My Dongguan Love Story

A sudden sound startled us both. I turned to look, but before I could say anything, Chu Xiuyan chuckled and said:

"Old Zhang, have a cigarette?" He said, quickly walking over and familiarly handing over a cigarette.

Chu Xiuyan emerged from behind the metal sheet. Old Zhang's tense expression immediately relaxed when he saw the security guard uniform he was wearing.

He took the cigarette, took a couple of puffs, and asked, "What are you doing sneaking around here? And how do you know me?"

Chu Xiuyan smiled, his expression calm and composed, showing no sign of panic: "Dazhuang and I were on patrol. You're Supervisor Zhang from the workshop, how could I not recognize you?"

I listened from the side, then walked over, squatted down next to the two of them, and started smoking together.

Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and Huang Jingyi poked her head out, her clothes disheveled.

She saw three people squatting and smoking in the distance, a look of doubt on her face. She looked around but found nothing amiss. Seeing that they were relaxed and didn't seem to be spying, she assumed they were just some employees slacking off and chatting, and her guard gradually lowered.

She then closed the door, turned to look at Kawada Ichiro behind her, whose expression was tense, and gently shook her head: "Kawada-kun, it's nothing, just a few people smoking and chatting outside."

"Oh," Kawada Ichiro responded without asking any further questions, and said with a smile, "Alright, get down on the table."

Hearing this, a hint of displeasure flashed across Huang Jingyi's face, and she secretly groaned in her heart: Why again? Oh well, it's only a minute, I can bear it.

............

The door closed with a thud, and I figured they hadn't noticed anything amiss. After finishing our cigarettes, we followed Old Zhang into the workshop. Everyone inside was incredibly busy; we stayed for a while, then turned and left.

As I walked out of the workshop, the conversation I had just overheard kept replaying in my mind. Huang Jingyi and Kawada Ichiro were so cruel; they actually wanted to burn the workshop down.

The workshop is filled with sewing machines and various other equipment, which are quite valuable and also support many workers. If the workshop is destroyed by fire, not only will the construction period be delayed for a long time, but the losses will also be incalculable.

Chu Xiuyan didn't seem to care when he saw my furrowed brow. He had come to investigate my situation; the safety of the factory was none of his concern.

As I walked into the duty room, my mind was still in turmoil, and I kept thinking about what to do tonight.

I've made up my mind to stay tonight and find the arsonist. But it's going to be a real challenge for me alone. The factory area is large, and visibility is poor at night; I might not be able to catch everyone in one fell swoop.

I turned to look at Chu Xiuyan beside me and saw his nonchalant expression, so I immediately gave up the idea of ​​trying to win him over. We had only just met today, and I didn't trust him at all.

I glanced at Li Jie, who was on duty not far away. He seemed reliable enough, and since he wasn't aligned with Zhou Zhengtao, I could trust him. With no one else around, asking him for help was the perfect solution.

Upon hearing this, Li Jie was stunned: "They actually want to burn down the factory? These people are too lawless! This is illegal, and if they get caught, they'll be in jail for a long time."

"It's not just illegal; all those machines and materials in the factory must be worth at least tens of thousands," I sighed. "Kawada Ichiro is also one of the shareholders; he has a lot of assets in there. How could he bring himself to steal them?"

As I spoke, I observed Li Jie. Seeing his calm yet indignant expression, I felt relieved. I looked at him and asked, "Are you free tonight? Let's stop them together and arrest them."

Upon hearing this, Li Jie's expression darkened slightly, and he was suddenly startled.

Go catch the arsonist? Although he didn't know who had done it tonight, anyone who dared to commit arson and destroy a factory was a reckless and desperate thug. Take Li Jianzhong's gang, for example; they even dared to injure people with knives—they were a bunch of ruthless characters who didn't care about their lives.

To be honest, Li Jie was both panicked and scared, and instinctively wanted to back down.

But then she thought of Cuihua's entire family, who all depended on her wages to make a living. If the factory was burned down and production stopped, it would be impossible to operate for at least half a month, or even a whole month, and Cuihua's family would have trouble even getting food.

Not only that, but I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my stable job either. What will I use to pursue Cuihua then?

Thinking of this, he looked at Dazhuang and pondered to himself. Dazhuang was exceptionally skilled; he had calmly defeated and escaped unscathed from those thugs last time. If he went to stand guard with Dazhuang tonight and maintained a safe distance from the arsonists, there should be no danger. Moreover, if they successfully caught the arsonist, the factory might even give them a bonus.

After making up his mind, Li Jie turned to Da Zhuang and said, "I'll go with you tonight. But let me be clear, I'm not strong enough for a direct fight, I can only lend a hand from the sidelines."

"Okay." Seeing that Li Jie was willing to help, I smiled and patted him on the shoulder. I didn't expect him to go up and arrest anyone anyway. Tonight, as long as he could lend a hand and help keep watch, that would be enough.

After a moment's thought, Li Jie spoke earnestly:

"Dazhuang, we'd better call the police beforehand. If we catch them before they make a move, we won't have any solid evidence, and we won't be able to explain ourselves at the police station. If the police catch them on the spot, then we'll have both witnesses and physical evidence, and it'll be a sure thing. Plus, with the police's assistance, it'll be much safer to catch these arsonists."

In reality, Li Jie was thinking that with the police present, the risk of him facing these thugs directly would be very low. But he wouldn't say this to Da Zhuang.

After listening to his suggestion, I nodded slightly, agreeing with his idea. But then I had another problem.

Calling the police directly based solely on what we overheard lacks any substantial evidence, and the police might not believe us. Furthermore, it's uncertain whether Huang Jingyi, who just opened the door to check on the three of us smoking, became suspicious and changed her plans at the last minute.

Furthermore, if the police stake out with us all night and nothing happens in the end, we'll be suspected of filing a false police report, which is a risk we absolutely cannot take.

As I was thinking, my eyes suddenly lit up.

Oh, right, I can ask Lin Tao first. Although we're not exactly close, we do know each other. If I explain the situation to her, she might help me.

Thinking of this, I quickly took out my phone, found Lin Tao's number, and dialed it.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

The voice on the other end was soft and languid, clearly still in a sleepy state: "Feed~".