My 1978 Hotel

Qin Yue swallowed hard and whispered to Wu Tong, "I almost didn't recognize that guy named Liu Wei for a long time. The change is too big. Is this really possible? He must have lost at least 60 or 70 pounds in the last few days."

Wu Tong glanced at Liu Wei, whom Qin Yue had gestured to, and sure enough, the chubby guy was now so thin that his face was drooping. This was terrifying. You know, even with the best weight loss methods, it's considered good if you lose ten or twenty pounds in half a month.

But the person in front of me is at least sixty or seventy, maybe even more. The others have also changed a lot; they've probably lost at least thirty or forty pounds, if not fifty. This is terrifying. Working on the river, losing three or four pounds a day—couldn't this cause problems?

"Let's go back and tell Mr. Li. This is a bit too scary. Let's hope something really bad happens."

Losing weight is losing weight, and lessons are lessons, but it would be terrible if someone died. The two secretly resolved to go back and have a good talk with Li Feng. This guy was too terrifying on the river. It had only been a few days and the weight loss effect was already not obvious.

This is practically the effect of scraping bone and removing flesh! Losing four or five pounds a day—not to mention humans, even pigs, cows, and horses couldn't withstand it. This is practically courting death. Not only Wu Tong, Qin Yue, and Tian Hao, but also Hua Ziyao and the others nodded in agreement as soon as they heard it.

"You all saw it too, good heavens, their eyes turned green with greed when they saw food, they wanted to swallow it whole. Zhang Wei almost choked to death, he spat it out and ate it again, it made me feel nauseous." Tian Hao said, sounding a bit uncomfortable, his face looking quite unwell.

"I just asked them what they do all day long, and Zhang Wei and Liu Wei burst into tears. I don't even know what to say," Hua Ziyan muttered from the side. "Why don't we go back and talk to Boss Li about it? I'm afraid they really can't hold on, and something might really happen in a few days."

"Oh, is it really that serious?"

Although Hua Ziyao felt that the weight loss was a bit excessive, she did not expect it to be this serious.

"Judging from their tone, something really might happen."

Tian Hao said in a low voice, "I just spoke a few words with Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei's eyes are quite scary; who knows what he might do."

"What else is there to say? Let's hurry back, lest something really happens. If things get bad, we can tell Boss Li we should go back first. We've probably already finished the task of losing 20 pounds." Wu Tong was startled when he heard this. Not to mention that the group of fat guys themselves had an accident, if this caused other accidents, the problem would be much bigger.

The group had originally planned to visit the construction site, but now they were in no mood for it. They reassured Zhang Wei and his companions, saying they would talk to Boss Li later and he would come to pick them up by tomorrow or the day after at the latest. They were just trying to keep Zhang Wei and his group calm and prevent them from causing any trouble.

Sure enough, when Zhang Wei and the others heard that they were coming to pick them up, that guy immediately burst into tears, which made Qin Yue, Wu Tong, Hua Ziyao and the others feel a little sad. It was too pitiful, simply unbearable to see.

The fat men, who used to weigh two or three hundred pounds, now look like beggars. Their faces are thin and droopy, and their bellies are loose and flabby. In a few more days, their skin will probably be wrinkled. "Don't cry. We'll tell our cousin when we get back that we'll come to pick you up tomorrow, or at the latest the day after."

"thanks, thanks."

Zhang Wei and the others were practically begging on their knees. This place was unbearable; they'd never done such strenuous work in their lives. It was like hell to them. Although Han Anmin and the others leading the team didn't treat them differently, this kind of work wasn't easy even for them, let alone for Zhang Wei and his 21st-century youths. They'd never done anything like this before.

Normally, people might be afraid of the heat when throwing out the trash, but this guy works more than ten hours a day doing heavy physical labor. That's no joke, it's more physically demanding than carrying bricks on a construction site, and he hardly has any rest time. Plus, the food he eats isn't even good.

The sorghum rice was considered good, not to mention the vegetables, which were practically devoid of oil. The most crucial point was that each person only ordered a few dishes, and they were never full. The amount they ate in a day wasn't even enough for one meal. It was incredibly easy for this guy to lose several pounds a day.

It's normal for their eyes to turn green, they're even almost going berserk. Unfortunately, they don't dare to make a move against Han Anmin and his group of villagers. They really can't beat them, and the others have done just as much, if not more, than them. They have no other choice but to curse Li Feng's ancestors for eighteen generations in their hearts.

At one point, several of them even considered jumping into the river to end it all. The chafed shoulders and blisters on their hands and feet were minor compared to the psychological strain they were going through. At the same time, they genuinely felt they were too well-fed and too happy, and how ridiculous it was to spend their free time online complaining about this and that, about injustices and unfairness.

Compared to their lives in the 21st century, it was like paradise. Some of them even thought that if they could go back, they would work hard, lose weight, and become people who would benefit society, instead of just talking the talk and complaining.

Compared to now, no matter how much injustice or unfairness there is in the future, it seems insignificant. At least we can eat our fill and use our phones, unlike now, where there's endless work, not enough to eat, and hunger is simply terrifying.

This is simply the most terrifying form of torture in the world. They don't want to go hungry anymore. As long as they can go back, they are willing to be Li Feng's slaves. As for the 200,000 yuan, they don't want it. As long as they can go back, they are willing to give all their money to Li Feng.

Wu Tong, Qin Yue, and the others listened as Zhang Wei, Liu Wei, and Wang Wei cried like children, pleading for help.

"Don't worry, we'll tell Boss Li as soon as we get back that we'll come pick you up as soon as possible. Don't be too sad, there's always a good thing, you've really succeeded in losing weight." Qin Yue's words of comfort only made her cry even louder.

Each of them cried more bitterly than if their parents had died. They had never cried so loudly before, filled with grievances. Wu Tong and the others felt a lump in their throats. It was too tragic. They would tell Boss Li about it when they got back.

Li Feng had no idea that after delivering the books and buying some groceries at the commune, he happily returned to Hanjiaba.

"Xiao Feng is back?"

"You're back, Uncle Tomita. Let's have a drink at noon."

Li Feng was in a good mood. He had published a book, and the commune and county had reported it to him, which resulted in a reward that would be delivered soon.

"You even bought wine? Is there some good news?" "The book was published."

Li Feng held up the net bag he was carrying, which contained a small bundle of books.

"Really, you're really capable. Let your uncle take a look."

Han Futian quickly closed the scorebook, walked over, took the book Li Feng had taken out, and glanced at it. "Alright, alright, let's go, let's go tell Third Brother, this is a joyous occasion and we should celebrate properly."

As expected, upon hearing this, Han Fuguo immediately told Shi Chunhua to go back and prepare for a proper celebration at noon.

This was a cause for celebration, and on his way back, Han Fuguo deliberately went around to Wang Dapao and Li Dayandai to show off, which made the two brigade leaders extremely jealous.

"It's not you, you old codger, that's the talent of the great writer Li."

"You're absolutely right, you've really hit the jackpot, Comrade Li Feng. Why don't you come to our brigade? We have plenty of girls there."

"Go! Go! Go."

Han Fuguo never expected these two to be so shameless. They even resorted to using their feminine wiles. No wonder they resorted to such tactics; someone like Li Feng, who could publish a book, could have entered the city in no time.

This young man is not lazy, he's fair-skinned and educated, and even though he's a bit older, he's healthy and without any illnesses. The young women in the village would be overjoyed to marry such a young man; their parents would probably even host a banquet for them to celebrate finding such a good husband.

After finally getting back to the team, Li Feng put his name on the bookmark and then took the wine and groceries to Han Fuguo's house. He drank until two or three o'clock at noon. He had just returned home when Wu Tong and the others came back in a donkey cart.

"Why are you back so early? You didn't play for long."

Li Feng washed his face; he'd drunk quite a bit and was still a little dizzy. "What's wrong?" Seeing their expressions, it seemed something was amiss.
"Boss Li, something's happened. I think you should go to the construction site and check on them. Zhang Wei and the others aren't doing well." Qin Yue sighed, thinking of how Zhang Wei and the others had pleaded with her.

"Oh?"

Li Feng put down the towel. "Tell me, what happened?"

“Zhang Wei and the others seem off. If we don’t bring them back soon, either they’ll get into trouble or cause a scene,” Wu Tong continued, picking up where Qin Yue left off. “You didn’t see them. They’re all so thin it’s terrifying. Their faces are all droopy.”

"Yes, I lost dozens of pounds in just over ten days."

"What did you say? You lost tens of kilograms all at once?"

"Yeah, that Liu Wei, he lost 60 or 70 pounds, and he looks completely different. The skin on his arms is all droopy and wrinkled." Qin Yue couldn't help but feel a little disgusted when she said this. He lost weight so fast that his skin couldn't keep up, and it looked like a layer of fake skin on his body. It was terrifying.

"Sixty or seventy jin?"

Li Feng's hand trembled. He was joking. To lose so much weight in just over ten days was terrifying. No wonder the others looked so pale and said something was wrong. Damn, something really could happen. Losing weight was fine, but this kind of weight loss could actually be fatal.

"What about the rest?"

“The others are a bit better, but they’re still quite thin, probably averaging around 40 pounds.” Tian Hao said quickly, seeing that Li Feng seemed quite surprised as well. “We were stunned when we saw them. They were completely different, especially their emotions. There was no light in their eyes. When they saw us bring food, their eyes turned green, like they could eat people.”

"Yes, it was terrifying, like a starving ghost."

The group still felt a bit scared when they thought about how Zhang Wei and his friends looked at the meat; their eyes were like those of demons.

"It seems the situation is a bit beyond my expectations." Li Feng originally thought that losing a pound or two a day would be great, but he didn't expect the river workers to be like this. Sigh, he forgot that these fat guys have never suffered like this or done this kind of work before, and the food they eat certainly can't satisfy them.

Li Feng had told Han Anmin that he would only give Zhang Wei and his men 80% of the grain they were entitled to, which was 20% less than what was given to ordinary river workers. Now it seemed that he had gone too far. These fat men were already big eaters, and now they were doing heavy work that they had never done before.

"Yes, we couldn't believe it when we saw it."

"Alright, let's skip it today. I've had a few drinks and I don't have the time. How about this, I'll go with you to pick them up tomorrow morning. When we get back in the evening, those who need to go to the hospital should go for checkups, and those who need to see a psychologist should go. I'll need your help to contact a hospital for Wu Tong," Li Feng said after considering the situation.

"No problem." (End of Chapter)