Conquering the world from the Kaiser's driver

So Lin Shangzhou suppressed the urge to leave, shook his head, walked forward and signed his name in the book.

"Wait, don't leave yet."

As he turned around and was about to leave, the man with glasses called him.

Lin Shangzhou turned to the man with glasses and asked, "Anything else?"

The man with glasses pointed to the iron box beside him and said:

"The Chinese have to pay a five-mark deposit."

"Why!"

Lin Shangzhou asked in confusion. Such differential treatment also made him a little angry. Chinese people pay a deposit? Why?

"We hired Chinese people before, but your compatriots broke things in the factory and then ran away. No one compensated us. Since then, the factory has required Chinese people to pay a five-mark deposit, which will be returned to you when you don't want to work anymore. If you don't have the money, you won't be paid for the first five days, and you will be paid after the fifth day."

The man with glasses pushed up his glasses and explained to him that Lin Shangzhou's reaction was within his expectations.

He took two deep breaths to calm himself. This was something he could not help. It was understandable that the factory would do this. However, only the man with glasses knew whether what he said was true or not.

Lin Shangzhou took out a crumpled five-mark note from his pocket and put it in the iron box. He didn't take his wallet with him this time and only put some change in his pocket.

"Very well, you can go."

The man with glasses smiled with satisfaction, but his smile seemed extremely disgusting to Lin Shangzhou. He quickly left the white house.

Lin Shangzhou came to the gate of Factory No. 1 and looked inside. He saw workers working on the assembly line, heard the roar of machines, and felt the heat waves in the factory. There was a man pacing back and forth among the workers. Lin Shangzhou guessed that this guy was the foreman.

He walked into the factory and walked towards the man. The man also noticed Lin Shangzhou. Some workers also looked up at Lin Shangzhou curiously. The man who seemed to be the foreman scolded the workers who looked up at Lin Shangzhou and then walked towards him.

After walking to Lin Shangzhou, he looked at Lin Shangzhou and asked:

"Are you new here?"

"Yeah, I just arrived. The registration office asked me to talk to Foreman Kayden."

"That's me. Come with me. I'll show you a place to live in the dormitory, and then we'll come to work."

"Ok."

Then Kaiden took Lin Shangzhou to the dormitory. After the foreman left the factory, the workers who were working began to talk about the new Chinese. A young man working in a corner of the factory immediately became excited after hearing the news, for no other reason than that he was also Chinese.

After entering the dormitory under the guidance of Kaiden, Lin Shangzhou found an empty bed and took off his coat and threw it on it. Of course, the money was not inside the coat, but in his trouser pocket.

The dormitory environment is acceptable. The bed has a mattress, pillow and quilt, but the smell in the dormitory is a bit unpleasant.

After finding a bed, Kayden took him to the factory, found a position for him, told him what to do, and then left.

While working, Lin Shangzhou looked around the factory. There was the roar of huge machines and unpleasant smells. Is this the environment in which the workers here work?

(Fuck it, I will report this Gouba factory after I finish my investigation)

He thought angrily, but at the same time he was also confused. In a region where the left is the majority, how dare the factory treat the workers like this? What was the factory director thinking? Didn't the government do anything about it?

Uh... he suddenly realized that just because this was the Social Democratic Party's territory, it didn't mean that all government officials were Social Democrats. And even if they were all Social Democrats, they wouldn't be able to completely improve the workers' treatment.

(Such factories are everywhere...)

With a long sigh in his heart, Lin Shangzhou focused on his work. Such things are quite common in this era.

"Hey, hey, hey, brother? Brother?!"

More than ten minutes later, Lin Shangzhou heard someone calling him softly. He turned his head and was surprised to see a Chinese standing next to him. He looked at the other person in surprise, but his surprise did not last long. It was unexpected but reasonable.

The visitor was a young man in his twenties with an expression of irrepressible joy on his face. Lin Shangzhou was also very excited. This was the second Chinese person he had met, the first being his uncle.

As for the Chinese restaurants, they are Chinese people who speak with an American German accent.

"Brother, what's your name?"

The young man asked enthusiastically in Chinese. Lin Shangzhou wanted to answer his German name at first, but then he thought that the compatriot's original intention should be to ask his Chinese name, so he smiled and said

"My name is Lin Shangzhou, what's yours?"

Hearing Lin Shangzhou's name, the young man was even more surprised. He lowered his voice and said, "Fuck, your last name is also Lin. My name is Lin Wenhua."

Then Lin Wenhua approached Lin Shangzhou and asked anxiously: "Brother, where are you from?"

"My hometown?"

Lin Shangzhou was stunned for a moment. He must answer where his hometown is in this world. However, he has never asked his uncle where his hometown is before. But he can guess where his hometown is by talking with his uncle in dialect at home.

"Henan, what about you?"

Lin Wenhua looked a little disappointed. The countryman in front of him, Lin Shangzhou, was from a different place than him. But it didn't matter. The important thing was that he met a countryman. This was the most joyful thing. So his disappointment disappeared immediately. He said to Lin Shangzhou excitedly:

“I’m from Shandong…”

As Lin Wenhua was counting and talking, he suddenly lowered his head and worked seriously. Seeing this, Lin Shangzhou also hurriedly lowered his head and worked seriously. After a while, he felt someone walking past him from behind.

After Kaiden walked past the two and walked away, Lin Wenhua whispered to him: "Let's talk at lunch, let's work first."

"Ah."

.

Chapter 40 Life in the Factory (I)

At 12 noon, foreman Kaiden clapped his hands to signal everyone to stop working and have a meal. Then the machines were turned off and the workers walked towards the factory gate from their positions. The scene that Lin Shangzhou had imagined of everyone rushing to the cafeteria did not appear. Everyone moved towards the door at a normal speed.

"Let's go and eat."

Lin Wenhua patted his shoulder and said, and then the two walked out side by side.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Lin Wenhua took Lin Shangzhou to the tableware pick-up area, got a tray, plates and bowls, and then went to line up to get their meals.

Lin Wenhua looked sideways at the bread and sausages on the table in front of the team, licked his lips, and turned to Lin Shangzhou and said:

"Shang Zhou, although the work here is hard, the salary is low, and the foreman is stupid, there is one good thing, the food is great, better than when I was in my hometown."

Of course he said this in Chinese.

"Yeah, I can see it."

Lin Shangzhou nodded. He looked at the workers who had just picked up their meals and his opinion of this factory improved slightly. It was a large bowl of vegetarian soup, a sausage and some bread. Judging from the different amounts of bread taken by different people, bread was supplied in unlimited quantities. It seemed that the food in this factory was pretty good, at least the portions were enough.

When it was almost Lin Wenhua's turn, a thin worker at the side stepped in front of him. Lin Shangzhou wanted to scold the man, but Lin Wenhua turned his head and gave him a look, signaling him not to be impulsive.

Lin Shangzhou suppressed his anger and said nothing.

After finishing their meal, Lin Wenhua took Lin Shangzhou to a secluded spot in the cafeteria and sat down. After they sat down, Lin Shangzhou asked, "Did you just tolerate that guy cutting in line?"

Lin Wenhua shrugged and said:

"What else can I do? That guy has a good relationship with the foreman. I have confronted him several times before, but the foreman deducted part of my salary when he paid me."

There was no trace of anger in his words, but rather a certain carefreeness, as if he was used to it.

"We are outsiders after all. We have no relatives or friends here, and we are weak and powerless. We have no choice but to bear with it."

Lin Shangzhou sighed. Lin Wenhua's words made him realize that there was a big difference between him and Lin Wenhua. In a sense, he could be said to be half German, while they were foreigners from China.

"Ah...that's right."

Lin Shangzhou picked up the sausage with a fork, put it in his mouth and took a bite. It tasted very ordinary.

While eating, Lin Shangzhou curiously asked Lin Wenhua: "Wenhua, why did you come to Germany from China? Is it because of the war in your hometown? Or is it because there is no way to make a living?"

He looked at Lin Wenhua curiously.

Lin Wenhua swallowed the bread he was chewing, picked up the bowl and drank a mouthful of soup, then wiped his mouth and said to him, "I was in middle school at home. I heard from my classmates that someone had organized a study abroad club, saying that you can study in Germany by paying money. Many of my classmates were persuaded by that person and wanted to study in Germany. Even if they couldn't learn any skills, at least they would have the title of an international student."

Lin Shangzhou nodded as if he understood. The Qing Dynasty was restored by warlords supported by Germany, and Shandong even had the German colony of Qingdao, so it was not surprising that Chinese youths came to Germany. However, he could see that Lin Wenhua and his classmates were deceived by that man.

"It's really awesome to have this hat. I've seen so-called "international students" relying on their overseas study status to cheat people in the village, and even harm young girls. It's fucking disgusting! Pah!"

As he spoke, Lin Wenhua slammed the table in disgust. It can be seen from this that he came to study abroad not to return home and be a bad person.

"So you came to Germany to learn something? But working in a factory doesn't count as studying abroad, right?"

"Hey, stop the fucking talk. More than 30 of us students were deceived by that damn bastard!"

Lin Wenhua cursed with gnashing teeth, and then continued: "The businessman disappeared after bringing us to the school. Before we set off, he collected a large sum of money from us and told us to just follow his arrangements. But in the end, the school asked us to pay tuition and to find our own food and accommodation."

"After a few wealthy students paid their own tuition, they also paid part of the tuition for some other students. The rest of the people who couldn't afford the tuition, like me, simply didn't go to school, found a job to earn some money, and then went home directly."

"So all your classmates, except those who went to school, are looking for jobs in Strasbourg?"

Lin Shangzhou asked.

"Yes, but we still meet occasionally. Those wealthy classmates rented a large apartment and helped many people solve the housing problem, but they still have to earn their own money for food. After all, they only have so much money. After renting the house, they also have to work and go to school at the same time."

As Lin Wenhua spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. Lin Shangzhou was also moved after hearing what those rich classmates had done.

They could have abandoned their classmates, but they chose to spend money to help them solve their housing problems. They are really good people...

After finishing his story, Lin Wenhua wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, looked at Lin Shangzhou curiously and asked:

"What about you? Shang Zhou, why did you come to Germany?"

"Me..."

Lin Shangzhou simplified and modified his own experience in his mind and said to him: "I came to Germany earlier than you. I came to Germany with my uncle when I was ten years old."

"So early?!"

Lin Wenhua looked at him in surprise, then said to him with a look of sudden enlightenment, "I was wondering how come you speak German so much better than me? It turns out you learned it when you were ten years old."

"Well, I used to live in Berlin with my uncle, but I got into trouble with the wrong people, so I came here to hide from my enemies."

"We are the same, we are all poor people who have left our homes."

Lin Wenhua sighed and put his right arm around Lin Shangzhou's shoulders.

(Help them after you finish this task)

Lin Shangzhou turned his head and looked at Lin Wenhua's sad expression and thought to himself that he wanted to do something for these suffering compatriots.

After a few seconds, Lin Wenhua put down his arm, and when he was about to stuff the bread into his mouth, he looked up and said in stiff German: "Brother Huo Wen, you still ate so much at noon today."

(Hoven?)

When Lin Shangzhou heard the name, he thought it was another Chinese man, but when he looked up, he found it was a German man with a beard, a steady appearance and a strong build.

The man named Huo Wen sat opposite Lin Wenhua. On his plate was a bowl of soup that was almost overflowing, three sausages and four large pieces of bread.

I really eat a lot.

Seeing how much food he had on his plate, Lin Shangzhou guessed that this man must be the foreman, otherwise he wouldn't have taken so much food.

"Eat well so you have the energy to work."

Huo Wen smiled and took a big bite of bread, then looked at Lin Shangzhou and said, "You are the new one, right? You are Chinese like Wenhua."

"Hello, Brother Hoven, my name is Fritz Hipper."

Lin Shangzhou greeted Huo Wen very politely, which made Huo Wen raise his eyebrows. He was surprised by Lin Shangzhou's politeness and his German name.

"Oh, so polite, unlike Wenhua, that rude brat."

"Where."

Lin Shangzhou smiled modestly. Lin Wenhua nudged him with his elbow and whispered to him, "Shangzhou, you look quite stylish. You even have a German name."

"My uncle got it for me."

Lin Shangzhou glanced at him and said.

At this time, someone on the other side was calling Huo Wen, so Huo Wen said to Lin Shangzhou: "Fritts, if you have any problems in the future, you can come to Factory No. 2 to find me. If anyone bullies you, just tell me. I have some influence."

"Okay, thank you, Brother Huo Wen."

Hoven took the plate and left.

"I feel like Brother Huo Wen is a very nice person."

"Don't feel that way. Brother Huo Wen is a very nice person."

Lin Wenhua said, looking at Huo Wen's back.

"Although there are still some bastards like Tis and Kaden in the factory, most Germans are pretty good. Brother Hoven even helped me out when Tis bullied me."