Chapter 384 Increase
The thirteen brothers had to live in poverty every day and get up to dig for minerals at daybreak. Xia Zhizhi was particularly cruel. As it concerned her own interests, she kept a close eye on them. If they slacked off for a moment, she would whip them immediately.
After working hard for a whole morning, everyone could only get a coarse grain steamed bun. There was a poor man who was lucky enough to be far ahead in terms of income. When he saw Xia Zhizhi holding the raw ore that Ah Ju had washed and smiling from ear to ear, he thought that Xia Zhizhi was in a good mood and wanted to take the opportunity to make a small request.
The poor man held the steamed bun in his hand, walked over shyly, and begged: "Auntie, please at least give me some salted vegetables. Without salt, I have no strength to work!"
"You grown men, how can you be so hypocritical? You will die if you don't eat salted vegetables!"
Xia Zhizhi immediately put away her smile and sternly accused them: "You are all lazy donkeys. When the time comes, you eat too much salted vegetables and drink only water. You will be idle all day long, doing nothing but peeing. What kind of work can you do?"
A group of poor people were about to cry.
Xia Zhizhi didn't care about them and urged them to finish their meal quickly and continue working.
She stood by and asked Ah Ju to build a small stove with stones, skewered some meat and slowly roasted it, while supervising them at the same time.
It was a sunny day, and the smell of barbecue spread all over the place. Those unlucky guys were secretly swallowing their saliva while digging the mines with great difficulty.
A group of scoundrels squatted on the ground, rummaging in the soil they had dug up, and then looked around without leaving any trace.
In this day and age, unless you are determined to die, you have to find a way to survive.
Xia Zhizhi never avoided asking them for advice on food and drink. No matter what it was, whether it was legal or not, she would just take it out of the big bag that Ah Ju was carrying, regardless of what they thought.
Some things don't really need much explanation; humans are always good at being logical and self-consistent.
These wicked guys thought that Xia Zhizhi had other accomplices who would send them supplies when they were not paying attention.
These people's main business was speculating and their side job was robbery. They had never suffered such hardship before. By the evening, they were all exhausted, their eyes were dull, their legs were as soft as noodles, their palms were rubbed raw, and their souls were about to leave their bodies.
From a distance, they looked like a group of zombies.
Only when he saw Xia Zhizhi reaching into the steamed bun pocket to take out a steamed bun, did a glimmer of light gather in his eyes.
Xia Zhizhi, the heartless one, not only did not show any sympathy, but she covered her nose with her sleeve and said with disgust, "You stink so much, stay away from me and put the gems you dug aside."
She ordered today's dinner and threw it on the ground, then hid far away and asked Ah Ju to go to the river to wash out the raw ore with mud.
On the morning of the third day, a group of people were unable to get up. Xia Zhizhi used a rattan whip to persuade them for half a minute before they cheered up again.
She worked as a contractor for a week. These poor people lost at least 10 kilograms each. Their spines were bent from digging holes all the time. Even when they ate, they couldn't help shaking when holding the steamed buns in their hands.
Today when they were working, Xia Zhizhi went back to sleep, and the one who supervised them was Aju.
Ah Ju is more humane than Xia Zhizhi. She is only responsible for collecting the gems produced every day. She won't rush up and punch or kick people just because everyone takes a break to catch their breath.
When Xia Zhizhi was not around, only a group of people dared to secretly complain.
Unlucky Ghost A, who only got 5 gems in the morning, thought about his unknown lunch and couldn't help but sigh to his former boss B: "No wonder the people in the past would rather take the risk of being beheaded than rise up when faced with a tyrant. Who can stand this life!"
The former boss was unlucky. He didn't even have dinner last night. He was so thin that he looked unrecognizable. His eyes were fierce and he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't let me get a chance. I'll kill that bastard as soon as possible!"
The unlucky ghost A was about to agree.
Xia Zhizhi's sinister voice echoed from behind the two people: "What are you two talking about?"
The two idiots were stunned, and Xia Zhizhi walked slowly in front of them.
Seeing the wicker in Xia Zhizhi's hand, the unlucky ghost couldn't help but shiver. He felt pain all over his body. If he couldn't give a reasonable explanation, he would be beaten again.
If a man does not work for his own benefit, he will be punished by heaven and earth. It's all B's fault that he has no tact and was caught red-handed for talking nonsense!
The scoundrel became ruthless, gritted his teeth, and gave the former boss a big slap in the face.
The unlucky girl B was so frightened that she started bleeding from the nose. She covered her face and looked at A in disbelief, as if she had caught her husband and his mistress in the street and wanted to rush up to her to demand an explanation. However, she was slapped loudly by her husband instead. The poor woman was slapped twice in the face.
"Auntie, I want to report you!" The unlucky ghost pointed at the former boss's nose and accused him, "This man has evil intentions and wants to incite us to make trouble. He also said rude things to you. I was just pretending to agree with him and trying to get his plan out of him!"
Xia Zhizhi's gaze shifted coldly to the face of the unlucky ghost B: "Oh, is that so?"
B said in a panic: "No, I didn't, I, no, I, aunt, please listen to my explanation, I..."
Xia Zhizhi held the whip in her right hand and pounded it into the palm of her left hand again and again. She said slowly, "Okay, explain it to me. I'm listening."
The surroundings were instantly quiet, with only the sound of everyone working on the floor. The sound of the palms of hands hitting each other, although not loud, struck everyone's heart.
Poor Yi stared at Xia Zhizhi's white and tender paw, his pale lips opening and closing, but he couldn't think of any good explanation. He could only kneel down and beg humbly.
"Auntie, I was wrong. I was bewildered and said such outrageous words. I will never dare to do it again. Please forgive me this time!"
Xia Zhizhi stroked her chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "You know, I have always been a kind and tolerant person. Considering that this is your first offense, I will forgive you this time."
Before the unlucky ghost B could burst into tears of joy, she spoke again: "But without rules, there will be no order. What you said today will definitely greatly reduce everyone's enthusiasm for work. In order to calm down the anger, let's do this. From today on, you will pay an extra ten yuan a day."
The unlucky guy B finally couldn't hold it in anymore and two lines of tears flowed down his face. His face, which had not been washed for many days, was directly washed into two grooves.
Seeing him crying with joy, Xia Zhizhi asked considerately, "Can you do it?"
The unlucky guy lowered his head, looking at his clothes which had become empty due to weight loss, and moved the corners of his mouth with difficulty. He wanted to smile to show his loyalty, but he couldn't, so he could only nod.