Chapter 404 Do You Want to Stay?

Chapter 404: Do You Want to Stay?

Su Taotao ran into several children working part-time in the cafeteria to earn their keep, including Fu Yuanhang, when it struck her that her own son was among them.

"Yuanhang, where’s Chenchen?"

Fu Yuanhang pointed toward the northeast corner. "Over there."

Following his finger, Su Taotao saw Chenchen lowering his head, picking at his clothes, unsure what he was doing.

She had Xiao Lu handle the meals and walked straight toward her son.

The little boy, who’d been the center of attention all morning, had been assisting his uncle diligently and gotten his clothes all dirty. He really regretted wearing white.

Su Taotao waded through the crowd and picked him up from behind. "What’ve you been doing, Chenchen?"

Chenchen froze for a moment, wondering who’d dare sneak up and grab him—only to realize it was his mom.

"Mommyyy~~" His sugary little voice was back in full force.

Su Taotao took out a handkerchief and wiped his dirty, smudged face. "What’ve you been doing? Your face is so dirty."

"Moving coconuts," Chenchen said. "Mommy, I moved so many coconuts. Do I get paid?"

Su Taotao chuckled. "Mommy’ll pay you."

Chenchen wrinkled his little nose. "Not the factory’s money?"

Su Taotao shook her head. "Only students in the upper grades of elementary school can work part-time at the factory. You're still too young."

Today was special—Chenchen had been particularly well-behaved, and with Fu Yuanhang and the others supervising, they’d let him into the workshop. Normally, children his age were strictly prohibited from entering production areas since they’d just get in the way or get hurt.

Chenchen thought for a moment. "But I did a lot of work!"

"I know, so I’ll give you something special," Su Taotao said. "But for other kids your age, going into the workshop is dangerous. We can’t start doing that. This morning was a special case—no more exceptions. You’ll have to stay with me in the office this afternoon."

Chenchen nodded. "Okay."

Su Taotao hadn’t spoken quietly, and nearby workers overheard.

At first, hearing that a child as young as Chenchen could work part-time in the workshop, many had considered bringing their own kids—both to look after them and earn some extra money, killing two birds with one stone.

But after Su Taotao’s words, they gave up on the idea.

Her mind elsewhere, Su Taotao had little appetite for lunch.

Chenchen, however, having done physical labor, polished off what his mom left.

Watching the cute kid wolf down his food made everyone feel like today’s food tasted especially good.

After the meal, Su Taotao told Fu Yuanhang what to do before taking Chenchen to the office to rest.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival production rush, many students had come to the factory for part-time work, and Bai Hua never missed a chance.

Chenchen had pitched in all morning, and Su Taotao was crazy about her nephew Fu Yuanhang.

For such a little kid, he was careful and thorough in everything he did—and plus he was adorable.

Bai Hua pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket and handed it to Fu Yuanhang.

Fu Yuanhang naturally accepted it and casually asked, "How much?"

Bai Hua shook her head. "Didn't bother counting. You keep track of it for me."

Fu Yuanhang counted it in front of her and wrote her a receipt. "Keep this safe. You ought to know how much you've got."

Bai Hua took it indifferently, stuffed it into her pocket without even looking, and went back to her meal.

Uncle Mu, however, glanced at the number on the receipt and let out a low whistle. "How did you save up so much again in such a short time?"

Bai Hua swallowed her food before answering. "While you all went off to play during summer break, I was here working like a pack mule. Of course it’s different."

Uncle Mu didn’t believe it. "But not this much!"

Bai Hua retorted, "Back off. I didn’t steal or rob—I earned it on the up and up. Ah Hang didn’t even ask. Why the third degree?"

"Don’t tell me you went back to your old trade?" Uncle Mu pressed.

He hadn’t forgotten that this girl used to be a bold and reckless black-market hustler.

Bai Hua ignored him, finished her meal, snatched up her lunchbox, and ran off.

"Hey, Ah Hang, look at her attitude!"

Fu Yuanhang tucked away the money he'd counted. "She already said she didn’t steal or rob. She's not answerable to you."

"You—" Uncle Mu threw an arm around Fu Yuanhang's neck. "Then tell me, how much has she saved with you?"

Fu Yuanhang shook him off, grabbed his lunchbox, and walked away.

Uncle Mu chased after him. "Hey, Ah Hang, why you gotta be like that too? Just tell me if she’s saved enough for high school."

Fu Yuanhang didn’t answer.

Bai Hua was just starting ninth grade—she still had a year before high school. At her current earning rate, even if she stopped working part-time during high school, she’d have more than enough.

After lunch, Xiao Lu showed the elders to their resting area.

The elders were puzzled. "What's this about?"

They thought Xiao Lu would take them back to the office, but instead, he brought them to the dormitory building.

Xiao Lu said, "Rest here for now. There’s a ride back to the county this afternoon—we'll drop you off."

The elders were overjoyed.

"That’s wonderful! Thank you, Comrade Lu."

Xiao Lu brushed it off. "It was arranged by Director Su. Go ahead and rest. The restroom is on the left side of the hallway, and the water station is on the right. There’s cooling tea and room-temp water—help yourself to either if you're thirsty."

"But the factory floor's off-limits. Please don’t wander around, or the dorm supervisor will have to escort you out. Just wait for my notice. I’ll get back to work now."

Once Xiao Lu left, the elders looked at each other.

"It seems Director Su and this Comrade Lu aren’t bad people at all."

"Indeed. I’ve never seen such a shipshape factory. Having something like this built on our land—I actually feel quite proud."

"Sigh, we couldn’t find the land deed, and we don’t even know if the government will recognize it."

"What’s there to fear? The housing department has records, and the middlemen have documentation too. As long as we can prove our identity and that the land belonged to our ancestors, no one can welch on the deal."

"But in these times... I’m just worried we’ll be branded as landlords."

The elder shook his head. "If the land were concentrated in one person’s hands, especially with that hill over there, it might happen. But the land was divided among us—no one holds much individually. Besides, this land isn’t arable, and we’ve never profited from it. We don’t even claim the hill, so naturally, we’re not landlords."

Everyone nodded, feeling somewhat reassured.

"That’s true. Since the factory’s already built and the factory's doing so well, even if they tear it down and return the land to us, it’s useless to us. Might as well see how much compensation we can get."

The elder half-closed his eyes and looked at the newly built dormitory, then glanced outside. Who could’ve imagined this sandy patch would flourish like this?

If we could return and live here, why would we need to leave home and live as displaced wanderers?

"Have any of you thought about staying?" the elder asked.

"Staying?"

The elder stroked his beard and nodded. "Yes, staying."

The group exchanged uncertain glances.

"But... how could we stay?"

"Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Let’s first agree on this," the elder said.

...