How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Night had fallen when Qingru followed Zhang Dali and his group to their workplace.

The cement-gray walls were only tiled on the outside; the inside was a dull gray, and you'd get covered in dust if you leaned against them.

Despite it being the dead of winter, the temperature inside the factory was quite high. Since windows couldn't be opened for ventilation, the machines were deafeningly loud, and cotton wool was flying everywhere in the air…

The people inside were covered with a layer of grayish-white dust on their heads and bodies. Except for those that blocked the view, which could be swept away with a few waving motions, everyone else was busy operating machines.

Qingru gently waved away the dust in front of her, and couldn't help but cough a few times. Fortunately, the machine was loud, and she didn't see the small vibrating tube.

Most of the workers here are women. There are both women and men patrolling back and forth. The female workers above are called "little supervisors," and the foreman is called "Namowen."

Qingru suspected that the female workers here all suffered from serious respiratory illnesses. In such a harsh working environment, they inhaled countless amounts of dust and lint. It was unbearably hot and stuffy here, and if they covered their mouths and noses, it was difficult to breathe.

Even worse, when Qingru saw some female workers accidentally burn themselves on copper coins, she would rush out and plunge into the snow, only to have her hands frozen before running back to work.

She remembered what Luchai had whispered to her: some girls were crushed to death by machines and were only dealt with hastily. Those who were wrapped in straw mats and thrown out were considered lucky; some were simply thrown out.

Most of them come from various rural areas, and their families can't even find their way in the city, let alone seek justice for them. It's very difficult for them to get proper compensation.

Qingru noticed that there were Indian police officers guarding the entrance, which shocked her, as she had never known this before.

"Get to work! Stop slacking off! Get up!" A commotion erupted, and a man who looked somewhat respectable, presumably a minor official, grabbed a long ruler and swung it at the fallen female worker. The woman, clearly exhausted from long hours of work, was only half-dead on the ground, screaming in terror, "Ah, ah, ah! I won't do it again! Don't hit me anymore! I'll rest for a bit, just a bit, I'll get up right away!"

Qingru's heart clenched. The female worker's face was as pale as paper, her lips were cracked, and the whites of her eyes were cloudy; she was clearly exhausted. But Xiao Dangguan became even angrier upon hearing this. As if her authority had been challenged, she treated the female worker as if she were not human, whipping her again. None of the other female workers around looked at them, clearly used to it.

The other group leaders stood by watching the "funny," even giving her pointers on how to hit people to make them more obedient.

The female worker rolled on the ground and gradually fell silent. The small vibrator broke three long rulers before it finally stopped.

Qingru was filled with turmoil. What did human lives mean here? Had she come to a factory or to hell?

The young slut was furious. After catching his breath, he threw the broken ruler on the ground, kicked the female worker on the ground, and seeing that she was limp and unresponsive, he spat at her, "Pah, useless now."

"You two, drag her out." Qingru was somewhat frightened when she saw her being pointed at, after all, she had just killed someone.

Qingru and Qiushuang stood there, stunned, not knowing what to do.

The young slut glared at him and said, "Come here."

Zhang Dali then stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "This is a worker I just signed. He hasn't started working yet. I'm just bringing him here for training. Don't talk about him like that."

When the young manager saw that it was the foreman, his expression softened slightly. "What's wrong with helping out? I'll have my people take them in later, okay?"

“Okay, why not? You two, follow Sister Qing and carry this person out.”

Qingru suppressed her fear and silently walked towards the female worker on the ground. Qiushuang gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and let her tears fall to the ground one by one. She also followed Qingru to carry the woman.

Qingru touched the person and found they were still warm, but she guessed the chances of survival were slim. "Where should we take them?"

The young man turned to look at Qingru and said perfunctorily, "Take him to where you live, splash him with a basin of cold water, and if he wakes up, bring him back; if not, just leave him there."

The unconscious person was exceptionally heavy. Qingru and Qiushuang tried to lift him but couldn't, so they had to take turns carrying him back.

Upon arriving at their lodgings, Qingru carefully put the person down before rubbing her aching arms.

Qiu Shuang, who was carrying people back with them, couldn't take it anymore and started crying, "I can't take it anymore, I want to go home."

Qingru didn't know what to say, so she patted her shoulder and hinted, "It will be alright, everything will be alright in the future."

After speaking, Qingru focused her attention on the unconscious girl. She noticed a cloth tag in front of her tattered clothes that read "Liu Cui". She sighed slightly. Even if she couldn't save her, at least she would know how to erect a tombstone.

The crying girl had run away at some point. Qingru didn't have time to pay attention to her, so she used all the little knowledge she had about saving lives, such as chest compressions and breathing exercises, but Liu Cui's condition did not improve.

Lu Chaibang'er reached over, examined Liu Cui's eyes, and shook his head at Qingru, "She's beyond saving. She doesn't want to live anymore."

Qingru's eyes turned red. "Is there really no hope? Why doesn't she want to live anymore? As long as she's alive and thinking, there's still hope. She still has family."

Lu Chaibang didn't know what to say, so he just sat silently next to Qingru and said, "It's too hard. She doesn't want to live anymore."

Qingru, with tears streaming down her face, refused to acknowledge the person and continued to save them, while Luchaibang just watched.

Finally, Liu Cui's last breath was gone, and she stiffened.

Witnessing a life slip away before her eyes, Qingru could no longer hold back her tears. Luchaibang'er wrapped his arms around her and reminded her, "Keep it down, you can only cry for a little while." Thinking of the people patrolling around them, Qingru suppressed her pain and hugged Luchaibang'er back, saying, "Live well, live on, you will be saved."

"Okay, I believe you!"

The other four girls that Zhang Dali brought with him stayed behind. Lu Chaibang said they wouldn't be coming back tonight; they had to learn how to use the machines and would return with the other workers early tomorrow morning.

"One night? Don't you get a break while working here?"

"The rooster crows in the morning and the ghosts howl at night. We work in shifts like this. As long as the machines keep running, we make money. The boss has divided the people into two groups, so they can work back and forth. If you're not here tonight, then you'll be working with the people who just came back tomorrow morning."

Listening to Luchaibang'er's explanation, Qingru looked at the forty or so female workers who had returned. Most of them were young, but they were exhausted. They ate their meal and went straight to sleep, and now they were snoring.

Qingru fell silent. Working during the day gave her time to contact Chief Zhang's sister. They were legitimate workers and not here at night. By a twist of fate, she had inadvertently fulfilled her plan.

Mrs. Zhang came over after receiving the news and took a few glances. Seeing that the person was already dead, she was very disgusted. "Quickly drag the person away, don't let him rot here and cause some kind of disease to spread."

Qingru asked, "Where are we taking it?"

Mrs. Zhang, blowing air into her sleeves, looked at Luchaibang'er upon hearing this, "You take them there and familiarize them with the way. It's such a hassle to keep asking them questions."

Perhaps because they thought it was unlucky for someone to have died, no one came to wake her and Qiushuang that night.

Upon learning that the person was to be dragged to a mass grave, Qiu Shuang hesitated. "Can I not go? My stomach hurts, I'm on my period, and I was barely holding it in during that last trip. Xiao Cui, can you help me? This person even shares your name, what a coincidence!"

Upon hearing "Xiao Cui" for the first time, Qingru almost didn't realize that she was being called. However, Qingru didn't have anything to say about her deserting at the last minute, as she happened to have something to ask Luchaibang'er.

"Then you can rest. Lu and I... I'll go with her."

"Okay, I'll go again next time. Thank you."

She really doesn't know how to talk. Will this kind of thing happen again? But Qingru didn't have time to care about these things. In just one day, two lives had been lost. Even she was starting to feel overwhelmed.

The sooner we rescue them, the more lives we can save.

Lu Chai Bang'er lit a kerosene lamp, then took out two thick, round wooden sticks and threw them on the ground. "Tie her up, and we'll drag her away."

Qingru had nothing to say. She tied Liu Cui's body to two logs and, along with Reed Stick, pulled her towards the mass grave.

This place was already remote, and there wasn't a soul in sight near the mass grave.

After looking around and confirming that no one was around, Qingru asked, "This place is in a remote location. Has no one ever tried to escape from here?"

"How could there be no one? They're all dead," said Reed Stick. "There may be no one here, but there are things more terrifying than people. Be careful not to get cut by the rocks and weeds."

Qingru became alert. "What's around here?"

"The dogs are big wolfhounds, all raised on raw meat. Although this is a mass grave, it's still within the textile factory area. There's a wall about ten meters away, and dog cages are right at the base of the wall. As soon as you get past them, even if they can't bite you, their barking will be enough to attract the guards."

A hint of surprise flashed in Qingru's eyes. "How did you know?"

Luchai Bang'er paused for a moment, then said, "The one who died was my sister."

Qingru understood and regretted asking the question, but Luchaibang didn't care. "He's dead, it's nothing, you don't need to worry about it."

“I also have a younger sister. Hearing you say this makes me feel a little sad.” Qingru opened up to her for the first time. “What’s your name? I only hear them call you ‘reed stick’.”

“My name is…” Luchaibang’er lowered his eyes, hiding the lost light in them, “My name is Xiaofuzi.”

Actually, her name should have been Xiao Luzi, meaning "Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity." That was her parents' original plan; if they had another child, they would name them that way. But when she was born, her mother lost the "Longevity" part of her name, and soon after, her father also lost his. Later, she was tricked into coming here, and not long after, her older sister also passed away.

"Let me live on in your place, sister," Luchaiban silently said in her heart.

Unable to comfort her, Qingru quickened her pace, saying, "Let's hurry and go back to rest as soon as possible."

"From now on, in front of others, you can still call me Reed Stick."

"Okay," Qingru replied, and in the blink of an eye they arrived at the mass grave.

It's called a mass burial ground, but it's really just a large mound of earth filled with discarded items, including swill and toilets.

A sense of sorrow and anger welled up in Qingru's eyes. What do these people think human lives are?!

Luchaibang urged Qingru to dig a hole, "Stop looking, hurry up and buy the person, otherwise those wolfhounds will dig them out and eat them when they are starving."

Qingru came to her senses. "Is that why you kept Sun Qiao'er around?"

Luchaiban nodded, digging as he spoke, "Are you trying to escape?"

Qingru's heart skipped a beat. Was her purpose really that obvious? Even a child could see it.

“As soon as you arrived, I knew you were different from the others. You weren’t afraid of people, nor were you curious, but you would look around and ask all sorts of questions. I knew that newcomers wouldn’t be like that; they wouldn’t be timid, curious, or shy… You weren’t like that.”

Qingru broke out in a cold sweat. "Is it really that obvious?"

“No,” said Luchaibang’er, “I just want to escape too, so I’m paying extra attention to see if there are any others like me.”

Seeing that Qingru still had some reservations, Luchaibang'er simply revealed everything about himself. "My family name is Chai, which is one of the reasons why they call me Luchaibang'er. My family is in Jiuhuangzhuang, Sifangcheng. Everyone in my family has died, and I am the only one left. There is nothing to worry about."

“Jiuhuangzhuang? I go there often, how come I’ve never seen you there before?”

Luchaibang'er was also surprised, "That's my mother's hometown. I've never been there. I've only heard her say it's nice, but I've never actually been there."

The shared hometown brought the two closer. After burying Liu Cui, they didn't plan to return immediately. They found a relatively secluded corner to talk. No one came here, and no one would bother them at night, so they spoke more boldly.

“Xiao Fuzi, believe it or not, I’m here to save you. I’m from the police station. I received news that something was wrong at the yarn factory. I’m here to find evidence. As long as we have evidence, we can go to court and seek justice.”

Reed Stick also got excited, "Are you serious? Someone really cares about whether we live or die?"

"It's true, don't worry. If you do something good, you'll be compensated."

Luchaibang'er cheered up. She had been hopeless for too long. She was young and weak, and she had witnessed how her older sister died when she tried to escape. She didn't want to give in, nor did she want to resist.

Qingru briefly explained her plan, and Luchaibang'er immediately offered to help.

"I help with cooking, and I can go to other places to collect firewood."

Here, Luchaibang'er is definitely more familiar with the area than Qingru, and with her help, things will be much easier.

Qingru handed a piece of oiled paper to Luchaibang'er, "Here's a piece of paper for you. Can you draw? Just draw a simple picture of the environment here."

Luchabanger carefully tucked the paper away and promised, "Don't worry, I will definitely draw it well."

The two exchanged a smile, a tacit understanding forming between them, which brought a glimmer of hope to this cold and hopeless winter.