Insights Chapter 69: Three Sheep

Chapter 69: Three Sheep

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

In the afternoon, inside the small restaurant, the conversation continued.

Gu Yanchen asked, “Has anyone among you resisted?”

“Resist? How can we resist? Article 3 of the factory regulations prohibits fighting. Once you get into a fight and get caught or reported, you could be fired from the factory.”

Han Ziai smiled bitterly, “Of course, this rule is just to restrict us. People like Sun Yushi, who have connections, can act without fear. We only have a high school education, and it’s not easy to find such a job. Even if you speak out, it’s a reputable factory with benefits like social insurance and housing provident fund, and it’s one of Penang City’s top 100 companies. Now that the economy is bad, there are many people lining up outside. Even spending money doesn’t guarantee you can get in smoothly.”

“And if you get angry with them, they’ll just laugh it off and say, ‘I’m just joking.’ Sometimes, when they see you’re upset, they’ll even say, ‘We’re colleagues in the same workshop, don’t be so petty.’ They’re just torturing people, and they find joy in seeing others sad.”

Gu Yanchen asked, “To what extent do they bully people? Is there any violence or corporal punishment?”

Han Ziai pursed her lips, “Sometimes when Sun Yushi is unhappy, she’ll drag people to the dormitory and punish or beat them. She’ll slap them, and even force them to do humiliating things… No one dares to report her.”

As Han Ziai spoke, she recalled unpleasant memories, covering her face. After a moment, she released her hand and wiped her eyes.

Gu Yanchen asked, “Do the factory leaders know about these things?”

Han Ziai whispered, “Such things happen in every workshop to some extent. Even if you tell the leaders, they can’t solve it. They’ll just blame Yushi and confront her.”

Gu Yanchen could almost guess that even if the leaders talked to them, those female workers would just use casual words to brush it off.

“We were just joking.”

“It was just an accident.”

“We don’t dislike her.”

“We have a good relationship.”

Not to mention the relationship between Sun Yushi and the deputy factory director, which is self-evident.

Gu Yanchen continued, “Has Zhou Yingying been targeted like this?”

Han Ziai recalled, “Zhou Yingying was a bit chubby, so she’s always the target of their jokes. When we first started working, there was a time in the workshop when a large black beetle suddenly flew in and landed on Zhou Yingying’s clothes. She got scared and stood up, screaming and shaking off the bug. Because she’s chubby, Sun Yushi mocked her…” She paused, using the adjective, “She said she looked like a ‘dancing rhinoceros.’ Since then, Zhou Yingying had an additional nickname, Rhino.”

For young girls, even being slightly overweight still makes them conscious about their appearance, so such nicknames obviously carry negative connotations.

“Another time, Zhou Yingying received a hairpin as a birthday gift from her mother. Her mother rarely thought about her, let alone gave her birthday gifts. She happily wore it every day. Later, one day, Sun Yushi deliberately bought several identical fake hairpins and distributed them to those fellow villagers in the workshop, one for each. Zhou Yingying’s face changed immediately, and she took off her hairpin. Then Sun Yushi hypocritically said to Zhou Yingying, ‘I think it looks good on you, so I bought the same style for them.'”

This behavior was even more excessive, simply disgusting. Shen Junci listened attentively to the girl’s description, frowning slightly. Those things Han Ziai described seemed insignificant at first glance, and the timeline was somewhat chaotic, basically saying whatever came to mind. Gu Yanchen tried to prompt her to make the details clearer, such as the time and place. After listening for a while, Shen Junci asked beside her, “Have you ever been treated like this?”

This question seemed unrelated to the current case but could prompt the girl to reveal more hidden details.

Han Ziai nodded, tears shimmering in her eyes. “I’ve been through a similar situation. I don’t know why Sun Yushi targeted me, making me wash socks for her. I cried in the restroom while doing it. Once, she accused me of having a high defect rate, which slowed down the whole workshop, so she made me do two hundred squats in the storeroom. The next day, my legs were shaking as I walked.” She stopped, wiping her eyes, reluctant to recall those experiences. “When I was treated like that, my first suspicion was myself, wondering if I had done something wrong. That feeling, I can’t describe… Everyone else is doing something, but you’re left alone, it’s really painful. They whispered behind my back, avoided eating with me, as if they were avoiding the plague. They shared secrets among themselves, but I was excluded.”

Although it had been a long time since those events, even though she had left that factory quickly, recalling it still suffocated her. Mental torture made every day feel like a bitter winter. Such days must have been very difficult. Han Ziai took a paper cup, took a sip of water, lowered her head, curling up her body. It was a self-protective gesture, comforting her past self.

“I used to bend over backwards, trying to fit in with them. I fantasized that one day, they would accept me and treat me well when they woke up. It wasn’t until I left that environment that I realized it wasn’t me who was wrong. I suffered tremendously when I was bullied. My mother noticed something was wrong with me and arranged for me to change jobs. I had insomnia, palpitations, but still wanted to endure a little longer. My mother noticed my abnormality, hugged me, and cried. She said, ‘Where in the world is money more important than people? If your salary is less, it doesn’t matter; your parents will supplement it for you. They would rather see you earn less but be happy.’ Now thinking back, if I hadn’t left in time, I might have been driven crazy by them, or depressed, or even committed suicide.”

Her parents loved her very much, this love saved her life. Han Ziai knew in her heart that if she hadn’t left, she might have been the one who died, “In my last days there, they targeted Zhou Yingying… We were all in the same workshop, there was no escaping. I reminded Zhou Yingying that it would be better to find another job and leave them.”

Gu Yanchen asked, “Did Zhou Yingying consider resigning?”

Han Ziai said, “Maybe she had thought about it, but her parents are a bit old-fashioned and stubborn. In my last week there, I saw Zhou Yingying crying in bed. She said she had told her parents. Her parents didn’t take it seriously at all; instead, they blamed her for not understanding the ways of the world and offending her colleagues. There’s nothing we can do. Our education level is not high, and the treatment at that factory is very good. It’s rare for a factory to settle overtime pay, and they never delay salaries.” Han Ziai lowered her voice at this point, looking outside as if afraid the current boss would hear, “For me, after changing jobs, my salary is two thousand dollars less per month.”

She chose to give up, but many people would endure for those two thousand dollars, “After I left, Zhou Yingying poured out her bitterness to me for a while. Her parents adamantly opposed her resignation and said that being able to get into the factory was a blessing from eight generations. If she dared to resign, they would break her legs. They arranged for her to marry a single man from the village, forcing her into marriage. She didn’t want to marry, feeling that if she did, her life would be over. Her father had a bad temper, scolding her as stupid and saying she looked like a pig. If she didn’t send money home every month, she would have to go back and get married. If she keeps her job, she can delay marriage until next year. They arranged for her brother to buy a house, collect betrothal gifts, and would do anything to force her. Her parents even wished to strip off her skin; she hated her parents along with those who disliked her.”

Gu Yanchen listened attentively; this was also what had been revealed online before. Such parents naturally stirred up the anger of netizens. After Zhou Yingying went missing, her parents were once cyberbullied, and netizens said they indirectly caused harm to their daughter.

This was also one of the reasons why the Fourth Branch determined that Zhou Yingying had run away. Probably because of this, Zhou Yingying’s parents, knowing they were in the wrong, dared not insist on demanding the factory and the police to find their daughter’s whereabouts. With such parents at home and such colleagues in the workshop, facing dangers ahead and behind, Zhou Yingying’s life must have been extremely difficult. Perhaps, at that time, Zhou Yingying really had the idea of running away, but she couldn’t escape.

“When I left, Zhou Yingying almost obeyed Sun Yushi’s demands. She told me that since they had slowly accepted Tao Ya, they might gradually accept her too… As for what happened later, I resigned, got busy with work, and gradually lost contact with her, so I don’t know.”

“Tao Ya?” Gu Yanchen repeated the name. This was the third female worker mentioned in the conversation.

Han Ziai nodded, “She was the first one to be bullied, and also the first sheep.”

Gu Yanchen asked, “According to the form, Tao Ya and Zhou Yingying are from the same hometown?”

Han Ziai said, “Yes, their relationship used to be very good. They’re from the same town, it seems like they’ve known each other since childhood.”

Gu Yanchen keenly grasped a detail, “You said, they initially chose Tao Ya, and later gradually accepted Tao Ya. What’s going on with that?”

Generally, group exclusions tend to be inertial, unless the target leaves, they won’t easily switch. It’s like how sometimes classmates in a class would collectively bully one person. Only when that student transfers, or a significant change occurs, would they continue bullying the next target.

Han Ziai said, “At the beginning, Tao Ya was bullied quite badly. They would make her replace them in work duties. They would even make her go to the convenience store alone to buy snacks for them. Tao Ya always kept silent and followed what they said. There were some quite outrageous things, that was about two years ago, I can’t remember clearly. As for their attitude changing, it’s because of one thing. In a previous winter vacation, our factory organized a team-building activity. We passed by a lake, and there were tall reeds growing by the lake. We all thought the reeds were growing on the ground, but they were actually growing in the water. When we crowded together, Sun Yushi stepped on emptiness and fell into the water. The temperature that day was around zero degrees or below, and there was some ice on the lake. Her down jacket soaked up water, and her body kept sinking.

“It was very dangerous at that time. Those men were far away from us, unable to save her in time. Sun Yushi was drifting farther and farther away, and she kept sinking. Tao Ya took off her clothes and jumped in. I really admire Tao Ya’s courage, being able to do this to someone who had bullied her… Her swimming skills were average, she could swim but not very proficiently, but she still tried her best to save Sun Yushi, almost drowning herself, and she got sick from being frozen.” Sighing at this point, Han Ziai said, “Honestly, I couldn’t do that.”

Gu Yanchen also wasn’t sure what mood and purpose this girl named Tao Ya had to desperately save her “enemy”.

Han Ziai continued, “Anyway, since then, Sun Yushi seemed genuinely moved. She no longer teased her, and even told others that Tao Ya was someone she protected, and nobody should bully her. Afterwards, their relationship became quite good, even to the point of being inseparable. Tao Ya would follow Sun Yushi closely and even give her advice.”

Then Han Ziai mentioned some more information, mostly trivial matters. It took her a year after leaving there to dare to speak freely. With Han Ziai’s information, they gained a further understanding of the relationships among the female workers in the dormitory. Among the dozen or so female workers, the relationships were complex, not something that could be explained in a few words.

Gu Yanchen drew on paper, trying to organize the relationships between them. Sun Yushi seemed like a wolf in the workshop. Tao Ya was the first sheep. By reconciling with Sun Yushi, she successfully escaped the identity of a sheep and turned against the wolves. The Han Ziai in front of them was the second sheep. She chose to save herself, resign, and completely leave that environment. Zhou Yingying was the third sheep. She had once disappeared and was only recently found to have died a year ago. Although the three girls had all been bullied, their fates were completely different.

Gu Yanchen put a star on Tao Ya’s name, still somewhat puzzled by the transformation among them, “Has Tao Ya ever bullied you?”

Han Ziai shook her head, “I’m not sure. She didn’t directly do anything to me, but she probably gave suggestions.”

“Did Tao Ya follow Sun Yushi and participate in excluding Zhou Yingying?”

“She did participate, and quite harshly,” Han Ziai paused and said.

Gu Yanchen continued to supplement the relationship chart, “So, after Tao Ya stopped being bullied, she became Sun Yushi’s accomplice?”

Han Ziai hesitated for a moment, then nodded lightly, “Sometimes, she was at the forefront.”

It was like a sheep that had betrayed its flock, leaving the weak group to protect itself. Suddenly, Gu Yanchen remembered a quote from Dostoevsky, ‘A vile soul, once freed from oppression, will oppress others.’ He frowned, pondering, during this process, did Tao Ya evolve into a wolf because of fear of being hurt? Or did she already have a wolf’s nature in her heart?

Han Ziai paused and said, “But, isn’t this quite normal? When Tao Ya was initially bullied, Zhou Yingying didn’t help her either. Later, when Zhou Yingying was bullied, Tao Ya started to watch, and even added fuel to the fire. What hometown? What good friends? Sometimes, it’s just surface-level. Even husbands and wives might flee separately when facing great danger, let alone fellow villagers.”

After that, Gu Yanchen asked some detailed questions, trying to reconstruct the relationships among the female workers in the workshop as much as possible from Han Ziai’s perspective.

Shen Junci also lowered his head to organize the information in his mind.

After asking Han Ziai, the dishes for Shen Junci and Gu Yanchen arrived. Gu Yanchen ordered several dishes that Shen Junci liked to eat. The dishes in this small restaurant were average, just passable, no wonder the business wasn’t that good.

As Shen Junci ate, he whispered to Gu Yanchen, “I feel like this is a kind of collective violence, with some elements of ua.”

Gu Yanchen nodded, “Let’s go check out the scene later, see if we can find further evidence.”

Based solely on the information they had obtained so far, they couldn’t yet determine who the culprit might be. After discussing business matters, Shen Junci took out his phone to check messages. The clerk from the pet shop had sent him a video of the cat.

In the video, the little cat meowed a couple of times, then squinted its eyes and yawned suddenly. Even such a small cat could yawn. Shen Junci was instantly soothed, and he replayed the video.

Hearing the cat’s meow, Gu Yanchen asked, “Watching the kitten? Have you decided on a name?”

Shen Junci sent him the video, “Yes, I’ve decided. The full name is Xueya, and the nickname is Lianrong.”

“The full name is quite fitting, and the nickname is interesting,” Gu Yanchen said casually, “It can pair up with five-nut mooncakes.”

The name “Five-nut” was rarely known by people.

Shen Junci paused for a moment, not sure if Gu Yanchen had learned something or if it was just a joke he made associating with mooncakes.