Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1076 - 559 Starting Work in Jail_2

Chapter 1076: Chapter 559 Starting Work in Jail_2

When Yan Fei spoke, his voice was hoarse, "Xiao Fei, why did you stop my excavator and Douzi Car?"

Yan Fei was puzzled, "Didn’t we agree that machinery is only responsible for construction and factory-related tasks? I saw you having them dig the river channel, which was supposed to be manually constructed. If you do the work with machines, won’t that reduce the need for manual labor?"

Ma Yongming was furious, "Just let it be. We’re in charge of the construction arrangements, and you just need to keep the workers calm. Professor Shu and I have discussed this; what business is it of yours to interfere? How much can one excavator and one Douzi Car do? Isn’t it to show the workers something?"

"Show them what?" Yan Fei didn’t understand.

"Hey!" Ma Yongming, overwhelmed, saw the confusion on Yan Fei’s face and had to explain. "Isn’t our wage a bit low? This is to prevent any grievances from the workers. We let the two vehicles demonstrate to them, so they know you forego using machines to churn out wages. You have good intentions, but good intentions need to be understood, or else people might wrongly accuse you."

Ma’s excavator, in fact, was nothing more than a tractor transformed into a primitive machine, only seen at rural construction sites. A Douzi Car locally referred to an improvised small loader made from a tractor.

Although modified, these machines undoubtedly worked much faster than manual labor.

If done manually, the looser topsoil was manageable, but the denser soil below required first loosening with a rake before shoveling, gradually scraping and shoveling phase by phase, and using baskets to carry the soil away, which was highly inefficient.

The small excavator, albeit rudimentary, could directly load the dug soil onto a truck, easily outpacing several men working half a day with a shovel. The same goes for the small loader; hence, despite being basic, these machines were far more efficient than manual labor.

Yan Fei noticed this too, seeing that when two machines were brought in, manual labor seemed particularly slow by comparison. So, with a wave of his hand, he had the machines stopped, allowing the manual labor to proceed — not realizing this was a special arrangement by Professor Shu and Uncle Ming.

Yan Fei didn’t really think his wage was too low. In town, people employed by the agricultural supplies company to unload fertilizer bags made only a few coins per bag. Several workers would unload for half a day, barely earning a few dollars. That’s why jobs like working at the cattle farms were popular in the past; compared to unloading, shoveling cattle dung was already considered lighter work.

But now, how to explain this job? Boss Yan didn’t want to say he was helping others by giving the village labor-intensive jobs. It could be seen as mutual help!

Therefore, the wages for this job, compared to those of Boss Ma’s construction team, had to be lower, especially considering the villagers, even if they joined the construction crew, would earn less during their inexperienced phase — and not much demand exists for construction teams in a small place like Sancha River.

Now, hearing what Ma Yongming said, Yan Fei was startled — he truly believed he was doing a good deed. Villagers idle at home during the slack season, not earning a dime, often found trouble. Wasn’t it good to find them some work? Could there still be complaints?

So, he started to feel a bit annoyed, "Is there anyone who complains about the wage being too low? Those who feel it’s too low shouldn’t come!"

"That’s not how you should put it," Ma Yongming said. Much like Lin Baoguo, he was quite patient with Yan Fei — rural construction teams usually consisted of family and kin; normally, if a worker was upset, not only scolding but also a kick or two might occur. This wasn’t because the bosses were particularly harsh; it was just the way things were in the countryside. Trying to politely persuade and explain every detail wouldn’t get the work done.

"You are doing a good thing, but people are different, and this work isn’t easy. A day or two is manageable, but if it drags on, people naturally get tired and start to grumble. Having these two vehicles working nearby shows them even our worn-out machines can outperform a large group of them, helping them realize that even if they are tired, it’s worth it, right?"

Indeed, those two worn machines weren’t worth much, merely an individual’s labor and some diesel cost. Nowadays, with fuel prices cheaper than some beverages, that was affordable.

While Ma Yongming spoke, his eyes scanned the surroundings and noticed a pile of items on the ground nearby, including a bag of apples. He walked over, picked one up, wiped it on his sleeve, and started munching on it, "My throat is practically smoking! I’ll moisten it a bit then continue..."

Yan Fei, embarrassed to press him further, agreed, "Alright, alright, I understand. I’ll stay out of the construction matters from now on and follow your lead. Uncle Ming, you should rest too, don’t overexert yourself, or Old Master Dong will have my hide!"

Peoples’ minds change, and who can claim to truly know another’s heart?

Sometimes, even well-intended deeds might foster resentment if not clearly communicated, turning good intentions sour.

However, at times, things deemed bad by everyone might not necessarily be so.

Take, for example, the people from the city coming for the groundbreaking ceremony; Yan Fei and his associates were quite displeased, considering it a waste of time and energy, and pointless.

But was it truly pointless?

The pile of goods on the ground said otherwise.