Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Xia Li put her shoulder bag on her shoulder...
There's a direct bus to the train station, but you still have to walk a few steps after getting off. Xia Li changed out of her work clothes and headed straight outside the factory to catch the bus. She was somewhat thankful she'd worn a particularly comfortable pair of shoes today; by the time she finished her work, her feet would likely be less achy.
Actually, Xia Li didn't want to go to the train station. It was really messy and crowded, so the environment always felt unclean.
After getting off the bus, she began searching for people based on the location given on the phone. Zhao Qingqing had told her there were fifteen of them. With a rough location, and with more than a dozen young people gathered together, they were a good target, so finding them shouldn't be difficult. So, after searching for a while, she realized they were the group she was looking for.
Charlie put her backpack on her shoulder and walked towards them in her shoes.
Zhao Qingqing felt relieved when she learned Xia Li was coming to pick them up in person. Although she felt embarrassed, she was relieved. Otherwise, how would they get to the factory? They would be in a real dilemma.
Everyone also packed up their things quickly, putting away the things they had taken out for temporary use, as well as the food and drinks, to ensure that when people came later, they would not be delayed and could just pick up their luggage and leave.
However, they didn't know that Xia Li's factory wasn't close, and it would take them a while to get there. They quickly packed up, but they stood up and waited, but no one showed up. After all, they'd been on the bus all the way and had spent the previous night sitting outside, exhausted. Some of them couldn't bear it any longer and squatted or sat on the ground.
But even though they were not standing, this group of young boys and girls still looked up, their eyes fixed on anyone who was walking towards them.
"Hey? Hey? Is this it?" A girl gently touched the person sitting next to her with her shoulder, but her eyes did not move, and she silently looked at the person who seemed to be walking towards them.
The girl who was bumped into turned her face towards the direction her companion said when she heard it. She pouted in disappointment and couldn't help complaining: "Are you still asleep? The person who came to pick us up was a woman, not a man." She emphasized the last half of the sentence.
"Okay, okay, I remember." The confused little companion said hesitantly that he understood.
Zhao Qingqing and some others stood waiting, their eyes flickering back and forth at the passersby, sometimes thinking they were still on their way, sometimes guessing they might have already arrived, but they couldn't find them.
Zhao Qingqing had heard people in the village talk about Xia Li, though her reputation wasn't very good at first. Despite this, the Jiang family, the victims, never said anything bad about their daughter-in-law; any gossip was spread by the villagers. It was only recently, because of the recruitment issue, that the villagers' attitudes changed again, and the Jiang family's daughter-in-law became a person that everyone gave a thumbs up to.
Zhao Qingqing didn't know what it meant to just follow the crowd. She only knew she understood one thing: as long as you have ability, people will look at you differently. She felt a genuine admiration for Xia Li, whom she had never met. She thought she was so brave and that she needed to learn from her.
After all, the villagers didn't think she was a good girl. She had to make a lot of money here and see who would dare to say anything bad about her in front of her.
She'd been wondering what Charlie was like. She must have looked like someone quite impressive, walking among the crowd with confidence, not at all timid or afraid. Unlike them, when people here looked at them, they felt as if someone was whispering behind their backs, probably calling them unsophisticated. But they didn't dare approach them to argue, not even to exchange glances.
But when she actually saw Charlie, she felt that she was neither quite like what she had imagined, but also like what she had imagined.
Zhao Qingqing was somewhat surprised to see a tall, well-proportioned woman walking straight toward them in the sunlight. She walked quickly, her strides seemingly longer than those of an average person, and in just a few steps, she was in front of her. Once in front of her, Zhao Qingqing realized that she was actually about the same height as herself, but her confident manner from a distance made her seem much taller.
At that moment, she was stunned for some reason, simply stunned by the astonishing allure of the woman before her. It was a simple outfit—she had a shirt and trousers—but she simply couldn't pull it off like she did. The woman before her had her hair tied up and tucked back, looking exceptionally neat and tidy. Her face was fair, with soft, flowing features, and her eyes were large and bright. Anyone could tell at a glance that she was a beauty.
She had been working in the county before, but she had never met Xia Li. No wonder the villagers always mentioned her. If she walked out like this, no one would not look at her more than a few times. From this point of view, even if the boss of the Jiang family was a wealthy boss, Xia Li would be enough for him.
Charlie quickly arrived in front of these people. Among so many people, she immediately found someone who could take the lead and stood in front of a girl.
But this girl seemed a little silly. Could it be that she had mistaken someone?
Her eyes quickly flicked to the others and back again, a smile on her lips, and only then did she notice the person opposite her seemed to have come back to their senses, "Excuse me, are you from Zhaozhuang?"
After hearing this sentence, almost everyone nodded continuously like chicks pounding rice.
Seeing everyone's reactions, Xia Li breathed a sigh of relief. Not bad, she thought. She found it right away, saving a lot of time. She wasn't being pretentious and simply asked if everyone was here. If everyone was, they could go find a place to stay with her first, putting work aside for later.
These people naturally agreed. Zhao Qingqing quickly told everyone to take care of their own luggage and not to get separated.
Just like that, a group of people walked towards the bus station. The bus station is next to the train station, so people who get on the bus at the station always have an advantage. After all, it is the starting station, so everyone can always find a seat and there is no need to rush.
However, everyone had a lot of luggage, so they didn't sit in the front, but tried to sit in the back. The luggage was placed in the back of the car, either carried on the body, placed under the seat, or in the aisle between them, leaving the front seats for the passengers who would get on later.
The driver looked back curiously and turned his head away.
Xia Li and Zhou Qingqing sat together, their seats slightly forward. She spoke to Zhao Qingqing after she had settled down: "You're quite impressive! It must have been a tough journey." Just now, Zhao Qingqing had been standing and counting the number of people. Her deft movements suggested she'd done this quite a bit along the way.
After being praised by Charlie, the capable girl was a little shy: "No, I'm just a little older than everyone else, so it's my duty to look after everyone."
"That's different. Some people are older than others, but they still need others to take care of them outside. I think you are quite suitable to be a small leader." Xia Li said to her seriously. She was not joking. She really felt that Zhao Qingqing was a girl with great potential. Xia Li immediately felt that this girl was worth making friends with.
She glanced behind her. Most of the people were young girls, with only a couple of young men. They were sitting on the bus, each one staring excitedly out at the street, their eyes wide open. They'd let out a small gasp at the sight of the densely packed skyscrapers, and even after the bus passed, they'd still be craning their necks to look back. Looking at them, Xia Li remembered herself, probably a new arrival, looking just like that.
Time easily leaves people behind, it goes by so fast!
Then she looked at Zhao Qingqing, who seemed a little awkward because she was sitting right next to her, and felt a little apologetic. Suddenly, she remembered something and confirmed with Zhao Qingqing: "Why did you arrive this morning? Which bus did you take? I don't remember this bus."
Xia Li only remembered one train from her hometown to Guangzhou, and it usually arrived at night. Last time, she and Jiang Zai also got off the train in the middle of the night. They had to deal with something before they could get a special car to take them back. Could it be that these people had been left out in the open air at the train station all night, or was the train unexpectedly delayed?
Xia Li suddenly asked this question, and Zhao Qingqing was stunned for a moment. She only saw her lips move twice, and her face looked a little embarrassed. They didn't want to cause trouble for Sister Xia Li, so they didn't want to bother her. Besides, everyone thought it was normal to spend the night outside the train station. Sometimes when the food at home was almost ripe, parents and their half-grown children would also have to stay in the fields to watch over the crops, just like that, in the pitch black. In the countryside, when there were no lights or moonlight, the night was really pitch black, you couldn't see your hand in front of you. In big cities, it was better, with bright lights on, and the rich even had lights on the streets.
Before Zhao Qingqing could say anything, Xia Li understood, "It's really hard work. Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Although she complained, she felt in her heart that this group of people were quite polite. If they had contacted her directly last night, she would not have gone. In the end, she still tactfully suggested that they spend the night at the train station first.
It's okay. With Zhao Qingqing and the others watching over this group of people, they shouldn't cause her any trouble. Her original intention was just to provoke those gossipy women. She could help them out, but she couldn't bring herself into trouble.
Feeling satisfied, Xia Li loosened her grip.
When the group arrived at a certain place, Xia Li was not stingy. Seeing the tired and excited expressions on their faces, she waved her hand and led the group to a small roadside restaurant. It would be noon in a little while, and it was time for her to eat.
At this time, restaurants don't need to worry about decoration. They just need to paint the restaurant white, mop the floor, set up the tables and chairs, and open the restaurant. However, customers don't care about the environment, but if the food is not good, then it will not work. Guangzhou people are picky, and restaurants with bad food will gradually find it difficult to survive. After all, although this restaurant is also on the roadside, it is generally located in a remote location, so repeat customers are still very important.
Xia Li had never been here before, but it was almost lunchtime and she saw some people already eating in the restaurant, so it must be a good place.
Zhao Qingqing and her group followed Xia Li with bags of all sizes. They didn't know the road, so they all followed Zhao Qingqing and Xia Li who were walking in front.
Seeing that the two people in front of them did not move in front of a restaurant, everyone felt happy because they had been hungry for a long time.
Of course, this hunger was also partly emotional. After all, it had been almost two days since they had picked up chopsticks and a bowl to eat a proper meal. Although their families had prepared steamed buns, pickles, and snacks, these things could fill them up, but they were not really a proper meal. As for the food on the train, these young people who were preparing to work and earn money were really envious of it, but they could not afford it for the time being. So they had to endure until now.
Zhao Qingqing also realized this. She initially thought that if they weren't hungry, they shouldn't eat. But then she thought, Sister Xia Li must be hungry too. She'd worked so hard to come here, and she didn't know if it would delay her work to pick them up. She had to eat something. She would settle the bill first, and then let them pay for their own meals when they got back. As for Sister Xia Li's food, she would pay for it herself.
Everyone was standing in front of the restaurant. Some customers who had finished their meal came out wiping their mouths, while others walked around them and prepared to go in.
The food here must be delicious.
The two or three guys at the back had already decided that no matter whether everyone would eat it in the end, they would come back here to have another bowl after putting down their luggage. It tasted so delicious, so fragrant and oily.
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