The next morning, I only managed to wake up when Nhi kept shaking my leg. Seeing me open my eyes, he cursed, “Damn it, were you stealing something last night or something? You’re sleeping like you’re delirious! Hurry up and get some breakfast!”
I lifted my head and saw that almost everyone in the room was already up, except for me, Minh, and the two “troublemakers” across the street. Tan was wearing thin fabric pants, no underwear, so his dick was standing straight up. Hoang was also sleeping like a log, half his erect penis sticking out of his pants, exposed to everyone’s eyes.
And absolutely no one bothered to wake them; they just let them sleep soundly past work hours. If they got fired, the whole room would celebrate together. If they were “favorites,” they’d call their “mother hen” to come out and help.
I’d only been here for one day, but I felt like I was in a time of chaos. In the afternoon, there was the matter of showering, and in the morning, the matter of eating. The workers’ canteen was several times bigger than a market; finding a place to sit down was like a blessing from our ancestors.
The four of us “each got what we wanted,” so we just jumped in when we found a spot. Waiting to sit together would be like waiting until the Lunar New Year. I had barely brought my bowl of noodles to the table when the bell rang, announcing that work was about to begin.
Nhi couldn’t find a seat, so he slurped down his noodles in one go. Luckily, a guy saw him and, still chewing, quickly stood up and gave him his seat.
The four of us finished eating just in time. Dau, like a mother hen leading her chicks, herded us all out onto the road. Although the factory wasn’t too far from our accommodation, we were definitely going to be late. None of us had cars, so we could only run to get there on time. But anyway, we were all farmers, so a little hardship was nothing to worry about.
Upon arriving, someone led us to the workplace, where new workers were assigned alongside the older ones. There was also a manager there, who, aside from being a man, looked very much like the female manager of the housing complex. He said loudly, “Listen carefully, newcomers. You won’t be doing any real work yet; this is called apprenticeship. You’ll learn for three days, and those who can do it will have a one-month trial period. After a month, if you can’t do it, I’ll send you back to your hometown to work in the fields again, understand? If you understand, please say ‘Yes, sir’.”
Everyone responded with a resounding “Yes, sir!” The manager looked pleased. Suddenly, he looked at Nhi and Lui and said, “These two are strong and healthy; go to the loading and unloading section to fill the vacancies. Those of you who have been working here for a long time, please try to guide the new ones, okay? Don’t argue with each other, or Uncle and Aunt Ba won’t tolerate it.”
Then he left, taking Nhi and Lui with him, and the production line started up. Standing next to me was a woman who seemed to be my mentor for the next few days. Seeing my hesitation, she introduced herself first: “My name is Ngan, what’s your name?”
I replied briefly: “My name is Phuc.”
She advised me: “Okay, try your best. The first month is tough, but once you get through it, it’ll be easy. After thirty days, you’ll get your worker contract.”
She also whispered to me that the manager wasn’t exactly a good person. There were a few groups before us, but after thirty days, he sent more than half of them back home. Most of them were men, mostly young, somewhat good-looking guys like me and my friends.
While we were still talking, two men suddenly burst through the door. They stood around aimlessly, while everyone else was focused on their work.
(Illegible text) The manager walked around and then returned, his eyes immediately lighting up like headlights when he saw Hoang and Tan. He said softly, “Which area do you two work in?”
Hoang replied, “We’re new, we don’t know yet.”
He looked down to the end of the line, pointing in that direction: “Then you two go down there, see what the staff tells you to do. With your handsome, bright faces, you must be very smart. Work hard, who knows, you might even become the area manager!”
The two of them walked to the end of the line with blank expressions, even though there was actually no work left there. Ngan whispered to me, “It’s true, handsome guys never go wrong. I remember when I was a minute late, he yelled at me like he’d splashed water on me.”
After a pause, she continued, “But handsome guys like that have a high chance of getting fired!”
I raised my eyebrows in confusion, “Why?”
She replied, “I don’t know, I’ve seen it many times.”
My colleague and I chatted while we worked. She was so experienced that she could check every item without missing a single one even with her eyes closed. I sat there for half an hour and started feeling dizzy. The work was easy, but I found it incredibly boring.
Amidst a dozen people concentrating on their work, the two “troublemakers” at the back of the line were just looking at their phones and laughing. I muttered, “Why doesn’t the manager see this?”
Ms. Ngan clicked her tongue, “What’s the point? They’re just ‘favorites,’ I see them all the time. Even if he saw, he’d just pretend to be blind. Just ignore it, dear. We just need to finish our own work.”
I barely managed to last until noon. Staying up late last night made me yawn constantly. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Minh all morning. I wonder what section he’s been assigned to.
At lunchtime, I went for a walk around…
I spent a few hours chatting with them. I found Minh sitting with Nhi and Lui, so I went over and sat with them. I asked, “Minh, what section are you working in? I haven’t seen you all morning.”
Minh replied, “This morning the manager called me and Dau to his office. He said we had the potential to be section managers, but I refused, so he assigned me to work as porters with these two guys.”
Lui said, “Stupid! Being a manager pays a lot and is awesome. If it were me, I’d do it immediately.”
Minh replied, “No, I don’t even know how to read. If I were a manager, I’d make a mistake in the paperwork and end up paying a fortune.”
Nhi chimed in, “Yeah, just stick to being a worker. It’s easier that way. At least you’ll be tired, and you’ll sleep well at night.”
I sighed, “You guys are moving around doing porters, while I’m sitting here bored to death.”
Lùi frowned: “Damn it. You go try carrying it yourself. It’s a long way from the warehouse to the delivery truck, and the sun is scorching. You’re complaining while it’s cool inside.”
Nhí added: “I overheard Phúc being sent there by Auntie Ba herself, that’s why the manager wouldn’t let him do heavy work. Hey Phúc, are you a distant relative of Auntie Ba’s family? Put in a good word for us!”
I shook my head: “Nonsense, Dad. If I had relatives, I wouldn’t be so dirt poor.”
But even so, I knew that it was thanks to the time I went with Sang to Auntie Ba’s house to apply for a job that I received this kind of preferential treatment. Suddenly remembering Đậu, I asked them if they’d seen him, but it seemed none of them had. Minh only said: “Đậu went into the manager’s office after me, and then I don’t know what happened.”
I thought I’d stop by to check on them later that evening, but then we got caught up in work for three days straight. Luckily, none of us were fired for incompetence, but the workload was getting heavier and heavier.
On the fourth day, I was surprised to see Dau carrying a notebook, following behind the manager. He looked calmer than usual, I don’t know if it was because standing next to the manager was stressful or if the workload had been overwhelming. Suddenly, the manager introduced him: “Let me introduce you all, this is Dau, from now on he will be assisting me in supervising your work.”
I was a little taken aback, but also excited and happy. Everyone said supervision was easy work with high pay, surely he’d soon have enough money to go home and marry Huong, who was waiting for him back home.
But that night, when Minh and I secretly went to the bathroom to have sex, he told me something horrifying. When I asked him, “Why won’t you study to become a manager? I know you’re literate.”
Minh replied, “Nothing is given for free, you know. The manager set a condition: if I wanted to study management with him, I had to be a supervisor first, and then… I had to be his girlfriend! I refused, so he pushed me into doing manual labor. And you know why I refused, right?”
I was stunned: “What the hell… So, Dau… he… he…”
I stammered, unable to speak properly. Could Dau really be dating an old man? I really hoped Dau would be considered an exception, that the manager promoted him because of his ability… but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
More than a week later, I noticed Dau becoming increasingly depressed. His face was vacant, and he rarely spoke to us. Looking at him reminded me of my mother; that was the look on her face whenever she had something to suppress inside.
That evening, I called Dau and asked him to come sit on the park bench after the lights were out. After a while, he came out, but he looked completely exhausted.
He asked me, “Why aren’t you asleep yet? Why did you call me out here?”
I immediately replied, “You’ve looked terrible lately. Tell me what’s wrong. Minh… he told me everything.”
I meant the conditions the manager had set. Dau fell silent for a long time, then sighed three or four times as if he didn’t know where to begin.
I comforted him, “I know, you’re not the kind of person who would do anything for money. Tell me, I promise I won’t tell anyone. It’s just that you’re so much like my mother, sometimes you’re sad about something but don’t know who to talk to.”
Mr. Dau took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, beginning with a bitter tone: “After three meals, the girl’s family called me, saying that Huong was now old enough to get married, and three or four families had already proposed. Huong told me that at most, she could wait six more months, and if I didn’t have enough money, then next January her parents would marry her off to that bald guy from the village above.”
I asked further: “But Huong didn’t say anything to help you?”
Mr. Dau shook his head: “What could she say? Children must obey their parents’ wishes. You can’t pull the strings, can you?”
My mind raced; Mr. Dau must not want to miss out on the woman he loved, so he agreed to be involved with the manager. I wanted to ask, but before I could speak, he continued, “I had my reasons for doing that. Partnering with him meant easy work and high pay; my salary was double yours. He said he’d give me three times that as a bonus. I had no other choice…”
I touched his shoulder and suddenly felt his whole body tremble. Dau sobbed, all the humiliation pouring out at once. He propped his knees up, his hands supporting his head, and wept bitterly, “I feel so dirty.”
“It’s disgusting, but I really have no other choice…”
He told me that the past few days had been a mental and physical torture for him. Unfortunately, the guy liked country boys, especially those who seemed gentle and naive like Dau. He said, “Every time I went into the room, he made me inhale something I don’t know what, a strong smell of alcohol, but after inhaling it, I got incredibly horny, even more horny than when I met Huong…”
The guy thrust his penis into him once a day, each time lasting at least an hour or more including foreplay. In the first few days, he couldn’t bear it and cried while having sex with the guy. Never before had he felt such self-loathing, resentment towards fate, and hatred for life as he did then. But for the person he loved, he still tried to hold back his tears.
Seeing him cry only made the guy more infatuated. He said it was the best proof that he was straight. He was overjoyed to have a straight guy’s penis inside his ass, and to make his partner utterly helpless. Resistance. His perversion wasn’t in physical games, but in mental torture.
After a pause, he continued: “But what I fear most is… I feel… I feel pleasure too… Could I be gay?”
I said half-seriously, half-jokingly: “So now, look at me, do you want to have sex with me?”
Mr. Dau shook his head: “No, it’s disgusting.”
I said: “Yeah, you’re not gay! The pleasure you felt was from the drug he gave you to inhale, not from you. Later, just close your eyes and imagine Ms. Huong’s face.” “Since things have come to this point, I’ll just save up enough money and go home to get some rest.”
Anh Đậu wiped away his tears; I noticed his face looked much brighter after crying. I comforted him a few more times and intended to go to bed. Suddenly, he asked, “Phúc, you’re gay, right?”
I froze, my mouth involuntarily stammering, “Who… who… who…”
Anh Đậu concluded, “So it’s true, isn’t it? You’re exactly like my friend Tí from back then. He was so cute, shy, but he knew how to care for others. Seeing you reminds me of him, always so thoughtful, always paying attention to others and inviting them out to talk. Normal guys would just go to a bar, not sneak around in the middle of the night like you.”
I sighed and asked, “Did Anh Tí leave home because he was caught hugging a guy outside the village?”
Anh Đậu nodded, “Yes, poor thing.” “Back then, he was so kind in school, even gentler than you. Life is just a series of twists and turns; nobody gets a choice.”
I asked, “Brother Dau… aren’t you afraid of me?”
Brother Dau chuckled, “You’re crazy, what’s there to be afraid of? You can’t force me to sleep with you like that manager did, so why should I be scared?”
I parted my lips, wanting to say something, but he interrupted me, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” “Anyway, your brother already knows about it, so keeping it a secret for each other is also keeping it a secret for ourselves.”
Brother Dau was a farmer, but not as rough and unrefined as others. Back then, he went to school like everyone else, but when he was in tenth grade, his father unfortunately had an accident. The medical expenses were so high that his family was exhausted, and his father lost his ability to work, so he dropped out of school to work and earn money with his siblings.
As he said, life pushes and pulls, how can you choose… But after the night passes, the sun will rise again. To see the dawn, perhaps we have to endure the long night.