Chapter Thirty-Three: Welcome to Heaven—or Hell!
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Luo Bin had always taken pride in his ability to act decisively.
At dawn the next morning, he had already changed into a cheap work uniform smeared with dust.
Through the connections of a distant relative, he obtained flawlessly forged identification as a construction worker and, with barely any effort, became the newest member of the construction crew working on the Longhai University project.
Hidden in the fold of his collar, a miniature camera no more conspicuous than a pinprick was faithfully recording everything.
Its cold optical lens was a window into his livestream. At that very moment, millions of followers were holding their breath, waiting through this unique perspective for the unveiling of “justice.”
“Brothers, I’ve successfully infiltrated the site.”
Luo Bin lowered the brim of his cap and spoke into the microphone concealed in his cuff, keeping his voice low enough for only himself to hear. A trace of barely restrained excitement colored his words.
“Follow the channel, and I’ll take you behind the scenes of this multi-billion project and reveal what it’s really like.”
“They’re assigning dormitories now. The good show is about to begin. Based on my years of experience exposing fraud, there’s a hundred percent chance they’ll stick me—and all the other newcomers—in the most remote, run-down corner.”
Facing the camera, he silently added with his lips, “Maybe one of those shabby tents that leak the moment it rains, without even a charging socket.”
The comments in the livestream began racing across the screen.
[Brother Bin is incredible! Going deep into the tiger’s den!]
[Waiting for evidence of this crooked construction site. My keyboard is ready!]
[I’m guessing bunk beds in an eight-man room—the damp, stinking kind!]
Yet when he followed a supervisor past a row of temporary barricades and arrived at the so-called dormitory area, the foot he had lifted froze in midair.
The disorderly tent camp, with wastewater running everywhere, that he had imagined was nowhere to be seen.
Before him stood row upon row of brand-new, spotless two-story prefabricated dormitory buildings. Every building was painted the same pale gray. The windows were bright and clean, the space between the buildings generous, and even the ground had been hardened with concrete. There was not a trace of mud anywhere.
The supervisor selected a key from a ring and handed it to him, his manner so courteous that he hardly seemed to be addressing a laborer at the bottom of the hierarchy.
“Here’s your room, sir. Room 401.”
He pointed toward the innermost room on the second floor.
“It’s a double room. The air conditioner and water heater are both newly installed and work perfectly. Go up and get settled. Dinner will be served in the cafeteria in half an hour.”
For a moment, Luo Bin’s mind went blank.
He mechanically accepted the key, still cold with the chill of metal, and closed his fingers around it, feeling as though the whole thing were unreal.
A double room?
An air conditioner?
A water heater?
Those three words, placed together, collided violently with the image of “construction-site dormitories” in his mind.
Half skeptical, he climbed the stairs. The metal steps gave off a steady, solid sound beneath his feet. He found Room 401, inserted the key into the lock, and turned it gently.
Click.
The door opened.
A wave of crisp, dry air rushed over him, mingled with the faint scent peculiar to new furniture.
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Luo Bin instinctively narrowed his eyes.
The room was not large, but its layout was sensible. Two single beds covered with brand-new blue sheets stood against the walls. The mattresses were thick, and the quilts had been folded with meticulous neatness. Between the beds was a shared desk, on which there was even an eye-protection desk lamp.
In the corner, a brand-new wall-mounted air conditioner ran quietly, sending out an even stream of cool air.
He walked to the other side of the room and pushed open a frosted-glass door.
Beyond it was a compact private bathroom. The white tiles were spotless, reflecting the light with a soft gleam. The shower, toilet, and sink were all brand-new.
A small LCD television was even mounted on the wall.
“This…”
Luo Bin could not help reaching out to touch the cool wall, then pressing his fingers into the soft mattress.
“Is this damn place really a workers’ dormitory?”
He murmured to himself, feeling as though his entire worldview had suffered its first violent shock.
These conditions were far better than those in many student dormitories in university towns.
At lunchtime, he went to the cafeteria in an even more conflicted state of mind.
He had already made up his mind: the dormitory was merely a superficial show of respect. The food, surely, would expose them. He was prepared to take out his phone at any moment and record the legendary “pig feed” as irrefutable evidence.
But the instant he stepped through the cafeteria doors, he once again fell into a long silence.
The spacious, brightly lit hall could accommodate more than a thousand people dining at once. Along a long row of self-service counters stood dozens of stainless-steel trays filled with a dazzling variety of dishes.
Braised pork, sweet-and-sour pork tenderloin, mapo tofu, steamed fish, diced chicken with chili—meat and vegetables in perfect balance, with flavors from every corner of the country.
On the other side were mountains of staple foods: rice, steamed buns, flower rolls, noodles, and more. There were also several soups, including seaweed and egg-drop soup and mung-bean soup, as well as neatly cut seasonal fruits such as watermelon and Hami melon.
The rich aroma of the food, mingling the savory grease of meat with the fresh fragrance of vegetables, invaded his nostrils with irresistible force.
As a food streamer who had sampled every delicacy under heaven, Luo Bin felt his Adam’s apple move involuntarily. To his surprise, he was hungry.
After several seconds of silence, the livestream comments exploded.
[Am I seeing things? This is a construction-site cafeteria? It’s better than my company cafeteria!]
[That color on the braised pork is unbelievable! Brother Bin, try it—see if it’s all for show!]
[I don’t believe this. It’s definitely staged! They must have prepared it especially for the newcomers!]
Luo Bin drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart.
That was it. A performance! It had to be!
He filled a tray and deliberately sat down beside a fellow worker who was bent over his meal, eating ravenously.
Summoning every bit of rhetorical skill he possessed, he tried to lead the man into revealing the “truth.”
“Brother, is the food always this good?” he asked casually. “It isn’t because some leader is here inspecting the site, or because they made it specially for us newcomers, is it?”
The worker’s mouth was stuffed with chicken. He looked up and answered indistinctly,
“Of course not!”
He swallowed with effort, then picked up a bottle of beer and took a deep drink.
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“It’s like this every day! Meat at every meal, and as much as you can eat! Principal He said so himself: we workers have to eat and drink well if we’re going to have the strength to build our own university for Nanhe Province!”
Luo Bin’s heart sank.
Unwilling to give up, he tried another angle.
“What about the wages, then? Brother, I won’t lie to you—I’ve worked at other construction sites before and been cheated badly. How is it here? Do they ever dock or delay your pay?”
The moment he finished speaking, another worker at the next table overheard him and leaned over.
“Dock your pay? What kind of international joke is that?”
He grinned, revealing a row of smoke-yellowed teeth, but his smile was exceptionally bright.
“Here, Principal He has laid down one absolute rule: wages are paid weekly!
“Every week, straight into your account, and not a penny short! Overtime? Apply in advance and you get double pay! Anyone who dares delay a worker’s wages gets kicked out on the spot!”
Luo Bin could not find a single flaw to attack.
On the way back to the dormitory from the cafeteria, he even discovered a separate little building in the residential area.
Two brand-new signs hung beside its entrance.
One read: “Free Medical Station.”
The other read: “Counseling Center.”
His heart seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand.
As if possessed, he walked inside. The place was bright, spotless, and immaculate. A professional doctor in a white coat was tending to an injured worker’s hand, every movement gentle and focused.
In the room next door, a mild-mannered counselor wearing glasses was speaking softly with a young worker.
At that moment, Luo Bin felt the world he had relied upon for survival—a world filled with prejudice and malice—begin to peel away and crumble, piece by piece.
The ground beneath his feet seemed to sway faintly.
Where was the heartless capitalist he had been promised?
Where were the exploitation and oppression?
Where were the anger and blood and tears?
There was none of what he had come looking for. There were only scenes so close to perfection that he had never imagined they could exist.
He stood at the entrance of the little building, looking up at the deep blue sky above the construction site and the framework of buildings rising in the distance. For the first time, a vast sense of bewilderment welled up from the depths of his heart.
This place…
Was it a paradise welcoming him to expose the truth?
Or was it a hell that intended to bury all his prejudice and malice beneath an excess of kindness?
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