HPDBC Chapter 7 The Old Man in Shackles
Chapter 7 The Old Man in Shackles
It was quite late, and the traitorous foreman had already returned, but Ye Lang was still not back.
Without warning, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.
The shouts of the overseers and the ringing of copper bells could be heard from the fields.
Fang Jianqiu listened closely and heard that it was a notice instructing the workers to leave work early.
This wasn't because those foreigners had a change of heart; it was simply because the rain started at night.
If these already malnourished and overworked piglets get caught in the rain and then blown by the night wind, a large number of them will surely collapse the next day.
If one less person works, that means several tons less sugarcane can be processed, which is worth a lot of dollars.
The laborers then picked up the last bundle of sugarcane with a sigh of relief, placed it down, and headed toward the dirt road.
Fang Jianqiu raised his head, letting the rainwater wet the corners of his lips, then simply moistened his parched mouth before stopping himself from swallowing any more rainwater.
After all, although this rainwater is much cleaner than the toxic water in the water tank, it is still raw water, and drinking too much of it will still cause problems.
It must be cooked thoroughly and brought to a boil.
But after he transmigrated, he had nothing but a set of clothes and no other belongings, not even a container to collect rainwater.
If Ye Lang were still alive, we could borrow his help, but alas...
At this moment, Lin San walked over to them again, his face full of impatience:
"Newcomers, come with me, I'll take you to your lodgings. This white grandpa is really kind; he gives you money and provides food and lodging! Where else can you find such a good deal?"
"This guy seems to be genuinely fawning over these foreigners..."
As Fang Jianqiu watched Lin San's passionate, spittle-flecked speech, he suddenly remembered a passage.
These plantations all have shops, and the people running them are basically the plantation owners themselves.
They sell all kinds of daily necessities there, from matches and tobacco to clothes and bedding.
And it is possible to buy on credit.
At first glance, it looks pretty good.
However, this is the most insidious part of the plantation economy's system of enslavement.
The prices of goods there are often three to five times higher than those outside.
Add to that the exorbitant interest rates and various inexplicable handling fees, and you can easily find that a month's salary isn't enough to pay off a week's debt.
This is Yang Conspiracy.
By monopolizing necessities, they force workers to consume, then burden them with debts they can never repay, turning them into serfs on this land until their death.
However, none of this mattered to Fang Jianqiu.
After all, he probably wouldn't even last a week here...
At this very moment, the experience bar for unlocking the Hextech rune in front of Fang Jianqiu had reached halfway!
This is the result of his hard work, which he put in half a day.
Ye Lang also played a part in this; with his instruction, Fang Jianqiu was able to cut so quickly.
Roughly calculated, he cut over a thousand sugarcanes in half a day...
"If I work a little harder tomorrow, I'll unlock the first rune!"
"Let's try to find someone to ask where that shop is located."
As Fang Jianqiu walked, he took the opportunity to stretch and move his limbs. After all, such almost uninterrupted labor would put a strain on even his body, which had been honed over many years.
If you don't relax your muscles and bones now, it might affect the efficiency of rune unlocking.
They followed Lin San all the way, and a small incident occurred along the way.
A foreman with thick eyebrows and a high nose brought over a pair of shackles and threw them in front of the old man who had been led to the execution, telling him to put them on.
The elderly man put it on skillfully, clearly not for the first time.
Fang Jianqiu chuckled, thinking jokingly:
"Does this old man possess qigong skills? Why are we being so wary?"
......
Before long, the group arrived at their lodgings.
This is a huge makeshift shantytown.
It was less of a camp and more of a refugee slum cobbled together from rotten planks, sheet metal, and thatch.
Dozens of low, long wooden houses were scattered haphazardly on the muddy ground, interspersed with open-air dry toilets and ditches overflowing with sewage.
By this time, quite a few people were already active in the camp.
Not only were there Chinese, but also Indians with headscarves, Japanese people wearing modified kimonos and short jackets, and dark-skinned black people from some unknown tribe. Among them, people of Japanese descent were the most numerous.
Some of these people squatted at the doorway smoking cheap cigarettes, their eyes numb; others gathered together and talked in hushed tones in their dialect, occasionally letting out a bitter laugh; still others were washing their bodies with murky rainwater, revealing shocking whip marks on their skin.
Upon arriving at the destination, Lin San shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Those houses up ahead, see which one is empty, and lie down there. Remember, don't cause me any trouble, or I'll skin you alive!"
Seeing that Lin San was about to leave, Fang Jianqiu stepped forward and stopped him:
"Foreman Lin, where did number thirty-five go? Why hasn't he returned yet?"
Ye Lang was, after all, the first person to lend him a helping hand and whom he met after arriving in this place.
Moreover, the young man was kind-hearted and understood the situation.
"Look at you, get out of my way and don't get in my way," Lin San said disdainfully, glancing sideways, and tried to walk away.
But when he looked up, Fang Jianqiu was standing firmly in front of him, staring at him with deep eyes. Although he didn't ask any more questions, for some reason, it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
He blurted out subconsciously:
"Hmph, that kid got incredibly lucky. Grandpa Hans took a liking to him, and now he's probably eating and drinking well. Unlike you? You don't even have a single piece of luggage!"
It seemed that the words "Grandpa Hans" gave him confidence, and Lin San dared to look Fang Jianqiu in the eye again:
"Unlike you? A big, burly laborer! You don't even have any luggage! And you're still worrying about nothing!"
He then casually spat and strode away from the camp.
As a foreman, he had his own wooden cabin.
Fang Jianqiu didn't pay attention to his attitude, but he was a little surprised by the traitor's sudden "frankness".
"Hans? Which foreigner is it now?"
Before he could think any further, a hoarse voice appeared in his ear:
"Sigh, another unlucky kid."
He looked up and saw the old man with shackles on his feet sighing.
Fang Jianqiu had a gut feeling that he was talking about Ye Lang. In fact, when Ye Lang was taken away, he also had a bad feeling.
After all, this was the 19th century, a colonial era where the darkest and most greedy aspects of human nature were magnified to an extreme.
It seems there are insiders now, so instead of guessing, it's faster to ask them directly.
"Sir... I don't understand what you mean by that? Are you aware of the possible situation of Brother Thirty-Five?"
Fang Jianqiu asked, trying to keep his tone gentle.
The old man merely glanced at him and casually said:
"Hmm? Young man, this old man has no relation to you, why would I tell you all this?"
After saying that, he stopped looking at Fang Jianqiu and walked forward with his hands behind his back, the shackles on his feet making a crisp sound.
The Tianjin man raised an eyebrow:
Hey, this old man...
Fang Jianqiu didn't feel offended. If someone wanted to extract information, then it was only right to give something in return.
And it just so happens...
Fang Jianqiu strode after him:
"Sir, I'm new here and don't know the rules, please don't mind."
"Ahem~"
The old man remained noncommittal.
"I heard there are shops selling things here. Can you tell me where they are? I'll go and buy some things. If the old lady needs anything, she can tell me."
As long as the old man isn't too greedy, Fang Jianqiu wouldn't mind giving him some things.
Anyway, he had no intention of receiving the wages he owed.
And the thoughts in the mind of such an old man who is so old and shackled will certainly not disappoint Fang Jianqiu.
"You... you're trying to buy something on credit on your very first day?"
Upon hearing this, the old man immediately stopped and looked at Fang Jianqiu. His old-fashioned eyes narrowed, making it difficult to discern his expression.
"Yes, as you can see, I don't even have any luggage with me. There's nothing I can do about it," Fang Jianqiu said with a feigned bitter smile.
"Heh, is that so? These days, in this place, it's rare to run into someone like you... This old man isn't greedy, I'd be happy if I could have a cigarette!"
"...Okay, sir, please tell me where that shop is, and I'll go buy it for you."
Fang Jianqiu pretended to hesitate for a moment before agreeing.
The old man seemed surprised that the young man would agree, and after a moment of stunned silence, he burst into laughter:
"Haha, okay, okay, but young man, there's no need to rush. Go and save yourself a bed first."
The old man's words reminded Fang Jianqiu.
He glanced around casually, picked up a palm-sized stone, and walked towards the housing area.
Upon entering, a variety of indescribable smells assaulted the senses, and some who returned quickly were already snoring on the ground.
Fang Jianqiu has now become somewhat accustomed to these smells.
He walked towards the extremely simple wooden bed area without changing his expression.
A moldy wooden board and a few steel bars became their sleeping place, which was no different from the simple and rough camp outside.
Fang Jianqiu didn't spend too long choosing. He saw an empty upper bunk and placed the stone on it. But then he felt it wasn't safe enough, so he turned to the old man who had followed him in and said:
"Sir, could you please keep an eye on this seat for me while I'm at that shop? Just remind anyone who comes by."
The old man in shackles squinted and smiled:
"It's nothing, don't worry. Looking at your physique, you can probably get even more on credit, but you still need to be careful with your spending."
Fang Jianqiu nodded, and then the old man gave him some simple directions.
It's not complicated; just follow a small path to the shop.
"Young man, keep your head down a little when you go. You're too sharp-tongued. Be careful not to get into trouble with those Westerners."
Fang Jianqiu understood and stepped out of the stuffy room.