英雄来自人民：“再难不欠工友们血汗钱”，退伍兵哥六年偿还80万元工钱
Heroes come from the people： "No matter how hard it gets, I will never owe my workers their hard-earned money "，Veteran Repays 800,000 Yuan in Back Wages over Six Years
极目新闻记者 周萍英
通讯员 齐然然 尚进 姜鹏 李红
翻译 张柳 林璇 许洲（湖北大学）
Jimu News Reporter: Zhou Pingying
Correspondents: Qi Ranran, Shang Jin, Jiang Peng, Li Hong
Translators: Zhang Liu, Lin Xuan, Xu Zhou (Hubei University)
11月28日下午2时31分，湖北省襄阳市襄州区伙牌镇柴庄村工地上，杨学礼的手机“嘀”了一声——他收到1000元微信转账，备注“工资”。这是6年来，他第32次收到同一个账户的转账。那个人，是他曾经的老板——黄必栋。
At 2:31 p.m. on November 28, at a construction site in Chai Village in Huopai Town, Xiangyang, Hubei, Yang Xueli’s phone buzzes—he has received a 1,000-yuan WeChat transfer, labeled "wages." This was the 32nd time in six years he had received a transfer from the same account. The sender was his former employer, Huang Bidong.
2019年，黄必栋欠下200名工友83万元的工钱。这6年来，这个90后退伍兵哥打零工、承接小工程、与人合伙卖卤虾、贷款开餐厅，用尽各种办法一笔笔地兑现着自己当年“再难不欠工友们血汗钱”的承诺。
In 2019, Huang Bidong owed 830,000 yuan in wages to 200 workers. Over the past six years, this millennial veteran has worked odd jobs, small projects, co-founded a crayfish eatery, and even secured a loan to open a restaurant—doing everything possible to honor his promise: "No matter how tough it gets, I will never withhold my workers’ hard-earned money."
黄必栋在餐厅给客人上菜Huang Bidong serves customers in his restaurant
工友眼中的退伍兵 做事“扛得起担得下”
Employees Describe Veteran Boss as “Dependable and Keeps His Word”
杨学礼是襄州区伙牌镇人，比黄必栋大几岁。2019年之前，两人并不相识。
Yang Xueli, a native of Huopai in Xiangzhou District, is slightly older than Huang Bidong. The two were not acquainted before 2019.
2019年，通过熟人介绍，杨学礼作为带班班长，带着一帮工人到了襄城区一家工地干活。刚开始，他只是发现黄必栋这个戴眼镜的年轻老板，讲话轻言细语的，并未发现他与其他工地的老板有什么不同。
In 2019, through a mutual acquaintance, Yang Xueli, as a foreman, led a group of workers to a construction site in Xiangcheng District. Initially, his only observation of Huang Bidong, the young bespectacled manager, was he had a gentle tone of voice but seemed no different from other site managers.
可时间久了，杨学礼发现，这个小哥话不多却靠谱。每次结了工钱，第一时间就发给大家，从不拖欠。后来，才了解到，黄老板曾经在部队当过5年的工程兵。
Yet with time, Yang Xueli came to see that this reserved young man was remarkably reliable. Whenever wages were due, they were paid promptly without any delay. Later, he learned that Huang had served as an engineering corps in the army for five years.
“军人做事靠谱，跟着黄老板，我们就更信得过了。”杨学礼说。
"Military personnel are reliable, so our trust is through the roof working with our boss, Huang," Yang Xueli remarked.
杨学礼口中的黄老板，大名黄必栋，今年35岁，襄城区卧龙镇黄河村人。2007年初入伍，2012年12月退役回乡。
The boss Yang spoke of is Huang Bidong, a 35-year-old native of Huanghe Village, in Wolong, Xiangcheng. He enlisted in the army in early 2007, retired and returned to his hometown in December 2012.
黄必栋给顾客上餐Huang Bidong serving dishes in his restaurant
黄必栋告诉极目新闻记者，在部队的经历，让他像铁一样在熔炉中得到了淬炼。
Huang Bidong told Jimu News that his experience in the army had tempered him like iron in a furnace.
黄必栋回忆，入伍第三年时，他在训练中受伤，心里充满迷茫。每当拉练的号角吹响，旧伤未愈的腿，每次抬腿、每次冲刺都变得异常沉重。
Huang Bidong recalled that in his third year of enlistment, he was injured during training, leaving him confused. Whenever the bugle call sounded for field training, the leg that refused to heal felt like lead—every step, every sprint a battle of its own.
“部队里有铁人三项大比武，单是10公里跑步这一项，300多人里层层筛选，我跑出了第七名的成绩。”说到此处，黄必栋眼里有光。“可后来腿意外受伤后，就不一样了。”他用手下意识摩挲着曾经受伤的腿说。
"The army held an Ironman triathlon, and for the 10-kilometer run, I ranked seventh out of 300 people after multiple rounds," Huang Bidong said, his eyes sparkling at the memory. "But everything changed after I accidentally injured my leg." He added, subconsciously rubbing his old wound.
工程兵的责任就是逢山开路，遇水架桥，所幸在部队老班长鼓励下，他渐渐走出低谷，也树下“遇事扛得起、担得下”的人生信条。
An engineer soldier’s duties include carving roads through mountains and building bridges across rivers. Fortunately, with the encouragement of his sergeant in the army, Huang gradually emerged from the trough, later adopting the creed “when trouble comes, shoulder it, carry it through”.
一句“我信你” 施工队从20人壮大到200人
“I trust you.” Three words Turned 20-man Team Into Sturdy Crew of 200
退伍后，他结合部队所学，将创业的方向瞄准了园林绿化工程行业。
After retiring, combining what he had learned in the army, he set his entrepreneurial direction on the landscape engineering industry.
可刚“下海”完全接不到活儿。“干不好，我一分钱不要！”黄必栋跑到施工单位毛遂自荐，总算有人拿出200平方米的铺装绿化小项目，让他一试身手。
However, as a newcomer, he was unable to secure any projects. "If the job isn’t done well, I won’t take a single cent!" Huang Bidong approached construction firms to market his work, and eventually was offered a small 200-square-meter paving and landscaping project to try his hand at.
他托人找来几个熟手，自己亲自当大工，用较短的时间就高质量地完成了第一个小单子。完工那天，手里攥着结算单，“心里像揣了团火，烧得浑身都亮堂！”
He enlisted a few skilled workers and worked alongside them as a lead hand, completing the first small project with high quality in a relatively short time. When the flawless project was signed off he clutched the payment sheet like a coal that lit him from the inside out.
第一炮打响，客户对他刮目相看，项目也不断追加，他从最初的单打独斗，逐步汇聚起一支20多人的专业施工队伍。
This initial success impressed the client, leading to progressively larger projects. He gradually assembled a professional construction team of over 20 people.
黄必栋的业务也从绿化园林转向房地产项目施工。2017年2月，他和父亲黄中波、姐夫李超，成立了襄阳柏森园林有限公司。
Huang Bidong's business shifted from landscaping to real estate development. In February 2017, partnering with his father Huang Zhongbo and brother-in-law Li Chao, he founded Xiangyang Bosen Landscape Architecture Co., Ltd.
“那娃子实在，不耍滑，还跟我们一起干活，我们信他。”提起黄必栋，65岁的同村村民陈付志竖起大拇指。
“That young man is honest and hardworking, never cutting corners. He even works alongside us. We trust him.” When talking about Huang Bidong, 65-year-old fellow villager Chen Fuzhi expressed his approval with a thumbs-up.
2013年，黄必栋接下第一个园林绿化项目时，陈付志就成了他身边最得力的帮手，这一跟便是10年时间。而跟着黄必栋的工人，也越来越多。从刚开始的20多人，到高峰时，他手下的施工人员达210余人。
In 2013, when Huang Bidong took on his first landscaping project, Chen Fuzhi became his trusted right-hand man, marking the start of a 10-year partnership . Meanwhile, the number of workers under Huang was equally growing—from just over 20 initially to more than 210 construction personnel under him at the peak.
欠下80多万元的债务 他决定每笔都要还清
Determined to Pay Off of Over 800,000-yuan Debt
好景不长。2019年下半年，承接的工程项目结算开始变得艰难，黄必栋不得不把前几年挣的积蓄全部投入，以维持后续项目开支。
This blissful season was short-lived. In late 2019, settlements for the engineering projects he undertook began to stall. Huang Bidong had to pour all his previous savings into the business to fund ongoing projects.
没想到项目结算越来越难，2021年初时，他所做的一个近300万元的工程款一直难以结算，为此他欠下200多名工人约83万元（ 含杨学礼等人的50多万元）的工钱没法兑现。
Unbeknownst to Huang, settling project payments would become increasingly difficult. Back in early 2021, a project he worked on with a total value of nearly 3 million yuan had been stuck in payment settlement. As a result, he owed wages totaling approximately 830,000 yuan to over 200 workers (including more than 500,000 yuan owed to Yang Xueli and others), which he was unable to pay.
“大家信我，再难我也不能让他们失望。”他决定，一笔笔地偿还工友们的工钱。
“They trust me, no matter how hard it gets, I won’t let them down.” Huang decided to repay each of his employees.
11月29日，极目新闻记者来到黄必栋卧龙镇上的老家，这是一栋建在S303边的三层自建楼，门口还挂着公司招牌。办公室就在一楼，进门就能看见一幅“诚信赢天下”的牌匾。
On November 29th, a reporter from Jimu News visited Huang Bidong's hometown in Wolong Town. A three-story self-built structure stands off State Highway S303, with the company’s signboard hanging by the gate. The office is on the first floor, and as soon a one walks in, a plaque inscribed with "Integrity Wins the World" comes into view.
黄必栋从办公桌内翻出一沓又一沓的考勤表、账本：2019年3月15日，大工15个，小工14个，挖机3台……工友们的用工情况一目了然。
Huang Bidong pulled out stack after stack of attendance records and account books from his desk drawers: on March 15, 2019, there were 15 skilled workers, 14 general laborers, and 3 excavators... Work logs of his crew were readily available at a glance.
“每一笔都要记清楚，哪些付了、哪些没付要说得清。”这几年，黄必栋一直坚持把公司招牌悬挂在家门口，就是想让乡亲们吃下定心丸，这钱他肯定会还上。
“Every payment must be recorded clearly, and we must account for which ones have been paid and which haven't.” Over the years, Huang Bidong has insisted on hanging the company's signboard at his doorstep, hoping to reassure his townsfolk that he will definitely repay the owed wages.
2020年春节前，是最艰难的时候，黄必栋不仅没钱给工人们发放，连家里的水果、瓜子等年货都是从亲戚家“蹭”的。
The spring festival of 2020 was extremely difficult for Huang as he had no money to pay the workers. Even typical festive treats for the Chinese New Year he had to “borrow” from relatives.
为尽快兑现承诺，黄必栋开始了艰难的还款之路。一年时间里，他承接各种能快速结账的小项目，把赚来的利润一笔笔打到工友账户上。
To fulfill his promise as soon as possible, Huang Bidong embarked on a difficult journey of repaying his debt. Over the course of a year, he took on various small projects that allowed for quick payment settlements, and transferred the profits he earned to his fellow workers' bank accounts one by one.
可这样的速度太慢，看着工人们期盼的眼神，他决定另辟蹊径。
Unfortunately, this barely made a dent on the debt. Sensing the eagerness in his workers’ eyes, he decided to take a different approach.
2021年春夏之交，黄必栋找亲友借来3万元钱，和两个朋友合伙在樊城区兴武街开起了“不飙人”卤虾大排档。
In the spring and summer of 2021, Huang Bidong borrowed 30,000 yuan from relatives and friends, and partnered with two friends to open "Bubiaoren" Braised Shrimp Food Stall on Xingwu Street in Fancheng District.
“不飙人”在襄阳方言里的意思是：诚实守信不骗人。在这间仅20多平方米的小店里，他身兼数职：配菜、炒料、打杂……哪里需要，他就往哪里顶。
In the Xiangyang dialect, "Bubiaoren" means being honest and trustworthy. In this humble stall just over 20 square meters, he took on multiple roles: preparing ingredients and marinades, doing odd jobs... He would fill in wherever he was needed.
“钱一到账就赶紧结。”这是黄必栋常挂在嘴边的话。他守着一锅锅卤虾起早贪黑，靠着这份烟火里的营生兑现着承诺。
"As soon as the money arrives, I'll settle the payments immediately." This was a phrase Huang Bidong often repeated. He worked from dawn to dusk guarding pots of braised shrimp, honoring his promise through this down-to-earth livelihood.
卤虾生意不错，然而季节性强，进入9月就面临下市。到2021年底，靠龙虾生意分红的7万元，他还掉了好几个“大户”的欠款。
The braised shrimp business was good, but it was very seasonal and would decline in September. By the end of 2021, with the 70,000 yuan dividend from the business, he repaid the debts owed to several major creditors.
与此同时，他还时不时接些工地零活补贴周转，一个大工的行情是一天两三百元。
Meanwhile, Huang continued picking up odd jobs at construction sites whenever he could, earning two to three hundred yuan a day as a skilled laborer to keep cash flowing.
450元、1000元、20000元……极目新闻记者看到，黄必栋的转账记录里，金额最少的仅200元，最高的2万元。
From 450 yuan to 20,000 yuan—transaction records reviewed by a Jimu News reporter show that Huang’s transfers came in all sizes. The smallest payment was just 200 yuan, the largest 20,000 yuan.
项目收回10万元 第一时间兑现承诺发工钱
Recovering 100,000 Yuan, He Paid Workers First
然而，正当他踌躇满志准备陆续还清债务时，2023年6月25日，一张行政处罚告知书打乱了黄必栋的还款规划。
Just as Huang was gaining momentum in repaying his debts, an administrative penalty notice arrived on June 25, 2023, disrupting his efforts to repay the debts.
原来，早在2022年1月24日，黄必栋就将在东津新区一项目的施工款，打给了工头陈某。哪知工头把这笔钱挪用了，并没有将工钱发给工人。
The trouble traced back to January 24, 2022, when Huang wired the labor costs for a project in the Dongjin New District to a foreman surnamed Chen. Chen, however, misappropriated the money and failed to pay the workers.
工人们在陈某那里迟迟拿不到钱，转头又来找黄必栋。收到行政处罚告知书的那个晚上，黄必栋一夜无眠。
With their wages long overdue at Chen’s end, the workers turned back to Huang for help. The night he received the penalty notice, Huang couldn’t sleep.
“我们是跟着你干活的，就是信你。”工友的话萦绕在耳边。
“We worked for you because we believed in you,” Their voices echoed in his ears.
虽说这笔债务与黄必栋没有直接关系，但工友的话语和愁容让他寝食难安，黄必栋和家人商量后，硬是东拼西凑将40600元工钱一分不少发到工友手上。
Although the debt was not legally his, the workers’ words and worried faces left him weary by day and sleepless at night. After discussing it with his family, Huang scraped together 40,600 yuan and paid every worker in full.
每年过年前，是黄必栋最难熬的日子。
For Huang, the days leading up to Lunar New Year are always the hardest.
“工友们也理解我的难处，平时只是会打电话问问有没有工钱可发，可我心里知道这钱是他们的指望。”工友们的理解，给了他莫大的温暖，他也全力回报工友的这份信任。
“The workers know my situation - they don’t push me, just call occasionally to ask if there’s any payment. But I know this money is their livelihood,” he said. Their compassion moved him deeply and strengthened his resolve to be worthy of their trust.
2025年1月27日，他找到一项目部要回10万元，第一时间就喊工友们来领钱。
On January 27, 2025, after finally receiving 100,000 yuan from a project, Huang immediately called the workers over to collect their wages.
“钱到账了！别急，大家一个一个来！”在襄阳胜利街某工地的保安房里，黄必栋掏出工资明细现场发钱。从晚上8时许到10时许，这间狭小的门房里手机提示信息此起彼伏：1430元、1560元、1950元……工友们在年关前领到了工钱。
“The money’s here! Don’t worry—everyone will get paid,” he said. Inside the security booth of a construction site on Shengli Street in Xiangyang, he distributed wages one by one. From 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., phone notification chimes rang continuously in the cramped room—1,430 yuan, 1,560 yuan, 1,950 yuan… Workers received their long-awaited pay just in time for the New Year.
部分还款记录Excerpt of transaction history showing reimbursed back pay
“目前，欠款就剩二三万元了。”黄必栋说，从2019年开始陆续欠下工钱，再到2020年停工还债，6年来累计还款80万元。其中，靠卤虾还款约40万元。他现在最期待的就是无债一身轻后，能好好睡上一觉。
“At this point, only twenty to thirty thousand yuan is still outstanding,” Huang said. Since first accumulating wage arrears in 2019 and pausing operations in 2020 to focus solely on repayment, he has repaid a total of 800,000 yuan over six years—about 400,000 yuan repaid with profits from his braised shrimp business. What he looks forward to now is a night of sound sleep after the debts are finally cleared.
多年前工人上工记录 Work logs of the workers over the years
今年9月，黄必栋用房子和车抵押贷款60万元，在樊城区杜甫巷打造了一座“青野花园餐厅”，餐厅园林景观就是最后一位债主杨学礼亲手施工的。
In September this year, Huang mortgaged his house and car to secure a 600,000-yuan loan and opened “Qingye Garden Restaurant” on Dufu Lane in Fancheng District. The restaurant’s garden landscape was built by his final creditor, Yang Xueli.
“黄总讲信用，过年我去要账，从没让我空手回。哪怕到外面借钱也要给我交代。”杨学礼还提到，自己也碰到过一些工程老板，欠得多了就直接跑路。黄必栋没有逃避，无论开卤虾店还有现在的花园餐厅，都会把最新进展告诉杨学礼。“这一点，让我们很放心。”杨学礼说。
“ Huang keeps his word. Every new year I came for money and never left empty-handed. He would even borrow from others if he had to,” Yang said. He added that he had encountered other contractors who disappeared once debts piled up. But that was never the case with Huang. From running the Braised Shrimp Stall to now the garden restaurant, he always updated Yang on his progress. “That gives us real peace of mind,” Yang said.
杨学礼告诉极目新闻记者，黄必栋曾累计欠他和他手下工人50多万元，现在只剩下二三万元未结清，这也是所欠83万元中的最后一笔。
Yang told Jimu News that Huang once owed him and his crew more than 500,000 yuan. Now only about 20,000 yuan remains unpaid, and that’s the very last slice of the original 830,000-yuan debt.
6年还款80万元，黄必栋正用一笔笔转账记录，兑现着那句“再难，不能欠工友们”的承诺。
Over the past six years, Huang has repaid 800,000 yuan in wages—one transfer at a time—fulfilling his promise: “No matter how hard it gets, I will never owe my workers their hard-earned money.”