The next morning, in the Orange Factory dormitories.
Brother Zhu's eyes were heavy with sleep. Hearing a commotion, he forced them open. The clock read 8:20 AM. He shot out of bed on pure reflex, grabbing his toothbrush cup and rushing toward the washroom.
"Brother Zhu, it's our day off. What are you doing up so early?"
A coworker lying in bed playing on his phone asked curiously, seeing his frantic hurry.
Li Yunzhu stopped dead in the doorway. Only then did he remember that after seven straight days of overtime, his team leader had forced him to take a day off.
"Fuck! I was half-asleep. Thought I was still at the Big Strawberry factory. What were you guys just chattering about?"
Li Yunzhu slapped his forehead as realization dawned.
The Big Strawberry factory was his previous job, a place where he'd just tightened screws. The pay was 10 yuan an hour, and the overtime rate—whether on a weekday or a weekend—was also just 10 yuan.
