“You go back and forth every day without rest or food. Do you think you’re made of iron? Either you bring your own food in the morning, or I’ll bring you lunch. You don’t have to go home for lunch. Choose one.”
Yu Jiu punched him lightly with her little fist, angrily issuing her final ultimatum. Xu Zijiang was always messing around like this, not taking his health seriously at all. Even an iron man couldn't take it. She didn't want her child to be fatherless before it was even born, nor did she want to become a widow at a young age.
Xu Zijiang couldn't bear to let Yu Jiu deliver food to him under the scorching sun, so he made his choice immediately.
"Then I'll bring you lunch tomorrow morning. Don't be angry anymore. You should eat and get some rest. I'm leaving."
Xu Zijiang ruffled Yu Jiu's thick, black hair, checked the time, and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute, I'll pack you some food to eat on the way. If you starve yourself, I'll never forgive you!"
Yu Jiu threatened him fiercely. She quickly found a lunchbox, packed a meal for Xu Zijiang, and made him a cup of sugar water to drink on the way before letting him leave.
"Okay, I was wrong. I won't torture myself like that again next time. Remember to be on time at noon, don't oversleep and rush to work in a hurry."
Xu Zijiang was rambling on and on, as if he had prematurely entered old age.
"I know, you should take care of yourself first, Comrade Xu Zijiang."
Yu Jiu pinched him, watched him leave, and then sat down to eat.
To be honest, Yu Jiu rarely eats alone; she usually eats with Xu Zijiang. Now that the two of them are suddenly not eating together, she's sitting at this table alone, and it feels rather lonely.
Yu Jiu thought to herself, "She really is a bit clingy."
However, being clingy isn't a flaw, and Yu Jiu has generously accepted all of herself.
Yu Jiu usually goes to work, while Xu Zi goes to repair the road. The road repair project has been going on for three days without incident, until the work assignments started three days later, which caused dissatisfaction among the people.
It was agreed at the time that the arrangements would be made by the higher-ups, but now some people are being assigned to carry stones from far away places, while others are just staying in place to weed and shovel soil, which is very easy. So the people who are assigned to heavy work are very dissatisfied and feel that this is unfair.
Why is it that I'm working so hard while he's having it so easy, even though we all get the same work points? They demanded more work points. But how could the higher-ups possibly agree? Ten work points is already the maximum, what more do you want? Seeing that they couldn't appease them, the higher-ups simply cut the work points and reverted to the old system.
Those who do heavy work get ten work points, while those who do light work get five work points. This has stirred up a hornet's nest and caused conflict among everyone. Good heavens, I was entitled to ten work points, and you've turned it into five, which is half of what I was owed!
Who wouldn't be angry? So the atmosphere has been terrible these past few days. Everyone is harboring anger, and it's easy for things to escalate into arguments or even fights, which is giving the team leaders a real headache.
Xu Zijiang's team was assigned to light work, but he probably noticed a young girl and an older woman in his team and assigned them to light work.
Aunt Mi sighed as she dug the soil.
"My work points are gone, just like that. Sigh, these people are really something. They could have just taken turns doing the heavy work for a few days, and then let them do the light work for a few days. Wouldn't that have been better? Everyone would have benefited. Why were they arguing? Now look what happened, nobody got any benefit."
"Yes, after more than half a month, we've lost almost a hundred work points."
Lin Si was also heartbroken. She came here to accumulate work points, but she only earned five points a day, and she didn't know when she would be able to earn back the missing five. If she had known, she would have been better off being assigned to heavy work. It would be tiring, but she could earn five more work points, and she was eager to earn more now. After all, the more work points she saved now, the easier life would be for her grandmother and younger sister in the future.
"Alright, stop talking. If someone hears us, it'll cause a scene again."
Xu Zi shook his head, signaling them to shut up. Things were already like this; no matter how much they complained, the higher-ups wouldn't change their work points back. They had no choice but to accept it. If they kept arguing and making a scene, they might even be made to do unpaid work, and then they'd be in even more trouble.
"Understood, Captain."
Xu Zijiang was able to manage his team, but the other team leaders didn't have the same influence. Those who did light work were full of complaints, working slower and slower, clearly slacking off, complaining while being lazy.
"I should have known better than to do it. I'm only getting five work points and I'm putting up with all this damn rubbish!"
"Isn't that right? If I find out which bastard went up to the higher-ups and got the leaders to change the ten work points to five, I'll kill that brat! Otherwise, I can easily earn ten work points every day, save them up, and my family can have a comfortable winter without worrying about not having enough food in the spring."
Their complaints were loud enough to be heard by those carrying stones back. Those doing the heavy work were also dissatisfied; their demand was for higher work points, not a reduction in the work points for those doing the light work. Now they toiled away carrying stones, making 800 round trips a day, while those doing the light work just squatted in place, pulling weeds and digging soil, living a life of ease.
As a result, they still dared to complain. People who do heavy work are already tired, and hearing such complaints is like a firecracker that has been lit. They can't suppress their temper and immediately jump out impulsively.
"What did you say? Say it again if you dare!"
"Say it if you want, what's wrong with saying it? You shameless bunch, you can't even make money yourselves and you won't let others make money either!"
"Pah! You're shameless! You just want to lie around and earn work points, don't you? Aren't you enough people to rest now? If you're so capable, let's switch jobs. You do this work, let's see if you can handle it!"
"Fine, I'll change it. You think I'm afraid of you? Watch your mouth, you brat!"
"I won't, so what? A bunch of shameless idiots!"
The two men were shouting at each other when others joined in. They faced off, exchanging insults, and eventually, the argument escalated into a full-blown fight. Gouzi, eager to join the fray, was stopped by Xu Zijiang.
"What are you doing over there? If you dare to fight, I'll break your legs first."
"Fine, I won't go then."
The dog was listless and hid to one side. The others had no choice but to listen to Xu Zijiang and move aside, only watching and not participating.
Xu Zijiang was, after all, a team leader, and had been entrusted with an important task by his superiors, who instructed him to manage these teams well and prevent any incidents. Seeing that the other team leaders couldn't control the situation, he had no choice but to step in and mediate. These people, in their desperation, even started throwing stones at each other. It would have been better if they had missed; otherwise, they would have left bloody holes.
"Stop it, all of you, do you hear me? Anyone who doesn't stop will lose their work points for today!"
"If you fight, you pay up if you win, and you end up in the hospital if you lose. Let's see who dares to continue this fight. Stop it now!"
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