The migrant workers sitting at the tables all picked up the disposable paper cups filled with beer in front of them and stood up to express their gratitude to the host.
"Dezhong, where did you get so much money to treat us to dinner?"
"These few tables of dishes must have cost a fortune. Brothers, we really didn't take care of you for nothing before!"
The migrant workers' faces were filled with warm and sincere smiles as they drained the beer in their cups.
The thin and lanky man standing in front of Huang Dezhong glared at the migrant worker who had called Huang Dezhong by his full name and said angrily, "So rude!"
"Boss Huang has made a fortune now. You should call him Boss Huang!"
Saying this, the thin man immediately put on an obsequious smile and looked at Huang Dezhong. It was as if there was an invisible tail wagging behind his butt.
"You agree, don't you, Boss Huang?"
This address of "Boss Huang" really pleased Huang Dezhong, and a smile that he couldn't suppress spread across his lips.
After having his fill of smiling, Huang Dezhong still wanted to create an understanding image. He waved his hand and said modestly,
"We're all brothers who've worked together. Don't call me Boss Huang. Just call me Brother Huang."
Hearing this, the thin man immediately happily changed his address, "Sure, Brother Huang."
Some people were also curious about where Huang Dezhong got his money. With a look of curiosity and speculation on their faces, they asked,
"Brother Huang, just a few days ago you were still working with us and complaining about being poor. How did you suddenly become so rich?"
"Yeah, Dezhong... oops, I mean Brother Huang. If you have any money - making opportunities, you've got to take us along!"
This was also what the other migrant workers wanted to ask.
Everyone on the construction site knew that Huang Dezhong came from a poor family. Every time he got his salary, he would hand the money back home immediately to support his family.
By the end of the month, Huang Dezhong even had to rely on others' help to get enough to eat.
But his sudden wealth really made people suspicious.
Thinking of the dirty things he had done, Huang Dezhong didn't want to be looked down upon by others, so he waved his hand with a smile and told a little lie.
"Haven't I been buying lottery tickets recently? A few days ago, I won the second - prize, 200,000 yuan."
This 200,000 yuan was just the deposit from the person who had hired him. The remaining payment hadn't been transferred yet.
However, Huang Dezhong didn't plan to tell his fellow workers about the remaining payment. He was afraid that if he told them everything, they would ask him for money.
Hearing that Huang Dezhong had won the lottery, the fellow workers all showed envious expressions.
Even those who had helped Huang Dezhong before started asking to borrow money.
A migrant worker in his fifties, with a dark and dry face from years of hard work, stood up with a glass in his hand and said to Huang Dezhong with a blush on his face,
"Boss Huang, I helped you out a lot when you had no money for food.
"Recently, my son is about to get engaged, and I need to spend money to build a new house. Could you lend me some?"
"Yeah, Dezhong... I mean Brother Huang. I even shared half of my meal with you when you had nothing to eat!"
A young man with dyed yellow hair stood up and shouted loudly.
"Now that you're rich, you've got to lend me some too! But don't worry, I'll definitely pay you back when I have money!"
Thinking of the actual amount of money he had made, Huang Dezhong didn't care about this small amount of 200,000 yuan.
Huang Dezhong smiled and slapped his belly proudly.
"We're all brothers. Of course, we should help each other when in trouble. Come to me after dinner if you need to borrow money. I'll lend it to you all!
"Consider it my way of repaying you for taking care of me before!"
Hearing that Huang Dezhong was so generous, the other fellow workers were overjoyed.
Whether they were old or young, with longer or shorter working years than Huang Dezhong, they all shouted "Brother Huang"!
Huang Dezhong was so flattered by their compliments that he felt like he was floating in the sky. He waved his hand boldly and said,
"Don't just stand there. Eat meat and drink beer to your heart's content!"
"Great!"
Just as the atmosphere was getting lively, Huang Dezhong received a call from someone marked as "Boss Ye".
Huang Dezhong looked at his fellow workers who were having a great time drinking with a guilty conscience. He smiled and raised his phone, lying,
"My wife is calling. I'll go outside to answer the call and catch up with her."
"Of course. Say hello to your wife for us!"
"Quickly tell your wife this good news!"
The fellow workers all nodded in agreement.
There were only large lights far apart in the construction site, and the areas not illuminated by the lights were pitch - black.
The construction site was full of scrap copper and iron, as well as all kinds of debris of different sizes, sand piles, and cement piles.
After Xu Qingqing and the other two entered the construction site, they looked around but didn't see anyone.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Lu Qi turned on the flashlight on his phone and led the way.
Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai followed behind, walking carefully on the obstacle - filled road.
After walking for a long time, they still didn't see any figures. Lu Chuanbai supported Xu Qingqing to prevent her from falling and frowned as he asked Lu Qi,
"Do you know where that migrant worker lives exactly?"
Lu Qi looked at the dark path ahead and shook his head blankly.
"The last time I came to find him was during the day. He was mixing cement, so I saw him at a glance.
"But there's no one around today. I don't know where their dormitories are..."
Xu Qingqing, with her sharp eyes, saw a flash of light in the front - left. A dark figure was pacing back and forth on the phone.
"There's someone over there. Let's go and ask him. If he's a fellow worker, he must know where the person you're looking for lives."
"Okay."
As the three of them got closer, Lu Qi recognized the person on the phone. His face immediately turned ugly, and he gritted his teeth and said, "That's the migrant worker who cheated me! I'm going to go and settle the score with him!"
Saying this, Lu Qi was about to rush over.
Lu Chuanbai was worried that he would act impulsively, so he quickly grabbed him.
"Wait a minute. He's on high alert now. If you rush over, you might scare him away, and it'll be even harder to find him.
"Wait until he's not paying attention and then rush up and surprise him."
Lu Qi thought Lu Chuanbai's words made sense, so he had to suppress his anger.
All three of them bent down and slowly approached Huang Dezhong behind the sand piles.
Huang Dezhong walked out of the lively gathering with the phone in his hand. Most of the smugness on his face disappeared, replaced by a bit of humility. His straight back also unconsciously hunched.
Huang Dezhong hunched his back and answered the phone, "Hello, Mr. Ye. What can I do for you?"
The voice on the other end of the phone was unexpectedly Ye Shipu's.
He had also drunk quite a bit of wine with Reporter Liu. His blustering voice was completely illogical. Even through the phone, Huang Dezhong could smell the alcohol on Ye Shipu.
"Huang Dezhong... vomit... At first, I promised you that as long as you helped me successfully deceive Lu Qi, we'd split the money in half after it was done.
"Vomit... I've already transferred 4.8 million yuan to your account. Cough, cough, cough..."
Hearing this, Huang Dezhong's face instantly showed extreme joy. His excited heart was about to jump out of his chest!
4.8 million yuan!
He had just gotten it so easily!