Chapter 227: Laborer, Xiao Yucheng

Inside the Chi Army base, there was a busy scene as many logistics officers moved back and forth through the office area.

At the dining table, Zhao Weihu glanced at the limping middle-aged man who had brought him pickled vegetables, asking very concisely: "Old Xiao, you really won't stay?"

The limping middle-aged man thought briefly before still shaking his head replying: "Forget it, won't stay. The No. 1 document clearly states that laborers who don't obey the recall order within the time limit will be considered as automatically giving up Dragon City citizenship qualification or the right to apply for it, with no future opportunity to apply, and it could affect the next generation. My child is sick and needs to go to school in the future - better to go back...!"

Hearing his reply, Zhao Weihu made no attempt to keep him: "Fine, do well back there, find another wife if you get the chance."

"Mm," the limping middle-aged man nodded with a smile.

Just as the two had exchanged a few words, a young man wearing a captain's rank insignia walked in, saluting and calling out: "Commander, these are the funding approval documents submitted by the military finance department."

Zhao Weihu took the documents, roughly scanned the numbers on them, then signed his name in the bottom right corner. "Verbally notify the finance department that for the coming period, all funds involving materials procurement get green-lit, but accounts must match up - whoever dares to embezzle at this time, I'll definitely execute them...!"

Seeing Zhao Weihu busy again, the limping middle-aged man immediately stood up saying: "Commander, I'll go then."

Zhao Weihu showed no emotion on his face, only nodded slightly at him: "Go then - if you can't get used to it there, come back - the command kitchen still has work for you."

"Alright!" The limping middle-aged man nodded heavily before turning to leave the office.

Zhao Weihu drank half a bowl of porridge in two gulps, roughly wiping his mouth: "Call the guards, we're going to the official army command post for a meeting."

Two minutes later, Zhao Weihu left the camp by military vehicle.

......

The limping middle-aged man was called Xiao Yucheng. Thirteen years ago, he was among the first batch of Chinese laborers who responded to the Dragon City government's call to go to Xinaluo for infrastructure support.

At that time, the newly United Government-recognized Mofi regime was in an extremely difficult moment. Due to warming temperatures and resource recovery, numerous regimes wanting to seize this land emerged endlessly - various bandit armies, private armed forces, party armed forces, rebel armies were as numerous as cattle. They united together to fight against the Mofi official army, beating them back repeatedly, somewhat resembling the warlord fighting during the Republic period.

At that time, Dragon City had just completed basic infrastructure and was in a very weak development stage. To ensure border security and stabilize this neighboring region, the Zone One government chose to support the Mofi regime, not only providing materials, money, guns and ammunition, but also sending many laborers into the Xinaluo, Kasalo and other regions to help them build infrastructure - ports, military airports, roads, military factories and other war-supporting basic facilities.

During those years, Zone One whites also had many similar engineers and technical workers dispatched to the Mofi region, but compared to the number of Chinese laborers, they were just a small group of less than ten thousand.

Among the dispatched laborers, 90% of the bottom-level workers were Chinese, and these people all came from Dragon City.

In that era, some Dragon City government leaders and officials were still very strong - they had after all experienced the unification war, and some had blood and dignity, so initially they refused this policy order. But to appease them, the Zone One government agreed to allocate 3 billion in cash to Dragon City for urban development.

Dragon City was newly built and needed money and capital everywhere, so the Dragon City mayor at the time said: "There's really no choice - let's use the sacrifice of a small portion of people to exchange for the stability of the majority."

Thus, nearly 80,000 bottom-level laborers were dispatched to the Mofi region. To increase everyone's enthusiasm, the Dragon City government also made many promises to the laborers, such as being allocated housing before leaving and wages exceeding Dragon City's normal worker levels.

The most attractive condition was that for those bottom-level society members who hadn't obtained Dragon City citizenship, the Political Assistance would provide special approval channels - when laborers completed their tasks and returned, they would be given citizenship without obstacles.

This condition actually attracted quite a few people, because in that era, many Chinese had specifically come to seek relatives after hearing about the rapid development here. They had no military status and weren't military followers from the great evacuation period, so the household registration screening procedures were very complicated - many people had lived here for one or two years without obtaining citizenship, still waiting in line.

To put down roots, the household registration issue had to be solved, so many people went to the Mofi region as laborers for the high benefits and treatment, and Xiao Yucheng was one of them. At that time he had just married and came with his young wife.

But what Xiao Yucheng hadn't expected was that conditions in the Mofi region were not only extremely harsh, but the vast majority of locals were also of very low character - robbers, thieves, traffickers were everywhere. Not only was the living environment dangerous, but the place was also very xenophobic.

So in the first two years, Xiao Yucheng applied several times to return to Dragon City, but considering the wages were indeed very generous, he ultimately endured. After all, he needed to survive, save money, and wait for housing allocation.

Thus he worked for over six years, saved some money, and had a son with his young wife. However during that period, the Mofi government's situation was still not good - regional conflicts continued to escalate, so these laborers' situations were also dangerous. Sometimes while working they would suddenly have to transfer and flee.

During one rebel army counterattack, Xiao Yucheng and his wife were working at the port when several artillery shells came over - his wife fell in the half-finished ruins.

In fact, there were many laborers who died tragically like this, just like several batches of Korean ethnic laborers sent abroad before the 19th century, doing the most dangerous work and liable to lose their lives at any time. The only difference was that Koreans then were working for their ethnicity and country, but Xiao Yucheng and others didn't know who they were working for - many people lost their lives in confusion.

After his wife died, Xiao Yucheng was depressed for a long time. Moreover, Dragon City government leadership had changed twice, and many conditions promised to laborers were repeatedly delayed without fulfillment. Additionally, laborers' wages were paid by the Mofi official army, and they had no money during that period, so laborers' income gradually decreased.

At this time, an extremely disgusting situation occurred - laborers felt wages were too low and wanted to flee back to Dragon City, but if they left individually, that meant not completing their contracts, so the benefits they had earned naturally wouldn't be fulfilled by Political Assistance, including housing and household registration.

This meant many people were forced to stay and continue working, unable to return home. But during that period, the Mofi government and various rebel armies were locked in stalemate, with territory frequently changing hands - for example, sometimes just as a road was completed, that region would be captured, meaning they were working for others. So with the Mofi official army unable to control the situation for so long, they also became lazy about large-scale infrastructure recovery, only doing what was absolutely necessary.

With less and less infrastructure work, laborers' wages became even more pitiful, so many had no choice but to start dealing in materials and doing small business to make some "war profits."

Because he had a child, Xiao Yucheng initially didn't want to deal in materials, as that required frequent travel through war zones where one could easily lose their life carelessly. So he found a fellow townsman who helped him join Zhao Weihu's Chi Army through connections, getting a job working in the kitchen.

At that time Zhao Weihu had just formed his troops and couldn't pay high wages to his subordinates, but at least the logistics department was relatively safe, so Xiao Yucheng worked there for over two more years.

Later, during a troop transfer, the logistics department was ambushed by bandit armies. Xiao Yucheng was hiding in a vehicle when he was hit in the right leg by a stray bullet, becoming disabled.

Being lame, he could no longer work in the army, so like others, Xiao Yucheng also started dealing in materials like grain, cotton, and ready-made clothes in the relatively safe areas of Xinaluo. And because he had specifically cooked for Zhao Weihu before and had some relationship with the Chi Army, he didn't worry too much about sales channels - his small business did quite well and he saved some money.

......

With this No. 1 order issued, the Dragon City government and Zone One Supervision Assembly gave laborers a binary policy. Simply put, if you didn't return within the recall period and stayed locally, then you weren't one of their own anymore and could never apply for citizenship in the future.

This order was extremely disgusting and unreasonable, because the upper government just wanted to impose trade sanctions on the Mofi government with one cut. They feared these laborers who had been out too long would choose to stay locally and continue secretly selling materials, relying on their Chinese identity to establish under-the-table trade lines with Dragon City.

Moreover, the laborers were originally dispatched by the Zone One government - this matter had to be concluded and also needed to show an attitude of "breaking up and cutting ties" with the Mofi regime, so people had to be recalled.

So for laborers like Xiao Yucheng who had stayed outside for over ten years, most had homes and careers, wives and children - if they didn't return, future issues like children's education and life's basic needs would all become problems. So they were forced to give up everything they had accumulated here and return to the now-unfamiliar Dragon City.

However, Xiao Yucheng hadn't yet imagined what he would face upon return.

......

Late at night, on the Yu family sofa, Kong Zhenghui was drinking tea when he suddenly said to Su Tianyu: "Hey, if You Yifan wants to do this business, couldn't we help him find some customers?"

Su Tianyu looked up at him: "You mean the Chi Army?"

"Right!" Kong Zhenghui nodded: "With materials controlled, armed forces like the Chi Army suffer most. They originally had no backing - guns, ammunition, medical supplies, daily necessities all relied on earned military funds to buy from Dragon City... now with one cut they're finished. If we can help connect them, You Yifan will see our sincerity, and we can also sell the Chi Army a favor, don't you think?!"

"Makes sense," Su Tianyu immediately nodded. "You really are an expert at inserting dick into any gap (taking advantage of any opportunity)!"