Chapter 80

Du Haibo originally lived in an old company-funded apartment. With a family of five, living in a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment was quite cramped, so he bought a large house of over 120 square meters in the suburbs of Jiangzhou City, with four bedrooms and two living rooms, making it much more spacious.

Jiangzhou City is the capital of Jiangnan Province, known for its extravagant and superficial culture. Despite the average wage being low, people are willing to spend money to save face. Behind closed doors, they all smoke Baisisha cigarettes, but in public, everyone smokes Furongwang. The housing prices, like the superficial culture, have inflated, with the average price in the city center exceeding 10,000 yuan per square meter, and some areas reaching 20,000 yuan. Du Haibo's house in the suburbs, outside the third ring road, costs more than 8,000 yuan per square meter, totaling 1 million yuan for the entire house.

If it were in the past, Lu Xin, thinking of his 2,000 yuan monthly salary, would have sighed at the thought of buying such a house, which would take 50 years of living without eating or drinking.

Now, with his metal control superpower, he is no longer as worried about making money. Although he hasn't figured out how to use his superpower to earn money, he believes he will eventually find a way. Perhaps within a year, he could earn enough to buy a house.

Lu Xin first went to Du Haibo's old company-funded apartment. Upon arrival, he saw that it was a 30-year-old building, old and dilapidated, with a large crack in one of the walls, which made him think of the collapsed dangerous building in Fenghua, Zhejiang, not long ago.

He squinted and looked at the dangerous building, sighing, "Can people still live in this house?"

Du Haibo got off the large truck from the special alloy materials factory and chuckled, "Little Lu, don't look at how old and broken this house is; it still sells for over 7,000 yuan per square meter!"

Lu Xin clicked his tongue, "This house can still sell for over 7,000 yuan per square meter? It's too inflated!"

Du Haibo laughed, "Who cares? Our Sanjiang Group is in a good location, close to the city center. Good location means high prices, regardless of the condition of the house. I've already sold this house, and this time I'm completely moving out. Thanks for your hard work, Little Lu!"

Lu Xin smiled, "Director Du, don't be so formal. It's our duty."

He followed Du Haibo to his home on the third floor and saw that the mechanics from the workshop were already there.

He was puzzled at first, wondering if it really took six or seven people to move a household. But when he entered Du Haibo's home, he saw that almost all the furniture was made from old materials from the factory, extremely heavy, and each piece required two or three people to lift.

Lu Xin was about to help Zhang Feng lift a large bookshelf made of alloy materials when he heard the electrician from the workshop, Xue Dong, say to Zhang Feng, "Why did you bring him? This college graduate is so weak, he can't help at all. It's already good that he doesn't cause trouble. Send him back quickly!" His words were full of contempt.

Thanks to the persuasion of his mentors, Zhang Feng and Xu Yong, the other three senior workers had greatly improved their impression of Lu Xin. They no longer harbored resentment over the vacuum furnace incident. Since they were just waiting to retire, they were happy to have a capable person like Lu Xin in the team, making their work easier. They found Lu Xin more and more likable.

Only Xue Dong continued to look at Lu Xin unfavorably. He was a relative brought over by Li Li, who disliked Lu Xin. Xue Dong followed Li Li's lead and always found fault with Lu Xin. With only a junior high school education, Xue Dong had learned his electrical skills from a senior worker. He felt inferior to Lu Xin, who had a bachelor's degree, and thus harbored resentment and often mocked and belittled him, saying things like, "You've read all your books into a dog's stomach," and "What do you know, a college graduate?" He said such things almost daily. Lu Xin, young and hot-blooded, couldn't help but retort each time, and their relationship became almost irreconcilable, almost leading to physical fights a few times.

Seeing that Du Haibo had gone to say goodbye to his neighbors nearby, Lu Xin didn't want to create a bad impression by arguing with Xue Dong.

He smiled faintly, pointing to the large bookshelf made of alloy materials, and looked at Xue Dong with disdain, "Can you lift this bookshelf by yourself?"

Xue Dong, who was over 1.8 meters tall, muscular, with a dark complexion, a beard, and large eyes, looked like a bandit from the mountains. He often boasted about his strength and liked to show off by arm wrestling in the workshop. Lu Xin wanted to strike a blow to his pride today.

Xue Dong sneered, "Hell, that bookshelf weighs 270 pounds. It definitely takes two people to lift. How can one person do it?"

Lu Xin smiled disdainfully, "I thought you were incredibly strong, but you can't even lift a 270-pound bookshelf!"

Xue Dong laughed coldly, "Can you lift it?"

"I can!" Lu Xin smiled calmly. In recent days, he had been in constant contact with metal materials, absorbing the mysterious energy within them, greatly enhancing his control over metal and increasing his strength. He could lift objects several times his own weight using only his physical strength, especially with metal materials. Lifting a 270-pound alloy bookshelf was no problem.

Xue Dong looked at Lu Xin with disdain. With his observational skills, he couldn't see the energy hidden in Lu Xin's seemingly thin body. He snorted, "Hell, you're just bragging. What can you do besides brag? If you can lift it, I'll change my name to yours!"

"Alright, you said it!" Lu Xin smiled at the other workers, "Everyone heard that, if I can lift the bookshelf, he'll change his name to mine!"

Xue Dong laughed coldly, "If you can't lift it, you'll change your name to mine!"

Zhang Feng quickly warned, "Lu Xin, don't show off. How can you lift 270 pounds?"

Lu Xin smiled faintly, "Don't worry, Master. I never do anything without being sure."

Xu Yong also laughed, "Class Leader Zhang, don't worry. Lu Xin is steady and will definitely win!"

The other three workers watched with amusement. They had a neutral relationship with both Lu Xin and Xue Dong, and they were happy to see either of them lose face. Who wouldn't enjoy a free show?

Lu Xin stepped forward, extended his arms, and firmly embraced the large bookshelf. He shouted, "Up!"

He indeed lifted the 270-pound alloy bookshelf and carried it downstairs with a steady pace.

(To those who have been through the experience of being bullied by senior employees when they were new, please give a thumbs up! I beg those who have worked in companies or factories to log in and add this book to your bookshelf. Your support is greatly appreciated!)

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