Child Labour

Following accordingly to the route provided by Zhou Yi, they went straight to the Sparrow Company.

Although they had a partnership, this was Zhang Xiaohua's first visit to Sparrow Company.

There was a contract in place, so Zhang Xiaohua didn't fear that Sparrow Comapany would cut corners; therefore, he did not go check up on them till now.

One hour later, the car had completely driven out of the city and into a remote small village. Afterwards, under the guidance of several villagers, Zhang Xiaohua and his party saw the company's location.

Upon arriving at the destination, Zhang Xiaohua parked the car in front of Sparrow Company's gate. At this time, the surrounding area was filled with a lot of people. It seemed that they were all employees of the Sparrow Company, but their behavior was like that of the villagers here. Everyone's face was filled with a happy smile; moreover, they actually came to welcome the arrival of Zhang Xiaohua and others.

Not waiting for Zhang Xiaohua to unfasten his seat belt, Zhou Yi helped open the door, which touched Zhang Xiaohua. He felt a bit flattered. The feeling of being a leader was seriously addicting.

The company building was surrounded by chicken and pig farms. The smell coming from there actually made Zhang Xiaohua feel queasy.

"Welcome, Brother Zhang, you finally came to visit!" Zhou Yi smiled and took the initiative to extend his hand and expressed his welcome to Zhang Xiaohua.

Zhang Xiaohua shook hands symbolically with Zhou Yi, and suddenly people around them applauded, making him feel even warmer. It was like a firecracker banging and almost resounded throughout the entire village.

Zhang Xiaohua made a cursory calculation. There were around one thousand people here, more or less. Both men and women, both young and old; judging by their clothes, their didn't seem to be rich, but everyone's face was full of simple and honest smiles, making people comfortable and feel at home.

Zhang Xiaohua was a first time guest, so he immediately approached Zhou Yi's ear and whispered, "These people, are they all employees of your company?"

"Boss Zhang is really perceptive. Yes, these people are almost all the employees of our company."

After Zhou Yi said this, Zhang Xiaohua was a little surprised.

Zhang Xiaohua did not think that the scale of the company was even larger than he had imagined. It was no wonder that Zhou Yi was confident that he could produce 300,000 records in half a month. It was because he had so many people working for him. What!?

"Boss, please, let's go to the warehouse for inspection." Zhou Yi suggested.

Zhang Xiaohua nodded his head and entered the Sparrow Company with Yuan Datong and co. As Zhou Yi lead the way ahead, a large number of employees also followed after him. The number of people was so large that, if they did not know it, they would really think it was an inspection by the city leaders.

In this atmosphere, Yuan Datong and Emma felt more confident. After all, it was the first time in their lives that they got this kind of high-level treatment.

After Zhou Yi's explanation on the road, Zhang Xiaohua also had a general understanding of the company.

The original name of the village was Sparrow Village which was Zhou Yi's hometown, and they had more than 500 households. Because of its remote location and small size, it had never received the government's attention and development; therefore, the villagers' lives were not easy.

After Zhou Yi graduated from University, he still couldn't find a job. So he and several classmates pooled together their cash to set up the Sparrow Company. To save money, Zhou Yi set up the company in the village of Sparrow. All the office places were provided by the villagers free of charge. It could be said that this was not only the headquarters of Sparrow Company, but also their workshop and warehouse. There was no need to pay rent, which also saved a lot of money for Zhou Yi and allowed him to employ more technical staff.

Zhang Xiaohua also learned that Zhou Yi was an orphan. He was brought up by the villagers and was able to pay for university due to the villagers sponsoring him. So, in order to repay the kindness of the villagers, Zhou Yi gave the villagers employment. And this company was where the villagers worked; in fact, almost everyone in the village worked here!

In order to ensure that the villagers had food and drink, Zhou Yi did not hesitate to visit the city every day; however, unfortunately for Zhao Yi, the current recording industry was almost monopolized by those big companies.

Thankfully, Zhou Yi was lucky enough to meet Zhang Xiaohua. If nothing unexpected happened, the business would provide them with a stable income, but what was most worthy of satisfaction was that he could guarantee that the villagers would have an enjoyable meal for a while after struggling to make ends meet lately.

After learning about these things, Zhang Xiaohua stopped and looked at Zhou Yi. Once again, those plain-hearted villagers were behind them. Zhang Xiaohua faintly felt that his nose was sour, his eyes were hot, and he wanted to say something.

At this time, Emma had already broken into tears. This kind of person-to-person relationship was the most simple and affectionate.

In this gorgeous world, perhaps, only in this countryside, you could fully feel the genuine emotions between people.

Now, not only Emma, but ​​Yuan Datong and the rest also agreed that Zhang Xiaohua's refusal to cooperate with those big companies was right.

Seeing Emma burst into tears, an old lady rushed forward and comforted her: "Child, what's the matter with you? Ah, you're not accustomed to our small place? I'm sorry, we don't head to the city a lot, so we completely forgot you're not used to being around livestock pens. The smell is truly a bit heavy!"

When speaking about this matter, the old woman's gloomy eyes slowly revealed a bit of apology, she smiled weakly and said, "We only have a small place. We don't have much to entertain the bosses."

"Auntie, you said so much. I didn't dislike this..."

"Sister, have some candy. It will get your mind off the smell."

Before Emma's words were even finished, a little boy who was only 12 or 13 years old suddenly appeared in front of her and stretched out a small black ink-painted hand, holding a cheap candy. He was looking at Emma, seemingly wanting to exchange the candy for Emma's smile.

Looking at the candy in the boy's hand, Emma's tears were raging.

Yuan Datong looked around and found that there were many children like this. All their chests were surrounded by a small and dirty apron. It seemed that all of them were child laborers. Their faces and hands were dirty, and many children's shoes had exposed toes on their feet. Their small eyes revealed desire, but Yuan Datong did not understand. What were these children eager for?

"Hey kid, why didn't you go to school?" Yuan Datong asked the boy the boy holding candy in his hands, and when his eyes met with the boy's eyes, he froze. He suddenly realized that he had seemingly asked a stupid question.

If you could afford to let your child study, which parent would have the heart to make their underage children work?

At the same time, Yuan Datong finally realised the craving in the eyes of the children when he mentioned school.

Yes, these children were eager to go to school, and nothing more!

Zhang Xiaohua shook his fist indignantly, he looked at Zhou Yi, angered and asked, "Why not let these children go to school? They are still so small. Did you actually call them to help you work? Do you know that this is a crime!?"

Zhou Yi's face was flushed red. as if he was admitting his guilt. He silently bowed his head feeling very ashamed, but also with a look of helplessness!

"This boss, please don't misunderstand Zhou Yi. It's not that he doesn't let the kids go to school. It's because can't afford to send the kids to school, and the government never built a school for us. The cities that had schools are too far away from our village, and it's not convenient. We don't have enough money to teach the children how to read. Seeing all the kids were idle, Zhou Yi asked the children to come to the factory to learn some craftsmanship. We wanted to let them work and earn money, but Zhou Yi did not agree. When we mentioned this, Zhou Yi always looked at us furiously!"

"Yeah, Zhou Yi built a classroom last year. When he is free, he will teach his kids to read and write. We are very grateful to him."

"This time, I heard that Zhou Yi had found a big boss in the city. It would allow us to make a lot of money. We are all poor, and there is nothing to do. We can only go out to welcome you from these cities."

Several villagers rushed to Zhou Yi's defence, though not eloquent, they were very honest.

Although there were no flowers, no firecrackers, and no rich banquets, the folks expressed their enthusiasm for Zhang Xiaohua's visit. They believed that Zhang Xiaohua and Yuan Datong were profound and experienced bosses.

Of course, in the hearts of Zhou Yi and the villagers, Zhang Xiaohua deserved such treatment because he could bring wealth to the Sparrow Company. With this wealth, the villagers would have income; and with income, the villagers would not go hungry.

However, in front of these folks, Zhang Xiaohua did not dare to behave like a boss. In his mind, the majority of these villagers were the real heroes, and without their hard work, those so-called city people wouldn't be able to enjoy their lives. While they were suffering here, others were enjoying their lives. True socialism was impossible.

If Zhang Xiaohua had known this situation earlier, he would not have made so many harsh demands to Zhou Yi. At least, he would have given Zhou Yi a little more of the dividends.

However, it was not too late now. After the partnership with HuaXiang Entertainment's business, Sparrow Records would be inseparable from the company. Zhang Xiaohua was confident that it wouldn't be difficult for these villagers to live a well-to-do life and allow their children to go to school. It would take some time, but they would achieve it.

"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, I have misunderstood you." Zhang Xiaohua sincerely apologised to Zhou Yi.

"It's okay, you did so with good intentions." Zhou Yi exposed a mild smile, reached out his hand and made a request, "Boss Zhang, quickly follow me to the warehouse, so we can begin the inspection."

Zhang Xiaohua nodded and walked to the warehouse under the guidance of Zhou Yi.