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墨書 Inktalez
Second Yin, Song Fei didn't need to go to school. The Song Pearl family enjoyed a leisurely morning. Song Pearl had just gotten out of bed and hadn't washed her face when someone began banging on their front door.
In the kitchen, Liu Cuiying hurried to open the door, saying, "Who is it making such a racket this early in the morning... Oh, it's you! When did you get back?"
Liu Cuiying greeted the young man at the door warmly.
"Hello, Aunt Liu, I got back last night." The visitor was Wang Xingxing, the son of Wang Baoguo. He had dark skin, was chubby and robust, and although only twenty years old, he sported a full beard that made him look nearly thirty.
Wang Xingxing got straight to the point. "Where's Pearl? Today is the day to sign the contract in Hongqing. We were supposed to gather early, and now we're just waiting on her. The village chief is getting angry!"
"What does the village chief have to be angry about? No one is with us!" Liu Cuiying raised her eyebrows and wiped her hands on her apron. "Come on, don't take it personally; I'm not talking about you."
After hearing the commotion, Song Pearl quickly washed her face. As soon as Wang Xingxing was let into the yard, she rushed out of the house.
Fortunately, she had trimmed her long hair short yesterday; otherwise, it would have taken her a while to style it.
Wang Xingxing and Song Pearl were in the same class at school. Back then, Wang Xingxing always ranked second to last, while Song Pearl was last. Their seats were arranged in a corner by the teacher. Although Song Pearl had improved since middle school and no longer ranked last, they had shared many struggles together, which forged a good relationship and mutual understanding between them.
Seeing Song Pearl come out, Wang Xingxing hesitated at the entrance of the yard. He didn't particularly like visiting Song Pearl's home because he felt unwelcome by Song Shiting.
Song Pearl walked over to the gatekeeper, nodded at Wang Xingxing, smiled briefly, and then took a seat in the back of his bicycle. Wang Xingxing pedaled hard and quickly left.
"No need to rush; if we miss it, we just won't go!" Liu Cuiying's loud voice could still be heard even as they moved further away.
She knew that shouting wouldn't help because Song Pearl had a soft temperament and always followed rules without causing trouble for others.
Two buses were parked outside the Team Headquarters, where people were slowly squeezing in and chatting noisily. Most of them were young men and women in their twenties to thirties, with a few older individuals mixed in.
The village chief, who was chatting with villagers while smoking by the bus, noticed that Song Pearl had finally arrived late. He snorted through his nose and flicked away his cigarette butt before getting on the bus. If it weren't for Qing Yuansheng's instructions, he really wouldn't want to bring this girl along.
Song Pearl got on the bus, which was already full with no available seats. She didn't recognize anyone on the bus, and no one seemed willing to make room for her.
“Wang Jinlong, get up, Pearl can sit here.”
Wang Xingxing found a seat for Song Pearl. He pulled his cousin Wang Jinlong, who was sitting behind the driver, up so that Song Pearl could take Wang Jinlong's seat. He then sat down on the floor of the bus next to Wang Jinlong.
Song Pearl sat down awkwardly. She heard Wang Jinlong ask Wang Xingxing, “Is that skinny guy I gave my seat to in his teens? Doesn’t look old enough, does he?”
“Maybe eighteen?” Wang Xingxing glanced at Song Pearl and replied, “Can someone not from our village even get on?”
“Hey, didn’t I tell you to call Song Pearl?” Wang Jinlong whispered, “Didn’t you go?”
“That’s Song Pearl, your skinny guy…” It was too cold in the bus, and Wang Xingxing, sitting on the floor, pulled out several Maza from under a seat. “If we have Maza, we should say something; we paid for our tickets!”
Song Pearl quietly listened to the conversations around her, realizing that she was mistaken for an underage boy.
Today, Song Pearl wasn't wearing her oversized down jacket but instead wore a more mature-looking black wool coat with a stand-up collar paired with blue pants. This coat was a second-hand item that Liu Cuiying had bought for two hundred yuan because it looked nice. However, after wearing two sweaters underneath, it fit her quite well.
With this outfit and her recently cut short hair, she was misidentified as male as soon as she got on the bus.
After the village chief checked everyone off and confirmed there were no issues, the Bus started moving towards Hongqing Group. The people on the bus laughed and joked about buying two firecrackers to set off before leaving.
Having many young people made it lively; they laughed all the way while only Song Pearl, feeling out of place, kept her head down and stared at the floor. Even so, no one paid her much attention.
Upon reaching their destination, everyone lined up in two neat rows and entered through the main gate, attracting the gaze of several passersby and internal staff.
Today’s Gatekeeper, Yuan Peng, was at work. He had a keen eye and an excellent memory; he recognized several people as soon as they got off the bus. Moreover, he immediately spotted Song Pearl, who had short hair and was walking in an orderly manner among the crowd.
He grinned, showing his teeth, and gave Song Pearl an evaluation. She was already dark-skinned, and in this outfit, she looked even darker.
Song Pearl did not see Yuan Peng. Her cautious and restrained demeanor developed over more than a decade had become a habit that could not be changed overnight. As long as she was not forced into homelessness, she could maintain her solitary and silent nature.
After they were gathered and seated in a large conference room, the person in charge of the reception began to speak from the podium. Song Pearl's impression of this speaker was that he was in his thirties, of medium build with a fair complexion, and had particularly striking eyes; beyond that, she could not discern much.
This person was quite capable; he spoke for over two hours, causing everyone to feel drowsy, and Song Pearl felt dizzy from hunger.
In fact, she thought this person's speech could be summarized in two sentences: Hongqing Group is impressive, and if you are at Hongqing Group, you need to work hard. Yet he passionately spoke for such a long time.
Finally, the speaker looked at his watch and addressed the villagers who were staring blankly at him: "There is still time; I will distribute the contracts to everyone. After reviewing them, you can sign. Each person gets two copies; if there are any unfamiliar terms, feel free to ask me."
A stack of contracts was passed around from front to back. Song Pearl kept two copies and continued passing the rest along.
"We have to work here for six years, but we don't even know what kind of work it is!" Wang Xingxing nudged Song Pearl with his arm while flipping through the contract. "Pearl, have you found someone for your family? I heard that if you don’t find someone, you'll be assigned to a dirty and tiring workshop."
Song Pearl instinctively shook her head as she examined the contract.
She felt that this was practically a contract for selling oneself, but fortunately, it had a time limit.
The contract stated that Hongqing had purchased their land and as compensation, the villagers would work for Hongqing. Hongqing Group would pay wages based on job type. This contract was valid for six years; during these six years, they would only have seniority and wages. If they performed well after six years, they could be converted to permanent status and would need to sign another contract. There were also various details outlined.
Song Pearl pursed her lips; did they think they could take advantage of these uneducated villagers? The conditions were too harsh. They were merely temporary workers who couldn't resign freely; resigning would incur hefty penalties. This was a blatant violation of human rights.
She bit her lip and listened to those around her. If everyone else was satisfied, she would naturally go along with the majority.
Indeed, many regretful and confused questions arose:
"Why can we only sign for six years?"
"Does that mean we can't work here after six years?"
"Isn't this supposed to be a stable job? Six years seems too short, right?"
The person who spoke earlier patiently explained to those with questions, "It's not just six years. As long as you perform well, you can continue to renew your contract... Hongqing is doing this for your benefit; it can't support many idle people... Hongqing has already incurred significant losses and has invested a lot of money in purchasing land for you..."
"Isn't it supposed to be a lifetime position? Can't we sign for ten years?"
Isn't this the phenomenon of being sold while helping others count their money? Since everyone around her felt that six years was not long enough, she decided to sign.
Song Pearl picked up the pen, signed her name, and walked to the front to place her fingerprint. From that moment on, she had temporarily sold herself to Hongqing.
In six years, she should be able to settle the Song Shiting family and hopefully find the person she was looking for. By then, she would be able to leave without any attachments.
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