Work diary of a large factory in a southern city district (expected daily updates)

free discussion Work Diary
1

March 1st
Woke up at 6:15 in the morning, washed up, then went to breakfast with L at a breakfast shop, and afterwards rode an electric bike to the factory.
First arrived at Workshop C1, didn’t see anyone after 7 o’clock, around 7:20, I took the initiative to find the workshop director (which is basically the foreman, let’s call him that from now on), told him I came for an interview yesterday. At this moment, I looked back at the CNC machine area, where someone was already explaining to L how to operate it. The foreman told me to follow along.
The foreman told us that they only plan to hire one person for the laser cutting position, and said they don’t do night shifts, so two people are unnecessary. They said they would see who is suitable for this job, and the other person would do assembly upstairs. He also mentioned that operating the computer requires long-term commitment, at least a year, and not to run away immediately, as they would have to spend time teaching someone to operate the machine again.
Then another worker demonstrated the process and precautions for the laser cutting job:

  • Turn on the machine and find the edge of the frame.
  • Keep an eye on the nozzle to ensure the cutting flame doesn’t appear on the carbon steel plate. If it does, quickly press reset on the computer, report to the foreman for handling.
  • After cutting, use a crane to move the finished product to the ground, then hammer it off, pack it into bags, and place it on pallets. (Initially, I was the one hammering because I was unfamiliar and it was quite tiring. After hammering, sweat soaked my whole body, which was a bit exhausting. The worker teaching us told me to take a break, but the foreman came over and insisted we keep packing, completely ignoring the workers’ rest.)
  • Use the crane to move new carbon steel plates onto the machine (the foreman said that for 2.5-meter plates, the vertical side should leave three pointed spaces, and for 3-meter plates, one pointed space).
    Next, the foreman separately talked with me and L. There was a small incident where I casually took out my phone to check the time, and the worker who was teaching us the operation saw it. He came over and told me not to play with my phone during work hours because there’s monitoring, and the boss would see. He said if I was really bored, I could walk around the back of the machine and take a look.
    When the foreman talked to me, he asked where I was from. I told him I was from a certain county in the city (later I learned that L directly told the foreman he was from another province). The foreman said that the laser cutting job requires long-term stability, and since my hometown is very close—about an hour by bus—he clearly expressed that I should do the cutting downstairs and L should do assembly upstairs.
    I didn’t decide immediately, saying I would think about it (in fact, the foreman’s words seemed to be trying to divide us, wanting to create unfair competition between me and L, and to use regional discrimination while making me feel grateful to the factory). Then, while the foreman was not around, I told L that this person is not trustworthy (because earlier he didn’t let us take a break after hammering the iron, and kept pushing us to work faster). I said that our stance was completely aligned with the factory’s. L said he was a capitalist’s dog, I agreed, then asked if the foreman asked where his hometown was, and he said yes. I then explained the foreman’s tactic of dividing us with regional discrimination (that’s roughly what happened, the details are a bit fuzzy).
    Later, when we had some free time, L and I took turns sitting and resting. After the carbon steel plates were cut, we went through the process again, waited, and as it was nearing the end of the shift, the foreman came to teach us how to stop the machine if the plates weren’t finished.
    Then we left the factory. On the way, L asked a worker where to eat, and the worker told us to go to a shop across the street at the corner outside the factory. He also mentioned that the factory’s canteen had closed because no one was eating there. We then went to a Lanzhou ramen shop to eat.
    During our free time, we continued to talk. We decided that I would go upstairs and L would stay downstairs. If I resigned, I could use the excuse of family gambling debts, and L could say there was a family emergency. I said the foreman wanted me downstairs and L upstairs, and we should not let them get their way.
    In the afternoon, the foreman first looked for me, probably wanting me to have priority in choosing the job, but I argued that I could earn more working upstairs based on piecework, and I needed money urgently because of family gambling debts. The foreman and HR finally agreed. Then the foreman took me upstairs, introduced me to a production team leader with the surname Zhu, and then left.
    The team leader named Zhu asked me to learn with an experienced worker, then went to do his own tasks.
    I then kept learning from the experienced worker, first learning how to stand up a tube-like thing, then push the tube upward and pull it back into place, and pack it into a box. Then I learned how to package and prepare before placing items into the box.
    At first, I was very unfamiliar, and kept getting the tube wrong, but the worker was very patient, telling me not to rush since there was plenty of time in the afternoon. When packaging, I also struggled with uneven tape, wrinkling and not sealing tightly.
    There was an accident when I didn’t put all three parts of the iron stand into the box. The worker reminded me and reopened the box to redo it, warning that mistakes could cost money.
    Next was signing the employment contract, which stated that resignation required a one-month notice. The HR told me to check in daily on DingTalk, and missing a punch would deduct 10 yuan.
    Then I continued working. During this time, the experienced worker asked about my background, and I explained that my father gambled and I left home. I said the wages should be higher because it’s piecework. He was silent for a moment, saying that starting out, whether you’re skilled or not, you shouldn’t expect high wages. You need to work here for at least two or three years to learn the skills.
    Later, I chatted with the worker, who told me he has two sons, the youngest over twenty, studying to be a chef in a hotel in a southern city, and the eldest served nine years in the navy. Hearing this, I lost interest in discussing politics, as I couldn’t be sure of his stance.
    At 4:30 pm, we clocked out with facial recognition and left in shifts with L. During dinner, we talked about how most workers in the factory are older. I said I think the factory is deliberately doing this because the older generation has become quite stubborn due to long-term experience and finds it hard to accept new ideas. I said it’s quite calculating, making it hard for us to communicate effectively with them (roughly the meaning, not the exact words).
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This is a typo, right?

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March 2
Today I woke up twenty minutes late, washed up, went out for breakfast, then rode an electric bike to the factory.
Clocked in, went upstairs, and started work (today all day I was holding a threaded pipe and assembling small ring-like parts, two of them, finally screwing the nuts on by hand. If it was hard to screw in, I would tap it with a wrench and turn it again).
Today, the old worker who came here three or four days earlier than me after taking leave yesterday also came. He is from the southwestern province (I learned his surname is Hu during chatting, so I’ll call him Hu). He is in the same production team as me and the other veteran worker, screwing parts.
We spent the whole day working and chatting, talking about trivial matters and our past experiences, such as which type of bamboo shoots are tasty, catching snakes to sell, or that the home-made radish dry has rotted. I’ll pick the most impressive story to describe specifically:
First, the veteran worker said he owns two sets of commercial housing (the property fee is over ten thousand yuan a year), which he gave to his two sons, and he also runs a chess and card room and sells cigarettes. Then he talked about going to the seaside with his family, where his youngest son almost got washed away by the waves, and he lost a watch worth over a hundred yuan. I said that watches don’t matter much, as long as people are safe. He agreed. Then he mentioned someone in his village, who has a wife, two daughters, and an illegitimate child, not in the city but in my hometown. This person plans to marry off his two daughters first, then bring the illegitimate child to inherit his entire estate. He keeps urging his daughters to marry quickly, causing family conflicts, and their relationship is very strained. Hu listened but did not criticize that person; instead, he said nowadays people have their ideas, seemingly approving of what that person did. I felt a bit dissatisfied but didn’t show it immediately.
Later, Hu and the veteran worker cooked turtle and beef whip together for a nourishing soup and talked about some vulgar dirty jokes (I won’t describe specifically), which lowered my impression of him. Also, he smokes, and among us workers, he is basically the only one who smokes. He goes to the toilet to smoke from time to time and then comes back.
Both the veteran worker and I advised Hu not to smoke so much, telling him smoking harms health and costs money. The veteran worker also used an example of someone in his village who smoked excessively and died early to warn him.
In the afternoon, the young women here and the foreman played around and didn’t work much, while the three of us had to work hard because we had many things to screw, feeling very unbalanced, and I felt disgusted and angry. Hu said that nowadays, society is unequal, and men can only do the most menial physical work, which is exhausting. I said that’s not necessarily true; regardless of gender, wealth determines social status. He agreed.
About half an hour before the end of the shift, we all looked forward to getting off work. The veteran worker said it’s best not to work overtime; he doesn’t like overtime. I said I agree. The veteran worker then told me and Hu about working in a black factory with his brother, where they worked twelve hours a day, two shifts, and night shifts, which was very exhausting and hard to endure. Hu said he also went to that factory. He said if workers could produce 800 bottles of laundry detergent (or powder) daily, the factory would demand 900 or 1000. Hu warned me that when working in other factories, don’t foolishly say you’re doing heavy work, or you’ll be working nonstop and exhausted.
Then Hu asked if I was busy looking at my phone after work. I said no, I read books, history books. I said reading history helps learn lessons and experiences, which is helpful. Working during the day and reading at night makes me feel quite fulfilled. He agreed that I was reasonable and said it was good.
Near the end of the shift, Hu talked to me about love. I said I’ve never been in love since I was a child. He said that’s not good and advised me to read more romance novels to find a girlfriend easily. I asked how that would help, and he said love is for emotional satisfaction. I said I wouldn’t fall in love easily; both parties should take responsibility. He said if a woman is irresponsible, just break up, no need for responsibility. I said that’s just physical relations. I said I only want a relationship where both have compatible values and can live happily. He said I just haven’t found the right person yet. It was 4:30, and I stopped talking then.

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On March 3rd
This morning, the factory held an early meeting. The foreman was there giving a speech, saying that water and electricity should be turned off promptly and that no more carts borrowed from other groups should be taken recklessly. He said this affects production efficiency and wastes factory resources, which is completely the attitude of a capitalist’s dog servant. At the end, he also checked whether workers were wearing uniforms and badges, and those who weren’t had to be noted for handling (he didn’t specify how to punish). He said that wearing clothes and badges is a trivial matter, and if you can’t even handle these small things in life, how can the factory meet its production targets? Honestly, I think this is deliberately domestication of workers, making them obey the factory in small matters, gradually cultivating a habit of obeying the factory in everything, to maintain the order of capitalist exploitation.
Then we went upstairs to start work. The veteran workers took leave today and didn’t come. Hu and I initially just worked silently without talking. Later, I found it too boring, so I主动开口说起农民起义，说农民要将自己大部分都收成交给地主，再加上各种苛捐杂税，饭都吃不起，活不下去了，就发动了起义，结果往往会被地主用残忍的手段（我说了地主用碎尸来威慑其他农民）镇压，他说现在国内也有很多案件的那些杀人犯就是很残暴很变态的，跟我说什么人肉包子啊，云南有过，天津也有（他还说那个店长一开始杀员工做肉馅，后来员工多起来了，不好下手就杀外地人）这样子。又说国内有一个作家，曾经没什么钱，入室杀了一家三口抢钱，后来把自己的犯罪经历写出来，赚钱了还没被捕。他问我平常知道这些新闻吗，我说不知道。
他说这些杀人犯，很多都是那种心理很扭曲的，什么一吃上人肉觉得太好吃了停不下来啊杀人有快感啊之类的。我说这些杀人犯，会那么扭曲，完全就是因为他们只是沉浸在自己的个人世界里，只想要自己的享乐啊什么的，为此是不把别人的性命感受当一回事的。
之后他跟我说要懂得向自己的上层贿赂，那样就能干得轻松点的活，我说这不好，真要干得轻松的，为什么不是团结其他工人一起去抗议，别人不答应就围着不让他走呢？他说你刚来工厂没几天，别人哪里会理你，而且有的人贿赂好了工作轻松了，哪里还会跟你一起，我说那就慢慢来啊，找那些跟我一样工作不轻松的人，跟他们说我们和别人的差异，我们干得比别人累结果待遇还不比干得轻松的人要好，这些都是工厂规定的，我们应该一起去找工厂方的管理人提要求，这样团结起来去向工厂的管理层抗议，把他围住必须答应我们的条件否则就不让他离开这样子不就行了。胡说工厂管理层一般是老板的亲戚，老板不会允许你们这么搞的，我说那就连老板也一起弄，我们人多，他们人少，只要我们团结起来，他们那么少的人的力量怎么比得过我们呢？
胡说就算答应条件，事后工厂啊老板啊会特地来找你算账的，枪打出头鸟嘛，到时候别人都已经得到好处了，不会冒着损害自己的风险来帮你的，你到时候不就完蛋了。我说我到时候继续跟其他工人说如果就这么让工厂把喊声最大的几个人给分散处理掉了，他们看你们没有反应没有反抗之后还是会削减之前答应你们的条件，甚至完全收回变本加厉地对待你们这样子，继续团结工人，集体地去与工厂抗争 。胡只是笑笑，似乎没把我说的话当回事。
之后我还跟他说了早上的早会的事情，说自己好像还在学校里，管得那么严，他就跟我说起了他之前在一家大厂工作的经历，说这里还好，那里管得更严，他们还会骂人呢。我说骂人然后让工人不反驳只是听他们骂他，长期下来，就是要把工人训得只是服从工厂不会反抗，胡说对，就是这样。
胡还跟我聊了他之前在西南某省份生活的时候出边境去缅北偷猎野生动物后回去，当时他的一个朋友晚点回去，说是想要人口买卖买个老婆回去，结果被抓住关水牢里去了，两天不给他吃饱，让他没力气，要不是胡跟边境官军有关系，他朋友就赎不出来了（他还说我如果入伍了得向上级贿赂才能晋升得好和快，说什么这好听点就是说人情世故什么的，我说这就只是利益关系。）。我说人被骗到缅北就要被当作商品一样器官都被卖掉，胡说没那么简单，要先把被骗的人的财产都弄光，再把他们家属的钱骗光，接着让被骗的人做苦力，做得死去活来后差不多了才把人器官摘下来卖完要榨干任何一个被骗的人。
晚上四点半下班。

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March 4
Today, we had another pipe fitter here. He is a childhood friend of the owner of this factory, a worker’s son, a privileged worker. Even if he often waters down the water, wears headphones to listen to books, hides in the toilet to smoke, and gets caught by the factory, he is only verbally criticized, not fined or fired. But if we ordinary workers violate the factory’s rules, the mildest punishment is a fifty yuan deduction, and the worst is being fired.
Because this privileged worker was present, I became more alert. Basically, I spent the whole day listening to old workers and Hu chatting, rarely speaking.
Some of the things the old workers and Hu said left a deep impression on me:
First, about a female worker in our factory. She has a bad relationship with her husband. Her husband forced her to go to work and earn money while he stayed at home all day. They often argued, and once her husband even threatened her with a kitchen knife, chasing her to cut her. She ran away (at this point, the old worker asked how Hu would respond if it were him, and Hu said he would resist with a knife and then take the knife away to control the other person). Despite all this, she still doesn’t want a divorce because they have two children. Hu then smiled and said something very outrageous, like not divorcing because she had been with her husband (forgot the rest of the sentence). I said such things are not easy to judge lightly, and don’t joke about people who are treated unfairly. Hu agreed with a few words, and we all fell silent for a few minutes, focusing on twisting the pipes without talking. After a while, Hu and the old worker started chatting again.
Then we talked about phone bills. The old worker said his phone bill used to be only thirty or forty yuan a month, but now it’s seventy or eighty, and he doesn’t know what they are doing. They always open some services without asking. I said I also pay about 170 yuan a month, and Hu said he now inexplicably pays 170 or 180 yuan. We said that China Mobile and China Telecom are the same, both recklessly opening services without informing people. I said they are just trying to swallow money, and they use all kinds of means for this.
Work ends at 4:30.

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March 5
Today I hardly chatted at all because the capitalists from this factory came to patrol our workshop from time to time. Hu and I didn’t see the capitalists coming to patrol at first, and we were still chatting. The old workers hurriedly told us that the boss was here, so we shouldn’t talk. We then looked down at the pipes and started twisting, not speaking anymore, waiting until the capitalists left before we resumed chatting.
After that, we didn’t chat much either, but the old workers and Hu sang while twisting because they were singing love songs. I didn’t understand these songs and couldn’t sing them, so I stayed silent, screwing nuts and fittings into the pipes. Also, because my ring finger was still injured (cut while washing a knife yesterday), my speed was slower. Although no one was specifically supervising, and I was on a time-based system rather than piecework, working slowly like this wasn’t a big problem.
Seeing my silence, the old workers and Hu asked if I usually didn’t listen to music. I said no, the songs I listen to are quite old, from the 1950s or even earlier, and I don’t listen to love songs.
They said love songs were the most popular in the 1950s and 60s. I was surprised and said maybe not, but they were very sure it was. I was still doubtful but didn’t continue the topic.
When it was almost time to leave, the old worker talked to me about corruption, saying that the brigade secretary named Geng and his brother had embezzled public funds used for immigration and were imprisoned for about eleven or twelve years (his brother twelve, his brother eleven). They haven’t come out yet. Then he mentioned that their mother built a house, but she argued with the cement worker because he did a poor job, and even called someone to beat him. Somehow, the cement worker fell from her building and died, and she paid a lot of money. Regarding this matter, the old worker told me that when he was in his twenties or thirties (he’s 61 now, probably in the 1990s), there were many gangsters and hooligans. It was very chaotic then, with robberies and rapes everywhere. He said a female worker from a factory he worked at was raped in the bushes after work.
Finished work at 4:30.

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Probably refers to Hong Kong

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March 6
Today Hu talked to me about how there are especially many people involved in drug trafficking, drug use, and prostitution in his hometown (the southwestern border provinces). He also mentioned campus loans, where female students who lack money want money and take nude photos of themselves to lend money. If they don’t repay later, the lenders threaten them with the photos, even forcing them to sell their bodies to repay the loans. He then said that sometimes there are cars on the roadside that sell prostitution, with Red Bull or Green Tea on top, costing 600 per night for Red Bull and 300 for Green Tea. I asked him if he has ever patronized prostitutes, and he said yes, otherwise how would he know so clearly. I said that was too outrageous, but he instead advised me to enjoy myself early, since once you pay, you don’t have to be responsible for the women. I wanted to tell him that such thinking is wrong, but the team leader with the surname Zhu already made him go mop the floor, so I didn’t immediately confront his seriously objectifying women thoughts.

When he returned, I took the initiative to say that prostitution is bad because it treats women’s bodies as commodities in monetary transactions. He said it’s not good, but it’s consensual, so what’s the big deal? Moreover, they are forced into it by life; they have money, and I can enjoy it. I told him that they are not without hands or feet and can work in factories like us to support themselves. He said I don’t understand; many of those who sell are foreigners from countries like Thailand and Myanmar, who don’t speak the language well. Plus, there is ethnic discrimination, and domestic factories won’t want them. If they can’t survive, they have no choice but to do this. When the foreman came up, we stopped talking, and when he left, it was almost the end of the shift.

At noon, after lunch, I continued talking with Hu and learned that when he was 18, his father went bankrupt due to gambling. He was too tired from working part-time to pay for living expenses and schooling, so he dropped out and went out to work. He then worked as a chef for three years and a head chef for one year. He has done all kinds of jobs. He also advised me not to work in the service industry, as it’s the most dishonorable.

In the afternoon, Hu was called to carry things and only came back around four o’clock. I chatted with him and found out that his biological father was initially a deputy mayor of a city. He said that now you can still search for his father’s name. His father later used government funds for gambling, was imprisoned, and during his time in prison, all his assets were transferred by his mistress using various means. Their family went bankrupt, and after his father was released, he still refused to stop gambling.

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If there is a chance in the future, I should try to correct Hu’s thoughts, because such thoughts serve to uphold capitalism and patriarchy.
To make Hu realize the degenerate nature of prostitution, you could ask him whether he can accept his own family members engaging in prostitution—after all, prostitutes are also someone’s daughters (or mothers).
But if he can accept this, or if he sees this question as an attack on him, then it won’t be easy… If he truly behaves so stubbornly, it might be better to turn to other workers instead.

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Today is no longer as easy as before to twist pipes, but instead to check the quality of the lightning arresters and move and install them into new iron frames (those with bulges or gaps are directly taken to another small frame, bulged ones need to have parts disassembled, and those with gaps need to have their rubber parts completely shaved off with a knife). There is a short distance between the frames, so I have to walk back and forth to move and install the lightning arresters, and I haven’t sat down to rest, nor had time to chat with other workers.

After my senior worker and I finished handling the lightning arresters, we went to help shave the rubber parts of the problematic ones. I was carefully taught the shaving techniques by a middle-aged worker from Shandong several times, but I just couldn’t learn it. I only used brute force to struggle and grind, and as a result, I didn’t finish even one in an hour, and I broke five brand-new blades in a row. Unable to do it, they asked me to help a female worker install lightning arrester accessories.

In the afternoon, because we are going to have a holiday the day after tomorrow (in fact, I and L are quite lucky, only working for seven days before the holiday, while other workers have been working since February, for about twenty days), the task downstairs was heavier, so my female colleague went down to help. I was alone installing accessories until nearly four o’clock when it was almost time to get off work. The other workers had almost finished and came over to work together. During this time, the middle-aged worker from Shandong gave me a big White Rabbit milk candy and chatted with me, saying that this place isn’t suitable for someone my age to work here. Most of the workers here are older like them, and I should go to an electronics factory where there are more young guys and girls, and there is air conditioning in summer. I said I would work for two months first and see how it goes, then we just kept working.

Work ended at 4:30.

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March 10
Today I was working tirelessly all day. Although it wasn’t as harsh as the initial black factory, it was still quite tough.
In the morning, Hu and I were called by the team leader to another workshop to work. At first, we used forklifts to move and unload bags containing metal materials, weighing them. Then we had to open the bags, pour out all the materials, and count whether there was too much or too little. After that, we had to put the verified materials back into new bags and transport them elsewhere with the forklift.
Because Hu mentioned that the boss’s wife (to be blunt, a family slave attached to the capitalists and regarded as private property) was watching nearby, Hu and I hardly said anything. After a tiring morning, when the supervisor wasn’t around, I took the opportunity to lean against the forklift and rest for a moment.
In the afternoon, the so-called boss’s wife asked me how old I was and where I was from. When she learned my hometown, she said it was a good place. Then she happily took me alone (separating me from Hu) to a machine, where a middle-aged worker showed me the process, and I worked there.
The machine takes about eight minutes to produce a batch of finished products. Before that, I had to quickly throw four 80-pound bags of metal materials onto the machine, or the paint on the finished products wouldn’t spray properly.
There are no chairs for me to rest on here, which means I have to manually unload about 320 pounds of finished products every 8 minutes for roughly four hours in the afternoon, exhausting me. Then I have to throw four 80-pound bags of materials into the machine, leaving only 8 minutes to stand and rest. Honestly, I didn’t stop sweating the entire afternoon.
This was a physically demanding job from the start (the previous factory was nonstop, but here there is at least an 8-minute break, and carrying wood is not only heavy but also requires holding it for a long time), but I think I can manage. After all, I don’t feel pain anywhere after finishing work, unlike in the old factory.

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I thought you had been assigned an easy job, but it turned out to be even more exhausting.

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March 11
Today I didn’t say we should continue to manipulate that machine, because the finished products we made yesterday were already enough. We just counted up to two hundred finished products and put them into bags. Then, we would weigh several bags, each weighing about twenty to thirty kilograms, one by one, and then carry them to the pallet using a forklift.
Around eleven o’clock, Hu suggested we just count slowly and finish before the end of work, then go outside to smoke. As a result, the warehouse manager came over and asked us to quickly finish counting and packing. We just followed the instructions, and then we were asked to sweep the area we worked in.
At noon, I had lunch with Hu. We chatted casually, and Hu talked about his two sisters and their daily lives (his youngest sister finished the dozen or so pieces of meat floss cake he bought in just two days, and she has started coughing again recently). I listened and shared my opinions, such as that eating cake all day is not good, it’s not nutritious, and eating too much is bad for health. Hu also suggested I try eating turkey noodles, saying I could try the very spicy industrial chili that might make my throat burn.
Perhaps knowing that I strongly oppose jokes about women, since the day I argued with Hu about this, he has not talked to me about women-related topics anymore.
In the afternoon, I moved to work in the warehouse. There was still no seat to rest, and I had to stand all afternoon, running around wherever there was work to do. The work mainly involved handling and loading heavy objects. However, Hu worked with me, so I didn’t have to carry 30 to 50 kilograms of stuff alone and get exhausted. Moreover, Hu taught me how to coordinate to work more easily and efficiently (one person squatting to pick up items and handing them up, while another person standing and receiving the items without bending down, placing them directly—Hu said this is like an assembly line, very fast), which made the work much less tiring and more efficient than before.
Work ended at 4:30.

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March 12
Today I spent the whole day running back and forth moving and unloading items. Although Hu and I were both being ordered around, most of the time we couldn’t work together because we were separated, each doing our own thing with iron plates, steel sheets, steel pipes, and so on. Even when we were together, we were urged to work faster, and being watched and pressured like that, we naturally couldn’t chat.
Because I went to bed a bit late yesterday, I was quite drowsy today, which is a dangerous state when working. When pulling the forklift in the morning, I almost fell asleep with my eyes half-closed, and during the downhill, the forklift pressed directly on my foot. The pain immediately woke me up. Fortunately, I stopped in time using the hand brake, so I didn’t get injured or keep hurting, but after a whole day of work, my foot was rubbed raw and bled.
Finished work at 4:30.

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That’s scary, how much walking does that involve? Should I buy some softer insoles?

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March 14th
Today, the whole day of work was relatively easy. At the beginning of the shift, our production team leader with the surname Zhu (let’s call him Zhu) was standing with the veteran worker and me. Zhu reminded me to put the umbrella on the other side, not at the work station. The veteran worker said, “Sure enough, still a kid.” Then Zhu asked me my age, I said 17, four months later I will be 18. Zhu said I could take my time, no need to rush if I didn’t learn something. Then he took me to a place with a row of what looked like light tubes or similar items, and asked me to label them, and there was a seat available.
I worked for about an hour. After labeling, I looked for Zhu, who then took me to a drill press and demonstrated how to operate it, reminding me to spray paint on any black spots on the steel plate. Then I started drilling holes. Zhu checked that I was drilling properly and went back to his own work.
Talking about Hu, he was called by Zhu to move forklifts and tighten screws on the light tubes or something, which was much more tiring than my work.
Since the tasks were light, there was no one else to chat with nearby, making the whole morning quite boring.
In the morning, there was a small incident. I deliberately hid in the bathroom to look at my phone and check messages, but Zhu saw me. He said not to play with the phone behind the door in the future. If he saw it, it was okay, but if the boss or others saw, I would be fined. I agreed and continued working.
In the afternoon, after finishing the drill press work, Zhu asked me to clean around the drill. I did that, then I was called to move a few bundles of light, which were very light, from the freight elevator to Hu. Then Zhu demonstrated how to wrap the light tubes with tape using a tape machine. I then wrapped the light tubes for three hours. After finishing, I helped Hu clean around, then looked for Zhu. Zhu asked me and Hu to find screw pipes to tighten (similar to before).
In the last half hour or so, Hu, the veteran worker, and Gong Gui talked about stocks. The veteran worker said someone in their village was originally very rich, owning three apartments in the city, and a self-built house in their village. But because of stock trading, he lost everything, sold his house, and got divorced. Hu also said he had a friend who traded stocks and lost all his money, also divorced. I said trading stocks is like gambling, but I didn’t go into details. When the bell rang for the end of work, we all left.

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18

The monopolizing bourgeois house always takes everything,

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March 15
Arrived at the factory promptly at 7:30 in the morning, started screwing in screws, and in the morning there was some chatting, mostly idle talk. The most memorable part was discussing the difference between yellow corn and glutinous corn with Hu and Lao Biao (that’s what everyone calls him, I don’t know his surname). Hu asked if I knew, I said I knew that yellow corn is the usual yellow kind, but I didn’t know what glutinous corn was. Hu said it’s the kind that tastes sticky when eaten (I can’t quite remember the exact words). I responded a few times and then continued working.
Later, something happened that left a deep impression on me. The old worker, because the size of the parts he assembled was slightly different from Lao Biao’s—his was larger, Lao Biao’s was smaller—went to ask the factory management about it. He received no reply. When he returned and told Lao Biao, Lao Biao said that the old worker shouldn’t have asked; they didn’t find any issues, so we just assembled and shipped it out. Now that the old worker asked, they will know there is a problem with our assembly, and we will have to reassemble it. The old worker said that if they find problems later, they will still ask us to reassemble, so he thought it was better to tell them now and fix it early. Lao Biao said they can’t tell, they’ve looked at it several times before (referring to the quality inspector examining the finished product yesterday and not finding any issues with the parts’ sizes). If he asks now, it will only cause trouble. The old worker said nothing and remained silent.
As expected, in the afternoon, a female quality inspector called Xiao Wei (she was called that by many workers, and she only arrived in the afternoon, showing the factory’s low efficiency) came over with a sour face, arguing with the old worker and Lao Biao in a very aggressive tone. Basically, she was saying that the parts of different sizes definitely couldn’t be assembled together, and wanted the old worker and Lao Biao to disassemble the assembled products with mismatched top parts and reassemble them. She also told our team leader, surnamed Zhu, about the old worker and Lao Biao’s issues, but Zhu said that if there was a problem, it was the warehouse staff’s fault—they mixed up the parts, not our assembly team’s fault. The final result was that Xiao Wei was refuted by Lao Biao with words like, “You all looked at it several times yesterday and didn’t say there was a problem, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Just assemble it and it will be fine, it doesn’t affect quality,” and she was so angry that she turned around and left, not knowing where she went. After a while, she came back with a noticeably calmer attitude, saying that this time it was okay, as there weren’t many parts of different sizes, and then she left on her own.
Later, we discussed the issue of the quality inspector. The old worker said they’ve been doing this for many years and still can’t see such obvious problems. I said that after all, they are not like us who assemble things every day; they’ve never done such work manually, so what’s the use of watching for so long? Hu hesitated to speak, then everyone went back to work.
Near the end of the shift, my right index finger was pressed, and it still hurts when touched.
Finished work at 4:30.

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19

Difficult to endure, such incompetent quality inspection, feels like favoritism

What was it pressed by? Is there swelling?

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20

No swelling, it doesn’t hurt anymore today.