Chen Qiaoyu was dizzy from the barrage of questions. She understood most of them.
But some people mentioned things like “mobile phones” and “transfers,” which she didn’t quite grasp.
Still, she confirmed one thing—150 yuan a day was real!
And they paid in cash!
Chen Qiaoyu’s heart raced with excitement. Back in the village, they worked the land for work points. Twice a year, they received grain—once for the summer harvest, once for the autumn harvest.
As for money, they only got paid at the end of the year after the commune and production team settled the accounts.
Normally, they just logged their work points in little notebooks—how many points each family member earned over the year.
Some production teams were well-off, paying two or three mao per work point. Others paid just a few fen!
No one knew how much money they’d get until the end of the year.
Now, there was a chance to earn 150 yuan in a single day. No matter how much she didn’t understand about this place, Chen Qiaoyu was determined to try.
She had originally planned to wait until more people signed up so she could join a group—safety in numbers.
But many people around her thought the wages were too low, others complained about the lack of a heat allowance. Most asked a few questions and then left.
In the end, only a handful of people in their fifties and sixties remained, with very few young or middle-aged adults.
The middle-aged fat man holding the sign was getting anxious: “Hey, don’t go! The pay isn’t high, but I promise it won’t be late! And you won’t have to work the whole day—if you’re fast, you’ll be done in half a day!”
People didn’t believe him. They turned back and spat, “Like we’d trust you! You agents never tell the truth! Last time I went to a site, they also said half a day, but I ended up working until dark, and they didn’t even provide dinner!”
Most of the crowd had left. The fat man with the briefcase was frantic: “There aren’t enough people!”
Seeing this, Chen Qiaoyu quickly raised her hand: “I’ll sign up too.”
The fat man looked her up and down, unimpressed. “Little sister, this is construction work. Even the easiest job there isn’t that easy.”
Afraid he’d reject her, Chen Qiaoyu hurriedly said, “I’m not afraid of hardship! Only through hard work can we achieve a bright future!”
The fat man stared at Chen Qiaoyu for a long moment, baffled as to why she’d suddenly started shouting slogans.
After a pause, he finally agreed: “Alright, you’re in.”
As he spoke, he went around pulling in more people, barely scraping together a full crew.
Then the fat man led them toward the foot of the mountain, explaining as they walked.
“Today’s work really isn’t tiring! The demolition sites in Yao Family Village and Zhangjiawan are mostly old houses in the foothills and ravines. Construction vehicles can’t get in, and it’s not worth forcing them, so we need to haul the rubble out manually, cart by cart.”
The fat man spoke earnestly: “Think about it—the site is right nearby. You don’t have to take a bus to get there and back. Isn’t that easy enough?”
Easy, easy.
Chen Qiaoyu didn’t know what the others were thinking, but she was quite happy.
She had been worried the site might be far away. Now that she knew it was right at the foot of the mountain, she felt much more at ease.
If things went wrong, she could just climb over the mountain and go back to the old house!
Today’s demolition site was Zhangjiawan, at the mountain’s base.
By the time Chen Qiaoyu and the others arrived, several crews had already gathered at the overgrown entrance to the village. At the head of each crew stood someone holding a sign, just like the middle-aged fat man.
The signs bore various names like “New Hope Agency,” “Blue Sky Human Resources Center,” “Zhongsheng Employment Office,” and some simply said “Hiring Day Laborers, Paid Daily.”
The fat man with the briefcase was surnamed Cheng. The older folks called him Xiao Cheng, but Chen Qiaoyu and a few younger ones addressed him as “Brother Cheng.”
After counting heads, Brother Cheng reached out toward Chen Qiaoyu and the others: “Hand over your ID cards.”
What?
Chen Qiaoyu was dumbfounded.
She knew what an ID card was, but… she had just turned eighteen and hadn’t gotten around to applying for one yet!
Technically, she was supposed to, but the villagers generally weren’t in a hurry. If you didn’t need it, you didn’t get it. You only applied when you actually had to use it.
Chen Qiaoyu didn’t have money for a photo, nor was she planning to get married, so she hadn’t given it much thought.
Who knew that even working as a laborer would require an ID card?
Seeing everyone else pulling out their ID cards without the slightest hesitation, Chen Qiaoyu panicked.
By the time Brother Cheng reached her, she had no choice but to steel herself and say, “I didn’t bring it.”
“What?” Brother Cheng’s squinty eyes suddenly bulged as wide as bells.
“Little sister! Are you kidding me? You come looking for work without your ID? What, do you think this is your village?”
Chen Qiaoyu gave a pitiful little “mm-hmm” in agreement.
Her village really didn’t pay much attention to that sort of thing.
And she really had just come from the village that very morning.
Brother Cheng laughed in exasperation: “You have the nerve to say ‘mm-hmm’? I can’t with you. You don’t bring your ID to look for work and you think you’re in the right?”
Chen Qiaoyu quickly explained: “Brother Cheng, that’s not what I meant. I just forgot to bring it. Are you really not allowed to do this without an ID?”
Did moving bricks really require an ID? Chen Qiaoyu felt a little wronged and confused.
“No kidding! This is still a construction site, however humble. You need a temporary work pass!”
Brother Cheng, frustrated and annoyed, was about to send Chen Qiaoyu packing when, as luck would have it, a few people wearing hard hats suddenly arrived.
They shouted to each crew: “Thirty people form one construction team! Once you’ve got enough, team leaders come register and collect your work passes!”
Hearing this, Brother Cheng deflated.
He stubbornly counted everyone again, and sure enough, there were exactly thirty people.
And that was counting himself.
Brother Cheng wiped his sweat in frustration and glared at Chen Qiaoyu: “Fine for today, but tomorrow, definitely… actually, forget it. Don’t come back tomorrow.”
With that, he pulled a stack of white plastic cards from his pocket, flipped through them, picked one out, and held it up to Chen Qiaoyu for comparison. Deciding it looked close enough, he hurried off to register with the hard hat crew.
Chen Qiaoyu stayed where she was, awkwardly scuffing her toes against the ground.
She was afraid Brother Cheng wouldn’t be able to pull it off and she’d lose her chance to earn the 150 yuan.
A young woman in her twenties from the group squeezed over to Chen Qiaoyu’s side and kindly said, “Don’t worry. He’s just trying to scare you. These agents have all sorts of tricks.”
Chen Qiaoyu turned and saw a round-faced girl who looked very friendly.
The round-faced girl said, “My name is Zhou Xiaoling. I’m twenty-three. Looks like you and I are the only ones around the same age here.”
Chen Qiaoyu nodded gratefully: “My name is Chen Qiaoyu. I’m… I’m twenty.”
Chen Qiaoyu added two years, trying to match Zhou Xiaoling’s age as closely as possible. Anyway, that’s how they calculated it in her village—one year old at birth, plus another for the lunar new year. Saying she was twenty wasn’t exactly a lie.
As they spoke, Brother Cheng returned with the temporary work passes and also sent someone to grab thirty hard hats.
Brother Cheng handed out the work passes and instructed them: “Listen carefully to the safety training before entering the site. Today, our team is responsible for hauling construction waste from buildings 11, 13, 15, and 17.”
Chen Qiaoyu caressed her work pass lovingly. The colorful strap and transparent plastic case were utterly delightful to her.
This thing was so much prettier than the little notebooks and cards sold at their supply and marketing cooperative!
As for the hard hat—Chen Qiaoyu had no idea how to wear it. Fortunately, there was training, and with Zhou Xiaoling’s help, Chen Qiaoyu finally got it on.
With the hard hat on her head, Chen Qiaoyu’s heart surged with excitement. From this moment on, she was a qualified brick mover!