Being Alive

Huang Xiuyuan took the megaphone and cleared his throat. "Hello, everyone. I'm Huang Xiuyuan, chairman of Blue Era. I came here today mainly to announce a few things."

Looking at these ordinary people—these extraordinary people—he didn't launch into a long-winded speech. Instead, he showed them his sincerity.

"First, we're raising everyone's wages. The base salary will be 1,500 yuan per person. You'll work eight hours a day, and overtime will be paid at double time. Work on holidays will be paid at triple time."

"Boss Huang, is there really that much money?" a burly man in his thirties asked loudly, mustering his courage.

Huang Xiuyuan held the megaphone and answered firmly, "I, Huang, stand by my word. Whether you're full-time or temporary workers, everyone will sign a labor contract in the next few days. It'll all be written down in black and white."

Lin Zifeng, standing to one side, hurriedly started clapping.

The sanitation workers came around too and began applauding excitedly. Their thunderous applause came straight from the heart.

He waved for them to quiet down, then continued, "Second, since we'll be signing contracts, we'll arrange insurance for everyone as well..."

He went on to explain the various benefits and some of the company's requirements. The sanitation workers had never been this happy before. The waves of enthusiastic applause spoke to the excitement they felt.

They all agreed to follow Huang Xiuyuan's rules, including not taking garbage home and the other requirements.

After all, with meals and lodging provided, their base salary doubled, and overtime pay, subsidies, insurance, a special pension, and serious illness assistance on top, the job was nearly as good as working at an electronics factory. Getting fired for breaking the rules would be a terrible loss.

After the speech, Huang Xiuyuan took a commemorative photo with the sanitation workers and shook each of their hands.

The first worker to shake his hand was the middle-aged man who had been the first to ask a question. He was both excited and shy, wiping his hands over and over on his clothes.

Huang Xiuyuan pushed past his mild germophobia and clasped the man's hand tightly. It felt rough and warm. "What's your name? How long have you been doing this?"

"Y-Yes, Boss. My name's Zhang Jianshe. I've been at it for over three years."

"From your accent, you're from Shu Province. That makes us half-fellow townsmen," Huang Xiuyuan said with a smile.

He shook everyone's hand and chatted with them about this and that. Only then did he leave Blue Era by car and head to Guizhuling Industrial Park.

When he arrived at Guizhuling Industrial Park, the ground for Phase One had already been leveled. The concrete had just been poured, and part of the steel framework had been erected.

Phase One covered a total planned area of 100 mu, with factory buildings taking up 60 mu. Of that, 10 mu was for employee dormitories, the factory cafeteria, and office buildings.

The remaining 50 mu was for recycling workshops. They were all fully enclosed, with ten processing lines in total.

Five lines were planned for sorting household waste; one for recycling scrap iron, one for waste paper, one for recovering assorted waste metals, one for waste plastics, and one for waste glass.

Phase One would only handle basic sorting and classification. The factory buildings were expected to be completed around mid-April. After the equipment was tested, the facility might not be fully operational until early June.

Phase Two of the factory was also planned to cover 100 mu, and construction would begin as soon as Phase One was complete.

In fact, the ground leveling, drainage pipes, and concrete paving for Phases Two and Three were already underway at the same time.

After all, building steel-frame factories wouldn't interfere with the groundwork for Phases Two and Three.

Elsewhere.

The district was keeping a close eye on Suiren Company's actions.

Neither the gas company, Hailu Environmental Protection Gas Company, nor the sanitation management company, Blue Era Sanitation Management Company, was a small matter.

The sanitation side was especially important. It involved more than four hundred people, and if the sanitation workers started causing trouble, it would become a serious headache.

Cai Haiyi, who had helped bring about this cooperation, was watching the situation especially closely.

Cai Haiyi was bent over his paperwork when he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw his assistant hurrying in.

"District Chief Cai, Suiren Company has made a move."

He set his work aside and picked up the teacup next to him. "Tell me about it."

"This afternoon, Huang Xiuyuan, Suiren's boss, went to visit the sanitation workers. This is the company's plan for accommodating them." As he spoke, the assistant handed over a rough summary.

Cai Haiyi took it at once and leafed through it. Then he asked incredulously, "Are you sure this is Suiren Company's plan?"

The assistant looked just as helpless. "I've verified the details with several sanitation workers. There shouldn't be much difference from what's written here. They're supposed to sign contracts in the next few days, so it should be genuine."

"How are they going to make money paying those wages? Five million yuan wouldn't even cover the payroll, would it?" Cai Haiyi asked, frowning.

The assistant was equally baffled. Given the scale of Suiren Company's investment, it was practically impossible to recoup the costs. Surely they weren't going to ask the district for subsidies?

"Find an opportunity to sound out Suiren. See if they need a loan. We can ask the bank to offer them a lower interest rate."

"No problem."

Cai Haiyi was in a bind. If Suiren Company went bust within a year or two, he, as the person responsible for bringing about the cooperation, would certainly suffer for it.

If the time came, lending Suiren Company a hand was an option.

After the meeting at Blue Era, the sanitation workers returned to their jobs and worked even harder.

For working people, happiness was often simple and humble.

Around ten that night, after collecting the last batch of garbage, these weather-beaten people finally returned to their little homes, exhausted and carrying some leftovers.

Most sanitation workers lived on the outskirts, between the city and the countryside. Some even lived beside garbage dumps.

Driving his beat-up three-wheeled vehicle, Zhang Jianshe went past the entrance to Shanzhi Institute and onto a deeply rutted dirt road. The land here belonged to Xinlou Village.

Piles of construction waste lined both sides of the road. At its far end, with no streetlights to be seen, stood a row of ramshackle "houses." Some had crude frames made of discarded bricks, others of bamboo and wood salvaged from the trash.

Their roofs were covered with tarpaulin or asbestos sheets. A few wooden poles supported an old power line, whose dim yellow bulbs lit up more than ten rooms.

A few houses even kept chickens, ducks, and pigs out back. They fed them with swill scavenged from the trash.

Zhang Jianshe poured the leftovers into a large bucket.

His wife took a bag of relatively clean leftovers from the three-wheeler and heated them up.

They busied themselves for over half an hour.

"Old Zhang, dinner's ready."

Hearing his wife call, he hurriedly washed his hands and sat down on a broken wooden stool. He shoveled rice into his mouth and picked up a piece of poached chicken.

The leftovers had been packed up for him by a wealthy family whose garbage he often collected.

Watching his son wolf down his food, his little face grubby, Zhang Jianshe thought of how the boy would start primary school next year. He secretly resolved to work hard and earn more overtime pay.

Nearby, his wife stood beside a large stove. She put leftovers together with vegetable scraps from the market in a big pot, then burned discarded construction lumber beneath it.

Once the mixture had boiled and cooled, she stirred in some feed and took it to the pigs.

This was how sanitation workers in small towns got by: struggling to stay alive in conditions that were terribly harsh.

Thanks for all your support! A big thank-you to readers "Yuming Daoren" and "Guangsu Feng" for the tips!