Pei called Yan, Ma, and Ren to the yard office before the next shift. Yan’s upper-arm stitches remained under a clean dressing. The bruise at his shoulder was sore when he moved, and the shallow forearm slice had stopped bleeding but still stung under its cloth.
Zhao had not dismissed Ma. Pei read the temporary assignment aloud: Ma would handle inventory work away from the herb racks while the investigation continued. He was not to carry a weapon or approach Yan during either shift.
Pei laid the two-shift order on the table and asked Ma to read each condition before signing. Ma refused at first, saying the assignment made him look guilty. Pei reminded him that the report had not reached a final finding. The temporary restriction kept witnesses apart while the yard reviewed the incident.
“You can write that you disagree,” Pei said. “You still have to follow the assignment.”
Ma took the brush and signed beneath the notice. He made his mark hard enough to tear the paper. Pei copied the order into the shift ledger and gave Ma a copy so no one could claim he had not been told.
Ma folded his arms. “You call this a shift change. Everyone else will call it a demotion.”
“It is a shift change,” Pei said. “You can earn your way back by following the no-weapon rule and cooperating with the review.”
“Ren can withdraw his account. The family will lose future work if he keeps pushing this.”
Ren sat across from Ma. “My brother’s disappearance already cost us wages and salvage. I won’t hide what I saw to protect your position.”
Ma said, “You’ll have to keep working beside the people you accuse.”
“I’ve worked beside people who owed me wages and people who broke my tools. I know how to do my shift.” Ren kept his voice level. “I won’t make the record different just because you decide to remember my name.”
Pei asked whether Ren wanted a guard nearby when he returned to the racks. Ren said no, but asked that the temporary key board remain in the open where every worker could see who had access. Pei agreed and wrote the request on the assignment sheet.
Ma leaned forward. “You want the yard to remember you as the worker who sent an overseer away.”
“I want the yard to remember what happened. Your shift can change back when the review ends.”
Pei held up a hand. “We are not retrying the incident in this room. Ren will give his account, and the record will stand. The work assignment is temporary.”
Yan stayed quiet. Ren was speaking for himself and his family. Pei confirmed that his testimony would be filed with the incident report.
Ma asked, “You’d risk your crew over one cut?”
“I’d risk a shift to keep the truth in the record,” Ren replied. “You drew the knife. I saw you.”
Pei asked Ma to hand over the key to the herb racks as part of the assignment. Ma removed it from his belt and set it on the desk. He looked at Ren. “I’ll remember who spoke.”
Ren met his gaze. “I’ll remember the knife.”
Pei sent Ma to the inventory shed with another guard. The key went back onto the work board in full view of the crew. Pei wrote the new assignment beside Ma’s name and added the two-shift restriction.
At the racks, workers moved the drying poles farther apart so carts could pass. The fight had shown how little space remained between the poles, the cart, and the open aisle. Ren measured the turn with a length of cord. They shifted one pole and added a wooden brace from an empty drying frame. He marked the old pole holes with chalk before they moved anything, in case the new angle blocked the trays from catching the afternoon sun.
One worker held the pole while another set the brace. Yan directed the cart through the gap with his uninjured hand, keeping his other arm close to the bandage. They moved it once, then backed it out and adjusted the pole by a few inches. The wheels cleared without brushing the drying trays.
Yan tested the route with his bandaged arm held close. The widened aisle gave the carts room to turn and left fewer blind corners where someone could block the passage. He moved slowly, keeping his shoulder steady.
“Does it clear?” Ren asked.
“Yes. The cart can turn without scraping the rack.”
One worker suggested moving a second pole. Another checked the brace and said the extra shift would make the frame unstable. They tried the cart through the new gap, then moved the pole back by half a handspan. The turn worked without narrowing the exit.
Pei watched from the lane entrance. “The repair crew can add a permanent brace next week. Until then, keep the cart on this route.”
Ren marked the temporary path on the work board. The workers did not wait for a new order to make the aisle usable; they used spare wood and measured the cart’s turn themselves.
Ma left for the inventory shed with his knife surrendered to Pei. On the way, he told Yan, “This matter isn’t finished.”
The guard carried the key and the sealed knife separately. Ma’s new work began at the inventory table with another supervisor, who checked the assignment before giving him a ledger. He could still work and earn his wage, but he no longer controlled access to the drying racks or the crew’s movements.
On the way, he told Yan, “This matter isn’t finished.”
Yan kept his injured arm close. “The report is finished for today.”
Ma turned toward him, but the guard stepped between them. “Keep moving.” Ma continued down the path without coming closer.
Yan returned to the rack. His arm remained sore, and the stitches pulled when he shifted his shoulder. He could still choose his next move. He did not need to follow Ma or answer a threat in front of the crew. He checked the brace and put the fallen herbs in a clean tray.
Ren carried the cart through the widened lane. The wheels passed without catching. “We’ll keep this path until the repair crew comes.”
“Mark the temporary brace,” Yan said. “Nobody should lean on it.”
Ren wrote the note on the board. Two workers read it and checked the new access key before they returned to their trays. The aisle remained clear for the next shift, and Ma was no longer close enough to approach Yan during work. The investigation was not complete, but the immediate workplace risk had changed: the key was returned to the public board, the route was open, and the guard had a written restriction to enforce.