In the big square of Stone Village, a group of won were chatting idly.
"Hey, have you heard? The Zhong Family’s Stone Mountain is open again."
"I heard. This morning, Zhong Lihui ca to our house."
"He ca to our house too."
"Said that Stone Mountain is open again and asked us to keep working there, offering wages."
"He said the sa at our place. Is your family planning to go?"
"There was an accident on that mountain, soone died. It’s really unsafe. I didn’t let my son go."
"Sa for us, we didn’t let him go either. It’s just too scary."
"Who wouldn’t be scared? Who knows if there’ll be another accident? Our family is most cautious."
"Who’s not cautious..."
"..."
"..."
After Yang Ming left, Zhong Lihui went door to door, hoping everyone would continue working on Stone Mountain. As expected, because soone was crushed to death on the mountain, no one dared to go.
Zhong Lihui tried everything, even offered higher wages, but was still ruthlessly rejected.
He had no choice but to return ho.
As soon as he entered the door, he was caught by his mother, "Li Hui, how did it go?"
Zhong Lihui shook his head; this matter couldn’t be hidden. The news that nobody was willing to work on the mountain would soon spread throughout Stone Village.
Seeing Zhong Lihui, Zhong Family’s uncle understood the outco, "Li Hui, don’t bla everyone. It’s natural. After all, there was an accident on the mountain; everyone is scared."
"Yes, Dad, I know. I don’t bla them." Although he knew it wasn’t their fault, he was still unwilling to accept it.
Seeing the situation, Zhong Family’s aunt advised her son, "Li Hui, don’t get worked up. Since it’s like this, let’s not do the business. At this critical mont, everyone is scared. Maybe things will get better after so ti, next year perhaps people will want to go up the mountain again."
Zhong Lihui didn’t speak. He wished it could be put off too, but this matter had to be done. Without workers, they’d have to pay Silver, and they certainly didn’t have Silver right now.
Zhong Family’s uncle knew his son’s temperant very well. Seeing Zhong Lihui’s expression, he asked, "Li Hui, honestly, what’s the deal with this business?"
Zhong Lihui gritted his teeth and admitted, "Dad, if this deal goes through, our family can earn a thousand taels of Silver in one go, which is worth several years of earnings. But if it doesn’t, we’d have to compensate them with Silver, worth a thousand taels too. So we have to find people to work on the mountain. Just those few of us from our family aren’t enough."
Hearing this, Zhong Family’s aunt exclaid in surprise, "A thousand taels?"
"Yes."
Seeing her son’s nod, Zhong Family’s aunt felt as if the sky was falling. How could the Zhong Family afford a thousand taels of Silver? "His father, what should we do? Our five families can’t afford that much Silver."
Zhong Family’s uncle hadn’t expected the situation to be so severe. He initially thought if the business didn’t work out, they’d just leave it. But he hadn’t foreseen having to pay Silver back, leaving him at a loss for what to do. "Offer more wages? Hire people from other villages?"
Zhong Lihui had thought about it, but it wasn’t feasible. "Dad, I’ve already offered higher wages, but still no one is willing to go up the mountain. Besides, only a few of us brothers know the skill, and so villagers can do simple tasks. Hiring people from other villages doesn’t work; they don’t know how either."
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