After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

In March, the mountain wind, carrying the earthy smell of soil, howled through the tin roofs of the quarry in Heishan Village.

Ye Cheng squatted beside the pile of rubble, holding half a dry steamed bun in his hand. He took a bite, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

Ma Zhigang walked over with an enamel mug, squatted down next to him, and sat there silently.

The distant sound of hammers striking the granite came one after another, muffled and heavy.

Zhao Shanhe, shirtless, swung his sledgehammer, sending rocks flying in all directions with each strike.

"Brother Cheng, don't force yourself to eat if you can't." Ma Zhigang handed over the enamel mug, which was filled with coarse tea leaves, steaming upwards.

Ye Cheng shook his head, stuffed the dry steamed bun into his pocket, stood up, and dusted off his backside.

"The batch of stone blocks needs to be stacked properly this afternoon, and loaded onto the truck early the day after tomorrow."

Ma Zhigang opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't ask any more questions.

The inspection team has been gone for two days.

He didn't know what happened in the end.

The hand-cranked telephone at the brigade headquarters hasn't rung in the last two days.

The midday sun shone down directly, making the stone surface scorching hot.

The entire quarry continued working at a leisurely pace, with no one mentioning money.

The workers from Heishan Village were not mentioned, nor were the fifteen strong laborers from Dahe Village.

Every day, Zhao Xiuxiu would carry a load from Dahe Village to deliver meals: a pot of white rice porridge and two baskets of mixed grain cakes, both dry and soupy, and enough for everyone.

Life is tough, but we won't go hungry.

Ma Zhigang stood up, preparing to go to the other side of the bridge to continue supervising the construction.

A series of hurried footsteps came from the direction of the village entrance, and the village chief, Wang Laocai, shouted from half a road away.

"Ye Cheng! Is Ye Cheng here?"

Ye Cheng peeked out from behind the pile of stones, his forehead covered in dust. "Village chief, what's up?"

Old Wang was so out of breath that he had to lean on his knees and bend over to catch his breath for a while.

"The phone's ringing, it's the brigade headquarters." Old Wang straightened up, his voice cracking. "It's from Beicheng, an engineer surnamed Gao, saying he's from the provincial construction company."

Upon hearing this, Ma Zhigang rushed to Ye Cheng's side in three quick steps.

"Brother Cheng, it's a call from Beicheng."

Ye Cheng paused for two seconds, then threw down the iron crowbar in his hand and strode towards the brigade headquarters.

Ma Zhigang followed behind, his heart pounding in his chest.

The hand-cranked telephone at the brigade headquarters was placed on a wooden table by the window, with the receiver tied with a red cloth strip and resting on the table.

When Ye Cheng picked up the microphone, his fingers were covered in stone powder and calluses, leaving a white mark on the black bakelite receiver.

"Feed?"

The voice on the other end of the phone had a static crackling sound, but it was clear.

"Comrade Ye Cheng? I am Gao Changzheng from the provincial construction company."

"Senior Engineer, that's me."

"Xiao Ye, I have good news for you." Gao Changzheng's voice was full of laughter even through the phone line. "The General Hospital of the Military Region just sent an official letter that your settlement account has been fully unfrozen."

Ye Cheng tightened his grip on the microphone, but remained silent.

"Did you hear that? It's unfrozen, completely unfrozen." Gao Changzheng raised his voice. "Not only is it unfrozen, but all the payments owed to you before will be settled in one lump sum within three working days, and every penny will be transferred to your credit union account."

Ye Cheng stood in front of the old, hand-cranked telephone, his lips moving slightly.

Ma Zhigang was standing a step behind him when he saw Ye Cheng's back twitch.

"Senior Engineer," Ye Cheng said, his voice a little hoarse, "How much?"

"Including this batch and the previous month's, the total is exactly 1,762.8 yuan," Gao Changzheng reported. "In addition, the main hospital also specially provided a statement, in black and white with a big red seal, stating that the quality of the stone from your quarry has been tested by a special municipal-level inspection and belongs to the top-grade standard, and the supply price is reasonable and lower than the market price. Three copies of this document were made, one for you, one for the provincial construction archives, and one for the county."

Ye Cheng's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

One thousand seven hundred and sixty-two yuan and eight mao.

What this number means is only known to those who have been eating dry bread in this place for months.

This means the hard-earned money of more than forty workers.

This means the pig that Zhao Dahai from Dahe Village killed.

This means those days when Zhao Xiuxiu would get up before dawn every day to steam mixed grain cakes and carry them on a shoulder pole for four miles along the mountain road to deliver them.

"Xiao Ye? Are you still there?" Gao Changzheng asked on the other end of the phone.

Ye Cheng used the hand that wasn't holding the microphone to wipe his face hard.

My hands were covered in stone powder mixed with sweat.

"Yes." His voice was muffled, as if it had been pressed down from under a stone. "Engineer Gao, thank you for calling."

"No need to thank me, there are plenty of people I should thank." Gao Changzheng laughed. "Just focus on delivering the goods. There's still a lot of work to be done. The entire building at the main hospital is counting on your good stones."

Ye Cheng nodded, then, remembering that the other person couldn't see, he replied in a hoarse voice, "Okay."

The phone hangs up.

Ye Cheng put the microphone back and turned around.

Ma Zhigang stood at the door, with Wang Laocai behind him, and then Uncle Gen and several workers who had followed him there at some point.

Everyone looked at him, but no one said a word.

Ye Cheng's eyes reddened, and the muscles on both sides of his nose tensed up.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't say the first word. He sniffed and then spoke again.

"The funds have been released. Everything has been unfrozen."

Ma Zhigang was the first to react, slapping his thigh. "Really?"

"More than 1,700 yuan, transferred to your account within three days."

Uncle Gen almost dropped his pipe, but quickly caught it. The wrinkles on his old face all bunched up, and his mouth opened wide, revealing a few teeth that were yellowed from smoking.

"Good heavens, this time it's really secure."

Old Wang chimed in from behind, "What did I say? Ye Zhen has a lot of influence in Beicheng. Do you think she'll let her brother's situation go unpunished?"

Ma Zhigang rolled his eyes at him, but he wasn't in the mood to argue with the village chief right now.

Ye Cheng walked out of the brigade headquarters and returned to the quarry.

The sunlight made the pebbles on the ground look white.

He could see Zhao Shanhe still swinging the sledgehammer in the arena, one strike after another, the sound muffled and deep.

Ye Cheng stood on the pile of stones, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Stop for a moment."

The hammering stopped intermittently, and more than forty shirtless men covered in sweat turned around.

"The payment from Beicheng has arrived." Ye Cheng's voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the quiet room heard him clearly. "The freeze has been lifted, and the owed wages will all be credited to your account within three days, not a penny less."

The room was silent for two seconds.

Zhao Shanhe was the first to react. He threw the sledgehammer to the ground, jumped onto the pile of stones, and let out a loud howl.

That shout startled several birds on the distant hillside into flight.

"The money's coming! Brothers, the money's coming!"

The workers were stunned for a moment, and then the whole place erupted like a boiling pot.

Some people took off their straw hats and threw them into the air, some people used hammers to hit stones, making a loud clanging sound, and some people sat down on a pile of rubble and laughed loudly.

Zhao Shanhe jumped down from the pile of stones and rushed to Ye Cheng. His two large, lime-covered hands slapped Ye Cheng on the shoulder, causing Ye Cheng to stumble.

"Chengzi, I told you, your sister and her husband are in Beicheng, no one can touch you."

Ye Cheng winced as he was patted, but didn't dodge, just stood there letting him pat him.

Uncle Gen squatted down beside him, a pipe in his mouth, puffing away. As he puffed, he grinned, and as he smiled, a light appeared in his cloudy old eyes.

Ma Zhigang stood on the periphery of the crowd, watching the chaotic scene, and quietly turned his back to wipe the corner of his eye with his sleeve.

He didn't cry, it was just that the wind was strong and he got something in his eyes.