The site supervisor noticed Gao Yang staring intently at the hiring station and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong, Young Master Gao? Is something the matter?”
Gao Yang shook his head. “Nothing, I just thought I saw someone familiar.”
The site supervisor glanced toward the hiring station.
Someone Young Master Gao knew? Coming to a construction site for manual labor? That had to be a joke.
“Must’ve been a mistake,” he said.
After scanning the area without finding anyone, Gao Yang agreed.
“Probably,” he nodded.
Then he turned to the site supervisor. “Let’s head inside and take a look around.”
“Alright,” the supervisor nodded, immediately having two hard hats brought over for Gao Yang and his assistant. After they put them on, he led the group further into the construction site for inspection.
Meanwhile, Xing Zhaozhao, hiding among a group of burly men, finally caught sight of the foreman.
“Name.”
“Xing Zhaozhao.”
“Age.”
“28.”
The foreman gave her petite frame a surprised look. “You’re 28?”
Xing Zhaozhao nodded. “I’m already a mother of three.”
“All the work here is heavy labor. Can you handle it?” the foreman asked.
“Of course,” Xing Zhaozhao said. “I’m used to farm work back home. I’m plenty strong.”
The foreman chuckled skeptically. Even if a woman was accustomed to farm work, how could her strength compare to a grown man’s?
Still, judging by her worn clothing, her family situation was likely difficult. He decided to give her a chance. “Alright then, you can try it out first…”
“Thank you,” Xing Zhaozhao said gratefully. Suddenly remembering something, she added, “Can I ask you one more thing?”
“Go ahead,” the foreman said.
“Do I have to work a full day to get the 200? I have three children waiting for me to come home and make them lunch. I can only work for two hours at most,” Xing Zhaozhao explained.
The foreman was speechless. “Are you kidding me, lady? Two hours and you want 200?”
Xing Zhaozhao pointed at the mountain-like pile of bricks and sandbags nearby. “If I move all of that in two hours, can I get 200?”
Feeling mocked, the foreman laughed in exasperation. “If you can move all that in two hours, forget 200—I’ll give you 3000.”
Xing Zhaozhao’s eyes instantly lit up. She slammed her hand on the table with a loud smack. “Deal!”
With that, she rolled up her sleeves and marched toward the brick pile.
The foreman stared, dumbfounded, as Xing Zhaozhao lifted the entire stack of bricks—neatly arranged on wooden pallets and waiting for the forklift—as effortlessly as carrying a tray.
“Where should I take these?” Xing Zhaozhao asked, turning back to the foreman while holding the bricks.
The foreman instinctively pointed.
Then he watched, stunned, as she jogged away with the bricks, effortlessly overtaking the forklift that was supposed to transport them.
The forklift driver: “…”
Was someone really competing with it for work?
The foreman: “…”
Wait a minute—when he hired people to move bricks, he only meant for them to stack them neatly for the forklift to transport. He never expected manual labor to outpace machinery, and by a significant margin at that.
The foreman turned and glared at the people still standing there dumbfounded, roaring, “What are you still standing around for? Start stacking them up, and if there aren’t enough, go get more!”
The other brick carriers immediately sprang into action, bustling about in a flurry.
In just over an hour—not even two—Xing Zhaozhao had moved all the bricks needed for the day’s work at the construction site.
The foreman cheerfully counted out 3,000 yuan and handed it to her, giving her a thumbs-up. “You’re something else, sis.”
“You’re too kind, boss,” Xing Zhaozhao replied happily, taking the money and counting it to make sure it was all there.
“By the way, boss, is there more work tomorrow? If there is, I’ll come back,” she asked, looking at the foreman.
The foreman was speechless.
Was she addicted to this?
He shook his head. “No, no, we don’t have work like this every day.”
Xing Zhaozhao looked disappointed. “Oh, well, I’ll come back and check in a while then.”
She carefully tucked the money into her pocket and calculated that it still wasn’t enough for what she wanted to buy. She’d have to find other ways to earn more.
“See you later, boss,” she waved to the foreman and quickly left, planning to go on a shopping spree before heading home. She wondered if Xiao Hongling was awake yet.
Just then, Gao Yang, accompanied by the site manager, finished a thorough inspection of the construction site and emerged.
“…Let’s stick to the current pace, but if it gets any colder, we’ll have to halt work. Quality is the top priority,” Gao Yang told the site manager.
The site manager nodded repeatedly. “Don’t worry, Mr. Gao.”
As they spoke, they noticed that the previously bustling hiring area was now mostly empty, with no one working. Instead, people were gathered there chatting idly.
Slacking off at other times was one thing, but today, with the big boss present and watching, it was unacceptable.
The site manager’s face darkened as he snapped, “What are you all standing around for? Don’t you have work to do?”
“Hey, it’s all done,” the foreman replied.
The site manager was furious.
Two truckloads of bricks had been unloaded just that morning. How could they be finished already? Who did they think they were fooling?
“Finished? Do you think I’m stupid?” The site manager stormed over, pointing at the spot where the bricks had been unloaded. “They were just…”
Before he could finish, he saw that the once mountain-like pile of bricks was now completely empty. It was as if someone had suddenly grabbed him by the throat, and he fell silent.
After a couple of choked sounds, he finally managed to ask, “Where are the bricks that were unloaded this morning?”
The foreman grinned. “Moved.”
“Moved? How is that possible?” the site manager exclaimed in disbelief.
“It’s true. Just now, a young-looking girl—no, a woman, a mother of three—came by. She was small but incredibly strong. In less than two hours, she moved all those bricks for us,” the foreman explained.
The site manager still couldn’t quite believe it.
But Gao Yang’s eyes lit up, and he hurried over to ask, “Was her surname Xing?”
Not only the foreman but the site manager also looked at him in surprise. “You know her, Mr. Gao?”
Gao Yang nodded. “We’ve met once before. When I was hunting wild boars in the mountains, she showed up just in time and saved my nephew. Something bad would’ve happened if she hadn’t. Unfortunately, she left too quickly, and I didn’t get a chance to thank her properly.”
The site supervisor exclaimed in surprise, “She actually saved the young master of the Gao family?”
“Mhm,” Gao Yang responded, then turned to the foreman and asked, “Where is she?”
“She took the money and left long ago,” the foreman said.
Gao Yang’s face showed regret.
Missed again.
“But she asked if there would be work in the future, so she’ll probably come back,” the foreman added.
Gao Yang looked over with pleasant surprise. “When she shows up, please notify me.”
The foreman nodded. “Understood, Young Master Gao.”
Just as they were speaking, Gao Yang’s phone suddenly rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw it was a call from another assistant.
“Hello?”
“The old master has arrived, Young Master Gao,” the assistant said.
Gao Yang’s expression turned serious, and he replied in a low voice, “Understood. I’ll head back right away.”
“The old master wants to visit the nursing home first,” the assistant added.
Gao Yang frowned, remained silent for a moment, and said, “Understood. I’ll go there now.”
With that, he immediately turned around and got into the car.
“To Zhaohong Nursing Home.”