Chapter 121: The Quarry
Early the next morning, Tian Xin went to the factory to meet up with Li Baiwan.
It seems that all the people coming in and out have changed their positions, and the drivers of the three forklifts in the workshop are all from the quarry.
About ten people came out of the finance office, cursing all the way back to the dormitory, and soon left the factory gate carrying large and small bags.
She walked towards Li Baiwan's office and saw Zhang Yuan sitting at the door with a sad face. She walked over to her and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Zhang Yuan hesitated for a moment, then smiled at her: "It's okay, sister. Go in quickly, the factory director is waiting for you inside."
Li Baiwan was indeed waiting for her and had already made tea for her. When he saw her come in, he quickly asked her to sit down.
"Are we going over now?" she asked.
"No hurry, drink some water first." Li Baiwan said, "Warm yourself up before you go over."
The office was warm because of the stove. Tian Xin's hands were almost frozen from walking all the way here, so she pulled a chair over to the stove and sat there to warm herself.
"There are sweet potatoes in the oven, take some and eat them yourself!" said Li Baiwan.
She could already smell the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes when she entered the room. Now, when Li Baiwan asked her to help herself, she didn't hesitate.
The sweet potato was roasted on the outside and tender on the inside. She took one out, broke it in half, and handed half to Li Baiwan: "Uncle, do you want some?"
Li Baiwan waved his hand: "No, do you think Zhang Yuan will eat it?"
She took half a sweet potato to the door and handed it to Zhang Yuan, who shook her head: "I've eaten it, sister, you eat it!"
She withdrew her hand awkwardly and started eating.
The sweet potatoes are sweet, soft and sticky, with a lingering sweetness in the mouth. They are grown by the locals.
Halfway through her meal, she went in to drink some water. The sweet potatoes were delicious, but she was choking. Li Baiwan was talking to someone loudly on the phone.
She drank some water and continued to sit by the stove to warm herself.
After a while, Li Baiwan finished his call, picked up his teacup and said, "Let's go!"
She stood up, pushed the chair back to its original position, and walked out with half a sweet potato in her hand. Zhang Yuan was cleaning the office, and when she saw the two of them leave, she went to tidy up her desk.
She glanced back and saw that she still had a sad look on her face.
On the way, after bypassing the most difficult section, she finally couldn't help asking, "Director, what's wrong with Zhang Yuan? She seems worried."
Li Baiwan smiled and said, "She's just a little girl, she must have had a quarrel with her boyfriend!"
"She has a partner?"
"How should I know this? No one will tell me!" Li Baiwan laughed.
"What's the matter? Did you have a quarrel with your family?"
"I don't know about that! I don't have time to worry about that in a day."
Oh! He really doesn't have time to worry about these things, but he is a gossiper!
Zhang Yuan and her sister came to the factory together. At that time, there were no suitable positions, so her sister went to the weighing room and Zhang Yuan was assigned to do odd jobs in the office.
Not long after these two sisters graduated from high school, their families asked them to go out to work.
Her sister Zhang Ni lived in the city for a few years, but later for some unknown reason, her family refused to let her go back to the city, so they found jobs for the two sisters in the factory.
Tian Xin wasn't familiar with Zhang Ni, but she always saw Zhang Yuan in the office. Although young, she was diligent and perceptive, always calling her "sister" and she really liked her.
Most of the girls in the village she was close to worked in the city, so she only saw them a few times a year. Only this garden made her feel warm.
Seeing that she didn't ask any further questions, Li Baiwan said, "This kid and her sister seem to be having a fight lately. I passed by the factory gate the other day and saw her sister beating her."
"Her sister?" Tian Xin asked doubtfully, "Why did her sister hit her?"
"Who knows?"
Zhang Ni's personality is completely different from Zhang Yuan's. Maybe it's because she has lived in the city for a few years, Zhang Ni is very cheerful, cheerful... uh... a little too cheerful, even a little... crazy.
She had seen this girl several times in the weighing room, and the extent of her jokes with truck drivers was sometimes simply shocking.
Zhang Yuan is different. She likes quietness, likes to be busy, and doesn't like to chat with others.
What on earth could have caused her sister to beat her?
She thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.
Li Baiwan drove very steadily. The mountain road was difficult to drive on, but he drove slowly and Tian Xin did not feel uncomfortable.
When they were almost at the quarry, Li Baiwan said, "Be careful what you say. Don't be too blunt! Guofeng is also blunt and speaks bluntly. Don't you two dare to start an argument!"
Every time Li Baiwan explained things to her, she felt as if a father was patiently teaching his child how to behave. Although Li Baiwan was not as old as his father, he was only a few years older. Every time she heard him say this, she felt warm in her heart, as if her father was right beside her.
"No!" Tian Xin said: "I am a junior, how dare I quarrel with my elders? Don't worry, I know what to say."
Li Baiwan chuckled when he heard her say that: "You're only disrespectful around me! You're quite polite to everyone else!"
"That's because I'm familiar with you, so don't be shy!"
"Hehe..." Li Baiwan smiled, "It's better not to be shy, that's right!"
He turned the steering wheel and drove into the yard. Halfway up the hill, the rumbling and clattering of machinery filled his ears. He parked the car in an open space far from the truck, and the two of them got out and walked inside.
Zhang Guofeng was standing in the distance watching the working of the crusher. Three forklifts were constantly transporting the stones "flowing out" of the crusher out, and another one was loading the truck.
Tian Xin walked over and saw that the driver was Guo Wanshun who had been replaced.
Guo Wanshun was still busy loading goods, just like at the factory. Perhaps because he was outside, he didn't sweat today.
Tian Xin walked over and asked him how he felt and whether he had adapted. He chuckled twice and said that he had adapted, so anything was fine.
Trucks came and went, and Li Baiwan told her not to run around and to follow him. The two of them went to meet Zhang Guofeng halfway up the mountain.
"How is it? Are you all right?" Li Baiwan asked Zhang Guofeng in a hoarse voice.
The noise of the machine was so loud that it was impossible to hear clearly. Zhang Guofeng approached him and shouted: "What did you say——"
Li Baiwan waved his hand, and several people went to the open space next to them.
"When they came over yesterday, a few of them were unhappy. I told them they were unhappy and they left, cursing and swearing!"
Zhang Guofeng handed Li Baiwan a cigarette and tried to light it. Li Baiwan waved his hand and put the cigarette between his ears. The two men turned their backs and looked toward the crusher to talk.
Tian Xin examined him carefully. Zhang Guofeng was short, of average build. He didn't have the potbelly of Li Baiwan, but he wasn't skinny either. Although he was over fifty, he looked energetic. He was wearing work clothes and yellow rubber shoes, and his trouser legs were covered in dust.
Seeing Tian Xin looking at him, he patted his trouser legs embarrassedly: "This place is so dusty and dirty, it's impossible to clean it."
Tian Xin smiled and said, "Xiao Tian, it was you who proposed this idea of transfer to the factory director, right?"
She didn't dare to respond and looked at Li Baiwan.
Zhang Guofeng said, "I think this is a great idea! These people in the factory have a lot of bad health problems. If they're transferred here and work hard for a few days, all their ailments will be cured!"
"But, I still say the same thing. We work hard, as you can see. It's dusty and noisy here. No one wants to deal with these rocks all day long. Even though the people transferred here haven't left yet, no one can say how long they can hold out."
He turned to Li Baiwan and said, "Director, you must consider the issue of wages."
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