novelraw Chapter 14
Chapter 14
The next day.
Wangchuan held back a little and did not mine at full intensity. Even so, he still extracted 1,200 jin of ore that day.
However, something happened during the process.
Heipi’s pickaxe broke.
The handle snapped cleanly at the joint, rendering it completely useless.
Fortunately, it happened after the ore convoy had already completed its collection, so it did not affect that day’s income too much.
Lin Dahai and the others teased him:
“Heipi, you really calculate things down to the bone.”
“The durability of that pickaxe dropped to 5 points, and you still refused to replace it. How many copper plates would repairing it cost you?”
“Exactly,” Old Li chimed in.“You could still mine for another two hours in the afternoon and earn twenty copper plates. Repairing the pickaxe would cost you ten copper plates. One in, one out—this month your bonus would only be thirty yuan less.”
“Tch.”
Heipi lounged lazily at the entrance of the mine, utterly at ease and completely unconcerned.
“I’m not the same kind of workhorse as you guys. Mining for two hours, then hauling loads over mountains for more than an hour, all for thirty yuan—why would I sell my life for that? I’d rather rest properly, lie down and enjoy the breeze. Isn’t that better?”
“……”
No one could refute him.
Three-plus hours of hard labor for thirty yuan really did feel a bit unprofitable.
“Forget it. I can’t even chat with you people who don’t understand how to enjoy life. I’m heading back to the village to log off and spend time with my girlfriend.”
Wangchuan shook his head with a smile.
He had long heard Heipi mention that he had a girlfriend. Every day, as soon as tasks were done, he logged off and rushed straight into her arms. Clearly, things were going well.
But Lin Dahai suddenly barked out:
“Heipi!”
“You forgot the company rules?”
“That’s right,” Wei Zhe added.
“We’re all from the same studio. Leaving the village and returning together—that’s the rule. If you act alone and something happens, this job is gone!”
“Nothing’s going to happen… You guys just like making a fuss.”
Heipi said it casually, but he stopped moving.
He did not dare provoke everyone’s anger.
More accurately, he valued this job a lot.
Especially since everyone had been saving up copper plates for a whole week. If anything went wrong now, it would be a serious problem.
In the end, Heipi did not leave on his own.
Wangchuan took the opportunity to ask about everyone’s salary and bonuses from last month.
Since today was the day to turn in earnings, and company representatives would come to collect the copper plates, he could not help feeling curious.
Lin Dahai smiled.
“No idea.”
“Everyone turns in different amounts. Aside from the fixed monthly salary of ten thousand, I really don’t know how much bonus each person gets.”
“Heipi’s already got a girlfriend, so his bonus must be high—probably around twenty thousand,” Old Li joked, without revealing his own income.
Finally, Lin Dahai explained:
“Actually, as long as we turn in 150 copper plates per day and complete the task, the ten-thousand-yuan salary is guaranteed. Any extra copper plates you submit are converted into bonuses at a one-to-three ratio.”
“So that’s how it works.”
Wangchuan suddenly understood.
He calculated silently.
Just from mining, he could earn 225 copper plates per day. Saving at least 75 copper plates daily meant 225 yuan in bonus after conversion. Over a month, that was a guaranteed 6,750 yuan.
And that did not even include his earnings from blacksmith tasks.
Not bad at all!
If he could forge three Hundredfold Steel ingots per day, that would be at least 60 copper plates—180 yuan.
A steady monthly income of over twenty thousand.
Thinking that he would soon be earning two万 when he had never held more than four digits in his life before made his mood soar. Even the clanging noises around him started to sound like pleasant copper coins.
Near four in the afternoon, everyone finished work and headed out with baskets weighing around a hundred jin.
More than forty miners marched together—during this time, several new vagrants had joined.
The team was growing larger and larger.
When they returned to Blackstone Village, they could see from afar several men waiting at the village entrance. They wore short beast-skin outfits, swords and blades hanging from their waists, their presence imposing.
Lin Dahai, Chen Feng, Heitan, and the others led their respective teams toward one of them.
Clearly, these people were from different studios, all here to collect payments.
Wangchuan followed Lin Dahai’s group to a burly, bald man with thick brows and sharp eyes. There was a shallow but fresh gash on his face that had not yet scabbed over.
“Greetings, Escort Leader Wang,” Lin Dahai said solemnly.
“Was the road unsafe?”
The man snorted arrogantly through his nose.
“Ran into a few vagrant bandits. Already dealt with them.”
Wangchuan’s heart tightened.
The outside really was dangerous.
This Escort Leader Wang was clearly no ordinary person, yet even he had been attacked. If those vagrants dared provoke fully armed escorts like this, what would happen if they ran into a group of miners?
He did not dare think further and silently reminded himself to be more cautious outside.
He could not afford to lose a job worth twenty thousand a month.
Soon, everyone took out their money pouches and began turning in their weekly mining earnings.
Lin Dahai’s group of six submitted theirs one by one.
Escort Leader Wang took out a sheet of paper and recorded everything.
Since Wangchuan was new, his name was listed separately.
The result surprised everyone.
Wangchuan handed over the most copper plates.
One hundred and eighty large copper coins—nearly double what the others submitted.
He only kept eight large coins for buying flatbreads and emergencies, turning in the rest to the company.
Escort Leader Wang looked at him again in surprise, then wrote down his name and the amount.
“All right.”
“I’ve received all your money.”
“I should be going now.”
“I need to return to the county seat before sunset.”
With that, he secured the wooden box filled with copper coins onto his back and left Blackstone Village together with the other collectors.
They did not even enter the village before departing.
Wangchuan was puzzled.
“It’s almost dark. Isn’t it dangerous for them to leave the village at this time?”
“Don’t worry,” Heipi replied quickly.
“They’re escort professionals—quasi-martial artists with real skills. If they move fast, they can make it back to the county before nightfall.”
Lin Dahai nodded as well.
“They’re not like us. They run escorts for a living. They know where it’s dangerous and which routes are safe. And we’ve always done transactions at this time—nothing’s gone wrong before.”
“Alright.”
Wangchuan noted the word martial arts.
Now this really felt like a game world.
Everyone returned to the village, handed over the iron ore, and logged off.
Wangchuan bought four flatbreads and went alone to the blacksmith shop to continue the “Hundredfold Steel” task.
Yesterday, his “Hundredfold Steel Forging Technique” experience had increased by three points. He logged off at eleven.
Today, he wanted to challenge himself.