Chapter 60: The Building at the Construction Site Collapsed
In the afternoon, Zhou Yuejun brought the accounts to Wu Da’s office. Wu Da flipped through a few pages casually and then lost interest in reading further.
Wu Da lit a cigarette. Knowing that Zhou Yuejun didn’t really smoke, he didn’t offer one.
“Everyone has been working hard lately. Tell the kitchen to prepare two solid meat dishes to improve the meals. You can’t work for many days without some oil in your stomach.”
“I heard someone had heatstroke yesterday. Boil some more mung bean soup.”
Since he didn’t have to worry about anything and the people under him were efficient, Wu Da was naturally happy that they were nearing completion.
Wu Da estimated that, including the finishing touches, there were still half a month left. He then mentioned something else to Zhou Yuejun: “Are you still going to work at the dance hall afterward?”
Zhou Yuejun shook his head in denial. “No, I’ve already resigned. Tonight is the last day.”
Xie Meng didn’t want him to leave. He had raised his salary again and again, almost catching up to Zeng Hui.
But Zhou Yuejun had repeatedly refused.
Xie Meng said he was being cold-hearted and was quite dissatisfied.
He only said he was going to the coastal areas to take a look and casually mentioned that being a contractor there should make money. Only then did Xie Meng let it go.
Before he could speak, Wu Da mentioned another matter: “Alright, I was afraid you wouldn’t have time.”
“In a few more days, the machinery at the site will be transported over. Help me make a trip. I’ll calculate your salary as three times the usual rate, but you must ensure that all the machinery is delivered without any mistakes.”
Zhou Yuejun’s current salary was already considered quite good, and it wasn’t tiring.
Generally, highway robbers would pick their targets based on the people and the goods. If the person was weak and the goods were expensive, they would demand exorbitant passage fees. If you didn’t give it, they would destroy your things.
“The machinery is expensive. If someone else goes to deliver it, I’m always uneasy in my heart.”
He didn’t know what was wrong with the electric fan; it wouldn’t spin.
Zhou Yuejun patted it twice, and it slowly began to spin again, blowing his clothes so they billowed.
Zhou Yuejun always had a solemn face, like a sharpened sword, yet he made people feel steady and reliable.
“I happened to want to go along as well.”
“I want to buy some goods.”
“Going along can save on train fares, and it’s less likely for me to be checked for illegal trading.”
Hearing Zhou Yuejun’s words, Wu Da was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously sat up straight, hooking the corners of his mouth with a gratified expression.
“You can do that? Thinking of doing business yourself? What goods are you buying?”
Zhou Yuejun didn’t hide it. “I’ll look at clothing first. Lightweight and cheap.”
He didn’t have much money saved up currently. After deducting the rent he needed to pay and Yu Deng’s tuition and fees for the start of school, he only had over a thousand left.
Appliances had high profits, but he didn’t have that much money for the time being and couldn’t afford them. If he only sold one or two units, not only would it be hard to negotiate a low price with the factory, but he also wouldn’t make much after a round trip.
He could only start with a small business first—small profits but quick turnover.
Garment factories were everywhere. The price for wholesale would be lower, but the coastal areas developed fast. Their appliances were advanced, and their clothing was fashionable, leading the trends. It would certainly be easy to sell them.
Wu Da hesitated, and Zhou Yuejun also understood his concerns.
“I’ll move quickly. At most, it will take one or two days. I don’t want the money for this trip; help me distribute it among the few people who go along.”
Wu Da wasn’t someone who couldn’t be reasoned with. He readily agreed.
“Alright, I’ll help you ask the others. Getting paid to eat and drink for free without doing work—they’ll definitely agree.”
“Before you leave, I’ll settle your wages first, so you can buy a few more pieces of clothing.”
“But you must remember, when the machinery is being transported, you are in full charge. There must be no mistakes.”
Wu Da exhorted him repeatedly.
The machinery was his livelihood. Without the machinery under him, even if the boss appreciated him, he wouldn’t be able to start work.
Wu Da had agreed, but the matter of Zhou Yuejun going away for a few days hadn’t been told to Yu Deng yet.
He watched the construction site and always noticed a few people acting sneakily, gathering together from time to time and whispering. But their whispering was very quiet, and they would stop if someone approached.
With vigilance and guilt written all over their faces, they seemed very calculating.
Zhou Yuejun had seen many such people at the dance hall—petty thieves or people looking for trouble. In general, it was right to say they harbored ill intentions.
…
“Are the things ready?”
“Don’t worry, they’re all prepared. Later, after I call the people from the site over, quickly bring the person in.”
…
Zhou Yuejun didn’t come back for dinner.
In the past, he would be back by 5:40 PM, but today it was already 6:30 PM, and he still hadn’t returned home.
Yu Deng was hungry, so he ate a bowl of ice porridge. The side dish was the canned meat from before.
Downstairs, there were quite a few people cooling off under the trees at this time. They had all brought stools and gathered to gossip.
They were using cattail fans, fanning themselves while hitting mosquitoes. Some were also shelling corn kernels.
Yu Deng glanced at the crowd. He didn’t see Zhou Aifeng, and only then did he relax a bit.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of Zhou Aifeng, but being pestered by that kind of person was disgusting and uncomfortable in his heart.
The proprietress was eating dinner: sweet potato porridge with salted vegetables and stir-fried Chinese cabbage.
Yu Deng didn’t buy snacks or popsicles, nor did he watch TV or blow the fan. Instead, he was focused on a certain direction, looking forward to it.
The proprietress teased him: “With that look of yours, as if you’re waiting with bated breath—those who know think you’re waiting for your brother, those who don’t think you’re a ‘Waiting-for-Husband’ rock.”
Yu Deng’s mouth turned down. His eyes didn’t move for a second. He hummed in a low voice, his complaint sounding a bit like he was throwing a tantrum: “Why isn’t he back yet~”
Yu Deng stood for a while. His hands and feet were bitten by mosquitoes, forming many bumps, even on his face. He kept scratching, almost to the point of bleeding.
A man with a bare upper body walked over; he had come to buy liquor.
Seeing Yu Deng, he was stunned for a moment before saying, “I heard it seems like a building at the construction site collapsed. The doctors and police have all arrived.”
Instantly, Yu Deng’s head buzzed, falling into a state of chaos. His heart also plunged rapidly.
Something happened at the site.
He couldn’t hear the exclamations and gossip around him, only silently giving himself a mental suggestion.
Zhou Yuejun is the protagonist; surely he wouldn’t…
But on second thought, protagonists usually face many setbacks.
It couldn’t be, right?
With a thump in his heart, Yu Deng ran in the direction of the construction site.
He remembered the way. He ran until he was covered in sweat, but his heart had sunk to the bottom. The excessive exercise also made him nearly suffocate.
Zhou Yuejun…
Just as Yu Deng ran to the site, he saw a few people being handcuffed and taken away by the police.
Could it be a building violation?
Would Zhou Yuejun be arrested then?
A circle of people from the neighborhood had gathered to watch the scene. Yu Deng stood on his tiptoes to peer at the people. It was dark, and he couldn’t see very clearly; he could only barely identify people by their silhouettes.
Zhou Yuejun wasn’t there.
When Yu Deng burst into Wu Da’s office, Zhou Yuejun was dialing the phone. Wu Da had his head tilted back, drinking water.
Wu Da had just talked until his lips were dry, and his throat was about to smoke.
When Yu Deng burst in, it scared him so much that his hand shook, and the water spilled directly down his chin, soaking his clothes.
It even choked him in his nostrils.
Zhou Yuejun’s eyes were dark, as if they were frozen by ice—aloof and lonely. But when he saw Yu Deng, they changed in an instant.
Yu Deng was panting for breath. His tender red lips were open wide as he breathed, his watery gaze falling on Zhou Yuejun’s shirt, which had already been torn to shreds.
Because his flesh was exposed, he looked somewhat neither here nor there.
“Are you alright?”
Zhou Yuejun put down the phone and pulled the sweaty Yu Deng inside to cool off.
“I’m fine. I was just about to call you.”
Zhou Yuejun’s gaze fell on the red and swollen flesh of Yu Deng’s cheek.
After being bitten by mosquitoes, he had scratched it himself. It was bright red and looked pitiful, as if the skin were about to break.
As his fingertip lightly rubbed it, Yu Deng actually felt comfortable. He obediently rubbed his face against it a few times, his rounded cat-like eyes looking thick and enchanting.
Zhou Yuejun’s brow arch was deep, and a tender affection flooded his eyes. “Something happened at the site. Someone wanted to use explosives to blow up the building and then pretend to be injured to extort compensation.”
“Explosives?!”
Yu Deng’s pupils quaked. He was clearly frightened into a daze.
Zhou Yuejun brushed away the damp, stray hairs on Yu Deng’s forehead and then pulled at his clothes. “Self-made ones. They weren’t that powerful.”
But they were going to blow up a building; no matter what, it must have been powerful enough to injure people, right?
Fortunately, Zhou Yuejun’s clothes were ruined, and one could tell he had been through a scuffle. He only had a few abrasions.
Yu Deng was uneasy, still feeling a lingering fear, like an innocent and pitiful little fawn.
“You weren’t coming back for so long, I was so worried about you.”
“And then I heard the building collapsed and the doctors and police came. I was afraid you’d be taken away, and I was afraid you were injured.”
Yu Deng’s tone was habitually soft and waxy. After being wrapped in the whimpers of worry, he was both virtuous and enticing. He held onto Zhou Yuejun’s arm and wouldn’t let go, regardless of the presence of an outsider.
Eager and watery, his fluttering eyelashes were soaked and trembling slightly—it was enough to make someone’s soul be captured at a glance.
Zhou Yuejun’s heart rate became erratic, and his emotions surged. His cold, stern face also leaked out some tenderness.
Wu Da took a sip of water. He didn’t notice anything wrong between the two of them and added a few more words to help.
“He was also exhausted. Reporting to the police, calling the doctor, reporting the situation to the boss, and even making a statement. He just became free.”
“You both must be hungry. The shops on the street probably haven’t closed yet. Quick, go eat something.”
Wu Da even stuffed twenty yuan into Yu Deng’s hand and told the two of them to hurry home.
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