Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 210 - 75: Some Rejoice, Some Despair_1

Chapter 210: Chapter 75: Some Rejoice, Some Despair_1

The steel factory was already located in the suburbs; after exiting the factory and taking two turns, they arrived at a small road. All around were lush fields, the corn seedlings had grown quite tall and were swaying in the wind, imparting a distinct rural charm.

Xu Xiaoyan and Yan Fei took a few steps along this little road, then, after seeing that nobody was chasing after them, the girl hurriedly stretched her arm to block Yan Fei: "Quick, put it down!"

"What’s up?" Yan Fei stopped, looking puzzled at the girl.

"Put it down, put it down!" the girl urged him. They had picked out the scrap metal from the factory without having a place to wash their hands, so their hands were all dirty. She couldn’t grab Yan Fei, so she just kept waving her arm.

"What are you doing?" Yan Fei, not understanding, began to let down his load while the girl waved her hands, directing, "Slowly, slowly, put it on the road, don’t put it in someone’s field..."

"Untie the bundle after putting it down and split it with me, so I can carry some. Isn’t there a carrying pole? If I carry some, it will be easier for you!" The girl stated matter-of-factly. "By the way, we’re carrying so much stuff, will they let us ride the bus?"

"It’s okay, I can handle it. If they don’t let us ride the bus, we will just walk back, what’s there to worry about?" Yan Fei said as he prepared to lift the load again.

"No, no, let me have some! I can’t carry a lot, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take less, does it? Just be quick and stop moving..." The girl watched as Yan Fei was about to walk away with his load, unable to grab him with her dirty hands, she flung her arm over him, nearly throwing herself upon him.

Unable to respond differently, Yan Fei simply put down his load. The girl then began to untie the bundle, chatting as she did: "If I take on a bit, you’ll have less to carry. If they don’t let us on the bus, we’ll have to walk back, right? And that’s quite a distance!"

With Yan Fei’s help, they managed to make two small bundles of scrap metal. She hooked each bundle onto either end of the wooden carrying pole and lifted it onto her shoulders. She only struggled a bit upon hoisting it, stumbling as soon as she straightened up and attempted to walk.

"Hey, take it easy... can you manage?" Yan Fei asked with concern.

"It’s all right, don’t worry!" The girl, having steadied herself, smiled at him. "I just didn’t get my bearing right at first, but I’m fine now."

She then tried to take a few steps; although she swayed slightly, she indeed managed to walk.

Yan Fei, with no better option, quickly picked up his load and began to slowly follow the girl, guiding her to the main road where they might be able to hail a ride.

Unbeknown to them, while they were making their leisurely journey, a commotion had erupted back at the entrance to the steel factory.

The young man who had been chastised by Xu Xiaoyan was still standing there, mulling over her words, and therefore missed Yan Fei and her departure. When he came out and was subsequently berated by two old men at the gate, he became a little disgruntled.

Just then, the old man who had partnered Yan Fei and Xu Xiaoyan in the purchase of scrap metal sauntered by, humming cheerfully. Upon seeing the young man, he ignored him and prepared to go squat somewhere and continue playing his square occupation game.

Xiao Li was becoming apprehensive by this time. He grabbed the old man’s sleeve and demanded, "You brought them in. You must know where those two went, right? Tell me which way they went. If I get punished, it’s your responsibility because you’re the one who introduced them."

Even in its waning days, the factory had its rules. It was okay to sell a bit of scrap metal to accommodate the local community. But if you sold it at fifty yuan per ton, then you owed the factory an explanation!

Xiao Li had perceived the old man to be easy to talk to because, while they negotiated for the scrap metal, this old man had appeased him with flattery and kind words. But with this sudden angry outburst, he was caught unawares: "I’ve brought in numerous people, how much you sell the scrap for is your business, it’s none of my concern. Let go of me, or I will smack you. Go to your grave! Even your father wouldn’t dare talk to me like this. You’re really coloring inside the lines, aren’t you?"

Turned out the old man had been biting his tongue earlier, as he was assisting Yan Fei in buying the scrap metal. Now that he was not in need of any favors, he naturally refused to take Xiao Li’s nonsense. Being an old hand in the factory, there was no way he was going to let a young man push him around.

Xiao Li was taken aback by the old man’s rebuke. Seeing him let go of his hand, the two old men, onlooking this scenario, joined in criticizing Xiao Li, who embarrassedly released his grip.

The old man huffed and puffed, then squatted down to resume his square occupation game.

After being shocked for a moment, Xiao Li had no choice but to approach them again: "Master Liu, can you please tell me which way they went? I don’t want to be in trouble."

He babbled on and on, spinning around the three old men a few times. Eventually, they grew irritated with him, and all together turned towards him and yelled: "Scram!"

It was always like this, regardless of the era; old workers despised pretentious young ones. Now that they knew Xiao Li’s predicament, courtesy of the friendly old man’s account shared as a joke, they did not feel inclined to help Xiao Li.

Still, the friendly old man, seeing Xiao Li’s desperation, decided to say a little more: "What are you going to do if you catch up with them? They bought the items with their own money. You agreed to it, and now you want to go back on your word? Not to mention, can you withstand even a light touch from the iron rods that they carried away?"

Having said his piece, he paid no further attention to Xiao Li, returning to his conversation with the other two old men, describing how thick the iron pole Yan Fei used was, which they hadn’t noticed earlier as they were engrossed in their game. They then marvelled at Yan Fei’s strength, saying what a strong young man he was.

While they hadn’t weighed the scrap metal, they guessed it was quite heavy. After expressing their awe, they returned to their game, completely ignoring Xiao Li, who was pacing anxiously.

There were many men with great strength in the factory – it wasn’t uncommon for someone to be able to lift a few hundred catties. In the past, there had been people who could eat a dozen buns from the factory cafeteria. These weren’t the small buns sold on the street either. Everyone knew that the more you ate, the more strength you had.

A funny, but true story; a few workers missed the standard mealtimes due to overtime work, so they went out to a newly opened restaurant. One of the men ordered rice: "Boss, two catties of noodles with toppings, please!"

The boss instinctively asked, "Two catties of sauced noodles, how many bowls shall I serve?"

The man replied, "It’s a hassle to put it in a bowl, just serve it in a basin. I didn’t bring enough money today, I will order some soup later, eat my fill and then hit the road."

The boss, upon hearing the request, was stunned beyond words.

They returned to the factory and shared the story of the boss’s reaction. The incident soon became a playful anecdote of the boss having no experience.

The tales were all true, with greasy food being scarce in the past, what was never scarce were men with voracious appetites.

Xiao Li watched as the old men laughed and chatted. Feeling helpless after a while, he took a deep sigh and walked away downcast. His earlier swagger had vanished, and it made you wonder whether his poker winnings would be enough to cover the cost of the scrap metal.

Even a failing factory must have rules. There were so many people in the factory who saw him sell the scrap metal. He couldn’t avoid owing the factory an explanation. If he couldn’t explain it clearly, the factory would certainly provide him with one!