Chapter 127: Zhang Xianzhong's Mining Notes: The filial piety of the adopted sons has deteriorated
February 8th.
Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, Ai Nengqi and other teenagers lined up to receive mining tools and officially started working in the mines.
Is it possible to choose not to work in the mines or work in order to resist the oppression and exploitation of them by the mines?
Of course it is possible to do this, and the mine managers will not resort to violence against absentees. It’s just that the stomach-nurturing porridge is no longer available, and the result of not working is immediate starvation!
Therefore, these new batch of rogue miners actually have no choice.
Young Li Dingguo also received his own equipment: a yellow miner's uniform, a bamboo helmet, a mining pick, a backpack, a bamboo water cup, and an LED flashlight only as big as an adult's thumb.
For a man who is only twelve years old and has a thin body, except for the magical little flashlight, everything else, whether it is a miner's uniform or a helmet, is a bit wide on his body. The mining pick is also quite heavy. The capacity of the backpack can even
He loaded it in, and once it was filled with coal and stone, he didn't know if he could carry it on his back and move around.
But the only thing that makes Li Dingguo look forward to mining is the price of coal.
1 cent/jin.
The mine manager said that no matter who dug out the coal, no matter how much was dug out, the price would always be one penny per catty, which is enough for a pound. He would not be deceived and would not make any deductions, and if there were any attempts to rob others of the fruits of their labor,
Those who violate the law will be punished immediately with a heavy fine of ten times, and the whistleblower will be rewarded with half of the fine. In addition, those who rob others of the fruits of their labor more than three times in a row will be fired by the free miners, and the captive miners will be resold to the bloody iron mines.
In short, a series of rules and regulations have been designed to protect the legitimate labor results of miners so that they can mine with peace of mind.
Because of this, young Li Dingguo couldn't help but think: If I could dig hundreds or thousands of kilograms of coal a day, wouldn't I be able to earn nearly one tael of silver a day?
And underground coal and stone are everywhere, almost inexhaustible, and can be mined most of the year.
Doesn't this mean that as long as you dig hard, you might be able to save 500 silver dollars of atonement silver in about two years, instead of more than ten years?
But after entering the mining area.
Facts soon proved that he thought too much.
The young man aimed at a piece of coal that was as big as a human head and weighed at least twenty kilograms. He swung his mining pick and smashed it down hard.
Bang, sparks flew everywhere.
The coal and stone did not move at all.
However, he was stunned and took half a step back.
"Why is it so hard?"
Keep smashing!
Bang bang bang bang!
Sparks continued to knock for more than ten minutes. The young man Li Dingguo used the strength of a knife to kill people, and he must knock off the coal stone.
But coal and stone are much harder than a human head and much harder to cut.
Li Dingguo struggled continuously for nearly half an hour. He was exhausted and could do nothing with this piece of coal.
In the end, he had no choice but to give up and instead picked a piece of coal that was only as big as his fist. He hit it with a mining pick a few times and successfully peeled it off. The young man picked up the coal with a happy face and put it into his backpack.
It's just that this piece of coal is less than the size of his fist, weighing only half a catty at most.
Li Dingguo suddenly came to his senses, "Mining is not that easy, it is definitely much harder than being a gangster and killing people, because with the same strength of killing people, a person can kill one person with one knife, but the ore may not peel off even if it is knocked ten times or a hundred times."
Based on his efficiency, he can dig fifty kilograms of coal and rock in one day, which is pretty good.
It's just that he has no choice. If he wants to survive and have enough to eat, he can only keep digging hard.
However, near noon, a free miner who was passing by carrying a basket full of coal on his back saw that Li Dingguo's mining method was laborious, rough and improper, so he stopped and gave him some pointers.
Demonstrate personally and teach him how to find faults, identify textures and veins, find the point of exertion, and how to exert force reasonably. As long as the method is appropriate, without much effort, a large amount of coal can be obtained, and even mining accidents and landslides can be prevented in advance.
.
"Thank you, master, thank you, master!"
Faced with such a master of mining, young Li Dingguo was very grateful and even knelt down and kowtowed to worship him as his master. The master of mining stroked his beard and smiled, but did not recognize him as his apprentice. Seeing Li Dingguo start mining again
, the efficiency has been significantly improved, I happily said, "You can teach me" and walked away.
It’s lunch time.
Li Dingguo, carrying about fifty kilograms of coal on his back, came out of the mine. The first thing he wanted to do was thank the mining expert. But let alone finding the mining expert, even his appearance was so blurry that he could not remember it. After all,
The underground mine tunnel is too dark, and the small flashlight can only illuminate a very small area.
…
In the afternoon, the busy day is over.
Weighing and settlement office.
"You dug out a total of 151 kilograms of coal today, which is equivalent to 151 Wen. I paid 20 Wen on credit for lunch and gave you 131 Wen." The steward responsible for the weighing and settlement took out ten large copper coins and thirty-one light aluminum coins from the money box.
, handed it into the hands of young Li Dingguo, and said: "Click a little, can you make a mistake?"
"No, thank you, manager." Li Dingguo took the money and put it into his pocket. He felt it was heavy, and this was the fruit of his labor today.
This scene made the rogue miners queuing behind start talking.
"Can such a thin child dig 151 kilograms of coal?"
"I'm almost exhausted today, so I only dug half a frame of coal, which is a hundred and twenty kilograms at most."
"Did you steal the coal dug by others?"
"Don't make random guesses. If there is evidence, just report it. You can also get rewards for reporting it."
"Hmph, if I see him, I will definitely report this kid."
Inside the miners' canteen.
The types of meals to choose from include: white rice, noodles, steamed buns, hot and sour cabbage, stewed radish, fried shredded potatoes, fried tofu, braised fish cubes, haggis soup, and kelp soup.
Li Dingguo ordered a pound of noodles (10 Wen), two corn buns (6 Wen), and a small portion of hot and sour cabbage (5 Wen). The total cost was 21 Wen, and he ate them all.
I also ordered a portion of white rice (10 Wen), fried shredded potatoes (5 Wen), fried tofu (8 Wen), and haggis soup (10 Wen). It cost 33 Wen and packed a meal to take back to my adoptive father Zhang Xianzhong.
eat.
…
In the evening, Dinggong Shed Area, No. 19 Datong Shop.
"Yes, the food in this mine is pretty good, with plenty of oil, water, and salt."
Zhang Xianzhong, who had been hungry all day, held a big bowl and ate voraciously, rarely saying a word of praise.
After eating and drinking enough, he let out a long burp. Zhang Xianzhong called his four adopted sons over, stretched out his big hand like a cattail leaf fan in front of them and said: "Hand over all your wages today, Ada will keep it for you."
"Ada, the steward said that personal property is kept by the individual and cannot be handed over to others, even parents." Sun Kewang looked confused.
"You can hand it over as long as you want. What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't you listen to Ah Da's words?" Zhang Xianzhong stared at him. If his leg hadn't healed yet, he would have kicked him.
"Ah Da, I only have 77 coins left." Li Dingguo handed over the money very obediently.
Sun Kewang had to hand over 31 Wen in his pocket, Liu Wenxiu handed over 18 Wen, and the youngest adopted son Ai Nengqi only handed over 9 Wen.
"You three are useless! Only Dingguo is promising. You all need to learn from him and pay more wages tomorrow." Zhang Xianzhong lost his temper again.
…
In the next half month.
Young Li Dingguo gradually adapted to the work of mining, and the output continued to increase, from 180 kilograms, 200 kilograms, 220 kilograms, to a relatively stable 250 kilograms. Although many miners expressed doubts, they could not find any evidence, so they could only
I believe this young man has great talent and is a natural miner.
And Li Dingguo did not hide anything. Even though he rarely mined coal in the same mine tunnel with his elder brother Sun Kewang, younger brother Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi, Li Dingguo also privately taught them the mining skills he had discovered, and the results were very good.
, Sun Kewang and the others' daily coal mining capacity has also rapidly increased by more than 200 kilograms, and their work efficiency is equivalent to that of most adults.
In private, the four teenagers also gathered together and counted on their fingers. They found that 500 silver dollars of atonement silver did not seem to be particularly difficult to save.
"If each of us digs 250 kilograms of coal per day, we will get 250 cash, and we will go down the mine for 330 days every year. We will live more frugally and control our daily expenses below 50 cash."
"It means that you can save 66 taels in a year. Even if other expenses are excluded, there will be no problem in actually saving 60 taels."
"If you save enough 500 silver dollars, it will take about seven years, no, a little more than eight years."
"That is to say, when we are about twenty years old, we can atone for our sins and become free miners, no, free people."
"Twenty years old. When we are twenty, we are the youngest. We can return to our hometown to farm, find other jobs, start a family, marry a wife and have children. There is still hope for the four of us brothers, there is great hope!"
The fourth child Ai Nengqi said excitedly.
The eldest son, Sun Kewang, nodded. Yes, their lives have taken a detour, but in their early twenties, they may not be unable to start a new beginning and embrace a new life.
Li Dingguo's eyes also lit up. Although he had no plans for the future, who didn't want freedom and who wanted to work in a dark mine tunnel all his life.
Liu Wenxiu, the third child, has made up his mind that starting from tomorrow, he will work harder to dig coal, and it will never be less than 250 kilograms. He will even dig a little more and save some extra money, so that he will not be penniless after regaining his freedom.
, I don’t even have the capital to start a small business.
In short, the four brothers all have their own thoughts and plans, but they have one goal that is completely the same: to work hard to save money and strive to regain their freedom around the age of twenty.
but……
All the remaining money from their wages was collected by their adoptive father Zhang Xianzhong, who wanted to 'keep it' for them.
This kind of behavior is against the regulations of the mine, not to mention that this is the adoptive father who gave them a second life. It is really difficult to disobey his orders, otherwise it is unfilial and treasonous! It is not tolerated by the mainstream values of this era.
It's just a matter of handing over the salary and then taking it out in the future.
However, Zhang Xianzhong's recent actions have cast a heavy shadow on the hearts of the four adopted sons.
Their Ada has changed, or rather it has not changed, it has just returned to its normal state.
For example, he first hired a woman to take care of him at a salary of 100 taels per day, just like the maids who had taken care of him.
The braised pork, which is only cooked every seven days, was put out in the cafeteria for people to buy immediately.
Braised sea fish, buy it!
There are also other meaty dishes such as potato stewed chicken, radish and pork ribs, lamb offal soup, beef bone soup, etc. Every day, if you see a vegetarian dish, you will scold your mother and hit others.
It's okay if you eat a little more extravagantly. On the one hand, it's to support your injured leg. On the other hand, the combined wages of four people are quite considerable, and they can maintain such a life of big fish and meat.
Only one evening, someone came to inform him that Zhang Xianzhong had lost all his money at the gambling stall and had no money to hire someone, so he asked their adopted sons to carry him back to the wooden shed.
Horrified.
Everyone from Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu to Ai Nengqi had extremely frightened expressions on their faces.
bet.
The word "Adalian" began to appear, and they lost all their wages.
Four people went to the gambling stall to carry him back. They immediately reached out to ask for money from them and wanted to continue going to the gambling stall to get some money. Sun Kewang persuaded him not to gamble, and he was immediately slapped hard.
In private, the four teenagers had to meet again to discuss.
"We can't go on like this. Ah Da has really changed. He is no longer the same person as before." Sun Kewang said with a big slap mark on his face.
"You can no longer hand over your wages. No matter how much you pay, it will be wasted." Liu Wenxiu said.
"But he is our dad after all..." Li Dingguo would rather spend his whole life mining than disobey his adoptive father.
"Brothers, I have a way. I won't offend Ah Da, and I won't have to pay my wages in the future." Ai Nengqi, the fourth child, said.
"What can I do?"
Sun Kewang and others came together. After listening to Ai Nengqi's plan, some clapped their hands and praised it, while others nodded repeatedly. Only Li Dingguo was in great pain and advised them not to do it. However, with three votes to one, Li Dingguo showed his filial piety again.
, cannot change this result.
…
Two days later.
A team of mine protection team members, blowing sharp whistles, rushed into No. 19 Datong Shop in the Dinggong Shed Area, pulled out Zhang Xianzhong, who had been sleeping in after a night of gambling, and brought him to a large crowd of people in front of a mine manager.
He solemnly announced:
"Zhang Xianzhong, someone reported that you misappropriated the wages of four adopted sons and used them for food, drink, prostitution and gambling. There are both witnesses and physical evidence. What can you say?"
"No, I didn't!" Zhang Xianzhong denied it with all his strength.
"It's useless to deny it. Ma Laosan, who lives in the same bunkhouse with you, and Ma Changgui, who gambled with you at the gambling stall, both saw it with their own eyes and reported you. According to Xujiazhuang's "Poaching"
According to Article 76 of the Mining Law, your punishment is now as follows: 1. Return all the wages you have embezzled from your four adopted sons (of course, Sun Kewang and others deny that they have embezzled their wages, leaving some face for the adoptive father);
Second, from now on, the wages of the four miners, including Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo, will be paid into the bank account of the mine, and no one except himself may take it out. Third, until Zhang Xianzhong’s legs recover, each of the four adopted sons will take turns taking care of him for one day.
It will end on the day when my legs are healed...Zhang Xianzhong, are you convinced by this verdict?"
"It's unjust, I'm unjust, these people are framing me!"
Zhang Xianzhong kept complaining, but what he did these days, too many people saw with their own eyes (it was useless for Sun Kewang and other adopted sons to help cover it up). At this moment, they all added insult to injury and criticized Zhang Xianzhong one after another. Even though Zhang Xianzhong had a hundred mouths, he was unable to refute.
As a result, Zhang Xianzhong's right to the wages of his four adopted sons was forcibly deprived.
The woman who cared for him was also fired.
From now on, Sun Kewang will wait for his adopted son to eat whatever he eats, and Zhang Xianzhong will eat whatever he eats. Whether he can continue to eat and drink depends on the filial piety of his adopted sons.
Zhang Xianzhong, who was suddenly knocked back to his original form, had to be honest, but at the same time he always felt that something was not quite right.
So he lay dormant for a while and found an opportunity. While his bunkmate Ma Lao San was walking by, he suddenly reached out and pulled him over, locked his neck tightly with his hands, and asked: "Ma Lao San, say it!"
Who asked you to report me? If you don’t tell the truth, I will kill you!”
"Uh-huh, uh-huh, it was your adopted son Ai Nengqi who asked me to report you, saying that he would be rewarded with one silver dollar when the matter was completed. He also bribed Ma Changgui from the gambling stall..." Ma Laosan was scared, and the bamboo tube
Tell everything like pouring beans.
Zhang Xianzhong was stunned, tears fell down, and he said sadly: "Beast, beast, if I had known this, it would be better to let him die in the first place!"