Chapter 309: The Missing Child
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"Wu Mei, you've been looking really out of it lately. Are you feeling unwell?"
"What would a single dog like you know? Women just have those few uncomfortable days every month, no need to fret about it."
"Oh, please. Even if I'm not married, do you think I don't know a thing or two about women? But look at Wu Mei, does she look like she's on her period?"
"You're so crude! Can't you be a little more civilized, a little more refined? Blabbering about 'period, period' like that, I'm still trying to eat here."
"Haha, I'm no refined gentleman, everyone who knows me knows that. It's not like you just met me today!"
At the construction site, a group of workers gathered for their meal. Some were drinking cheap *baijiu*, others inexpensive beer. After a day of exhaustion, this was their most relaxed moment, so there was laughter and chatter, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
But one person, in particular, seemed out of place, appearing heavily burdened with worries.
This person was none other than Wu Mei, as the workers called her. And this Wu Mei was, in fact, the middle-aged woman Yang Haoran had encountered briefly at the Death God Temple earlier that day.
Working on a construction site wasn't solely for men; on the contrary, there were quite a few women. However, generally, women came to the site with their husbands, and their work mostly involved assisting.
Here, as long as one could endure hardship, one could earn money. Of course, that was provided the boss didn't run off and paid on time.
Wu Mei was unmarried, so she hadn't come to this site with a husband, but rather with fellow workers from her village.
Seeing Wu Mei's listless appearance and heavy dark circles under her eyes, the other workers present didn't feel comfortable continuing their jokes.
"Wu Mei, if you're not feeling well, go see a doctor. Don't just grit your teeth and bear it. Some illnesses only get worse the longer you put them off. Don't try to save a few bucks on that."
"That's right, Wu Mei. We were just joking earlier, please don't take it to heart. To be honest, you do look a bit scary right now, like you haven't slept in days."
The workers' concern brought a faint smile to Wu Mei's face.
"Thank you for your concern. I'm fine, really. I've just been feeling a bit unwell lately and haven't rested well, which is why I look so drained," Wu Mei said.
"If you're unwell, just take a few days off and rest properly. Money is never-ending; don't ruin your health over it."
"Exactly. You need your health to earn money. What's the point of earning so much if your body gives out?"
Although the two workers said this, if they were truly in the same situation, their choice would undoubtedly be the same as Wu Mei's. As fellow workers, however, they naturally felt obliged to offer advice.
"I know. If it gets too bad, I'll go to the hospital. " As she spoke, Wu Mei's expression shifted slightly, and she continued, "The work here will be finished in a few days. When will we get our wages?"
It was better that Wu Mei hadn't brought it up. The moment she did, the expressions of all the workers present changed. Some showed anger, others helplessness, and the cheerful, chattering atmosphere vanished instantly.
"Just thinking about it makes me furious! The work's almost done, but our wages keep getting delayed. I have elders above and children below waiting for that money, but the boss? He treats us like dirt! If we make a big fuss, he'll give us some living expenses, but if we don't, he won't even give us that. It's truly infuriating!"
A worker downed the *baijiu* in his paper cup in one gulp, then slammed the cup heavily onto the table, his face filled with rage.
"Speaking of which, we can only blame Lao Zhang for this. He's the foreman; when he brought us here, he made it sound so good. But now? Now we can't even get the wages we're owed. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil! " Another worker complained.
"You can't blame Lao Zhang entirely for this. He's suffered a lot of grievances trying to get our wages back for us. I've personally seen Lao Zhang kneel before the boss just to demand our pay. Sigh, it's really hard for Lao Zhang being caught in the middle. The boss won't pay, and all the brothers below come to him with their problems. He's in an impossible position."
A worker sighed, taking a large gulp of alcohol. He, too, desperately wanted his rightful wages back, but he had witnessed Lao Zhang's helplessness and grievances firsthand, which was why he spoke those words now.
However, his words only represented his own feelings and couldn't speak for others. Moreover, not all the other workers could accept his perspective.
"He's the one who took the job. If the boss was unreliable, he shouldn't have taken it in the first place! Since he took it, and we've done the work, we definitely deserve our share. How he gets the money from the boss is his business, not ours. Now we've done what we're supposed to do, but he hasn't. Who else should we blame but him?"
A female worker spoke, her face full of resentment. From her words, it wasn't hard to tell that she harbored considerable ill will towards Lao Zhang, the foreman. In her view, the reason they hadn't received their wages could only be blamed on Lao Zhang, and no one else.
Sitting beside the female worker was a man. He took a sip of his drink, then put down the paper cup and glared at the woman.
They were a married couple. The man heard his wife say such things in front of so many people and felt it was highly inappropriate, which was why he glared at her.
However, the woman didn't back down because of her husband's reaction; instead, she glared back at him.
"Why are you glaring at me? Did I say something wrong? Go ask everyone if this isn't the truth! Lao Zhang is the foreman. If we don't get our wages, who else are we supposed to go to? As for how he gets the money from the boss, that's Lao Zhang's business. We just do our work. Now the work is almost finished, but we haven't received our pay. So, are we not supposed to blame him?"
The woman was somewhat fiery, and the man was no pushover. He slammed his chopsticks onto the table and angrily said, "Are you ever going to stop? ! Will throwing a tantrum here bring the money back? If you're so tough, why don't you go demand the money from the boss directly?"
"Why should I demand money from the boss? I'm not Lao Zhang! Demanding money from the boss is Lao Zhang's business. We were brought here by Lao Zhang, so I'll only demand money from Lao Zhang! " the woman retorted angrily.
"I thought you were so capable! You only dare to shout and yell in front of your own people! " the man retorted, his face equally furious.
"I'm not capable? You are? You're a big man, and when something like this happens, you can't even speak up, can't even voice your anger. You're worse than a woman! Yes, you're *really* capable! " the woman yelled at the man.
"You. . . " The man was overcome with rage, abruptly standing up. It looked like he was about to teach his wife a lesson.
Seeing this, the other workers intervened, some pulling them apart, some offering words of caution. Only then did the woman fall silent, and the man resettled in his seat.
"Calm down, everyone, calm down. Let's talk things through properly. Arguing fiercely amongst ourselves won't solve anything. I called Lao Zhang today. He said once he finishes dealing with his family matters, he'll definitely come back and get our wages from the boss. " a worker said.
"They've said that countless times, my ears have grown calluses from hearing it, but it's never actually happened."
It was the same woman who spoke, but this time, after uttering those words, she left. Her husband glared fuming at her retreating back but didn't follow.
"Alright, alright, there's no need to stoop to a woman's level. Come on, come on, let's drink, drink! " a worker urged the man.
The man took a sip of alcohol, sulking and remaining silent. The worker who had spoken earlier continued, "Actually, Lao Zhang really is quite unlucky. Bringing us out to work and encountering a boss like this. . . and his daughter went missing a while ago, and still hasn't been found."
Another worker chimed in, "Lao Zhang really has had a run of bad luck this year. He married late, only had this precious daughter when he was forty. He'd planned for him and his wife to work hard and earn more money to pave the way for her future education. Now, he hasn't earned the money, and his daughter is gone. It's truly a shame. . ."
"What exactly happened with Lao Zhang's missing child? I've heard about it these past couple of days, but I don't know the details. " a worker asked, his face filled with curiosity.
This particular worker wasn't from the same village as Lao Zhang; Lao Zhang had recruited him from another village to work. He had recently heard other workers mention Lao Zhang's situation but didn't know much. Now that the other workers had brought it up, it was a good opportunity for him to get the full story.
"Lao Zhang was the youngest in his family. His other siblings were all working outside, leaving only his elderly mother at home. His mother was old and not only didn't know how to use a phone but also wasn't very sharp mentally. When the child didn't come home at night, she assumed the child had gone to play at a relative's or classmate's house, as that had happened before, so she didn't pay it any mind."
"It wasn't until the next day when the teacher called Lao Zhang that he realized his child hadn't gone to school. At first, Lao Zhang thought the child was sick, so he called his neighbors. Through the neighbors, he finally got in touch with his elderly mother and learned that the child had not only missed school that day but hadn't even come home the night before."
"Lao Zhang also wondered if the child had been mischievous and run off to a relative's house, so he called all the relatives – those the child might likely visit, and even those they were less likely to. But the result was the same every time: none of them had seen the child."
"When not even the relatives had seen the child, it meant things had become troublesome. So, Lao Zhang immediately dropped all his work, quickly rushed back to his hometown with his wife to search for the child. They were gone for several days, but there was still no news of the child."
At this point, the worker took a sip of his drink, and the worker who had initially asked the question continued, "So, did Lao Zhang report it to the police?"
"Of course he did. He reported it to the police the same day he rushed back home. But for several days in a row, no good news came."
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