February 8.

Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, Ai Nengqi and other teenagers lined up to receive mining tools and officially began to work in the mines.

In other words, can they choose not to go to the mine or work to resist the oppression and exploitation of them by the mine?

Of course, this is possible, and the mine manager will not use violent means against absenteeism, but the stomach porridge has been cut off, and the end result of not working is to starve immediately!

So this group of new rogue miners actually has no choice.

The teenager Li Dingguo also received his equipment: a yellow miner's uniform, a bamboo helmet, a mining pickaxe, a back basket, a bamboo water cup, and an LED flashlight the size of an adult's thumb.

For him, who is only twelve years old this year and has a thin body, except for the magical little flashlight, the rest of the clothes, whether it is a miner's suit or a hard hat, are slightly wide on the body, and the mining pickaxe is also quite heavy, and the capacity of the back basket can even fit him in, once it is filled with coal and stone, I don't know if I can carry it and walk around.

However, the only thing that makes Li Dingguo look forward to mining is the price of coal.

1 penny/catty.

The manager of the mine said that no matter who digs out the coal, no matter how much is dug up, the price is all a penny and a catty, and the child is not deceived and will not be deducted, and once there is an act of forcibly robbing the fruits of others' labor, he will be immediately fined ten times, and the whistleblower will be rewarded with a fine of half, and if he robs the fruits of others' labor more than three times in a row, the free man miner will be fired, and the captive miner will be resold to the blood mill iron mine.

In short, a series of rules and regulations have been designed to protect the legal fruits of miners' labor, so that they can mine with peace of mind.

Because of this, the young Li Dingguo couldn't help but think: If I can dig hundreds of catties or thousands of catties of coal and stone a day, wouldn't I be able to earn a tael of silver a day?

Underground coal and stone are everywhere and endless, and can be mined most of the year.

Doesn't this mean that as long as you dig desperately, you may be able to save up 500 silver dollars of atonement silver in about two years, and it will not take more than ten years at all.

But after entering the mining area of the tunnel.

It soon turned out that he was overthinking.

The boy aimed at a piece of coal and stone that weighed at least twenty pounds the size of a human head, brandished a mining pickaxe, and smashed it hard.

Bang sparks splashed everywhere.

The coal stone does not move.

He was shocked and took half a step back.

"How can it be so hard?"

Keep smashing!

Bang bang!

The sparks splashed and knocked for more than ten minutes in a row, and the young Li Dingguo used the strength to kill with a knife, and he must knock this piece of coal and stone down.

But coal and stone are much harder than a human head, and it is much harder to cut.

Li Dingguo fought with it for half an hour, exhausted, and helpless to take this piece of coal.

In the end, he had to choose to give up, and instead picked a piece of coal that was only the size of a fist, smashed it with a pickaxe a few times, and successfully peeled it off, and the young man picked up the coal and stone with a happy face and put it into the back basket.

"High in the Sky"

It's just that this piece of coal stone, which is less than the size of his fist, is only half a catty at most.

Li Dingguo suddenly came to his senses, mining is not so easy, it is definitely much more difficult than killing people as a rogue, because with the same killing strength, people can use one knife at a time, but the ore will not necessarily peel off even ten or a hundred times.

According to his efficiency, it is very good to be able to dig 50 catties of coal and stone a day.

It's just that he has no choice, if he wants to survive, if he wants to eat all-you-can-eat, he can only bury his head and dig hard.

However, when it was close to noon, a free miner who passed by here with a basket full of coal and stones, saw that Li Dingguo's mining method was laborious, rough and improper, so he actually stopped and pointed him out, and personally demonstrated, teaching him how to find faults, distinguish textures and veins, find force points, and how to reasonably exert force, as long as the method is appropriate, without too much effort, a large amount of coal and stone can be obtained, and even mining disasters and landslides can be prevented in advance.

"Thank you, master, thank you, master!"

In the face of such a mining master, the young Li Dingguo is very grateful, and knelt down to kowtow to worship him as a teacher, the mining master stroked his beard and smiled, and did not recognize him as an apprentice.

At lunchtime.

Li Dingguo, who was carrying about fifty pounds of coal and stone, came out of the mine, and wanted to thank the mining master for the first time, but let alone find the mining master, even his appearance was so bad that he couldn't remember it clearly, after all, the underground mine was too dark, and the small flashlight could only illuminate a very small area.

……

In the afternoon, a busy day ends.

Weigh the settlement office.

"You dug up a total of 151 catties of coal and stone today, which is equivalent to 151 wen, and you will be given 131 wen on credit for lunch at noon." The steward in charge of weighing and settlement took out ten large copper dollars + thirty-one light aluminum coins from the money box, handed them to the young Li Dingguo's hand, and said, "A little bit, is there a mistake?" ”

"No, thank you." Li Dingguo took the money and put it in his pocket, feeling heavy, and this is the fruit of his labor today.

This scene made the rogue miners in the queue behind them make a noise.

"Such a thin boy can dig 151 catties of coal?"

"I'm tired and half dead today, so I dug half a frame of coal, a maximum of 120 catties."

"Did you steal the coal that someone else had dug up?"

"Don't speculate, if there is evidence, report it, and you can get a reward for reporting."

"Humph! If I see it, I will definitely report this kid. ”

Inside the miner's canteen.

The types of meals to choose from are: white rice, noodles, steamed buns, hot and sour cabbage, stewed radish, stir-fried shredded potatoes, fried tofu, braised fish pieces, haggis soup, and kelp soup.

Li Dingguo ordered a pound of noodles (10 Wen), two corn steamed buns (6 Wen), and a small portion of hot and sour cabbage (5 Wen), which cost a total of 21 Wen, and ate all of them.

In addition, I also ordered a white rice (10 Wen) + fried shredded potatoes (5 Wen) + fried tofu (8 Wen) + haggis soup (10 Wen), which cost 33 Wen, and packed it back to my father-in-law Zhang Xianzhong to eat.

……

In the evening, Ding Gong Shed District, No. 19 Chase Shop.

"Yes, the food in this mine is good, and the oil, water and salt are very sufficient."

Zhang Xianzhong, who had been hungry for a day, was holding a big bowl and devouring it, and it was rare to say a word of praise.

After eating and drinking, and having a long burp, Zhang Xianzhong called the four righteous sons over, and stretched out his big fan-like hand in front of them and said, "Pay over today's wages, Ah Da will keep it for you." ”

"Ah Da, the steward said that personal property belongs to the personal custody and cannot be handed over to others, even parents." Sun Kewang looked embarrassed.

"Let you hand it over, what's the nonsense? Didn't you listen to what Ah Da said? Zhang Xianzhong stared at him, if it weren't for the fact that his leg was not good, he would have kicked it over.

"Ah Da, I only have 77 Wen left." Li Dingguo was very obedient and handed over the money.

Sun Kewang had to hand over 31 wen in his pocket, Liu Wenxiu handed over 18 wen, and the youngest son, Ai Nengqi, only handed over 9 wen.

"All three of you are rubbish! Only Dingguo is quite promising, you all need to learn from him, and pay more wages tomorrow. Zhang Xianzhong lost his temper again.

……

In the next half a month.

Li Dingguo gradually adapted to the work of mining, and the output continued to increase, 180 catties, 200 catties, 220 catties, until a relatively stable 250 catties, although many miners expressed doubts, but they really couldn't find evidence, they could only believe that this young man had a good talent and was a natural miner.

And Li Dingguo did not hide his selfishness, even if he rarely dug coal in the same mine with his brother Sun Kewang, younger brother Liu Wenxiu and Ai Nengqi, Li Dingguo also privately taught them the mining skills he had learned and explored, and the effect was also very good, Sun Kewang and others quickly increased the daily amount of coal to more than 200 catties, and the work efficiency was equivalent to most of the adults.

The four teenagers also often got together, crossed their fingers and counted, and found that the 500 silver dollars of atonement did not seem to be particularly difficult to save.

"If we each dig 250 catties of coal every day and go down the mine for 330 days a year, we can save more money and control the daily expenses below 50 yuan."

"It means that you can save 66 taels a year, even if you remove other expenses, there is no problem in actually saving 60 taels."

"If you save up 500 silver dollars, it will take about seven years, no, a little more than eight years."

"That is to say, when we reach the age of twenty, we can atone for our sins and become free miners, nay, free people."

"Twenty years old, we are the youngest and strongest, we can go back to our hometown to farm, we can change to individual jobs, we can also start a family, marry a wife and have children, our four brothers still have hope, there is great hope!"

The fourth Ai Nengqi said excitedly.

The eldest Sun Kewang nodded, yes, their lives have taken a detour, but in their early twenties, they may not be able to start a new beginning and embrace a new life.

Li Dingguo's eyes also lit up, although he didn't have any plans for the future, but who doesn't want freedom, who wants to work in the dark mines for the rest of his life.

Liu Wenxiu, the third child, is even more determined to dig coal harder from tomorrow, never less than 250 catties, and even dig a little more to save some extra money, so that after regaining freedom, there will be no capital to do some small business.

In short, the four brothers have their own thoughts and plans, but they have one goal that is completely identical: that is, to try to save money and strive to be free around the age of twenty.

But......

The surplus money from their salaries was collected by their father-in-law Zhang Xianzhong, who wanted to help them 'keep'.

This kind of behavior is actually against the rules of the mine, but this is the father-in-law who gave them a second life! His orders are really difficult to disobey, otherwise it is unfilial piety and great rebellion! It is not tolerated by the mainstream values of this era.

You can just pay your salary, as long as you can take it out in the future.

However, the recent actions of the stepfather Zhang Xianzhong have cast a thick shadow on the hearts of the four righteous sons.

Their Ah Da has changed, or it hasn't changed, it's just a return to normal.

For example, he first hired a woman to take care of him at a salary of 100 wen per day, just like the maids who had taken care of him.

The braised pork, which is only made once every seven days in the cafeteria, was put out and people were immediately able to buy it.

Braised sea fish, buy!

There are also meat dishes such as potato stewed chicken, radish pork ribs, haggis soup, beef bone soup, etc., which do not fall every day, and when you see a vegetarian dish, you will scold your mother and beat people.

If you are a little extravagant in eating, on the one hand, it is the need to raise leg injuries, and on the other hand, the salary of four people is still quite considerable, and you can maintain this life of big fish and meat.

Only one evening, someone came to inform him that Zhang Xianzhong had lost all his money in the gambling stall and had no money to hire someone, so he asked a few of their righteous sons to carry him back to the wooden shed.

Afraid.

From Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu to Ainengqi's faces, they all showed extremely frightened expressions.

Bet.

The word "Dalian" began to be touched, and they lost all their wages.

The four of them had to go to the gambling stall to carry their father-in-law Zhang Xianzhong back, but they immediately stretched out their hands to ask them for money, saying that they were going to the gambling stall to get the capital, Sun Kewang persuaded him not to gamble, and immediately received a heavy slap.

In private, the four teenagers had to meet again to discuss.

"I can't go on like this, Ah Da has really changed, it's not the same person he used to be." Sun Kewang, who had a big slap print on his face, said.

"The wages can no longer be handed in, and no matter how much they are paid, they will be wasted!" Liu Wenxiu said.

"But he is our ...... after all" Li Dingguo would rather dig a mine for the rest of his life than disobey his father-in-law.

"Brothers, I have a way to do this, I won't offend Ah Da, and I don't have to pay my wages in the future." The fourth Ai Nengqi said.

"What's the solution?"

Sun Kewang and the others came over, and after listening to Ai Nengqi tell him his plan, some people clapped their hands and applauded, and some people nodded again and again, only Li Dingguo was very tormented and painful, and persuaded them not to do this, but three votes to one, no matter how filial Li Dingguo was, he couldn't change this result.

……

Two days later.

A team of mine guards, blowing a sharp whistle, rushed into the No. 19 Chase shop in the Ding Gong Shed District, pulled out Zhang Xianzhong, who had been gambling all night and was sleeping lazily, and brought him to a large number of people.

"Zhang Xianzhong, someone reported that you embezzled the wages of the four righteous sons, and used them to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble, and there are all human and material evidence, what do you have to say?"

"No, I don't!" Zhang Xianzhong tried his best to deny it.

"It's useless to deny, this Ma Laosan, who lives in the same shop as you, and Ma Changgui, who has gambled with you in the gambling stall, have seen it with their own eyes and reported to you, in accordance with the provisions of Article 76 of Xujiazhuang's "Mining Law", the punishment for you is as follows: 1. Return all the wages you have swallowed up the four righteous sons (of course, Sun Kewang and others denied that the wages were swallowed, saving some face for the father-in-law); Second, in the future, the wages of the four miners, including Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo, will be transferred to the account of the mining bank, and no one except himself shall take out and occupy them; Third, before Zhang Xianzhong's legs healed, each of the four righteous sons took turns to take care of them for one day, and ended on the day his legs healed...... Zhang Xianzhong, are you convinced of this verdict? ”

"Wronged, wronged, these people are framing me!"

Zhang Xianzhong shouted injustice again and again, but what he has done these days, there are too many people who have seen it with his own eyes (it is useless for Sun Kewang and other righteous sons to help cover it up), and they all fell into the well at this moment, and they condemned one after another, Zhang Xianzhong was powerless to refute even after a hundred mouths.

As a result, Zhang Xianzhong's right to occupy the wages of the four righteous sons was forcibly deprived.

The women who cared for him were also dismissed.

In the future, what Sun Kewang and other righteous sons will eat, what Zhang Xianzhong will eat, and whether he can continue to fish and meat, it depends on the filial piety of several righteous sons.

And Zhang Xianzhong, who was suddenly beaten back to his original form, had to be honest, but he always felt that something was wrong.

Therefore, he hibernated for a while, found an opportunity, and took advantage of Ma Laosan, who was in the same shop, to walk by, suddenly reached out and dragged him over, locked his neck with his hand, and asked: "Ma Laosan, say!" Who told you to report me? If you don't tell the truth, I'll kill you! ”

"E, say it, it's your son Ai Nengqi who asked him to report you, and said that he would be rewarded with a silver dollar after the matter was completed, and Ma Changgui in the gambling stall was also bought by him......" Ma Laosan was stunned, and said everything like a bamboo tube pouring beans.

Zhang Xianzhong was stunned, two lines of tears fell, and he said sadly: "Beast, beast, I knew this was the case, it was better to let him die in the first place!" ”