Chapter 439: Chapter 450 A Predicament

A week later, at a construction site in an ordinary county in the southwest region…

“It’s time to get paid! You, 150, keep the money properly, whereas you, 90.” An obese contractor was distributing wages to several male and female workers in their fifties. A young man stood among the workers. He was rather eye-catching among the crowd. The normal rate for most workers was 150 per day, but the young man only earned 90 per day.

The contractor spat on his finger and counted the bank notes.

“Wait a minute, Contractor. I thought we had a deal when I came here. I don’t want 150, but you need to give me 100 per day!” the young man said..

“Damn it! We provide you lunch at noon. The 10 was for lunch!”

“But today’s lunch was just two pieces of fried buns. Those cost me 10?”

“Damn you! I only ask you to work here because you look honest. It’s 90—take it or leave it! Would you prefer if I don’t pay you at all?”

At that moment, a couple, who were holding each other's hands, walked past the construction site with several servants following behind them. “Hmm? Doesn't that worker look familiar?”

“Does he? Qin Nuan, are you sure about that? Do you know those workers?” the man, who was heavily bejeweled, asked disdainfully.

“Yes, I’m sure. He Looks really familiar. I think he is a friend of my bankrupt ex-boyfriend from a few days ago. The guy who used to be rich and cool. I’m absolutely sure he is him!”

“Really?” the man asked again.

The girl walked toward the construction site. “Chen Hao, it is you!” She immediately recognized the young man the moment she saw him, and a taunting smile crossed her face instantly.

Indeed, the young man was Chen Hao. After Yang Xia released him on the night a week ago, Chen Hao went on a dangerous and bumpy voyage to the southwest region. Finally, he managed to arrive at his destination safe and sound with Li Zhenguo’s assistance. The first thing Chen Hao did was to find Uncle Qin in the village as he knew where the latter stayed. However, he found out from the villagers that Uncle Qin had gone away for a few days. Since there were no other places that Chen Hao could go, he decided to stay and wait for Uncle Qin. Running out of money, he got a temporary job as a construction site worker here. Chen Hao thought of getting himself a proper and stable job, but he lost his identity card and other important documents when he arrived at the over-crowded Qing City.

Besides, Mo Changkong was still searching for him through several business conglomerates in various industries. Therefore, Chen Hao could only work at a small unknown construction site here instead of working in well-established companies. He finally knew what it was like being alone and abandoned.

“Qin Nuan?” Chen Hao also recognized the girl. She was Wang Xiaohua’s ex-girlfriend who was trained in Taekwondo.

Recently, Chen Hao found out from the Internet that Wang Xiaohua’s travel agency was closed down following his expulsion from the Chen family. He realized his downfall had caused a domino effect in which his friend and his company were adversely affected.

“Heh! I can’t believe I’ll meet you here! Oh my, I’ve heard that stupid Fatty Wang became a tour guide after the company that you guys worked on went bankrupt. Haha! You’re even more pathetic than him.

I can’t believe that you’re here working on a part-time basis at my husband’s construction site!” Qin Nuan sneered at Chen Hao while putting her hand over her mouth.

“Oh, Young Master Li and Miss Qin, do you know this fellow?” the contractor bowed and asked politely.

“It’s none of your business, so move aside!” Qin Nuan demanded coldly.

The contractor left immediately. After that, Qin Nuan folded her arms across her chest and studied Chen Hao carefully from head to toe with a smirk on her face. “Oh my, it’s really unbelievable. You used to be so rich and glamorous, so it’s really hard to believe that you would become like the way you are now. Oh yeah, you aren’t pretending to be miserable this time just to experience life again, are you?”

Qin Nuan asked, a little worried, as she was once humiliated by Chen Hao before when the latter revealed his wealth in front of her.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll just go!” Chen Hao noticed a lot of male and female staff from the project management office were gazing in their direction. He desperately tried to leave the place because he was worried that someone would recognize him.

“Hey, why are you in a hurry to leave? Don’t go since we are friends after all.” Suddenly, Qin Nuan grabbed Chen Hao by his collar.

Ha! It seems Chen Hao had really become a poor loser this time. Qin Nuan was pleased to see Chen Hao’s miserable predicament.

“All of you, come over here and have a look! Let me introduce you to the famous Chen Hao!” Qin Nuan waved at the male and female staff from the project management office. The female staff, dressed in business formal attire, were fresh out of college. They covered their mouth and sneered at Chen Hao.

“Damn it, you might as well be dead if you live like this!”

“That’s true, but at least he’s supporting himself by working here!”

Working as high-positioned management personnel, they obviously looked down on Chen Hao.

“All of you, don’t ever look down on him. Do you know who he really is? He used to be Young Master Chen who was very rich and drove a luxurious car that all of you can never afford to buy!” Qin Nuan introduced scornfully.

“Huh? Really? A rich young master?”

“Tsk, tsk. Who would have thought?”

“But he sure doesn’t look like one now!”

The girls made fun of Chen Hao.

“All right, Chen Hao. I don’t mean to be rude, but judging from that look of yours, I bet you lost your girlfriend too, so I’ll introduce you to some of the girls from our company here. Who knows? Someone might be interested in you and agree to be your girlfriend, am I right?

“What do you say, girls? What do you think of Chen Hao? Whoever wants to be his girlfriend can register now!”

“Ha! You go!” The girls tried to hold back their laughter while they playfully pushed a girl forward, and the girl panicked. “Why don’t you guys go? You guys are always teasing me. It’s so irritating!”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll take my leave now.” Chen Hao lowered his head and was about to turn and leave.

“Wait a minute! You forgot your pay. I overheard your argument with Fatty Shen just now about whether he should give you 90 or 100. It’s just 10. How can a big company like us be taking advantage of you over a mere 10? Young Master Li, am I right?” Qin Nuan asked in a coquettish voice.

“That’s right!”

“So, I’ll pay you. Girls, come over here and give me some money!” Qin Nuan signaled a few girls from the project management office. They understood Qin Nuan and presented a huge bag to her out of nowhere. The bag was full of five-cent coins.

“Here’s a bag of coins no less than 100. It’s your pay. Oops!” When the bag almost reached Chen Hao’s hand, Qin Nuan dropped the bag on purpose, and it fell onto the ground. The coins were scattered all over the ground.

“I’m so sorry, Chen Hao. How clumsy I am to drop the bag!” Qin Nuan said. “How about you pick them up from the ground one by one and count them yourself?” Qin Nuan then took a deep breath and drank all the water from her bottle that was in her hand before throwing it at Chen Hao. Qin Nuan then left the place with her body swaying annoyingly from left to right.

Chen Hao crouched down, picked up the coins carefully, and kept them in his pocket. He then slowly left the workplace in despair.

Night arrived and the sky had grown darker. Chen Hao walked all the way back to the village after buying his dinner. He stopped at the doorstep of Uncle Qin’s old house. Every day after work, Chen Hao would come over to check whether Uncle Qin had returned from his trip. Today, he was surprised to see Uncle Qin’s house door open and his house was brightly lit.