Time is like an arrow, this is the feeling of the rich and idlers.

The poor don't feel that way.

Every day when you open your eyes, you have to be busy begging for life, looking for a way out for your next meal for yourself and your family.

Time doesn't do justice to everyone.

Ruppets is the poorest of the poor.

He has no land, no house, no hoe ...

In order to take his granddaughter to take refuge in the Divine State, he sold everything he could sell.

Whenever he recalled this experience, Rupets would knock on his cigarette twice, let out a long breath, and said with infinite emotion,

"What a good man, Mr. Ludon."

Relying on the temporary pricing power of 1 meter so proposed by Mr. Ludon, Ruppes could assume the role of refuge for the two men.

At the same time, Rupets found a decent job in the mine, decent.

The god was sealed for two months, and Rupets worked in the mine for two months.

Because he is silent and only knows how to work hard, Rupetz also became one of the top ten employees of the month in a certain selection!

The prize money is 10 meters!

That's a couple of days' wages for Rupets!

After the lockdown was lifted, Rupets did not leave the mine and remained to work in the mine.

That's a lot more money than farming!

However, due to the lifting of the blockade by the Shinbang, civilians like Rupets cannot spend the night in the mines.

After work, he and his co-workers dragged their tired bodies back out of the city to rest in the 'low-cost housing' provided by Mr. Luden.

Early the next morning, there will be a special horse-drawn carriage to pull people to the mine.

It's also free.

Of course, this kind of carriage is not quite the same as the carriage of the saints and nobles, and there is nothing decorative about it.

Just two horses, dragging a large slab with several planks erected around the slab.

Or the convertible version!

Standing on the carriage, you must hold on to the planks, otherwise you may fall or fall.

No matter what happens in the carriage, the coachman will not stop until the destination.

After working thirteen days in a row, Rupets was given a day off, and he usually lay in a low-rent house, trying not to move, to dispel the fatigue of work from his body.

Everything is good in the mine, but the work is too hard.

This life lasted for another four months.

Rupets's life in the mines became more and more comfortable, and during this time, he took in a total of three apprentices.

The first apprentice, having only been in the mine for two days, could not stand the suffering and left the mine.

According to the rules of the mine, he cannot join the mine for a month after he runs away, and the apprenticeship period will be doubled the next time he joins.

The apprentice thought it was ridiculous, how could he go back to this hellish place?

Amusing!

Two months later, he returned.

When the skinny boy returned to the mine, he saw Rupets, pursed his lips and said nothing, his neck tucked into his shoulders, ashamed and uncomfortable.

The young man's self-esteem wanted him to run away from this place again.

But the cold reality told him that wherever he went, it was a dead end.

Rupets didn't say anything, didn't laugh, didn't care, didn't say anything.

He just handed him an iron pickaxe and went on with his work.

The apprentice stayed in the mine.

That night, Rupets paid out of his own pocket and invited the other party to a buffet.

The young man was like a wolf that had been hungry for a long time, emptying all the food on his plate.

Rupetz was eating slowly, chewing, swallowing, chewing...

He was as silent as ever.

After eating the buffet, a collective carriage took them back to the low-rent house outside the city.

This is also the benefit that Mr. Ludon provides to the miners.

The young man was in the carriage, talking a lot, having his own experiences, being angry at injustice, and complaining about his stomach ...

Rupets did not remember what the young man had said, he grasped the guardrail with one hand, and his body swayed with the carriage, falling asleep in rhythmic shaking.

The second apprentice was a capable and clever man, with quick hands and feet.

There is not much memory about him.

On the sixth day of the mine, the clever man stumbled and fell into the mine and died.

Death did not make any waves.

As usual, Rupets reported the time and place of the accident in accordance with the regulations, answered a few questions, and then continued his work.

Because of this production accident, Rupets was disqualified from the top 10 selection of the month.

The third apprentice was an unlucky fellow.

He was probably so tired that he hit his foot with an iron pickaxe, and blood gushed out like a spring.

Rupets tried to do something and at the same time let the young man call the doctor.

By the time the doctor arrived at the scene, the hapless man's face was whiter than a woman's buttocks.

The Medic tied his feet and beckoned for the hapless creature to be carried away.

Before leaving, the doctor was still talking to the unlucky ghost on the stretcher that the apprenticeship fee during this period should be deducted as medical expenses...

Later, Rupets never heard from the other side again.

Maybe it's dead.

There are so many things like this, people are used to it.

Anything can happen in the mines.

Mr. Luden's mine is already the brightest mine.

As long as you live on the mine, you will have a bright future.

Thinking of this, Rupets knocked the end of the cigarette pen, brought it to his mouth, and took another puff.

Rupets, who was sitting in the carriage, exhaled a puff of white smoke.

Tobacco, this thing was originally not about the poor, it was the plaything of the aristocracy.

When General Ponger was fighting in the south, the enemy in the south offered a large amount of tobacco in order to show his submission.

And the mines, as the most important funder of the legion, occupy a large share in the distribution of the spoils.

As a result, the tobacco was sent to the mines and sold at a lower price.

It's a good thing to relieve fatigue, so Rupetz buys some and occasionally rewards himself with a two-puff.

Tobacco has brought some comfort to the hard-working people in the mines, and it has also made their lives more gray.

Rupets was now sitting in a rickety wagon, ready to go back to the countryside to have a look.

I haven't been back for more than half a year.

He had two small gold coins in his pocket, which was all Rupets' savings for the past six months!

In half a year, he saved 480 meters, this money-making speed, Rupets couldn't even dream of it!

If he could, Rupec wanted to buy a piece of land of his own.

He had no intention of leaving the mines, and Rupetz couldn't find a better job than the mines.

He was going to use the money to buy a piece of land, and let other people's slaves help him farm the land, and the harvest would be thirty-seven...

When the time comes for his granddaughter to get married, Rupets can give a decent gift.

A big man sitting in the corner, recognizing Rupets, asked curiously,

"Old fellow, when did you start smoking?"

Ruppets laughed twice, squinted, and didn't answer.

More people recognized Rupetz, the old farmer who was known for his loyalty and steadfastness.

Someone greeted him,

"Hey, where's your granddaughter?"

Talking about this, Rupets opened the conversation,

"She's studying, well, the school in the state of God, right next to the mine, yes, Mr. Ludon built it."

School?

This word is very strange to many people.

The people in the carriage gathered enough and asked,

"I've heard that the school is free, is that true?"

"Are those scholars, judges, really willing to teach children to read?"

"Is there still a good job in the mines, I heard that the mines are full of gold!"

“......”

There were so many questions that Rupets had to pick a few to answer.

As soon as he spoke, everyone fell silent, their eyes widened, and they refused to miss every word he said.

Ruppertz said patiently,

"The school is indeed free, and for every class, there will be a handicraft class..."

The so-called handicraft class is to let children operate the spinning machine and make cotton thread.

This kind of thing is very simple to operate, and children will learn it as soon as they learn it.

Take two handicraft classes a day, you can change two meals, the kind that is full.

After the textile machine entered the school, the children in the school instantly increased!

For the rest of the journey, Rupets answered everyone's questions until the carriage arrived.

The public carriage, that's what Mr. Ludon called this means of transport.

In Mr. Luden's words:

'Only with more convenient transportation and more population movement can more consumption, open up more markets, and provide cheaper labor...'

Perhaps, the last point, is what Ludon cares about.

In fact, with the introduction of public carriages, there are indeed more people working in Shenbang.

The price of apprentices in the mines has dropped a little bit.

Rupets got out of the carriage, moved his body, and went to the office of the slash and plough temple to find the judge he was familiar with.

A small person like him always has to rely on some friendship to struggle to survive in this land.

"You want to buy land?"

After the pleasantries, the judge yawned and said nonchalantly,

"There are a lot of people who buy fields now, are you also going to plant cotton?"

"Cotton?"

Rupetz felt strange and asked,

"Why cotton?"

He has farmed the fields for most of his life and has done everything.

To grow grain, sometimes two harvests a year, and a little further south can even harvest three times a year.

Cotton?

That can only be harvested once a year, and the risk is too great.

Moreover, cotton cannot be eaten, and the yield of cotton is also unstable ...

Compared with grain, cotton has many drawbacks, but there is only one benefit:

Cotton is sold more expensively than grain.

"Yes, cotton."

For the sake of acquaintances, the judge said a few more words,

"The saint lords in the city have brought a kind of machine, called a handmade loom, have you ever seen that thing?"

Rupets shook his head and said honestly, "I haven't seen it." ”

Of course he had seen the spinning machine.

However, as soon as the judge opened the conversation, Rupets did not want to spoil the other party's interest.

It took the judge more than ten minutes to describe the magic of the spinning machine, until he said he was tired.

The judge picked up the glass of water and cleared his throat,

"If you want to buy land, I can recommend a few good places to plant cotton, and make sure you don't suffer a loss!"

"I do want to buy land."

Rupets hesitated for a moment and said cautiously,

"I have only one request."

The warm winter sun fell on Rupets's old face, and every wrinkle was like a hill, which was a gift left to him by the years.

Rupets spoke out what he wanted,

"This land can only be used to grow food!"