"Fuck it, that's settled." Xiao Huang, who had already decided to stay, slammed the table and said, "I'm not going to Guangzhou after the New Year anyway."

"I'm not going to Shenzhen either."

"Screw Shanghai, it's far from both heaven and earth, and I can't even take care of my parents there."

A group of people expressed their opinions. Lin Chuan was very satisfied with this situation. After all, the company was planning to expand its business next year and needed manpower. The people in the factory were all well-known quantities; easy to manage, and it was better to keep the benefits within the group. When there's money, everyone earns together. When there's no money, everyone's poor together. Besides, the factory guys were all children from poor families, capable of enduring hardship. This was something those freshly graduated college students couldn't compare with.

Pampered and always aiming too high, they were unwilling to do such tough and exhausting work.

Inside the factory, everyone became lively. Many were so excited they couldn't speak, thinking about how Zhou Kai and the others could make tens of thousands a month, and believing they were no less capable, surely they could earn that much too, right? This was something beyond their imagination. In factories in coastal cities, they could only earn a few thousand a month at most. Now at home, they could make tens of thousands; such a good deal, who wouldn't want it?

A few self-proclaimed college-educated youths quietly left the factory. These individuals were formerly praised as talents in the factory, reportedly earning five to six thousand a month in office jobs, even up to eight or nine thousand. They had always been seen as role models by their peers, and matchmakers had frequented their homes.

But since Zhou Kai and others had risen rapidly, the direction of the wind had immediately changed. These guys were no longer in demand; matchmakers are realistic, or rather, the girls nowadays are realistic. Those once excellent talents were quickly outshone by high school graduates like Zhou Kai and put firmly beneath their feet, causing some discontent among them. So, today they specifically came to check out the situation.

"Zhang Hong and a few others have left," Lu Dapao said with a laugh.

"Good riddance," Zhou Kai nodded and added, "I've been sick of them for a while, always bad-mouthing us on the outside."

"Exactly, just the other day someone told me. Zhang Hong said we were doing pyramid schemes," scoffed Lu Dapao. "Have you ever seen such hard labor in pyramid schemes?"

"Doing pyramid schemes right in our own hometown? That's asking for trouble," Zhou Kai laughed, "let them say whatever they want, we'll make our money, let them be."

........

After Zhang Hong and the others left the factory, they felt somewhat dejected.

"Zhang Hong, is that job Zhou Kai and others are doing for real?" the man in a black down jacket asked behind him.

"Why? You thinking of joining?" Zhang Hong countered.

"If there's money to be made, and it's close to home, why not go?" The man in the down jacket looked puzzled at Zhang Hong and smiled, "We live far away, and traveling back and forth isn't easy. This time coming back, I took a packed train, and even had my wallet stolen. Losing two thousand yuan is one thing, but I lost my ID, bank cards, everything. Ugh, every Spring Festival is like going to war."

Zhang Hong was stunned, thinking where isn't it difficult? Coming back home is always a battle for me too. Fighting for tickets is like going to war. One mishap and they are sold out. Every visit to the train website feels like going to the guillotine. Those annoying captchas failed eighteen times in a row. Thinking about it feels like a sin. This time I managed to snag a standing ticket back home. I stood for ten hours on the train, barely feeling my legs when I got off."

"Yeah, exactly," someone else with a scarf nodded and said, "Working away from home all year isn't a solution. Eventually, people need to settle down back home. It's better to figure something out sooner. We're all of marriageable age. It's not like we can take our wives and kids with us on a cramped train in the future, right?"

Zhang Hong was stunned again.

"We used to be the envy of everyone in the factory," Zhang Hong looked up at the bright sunshine, but the air carried a biting chill.

"Zhang Hong, those days are long gone," the man in the down jacket laughed and said, "Last year when I came back, the matchmakers visited eleven times. This Lunar New Year, not one visited. People are just that realistic. I heard that this year, Zhou Kai, Lu Dapao, and others' homes were so crowded with matchmakers they couldn't all sit down."

"Heh," the man with the scarf nodded, "Yes, my mom had a lot of them over last year, and only two came this year. And that was because my mom called them."

Zhang Hong gave a wry smile and said, "Liu Ming, are you willing to give up your eight-thousand-a-month programmer's salary in Shenzhen? Old Li, would your mom really want to give up the editor job in Shanghai pulling in seven thousand five hundred a month? As for me, I'm not willing to give up my current salary of nine thousand."

"Definitely not," Liu Ming shook his head, gritting his teeth, "but, coming back once a year, I can only save forty thousand yuan. Zhou Kai makes forty thousand in just one month. By the end of the year, he will have saved seventy or eighty thousand. The expenses in Shenzhen are too high; it really doesn't compare to a five-thousand monthly salary at home."

"Exactly," the man with the scarf nodded, "Although I earn seven thousand five hundred in Shanghai and the company covers meals, it doesn't cover accommodation. Just accommodation costs me two thousand a month. Plus transportation, phone bills, utilities… being able to save two thousand at the end of the month is already good. This year I gave thirty thousand to my mom, and I have almost nothing left."

Zhang Hong gave another bitter smile, thinking that the world is full of people with hard lives, no money!

Speaking of them, wasn't he in the same boat? Although earning a salary of nine thousand, subtracting rent, utilities... He had also gotten a girlfriend, costing him even more every month. The entire year he relied on the year-end bonus for Lunar New Year. Unexpectedly, the boss said the economy was down this year and canceled the year-end bonus. This immediately disheartened Zhang Hong, and he planned to switch jobs next year, hoping to find a company that could offer a salary over ten thousand, preferably one with a year-end bonus.

......

Lin Chuan hadn't left the factory yet. His phone suddenly started ringing incessantly.

The caller ID showed Tang Yumeng.

Lin Chuan hesitated briefly before answering the call: "Sister."

"Lin Chuan, where are you?" Tang Yumeng's voice was hurried and excited.

"I..." Lin Chuan smiled, saying, "I'm back in Jiangbei City."

"Are you at home?" Tang Yumeng asked.

"Oh, yes." Lin Chuan's voice was somewhat indifferent and cold.

"I'm at your doorstep, come out," Tang Yumeng's voice was tense and urgent.

Lin Chuan was stunned. He quickly walked out of the factory. From there, he could directly see his front door. If Tang Yumeng was indeed at his doorstep, he would be able to see her from here. Sure enough, upon stepping out, he saw Tang Yumeng's maroon Cayenne parked by the roadside, not far from his home.

"I see you now," Lin Chuan laughed.

At that moment, Tang Yumeng seemed to have noticed Lin Chuan, and she quickly hung up the call. Then, she pushed the car door open and hurriedly jumped out. She then sprinted towards Lin Chuan. Tang Yumeng was wearing a maroon coat with a black sweater underneath, and a white scarf wrapped around her neck. She looked beautiful, an undeniable fact. Indeed, with her beauty, Tang Yumeng had captured Lin Chuan's heart and made him her defeated suitor.

Lin Chuan didn't walk away, but smiled and went forward to meet her.

"Lin Chuan," Tang Yumeng stood before Lin Chuan, panting heavily, and said, "You misunderstood me, you really misunderstood me."

"I'll listen to your explanation," Lin Chuan looked at Tang Yumeng.

"Actually, you've really wronged me," Tang Yumeng said with a distraught face, "There's really nothing between Bai Yifan and me, and the reason I accompanied him to the provincial city to see the musical was entirely because of you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gone to the provincial city with him on New Year's Eve."

"Because of me?" Lin Chuan looked astonished, saying, "What... what does that have to do with me?"

"Of course, it's related," Tang Yumeng immediately nodded, saying, "Because he helped you."

"He helped me?" Lin Chuan was startled, saying, "Bai Yifan probably doesn't even know me. Why would he help me?"

"I…" Lin Chuan was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected this matter to involve Tang Yumeng helping him behind the scenes, and even less did he expect it was Tang Yumeng who had personally pleaded with Bai Yifan. Lin Chuan's mood suddenly plummeted. Gritting his teeth, he immediately pulled Tang Yumeng into his arms, saying, "Sister… who asked you to do this? This is a matter between men. Why should a woman interfere? Knowing that Bai Yifan has designs on you, why did you still go to him?"

"Wasn't I also doing it for you?" Tang Yumeng sobbed, this huge misunderstanding finally being resolved and relieved, instantly making all her grievances pour out. She hugged Lin Chuan tightly, saying, "What would I do if you were arrested?"

"Even if I were arrested, you should not have approached Bai Yifan," Lin Chuan said through gritted teeth, "I'd rather suffer myself than allow my woman to be wronged."

Tang Yumeng sobbed softly.

Feeling Tang Yumeng's crying, Lin Chuan felt even worse, as if his heart was overturned with mixed emotions. He hugged Tang Yumeng tightly, seeming to want to bear all the hardships himself.

"Damn, Chuan actually managed to hook up with Secretary Tang?"

"My goodness, was my guess that day correct?"

Zhou Kai and others gathered at the factory entrance, each of them astonished and utterly shocked. They felt a kind of admiration for Lin Chuan. If even the city secretary could be won over, what couldn't be achieved? At this moment, Huang Bo squeezed his head out from inside, surprised and said: "I, I, I…I go. Did Chuan really sleep with the Secretary?"

[Updated 23 chapters in one go. Brothers, I need your recommendation tickets and monthly votes to be strong. You can vote monthly tickets since it's on the shelves.]

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