The girl looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old; her face and voice were still very immature, and she was very thin, clearly malnourished.
"Okay, then I'll go and carry a few more bricks."
The girl frowned and touched her stomach; she must be starving.
After the older man nodded, the girl turned and ran away again.
"Brother, this girl is so young, why is she working here?"
Zhang Xiaohui's expression was also not very good, probably because she felt sorry for the little girl.
“She has no father since she was a child, her mother’s health has been poor in the past two years, and her two younger brothers need to go to school, so she has no choice but to go out and earn some money.”
When the older man mentioned the little girl, his expression was one of helplessness, and his heartache was written all over his face.
"That…"
Zhang Xiaohui wanted to ask something more, but was interrupted by the older brother.
"Alright, stop asking questions. My break time is over, I need to get back to work."
It seems this older man also doesn't want to talk about unpleasant things.
"Hu Yuan, your foreman at this construction site is too heartless! How could he hire such a young girl to work?"
Zhang Xiaohui said angrily.
"It might not be what you think. I'll look into it again when they're having dinner."
Hu Yuan lost interest in continuing the inspection; the matter was indeed quite serious.
Although people's legal awareness is still relatively weak nowadays, and the occurrence of child labor is understandable, it is indeed inappropriate for fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls to be on construction sites.
This kind of work is something most adults can't sustain for long, let alone a thin little girl weighing less than 100 pounds.
Soon enough, the foreman returned with food, but he was probably just a junior foreman, and Hu Yuan had no recollection of him.
Clearly, he didn't recognize Hu Yuan either, because upon seeing Hu Yuan, he bluntly asked the two of them what they were there for.
"Little sister, how much money do you earn in a day?"
Hu Yuan would directly identify himself each day and get information from the foreman, because what they said might not be true.
“Every day is different, it depends on how much I can do. Today I’ve already carried 400 bricks, if I carry another 100 bricks I’ll earn 10 yuan. If I work hard this afternoon, I can earn 30 yuan today.”
When the girl talked about these things, she didn't seem to have any dissatisfaction; on the contrary, she seemed particularly happy.
"You only earn thirty yuan a day?"
Zhang Xiaohui asked with an incredulous look.
"This is already a lot; sometimes we only earn ten yuan."
The girl answered Zhang Xiaohui's questions while eating.
Logically speaking, an average adult on this construction site should earn around sixty yuan a day.
So earning thirty yuan is not a small amount for a child, and it is indeed something for her to be happy about.
But Zhang Xiaohui was a rich young lady, so naturally she couldn't understand such things.
Hu Yuan noticed that she needed to carry 1,500 bricks to earn 30 yuan.
The two bricks weigh around 50 kilograms, which should be the girl's limit.
Hu Yuan couldn't believe how she could carry 1,500 bricks a day.
According to the girl, she has carried 400 bricks today, which is about 10,000 jin (5,000 kg).
It's just past midnight, this is terrifying.
And she even planned to carry 1,100 yuan in the afternoon, how is that possible?
Even a robot that can operate continuously couldn't reach that speed.
"What time do you start work in the morning and what time do you finish get off work in the evening?"
Hu Yuan felt that the girl could only do it by working overtime.
"I get up at dawn to memorize it, and I go back to sleep around 10 p.m. at night."
The girl had finished eating and was getting ready to go back to work.
For a moment, Hu Yuan didn't know what to say.
She can work for fourteen or fifteen hours straight doing this kind of physical labor, and she keeps working even when others are resting. That's terrifying.
Hu Yuan had no idea how much energy was inside that tiny body.
No wonder she ate two large bowls of rice just now, which is Hu Yuan's amount for two days.
"Alright, you don't need to say anything more. I will definitely handle this matter well."
Seeing that Zhang Xiaohui was about to say something, Hu Yuan interrupted her directly.
My thoughts are a bit jumbled right now, and I don't have time to comfort her or anything.
Next, Hu Yuan called the boss of the small foreman, who was also a big foreman that Hu Yuan knew.
What happened to that little girl?
Hu Yuan remained expressionless, unable to muster a smile.
"Mr. Hu, I'm not quite clear about this matter. Let me have Xiao Wang come over and explain it to you."
The foreman looked completely bewildered, clearly having never inquired about the matter, and couldn't give a clear answer for the moment.
"So you are Mr. Hu. I apologize for offending you earlier."
Xiao Wang is quite good at handling people. Knowing that his attitude towards Hu Yuan wasn't very good, he immediately apologized.
"That's not what I meant. Can you explain what happened first?"
Hu Yuan pointed to the girl who was carrying bricks and running and asked.
"Oh, you mean her? Her second uncle brought her here a couple of days ago, begging me to arrange some work for her. I didn't want to keep her, but I couldn't resist her pleading, so I could only arrange some not-too-heavy but moving things for her every day, and then pay her according to the amount she moved."
Xiao Wang recalled that Hu Yuan seemed to have been talking to the little girl, guessed what Hu Yuan meant, and quickly explained.
As Hu Yuan nodded, he also stepped over to the little girl's second uncle's side.
"So you're a big boss! You really know how to have fun. You even told me you were from the countryside."
After learning Hu Yuan's identity, the older brother wasn't too nervous; instead, he even joked with Hu Yuan.
"Why did you bring her to the construction site when she's so young?"
Zhang Xiaohui asked seriously.
“Girl, didn’t I already tell you? Her family is very poor. Her mother asked me to bring her to the city to work.”
The older brother acted as if it were perfectly normal.
Indeed, Hu Yuan understood his thoughts. After all, the girl's family was too poor and had no source of income. This was the only way for them to make a living.
"Then you can't..."
"Brother, please tell her mother that I'm taking her to find a good job where she can earn more money."
Hu Yuan interrupted Zhang Xiaohui, fearing she would cause a scene.
"Boss, this won't do. I brought her out, so I have to keep an eye on her. If you take her away, I won't be able to explain it when I get back."
The older brother became anxious upon hearing Hu Yuan's words.
"Don't be afraid. Mr. Hu owns a big company. This construction site belongs to him, and he also has many other businesses. Xiaoyu will earn more money by following Mr. Hu, and her future will be even better. Many people would beg for this opportunity."
The foreman immediately stepped forward to help Hu Yuan persuade him, which was also a way for him to make a good impression on Hu Yuan.
"No, foreman, boss, I beg you, please let her stay here and continue working, so her mother can rest easy."
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