The area of Dahe Machinery Factory was quite large, and it took the two of them nearly 20 minutes to walk out.
Looking back at the dilapidated machinery factory, Shen Tianyu immediately spat on the ground and began to rant.
"These people are so cold-hearted! If you were bleeding to death today, would they really just ignore you?"
Wu Jiu let out a self-deprecating laugh at these words.
"Young man, you're a good person. Is today your first day on the job? They're all on piece-rate work; walking me out just means they lose out on money. Who would want to do that?"
So that was how it was. Piece-rate work depended entirely on one's own output, which explained why they were reluctant to come out.
Although he now understood, he was still furious. In order to get into Wu Jiu's good graces, he could only keep badmouthing the others.
"Even so, compared to earning money, saving a human life should come first! Their very bones are cold-blooded—Director Hao was right to curse them! They deserve whatever comes to them!"
Wu Jiu didn't say much in response, offering only a strained smile before gesturing toward the taxi parked by the entrance.
"Go negotiate the fare with the driver. A round trip for two people for one hundred should be fine, right? We don't have much money. Registration, medicine, and stitches will cost five hundred at most, so we can't afford to waste money on the cab ride."
Hearing Wu Jiu say this, Shen Tianyu didn't push the matter further and went straight over to the taxi driver.
After a round of haggling, the price hadn't been settled yet. In the end, they still chartered the car for a round-trip fare of 100 yuan and headed to the hospital.
Registration, getting medicine, and stitches—after the whole routine, the total indeed came to 500 yuan.
By the time they returned to the company, two hours had already passed.
Driven by curiosity, Shen Tianyu couldn't help asking Wu Jiu, "Uncle Wu, how does that workshop director manage to estimate the cost so precisely? What would happen if our medical expenses ended up falling short?"
Wu Jiu shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Young man, you've just arrived, so you don't understand how deep the waters run here. A workshop director's tricks are practiced to perfection, which is why he can estimate the costs so accurately."
Shen Tianyu nodded silently without saying anything more, feeling that the waters here were indeed deep. No wonder the system had issued such a task; it seemed truly difficult to complete.
With their own thoughts hidden, the two slowly returned to the workshop.
By this time, the workshop employees had already gone off for lunch, so Wu Jiu took the opportunity to leave by himself.
Shen Tianyu originally planned to go look for his father, but just as he reached the workshop entrance, Li Yan appeared once again.
Smiling brightly, she said, "The righteous hero is back! Not bad, not bad—doing good deeds on your very first day of work."
Seeing her praise, Shen Tianyu offered a shy smile and hurriedly changed the subject.
"Not at all, not at all. Everyone's busy; I just provided a tiny bit of help. How come everyone's gone to eat now? Is it lunch break?"
"Mmm-hmm, that's precisely why I'm here. There's a decent ramen shop by the factory gate—I'll take you out to eat!"
With a bright smile, Li Yan grabbed his arm and began pulling him outward, leaving no room for refusal.
Right at that moment, they bumped into Zhao Gao coming face-to-face with a delivery order in his hand. Seeing Li Yan, he immediately hurried over with a beaming smile.
Acting like a total sycophant, he tried to hand it over. "Oh, Xiao Yan, I was just about to look for you! I bought your favorite beef pizza and cake—have a taste!"
Li Yan instinctively dodged, rolled her eyes, and flat out refused.
"Sorry, I'm on a diet lately and can't eat sweets. You can eat them yourself. I'm taking Tianyu out to eat and showing him around the work procedures!"
Hearing this, Zhao Gao's smile gradually froze. He cast a resentful glare at Shen Tianyu standing nearby and said sarcastically,
"It's lunch break right now, and the company has a cafeteria. Going outside requires the factory director's personal approval!"
"Uncle Liu already agreed! Stop making something out of nothing!" Li Yan snapped, displeased.
Sensing the tense atmosphere and seeing Zhao Gao's ugly expression, Shen Tianyu decided to offer an explanation.
He turned to Li Yan and said, "Since I'm new here, wait for a moment. I need to have a word with Supervisor Zhao."
Both of them looked puzzled.
Shen Tianyu then forcibly pulled Zhao Gao a few meters away, leaned in close to his ear, and whispered in a low voice,
"Brother, I just got here today and I can tell you like Li Yan. Actually, I already have someone I fancy; you've just taken me for an imaginary love rival. There's no need for our relationship to be this tense."
Still curious, Zhao Gao's expression softened slightly upon hearing this. Feeling quite pleased inside, he probed,
"How did you know I like Li Yan? You'd better just stay away from her; there's no need to cozy up to her."
Hearing him act so unappreciative, Shen Tianyu grew quite angry. But for the sake of his plan going smoothly, he didn't want to make things too awkward.
He chose to back down for the moment, yet without showing weakness, he said provocatively,
"I've already told you what I meant, so stop targeting me for no reason. Even a cornered rabbit will bite!"
Zhao Gao's expression shifted again as he said darkly, "Are you threatening me?"
Facing his gaze, Shen Tianyu showed not a trace of fear, locking eyes with him.
Just as the distance between their bodies slowly closed and a physical conflict seemed imminent, Li Yan arrived in the nick of time.
"Zhao Gao, stop trying to pick a fight! Be friendly to new colleagues!"
Unwilling to lose face in front of Li Yan, Zhao Gao nodded with a dark expression.
"Fine, very good. We must treat our new colleague well. There will be plenty of opportunities to take care of you in the future!"
His tone grew heavier, clearly reeking of ill intent.
Not pursuing the matter further, Li Yan grabbed Shen Tianyu's hand and turned to leave.
As they walked, she said, "The ramen shop gets quite busy. Let's hurry, or we won't make it back before the afternoon shift starts."
Though being dragged along and wanting to say something else, Shen Tianyu remained silent for fear of making Zhao Gao misunderstand further.
People controlled by their emotions often operate on extreme thinking and frequently commit behaviors others cannot comprehend.
At this moment, Zhao Gao was blinded by the anger right in front of him. He stared viciously at Shen Tianyu's back as it gradually disappeared out the factory gates.
He casually pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and got straight to the point.
"Copy a file on that new guy who started today and send it over. Head Wu from the Operations Department needs to take a look!"
Ma's Noodle Restaurant.
Upon arriving at the noodle shop, business was indeed booming. The tables inside were completely packed, with almost no empty seats left.
Looking a bit disappointed, Li Yan asked the owner and learned that it would take another half-hour for a table to open up.
Feeling that there wasn't enough time to wait and growing slightly awkward, she didn't know what to do.
Seeing this and wanting to comfort her, Shen Tianyu pointed across the street at a food stall and said,
"That woman over there looks a bit familiar. Shall we go have some wontons?"
Following the direction of his finger, Li Yan saw a woman in blue eating wontons.
Curious, she decided to follow him over.