Chapter 207 Bad Omen
The area near Kana Village has now become a construction site. Not only are all kinds of machines roaring on the hill, but there is also a road roller rolling around at the entrance of the village.
The children in the small square in front of the tea shop no longer ran after the trucks.
They were so shocked by the huge steamroller that they were speechless. Some timid children burst into tears when they saw the monster-like iron wheels rolling over them.
More teenagers gathered around the steamroller excitedly, pointing and talking. This was the first time they had seen this kind of steel behemoth.
"Look at that big iron wheel, it's bigger than a water buffalo!"
"Those are its hooves. Where they step is harder than stone."
"This monster doesn't need to eat grass. I wish I had one at home."
"Stupid, it drinks gas, just like a truck."
The teenagers chattered and looked at the driver in the yellow cockpit with admiration on their faces.
I just don’t know if he needs people to work for him. It would be so impressive if he could climb to the top of the giant beast and sit down!
The tea shop owner who was watching the fun from a distance sneered, these little brats were still daydreaming.
This is a construction team, not a human trafficker who lures people to work in the city.
If you want to make money, you don’t have to go so far. Just go to the construction site in the east and you will always find work.
Tsk tsk, that big iron wheel is really scary. It crushes the bumpy muddy ground and makes it smooth as marble.
The tea shop owner heard from the workers who came here to drink tea that the road should be repaired first and connected to the main road to Varanasi.
The cement produced later will be sent from here to other cities in Uttar Pradesh.
It was a truly grand scene; Kana Village had never seen so many people.
Some were preparing the land, others were building roads. The few kilometers from the village entrance to the mining area were completely packed with people, at least a thousand.
There are migrant workers and people from Kana Village.
Men and women from the village all joined in the effort. They brought blackened hammers and crooked bamboo baskets and went out to beg the construction site manager for a job.
Winter is not the harvest season, and there is no food to exchange for money, but life must go on.
At this time of year in previous years, the men in the village would all go to the city to work. Now there is a construction site at the entrance of the village, so of course they don’t have to go so far.
They were so tired that they bent over and gasped for breath, and the marks on their shoulders were almost melting into their flesh.
But they were smiling, the new landlord paid them, and the women were around them. It was like a life in heaven!
The tea shop owner felt a little awkward as he was not used to seeing smiles on the faces of lower castes.
But this should be a good thing. He was not sure. If the villagers had money, they might go to the teahouse to drink a few more cups of tea.
"Muna!" The tea shop owner suddenly saw a familiar figure.
He was wearing a khaki uniform and walking proudly on the road like a village rooster.
This little bastard has now climbed up the social ladder and never comes to the teahouse again.
"Boss." Muna put his palms together and bowed.
"Why are you here today?" the tea shop owner asked, glancing at him sideways.
"My cousin Lina is getting married and is short of a dowry."
"Borrow money?" The boss raised his neck even higher.
"My brother got married right after my cousin, and he can pay me back with the dowry. I'm still working as a servant in my master's house, and I have an income every month."
"I heard that you found a good master, why don't you borrow from him?" the boss asked knowingly.
In India, servants never show their bad side to their masters.
For example, drinking, gambling, and drifting are all taboos for servants. Once discovered, they will definitely be driven away by their masters.
Borrowing money is not a big taboo, but it will definitely not please the owner. Muna is not that stupid.
This was the servant status he had earned with his life, and he must not lose it.
"It's only 3,000 rupees, and we can pay it off in less than a month. That construction site," Muna pointed to the small hill in the distance, "I can bring people in to work."
This was a symbol of power and status. If Muna could introduce villagers to work on the construction site, it meant that he was highly valued by his master.
"Who did your cousin marry?" asked the tea shop owner.
"He's from Mangal village. His wife just died."
"Who is your brother going to marry?" he continued.
"A girl from the next village, her family is a cattle herder." Muna became confident.
"Cowherd" refers to the Yadav caste, which is very powerful in Uttar Pradesh.
The other party agreed to the marriage only after hearing that Muna was taken in as a servant by the boss of the construction site here.
In the past, the Muna family would never dare to think of such a good thing, it's simply a pie in the sky!
The tea shop owner knew that the Muna family had the capital to repay the debt.
“After one month, you have to pay back 3,500 rupees, and after three months, 4,500 rupees.”
"Deal!" Muna gritted his teeth and agreed.
This is blatant usury. What's even more unscrupulous is that he borrowed three thousand but may only get a little over two thousand.
But there was no way out. When his cousin got married, the girl's family would definitely be extorted a huge sum of money.
They will give the man's family a new bicycle, cash, silver bracelets, and hold a grand wedding.
They had no choice but to do all these things. Cousin Lina's situation was special, so the dowry would naturally be higher.
Indians particularly like to hold weddings, and they like to hold them in a grand manner, the more grand the better.
The Muna family has prepared a large barrel of liquor, just waiting for everyone to drink at the wedding.
3,500 rupees is a huge sum of money. Many people in Khanna Village do not have that much in their lifetime savings.
However, Muna is not worried about the high-interest loan he owes because his brother will get married immediately after his cousin gets married.
His grandmother was already prepared to extort a large sum of money from the girl's family. Since they were being eaten by others, they would also eat others'.
Munna was in high spirits after taking the money from the tea shop owner.
The old man had hit him on the head with a large spoon dipped in syrup many times before, and there were still small white spots on Muna's neck and arms.
Now, he can borrow money with a clear conscience.
Muna touched the khaki uniform that served as his armor.
The master will be staying in Crow's manor for the next two days, so I have to serve him well, especially show up more often.
Well, it would be nice if I could give myself a silver whistle.
Muna walked happily on the hard dirt road rolled by the steamroller, his chest puffed up even more.
Well, who is that?
The car came from the south, bringing a cloud of dust along the way.
Muna didn't know many words, but the name Mirzapur on the license plate was very familiar to him.
The white SUV drove straight towards him, its headlights flashing and its horn blaring.
Muna tried to dodge, but the car was coming towards him, as if it was going to knock him away.
With a sharp brake sound, the car stopped less than 20 centimeters away from him.
Muna huddled up in fear, thinking he was about to be run over by the tires, like the grass under the iron wheels of a steamroller, crushed into the soil.
"Hey!" The window of the SUV rolled down and a drunk young man greeted him.
"What?" Muna was still in shock.
"Do you know who is working here?" the young man asked, pointing to the steamroller in the distance.
"From the big city, Varanasi. You are..."
"Idiot! Don't you even know Rambai?" another young man in the car cursed.
“Rambai” Munna was confused.
“Rambai, this kid has never heard of the reputation of the Tripathi family?”
Tripathi? A flash of realization struck Munna.
But he still had a silly look on his face and just looked at the people in the car in a flattering manner.
"What knowledge can a country mouse have?" the young man in the lead said, not bothering to argue. "Boy, do you know how many people are there?"
"A lot!" Muna gestured exaggeratedly.
"How much?" the young man frowned.
"Ten thousand people! The whole village of Kana is there."
"Nonsense, how many people can there be in a rural village?"
"Rambai, do you want to go and take a look? In Mirzapur, no one dares to disrespect Karimbai." His companion encouraged.
The young man was a little tempted, but finally waved his hand and said, "I have a very important party today. I'll come next time."
"Rambai, is there a girl you like coming to the party?" Laughter came from the car.
"I'm sure I can get it tonight!"
The off-road vehicle whizzed past, taking away bursts of exaggerated laughter.
Muna wiped the sweat off his face, his eyes still filled with shock. Why did the people from Kalinbai come to the countryside?
No, we have to notify the owner immediately.
As Muna rushed to the construction site, Ron was inspecting the mine.
"Look, Mr. Sur, these are all high-quality limestone and calcium oxide, and the grade is very high." The person in charge of the mine is still the expert from last time, Gore.
"Can it be used directly to make cement?" Ron twisted the lime in his hand.
"The excavated limestone ore must first be crushed and screened to facilitate transportation and more efficiently process it at the cement plant."
The huge excavator has dug a large pit in the mine, enough for two large trucks to drive in side by side.
Workers are reinforcing the supporting steel plates in the tunnel, and the drilling rig behind is on standby, which will enter the bottom of the pit and drill a hole.
Once filled with explosives, there will be a loud bang and the limestone blocks will shatter all over the ground.
Then workers and trucks come in to further crush the limestone, load it onto trucks, and transport it away.
This is roughly how mining works, and it’s just getting started.
"When will the first batch of ore come out?" Ron was a little impatient.
"If we wait for the equipment to be in place, it will take about two months. For small-scale manual mining, it will only take half a month."
As early as last year, after obtaining the license, Ron placed an equipment order with Neon.
Some special engineering vehicles are not available in India and can only be purchased from abroad.
This kind of machine is what Xiaozi is best at, but it is too expensive.
Long delivery times are also a problem, with waits of four to eight months common.
Ron would use domestic products if possible, and buy second-hand if possible. But he couldn't buy used critical equipment either, so he had to buy new.
"First, we will mine manually and store the ore nearby. Once the cement plant is up and running, no amount of ore will be enough to process it."
"Yes, Mr. Sur." Expert Gore responded respectfully.
He was also from Uttar Pradesh, of the Vaishya caste, and had always been very flattering towards local tyrants like the Sur family.
"What about the cement plant? How's the progress?"
"We have already started laying the foundation, and the factory building can be completed in three to four months. The more difficult part is the rotary kiln and the feed tower, which will take at least six months at the earliest."
"Is there any faster way?" Ron frowned. This kind of large-scale mining is indeed difficult to deal with.
"The original wet kiln in the mine can be used as a makeshift, but its efficiency is a bit low." Gore shrugged.
Ron suddenly realized that Crow's old artificial cement kiln was still there and had never been demolished.
"Let's try it first and accumulate experience."
"I'll arrange for someone to handle it."
Ron wanted to say something, but Muna came running over.
"Master, I just met someone from Kalinbai!"
"who?"
"Karimbai, the king of Mizapur."
"What are they doing here?"
"I don't know, but he definitely didn't come up with any good ideas." Muna concluded.
A person's name is like a tree's shadow; there's almost no need to guess at such things.
"Don't worry about Kalinbai, this is the Suer family's territory."
Ron waved his hand nonchalantly. Who was he trying to fool when he was just a small county town and he was the underground king?
(End of this chapter)
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