Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King-Chapter 551 - 317: Treatment for the Newcomer_2

"Hey! Dude! You must be Xie Xiaobao, right? Our boss asked me to connect with you!" Liu Zi greeted Xiaobao enthusiastically without any hint of shyness.

"And you are?" Xiaobao glanced at Liu Zi, noticing his face was as tanned as his own, and he seemed even younger.

"I'm called Wang Dazhi, but my nickname is Liu Zi! Just call me Liu Zi! Where's your luggage? Come with me, I'll first take you to your place!" Liu Zi explained as he prepared to head towards the door.

"The luggage is by the door. Where are we going?" Xiaobao pointed to two suitcases leaning against the wall.

"Just follow me! The boss has arranged everything!"

Soon, Xiaobao followed Liu Zi out of the company gates, and they quickly headed down to the parking spot.

Like performing magic, Liu Zi pulled out a set of keys and started an old mini-truck that made noise everywhere except the horn.

Last winter, Liu Zi had obtained his driver's license. This old truck, which the company occasionally used to haul goods, was now his ride. Even though it was old, all the paperwork was in order, and it was in decent condition.

"We're riding this...?" Xie Xiaobao looked the old truck up and down with some disdain, his tone hesitant.

"Hmm? Hurry up, it's quite a distance! Throw your luggage in the truck bed!" Liu Zi seemed oblivious to Xiaobao's change in mood, lent a hand to take his luggage, placed it in the truck bed, and quickly jumped into the driver's seat.

Forced to grin and bear it, Xie Xiaobao got into the passenger seat, his mood instantly souring.

When going fishing with his uncle Xie Tianhao, he usually rode in a Land Rover, and at worst a Jeep. Now he was in a nearly junk small truck worth just a couple thousand nearing scrap status.

After getting in and closing the door, Xie Xiaobao couldn't help but ask, "Where are you taking me? Isn't our company right here? Is the place we're staying far?"

Liu Zi chuckled and shook his head, "The boss's exact words were, new team members should first correct their attitude and stabilize their temperament to blend in! We're sending you to our company's bait factory for a few days. Pass the test, and you'll be assigned something else to do! There's a dormitory and a cafeteria there."

Upon hearing Liu Zi's answer, Xie Xiaobao's face instantly sullen.

He came to learn skills, not to work in a fish bait factory. This test was indeed quite unique.

"Did you have to stay at the factory when you first came?" Xie Xiaobao continued to ask.

"Me? I didn't go to the factory. When I first arrived and had nowhere to stay, they assigned me to watch the reservoir at the streaming base! Later, the boss asked me to practice basics and participate in competitions with Brother Fan! Now I've even got a score of one thousand and one hundred!"

"Oh!" Xie Xiaobao wanted to nod, but inwardly he was already pondering what to do.

Should he honestly endure the test, or find a way to escape this dreadful place? The reality was completely different from the swift team integration and knowledge acquisition he anticipated.

The truck ran fairly smoothly out of the city. After more than half an hour, they arrived at the company's bait field.

This area fell within the economic development zone, surrounded by all kinds of factories, scarcely any residential areas, and about a twenty-minute walk to the nearest village or town, indicating very basic infrastructure with hardly any leisure or entertainment in the wilderness.

Once the small truck stopped at the gate, Liu Zi, familiar with the setting, pressed the horn, and the elderly guard, recognizing Liu Zi at a glance, quickly opened the gate.

"C'mon, the bait factory is a good place. How fish bait is made, production processes, as long as you're sincere, you can learn it all!" Liu Zi advised earnestly.

"Oh, okay, got it!" Xiaobao nodded.

Very quickly, the truck passed the front of the factory and reached the staff dormitory area near the northwest corner.

The small truck stopped directly in front of a flat building, and Liu Zi fetched a large bunch of keys from one of the rooms, took one key off, and led Xiaobao to open a roughly ten-square-meter dormitory.

"You're in luck, a single room! The place is quite spacious! Sleep on the top bunk, and put your luggage on the bottom! There's a faucet over there by the wall, and the toilet is out back!" Liu Zi continued chatting non-stop about the situation.

The more Xie Xiaobao looked at the environment, the more he felt like leaving.

This wretched place, how is it different from a prison? Completely has the feel of a labor camp. The room doesn't even have a toilet; to take a pee, you have to walk a few minutes to a dry toilet by the wall. Showers are out of the question; you have to fetch water to wash, though luckily, it's summer now, so it's not a significant issue yet.

Once the living arrangements settled, Liu Zi handed Xie Xiaobao the key, "Keep this key safe! Come on, let's go to the production workshop!"

Xiaobao, looking around, followed Liu Zi and quickly arrived at one of the production workshops.

Inside, the machinery roared, and people were busy working on the assembly line.

Liu Zi led Xiaobao to an elderly man in his fifties, "Greet him, this is the workshop head, Uncle Liu! From now on, you're under him. Do whatever he tells you, and if you have any issues, you can find Uncle Liu, and he'll help you!"

"Uncle Liu!" Xiaobao reluctantly greeted.

"Alright, pretty good, you're tall, and your build is sturdy!" Uncle Liu assessed Xiaobao up and down as if evaluating livestock, looking satisfied with his physical condition. That gaze, those movements, were just short of pulling Xiaobao over to have a look at his teeth.

"Uncle Liu, Xiaobao just arrived and might not be used to it. Initially, let him tackle manageable tasks, gradually adjust later on! Did my big brother call you?"

"He did! Just leave him with me! He won't be hard to handle!"

"Then I'll leave him to you, I'll head out now. There are still three thousand rods in the company's backyard waiting for casting practice! I'm off, buddy, perform well!"

Singing a little tune, Liu Zi left the workshop, leaving Xie Xiaobao feeling helpless amidst the noisy workshop.

On the first day, Master Liu didn't assign any tasks, just let him stay by his side to get familiar with the environment and all that. Xiaobao was absent-minded the whole time, until evening when the cafeteria began serving dinner.

Truth be told, the factory's cafeteria served decent meals, offering fish, meat, and fresh vegetables. The chefs ate in the same pot as the workers.

After dinner, Xiaobao's first day at the company marked the end of a shift.

After filling his stomach and returning to his single dorm, Xie Xiaobao, exhausted, lay on the bed after removing his T-shirt.

Never mind that usually he followed fishing trips, appearing active and full of energy—once facing the workshop reality, with not even a place to sit ensured he felt slightly drained after the shift.

Having been in the workshop all afternoon in such hot weather, he was already drenched in sweat, but he didn't want to move a finger, just hoped to lie down and sleep soundly.

Without realizing it, in just a daze, Xiaobao fell asleep. Uncle Liu strolled to his dorm window, took a glance inside, casually closed his door, and quietly departed.

... 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The next morning, Xiaobao was woken precisely by his alarm clock.

If there's one advantage to be found in him, timely waking each morning would definitely count. Usually, for fishing trips, waking up at four or five was routine, and over time this had ingrained a biological clock.

Climbing out of bed groggily, Xiaobao pulled himself up, reached for the toothbrush and toothpaste from his luggage, then turned to his right hand.

After turning, Xiaobao looked at the bare wall, stunned momentarily for around three seconds before realizing, he was no longer at his uncle's house where the bathroom was right by the right-hand side.

Now, washing face and brushing teeth meant fetching water outside. It felt reminiscent of middle school days.

Having finished washing and brushing, Xiaobao locked up and ambled toward the cafeteria. Upon reaching the entrance, he saw Uncle Liu already there as if waiting specifically for him.

"From today onwards, work starts. Breakfast is important; eat as much as you can since working with an empty stomach won't last until noon!" Uncle Liu cheerfully reminded him.

"Oh!" Xiaobao nodded blankly, still lacking any concept of the upcoming workshop labor.

Unbeknownst to him, the following days would be the toughest ordeal in his short twenty-one-year life.