...
Early the next morning.
The mist had slightly dissipated.
Chen Jichuan and Chen Shaohu packed up their belongings and headed to the Northern District Mine Supervision Office.
As for "belongings," it was actually just two quilts, stitched together from the cotton-padded jackets taken apart from their father and others.
These were the brothers' most precious possessions.
In addition to that,
there were only a bamboo basket, an iron shovel, an iron pot, and a few bowls and chopsticks—bare necessities.
As for food—
Outside the Black Prison, a shipnt of aged rice, oil, salt, along with vegetables and even so ats, was sent in every ten days.
Aged rice, oil, and salt were allocated.
But vegetables and ats were not free.
The amount of ore exceeding 2,000 catties every ten days was calculated as "wages," which could be used to buy vegetables or ats. Although the proportion was unfair and they could buy very little, for the Black Prison's owner, it ant receiving more ore.
It was a highly profitable deal.
Incentive-based labor was far more efficient than purely forced labor.
The math was simple.
Chen Jichuan and Chen Shaohu were young and lacked strength. Despite laboring to exhaustion every day, they only barely managed to et the task quota for each cycle.
There was rarely any surplus.
And even if there was,
it had to be saved for ergencies, like sickness or injury.
As a result, they had little food on hand—no vegetables, only two salted fish, which were considered a rare treat. Chen Shaohu carefully wrapped them in a clean, tattered cloth and hid them in a rice bag.
The two brothers clutched their quilts, and the bamboo baskets on their backs clattered noisily.
By the ti they arrived,
about half the miners from the Northern District had already gathered.
Reaching at this ti, they didn't stand out—neither particularly late nor early.
The North District had ten subdivisions in total.
Chen Jichuan and Chen Shaohu were in the North Second District. They found familiar faces from their group, lined up, and stood in formation, waiting for the others to arrive and for the Mine Supervisors to show up.
No one spoke in the field.
Most of the miners were familiar with one another and could chat during other tis; there was no need to exchange idle words now.
Chen Jichuan hugged his quilt with the bamboo basket on his back.
He remained silent as well.
By the ti all the miners in the Northern District had arrived, the open space in front of the Mining Supervision Office—flattened two years ago by miners like Chen Jichuan—was packed tightly.
There were fifty rows in total.
Five hundred people.
The 19th Mine was divided into East, West, South, and North Districts, with a total of 2,000 miners.
Of course,
that was assuming full capacity.
Though the death rate among Black Prison miners had decreased over the past two years, people still died each month, and replacents were rarely sent in promptly. As a result, few Mining Supervision Offices ever operated at full capacity.
Chen Jichuan waited silently.
After everyone had gathered,
about an hour passed, and finally, soone ca.
The crowd stirred montarily but quickly fell silent. Chen Jichuan strained to straighten his back, trying to see. He spotted a group of about a dozen n in black armor erging from the Mining Supervision Office, ard with weapons, and his heart tightened.
These armored n were the Black Prison's enforcers,
responsible for suppressing nearly ten thousand miners.
Two years ago, so new prisoners in the Black Prison incited hundreds of miners to storm the Mining Supervision Office, but these Black Armor n had slaughtered them to the last person. That battle had required only twenty Black Armor soldiers.
"Black Armor."
"What could have happened to warrant Black Armor being mobilized?"
Chen Jichuan secretly wondered, growing increasingly vigilant.
The Black Armor's fearso reputation—
was well known to more than just Chen Jichuan.
This was evident from the silence that gripped the crowd the mont the Black Armor appeared; not even the faintest whispers remained.
Chen Shaohu, standing in front of Chen Jichuan, cast a quick glance at the Black Armor before imdiately lowering his head, firmly recalling the fourth brother's advice: "Don't let anyone see the light in your eyes."
He repeated this to himself silently,
lowered his head,
and remained inconspicuous.
Following the Black Armor, several n in long robes filed out. These were the mining officials. The leading figure was unfamiliar to Chen Jichuan, but he recognized the middle-aged man standing slightly behind—Feng Mo, head of the Northern District Mine Archives. Behind Feng Mo stood the Chief, the Record Keeper, and the ten supervisors they often dealt with.
The dignitaries of the Northern District Mine Office had all gathered.
Anyone standing before Feng Mo was undoubtedly a prominent figure among the mining supervisors.
As these officials erged,
their faces—whether overtly or subtly—showed expressions of disdain.
Miners like Chen Jichuan spent all day handling Iron-repellent Ore, reeking of a strong stench. While they didn't notice it themselves, as they were all used to it, these high-ranking officials, accustod to the comfort of their offices, were clearly repulsed during their rare etings with the miners.
They showed no pleasantries at all,
simply directing the supervisors to lead their respective divisions forward.
Silence filled the journey.
The officials kept their distance up front,
the miners trudged in the middle,
and twelve Black Armor soldiers guarded the sides, front, and rear.
Half a day later,
covering a distance of roughly twenty to thirty miles. Along the way, everything they saw was an oppressive expanse of dark, bleak mountain rock.
The mountains were black,
the roads were yellow,
and vegetation was sparse.
It was rare to see any other colors.
Only the streams and flowing rivers provided a hint of clarity, slightly relieving the heaviness in their hearts.
As they walked,
they exited the 19th Mine.
When the mist grew thicker, they arrived at a place with dozens of thatched huts.
Chen Jichuan thought they had reached their destination.
However, after cramming into the huts for one night, they continued their journey the next day.
Traveling during the day and resting at night,
this pattern continued for half a month.
By his estimation, they had traveled five to six hundred miles away from the 19th Mine to finally stop.
The new mine—
had arrived.
...
"So this is the new mine?"
"It's so tall."
"So many caves."
After days of travel, the miners were fatigued. Seeing that they had arrived at their destination, they all exhaled a sigh of relief.
Chen Jichuan felt the sa.
Like the others, he raised his head to take in the towering mountain, whose peak was out of sight. Along its cliffs, there were countless cave openings. From the base of the mountain, it was impossible to see what lay within those caves.
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