12. The Mind Follows the Body

At midday, the scorching sun hung high in the sky.

Chen Ze approached the entrance of the steel-sheet workers’ dormitory and noticed someone washing clothes near the basin.

Three men in their twenties, all shirtless in a casual, unrestrained manner, exchanged a couple of hearty laughs.

Chen Ze, accompanied by Su Wei, walked over and casually tore open a cigarette pack. He called out as he approached:

“Hello, brothers.”

Upon hearing this, the three men turned their gaze toward him, eyeing the stylish yet simple young man with some suspicion.

“What’s up?” they asked.

“I’m a media worker,” Chen Ze clarified, smiling gently as the three continued to scrutinize him with doubt. “I’m here to conduct a survey.”

Makes sense.

Although the construction industry has seen a wave of younger workers who sometimes sport trendy attire, it was rare to see someone so refined and handsome.

The three men slowed their activity, and when Chen Ze offered them cigarettes, a hint of pleasant surprise flickered across their faces.

“Brothers, I’m doing an undercover investigation,” Chen Ze said, placing a cigarette between his fingers without lighting it, then continued, “We’ve received reports that the construction company hasn’t paid wages for a whole month. Is that true?”

“Uh...” The men exchanged glances. One wiped his hands and took a cigarette before replying, “More like over a month.”

Costs always fall on the workers; contractors need to front money but rarely have all the funds themselves.

After layers of exploitation,

the workers still get shortchanged.

So wage delays are especially common in construction. Basic living expenses may be covered monthly, but on-time pay like in other industries? Forget it.

It’s a widespread phenomenon, so the three men were unfazed, almost seeing Chen Ze’s concern as naive.

“A couple of days ago, Changhai still gave me 500,” one said.

“Hey, who reported this?” another asked.

Their accounts weren’t consistent. Chen Ze smiled at the scene and shifted the topic.

“By the way, do any of you know Huang Zhongshan?”

“Why are you looking for him?” they asked.

Having heard them inadvertently reveal their thoughts, Chen Ze didn’t hold back, speaking casually as if chatting at home.

“I’m looking for the workers under him.”

At this, the three exchanged glances. The slightly plump man closest to Chen Ze glanced at the cigarettes and said:

“I’m the one. What do you want?”

What a coincidence.

Chen Ze murmured silently but showed no change in expression as he stepped forward hesitantly and lowered his voice.

“We’ve received reports that he suggested withholding workers’ wages for several months.”

After Chen Ze’s family went bankrupt, some helped, some severed ties without concern, and some made things worse. Huang Zhongshan was the most typical of the latter.

Legally, it was Hongye Construction Group that owed the workers, and the general contractor bore full responsibility.

But after government mediation, with Hongye Construction bankrupt, the debt would be borne by Banghe Mansion.

After all, the company was bankrupt, the legal entity dissolved; the government was protecting Chen Tianhong as a last resort.

He truly was out of money.

It wasn’t a matter of refusing to pay despite having funds.

Yet some refused to accept this, Huang Zhongshan among them—he even smeared filth and made a scene in their hometown.

Huang Zhongshan was a foreman who joined the Hongye Construction Association in 2014. Though not an employee, it was clear Chen Tianhong had fattened him up.

Workers might aspire to become foremen.

Foremen might hope to become contractors.

Between them, besides capital, connections and business were key. Many foremen had no projects despite their efforts.

After joining the Hongye Construction Association, Huang Zhongshan enjoyed high-profit projects and never worried about work—such was the benefit of having the company’s backing.

After Banghe Mansion’s troubles, the government shifted the debt burden to the project itself, and even if it was Hongye Construction’s responsibility, the amount owed to Huang Zhongshan was just 300,000 yuan.

Though repaying debts is righteous, 300,000 yuan previously constituted a year’s or even half-year’s net profit for Huang Zhongshan’s father. From Chen Tianhong’s perspective, this was clearly raising a thankless scoundrel.

The bottom line shapes the mind; naturally, Chen Ze sided with his father and harbored no goodwill toward Huang Zhongshan.

Having been reborn, he could have spared this man, but to not give him a taste of retribution, to not kick him out, was unacceptable. He lacked such magnanimity.

Many stood idle when his family was in crisis; that was human nature. He couldn’t exact revenge on all, but at least he could vent on the most typical one.

“That’s him!”

“He really said that?”

“Damn that bastard!”

By the basin, Chen Ze’s words ignited the three men’s fiery spirits instantly.

Seeing this, Chen Ze quickly signaled them to lower their voices, then took out his phone and displayed a QR code.

“We’re still investigating this. We don’t yet have solid evidence to back workers’ claims, so keep this quiet. We can stay in touch via WeChat.”

Chen Ze’s calm demeanor subdued their rage. After a brief hesitation, one pulled out his phone.

Receiving their requests, Chen Ze added,

“I’m an intern reporter and need your support. This matter benefits you with no downside. I don’t know your names, won’t ask either, so keep this confidential. If it leaks, not only will my efforts be wasted, but Manager Huang will definitely deny it and use you as scapegoats.”

The three were stunned, until a pack of 1916 cigarettes was placed before them.

“These are good smokes—save some for later or wait until we win the rights battle. They’re quality.”

Though construction workers, the three were young enough to recognize good cigarettes, even if they didn’t know the brand 1916.

“Thanks, little brother. What’s your name?” asked the plump man happily.

Chen Ze tucked the cigarette pack under his arm and signaled silence.

“Let’s not exchange names. For safety, don’t reveal your names on WeChat either.”

“Right, right, no names,” they agreed readily.

Putting aside everything else, receiving two packs of good cigarettes for free made them smile broadly.

Chen Ze nodded.

“Alright then, just pretend you’ve never met me.”

“Sure.”

Not putting all eggs in one basket, Chen Ze went on to survey two more groups.

By the time he returned, both packs of cigarettes were gone.

Stepping out of the dormitory, he sighed softly while gazing into the distance.

Being a wealthy heir isn’t easy.

But living as an ordinary person is truly hard.

In the distance stood twelve towering buildings, each a 27-story high-rise residential block, imposing from ground level.

At this moment, eight buildings had scaffolding reaching their highest floors, and topping out would take no more than half a month.

But topping out didn’t mean the work was done.

After the main structure, there were secondary internal structures, elevator installations, plumbing, electrical, sewage, fire safety systems, landscaping, windows, doors, railings, and more.

From digging foundations last autumn to now, while topping out was near, actual handover often took at least another six months, sometimes even a year or more, with occupancy taking longer.

Of course, this was if things proceeded normally.

Too many developments ended up abandoned right after topping out.

Because once the third floor was built, developers could begin pre-sales, with buyers paying deposits.

After topping out, developers could withdraw the buyer’s deposit held by the bank and officially launch sales.

In the previous life, Gong Yaowu used fake accounts to bypass bank oversight and collect down payments after the launch.

At the time, neither the bank nor buyers realized until it was too late—when they sought to defend their rights, the man had vanished.

Chen Ze couldn’t understand why Gong Yaowu fled, because of a certain detail in the process.

That detail had made Hongye Construction Group the prime target of blame for the topping out.

With about half a month left before topping out, Gong Yaowu would likely force Chen Tianhong to forge a stamp and fake the topping-out ceremony.

If he planned to flee from the start, why wait so long and not just rush the last half month?

Though he fooled others last time, this detail presented a risk. If buyers or banks investigated the site thoroughly...

Because of this, Chen Ze planned to move quickly to the next destination to finalize a strategy to handle the situation.