Crucially, there was no need to pay them wages.
…
"Get up, get up!!"
Water Ghost was kicked awake.
Water Ghost groggily opened his eyes and saw a burly man with a scarred face.
"Iron Tiger brother, is… is that you?"
"You are? Water Ghost?"
"It's me, it's me, Iron Tiger brother, this is great, you're actually not dead. Half a year ago, I heard you were captured by the government and then beheaded, and I was sad for a long time. I never expected to meet you here."
Iron Tiger's face immediately darkened: "Alright, hurry up and get to work."
"Work? What work?"
"Water Ghost brother, did you commit a crime outside?"
"Ah… yes."
"Then that's it. When you come here, you have to work."
"What place is this?"
"Kaiyuan County Iron Mine. What do you think you're here for?"
"I'd rather die than comply. Want me to dig? Dream on."
Iron Tiger immediately walked out of the tent: "Captain, there's a stubborn one in there. He says he'd rather die than comply and refuses to accept labor reform."
Water Ghost was stunned for a moment, then he saw two burly men enter.
"What are you going to do?"
"Didn't you say you'd rather die than comply? We'll send you on your way then."
"Wait… I didn't mean that. Don't mess around. I want to see your superior…"
The two men ignored Water Ghost's pleas, dragged him out of the tent, and then hung him on a wooden frame in the center of the mining area.
One of the men picked up a leather whip and lashed it at Water Ghost's body.
"Ah ah ah… I'm willing to work, I'm willing to work, have mercy!"
Water Ghost was no true hero; after a few lashes, he was already in excruciating pain.
However, the whipping was truly painful. So far, ninety-nine percent of those who were hung up would give in.
The two administrators only whipped him a few times to avoid injuring Water Ghost. As administrators here, they also had performance targets.
If they met their targets, they would receive generous rewards.
And if they failed to meet their targets, their positions would be replaced.
Therefore, every prisoner here was valuable labor.
Even when punishing, they tried not to beat people to death.
At noon, Water Ghost was taken down and sent back to the tent to recover.
Iron Tiger walked into the tent, holding a bowl of White rice and braised meat.
Water Ghost still held resentment towards Iron Tiger.
"Water Ghost, don't blame me for betraying you. With your bad temper, you were bound to suffer this sooner or later. Better me than someone else," Iron Tiger placed a large bowl of White rice in front of Water Ghost: "Here, I brought you food."
Seeing the generous White rice and fragrant braised meat, Water Ghost showed no joy at all, but instead a look of horror.
"Is this… is this a last meal?"
"Don't think too much. Everyone sent here is valuable labor. Unless you act recklessly here, they won't kill you."
"Then why is this meal White rice? And such a large piece of meat?" Water Ghost had only eaten White rice a few times in his life.
"Oh… you mean that? We have White rice every day here, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Only the side dishes change. Today's lunch side dish is braised meat."
"The food here is so good?"
"What do you mean good? The miners in the adjacent mining area, their food is truly good. They have several dishes to eat whatever they want for every meal. We are in the heavy offender mining area," Iron Tiger said: "By the way, how much labor were you sentenced to?"
"What do you mean how much labor?"
"Everyone sent to this mining area has committed crimes outside. The amount of labor varies according to the crime. For example, I injured someone and was sentenced to five hundred tons of mining, which is one million jin of mining. I have been undergoing labor reform here for half a year and have already completed 300 tons of mining."
"Ah? I wasn't told how much mining I was assigned."
"What did you do?" Iron Tiger asked.
Generally, prisoners here would be informed of their mining quota before being sent in.
It was very rare for someone like Water Ghost not to be informed.
There was only one possibility: life imprisonment!
"I was hired by several wealthy landlords in Kaiyuan County to burn down the factories in the industrial zone."
Iron Tiger's face changed. No wonder he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
"Brother, your problem is big."
"Why?"
Iron Tiger explained the situation to Water Ghost, and despair appeared on Water Ghost's face.
"So, I'll be laboring here until I die?"
"Not necessarily. If you can atone for your crimes through meritorious service, there's a chance to get out."
"How can I atone for my crimes through meritorious service?"
"Didn't you say you were hired by the wealthy landlords of Kaiyuan County? Expose them all."
"No, I can't do that. When you're out in the world, how can you betray your employer?"
"Then I won't try to persuade you anymore. You decide what to do."
"It's not bad here either. The food is so good, better than when I was a Water Bandit. Staying here for a lifetime isn't bad."
"Hehe… Do you know how much the income of the adjacent mining area is?"
"How much?"
"In the adjacent mining area, their miners do the same work as us, but they can earn five taels of silver a month. Anyway, don't say I didn't warn you, once I get out, I'm going to work in the adjacent mining area."
Upon hearing this, Water Ghost's expression changed. He and his brothers had been robbing and killing on the river, and they didn't necessarily earn five or six taels of silver a month. Their line of work was often half a year without business, and then one big score to live on for half a year.
Now, hearing that a mere miner's income was higher than that of a Water Bandit, his heart immediately felt unbalanced.
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