is ordinary. Don't you have any new tricks up your sleeve?"

  Ye Hao took a step forward, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at He Ruoxi and said in a very determined tone: "Let's make a bet. You don't deal with me for now, nor do you touch Gu Mingchen. Let's secretly observe him from the shadows for a few days and see what he does every day. Then we'll pay attention to the movements of the people around us and see what consequences will arise if Gu Mingchen continues to act recklessly like this. If I'm right, then I ask that you don't pursue today's matter any further."

  He Ruoxiang looked at Ye Haodong's confident appearance, gazed for a moment, and her expression relaxed. She raised her face, shook her neck, and said, "Alright, I'll give you a few days to observe and see if it's the situation you described. If it is true, not only will I not hold this against you, but I'll also reward you."

  He Raoqiu didn't take Ye Haodong's words too seriously. He was willing to give Ye Haodong this buffer time, mainly because he admired Ye Haodong as a clever and capable young prisoner. In his heart, he knew that Ye Haodong had always been close to the squadron instructor Lin Xiangwu, and he guessed that it wouldn't be long before Lin Xiangwu came to plead for him. He Raoqiu didn't plan to investigate this matter further, so he was willing to give Ye Haodong this buffer time. However, what he never expected was that his actions would inadvertently reduce Gu Mingchen's weight in the eyes of the other prisoners, and his unintentional move was quietly escalating the situation that Ye Haodong had predicted.

  Ye Haodong returned to the cell of the fifth group. Everyone stared at him in a daze, no one speaking. They were all shocked and didn't know what to say. When Ye Haodong mentioned He Ruoxia's name at that time, these few guys were all stunned, thinking that Ye Haodong had gone crazy. This kid ignored his own expensive purchased pawn and instead brought up the dark-faced squadron leader, wasn't this just asking for death?

  Ye Haodong had his own thoughts, and the main reason he said that at the time was that He Ruòqiū was a straightforward and daring person, while Lin Xiangwu was timid and greedy, not daring to take on responsibilities. The fact that Luo Sibao's father was the deputy political commissar of the Eighth Agricultural Division of the Armed Forces was known to all the cadres in the entire company. If Ye Haodong had put this matter on Lin Xiangwu, he would have worried that his previous efforts on him would have been wasted. Even if Lin Xiangwu helped him get out of this situation, it would be difficult for him to use this connection again in the future. Ye Haodong also thought that if He Ruòqiū was not broad-minded, and had not asked Lin Xiangwu to do anything for him before, and had paid so much attention to Lin Xiangwu previously, then Lin Xiangwu would have no reason to ignore him. If this matter were to be blown up, Lin Xiangwu would definitely ask for mercy. Weighing the pros and cons, Ye Haodong was willing to take a gamble, betting on He Ruòqiū's integrity and curiosity.

  As the end of October approaches, the cotton harvesting work is nearing its end, but it has also entered the most tiring days. The five-person joint flowing cotton picking method invented by Ye Haodong and his team can only guarantee that they can complete their tasks within one day, while other teams that imitate them are doing well, able to complete their tasks ahead of or behind them. However, more teams are still using the traditional method of each person working individually, so there have been many small groups burning the midnight oil these days.

  These days, He Ruqiu has been waiting for Lin Xiangwu to come and plead for Ye Haodong. As a result, Lin Xiangwu didn't wait to arrive, but Luo Sibao came over frequently to speak well of Ye Haodong, saying that the labor intensity was particularly high these days, Ye Haodong often encouraged other prisoners to work hard to complete production tasks, and even took out his own pocket money to give his team members extra meals. He Ruqiu silently remembered it in her heart, and instructed Luo Sibao to closely pay attention to the emotional changes of the prisoners and Gu Mingchen's actions these days, and report any abnormalities in a timely manner.

  October 25th, 8 o'clock in the evening. Squadron canteen.

  Gu Mingchen yelled, his voice like a wild wolf howling in the desert: "Every day you're making trouble so late, and now it's time to clean up after yourselves. The cafeteria is only open until 8:30, and after that, each group will leave two people on duty to sweep the cafeteria." The prisoners glared at him with anger in their eyes, while Ye Haodong and Wang Yijun watched coldly. Hu Guangli, who had tried to jump off the train earlier, was also in the cafeteria. He was a fellow townsman of Gu Mingchen's, and it was he who had asked Gu Mingchen to cause trouble for Ye Haodong's group. Now, noticing Ye Haodong's discontent, he saw an opportunity and jumped out, shouting: "What are you all looking at? You're not satisfied, are you? You, little kid, what's your name... Ye Haodong, right? What are you staring at? Are you talking back to me? Are you dissatisfied with my brother?"

  Ye Haodong hugged his arms and looked at him coldly without saying a word.

  Gu Mingchen has been hesitant to provoke Ye Haodong recently. He feels that the squadron's attitude towards Ye Haodong is somewhat ambiguous. He specifically inquired about Ye Haodong's relationship with Squadron Leader Lin Xiangwu and learned that since arriving, Ye Haodong had often tried to curry favor with Instructor Lin Xiangwu. He suspected that it was because of Lin Xiangwu's influence that the squadron did not deal with Ye Haodong after the last incident. Therefore, he is still not prepared to have a direct confrontation with Ye Haodong.

  Gu Mingchen walked over and pulled back the boisterous Hu Guangli, gave him a look, and made a fist at Ye Haodong: "You stop messing around, Comrade Ye's team has always been the fastest to finish work. I didn't say anything about him just now."

  Ye Haodong continued to stare at him coldly, not speaking. Gu Mingchen felt embarrassed and didn't bother with Ye Haodong again. The other prisoners watched this scene unfold before their eyes, and suddenly a strange feeling rose up in their hearts, as if a voice was telling everyone that this kid wasn't anything special after all.

  At last, after a moment of silence, a voice with a Hebei accent spoke up: "Damn it! We're indeed the ones squatting in prison, and that's what we deserve for committing crimes. But who can tolerate being bullied by this little brat on top of everything else?"

  The prisoner who spoke was Qian Baoshan. During his temporary detention at Niu Xin Tang Prison, he shared a cell with Ye Haodong.

  Ye Haodong noticed that the atmosphere in the cafeteria had become very tense, with the anger of 70 or 80 prisoners ignited. Qian Baoshan's words were like opening Pandora's box, releasing everyone's anger. Several prisoners sitting near Gu Mingchen stood up first, one tall and sturdy man grabbed Gu Mingchen's collar, glaring at him fiercely, hesitating for a moment before not daring to take immediate action. Qian Baoshan looked at Ye Haodong, who slowly closed his eyes. Qian Baoshan no longer hesitated, taking a swift step forward and punching Gu Mingchen in the face. The cafeteria immediately fell into chaos, with all the prisoners seeing someone take the lead and rushing forward to beat up Gu Mingchen. The scene became increasingly out of control, Ye Haodong expressionless and calmly observing the chaos before him, quietly instructing Wang Yijun to quickly go notify squad leader Luo Sibao.

  Gu Mingchen, who was surrounded in the middle, could still let out a loud cry at first, but soon his voice grew weaker and weaker. Lu Tianming in the kitchen heard the sound, grabbed a spoon and rushed out, shouting "Stop!" and was about to go up. Ye Haodong quickly snatched the spoon from him and pulled him out. "Are you crazy? Can this broken thing stop these people? They'll kill you too!" Lu Tianming only then noticed the ferocity and cruelty on the faces of the offenders, and was so scared that he spat out his tongue: "Oh no, it's bad! Something big is going to happen, I have to go report to the squad!" After saying that, he turned around and ran.

  There was a sentry post near the cafeteria, with soldiers holding guns standing guard. Lu Tianming ran to the vicinity of the sentry post in a daze, and the soldier inside shouted: "Halt! If you come closer, I'll shoot!"