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She walked straight through the rear hall and saw nothing but people lying around resting, some of them even gathered together playing dice.

Lin Yuan’s anger instantly flared up. She had spent a lot of money to hire people to work, and here they were, having fun on her dime?

She strode over to the gamblers, kicked a bowl out of one man’s hand, shattering it—the dice scattered in disarray.

The man was about to shout in anger, but when he looked up and saw it was her, his face turned green as if he had just eaten dog shit.

"The, the boss is here."

Those sleeping were no longer sleeping, and those playing stopped their games. All scrambled to their feet and stood uneasily to one side. Of course, there were a few with too much pride who looked down on her; they snorted quietly and rolled their eyes covertly, murmuring under their breath.

Lin Yuan let out a cold laugh, pretending not to notice. She looked around for the foreman but couldn’t find him; just as she was about to ask, she saw a young man at the edge of the group sneakily rolling his eyes, looking for an escape.

Without asking, she knew he must be off to tip off the foreman.

Lin Yuan lifted her foot, and the bowl, now broken in half, flew toward the young man’s shin.

With a cry, the young man clutched his leg and bent over. In recent days, Lin Yuan’s self-defense skills had become considerably sharp, with Xia Zheng sometimes offering her a few pointers. She was no master, but she was more than capable of dealing with the average person.

"Thinking of tipping him off? Hmph!" Lin Yuan scoffed, and she set off toward the direction the young man had tried to escape to find the foreman.

Seeing her attack as soon as she arrived, the other workers were immediately displeased.

However, without the foreman present and knowing they were in the wrong, they all stood with stiff faces, none daring to step forward, but their eyes glared at Lin Yuan’s petite silhouette with both anger and disdain.

She was well aware of their thoughts, but it wasn’t time to deal with them yet. She walked towards the warehouse, which had now been converted into a kitchen; the brothers of her third aunt’s husband were working there for her.

They said the foreman was sleeping; why had he come here, dirty and covered in clay?

But as she heard what the foreman was saying, Lin Yuan finally understood: he had come to poach her worker.

She leaned quietly against the door frame, watching the foreman take a swig of liquor, smack his lips, and speak to Lao Liu who was buried in his work: "Hey, I’ve told you so much, why won’t you answer me?

Are you with me or not? Just give me a straight answer. "

Lao Liu slapped on a lump of mud, smoothed it out, and didn’t give him the time of day.

The foreman was frustrated: "You’re as stubborn as a mule; anyone would think you were mute!

What’s so good about working on your own?

There’s not work every day. But look at me, play it by ear.

When the boss is here, you work hard, and when the boss isn’t around, you just drag your feet.

In the end, you’re paid by the day; the longer it takes, the more you make. "

After another swig of liquor to moisten his throat, the foreman continued with glee: "Let me tell you, brother, that’s how I used to do it. If it’s a smart boss, then forget it; but if it’s a dumb one, then drag it out as much as possible, haha."

Lin Yuan laughed coldly and leisurely joined in the conversation: "So, Foreman, by ’dummy,’ you mean someone like me, right?"

As her chilling words resounded, the foreman shuddered violently; the last thing he wanted was to be caught talking behind someone’s back.

Lao Liu clearly hadn’t expected Lin Yuan to overhear their conversation either; he looked up suddenly, fumbling with the mud in his hands, but since he hadn’t said anything or been slacking off, he just resumed his work after a brief shock.