A young man from another world returned to his hometown.

Chapter 28 Utter Madness, Igniting Passion

Before dawn, the market was already bustling with activity.

Uncle Fang strolled leisurely with his hands behind his back.

"Old Fang! Coming to the market so early?"

The butcher was placing pork on a cutting board on the back rack of his motorcycle, ready to go into the village to sell it.

Several familiar old friends gathered around and squatted down to take turns smoking hookahs.

"Okay, come over early and get some fresh ribs. Give me three pounds of ribs, the best ones."

"Okay!"

The butcher swiftly brought down his knife.

Uncle Fang slowly unzipped his wallet, revealing a stack of bright red hundred-yuan bills inside.

Old Li, who was squatting nearby smoking, glanced at it, and his water pipe tilted slightly.

"Hey, Lao Fang, struck it rich? Your wallet's bulging!"

Uncle Fang took out a hundred-yuan note and handed it to the butcher.

"Hey, what do you mean by making a fortune? My daughter-in-law insisted on giving me three thousand yuan as a gift yesterday. What a waste of money she's spending."

He sighed, his tone typical of an older person criticizing their younger generation for wasting money.

"I told her to keep it for herself, but she wouldn't listen. She said she got more than 10,000 yuan in salary this month and told me to spend it without worry."

"..."

They were all terrified.

The butcher's hand, holding the cleaver, hovered in mid-air.

Old Li, who was smoking, kept his lighter in his right hand in a fixed position.

"Old Fang..."

The butcher's voice even sounded a little distorted.

"You just said...how much does your daughter-in-law earn per month?"

"More than ten thousand."

Uncle Fang took the ribs and said calmly.

"Their employees receive bonuses, and since business was good this month, they received a larger share."

The old lady selling tofu next to me almost threw her tofu away.

"Over ten thousand?! A month?!"

"Where?! In our town?!"

A cacophony of voices suddenly erupted.

More than ten thousand.

For those who have toiled their entire lives on this land, these three words were like a thunderclap.

It's worth noting that a bottle of rice sells for less than a bottle of water.

Even if a farmer works hard all year, he can't say he can pull out 10,000 yuan in cash at any time!

But now, Uncle Fang's daughter-in-law, a rural woman, earns more than 10,000 yuan a month making milk tea at her doorstep.

"Old Fang! Don't try to fool us!"

Old Li squeezed through, his eyes wide open.

"Is this real? Over ten thousand? In cash?"

"What's fake about this?"

After saying this, Uncle Fang picked up the ribs and left.

Behind him, it was like a powder keg that had been ignited.

"Oh no! I have to go back and make that call right away!"

"Fishmonger, I'm not buying any! I need to get back to the village right away!"

"Where does Lin Yan live?! Who can take me there?! My husband is still out there fixing screws!"

……

In less than a morning, all the villages in Guanzhen were in an uproar.

"Have you heard? At Tamura Rin's shop, the employees earn over ten thousand a month!"

"What? Over ten thousand? I heard it's twenty thousand! And it includes a house!"

"My relative's neighbor works at that store, and they say it's true—employees get bonuses, paid in cash!"

"They're allocating housing? Really?!"

"Isn't that a large area along the national highway where they're building a residential complex? I heard it's for the employees!"

"My son is still outside fixing screws, I need to call him back right away!"

Three or five middle-aged women gathered together, chattering away.

At this time of year, they should be at home cooking, feeding chickens, and taking care of their grandchildren.

But today, everyone came out and looked towards the building next to the national highway.

The street in front of the building was bustling with people, even more lively than a market during the Chinese New Year.

Various stalls lined the street, one after another, with students and young people with dyed hair of various colors going in and out of the shops, and the roar of cranes constantly echoing from the construction site behind.

"My goodness..."

Aunt Qi covered her mouth, her eyes wide open.

"This doesn't look like the countryside at all, it's like the city!"

"I've lived for over sixty years and I've never seen such a lively place in our town."

"I heard they're going to build some kind of vocational school..."

"Really?! Where do I even register?!"

……

The gate to Lin Yan's courtyard was almost broken down by the crowd.

"Is Yanzi home?! My little one..."

"Mr. Lin! My daughter just graduated from junior high school, could she come to the store to learn?"

Are you still hiring? I can do anything!

Lin Dahou was so annoyed that he simply closed the door and hung a sign outside.

Please check the village committee's bulletin board for recruitment information.

Even so, a crowd still gathered at the entrance, peering inside.

The phone vibrated wildly, crossing rural and urban areas.

An assembly line in an electronics factory.

Da Niu was repeating the same thing over and over at his workstation.

He has been working on this assembly line for three years.

"Ring ring..."

His phone rang; it was his mother calling.

Da Niu pulled down the rope above his head; it was the toilet rope. Pulling it down allowed him to go to the toilet, and he could do it twice a day.

"Hello, Mom, what's wrong? Why are you calling at this hour?"

"Da Niu! Come back quickly!"

On the other end of the phone, his mother's voice sounded extremely anxious, as if she were on fire.

"Why did I come back? I haven't even received my salary this month..."

"What salary?! Your meager salary is nothing!"

His mother's voice was almost a shout.

"A big store opened at the entrance of our village. I heard the employees earn over 10,000 yuan a month! They even provide apartments in the neighborhood!"

Da Niu's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his phone.

"Mom... what did you say? Say it again?"

"Over ten thousand a month! And they even provide an apartment in a residential complex! You'd better quit your job right now and come back here! Don't waste your time working in that godforsaken place!"

Da Niu stared at the ceiling, completely stunned.

More than ten thousand?

He worked in an electronics factory for three years, earning only 2,800 yuan a month without overtime.

In his own impoverished hometown, someone actually managed to earn over ten thousand yuan?

"What are you dawdling for?! Everyone's rushing back now! If you're any later, you'll miss out!"

Da Niu rushed back to the dormitory and began packing his luggage.

"Old Zhou, I've resigned."

"What? I haven't received my salary this month yet!"

"No, I don't want it."

Da Niu stuffed the clothes into the snakeskin bag.

I need to get back right away.

Similar scenes are playing out simultaneously in countless factories.

Electronics factories, garment factories, furniture factories, hardware workshops.

One by one, the young people from Guanzhen received phone calls from home, their eyes shifting from doubt to shock, and from shock to ecstasy.

"Run away with the bucket!"

"Leave immediately!"

"I quit! I'm going home!"

Woven-skin bags, suitcases, plastic buckets, and rolled-up bedding.

One by one, rural youths who had once been worn down by life boarded buses to go home.

Outside the car window, the bustling industrial area gradually receded into the distance behind us.

Ahead lies the land they once desperately wanted to escape from, but now desperately want to return to.

In front of the bulletin board of Tiancun Village Committee.

Lin Jiayao posted a brand new announcement.