Chapter 14 Bastard
At 11:30 in the evening, Xu Qiang got up from bed, put on Shanfa's new work clothes, took his lunch box, and left the dormitory.

Today is his first day at work, and he feels a little nervous. After all, he is not familiar with the environment here and he has to start from scratch.

The night sky was bright with a bright moon and sparse stars. The air was a little chilly, and the chirping of crickets could be heard from the bushes on both sides from time to time.

The street lights on the dirt road leading to the workshop were dim, and workers could be seen passing by on their bicycles on their way to and from work.

When Xu Qiang arrived at the door of the chemical workshop, the team leader Gao Bo was already waiting there.

"Hello, Platoon Leader Gao." Xu Qiang greeted Gao Bo when he saw him.

"Your task today is to go to the warehouse with the others, pull the raw materials over, and then move them to the inlet." Gao Bo pointed to the inlet of the five-meter-high workbench in the workshop, and then said: "Each shift has to move at least six tons of materials..."

"Six tons?" Xu Qiang glanced at the bags of freshly produced ammonium nitrate placed beside the aisle and frowned slightly.

In his previous life, Xu Qiang had never done such heavy physical work, so he was somewhat worried about such a workload.

But when he picked up the bag from the ground, all his worries were gone.

It turned out that although he had never done physical work like a porter in his previous life, his body was different now. Since his predecessor had been farming in the village for many years, he had already developed a body of tendon muscles and even an enviable eight-pack abs. These were definitely not the kind of dry goods that were acquired by lifting weights and eating protein powder in the gym. He had no problem doing this kind of porter work.

The only thing that made Xu Qiang a little uncomfortable was that the dust in this workshop was really heavy, the ammonia smelled a bit bad, and coal powder was everywhere in the air. It was estimated that after a day's work, it would be no different from coming out of a coal kiln.

"You will go to the warehouse with them to get materials later." After saying this, the team leader turned and left.

Xu Qiang turned his head to look in the direction Gao Bo pointed, and found that more than a dozen porters who were working the night shift tonight had gathered there. They were wearing work clothes and masks tightly, and were queuing up to sign in.

Among this group of people, Xu Qiang saw some familiar faces, some of whom were obviously villagers from neighboring villages, and Xu Qiang had some impression of them.

"Xiao Xu!" At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a thick mask suddenly came over and greeted Xu Qiang.

"Uncle Sun!" Xu Qiang turned his head and his eyes suddenly lit up.

It turned out that the person who came was none other than Sun Zhanwu, who was from the same village as Xu Qiang.

Sun Zhanwu was a villager who went to work in the factory with his father. In those days, being recruited into a factory was indeed an enviable thing.

However, compared to Xu Qiang's father who had the skills of a bricklayer, Sun Zhanzhong had no special skills. He had not even graduated from elementary school and could barely read, so he could only work as a porter and later entered a chemical workshop.

In Xu Qiang's impression, his father and Sun Zhanzhong had a very good relationship. They were from the same village and worked in the same factory. They were both honest people, so they often drank together. Moreover, every time Sun Zhanzhong came to Xu Qiang's house, he was never empty-handed. He always brought some snacks such as water chestnuts or candies for Xu Qiang, which made Xu Qiang very fond of him.

After Xu Qiang's father got into trouble, Sun Zhanzhong also came to Xu Qiang's house to pay his respects, and this incident did make him very sad.

"Take it easy when you work. You've just started this job, so don't rush in. Even though it doesn't seem like a big deal at the time, your whole body will start to ache after get off work." Sun Zhanzhong spoke with the tone of an experienced person, and then said, "Wear a mask next time. There's a lot of dust here, which is bad for your lungs. You'll get sick if you work for a long time..."

Sun Zhanzhong knew that the boy from the Xu family was honest and sincere, and he was definitely a good worker and would not cheat, so he gave such a reminder. But what Sun Zhanzhong didn't know was that the original honest and a little silly Xu Qiang had been replaced by a top chemical expert.

"start!"

Just when Xu Qiang wanted to chat with Sun Zhanzhong, the team leader Gao Bo at the factory gate called out and the night shift workers began pushing their carts and walked out of the workshop.

Due to the production of military explosives, the chemical workshop at Shengli Machinery Factory is divided into four areas. Except for the main workshop, the other three areas are warehouses, which are nearly 300 meters away from the main workshop. The warehouse in area 4 where explosives are stored is surrounded by walls and patrolled by security militia, and the security is very strict.

When Xu Qiang went to Area 3 to transport goods this time, he had to pass through a cave of several dozen meters. On the other side of the hillside, each porter pushed a small cart, then entered the warehouse to register the goods, and then transported the raw materials to the production frame.

One sack of material weighs 20 kilograms, and one truck can carry more than ten bags. The work is hard and boring. According to the requirements of the workshop, each person has to pull nearly 40 trucks back and forth and transport them to the five-meter-high material inlet in each shift to complete a day's work.

This workload is actually not easy, but for most of these farmers who come from local mountain villages, it is not considered heavy work. It is much easier than the busy farming season in the village.

Xu Qiang worked until nearly four in the morning and had completed the tasks assigned by the workshop.

The porters who worked with him had basically completed their tasks, but even so, many of them did not take a rest and wait for the end of get off work, but continued to go to the warehouse to transport goods.

It is said that in the 1980s, many people in state-owned enterprises lived a mediocre life, but in fact, many state-owned enterprises now have a bonus system to encourage production. The more you work, the more you earn. For porters, the workshop stipulates that if they carry every extra ton of goods, they can get an extra bonus of 30 cents at the end of the month. Therefore, many porters still work hard after completing the tasks assigned by the workshop, just to earn more bonuses.

However, Xu Qiang chose to take a rest directly. He found a corner in the workshop and sat down.

"Did you finish your work for today?"

At this moment, Gao Bo took a plastic thermos cup, drank some water, then walked to Xu Qiang and said.

"It's over." Xu Qiang glanced at Gao Bo and said, "I moved 300 bags. The warehouse clerks have all remembered it. It's exactly six tons."

“But others are doing it now…”

"They are them, and I am me. I have finished my work, so is it okay for me to take a break?" Xu Qiang pointed to a few workers half-lying next to the materials on the other side, and then said, "Aren't the guys over there taking a break too?"

"He's a regular employee, and you still want to compete with him?" Gao Bo was a little unhappy, and then said: "Since you come to work in our factory, you must cherish this job. If you do well, the factory can make you a regular employee, and you will get salary and benefits. But if you learn from others to just get by, you will be ruined sooner or later!"

"I'm not slacking off. The factory regulation is that one shift must move six tons of cargo, and I didn't do any less." Xu Qiang said, spreading his hands.

Xu Qiang understood what Gao Bo meant. Actually, he had just started working at the factory and wanted to leave a good impression on his leader. But considering that he had to go to the peat field to work during the day tomorrow, he had to save some energy and couldn't work like a fool.

Gao Bo's words might work for other new workers, but to Xu Qiang, whose father had worked diligently for more than ten years and still had not been given a permanent job, they were completely like words falling on deaf ears.

"Okay, okay! I want to see how long you can last!" Gao Bo sneered, turned and left.

(End of this chapter)