Chapter 13: Reporting to the Coal Mine

When they arrived at the coal mine, Lin Chaoyang showed his documents to the gatekeeper and waited with his younger brother in the guard’s room for someone to come pick him up.

The old gatekeeper was very warm and even poured him some water, striking up a conversation.

“I’ve been working this gate at the coal mine for many years. My surname is Guo, but everyone calls me Old Guo. You can call me that too.”

Lin Chaoyang smiled at him. “Uncle Guo, just call me Yangzi. That’s what people back home call me.”

Old Guo glanced at Lin Chaoxing and couldn’t help but ask, “Why’d you bring a kid along to report for work? You’re still young—your child’s already this big?”

Lin Chaoyang quickly shook his head. “No, no, he’s my younger brother. Our parents passed away, so I have no choice but to take him with me.”

Old Guo looked a little embarrassed. “Look at me, my old brain’s slipping. Don’t mind me. But your little brother sure is a lot younger than you.”

Lin Chaoyang didn’t mind and answered directly, “Yeah, there’s a big age gap between me and my little brother. There were three others between us… It’s because of those three—sigh…”

At this point, Lin Chaoyang’s expression darkened. He sighed and fell silent.

Seeing this, Old Guo realized there must be quite a story behind it.

Lin Chaoyang didn’t say anything, but little Lin Chaoxing reached out a small hand and touched his brother’s face.

“Big Brother, don’t be upset. They bullied you. We won’t bother with them anymore.”

Old Guo heard that and immediately praised the boy, “What a good kid. He really cares about you, Yangzi. You didn’t dote on him for nothing!”

Lin Chaoyang finally smiled. “Yeah, at least I have one family member who cares about me. As for the other three—I raised them all these years, and I’ve done my duty to our parents.”

The more Old Guo heard, the more curious he became. While they were still waiting for someone to come from HR, he continued asking questions.

Lin Chaoyang sighed again and didn’t hide anything. He told Old Guo everything about his family situation.

After hearing the whole story, Old Guo couldn’t help but spit in disgust.

“Yangzi, you’re a decent guy. Those three siblings of yours—what a waste. You raised them, and now they treat you like an enemy!”

Lin Chaoyang gave a bitter smile. “Maybe it’s because I’m a useless big brother. But I only have these two hands—how could I possibly feed that many mouths?”

Old Guo looked indignant. “Those two younger sisters of yours are already in their teens. They could at least gather pigweed or feed the pigs. Why can’t they work to support themselves?”

Although Old Guo had worked at the coal mine for many years, he was from the countryside himself and knew very well what kind of work girls could do.

“Ten-something years old and still not working—just waiting for their big brother to feed them—and they still complain about not having enough to eat? What kind of people are they!”

Lin Chaoyang smiled bitterly again. “I guess I was just too soft-hearted. I felt bad for them and didn’t want them to do hard labor. But in the end, they hated being poor and hungry.”

“When the house truly ran out of food and I asked them to go out and earn some work points, that’s when they turned against me. Sigh…”

Old Guo grew even more furious. If his kids acted like that, he’d be furious enough to die on the spot.

“Luckily, good people are rewarded. You’ve got a proper job now. From now on, treat yourself better!”

Lin Chaoyang nodded and hugged his little brother tightly. “From now on, I only have this one little brother. If they don’t recognize me and even curse me, then I won’t recognize them either.”

Old Guo patted him on the shoulder. “That’s the right attitude. Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of anymore.”

Just as they were talking, someone from HR arrived.

It was a woman who looked to be around forty, with a gentle expression.

Old Guo quickly introduced her. “This is Director Li from HR. She’s the head of logistics at our coal mine.”

Lin Chaoyang immediately stood and greeted her, “Hello, Director Li. I’m Lin Chaoyang, reporting for duty today.”

Director Li smiled. “Hello, Comrade Lin Chaoyang. If you ever run into any issues with work or life here, feel free to come to me.”

It seemed she had already been briefed about Lin Chaoyang’s family situation, so she wasn’t at all surprised to see him bringing a child with him to work.

“I’ll take you to the dorms first so you can settle your things.”

With that, she led the way. Lin Chaoyang strapped on his basket, carried Lin Chaoxing, and followed her.

As they walked, Director Li introduced the surroundings. “This building is where our union office is. The logistics, finance, and procurement departments are all located here.”

“That single-story building behind it is the cafeteria, and further back are the dormitories, which all single employees are eligible to apply for.”

The coal mine had many employees, so the dormitories were divided into several buildings. Director Li led Lin Chaoyang to the last one.

When they reached the dorm building, it was quiet inside since it was working hours.

Director Li brought him to the third floor and opened one of the doors.

“No one’s currently staying in this one. You can stay here for now.”

The dorm room wasn’t very big, with four wooden beds inside—clearly a shared room for four people.

“Put your belongings down and let your little brother rest here for a bit. Then come with me to the office building so we can get you officially registered.”

Lin Chaoyang set down his basket and instructed Lin Chaoxing to stay quietly in the dorm before heading off with Director Li to the office building up front.

She took him to the second floor of the office building and directly into the logistics office.

“According to Deputy Secretary Zheng’s instructions, you’ll start by familiarizing yourself with the mine while working in the logistics department.”

“Next month is the exam for temporary workers to become official employees. You’ll take the exam as well, mainly to determine which position suits you best.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea—you’re already a formal worker and entitled to full benefits. Taking the exam is just for job placement.”

Lin Chaoyang nodded. Director Li then called over a chubby middle-aged woman.

“Hong-jie, this is Lin Chaoyang. He’ll be working with our logistics department for a month. I’m leaving him in your care—please look after him.”

The plump lady beamed at him. “I’m Zhang Qinghong, but everyone calls me Hong-jie. From now on, you’ll be working with me.”

Lin Chaoyang smiled and called out, “Hong-jie,” and followed her to his workstation.

“Come, come, everyone, let’s meet our new colleague! This is Lin Chaoyang—he’s a hero who helped the county catch a bunch of human traffickers. From today, he’s part of our logistics department!”

Everyone clapped enthusiastically—except for one person, who gave a half-hearted clap with a rather indifferent expression.

Lin Chaoyang noticed but didn’t mind. Maybe the person just wasn’t that friendly.

After getting him settled, Zhang Qinghong came over and started probing a little.

“Comrade Xiao Lin, do you have a girlfriend?”

Lin Chaoyang quickly shook his head. “No, I haven’t thought about that kind of thing yet.”

Zhang Qinghong gave him a nosy look. “I heard people in the countryside get married early. Didn’t your parents arrange someone for you?”

Lin Chaoyang blushed a little. A nearby woman teased him, “Comrade Xiao Lin, she’s our department’s info-digger—everyone who joins gets the third degree.”

Zhang Qinghong mock-scolded the woman, who just laughed. “Not only is she the info-digger, she’s also our loudspeaker. If she hears anything, the whole mine will know about it!”

Another colleague chimed in, “With talent like Hong-jie’s, she should be working in the propaganda department—big news, small gossip, she’ll spread it all loud and clear!”