72: Chapter 72 Spring on the Construction Site: We're Earning Wages Too

Before the morning mist had even dispersed, the thunderous roar of machinery already sent birds in the mountain forests flying in all directions. Dozens of yellow heavy excavators and bulldozers bearing the words "China Railway XX Bureau" were operating simultaneously, the roar of their diesel engines merging into a magnificent industrial symphony.

Wu Mindeng was a typical dark-skinned man from Northern Myanmar. He had spent half his life fishing along the Salween River and was accustomed to the chaos of warlord infighting and the prevalence of drug traffickers. In the past, this territory saw nothing but the sound of gunfire and weeping. When had there ever been such a festive commotion, like the New Year?

He tossed the tattered fishing net he’d used for years into a corner of his shack and clumsily buckled on a brand-new yellow hard hat. The hat was a bit tight, making his scalp feel numb, but he couldn't bear to take it off. He even made a point of straightening the brim and wiping the dust off with his sleeve—this was a symbol of status, representing that he was a legitimate "industrial worker" on this massive construction site.

"Old Wu! What are you dazing off for! The sun is already high in the sky!"

A shout came, carrying a heavy Sichuan-accented Mandarin. The speaker was a stocky Dragon Kingdom foreman surnamed Liu, whom everyone called Boss Liu. Holding a blueprint, Boss Liu was waving in this direction.

"Hey! Coming, coming!" Wu Mindeng quickly replied, grinning as he ran over, speaking in broken Mandarin.

Beside him, dozens of local men dressed in the same uniform gray work clothes also swarmed over. These men, who had previously either carried guns as cannon fodder or scraped a living from the earth only to have protection fees extorted from them, now had a light in their eyes they’d never had before—a hope for a better life, a spirit of having something to strive for.

"Today’s task is heavy; the foundations for this row of workshops must be tamped down before the rain starts!" Boss Liu shouted at the top of his lungs. "You know the rules, right? Safety first, quality second. If anyone dares to be lazy or slick, don't blame me for docking your work points! But as long as the job is done beautifully, today’s wages will follow the old rule: settled as soon as you finish work!"

"Settled as soon as you finish work!" These words were like a reassuring pill, making the men present breathe a bit more heavily as they all rolled up their sleeves in anticipation.

Wu Mindeng approached Boss Liu, handing over a crumpled local cigarette with a chuckle. "Boss Liu, don't worry, we have plenty of strength! So... is it still eighty yuan today?"

"Nonsense! Dragon Kingdom people don't lie!" Boss Liu pushed the cigarette away and glared at him, then smiled. "There’s even a bonus if you do well! Hurry up and carry that pile of formwork over there! Don't delay things!"

Eighty RMB! Wu Mindeng felt wonderful inside. In the past, he would drift on the river from dawn to dusk all day; if he was lucky, he might make a few dozen yuan, but if he was unlucky and ran into soldier thugs collecting taxes, both his fish and his boat would be seized, and he might even get a beating. Now? As long as he was willing to put in the effort, eighty yuan a day would be tucked steadily into his pocket. Moreover, it was paid in the hard currency of RMB. This life was simply like a dream.

"Brothers, lend a hand! Lift!"

Wu Mindeng and several companions shouted a rhythmic chant as they grunted and lifted the heavy construction formwork. Although sweat poured down his cheeks, this sweat felt satisfying and grounding.

On the construction site, besides local laborers like them, there were mostly professional technical teams from the Dragon Kingdom. The masters operating the cranes, doing the surveying, and welding the rebar—their skills were truly beyond reproach. Wu Mindeng had seen with his own eyes a young technician from the Dragon Kingdom use some unknown instrument to scan the ground, then direct a massive pile driver to strike into the earth with pinpoint accuracy. That was true skill.

Lunchtime was the liveliest time on the construction site. Large iron buckets were filled with hearty pork stew with vermicelli, there was plenty of white rice, and even seaweed and egg drop soup.

Wu Mindeng held his stainless steel lunchbox and squatted under the shade of a tree, chatting with his fellow villager, Ah Fu, as they ate.

"Ah Fu, I heard your wife also started working at a factory?" Wu Mindeng shoveled a piece of fatty meat into his mouth, squinting his eyes in satisfaction, feeling his strength return.

"She did! She did!" Ah Fu said, his mouth stuffed with rice, his face full of pride. "At that new garment factory in the south of the city, also opened by a Dragon Kingdom boss. They said they'd issue them those matching clothes, pay twelve hundred a month, and even provide lunch! Who would have dared to imagine before that women could earn money besides staying home with the kids and farming? Now she speaks much louder at home!"

"Yeah..." Wu Mindeng sighed emotionally, his gaze shifting toward the massive factory skeleton in the distance where steel beams were being hoisted—the future cement plant. "When Bao Youxiang and the others were here, this place was just a mud pit. Nothing grew but poppies, and there were junkies everywhere. Now that Chairman Zhang has come, this place has finally come to life."

"Shh! Keep it down!" Ah Fu looked around warily and lowered his voice. "The south isn't completely dead yet; I heard they're cursing up a storm over there right now. You can't just say things like that. But..." His eyes brightened again as he whispered, "The way I see it, that old geezer in the south probably won't last much longer. Look at us here—these roads, these buildings, these big cranes... this is what doing big things looks like! I heard our Chairman Zhang is an immortal descended to earth, specifically here to save us!"

Just then, a military jeep with "Kokang National Army" license plates drove slowly past the edge of the construction site. The soldiers in the vehicle wore crisp black uniforms and held steel rifles. They didn't come down to flaunt their power or loot things like the warlord soldiers of the past; they just patrolled the surroundings vigilantly and even waved at the workers.

A young technician from the Dragon Kingdom passed by them and smilingly handed over two bottles of mineral water. "Old brother, eat slowly, don't choke. Once this water plant is built, you won't have to fetch water from the river anymore. You'll have running water just by turning on the tap, and it'll be purified and clean!"

Wu Mindeng took the water, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the favor, and looked at the young man's retreating back with a warm heart.

He was barely literate and didn't care about politics or ideologies. But he had his own set of values. Whoever let him eat his fill, whoever let him earn money, whoever made it so he no longer had to fear being woken by gunfire in the middle of the night, and whoever made him feel like a human being—that person was his benefactor, his second parent.

"Ah Fu," Wu Mindeng twisted off the bottle cap and took a deep gulp of the cool water. "When we finish work tonight and get paid, shall we head to that new supermarket? I want to buy my kid those... 'Oreos' that Dragon Kingdom kids love. I heard they're sweet; I want my kid to have a taste."

"Sure! I'll go buy a bag of salt too. I heard it's refined salt, not bitter! And I'll get my wife a couple of feet of patterned cloth!"

Sunlight spilled over the busy construction site, the metallic glints and the reflection of people's sweat intertwining to shimmer with a dazzling light.

It was an ordinary day, but for Wu Mindeng and the people of this land, it was the start of a new life, a true spring.