Volume 1: Days Moving Bricks at the Construction Site
Choice
He chose not to go.
The foreman did not answer, instead he began to change the topic, saying: “If it’s something you shouldn’t ask, then don’t ask. Hurry up and go make the meal.”
This involves an important clue, and asking further won’t reveal anything.
It seems that the incident causing all the workers to run away is the main plot of this scenario.
Due to the foreman’s surveillance, neither of the two dared to slack off. Yan Nan wanted a bone-removal knife, so she had to personally handle some spoiled meat.
Shen Maomao sat by the pot boiling water, using hot water to blanch the meat once, boiling out a pot of fishy, stinky blood water.
When it comes to the meat, whoever wants to eat it can eat it; she certainly won’t.
While Yan Nan was cooking, she added a lot of seasoning, forcefully suppressing the meat’s stench. Shen Maomao wiped the table clean, opened the windows and doors to air out the room for half a day, finally eliminating all the strange odors.
The two served the meal on the table, and everyone who had scattered to search for clues almost all returned.
Brother Long, drawn by the aroma of the dishes, walked in. Seeing such a rare and good spread, he didn’t wait for everyone else to arrive, filled a bowl with rice, and reached with his chopsticks toward the ribs in the middle.
Shen Maomao, holding a plate, came out and just as she was about to stop him, Yan Nan pulled her from behind, almost causing the dish to spill on the ground.
Yan Nan glared at her, placed her index finger vertically by her lips and silently went “shh,” her eyes revealing a threatening meaning.
Shen Maomao shamefully backed down, quietly placing the remaining dishes on the table.
Once all the dishes were on the table, the foreman leisurely strolled away, and fourteen people sat down to start eating.
Now, these fourteen people were divided into several small groups: Shen Maomao, Xiaolou, and Golden Retriever formed the ” just make-do, still can leave, so what’s the big deal” group; Glasses, having no face to hug Yun Shengjin’s thigh, just followed Brother Long and Binzi around as an errand runner; the largest group was still Yun Shengjin’s team—three old players and three new players; the remaining two acting alone were Icy Cold and Xuehua (Snow Flower).
—Thinking about it, these two people’s names quite match.
Xiaolou saw the ribs on the table and asked Shen Maomao, “Where did these come from?”
Shen Maomao answered in a small voice, “The foreman bought them, said it’s an extra meal.” Under Yan Nan’s intense gaze, she could only desperately give Xiaolou and Golden Retriever winks.
Xiaolou seemed to ponder, said nothing, and continued eating, but her chopsticks never reached for the meat.
Since she began describing the corpse’s situation, Golden Retriever’s expression had not been good, and he still hadn’t recovered, casually picking at the greens.
Shen Maomao breathed a sigh of relief.
Brother Long always eats like he’s fighting a war; just as others are starting to eat, he’s already finished and ready to leave the table. He not only leaves himself, but also insists on taking Glasses and Binzi with him, regardless of whether the other two have eaten their fill or not.
As the three of them were just about to reach the canteen door, the foreman came in from outside.
Seeing that they were about to leave, the foreman said, “Wait a moment, I have something to say.”
Everyone present couldn’t help but sit upright, and Brother Long, along with the other two, had to return to their seats and sit properly.
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The foreman said, “I went to check your work, and someone hasn’t been doing well. Later, come with me to redo it.”
Now the sky is already dark! Who knows how late we’ll have to work if we go for rework? Being outside at night will surely lead to trouble!
Golden Retriever couldn’t eat his meal, intensely staring at the foreman, waiting for him to announce the rework candidates, or rather—the next death list.
The foreman scanned the room, seemingly looking for the unlucky one.
Everyone was very nervous, fearing he would choose them.
Finally, he pointed at Ding Hou: “You come with me.”
Ding Hou panicked, suddenly standing up and casting a pleading gaze toward Yun Shengjin: “Brother Yun! Brother Yun, save me!”
The foreman angrily said, “You didn’t do your work well, yet you expect others to help you? If you can do it, then quickly come with me; if you can’t, then go seek a better job elsewhere!”
Yun Shengjin comforted him, saying, “Don’t worry, it’s just rework, nothing will happen. Just be serious, it’s only the second day.”
Ding Hou was shaking all over, and Yun Shengjin’s words provided him no comfort. He looked around helplessly, but everyone else averted their gaze to avoid eye contact with him.
The canteen was very quiet, the air seemed to carry a virus that would be inhaled if anyone opened their mouth, so everyone remained silent, and no one offered a helping hand.
The foreman impatiently said, “Are you going or not? Give a straightforward answer.”
Ding Hou fiercely glared at Yun Shengjin, blaming him for not helping in a critical moment. He gritted his teeth and said to the foreman, “I’ll go.”
The foreman nodded in satisfaction, then pointed at Glasses: “And you, why haven’t I seen you before? Did you sneak in?”
Glasses, who had been watching the scene with glee, didn’t expect disaster to fall on his own head. Bewildered, he stood up and pointed at Yun Shengjin to defend himself: “I was knocked out by him yesterday, so I didn’t keep up! I worked today! You saw it too!”
In the morning, Glasses indeed worked earnestly stacking bricks with them, but in the afternoon, once the foreman left, he relied on the fact that the foreman hadn’t assigned him a place and hid in the shade to slack off.
Yan Nan said in a soft voice, “You didn’t work the whole afternoon, we all saw it…”
“You say he didn’t work, then he didn’t work?” Brother Long interrupted her, raising his fist slightly, “You better watch what you say…”
Yan Nan was not afraid at all: “What? You want to hit a woman?”
The canteen became chaotic like a pot of porridge, with people from the two teams starting to diss each other. Regardless of the facts, as long as it was harmful to the other side, they would throw accusations wholeheartedly.
Shen Maomao kept her head down, focusing on her meal, pretending not to notice the undercurrents at the dining table.
Compared to her pretense, Xiaolou was much more natural—she even gave Shen Maomao a piece of eggplant with her chopsticks, gently saying, “Eat more, you’ll have the strength to escape when you’re full.”
Shen Maomao: “…” Big sister, don’t you understand the situation? How dare you speak up at a time like this??
The foreman knocked on the table, signaling them to be quiet: “Alright, everyone stop talking! You two come with me first, the rest of you, get back to what you should be doing.”
Glasses pleaded: “Foreman, can I come back to work tomorrow? I promise to work hard and make up for everything I owe today!”
Hearing his words, Ding Hou immediately added: “I can too! I’ll definitely work hard tomorrow!”
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The foreman was not moved at all and even coldly laughed: “Why didn’t you work earlier? The sooner you finish, the sooner you can sleep. Hurry up.” After speaking, he walked toward the pond first, not caring whether the two would follow.
Glasses gritted his teeth and lifted his foot to follow. Ding Hou’s legs were so weak that he couldn’t stand up for a while.
When Glasses had walked far away, Yun Shengjin suddenly said to him: “Maybe you shouldn’t go.”
Ding Hou froze for a moment, his eyes flickering: “Can I not go?”
Yun Shengjin: “Actually, I can’t guarantee it, but do you really forget how scared Xiaojin (little gold) was when he came back yesterday? In the game, the NPC’s commands don’t necessarily have to be followed. In Yan Nan’s and my last world, it was like this. Blindly following the NPC’s demands might actually harm you.”
Golden Retriever: “?? What Xiaojin? My surname isn’t Jin!”
However, no one paid attention to him. Ding Hou, like grabbing a life-saving straw, repeatedly confirmed: “Really no problem?”
Yun Shengjin didn’t speak definitively either: “I’m not certain, but I personally think going out at night will definitely cause problems. Ultimately, whether to go or not is a choice you have to make yourself.”
Ding Hou clenched his fists, hesitated for a long time, and finally let out a long sigh, sitting down in his seat.
—He chose not to go.
Xiaolou, having watched enough of the scene, put down her chopsticks and lightly said, “I’ve finished eating, everyone take your time.”
Seeing her about to leave, Shen Maomao quickly finished the few bites of rice left in her bowl and stood up to catch up with her: “Sister Lou, wait for me!”
Xiaolou turned her head to look at her: “Go wash the dishes.”
Shen Maomao: “…” Damn it, why!
This sentence was quite effective; Shen Maomao was also afraid that if she didn’t do her work well, the foreman would call her out in the middle of the night to wash dishes, so she could only stay behind tearfully.
Golden Retriever secretly came over: “Sister Rabbit, I’m waiting for you!”
Shen Maomao gave him a resentful glance: “Xiaojin, I just want to cling to Sister Lou, not because I’m afraid to walk alone…” Actually, she was a bit afraid, but she couldn’t show fear in front of Xiaojin!
Golden Retriever: “?? My surname isn’t Jin, Sister Rabbit, it’s Liao…”
Shen Maomao, feeling disappointed, picked up the bowls and chopsticks for the three of them and took them to the kitchen to wash.
Golden Retriever: “No… all of you listen to me, my surname is Liao, my name is Liao Shi…!”
Everyone ate and drank their fill, leaving the table in a mess, and then scattered in different directions.
The street lights at the construction site lit up again, and Yan Nan and Shen Maomao tidied up the table together. The hour hand on the canteen clock had already pointed to eight.
Golden Retriever kept his word and waited for her in the canteen.
As the sky grew dark, his courage diminished, and he finally curled up on the chair like a large shrimp.
“Let’s go.” Shen Maomao patted him, startling him so much that he almost jumped up.
Yan Nan didn’t speak and was the first to step out of the canteen.
Shen Maomao turned off the lights, locked the door, and stepped into the vast night.
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No one spoke, and Yan Nan’s pace quickened. Shen Maomao and Golden Retriever, unwilling to show weakness, also sped up. The three of them were like participants in a silent race-walking competition, where winning had no prize, but losing might cost them their lives.
Fortunately, perhaps the time had not yet come, and they did not encounter any danger along the way.
When they reached the front of the girls’ dormitory, Yan Nan quickly slipped inside, but Golden Retriever began to panic: “Sister Rabbit… would it be convenient for you and Sister Lou to walk me back?”
Shen Maomao didn’t know if Xiaolou would mind, so she went in to ask her: “Sister Lou, Xiaojin is waiting for me to go back together. Should we walk him back?”
Xiaolou looked up at the clock on the wall and said: “No need to walk him, let him run quickly on his own, as long as he arrives before 9.”
It was only 8:23 now, more than enough time to get from the girls’ dorm to the boys’ dorm.
She relayed Xiaolou’s words unchanged to Golden Retriever, who was almost in tears: “Really? No problem?” just like Ding Hou.
Xiaolou was definitely more reliable than Yun Shengjin. From the moment she first saw her, Shen Maomao felt she was very reliable, so she definitely believed Xiaolou: “I trust Sister Lou, it’s already 8:24 now, are you going or not?”
“Go! Charge!” Golden Retriever shouted strangely, turned his head, and ran.
Shen Maomao stood at the door watching his back until he disappeared from view, then closed the door and walked into the girls’ dorm.