Siheyuan: Taking over the steel mill

Most of the residential areas here are temporarily built with wooden boards that are about to collapse, and the better stone houses are also crooked and uneven, which makes many people worried.

However, after learning that they had a chance to get land and housing, people were still enthusiastic. Jia Banggeng followed the team and soon it was his turn, and the staff immediately registered him.

The person responsible for recording the information was dispatched by ** and had no direct connection with the labor dispatch company that Su Chen belonged to. "What's your name?" "Jia Banggeng." "How old are you?"

When asked, Jia Banggeng verbally replied with relevant information one by one. Soon, after the registration was completed, the administrator indicated to him: "You will be led to that side later. You will need to draw lots to decide which plot of land and which house you will be assigned."

In response, Jia Banggeng asked in confusion: "Isn't it allocated by the state in advance?"

The administrator explained: "The quality of the land is uneven. If it is divided artificially, it will inevitably cause controversy. It is better to draw lots and randomly distribute it, relying on luck." Hearing this, Jia Banggeng nodded in agreement: "That's good."

The administrator nodded and urged the next team member to go forward to complete the formalities. So Jia Banggeng followed the other people who had completed the registration and moved to the queue set up for the allocation of land and housing.

Since the dispatch company only sent a small number of people this time, the land in Ethiopia can still cope with it.

Finally, after the people in front of him had finished their work, Banggeng slowly walked to the front desk. The black lacquer box there contained countless unknowns, and each stack of paper was a possibility for the future. There was no difference between the notes, and neither good nor bad was foreseeable, so he randomly picked one and handed it to the staff.

The staff member took the note from Bang Geng and glanced at it, then handed him a form and said softly, "This is the location of your plot and your dormitory number, Room 301."

After filling in the form, Banggeng noticed that the paper marked the field he would be responsible for. Although the land was only two acres, it was not large, but for a strong man, it was not a challenge, especially considering that this desolate land needed to be reclaimed.

In order to turn this barren land into a fertile farming area, it will undoubtedly take time. Therefore, ** did not force the laborers to work day and night for the time being, but gave them a reasonable time plan.

However, facing this designated field, Banggeng did not feel much joy in his heart. In his eyes, this field seemed more like a constraint than an opportunity. After completing all the procedures, he followed the instructions to go to the dormitory.

The notice board on the road caught Banggeng's attention, but the incentive policy it displayed - those who complete the land reclamation faster will receive more high-quality seeds and preferential repurchase prices - was not attractive to him. His goal was clear: he came here to make money, not to farm.

The notice board also listed the reclamation and development plan in detail, but for Banggeng, it all seemed far away and irrelevant. Although others were ecstatic about getting land, thinking that they had obtained a piece of land of their own by going abroad, and some even thought that they would do hard labor, they never thought that they would come to farm.

They think it is a blessing, "It is beyond imagination to have a piece of land of our own in a foreign country."

"I thought I would be a miner when I came overseas, but I didn't expect that I could also farm, and I'm quite good at it."

"As long as you have land, you can grow crops. If the crops grow well, the government will buy them back at a high price, and living conditions will be much better than at home."

In their eyes, this is an opportunity to escape poverty in their hometown. In China, they have to pay for the purchase of seeds themselves, but here, everything is provided free of charge by the government, which makes them full of hope for the future.

But behind the joy of these people, Bang Geng seemed particularly abrupt. He frowned, not interested in the environment here at all. He had never farmed or done similar work. He grew up under the pampering of Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi, and was unfamiliar and resistant to this sudden physical work.

Facing the upcoming day after day of land labor, Banggen not only had no expectations, but also developed a strong resistance. In his opinion, farming here was not fundamentally different from staying in his hometown and enduring poverty. So, he gradually had an idea in his mind: escape from here and find another land with more freedom - such as going to **.

Banggeng had never experienced such a difficult life before, and his rejection and disgust were beyond words. This place, far away from civilization, had a distinct sense of backwardness, whether compared with the capital or the countryside in China.

Although the workers of the Red Star Steel Mill have cultivated a small vegetable plot on this barren land, they actually live and work in the Ethiopian military camp, so most of this desolate land remains unexplored or developed. Except for some people assigned by the state to occasionally conduct preliminary surveys on the soil quality here, the rest of the time it is almost dormant.

Bang Geng and his companions set foot on this new continent, which means that everything has to be built from scratch for their new life. Whether it is accommodation facilities or farmland development, every step has to be done by themselves. Therefore, in the initial stage of arrival, in addition to setting up a temporary residence - a tent, the next task is to build a more stable housing as soon as possible. The "No. 301" residence assigned to Bang Geng is actually a simple personal tent, and they are obliged to complete the construction of the dormitory within the next ten days.

Fortunately, this group of people included several veterans who had worked in the construction industry. It seemed not impossible to build a building that could support hundreds of people in just ten days. However, for Banggeng, the waiting time was too long, and he didn't want to stay any longer. Thinking of spending several years here, he couldn't help but be filled with fear, as if such an environment was enough to drive people crazy. When they first arrived in the wasteland, they stayed in the camp of the Ethiopian ** troops and enjoyed a full meal there. It was because of Su Chen's connections in the local area that made this meal possible.

Although this is the only decent meal that can be provided locally, after all, Ethiopia is extremely short of supplies. Fortunately, a batch of food has been transported from China, which can temporarily meet the food needs of this group of people in the early stage of construction; and future supplies can be obtained from their hometown through further logistics transportation, although this will increase the cost. The problem of eating can not be completely solved until the crops in the fields are mature and harvested.

However, even under the harsh conditions, the food in the barracks was still hard to swallow, and it pales in comparison to the delicious food in his memory. This made Banggeng more determined to escape from this place. He had heard that there were opportunities and wealth in the ** land, and he was worried that if he continued to stay here, he might not even have enough money to go to ** in the future.

After a short break, everyone started the first step of building a new home: building a food storage warehouse and a hut for placing materials. In one day, the empty land was quickly given a new look - a warehouse appeared... Throughout the afternoon, even Banggeng, who had always lived a privileged life and had never experienced hard labor, was involved in the heavy work. When he thought about repeating this hard work every day in the future, he became more eager to plan to escape as soon as possible.

Therefore, on the day they officially arrived in Ethiopia, Bang Geng couldn't sleep all night. When it was dark and most people were asleep, Bang Geng quietly moved towards the warehouse. Because they had just arrived and didn't consider the safety issue, there were no people patrolling and guarding the warehouse at night. In this way, he easily entered the warehouse without attracting any attention.

Once inside the warehouse, Banggeng quickly found the place where the food was previously stored, and quickly took away some supplies. Then he quietly left the warehouse and disappeared into the dark night.

Although he knew nothing about Ethiopia, leaving here seemed more attractive to him than doing hard labor in the desert.

So Bang Geng stole some food from the warehouse and hid it.

He remembered the direction to the beach, so he slipped out of the camp under the cover of night and ran towards the beach.

Although there was still a few kilometers to go, it was not difficult for Bangteng to find the way back in this vast grassland.

Holding the hidden food, he set out on his journey with confidence.

"Who would stay in a place like this? I'm going to ** to make money!"

Banggeng muttered and carried with him a steel pipe he got from the warehouse for self-protection.

He had never been to Ethiopia, but speculated that it might be as dangerous as other poor areas because people in poor places are usually more radical.

Considering the possible security threats, Banggeng prepared self-defense weapons, thinking that if he encountered the indigenous people, he could teach them a lesson.

But he thought he wouldn't be so unlucky to meet them.

As long as you return along the same route you took when you went down the mountain during the day, find a boat, give him money and ask him to take you to **, everything will be fine.

Bang Geng's idea was simple: reaching the port meant everything would be done. He didn't know how terrible Ethiopia was at night.

The cries of wild animals on the grassland made him a little scared, but he still headed towards the port firmly.

This trip was of great importance. He believed that there would be no turning back once he reached Ethiopia, and he had to reach **.

His mind was full of longing for ** wealth. As long as he got there, the wealth would be waiting for him to pick up at his feet.

It was this idea that gave Bang Geng his unwavering determination. No matter what strange animal calls he heard, he would head towards the port without hesitation. This became the belief that supported him.

During his first day in Ethiopia, Banggeng had nothing to gain except hardship. He had no intention of cultivating the land allocated to him. Even if he built a warehouse, it was extremely simple and not as good as the storage room at home.

Bang Geng signed a three-year contract with a labor agency and had to stay in Africa for at least three years. He couldn't stand the thought of spending the next three years in this doghouse-like living environment.

Therefore, he thought fleeing was a reasonable move.