Chapter 1204

A small passenger bus, with a banner hanging on it that read "Warmly welcome you to join the Mojia Xinhao Hotel project family!", drove shakily along a road that was sometimes good and sometimes bad.

The people on the bus swayed, rose, and fell with the shaking of the vehicle.

The weather was neither cold nor hot; some people wore short sleeves and shorts, some wore long sleeves and long pants, and some were dressed in a mix. Although the bus windows were open, the weather today wasn't very good, and there was no wind. The bus speed wasn't fast, so it couldn't catch any breeze. There were more or less some odors inside the bus—sweat, foot odor, body odor, etc. —which were quite complex and made people feel uncomfortable.

In such an environment, people should have been drowsy, but the people on this bus were different; they were all quite spirited.

Because they had gone abroad and arrived in Bomei, which was said to be quite chaotic. They were heading to Bomei's border city, Xiaomojia.

They had come to work, and the reason was very simple: they earned more here.

The bus passed a checkpoint where seven or eight soldiers who didn't look like they had strict military discipline stood, holding guns with unkind looks in their eyes.

But no accidents occurred; after showing their passes, the bus was allowed to pass.

Many people on the bus breathed a sigh of relief, because they were afraid of any accidents that would prevent them from making money.

On the bus, there was one person who was completely out of place with the people in the bus.

He wore his hair long, slicked back with hair wax, a white short-sleeved shirt on his upper body, jeans on his lower body, and a pair of canvas shoes on his feet.

This attire was ordinary, except that the hairstyle was a bit inappropriate, not like someone going out to do manual labor. But these weren't the main points.

The point was that both of his arms were heavily tattooed with various exotic beasts and auspicious clouds. From the traces revealed at his neck and ankles, it wasn't hard to guess that there wasn't a single good spot on this person's body; it was all tattoos.

Around his neck, he also wore an exceptionally thick gold chain.

Such an appearance was truly incompatible with a construction site laborer; his temperament was extremely mismatched. He didn't look like he was here to work, but rather like someone who had been operating a sewing machine in prison, doing manual labor...

A young man sitting in front turned his head to look, then turned back, then suddenly turned back again, staring at the heavily tattooed arm the man had propped on the window, then sized up the other arm, and saw the tattoo traces revealed between his neck.

He glanced at the other person sitting next to this man, who was keeping his head down, not even daring to glance around, not even daring to look out the window...

He couldn't help but lean to the side, greeting him with a smile: "Big brother, are you also here to work?"

Wang Yan glanced at him: "If you have nothing to say, then don't speak. Isn't everyone on this bus going to build that hotel or whatever?"

"No, no, I just feel that someone like you, big brother, doesn't look like you'd come to do this kind of work."

"You mean my tattoos? Heh, it's all because I was young and ignorant."

"No, big brother, are you really here to do manual labor?"

"Don't talk nonsense. I'm a rebar worker, a proper technical trade. Look, I've even brought my tools." Wang Yan laughed and took out a tool.

It was an iron pipe with an iron rod; half of the iron rod was inside the pipe, and the other half was outside, with the outer part curved into a hook at the end. There was a bearing inside the pipe, and with just a light turn, the hook would spin.

"Is that for real?"

Seeing the kid look a bit disappointed, Wang Yan put away the tool and laughed: "What's the matter? Do I have to be a fugitive or something? Do I have to have caused some trouble back home and have someone chasing me? Do I have to have run here to commit a crime?"

"No, no, big brother, I didn't mean that. I just feel that you really don't look like you work at a construction site—oh, no, that you're a rebar worker. The contrast is just too big. I'm inexperienced and haven't quite adapted."

"Understood. I've been misunderstood too much over the years." Wang Yan laughed, "But actually, coming here to work is just temporary. I still have to find opportunities to see if I can make some money. Before leaving home, I found a fortune teller in our area, and he said my fortune lies in the southwest. So I came to our southwest, and after arriving, I saw they were hiring here. I thought, Bomei is even further southwest. So I just came along."

"Big brother is teasing me. If it was really just 'along the way,' when you went back home to get your passport, didn't you ask that fortune teller if you had to go from the southwest to Bomei?"

"Your brain is quite sharp, just not used in the right place." Wang Yan explained, "It was all handled beforehand. Don't rich people go abroad for travel? I don't have the money to go out, but can't I get a passport? I also have a Hong Kong and Macau pass. It's not hard to get.

Sigh, it's all the fault of these tattoos of mine, making people have some prejudice against me. You're not bad, knowing that someone like me has come out to work, I can't be that impressive, yet you still dare to talk to me. Look at this kid."

Wang Yan hugged the shoulder of the person beside him and laughed, "He hasn't dared to look at me since he got on the bus. He only dared to sit next to me because there were no other seats, and I told him to sit here."

This person kept his head down, startled by Wang Yan's sudden intimacy. He quickly raised his head to glance at Wang Yan and the person in front, then lowered his head again, saying in a trembling voice: "Big brother, I'm timid, please don't scare me."

"Alright, big brother, let him go." The person in front said with a smile, "My name is Shen Xing. The Jiandong Group we're going to was started by my uncle, and I'm here to rely on him. Big brother, what should I call you?"

"Wang Yan."

Shen Xing was sweet-talking: "Hello, Brother Wang."

"Do you have a wife?"

"I'm only twenty-two, I don't even have a girlfriend, how could I have a wife?"

"If you don't have a wife, call me Brother Yan."

Shen Xing was stunned for a moment, then reacted and laughed: "Hello, Brother Yan, Brother Yan is really humorous."

Wang Yan nodded with satisfaction, "Xing'er, your uncle contracted the construction site, so you're a young master too. Can we negotiate? I won't do any work, but you still pay me?"

Shen Xing waved his hands repeatedly: "Brother Yan loves to joke. I don't have that ability; I can't make the decisions. Besides, the project is not easy to do. My uncle is just a foreman who pulled a bunch of old buddies together to start it. They couldn't do it back home because they didn't have the qualifications. It's just here that they're barely scraping by."

"That's still strength." Wang Yan said with a laugh, "You don't look very old, just graduated?"

"Just a lousy junior college. I spent three years just drifting through, didn't learn anything, just got a diploma."

"That's still useful, better than us uncultured folks."

"Culture isn't about that. Brother Yan speaks well; one look and you can tell you're cultured."

"Oh, stop it. We've been talking for so long, and I haven't used a single idiom. Where can you see I'm cultured? I only have a junior high school education. You kid are quite slick, just flattering people when you talk."

"It's all from the heart."

Wang Yan laughed out loud and started chatting with Shen Xing. Guo Li Min on the side stole glances from time to time, perhaps not even as bold as a mouse.

But there was nothing wrong with that, because he knew he had come to Bomei. Here, the concept of the rule of law wasn't deeply rooted in people's hearts; it was still a place where the strong were respected and the winner took all...

The bus drove slowly, and the streetscape of Xiaomojia constantly receded.

The overall architecture was very old, with a style that seemed like old buildings from the eighties or nineties back home, and there were also many one or two-story buildings.

But among so many buildings, there were several luxurious ones standing abruptly there. People on the bus discussed that those were all casinos. Although the decoration style looked tasteless and filled with the aura of the nouveau riche, for a casino, the word "luxurious" was enough—the more luxurious, the better; the tackier, the more powerful.

Here, gambling was legal. The people it attracted were also some wealthy people or gamblers from back home.

The conditions here were certainly not as good as in Carmon, Jeju Island, or the world-renowned Las Vegas. But this place also had its advantages: other places had laws, and this place had them too, but not many.

Although for wealthy and powerful people, the law was inherently flexible, for some people who weren't wealthy or powerful enough, they couldn't challenge the law. But in Bomei, their room for maneuver was much larger; as long as they were willing to spend money, they could get many things done.

The workers who had come out to work on the bus were chatting excitedly, and the bus finally shook its way to the destination of this trip.

This was a hotel complex that looked very luxurious, with high-rise buildings and several seven or eight-story buildings. Behind the hotel was a fenced-off construction site, from which came the sounds of various machines working.

At the gate, a banner for "Jiandong Construction" was hung, and there were also slogans about production safety and quality assurance. The bus honked its horn, and after a while, two large iron gates were pushed open from the inside, and then the bus drove in.

"We've arrived, everyone get off." Someone shouted from the front.

This was the person in charge of recruitment, who could be called an agent; this bus was chartered by this person. He was responsible for recruiting workers back home, sending them over, and then earning a head-count fee—a proper human resources practitioner.

People got off the bus one by one, finally setting foot on foreign soil.

"Come, come, come, thank you for your hard work." Someone ran over quickly to greet everyone.

Just at this moment, a middle-aged man with a stubbly beard who looked quite sloppy rode over on a motorcycle.

"Let me introduce everyone. This is our Engineer Shen, the boss of Jiandong Construction Company. The young guy is called Uncle Shen, and the older ones can estimate what to call him yourselves."

Shen Jiandong waved his hand with a smile: "Don't listen to his nonsense, just call me Old Shen. Everyone has come here to work, and in this foreign land, we'll all be family from now on, so let's look out for each other. Hurry, go inside to collect your things, tidy up, and get a good rest. Tomorrow we start making big money."

So, led by others, a group of people followed to collect their things.

Shen Xing was the last to get off the bus, greeting him cheekily: "Uncle!"

"Shen Xing?"

Shen Jiandong was stunned for a moment, just about to smile, but then straightened his face, "Why are you here? Who let you come?"

"I just thought I'd come to help you..."

While Shen Xing was being lectured by his own uncle, Wang Yan carried a bag and lined up to collect his things.

There was actually quite a lot: towels, washbasins, laundry detergent, soap, toiletries, bedding, and also tattered camouflage uniforms for work, rubber shoes, safety helmets, etc. Although none of them were good things, the fact that they were given out for free gave people a very good feeling.

It immediately established Shen Jiandong's image as a good person, and it would definitely be easy to manage the workers in the future. Of course, not paying wages definitely wouldn't work; even if the King of Heaven came, it wouldn't be easy...

Relatively speaking, workers who dared to go abroad to make money were more temperamental than workers who made money back home. After all, just thinking about going abroad, so far away, to an unfamiliar place—many people were already drumming in their hearts before they had even moved from home, let alone those who had left their hometowns and come directly out...

There were no twists and turns; Wang Yan followed the queue and collected his things.

"See those board houses up there? That row is all empty. Eight people to a room, you find your own spots. Tidy up well. Tonight we welcome everyone's arrival with braised pork. I'll be over there; if you have anything, just find me. That's all, everyone get busy."

The person from before shouted, and then everyone stepped on the iron-framed stairs and went to the board house dormitory on the second floor.

Guo Li Min hugged a huge pile of things and silently followed behind Wang Yan...

Wang Yan was at the end of the queue. The workers filled room after room, and when it was his turn, he walked all the way to the room at the very end.

As soon as he entered the room, someone dashed to the spot by the window and occupied the lower bunk. This person said: "Those who come later stay on the outside."

So everyone's gaze fell on Wang Yan and the last person, Guo Li Min, who didn't even dare to raise his head.

Wang Yan looked at the person who spoke and saw that he was big and burly, not the thin, gaunt build of the workers.

Obviously, it was this strength that gave this person courage. He wanted to directly challenge the flashy Wang Mouren and gain the right to speak among the workers.

This was not a small matter; it was actually very important.

At any time, the right to speak is important, even if it's just the right to speak among a group of laborers. This person might not understand the principle, but he naturally wanted to do this.

Wang Yan laughed.

He tilted his head toward that person: "Are you talking to me?"

"Whoever came later, I'm talking to."

"Come, come, come, don't be wishy-washy. Let's have a fight. If you knock me down, whatever you say goes."

"Why are you so arrogant? What are you putting on an act for? I just don't like the look of you, and with those tattoos—if you're so impressive, why are you here?" This person also had a bad temper, and as he spoke, he had already walked over, wanting to push Wang Yan.

No one tried to persuade them; everyone silently watched the situation. Someone even lit a cigarette, watching the fun.

The change happened very quickly, so fast that people didn't even react, and the cigarette wasn't even lit yet.

Everyone just felt a blur before their eyes, and then they saw Wang Yan already riding on that person's body.

"Slap..."

Wang Yan slapped the man across the face.

"Do you submit?"

"F***..."

"Slap!"

"I'm just asking if you submit..."

So in the next two minutes, people saw Wang Yan slapping the man's mouth over and over again, until his mouth was swollen.

Finally, the burly man's eyes welled up with tears, and with a slight sob, he shouted: "I submit! I submit, okay?"

"Slap..." Wang Yan gave him another slap, "Don't you know if you submit or not? Are you asking me?"

"I submit, I really submit. Brother Yan, right? From now on, whatever you say goes, okay?"

"You just had to act tough."

Wang Yan stood up, then pointed to the bed against the wall by the door, "You sleep there."

"Yes, yes, yes."

The burly man became obedient. Because just now, he didn't know how he had fallen; he struggled frantically, but couldn't break free from Wang Yan's restraint at all, and could only passively take the slaps. He knew that this person was trained, and his body was also very good—not someone he could beat. So he gave in and made the right choice.

He hurriedly went over and moved his things from the bed on that side.

Wang Yan threw his things onto the bed and tidied up the bedding.

Seeing Guo Li Min still standing there holding his things and swaying back and forth, he said: "What are you swaying for? Who said you couldn't sleep? You come to my upper bunk."

"Hey, thank you, Brother Yan." Guo Li Min hurriedly bowed to thank him, and then trotted over to put his things on the upper bunk.

"What's your name?"

"Brother Yan, my name is Guo Li Min."

"Your courage is too small. Be generous, there's nothing to be afraid of."

Guo Li Min smiled and didn't speak.

Perhaps he was already cursing in his heart: You f***ing know how to fight, you're not afraid, but I came out to make money for my mother's medical treatment—what if something happens?

Wang Yan, of course, understood Guo Li Min's thoughts.

But a horse is ridden by people, and a person is bullied by others; many times, people suffer because they have already suffered before. People are habitually aggressive, and once they find someone they can bully, they will intensify their efforts, endlessly, constantly breaking through a person's bottom line.

Of course, many times there is no way around this, as there are all kinds of unavoidable circumstances.

But the situation is different now, after all; this is not back home, this is Bomei. It's a place where once you apologize or retreat, you will be bullied even harder...

Everyone chatted casually while tidying up their things.

After a while, Shen Xing walked in carrying a pile of things. He scanned the room and finally put his things on the upper bunk of the burly man who had just been beaten up by Wang Yan.

He asked with a smile: "Big brother, how did you get that face?"

That man glared at Shen Xing and ignored him.

Then he turned his head to look at Wang Yan, who was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed, smoking, and asked tentatively: "Brother Yan?"

"I hit him." Wang Yan laughed, "He wanted to sleep here just now and have me sleep there. There's a window here, so it's more comfortable; there's nothing over there, and it's stifling. If he hadn't said anything, it would have been first come, first served, but he insisted on bullying me. There was no other way, so I had a little exchange with him. Xing'er, look, do I look like I'm easy to bully?"

Shen Xing shook his head repeatedly, turned his face to the burly man and said: "Big brother, you too—look at Brother Yan's build, what were you thinking?"

"Get out, get out, get out." The burly man waved his hand impatiently.

"No, are you talking to him or to me? Huh?" Wang Yan hissed, as if dissatisfied and about to make a move.

"No, no, Brother Yan, I'm still in pain. Let's be honest—whoever gets beaten up doesn't feel comfortable, right?"

Wang Yan waved his hand and didn't say anything.

He didn't like bullying the weak; showing off among these laborers was meaningless.

Before long, a greeting rang out from outside.

"New workers, those who have finished tidying up, come out for a moment. You don't need to go downstairs; Brother Shen will say a few words to everyone."

After everyone came out, Shen Jiandong waved his hand at everyone and said: "Today everyone get familiar with the environment, and tomorrow we will officially start working to make money. There is one more point I want to emphasize, which is also a reminder for everyone.

This Bomei is not like back home; public security is much worse, and the people here are also very fierce. Without the construction site's approval, no one is allowed to go out privately. If you really go out and something happens, the construction site will not be responsible. I'm saying this beforehand, so don't come looking for me to take responsibility when something happens—I can't afford to take responsibility. Do you all understand?"

Everyone responded sparsely; some took it seriously, while others didn't care.

Before coming, of course, everyone had learned about Bomei and had an idea in their hearts. It's just that before really experiencing it, the "idea" in people's hearts inevitably couldn't match the reality...