Making a living in Dongguan, her fiery red lips offer me tenderness.

Ding Yang also had his own ulterior motives.

"Boss, take this and smoke it. A friend gave it to me yesterday. I didn't really want to buy this cigarette myself. Actually, I'm not used to smoking this kind of cigarette."

"That won't do, there's still half a pack left."

"It's alright, thank you for giving me work. There's only half a pack left, please don't mind."

"Alright, handsome, you're a man of the underworld. I'll be your friend. From now on, just call me Old Li. I'm from Li's House."

"Brother Li, I'm new here and haven't found any work yet. If there's any work in the future, just let me do it. I'll definitely do it well."

"Okay, no problem!"

"Oh, are you really Xiaoxiao's cousin? You don't sound like you have a Northeastern accent."

"To be honest, Brother Li, I used to work in a factory in Fenggang. I had a girlfriend there who was Sister Huang's cousin, so I called her 'cousin' too. I quit my job and came to Chang'an to look for work. I just arrived yesterday."

"Oh, I see. I really thought you were her cousin."

"Brother Li, our meeting is fate. We are brothers now that we are born. There is no need to be blood relatives. Rest assured, although I am young, I am by no means an ungrateful person."

"Yes, I can tell!"

Ding Yang immediately started unloading the truck. The ceramic tiles were 200×300 cm in size, and each box weighed about 20 kilograms. They weren't very heavy, and the 20 boxes of ceramic tiles were unloaded in no time.

18 pieces of composite flooring, packed in a cardboard box, each box weighing approximately 30 kilograms.

Ding Yang carried two boxes of porcelain shards at once.

I was so tired from working that my legs were too weak to walk anymore, so I was moving a bit slowly.

"Handsome, I'm leaving now. Ask the boss for your money later, she'll be here."

"Oh well!"

"Hey buddy, we have a few cubic meters of sand and some decking tomorrow, wanna work?"

"Dry!"

"Okay, I'll call you when I drive by Xiaoxiao's shop tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you!"

Ding Yang was so exhausted that he was trembling, but he still gritted his teeth. His legs were shaking like crazy, and he was covered in sweat. He felt like his electrolytes were out of balance.

Because he worked a little slowly, even though there wasn't much work, it took him nearly two hours. It was already past 4 p.m. when Ding Yang finally finished.

He worked from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with almost no rest. Ding Yang had never been so tired in his life.

I sat down to rest for a bit, and then the proprietress came over.

"Boss lady, please check, I brought everything up, nothing is missing."

"Oh, handsome, how much?"

"Boss lady, as Old Li previously agreed, cement is 4 yuan a bag, floor tiles are 4 yuan a piece, these ceramic tiles are 2.5 yuan a box, and composite flooring is 3 yuan a piece, totaling 344 yuan. You can just give me 340."

"Handsome, thank you!"

The proprietress opened her wallet and counted the money.

Ding Yang was quite happy to receive the money, after all, he had earned 340 yuan in just one day.

"Thank you, boss lady. I'll be going now."

"good!"

Ding Yang went to the convenience store and bought a pack of Temisia and a bottle of water. He was out of Hua Zi, and even gave the half pack that Dawei had given him to Lao Li.

Holding a T-shirt in his left hand, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and shirtless, he walked back to Huang Xiaoxiao's shop.

My legs felt like they didn't belong to me; they were probably swollen. My thighs were burning, my shoulders were throbbing, and my whole body felt like it was falling apart. I practically limped into the store.

I pulled back the shutter door, opened my suitcase, and took out a towel and a change of clothes.

Upon arriving at the restroom, I discovered there was no shampoo or shower gel, and half a bag of Libai laundry detergent in the corner of the bathroom.

I'm so dirty, I can't care anymore. Laundry detergent is fine, it's better than nothing.

He turned on the tap and used laundry detergent to wash his hair and take a shower. This was the first time Ding Yang had ever done this.

The laundry detergent scrubbed the cement dust clean, but it still felt very rough.

I took a refreshing cold shower and changed into clean clothes. I felt much lighter, but my shoulders were still burning.

I lay on the sofa like a dead dog, not wanting to move.

A moment later, the phone rang.

"Hey, Xiaoyang, are you done?"

"Oh, I'm already back at your shop. I just took a shower and am resting on the sofa."

"Okay, I'll come pick you up. Let's go eat."

"Sister Huang, I'm not hungry right now, just tired. After you left, Old Li loaded another truckload of porcelain shards, and I worked for another hour or so. You eat first, I'll just grab something to eat later."

"That won't do. You wait for me at the store, I'll get it to go, and we'll eat together."

"Okay, thank you!"

Ding Yang fell asleep on the sofa not long after lying down. About half an hour later, Huang Xiaoxiao arrived at the door on her motorcycle.

"Xiaoyang's ready to eat, I brought some takeout!"

Ding Yang sat up.

"Thank you, Sister Huang!"

"Did you take a cold shower?"

"It's okay, I basically take cold showers at the factory too."

"Does your bone hurt?"

"My bones are okay, but my shoulder hurts a bit. My legs feel like they're made of lead and I can't control them."

"You, no factory worker would do this kind of heavy work, carrying two bags of cement at once, I really admire you."

"Let's eat! I know you like spicy food, so I ordered stir-fried pork with chili peppers, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and shredded pork with garlic sauce."

Ding Yang was somewhat moved.

"Sister Huang, there's something I haven't made clear to you yet."

"What is it?"

"Actually, my relationship with Yang Ying is just ordinary, and we can't be called boyfriend and girlfriend. I came to see you because I had nowhere else to go for the time being, and I didn't want to go to the factory, so I came to try my luck."

"It's okay. It's not easy for anyone to be away from home. It's fate that you came to see me. You're very hardworking, which I admire. I hate lazy guys."

"Thank you, from now on you'll be my older sister."

"Let's eat. I bet you're starving after doing such heavy physical labor."

"Um!"

Ding Yang took the lunchbox, and the two began to eat.

"Sister Huang, I might not be good at being a real estate agent, but I'm strong. If you find any similar jobs in the future, please introduce me to them."

"Xiaoyang, are you really willing to do this kind of pure manual labor?"

"Sister, although it's manual labor, it's much better than working in a factory. It's my first time doing it, so I'm not used to it yet, but I'll get used to it after a few days. Even those old men in their fifties and sixties are doing it, so what can't a young man in his twenties like me do?"

"Xiaoyang, can't you think of another way of thinking?"

"What's the thought process?"

"Open a building materials store, specializing in cement and sand."

"Oh, sis, where would I get the capital?"

"How much capital is needed for this? Just buy cement from the building materials market, transport it to the store, and put some sand in it."

"This community is new, and many residents need to renovate. There are also many self-built houses over there, which are also new. They will definitely need sand and cement. As long as your prices are not too high, you will definitely be able to do some business."

"If you're willing to put in the hard work, and you get business, you can move and sell the goods yourself, even carrying them upstairs. Your business will definitely be very good, much better than working for someone else. I can also introduce you to some business opportunities."

"These out-of-the-way storefronts, not street-front shops, are very cheap, only a few hundred yuan a month. You can sleep in the store at night, which saves you the trouble of renting a house."