Espionage: I Have Photo Editing Software

Gongda Cotton Mill is located at the intersection of Jungong Road and Pingliang Road in Yangshupu. It was built by Japanese merchants.

Japanese yarn factories began using bonded laborers very early on because their wages were only 60% of those of regular workers, and they worked longer hours.

Besides economic factors, it was also because bonded laborers were less likely to strike and were easier to manage than ordinary female workers.

As a result, some Chinese yarn factories later began to employ bonded laborers.

Wei Renming rode the old bicycle from the photo studio, huffing and puffing, until he arrived at the Gongda Textile Factory.

It was lunchtime, but no one was coming in or out of the gate.

Undeterred, Wei Renming found a tea stall nearby, ordered a bowl of chilled tea, chatted with the owner for a bit, and then asked:

"I heard that this yarn factory has many contract workers in addition to regular workers?"

"Are you a reporter?" The boss sized up Wei Renming.

"Just chatting." Wei Renming tossed a few copper coins onto the table.

The shopkeeper picked up the coin and spoke:

"What kind of people are these? They're more like slaves."

I set up my stall at six o'clock every day, isn't that early enough?

But over the years, I've never seen those girls come to work at the factory.

Around eight or nine o'clock in the evening, the group of girls finished work and were chased back home by a group of thugs.

Those girls, they were so thin they barely had any flesh on them.

On several occasions, I witnessed them collapse to the ground while walking.

There were also little girls who tried to escape, but they were caught by the thugs and given a severe beating.

They were teenagers, born of mothers and fathers, and those beasts could really do that.

Wei Renming felt distressed upon hearing this.

Wei Renyi has endured such difficult days for a year.

"Do you know how much a young girl can earn for those foremen each year?" The tea stall owner gestured with his thumb and forefinger, "At least eighty dollars."

"So many?" Wei Renming asked in surprise.

"Many?" The stall owner chuckled bitterly. "A single foreman has at least thirty, sometimes over a hundred, workers under him. You do the math, how much money do these bloodsuckers make each year?"

Wei Renming did a quick mental calculation and was immediately dumbfounded.

This money is being made way too easily!

"It's hard to make money through labor, but easy to make money through money. Once they got their money, they opened teahouses and bathhouses, acquired land, and became incredibly wealthy."

Some of the foreman's bosses had connections with gangs, employing a lot of thugs and engaging in loan sharking, opium dens, and casinos, making a fortune every day!" The tea stall owner seemed to be expressing either envy or contempt.

Wei Renming frowned. "Do you know a foreman named Sun Cheng?"

He was the one who led people to the countryside to recruit people back then.

Wei Renyi's indentured servitude contract was also in his hands.

"I know, Sun the Cripple. He's a former hoodlum who had his leg broken years ago."

Later, somehow he ingratiated himself with the Japanese and became a foreman.

"Does he also keep shrews under his command?"

"They raised quite a few! They even opened a casino and a teahouse."

Wei Renming frowned even more deeply.

He had a feeling that this trip wouldn't go too smoothly.

Following directions from the tea stall owner, Wei Renming arrived at Hongyun Tea House.

"Is Boss Sun here?" Wei Renming stopped the waiter.

"Sir, what can I do for you, boss?"

"Can you make that decision?" Wei Renming replied.

"How can I make that decision? You take care of it."

The waiter led the way, taking Wei Renming up to the second floor.

"Boss, a gentleman is looking for you." The waiter knocked on the door of the private room.

"Crunch..."

A man wearing a short-sleeved shirt opened the door.

He glanced at Wei Renming twice before stepping aside.

Wei Renming stepped into the room and glanced around, spotting Sun Cheng drinking.

"Boss Sun, do you still remember me?" Wei Renming put the fruit in his hand aside and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Forgive my poor eyesight." Sun Cheng put down his wine cup, stood up, and returned the greeting.

"It's normal that you, a person of high status, can't remember things. A year ago, in the countryside of Funing, I met you once. At that time, you signed my sister's indenture," Wei Renming said with a smile.

"Oh, what is it?" Sun Cheng sat down again, his tone turning cold.

Wei Renming's smile remained unchanged. "I came here specifically to thank you. When the village suffered a disaster, my sister might have starved to death if it weren't for your help."

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face, so Sun Cheng had no choice but to speak:

"You're too kind. Dazhuang, please put the fruit away. May I ask your name?"

"My name is Wei Renming, and your name is Wei Renyi."

"Where does Mr. Wei work?"

"I wouldn't dare accept such a high position. I just run a small photo studio and barely make ends meet. If you ever want to have your picture taken, Mr. Sun, come to my shop, and I'll do it for free."

"Wow, opening a photo studio could make a lot of money."

"Business was slow when we first opened, and we're still heavily in debt," Wei Renming said with a wry smile.

Having learned all about Wei Renming's background, Sun Cheng immediately lost interest and dismissed him, saying, "Mr. Wei, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Why don't you sit down and have something to eat with us?"

"I won't bother you any longer. Besides thanking you, I also want to help redeem my sister from her servitude," Wei Renming said, getting down to business.

"Redeem yourself?" Sun Cheng frowned.

"Yes. I remember you said back then that you could redeem yourself at any time after signing the indentured servitude contract."

"Is that what I said back then?" Sun Cheng asked Da Zhuang beside him.

Da Zhuang said, "Perhaps Mr. Wei is mistaken. In our line of work, there has never been a rule about redeeming oneself from slavery."

Sun Cheng shrugged. "I'm all about rules in business. I can't do anything that breaks the rules."

"I only hope that Mr. Sun is kind and righteous and will allow me to redeem my sister from her servitude. Afterwards, I promise to keep my mouth shut and never tell anyone," Wei Renming said.

Sun Cheng nodded. "Even the law isn't devoid of human sentiment. If I refuse outright, I'll seem too cold-blooded. How about this: Mr. Wei, provide the ransom, and I'll return the indenture to you so you can take your sister home. What do you say?"

"Thank you, Boss Sun." Wei Renming took out twenty yuan and presented it.

Sun Cheng glanced at him and sneered:

"Mr. Wei is being unreasonable; he thinks he can just ransom someone with this little money?"

Wei Renming gritted his teeth, took out his last ten yuan, and said:

"This is all the money I have. I hope Mr. Sun will be lenient with me."

"Boss Wei is joking. This amount of money isn't even a fraction of what you need."

"Not even a fraction of the amount?" Wei Renming asked in astonishment.

According to the original owner's memories, he clearly remembered that Sun Cheng said that he could redeem himself for just 20 yuan.

Sun Cheng held up five fingers. "Five hundred yuan, and you can take the person away right now."

"Five hundred?" Wei Renming's face darkened.

He swallowed his anger, hoping to successfully redeem Wei Renyi, but unexpectedly, he still couldn't escape it.

"Come back to redeem him when you've raised enough money." After Sun Cheng finished speaking, Da Zhuang grabbed Wei Renming's arm and chased him out.

"Wait a minute," Wei Renming called out, then continued, "If you let me take the person away today, I'll pay you back two hundred each month for the next three months, how about that?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Sun Cheng sneered, "A year ago, you were just a poor country bumpkin, and now you own a photo studio? Who are you trying to fool?"

"Boss, he's clearly trying to trick you into releasing his sister so he can run away," Da Zhuang said.

"Chase them away!" Sun Cheng waved his hand.

Wei Renming's eyes turned cold. "Boss Sun, there's a saying: courtesy before force. I've given you face. I'll give you your money in full. If you don't release him today, then we've officially become enemies."

This is a world where people eat people.

If you don't want to be eaten, you have to become vicious.

What kind of bullshit rules are these?

These are all thresholds set for good people.