Chapter 943: Disease
early morning.
It was not the warm sunshine but the biting cold wind that awakened the clouds.
It is almost the end of autumn and the wind is particularly biting, just like a steel knife scraping on the skin, making people feel uncomfortable with cold limbs.
Eight or nine laborers numbly got up, wiped their faces hastily, and hurried out of the shack.
In the morning, they had to do some work in order to have bread to eat, otherwise they would have to go hungry for most of the day.
For some reason, Tianyun felt that his body was particularly heavy today, as if yesterday's reverie had consumed too much of his energy.
After walking for a while behind his companions and almost reaching the work place, Tianyun frowned and tightened his thin clothes.
My head feels dizzy, my forehead is hot, my breath is hot, and my body temperature is frighteningly high, which looks like the symptoms of a high fever.
However, Tianyun is not entitled to rest. If he doesn’t finish his work early and can’t get breakfast today, that would be really uncomfortable.
After a while of clattering, Tianyun filled a sack with earth and rocks. Just as he was about to lift it up, he felt sore in his back and waist, and he staggered and almost fell.
"Hey, Tianyun, what's wrong with you!"
The man who took out the photo frame and told everyone the stories told by his ancestors last night was named Qin Dashan. He was quick-witted and quick-handed. He grabbed Tianyun and quickly unloaded the sack.
Although several companions were not particularly familiar with each other, they also slept in the same shack and all looked over to show their concern.
"Oh no! His forehead is so hot! I'm afraid he caught a cold due to the temperature drop last night, which led to a high fever!"
A big man touched Tianyun's forehead, quickly put him down, and put some cold water on Tianyun's face.
Tianyun felt like there was a fire burning in his head and he was dizzy. The shock of the cold water helped him regain some consciousness.
"How is it? Is it still possible?"
Qin Dashan patted Tianyun's face gently and asked with a frown.
Tianyun shook his head and looked at everyone gratefully: "I...I'm fine, I can hold on."
The men all nodded and looked around, but when they didn't see the foreman, they felt relieved.
"You are really something. You didn't get sick earlier or later, but you got sick right after the foreman warned you last night. Ugh..."
An older man, nearly fifty years old, looked unhappy and was obviously worried about something bad.
"Please don't tell the foreman, these are just minor illnesses. Eat something and get through the day and have a good sleep, and you'll be fine..."
Tianyun knew that the black factory did not need useless people, and did not have the patience to treat these poor workers. Especially the foreman, he might use him to establish his authority to show the seriousness of his words last night.
There are a lot of laborers like them out there, but with the world in such chaos these days, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a way to support a family.
The people would rather work in illegal factories and be bullied and do rough labor than stay at home and be drafted by the government to die.
The wages in this black factory are very low and the work is very tiring, but the boss above still has some connections, so at least the workers in the factory will not be arbitrarily pulled together to be cannon fodder.
"Well, we brothers will help you cover it up a little today. I hope the foreman won't see it..."
"And...please don't infect us."
Several workers discussed it and decided to help Tianyun with some work to cover up his illness.
They all work in the same place and life is hard. Everyone hopes that when they encounter similar things, there will be someone to help them.
They help Tianyun in order to help themselves in the future.
Several people started to help Tianyun with the work, and they worked together very quickly.
When getting breakfast, they also lied that Tianyun was still working overtime and took breakfast for him from the foreman, preventing the foreman from seeing Tianyun's pale face.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Near dusk, the foreman with a fierce look on his face found Tianyun, who was pale and staggering.
Whoops!
A thick whip suddenly broke through the air and hit Tianyun's back hard.
The rules of the black factory are strict, and Tianyun has been beaten before, so he wouldn't fall down at the slightest touch.
But he now had a high fever, his body was weak and defenseless, and he screamed in pain and rolled on the ground, his clothes torn and his skin torn.
Seeing Tianyun fell to the ground and didn't get up for a long time, the foreman narrowed his eyes, and his eyes were as cold as a poisonous snake.
"Hey, we just sent away a madman, and now a sickly one appears?"
"Why...are you deliberately making things difficult for me?"
There are many foremen in the black factories. They also have goals and tasks. If they fail to achieve the goals, they will suffer, so the foremen will not be very tolerant and merciful to these workers.
At worst, we can just remove the disabled and sick ones and recruit a new batch.
The foreman was in a bad mood yesterday because a madman under his command was causing trouble and he was reprimanded by his superiors.
Now seeing that Tianyun was sick and looked so weak that it seemed like he wouldn't get better anytime soon, he also felt a surge of irritation.
call--!
The whip broke through the air again, and with a flash of violence in the foreman's eyes, he lashed towards Tianyun's calf hard.
This blow was extremely fierce, and the momentum was heading towards the joints. If it hit, Tianyun's leg would most likely be broken, and large areas of muscle would be forcibly torn apart.
At the moment the whip fell, a look of pity flashed in the eyes of several workers, but when they thought about their own situation which was not much better, they sighed in their hearts.
Their help was limited, and they did everything they could. Unfortunately, Tianyun was unlucky and was almost done with the day's work when he was discovered by the foreman...
Whoosh—pop!
The whip tore the clothes to shreds, taking away large pieces of flesh.
But it didn't fall on Tianyun.
Qin Dashan, who took out the photo frame to tell a story last night, stood in front of Tianyun, took the whip with his back, gritted his teeth and said nothing.
It was not until the whip flew to other places that Qin Dashan turned around, clasped his hands together, and begged the foreman, bending over in pain:
"Foreman, Foreman! Please forgive him. The temperature dropped at night and he accidentally caught a cold. He will recover soon!"
"It won't affect the work in the factory...I...I'll help him!"
Several workers were stunned, and looking at the foreman who was also in a daze, they seemed to have an idea for a moment and wanted to go forward and beg together.
But thinking about the consequences of losing this livelihood, the whole family would not have enough food to eat...they hesitated again and finally remained silent.
The foreman was a big and strong man, standing there like a wall, with an intimidating aura.
The muscles on his arms were bulging, and his right hand was missing a little finger. Plus, he looked fierce, so even without saying a word, he was still a bit scary.
Seeing Qin Dashan begging for mercy for Tianyun, the foreman glanced at the other people with an uncertain expression on his face.
He clenched the whip, as if he was going to let it go, but when he thought of the pressure from his superiors, he took one last glance at the other workers and his face became murderous again.
"Fuck you!"
A gleam of determination flashed across the foreman's eyes, and he suddenly whipped Qin Dashan again.
"what!"
Qin Dashan finally couldn't bear it anymore, and a large piece of flesh was scraped off his arm. After a brief delay, the blood gushed out, and the pain was excruciating.
"You are capable, right? You want to help others, right?!"
"Mr. Qin, don't forget that you have elderly parents and two children to raise at home. You are trying to show off in front of me... You are courting death!"
Before Tianyun, who was lying on the ground, could react, the foreman rushed up again, kicked Qin Dashan to the ground, and hit him several more times.
Hearing Qin Dashan's wailing, several laborers became even more frightened. They did not dare to look at such a tragic scene and quietly turned their heads away.
However, the foreman also secretly glanced at them out of the corner of his eyes. Seeing that they were just dodging and remaining silent, a hint of deep meaning flashed across his face, and a complicated smile gradually formed at the corners of his mouth.
It is bitter, resentful and sarcastic.
In the past, he was just a laborer, a bullied peasant.
It was not until he showed himself to be more ruthless and shrewd than others that he climbed up to this small position of foreman.
If all the workers dared to come out and resist and raise their opinions, it would mean that they were indeed being oppressed too harshly. Perhaps he would be a little more cautious and treat them more gently.
But if only one person dares to speak...that's the troublemaker.
Black factories don't need troublemakers.
The last time he showed mercy to the troublemaker, the person above him cut off one of his fingers as punishment... The foreman regretted it very much and had secretly cursed himself countless times. He would never show any mercy to these peasants again.