episode_0378

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Miner Mr. Chu received his daily wages with sweaty hands.

‘Should I stop doing this now…’

Over the past few years, a thought that had been occupying a corner of Mr. Chu’s mind reared its head again.

When the ore vein was first drilled, Moyongse’s mine was in a much harsher environment than it is now. There was no mining village, no proper system, and the people who flocked there were not miners but just wanderers attracted by high-ranking workers.

Although experts took the lead, since all the workers were beginners, there were frequent disturbances every day.

Mr. Chu thought back to that time and shook his head.

How on earth were you supposed to survive in that mess?

“Phew.”

Postscript: Maybe it would have been better back then.

Mr. Chu looked at his group with gloomy eyes. Over the past few years, daily wages have been reduced and more money has been taken away under various excuses, such as equipment rental fees and the like.

As the children grow older, there are more places to put money, but income is gradually decreasing.

Every time Mr. Chu saw the union president, office manager, or merchants wandering around in stiff silk clothes, Mr. Chu’s affection for the mine plummeted.

The fact that miners who had been working here for a long time were leaving the mine one by one was one of the reasons that fueled Mr. Chu’s thoughts.

‘Should I leave for another region too…’

Mr. Chu remembered the words of Mr. Mak, who had been working this mine from the beginning with him but recently left.

This means that with this level of experience, you can earn half or even twice as much if you go to another region.

However, is it easy to change your place of residence?

What people need to live is not only property. In one’s home, there are bound to be intangible assets accumulated over the years one has lived.

Leaving for another region meant throwing away everything and starting from scratch, so it was not an easy decision to make.

To put it another way:

It also meant that Mr. Chu was living a difficult life, to the point where he even considered moving to another region, even giving up all of his intangible assets.

Mr. Chu stopped for a moment in front of a shabby bar and swallowed.

He desperately needed a bottle of alcohol to help him forget the hardships of life, but the bright eyes of his second son, who said he wanted to go to military service, stopped Mr. Chu in his tracks.

The registration fee for a military officer somewhere was a penny or two.

I had to tighten my belt to barely be able to send my son to military service.

It was when Mr. Chu gave up his attachment to the bar and started walking.

“Hmm?”

I saw people gathered in the center of the village.

Oooh!

Miners gathered in groups and exclaiming in exclamation. Mr. Chu was intrigued by that sight.

The miners were surrounding one person. I barely managed to squeeze through the miners and raise my tiptoes, and only then was I able to see what the miners were watching.

Clap la la rock!

Goal paddles playing brilliantly in your hands. The man stopped his hand and showed the sticks between his fingers. And the moment I open and close my palms.

Oooh!

“ya!”

Mr. Chu also burst out in exclamation.

This was because one of the four bone badges that were stuck between the cracks of my fingers had disappeared.

The man who showed the crowd that his goal badge was missing clenched and unclenched his fist once again. Another goal loss. Mr. Chu swallowed his saliva as he watched the fists disappear one by one every time he kept clenching and closing them, and looked at the amazing sight.

Soon, all the goal cards were completely gone and the man, showing his palm, once again raised his fist and stretched it forward.

Wow!!

A man like that has four badges stuck between his fingers.

It was an amazing feat.

The man’s talent continues.

Usually, performers like this wait for enough money to be raised before showing off their next trick, but the man didn’t hesitate and immediately started showing off his next trick.

It was a good thing from Mr. Chu’s perspective.

While Mr. Chu was absorbed in the man’s talent, miners continued to gather.

Mr. Chu looked back for a moment. Judging from the crowd of people with red faces and loud voices, it seemed like they were attracting enough attention that even those who were drinking were drawn out.

By then, the man’s performance had stopped.

“Ahh, is this the end?”

“Well, it’s time to start worrying about money.”

As such a buzz spread among the miners, Mr. Chu saw another man step into the center.

“Hello! Everyone!”

Everyone’s attention was focused on the loud voice.

“My name is Moyongmo.”

The miners were in trouble again.

“If it’s Moyongmo, then it’s Moyong’s family…?”

“Inspecting that mine?”

Mr. Chu looked at Mo Yong-mo with puzzled eyes. If this person, Mo Yong-se, was an experienced miner in the mine, he would have seen him at least once, even from afar.

However, Mr. Chu was not sure whether the person claiming to be Mo Yong-mo was Mo Yong-mo.

“What are you talking about? Do you look like a miner that no one can see?”

The sight of Mo Yong-mo standing on a platform clumsily piled with logs, as someone said, was because he was a miner.

Who can judge that the person who is currently on the podium is the late Jisoo of the Mo Yong family?

Mo Yong-mo tidied up her sweaty hair and wiped her face clean with the towel she had prepared in advance.

Only then did Mo Yong-mo’s face and skin come to light, causing an uproar among the miners.

“I think that’s right…?”

“Hmm…I think I remember it…”

Among the miners in confusion, Mo Yong-mo opened his mouth. Mr. Chu felt Mo Yong-mo’s voice cut through the miners’ voices, which suddenly became as noisy as the middle of the market.

“Today I disguised myself as a miner and secretly entered this mine.”

The son-in-law instantly became quiet at Mo Yong-mo’s shocking remarks.

“It was because I felt strange every time I went out for inspection. The worry on the faces of the miners and the mining village, which was slowly losing its vitality, was becoming more and more intense.”

Everyone held their breath at Mo Yong-mo’s words.

“I was deprived of 40% of my salary just because I was a rookie. Coins were taken as payment for equipment rental. Lunch was not provided, and when I broke the pickaxe, I was told to pay three nyang of silver. I couldn’t even enjoy guaranteed rest time.”

While listening to Mo Yong-mo’s story about his experience as a new miner, the miners realized something.

Mo Yong-mo not only pretended to be a miner on the outside, but lived as a miner even if it was only for one day.

“A dustproof hood to protect the respiratory system was not provided.”

The problem of the mine was mentioned through Mo Yong-mo, and the miners were excited and nodded repeatedly to the problem.

“Not just a dustproof hood! Don’t we need to provide proper lighting so that we can see the light properly?”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

“On days when I go to work early in the morning and have to work overtime, the sun is already setting when I come down from the mine, and after starving all day, my stomach is upset!”

The dissatisfaction that each of them had in their hearts suddenly exploded, using Mo Yong-mo’s remarks as a catalyst.

“What did you do to get to this point!”

“This is Mo Yong’s mine! It’s the top of rotten merchants!”

The emotions that burst out were mixed with sharp criticism towards Mo Yong Sega and Mo Yong Mo.

Moyongmo just listened and pondered the accusations that were coming out.

How many such criticisms and accusations were poured out?

“Sorry. Everyone.”

Mo Yong-mo lashed out at the angry miners. The miners were downcast at the sight of such shameless figures.

“You may wonder what I am saying now that I contributed to worsening the situation at this mine, but I really wanted to make the situation at the mine better.”

“That kind of person is like that!”

“Nonsense nonsense!”

There were some who shouted sharply at Mo Yong-mo, but most miners looked at him quietly.

Even if the results of the mine inspection were a mess, it was true that Mo Yong-mo came out diligently to inspect, and it was also true that he went so far as to secretly try to find out the situation of the mine today.

“I would like to immediately wipe out the merchants, wardens, union leaders and their forces who have been using unfair methods for my own benefit and guarantee the rights and interests that you deserve… This Mo Yong-mo is not the owner of the mine, he is just a member of Seomseobunta. It is just a member of ”

Even though Mo Yong-mo’s words sounded like excuses, there was relatively little fuss.

“It is only possible for the entire Shaanse Bunta of the Mo Yong family to step forward to bring about a wind of change in the entire mine.”

“Then what on earth are you going to do?”

“In the end, isn’t this what happened because the Moyong family got along with the merchants!”

“Please wake me up.”

Wake me up?

Mr. Chu had doubts about Mo Yong-mo’s words. How on earth can a mere miner, a miner, manage a famous company in the entire Jungwon region?

“Everyone! Do you remember the old days? Do you remember the time when Mo Yong Sega was working on this mine with all his might? To be honest, I was a child and I was not allowed access to the mine as a child. However, I remember the proud smiles on the faces of the elderly people who came back every day covered in stone dust and black powder.”

Mr. Chu remembered while listening to Mo Yong-mo’s words.

In the early days when the mine was being built, how on earth did they think of surviving in that mess?

This was because there were military personnel from the Moyong family.

“Moyongse, please wake up Seomseobunta! While they turned their heads for a moment, please raise your voice and ask us to see what state this mine has become and how it is running!”

Even though there was no system and there was nothing good to be said about the operation in a haphazard manner, the reason why the miners were able to continue the difficult work was because they dug the ground together and looked after the miners.

Mr. Chu recalled the faces of Mo Yong-se’s warriors that he saw back then.

And then I saw the faces.

‘It’s similar.’

“The elders of Moyongsega will never ignore your voices!”

After Mo Yong-mo finished speaking, the miners became uneasy.

He looks like he can’t figure out what to do.

“Look! I am Yeo Kwang-soo! He was the one who dug the land here from the time he dug into the mineral vein! Let’s take this opportunity to stand up and speak out!”

“Umm…sure..”

“But this is so…”

The miners had an expression of disapproval, but at the same time, they had a look of reluctance on their faces. Wouldn’t it be a shame to rise up in this mine, which is tightly controlled by merchants, believing nothing but what they say?

Also, no matter how good-looking he is, he rushes into the famous Moyong family in the midfield and makes a fuss?

The physiological fear of challenging the martial people was also a reason for the miners’ hesitation.

“That’s nonsense! Wasn’t it Mo Yong-se who handed over the mine to the merchant in the first place? But at most, would you overturn that decision after listening to one person?”

“This person! Don’t you think the Moyong family doesn’t know the current state of the mine?”

“Do you believe that? Basically, I pretend not to know everything and peel pumpkin seeds through my back hole!”

A mining town that quickly became a shambles as each person expressed their thoughts. Mr. Chu watched the scene and took a step forward. Mr. Chu, passing through the miners who were pointing and spitting at each other, made eye contact with Mo Yong-mo on a platform piled with logs.

“Can I go up there with you?”

“…Of course.”

As Mr. Chu took the seat next to Mo Yong-mo, some of the people who were constantly arguing took notice.

“If there is anyone who has been in this mine from the beginning, please raise your hand.”

Mr. Chu raised his hand and someone responded, but most of the miners were busy making their own claims.

“If there is anyone who has been in this mine from the beginning, please raise your hand.”

Mr. Chu’s repeated words and the miners raising their hands.

As the process was repeated, most of the miners paid attention to Mr. Chu’s words.

“Do you remember that time? In fiction, I used to sleep leaning against a shabby tent on the mountain, worried that the mine shaft might collapse one day. Is it just that? Even though I dug into the ground for a long time, I often found nothing.”

The miners raised their hands and nodded.

“But why did you guys continue to stay here? What was the reason for continuing to dig into the mountainous soil, which had no system, was just arbitrary, and was extremely dangerous? I realized it here today.”

Mr. Chu looked down at Mo Yongmo.

“It is because the people of the Moyong family were together.”

“So! Those people from the Moyong family sold the mine to merchants!”

“So you will constantly endure the tyranny of those merchants?”

There was no answer back.

“I understand your words and concerns. Because we are just miners. They are like weeds who have no choice but to be cut down if the merchants glare at them and say they will cut them down. But isn’t it calculated that if no change occurs, all those who sympathized with it will lose their livelihood?”

There was no answer to this either.

“I will ask those who raised their hands. Or I would ask those who were here before the merchants took over. Are the warriors of the Moyong family whom you have seen and experienced really the ones who will turn a blind eye when they see the current situation?”

There was no answer to this either.

“The feelings I felt towards the warriors of the Moyong family at that time. I will bet on those feelings and use my voice.”

Someone opened their mouth.

He was one of the miners who raised his hand.

“The warriors of Mo Yong-se at that time were definitely trustworthy people. We were covered in dirt and soot together, and we did not hesitate to enter the tunnel even when the mine collapsed and more rocks could fall.”

The miner looked directly at Mr. Chu and asked.

“But is there any guarantee that the Moyong family price then and the current Moyong family price will be the same? A long time has already passed since the beginning of the mine. Over those years, villages were built, miners gathered from all over, and the mine grew bigger day by day. Accordingly, merchants managed the mine here on behalf of the Moyong family. And what about now? Mr. Mo Yong, the owner of the large mine with twenty-seven mine shafts, has delegated the management to a merchant and is not even bothering to turn a blind eye. Do you think that these people retain the same feelings as in the past?”

“That’s right.”

Mr. Chu answered.

“The proof of my faith is not with me.”

Mr. Chu’s answer was Moyongmo.

“The person who inherited the spirit of that time is now in front of us, and he did not say that he would speak out for us.”

Mr. Chu looked around at the miners and said.

“That’s why I’m going to wake up the Moyong family.”

Mr. Chu slowly raised his hand and clenched it into a fist.

“What will you do?”

The miner who asked Mr. Chu a question nodded and clenched his raised hand into a fist. Several miners who saw this raised their clenched hands.

“Ah! I don’t know!”

“Draw! I’m tired of holding back!”

“Mo Yongse has people, so everything will work out!”

Soon all the miners gathered raised their fists.

After seeing the scene, Mr. Chu got down from the log platform without saying a word.

Only Moyongmo remained on the podium.

Mo Yongmo watched with trembling eyes the miners who raised their fists.

“Everyone! thank you so much! Thank you!”

“Uh-huh! Why is the leader of the group so unrewarded? Speak louder!”

The miners made a fuss and agreed with someone’s remarks. Looking at the fists shaking wildly, Mo Yong-mo tensed her stomach and opened her eyes.

It was as they said.

Mo Yong-mo had now become the representative of many miners, so he had to stay alert and read his mind.

Mo Yong-mo, who had composed herself, shouted loudly.

“Let’s go! Moyongsegaro!”

Wow!!!

Numerous miners with their fists raised and Mo Yongse started heading towards Shaanxi Bunta.