"My cow!"
Zhang Yuan cried out in grief, not caring about himself, and hurriedly got up. His first reaction was to check if the cow was okay. This was his livelihood, and the three women in his family all depended on this cow.
Seeing that one of the cow's legs was broken, he almost fainted. He sat on the ground with a pale face, crying and pounding the ground with both hands, "The cow is gone, it's all over!"
"Brother Yuan, are you okay?"
Xu Lian, who was concentrating on his work, looked up and uttered a cry of surprise. His acting was very exaggerated... But no one paid attention to him at this time. They all looked at Zhang Yuan, and many of them showed a gloating smile. Ever since Zhang Yuan became a stone carrier, his speech and walking became a little unsteady, which made people uncomfortable.
Xu Lian hurried over, helped Zhang Yuan up, patted the dirt off Zhang Yuan's clothes, and comforted him, "I'm glad you're okay."
Zhang Yuan shook his hand away, crying, "How can it be okay? The cow is gone, and I can't earn that much food. The three girls in my family will definitely rebel against me."
Xu Lian asked, "Can't we buy another cow?"
Zhang Yuan said bitterly, "It's easy for you to say that. This cow was bought with the money my family saved up through two generations of frugality. How can I get so much money now?"
That makes me feel relieved... Xu Lian nodded silently in his heart.
"What's going on?"
A supervisor with a fierce face came over holding a rattan stick.
Zhang Yuan quickly grabbed the supervisor's arm and pleaded, "Brother Liang, my cow broke its leg and can't work anymore. Can you help the mine buy it and improve your food?"
Liang Yan looked at the cow with a broken leg and said, "I'll go ask the manager for you."
"Thank you, Brother Liang. Thank you, Brother Liang."
Zhang Yuan was delighted, bowed and nodded, and thanked him profusely.
Not long.
Liang Yan came back and handed a silver ingot to Zhang Yuan. "I have asked the steward and he can buy your cow."
Zhang Yuan took the silver with both hands and looked at it, then said cautiously, "Brother Liang, five taels of silver is too little, can you add some more?"
Liang Yan's expression slowly darkened. "You're just a useless cow with a broken leg. Do you still want to sell it as a good cow?"
Zhang Yuan said quickly, "That's not what I meant, but... even if we slaughter and sell the beef, it will cost more than five taels of silver."
Liang Yan said, "Then don't ask me to buy the mine. You can kill the beef yourself and sell it at the market. In this world, how many families can afford beef?"
Zhang Yuan's face turned pale and blue, and he hesitated for a while, "I'd better sell it to the mine."
"That's right."
Liang Yan patted his shoulder and said, "Now that you don't have a cow, you can do some stone-moving work first. When you have saved enough money and bought a cow, you can also do stone-moving work."
Zhang Yuan could only nod repeatedly, "Thank you, Brother Liang."
Liang Yan raised his hand and pointed to a few stone movers, "You guys, drag the cow to the kitchen."
Xu Lian found that he was also called upon, so he had to put down the work in his hands and follow a few stone movers to drag the ox together.
Liang Yan followed with a cane in his hand, "Your name is Xu Lian, right?"
Xu Lian didn't expect that he would suddenly talk to him. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, "Yes, Brother Liang."
Liang Yan said, "You are still young and not strong enough. It is easy to tire yourself out by doing the heavy work of moving stone. Why don't you buy an animal and become a stone carrier?"
Xu Lian replied, "My family is poor, how can we afford to buy livestock?"
Liang Yan pondered for a moment, "I am also from the old street, not far from your home, so I am half a neighbor. I have enough money, so I can lend you a dozen taels of silver. You buy an animal and come to the mine, and I will give you a job as a stone carrier. When you earn money in the future, you can pay me back slowly."
Xu Lian's eyes flashed. Even in a civilized society, he did not believe in pie-in-the-sky things. What's more, in this world, why was this supervisor Liang Yan so eager to lend him more than ten taels of silver and even promised to give him a stone transporting job
He is penniless and has nothing worth remembering. The only possibility is Sister Xiya.
Could it be that the original owner was crushed to death, and he was almost hit by falling rocks before, was it caused by this Liang Yan
In this moment, he thought of a lot of things, but his face and mouth were not idle, and he immediately showed surprise, "Thank you, Brother Liang."
Liang Yan patted his shoulder and said, "Fifteen taels should be enough to buy a donkey. I'll bring the money to you tomorrow."
Several stone movers looked at Xu Lian with envy. With the care of the supervisor Liang Yan, he was going to become a stone mover and was about to live a good life.
Zhang Yuan's eyes turned red with anxiety. "Brother Liang, what about me? What about me? Lend me ten taels of silver, and I will buy a donkey too."
Liang Yan frowned and said, "How can I have so much money? I have already taken care of you once by letting you become a stone carrier. I have to take care of other neighbors in the old street. You can do the work of moving stones first. When I have money after a while, I will lend it to you."
Zhang Yuan looked dejected, like an eggplant hit by frost.
Under the command of Liang Yan, Xu Lian, Zhang Yuan and several stone movers, sweating profusely and exerting all their strength, dragged the cow with a broken leg to the kitchen of the mine, and then came back to continue moving stones and loading them onto trucks.
For the miners, the mine only provides one meal at noon, and of course no meal at night, so the beef cannot be eaten by the miners.
"Brother Lian, I want to discuss something with you. Tomorrow Brother Liang will lend you fifteen taels of silver. Can you lend me ten taels first? I want to buy a donkey."
Zhang Yuan moved the stones while panting and moving closer to Xu Lian.
Xu Lian refused, "But I also want to buy a donkey. If I lend you ten taels, what should I do?"
Supervisor Liang Yan was being attentive to him for no reason, offering to lend him money and promising to promote him to a stone carrier. He probably had no good intentions. He knew that the money was not so easy to get, and Liang Yan might have set a trap for him to fall into, such as using the excuse of paying back the money to get Sister Xiya
In fact, he didn't want the money in his heart, but he agreed to take the money in order to prevent the supervisor Liang Yan from becoming desperate and to stabilize Liang Yan first.
Once he gets the bullshit and advances to become a warrior, he will no longer be afraid of any tricks Liang Yan may use. In the face of absolute strength, any tricks will seem fancy!
Zhang Yuan pleaded, "You only have Xiya as your support. Aunt Wang is old and won't live long. She can't eat much either. Your work as a stone mover is enough to support them. I have three as my support. The expenses at home are high. Only by doing the work of stone movers can I support my family."
If Wang Cuiyun heard this, she would really thank you... Xu Lian said, "Brother Yuan has lost his job as a stone carrier, and it is really difficult to support three sisters-in-law. How about this, Brother Yuan can send the younger one of the three sisters-in-law to my house, and I will help you take care of her first. When you buy a donkey and become a stone carrier again, you can take your sister-in-law back."
Hearing this, Zhang Yuan's face darkened and he remained silent.
Xu Lian didn't want to pay attention to him and concentrated on his work.
It was not until it was almost dark that the mine manager announced the end of work.
Hundreds of miners lined up hurriedly to receive food.
The amount of food received varies depending on the type of work. People who do technical work like stone chiseling and sexual work like stone transporting receive more food. Xu Lian, as a stone mover at the lowest level, could only receive one and a half kilograms of food.
Like him, Zhang Yuan only received one and a half kilograms of buckwheat.
Hundreds of miners silently carried their small food bags home. No one spoke, and they were all hungry and tired.
Xu Lian walked to a place where no one noticed him and hid in the bushes. After all the miners left, he came out, quietly turned back, and prepared to get the cowhide.