18: Chapter 18 Talent Siphon: Workers from the Neighboring Factory Run Wild with Pumps

Tengfei Electronics, Workshop 3.

It is 11:00 PM, and the incandescent lights are stinging everyone's eyes.

Over four hundred workers are hunched over, tightening screws and soldering wires. The workshop is thirty-eight degrees Celsius, there is no air conditioning, and three broken fans are blowing nothing but hot air.

Lao Huang wipes away sweat and secretly takes out his phone.

The Workshop 3 fellow-townsmen group has 99+ messages.

He taps it open and sees that photo.

Lobster, with glistening red shells and a bed of garlic vermicelli. Beside it, a tomahawk steak cut into thick slices, with juices still bubbling.

The caption reads: "Brothers, come to Chenguang Electronics quickly. For the first time in my life, I feel like a human being."

Lao Huang's hand stops.

"Lao Huang, what are you looking at?" asks Xiao Liu, who is peeking over from the side.

Lao Huang passes the phone over.

Xiao Liu looks at it for three seconds, his mouth hanging open.

"Is this a work meal?"

"Zhou Xiaolei posted it. Wasn't he sent to Chenguang Electronics last week?"

"I heard about the ten-thousand base salary, but this food… damn, it's better than what I had at my wedding."

The phone is passed down the assembly line. One by one.

The messages in the group keep scrolling.

"Ten-thousand base salary, room and board included, five days of work, two days off."

"The chefs were poached from five-star hotels, twenty-seven of them."

"Someone read the contract, the social insurance is the highest tier."

The speed of tightening screws slows down visibly.

"What the hell are you all looking at!"

The shift supervisor kicks a stool and rushes over, snatching the phone from Xiao Liu.

The screen is still lit, and the photo of the lobster is right in his face.

The supervisor freezes for a second, then slams the phone onto the workstation.

"Playing on your phone during work hours, that's a two-hundred-yuan deduction! Nobody leaves until tonight's shipment is finished!"

No one makes a sound.

Xiao Liu looks down at his hands.

There are three blisters from the soldering iron, wrapped in blackened tape.

He looks at his dinner box by his feet.

Cabbage stalks with cold steamed buns.

The cabbage stalks are so tough they're stringy, and the buns are hard enough to crack a walnut.

Three yuan, deducted from his salary.

He turns to look at Lao Huang.

Lao Huang is looking at him too.

The two stare at each other for a second; they say nothing, yet everything has been said.

"Finish this batch first," the supervisor says, walking back.

"I'm done."

The voice isn't loud, but the entire line hears it.

The person speaking is sitting at the very end.

Lao Laitou, Lai Fusheng, fifty-three years old, has been soldering at Tengfei Electronics for seven years.

Last year he was diagnosed with a herniated lumbar disc, his leave request was rejected, and he has been toughing it out until now, walking with a limp.

He slams his screwdriver onto the workstation.

"Screw this 996, I'm not doing it anymore."

The supervisor's expression changes.

"What did you say?"

Lao Laitou stands up. His waist is crooked, but he stands very straight at this moment.

"Seven years, three thousand five hundred base salary, no overtime pay, no reimbursement for medical checkups, no leave allowed for work injuries."

He points at the box of cabbage and buns on the ground.

"The people at Chenguang Electronics are eating lobster and steak, while I'm here gnawing on moldy buns. I'm fifty-three, my back is about to break, and if I don't leave now, I won't even get a penny in compensation if I die on this assembly line."

The supervisor takes a step forward.

"You can leave, but the two-thousand-yuan deposit won't be returned, and your salary for this month will be fully deducted."

Lao Laitou lets out a laugh.

"Deduct it."

He rips off his blue work uniform, takes off his employee badge, and throws it at the supervisor's face.

"Two thousand yuan to buy seven years of my life, you're making a huge profit."

He turns and walks toward the door.

It's quiet behind him for three seconds.

Xiao Liu stands up.

"I'm not doing it either."

He takes off his employee badge and throws it on the workstation.

Then comes Lao Huang.

Then the girl with glasses next to Lao Huang.

Then an entire row.

"I'm not doing it."

"I'm not doing it."

"I'm not doing it!"

The supervisor panics.

"Are you all crazy? Collective absenteeism will get you blacklisted!"

No one pays him any mind. Employee badges and uniforms are thrown right at his face.

Over four hundred people in Workshop 3, in fifteen minutes, three hundred and twenty stand at the door.

The news spreads to Workshop 1 and Workshop 2 simultaneously.

In a factory of twelve hundred people, six hundred leave that night.

Supervisor Sun blocks the HR office door, buried halfway by blue uniforms, his hands frantically dialing.

"Wang Teng! You need to come quickly! The factory is exploding! Everyone is leaving!"

Fifteen minutes later, a black Audi A8 screeches into the Tengfei Electronics entrance.

Wang Teng gets out of the car and fishes a megaphone out of the trunk.

"Everyone, stop right there!"

The feedback is ear-piercing, and the crowd pauses.

"Whoever leaves, your deposit will be fully deducted! Not a single cent of this month's salary will be paid!"

It's quiet for a few seconds.

Lao Laitou pushes out from the front row and holds up his phone, the lobster photo on the screen.

"Wang Teng, two thousand deposit, three thousand five hundred for this month's salary, that's five thousand five hundred total. Chenguang Electronics has a ten-thousand base salary; I'll go work there for half a month, and all the money you're deducting will be back."

He looks at Wang Teng.

"What are you going to use to keep people?"

Wang Teng holds the megaphone, his mouth opening and closing.

"Lu Chen's place is a pyramid scheme! His crappy factory won't be able to pay salaries for three months before it crashes! You've been deceived!"

Someone in the crowd roars.

"Then I'd rather be deceived for three months of lobster than eat moldy buns at your place for seven years!"

Laughter erupts.

It's not a happy laugh, but the kind of laugh that comes after enduring for too long and finally not having to hold back anymore.

"Lock the gate! No one is allowed to leave!"

Two security guards hesitate before moving to pull the iron gate.

Lao Laitou looks back at the sea of people behind him.

"Go."

One word.

Over six hundred people take a step forward together.

The security guards are pushed aside.

The iron gate is pushed open.

The chains clatter onto the ground.

The flow of people pours out from the gates of Tengfei Electronics and into the night.

Wang Teng stands in the empty factory grounds, holding the megaphone.

The workshop lights are still on behind him, but there isn't a single person on the assembly line.

The megaphone drops from his hand, bouncing twice on the concrete floor.

The next morning at six.

Lu Chen is woken up by a call from Lao Zhou.

"Boss Lu! The factory gate! You need to come quickly!"

"What happened?"

"People! At least five or six hundred! They're all here to apply for jobs! People who ran from Tengfei Electronics, people from nearby small factories, and people who took two hours on the bus from the next district over!"

When Lu Chen arrives at the main gate, he is stunned.

On both sides of the road, there is a sea of people.

Those wearing blue uniforms, those carrying suitcases, those with snake-skin bags, packed so tightly it's impassable.

At the very front stands an old man with a slightly crooked waist.

When Lai Fusheng sees Lu Chen, he tugs at his wrinkled shirt and takes a step forward.

"Boss Lu, my name is Lai Fusheng, I've been soldering at Tengfei Electronics for seven years. My back isn't great, but there's no problem with my hands."

He pauses.

"Do you want me?"

"I do. Ten-thousand base salary, sign the contract today, start work tomorrow. Regarding your back, go to the hospital for a checkup first, the factory will cover everything."

Lao Laitou's lips tremble, he nods, but says nothing.

Lu Chen climbs onto the excavator parked at the construction site, stands in the bucket, and raises his voice.

"Listen up! No matter what you did before—tightening screws, moving goods, sweeping floors—I want everyone!

Ten-thousand base salary! Room and board included! Five days of work, two days off! Highest-tier social insurance!

Those who know how to work go to the workshop, those who don't go to the construction site to move bricks!

As long as you're willing to work, I dare to hire you! Line up, sign one by one!"

The crowd moves. Not walking, but running.

Lao Zhou and a dozen administrative staff are frantically stamping seals behind the tables.

Contracts are signed and collected one by one, and a small mountain of ID card photocopies piles up.

418... 500... 600...

One hour.

700... 800... 900...

Two hours.

Lao Zhou's hand is numb from stamping.

"Boss Lu, it's 998!"

Lu Chen stares at the panel.

999.

The last person walks to the table.

A young man in his early twenties, thin as a rail, his clothes covered in machine oil.

"Boss, I don't know how to do anything, I just have some strength, will you take me?"

Lu Chen picks up a pen and hands it to him.

"Sign."

The young man writes his name in crooked letters. The official seal falls.

A "ding" sounds in his mind, and golden light bursts forth.

[Registered real-life employees have exceeded 1000! Reached the "One Thousand Slayer" milestone achievement!]

[One-time reward: White-washing funds: 50 million yuan! Already credited!]

[Unlocked Technology Blueprint Library: Advanced Tier Draw!]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Complete design blueprints for "Ultra-Precision CNC Micro-Carving Machine Tool"!]

[Hint: This machine tool can achieve nano-level material cutting and purification; it is the core equipment for the fine processing of rare ores!]

Nano-level cutting. Ore purification.

That dark purple stone in the safe will be useful.

Lu Chen looks down at his phone balance. The string of zeros at the end has grown by several digits.

One thousand registered employees, ten million income every day.

He tucks his phone away and turns to walk toward the office.

At the same time.

Tengfei Electronics, the empty workshop.

In a factory of twelve hundred people, over six hundred left overnight. The rest are also on edge, and all three production lines have stopped.

Wang Teng sits in his office chair, his desk cleared off; files, teacups, and pen holders are all on the floor.

He picks up that black phone, hesitates for five seconds, then puts it down.

He can't let Jason know.

He picks up another phone.

He dials, and it rings twice.

"Hello? Boss Wang, it's been a long time."

The voice on the other end is hoarse and deep, carrying a hint of thug-like attitude.

Wang Teng's Adam's apple bobs.

"Brother Ma, I need you to do me a favor."