How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

"what's your name?"

"My name is Lü Xiaocui, and I'm from Jiuhuangzhuang." Qingru once again disguised herself as a rustic village girl, trying her best to imitate the nervousness of someone who had just arrived in the city, and followed closely behind the foreman.

The foreman looked her up and down, and seeing that she was a healthy but ugly village girl, he put her name on the books.

"Go in. You're one of my contracted workers. From now on, call me boss. Your foreman in the factory is called 'Namowen,' understand? Don't get it wrong. There are nearly a hundred 'Namowen' (foremen, a homonym for NO.1) in this factory, most of them are Japanese. There are a lot of people here, so make sure you recognize me and don't go to the wrong person."

"Yes, yes, I remember, I definitely won't run around, don't worry." Qingru showed a flattering smile.

He sighed inwardly, thankful that Chief Zhang was so resourceful that he was able to get a job at the yarn factory so quickly.

The foreman was named Zhang Dali. He was a big, burly man with a fierce face, and he didn't look like someone to mess with. However, he was similar in build to Guiying's boss at the time.

Zhang Dali led her and several other girls through a maze of twists and turns to the factory gate for inspection. The inspection was rather crude; the gatekeepers casually glanced at the girls, then, under the guise of inspection, tugged at their sleeves and pulled their braids.

Qingru leaned back slightly, deliberately furrowing her brows, baring her teeth, and lowering her head.

A young doorman, having failed to get what he wanted, came to Qingru's place.

"Hey, look up and take a look."

Qingru looked up and gave him a "hehe" smile.

"Pfft!" The gatekeeper was startled. "What monster? Get out of here!"

Seeing the commotion, Zhang Dali walked over unhappily and shoved Qingru to the ground. "Don't you have any sense? If you dare to offend these guys, you're going against me. You'll regret it."

This is when the foreman revealed his true colors. Qingru glared at him with her head down, then silently got up, repeatedly apologizing, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Forget it, forget it. Seeing you is bad luck. Don't hang around in front of me." The gatekeeper shooed Qingru away like a fly, and Zhang Dali quickly pulled Qingru away.

The girls followed closely behind, afraid of upsetting the boss again, since they were all there to earn some money.

Zhang Dali was very familiar with the environment here, and he led them along paths that were usually deserted. This worried Qingru greatly. If there were such narrow paths, how would she find her way?

"Boss Zhang, this isn't a factory here. I can't find anyone here."

Zhang Dali turned around impatiently and roared, "I'm the boss, you're the boss. If I tell you to come with me, then come with me. If you keep dragging your feet, you'll just lose money and then get out of here. Damn it, are people hard to find these days?"

The girls were so frightened that they quickly tried to persuade Qingru, "Don't watch anymore, we'll see you again sometime."

"Yes, yes, let's hurry up and leave, the compensation is no small amount."

Qingru opened her mouth, but then thought better of it and decided against it. There was no need to rush; she would find another way.

At this hour, everyone is probably working; the roar of machines is right next to you. There are few people to be seen, only the chaotic footsteps that can be heard, probably from some supervisor on inspection.

The girls listened with excitement, their faces beaming. This was a sound they never heard in the countryside; it meant they had jobs and could support themselves in the future.

Unlike them, Qingru was not happy. She stayed behind the group, not daring to stray too far, and observed her surroundings as she walked.

The road twisted and turned, becoming increasingly remote, and they were getting further and further away from the textile factory. The road was also getting narrower. The girls who had been trying to persuade Qingru were starting to panic. They had just passed the textile factory, but where were they going now?

Seeing that they were finally starting to realize what was happening, Qingru sighed inwardly. How pitiful. They all came with high hopes; who knew what life would hold for them?

Ignoring their reactions, Zhang Dali quickened his pace and walked forward. The girls, fearing they would fall behind, hurriedly ran after him.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the group arrived at a deserted garden. There were waist-high weeds and piles of cement pipes hidden among them, about a dozen of them.

Qingru had never seen such a large cement pipe before. It was about two or three meters long and about one meter in diameter. She didn't know what it was used for.

These cement pipes are not laid out individually on the ground, but stacked in groups of several, forming a pyramid shape from bottom to top, in the form of "three, two, one".

The other girls were also unfamiliar to her, but they were all timid and shy, unlike Qingru who looked around curiously.

As she got closer, Qingru could see that the messy, dirty bedding scattered around the drainpipes was piled up in a heap, still emitting a foul stench even in the dead of winter.

My heart skipped a beat; I had a slightly bad feeling.

"Pick a room; this will be your dormitory from now on."

"What?!" Shocked, several shy girls couldn't help but gasp, startling a few wiry girls who poked their heads out of the pipe. Her entire head seemed to be nothing but skin; her expressionless eyes glanced at them, as if blaming them for disturbing her sweet dream, before retreating back inside.

Qingru was also surprised, both by the environment and by the people.

I've never seen anyone so frighteningly thin. Even Guiying and the others, though thin, were lean and strong, their eyes shining. Unlike those girls just now, whose eyes were full of numbness and emptiness, as if they were just living by instinct.

Qingru suddenly felt more worried about this rescue.

"This is it! What kind of better environment do you want? Don't you know what you're here for? You worthless bastards, you want to enjoy life before you've even made any money!?" Zhang Dali roared, his face fierce.

As he spoke, he pulled a whip from his waist without anyone noticing, and started cracking it in front of them. With a "crack," it struck the ground, kicking up a layer of flying snow.

Qingru swallowed hard. If she wasn't mistaken, the whip had barbs on it. If someone were to be hit by this whip once, the wound would probably tear off a piece of flesh.

The girls huddled together, trembling, feeling utterly cheated. They had been promised "high-rise houses, fine clothes and sumptuous food, and all sorts of modern buildings to play in." But now, it was far from what they had imagined.

Zhang Dali sneered disdainfully, "Don't even think about the kind of life you're living. Whoever comes here has no choice but to obey and work hard. You'll be seeing your families in five years. Alright, hurry up and choose, we still have work to do today!"

"Besides," Zhang Dali said with a sly smile, "I said I'd provide you with food and lodging, and here it is, isn't that what I promised? You have a place to stay, and when it's mealtime, there will be plenty of delicacies. You're all out here working, what kind of good environment are you expecting? You still want to go to the countryside to forage for food? You might as well be a factory worker in the city and earn some money. You think it's too bad? If you think it's too bad, then go earn it yourself."

The accommodation did indeed materialize, but it was far from the promised environment. As for the "delicacies" he mentioned, Qingru didn't have any illusions and figured it probably wouldn't be anything good.

Several girls had also thought of it, but they didn't dare to say anything.

Qingru didn't delay any longer and was the first to step forward, "Can I stay there?"

Zhang Dali looked in the direction she pointed. It was a high place, cold and windy, and people rarely chose that spot. Zhang Dali snorted, "Whatever."

Qingru deliberately chose the highest one, so that she could easily observe the surrounding situation and be far away from the crowd. This would make it easier for her to do things secretly without being seen.

With Qingru setting an example, Zhang Dali rarely showed an approving look, "You guys hurry up too."

Seeing that Qingru was so savvy, the other girls also pointed to a pipe that looked alright.

"Stop! Take out your bundle."

Qingru was stopped. She was on her way to the pipe she had chosen when she heard this. She gripped her bundle tightly and became alert. "Boss, there are only my clothes in here. There's nothing valuable."

"Stop talking nonsense." Zhang Dali didn't stand on ceremony with her. He snatched Qingru's luggage, shook it on the ground, stuffed the thirty silver dollars she had signed into her contract into his pocket, and strode away.

"There's no door or lock here, so you might lose it if you carry it with you. I'll keep it safe for you."

"No need, I..."

"Get lost!" Zhang Dali told him to get out of there. "It's for your own good. Don't be so ungrateful. Get out of here."

The money hadn't even been warmed in Qingru's hands before it was taken away as a matter of course.

She wanted to confront him, but the girls who came with her all turned their heads away and ignored her. Their contract money was in the hands of their families, which was slightly better than Qingru's situation. Moreover, they were timid and fearful, and had no power, so they were afraid of causing trouble.

Qingru had no choice but to stop and pick up her luggage. Fortunately, Zhang Dali didn't recognize its value and didn't take her clothes or search her.

She was carrying "good stuff" with her—drugs, laxatives, and wound medicines. Guo Zixing had somehow collected them all, stuffing a bunch into her hands, saying they might come in handy in the future.

Zhang Dali left without saying anything before he left. Seeing that he probably wouldn't be coming back anytime soon, the girls started to sob quietly.

"Liars, they're all liars. That's not what they said when they came."

Seeing that they were crying so hard, but their words didn't seem to indicate that they wanted to leave, Qingru tentatively asked, "So, are you leaving?"

"Leave?" The girl who was crying the loudest looked up at Qingru. "How can we leave? We've all signed indentures!"

"Why should we leave? We're here to make money."

Qingru wanted to say that things might get even harder in the future, but there were more than just them here, and she didn't know what kind of people they were, so she didn't say anything.

The girl who had just peeked out peeked out again, staring blankly in their direction, and suddenly said, "Crying will get you beaten, it's considered unlucky."

The girl's crying stopped abruptly, and she looked at the emaciated girl with a hint of resentment, "Who are you?"

"Reed stick." She hesitated for a long time before giving a nickname.

"Pfft, who has that name? That's hilarious."

"But you live up to your name, you really do want to be with Reed Stick."

The reed stalks came to see them for a while, perhaps envying their vibrancy. A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in their eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

She shrank back and stopped talking. Qingru suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. She also had a younger sister, and she couldn't help but feel pity for those younger than herself.

Qingru followed her back into her pipe, which was extremely dark and smelled foul. When she saw Qingru, she only glanced at her before closing her eyes again, as if she were resting.

"Here you go." Qingru took out a piece of candy from her bosom. "I brought this from home. Have a taste, it'll sweeten your mouth."

Luchabanger opened her eyes again and looked at the candy in her hand. The candy was wrapped in a small piece of oil paper, and even in this cramped space, it exuded a sweet fragrance. She swallowed and said, "Take it. There won't be any more like this in the future."

Qingru asked, puzzled, "What do you mean? Didn't the boss just say that we were eating delicacies from land and sea?" There was a lot of joking about that, and Qingru didn't know that it couldn't possibly be that good.

Luchaibang struggled to open his eyes, but ultimately couldn't resist the sweet aroma of the candy. He took it from Qingru's hand, eagerly unwrapped the oil paper, put the candy wrapped in glutinous rice paper into his mouth, sucked on it for a while, and then spat it out. He carefully wrapped it in oil paper and quickly picked up the water bottle next to him and drank a few mouthfuls of cold water.

"I haven't felt this full in a long time."

She wore a satisfied expression, but Qingru was deeply alarmed. It seemed she... didn't yet have a clear understanding of her situation.

"Sister, you will be rewarded, thank you."

Qingru blushed for a moment, but she had only done it on a whim. "Do you want more? I took a few more; they're all in my pocket."

Reed Stick felt like it was covering her mouth. "Shh, don't speak loudly. You should hide it well. Take it out to eat when you're not full. Don't tell anyone, and I won't either."

"And let me tell you, you'll never have enough to eat in the future. I'm here to cook for the female workers."

Seeing her solemn expression, Qingru was somewhat incredulous, but she nodded nonetheless.

Seeing that she had listened, Luchaibang let go of her. "You'd better hurry up and get your lodging ready. It'll get chilly tonight, be careful you don't have trouble getting through."

With her advice, Qingru quickly took her leave and ran to the place she had chosen.

After saying these words, Luchaibang leaned against the wall as if he had used up a lot of strength, panting heavily.

The cylindrical pipe was uneven, so she was essentially hunched over, which didn't make her much more comfortable.

After resting for a while, Luchabang poured the water from the kettle into a broken bowl, took out the candy, washed it, licked the candy wrapper clean, and then carefully put it into his pocket.

The reed stalk crawled inside, lifted a corner of the tattered quilt, and found a person fast asleep inside, so thin that the quilt couldn't even be lifted up.

"Hey, wake up, here's a sweet treat for you, so you won't suffer like this in your next life."

Unfortunately, the girl didn't respond again. In such cold weather, there was no breath coming out of her nostrils, and her body remained cold and stiff.

The reed stick was not afraid at all, laughing and crying, "Good, you're free now, you didn't even wait for me."

"Ha ha……"