Taking Office and Handover

The Cold Iron Mine near Hundred Flowers Valley was an exceedingly peculiar place.

From the outside, the area around the mine looked like nothing more than an ordinary stretch of barren hills and wilderness.

Even standing at the edge of the Mining Area, one could not feel any major change in temperature; it was almost perfectly in line with the seasonal temperatures outside.

Yet the deeper one went into the Mining Area, the colder it became.

At first, it was merely as cold as an ordinary winter. But as one ventured deeper, it became cold enough to freeze a stream of urine into an icicle in an instant. At the deepest point, it was even more bitterly cold. Simply staying in that area for too long would freeze a person stiff.

The Cold Iron itself, the source of that chill, gave off an even more bone-piercing cold.

The many miners had to excavate ore in such an environment. It would be a miracle if progress could be fast.

Outside the Cold Iron Mine, at the Mining Camp.

Early in the morning, the many miners gathered together to welcome their new manager.

This was not an uncommon occurrence. A manager was replaced almost every three months, or at most every six months. Few managed to remain any longer.

And whenever a new manager arrived, it was the time when these miners felt most anxious.

If the new manager did not meddle much and simply said that everything would follow the old rules, then although life would still be hard, they could barely get by.

But if the new manager was inhuman and docked their food and fuel, people would truly die.

Thus, at this moment, the miners all prayed inwardly that their new manager would be a good person—or, at the very least, have a temperament similar to the previous one.

While the miners waited in the Mining Camp square, the previous Chief Manager of the Cold Iron Mine, Elite Disciple Qiao Mo, was handing over his duties to Lin Lin.

After checking Lin Lin's identity token and his appointment certificate as manager, delight appeared on Qiao Mo's face. He complained to Lin Lin, "Junior Brother Lin, you've finally arrived. Your senior brother here stopped wanting this job ages ago, but I couldn't find any fellow disciples willing to come take over. It ended up dragging on for another three months."

"Once I leave this godforsaken Mining Area, I can find a post somewhere prosperous. Then I can eat local delicacies from every region, hold Fragrant Jade in my arms while listening to opera and storytelling. That's far more exciting than staying in this freezing Mining Area."

Lin Lin automatically filtered out all of the other man's complaints. Only after Qiao Mo finished did he smile and ask about the work procedures at the Cold Iron Mine.

Qiao Mo developed some goodwill toward this junior brother, who was willing to listen to his complaints without showing the slightest impatience. At this point, he was happy to introduce every detail of the Cold Iron Mine.

"Junior Brother, look at the miners in the camp square, divided into two groups."

Qiao Zhou pointed at the miners.

Lin Lin looked as instructed and saw that the two groups totaled around five thousand people. They were all equally disheveled.

Their faces and bodies were grimy, but their muscles were knotted and they looked rather strong.

The only difference between the two groups was that one group wore iron chains and shackles on their hands and feet, while the other wore no such restraints.

"Those in shackles are lowly creatures such as criminals, traitors, and purchased slaves."

"Those without shackles are miners recruited from various places. The Cold Iron Mine has two mine shafts, and these two groups usually excavate ore separately."

Qiao Mo explained the identities of the two groups of miners.

He then began explaining their duties. "The Cold Iron Mine operates for five shichen each day. Including one shichen of rest in the middle, it runs roughly from dawn to dusk. The miners are divided into two shifts. One spends two and a half shichen mining in the tunnels, while the other spends two and a half shichen transporting ore, then they switch."

Then Qiao Mo pointed to the overseers maintaining order in the camp square, all dressed in Hundred Flowers Valley Outer Sect Disciple uniforms, and introduced them. "The miners in the Mining Area are usually managed by Outer Sect Disciples."

The Outer Sect Disciples of Hundred Flowers Valley had two paths of advancement.

The first was to choose Graduation and establish themselves once they reached a certain age and felt that their martial arts had ceased progressing significantly.

As long as these Outer Sect Disciples were willing to gather and relay intelligence for the sect, and paid the sect a certain amount of tax based on the size of the enterprises they established, they could operate under the sect's banner and receive a degree of its protection.

The other path of advancement was to apply to become Outer Sect Disciples of Affairs once they grew older and their martial arts improved.

Outer Sect Disciples of Affairs could carry out all kinds of missions like Elite Disciples, earning Sect Contribution. Once they had served long enough, they could apply to study the sect's Superior Martial Arts, and might even eventually advance to become Elder of Affairs.

The overseers at the Cold Iron Mine were Outer Sect Disciples of Affairs.

Though serving here earned them more Sect Contribution than other Outer Sect Disciples of Affairs, it was still far inferior to what Elite Disciples earned.

After a pause, Qiao Mo continued, "We Elite Disciples must still prioritize advancement in martial arts. Normally, we only need to ensure that the mine operates smoothly, suppress miners who might riot, and deal with enemies who might invade the mine to seize ore."

"Of course, this place is too close to the sect. Basically, no enemy would be foolish enough to invade here, so the only thing that normally requires a little effort is suppressing the miners."

"Those Outer Sect Disciples of Affairs can handle a riot involving several dozen or a hundred miners, but against any more enemies than that, they are not enough."

"So while the miners are working during the day, Junior Brother, you can find a spot in the Mining Area that is slightly less cold to practice your martial arts. If the chill truly becomes unbearable, you can spend most of your time outside and only go in once or twice for an hour or two to patrol and prevent any trouble."

Lin Lin nodded to show that he understood.

The sect's greatest purpose in sending Elite Disciples here as managers was to make use of the combat strength of Elite Disciples, who were at least above the middle tier of Second-Rate, to keep the miners below in check.

As for the specific management and operation of the mine, other Outer Sect Disciples of Affairs would naturally handle it.

After thinking over whether there was anything else to add, Qiao Mo warned him, "As long as you ensure that the full monthly quota of Cold Iron Ore is handed over to the sect, Junior Brother Lin, you have the final say in all matters concerning this mine. But remember, you must never secretly sell Cold Iron Ore. If the sect finds out, you will likely have to make a trip to the Hall of Law Enforcement."

At this point, Qiao Mo lowered his voice and mouthed silently, "Cold Iron Ore is a resource the sect closely monitors. Among the miners and overseers at this mine are quite a few disciples of the Hall of Law Enforcement working undercover. Junior Brother, please do not break this rule."

Those final words were heartfelt advice.

Though Lin Lin had no such crooked intentions, he still felt the other man's goodwill. He clasped his hands in thanks. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."

The handover ended there.

Qiao Zhou brought Lin Lin to the camp square and announced Lin Lin's identity as the new manager to all the miners and overseers.

Thanks to readers Yao, Pork Butcher A73, and Yue Mingyi for their tips.