Zhao Han and the other mine slaves finished dealing with the Black Wolf Gang's corpses, then turned to the bodies of the Poisonous Snake Gang's members and the mine slaves.
The Poisonous Snake Gang members' corpses had to be hauled back to the gang's Main Sect in Blackwater County, along with a shipment of iron ore.
The Black Wolf Gang members' bodies had to be dragged into the forest to feed the beasts.
The mine slaves' bodies were simply burned to ash on the spot, then buried.
Their treatment was worlds apart.
Once the work was done, Zhao Han felt a little sweaty, but his body wasn't very tired.
He had mastered the Black Wolf Fist, and he'd been a miner for quite some time, so he'd built up some stamina.
Before, carrying a few corpses heavier than himself would have left him half dead with exhaustion.
Zhao Han's hard work had caught the leader's eye.
"That skinny, dark kid, and you, you... all of you, come over here."
Liu Gang pointed at several mine slaves, all between their teens and twenties, who'd worked quickly and eagerly.
"Leader Liu, what do you need us for?"
One of the mine slaves, a smooth talker, bent at the waist and rubbed his hands together with a smile.
He looked every bit the groveling lackey.
"I've seen how hard you boys work. The Poison Dragon Hall of my Poisonous Snake Gang lost so many men, so I'm giving you a chance to join the hall."
Liu Gang wasn't asking. He was informing them.
As far as he was concerned, a bunch of country bumpkins with crooked legs had struck it rich just by getting into the Poisonous Snake Gang.
"Oh, thank you, Leader Liu!"
"I'll go through fire and water for the Poison Dragon Hall of the Poisonous Snake Gang!"
"From now on, the Poisonous Snake Gang is my family!"
"If you don't mind having me, Leader Liu, I'd be honored to make you my adoptive father!"
Zhao Han and the others were only too happy to accept. The mine slave who'd been sucking up earlier nearly dropped to his knees to kowtow.
"Good. You don't have to work anymore. Come with me."
He led them away, picking three more along the way until they had ten men—enough for him to report back.
"What are your names?"
"Zhao Da, Li Er, Zhang San, Li Fei, Wang Wu... Zhao Han."
Next came the work assignments.
Liu Gang assigned them based on his first impressions of each man—his looks, complexion, and build.
"Li Er, Zhang San, you two haven't been at the mine long, and you're still clean and fair. Go 'serve' the Hall Master. He's short two people to pour tea and water."
Li Er and Zhang San lit up at the news. They'd get to be near the Hall Master, Li Dalong. Didn't that mean their futures were limitless?
If Li Dalong took a liking to them, they might even become leaders.
Especially Li Er. Li Dalong shared his surname, so he might look out for him more.
Li Er turned to Zhang San, his eyes gleaming coldly. He already saw him as a rival.
Zhang San wasn't about to back down. He glanced at Li Er from the corner of his eye, already wondering how to outcompete him.
Neither of them knew what kind of tea they'd be mixing or what kind of water they'd be pouring.
"Zhao Da, you're short and dark. Go stand guard at the gate."
Zhao Da's face fell. Standing guard at the gate? That was practically a death sentence.
If the Black Wolf Gang attacked, the gate guard would be the first one they killed.
Still, it beat being a mine slave.
The Poisonous Snake Gang even taught its members martial arts. Maybe after two and a half years of training, he'd get promoted to an elite member.
"Zhao Han, I remember you said you were a farmer. Go help out in the kitchen as a dunzi. You know how to chop wood, haul water, cut vegetables, and tend the fire, right?"
Liu Gang assigned Zhao Han his job last.
"I do. I can do all of that. Thank you, Leader Liu!" Zhao Han had no choice but to accept, and quickly clasped his hands in gratitude.
The others, however, were secretly pleased at his bad luck.
They'd heard there were only two cooks now, with four dunzi helpers to feed several hundred people every day.
If the food wasn't good, they could end up getting butchered by Li Dalong.
The dunzi did the hardest work of all. They had to do everything.
It was only a little better than being a mine slave since no one supervised them, but still much harder than what the other nine were doing.
Two of the nine would "pour tea and water" for Li Dalong.
Two would guard the gate.
Three had volunteered, claiming they could count with all ten fingers and tally numbers up to a hundred to keep track of the iron ore.
The last two would escort shipments of iron ore.
All of them had better jobs than Zhao Han, with plenty of free time.
That was because Zhao Han wasn't much to look at—plain and unremarkable.
After transmigrating, he'd become a farmer, and he'd gotten quite dark and skinny from the sun. His skin was rough, and he looked born to toil in the fields.
Getting to help in the kitchen was already an enormous favor.
"All right, get to work. Now that you're part of the big family that is my Poisonous Snake Gang, don't slack off or try to shirk your duties."
"Also, every member of my Poisonous Snake Gang can claim a copy of the advanced Snake-Style Deft Hand manual. Meet at the entrance to the Mine Tunnel tomorrow, and I'll give them to you."
"Whether you make anything of it depends on your talent and ability."
Leader Liu glanced at the ten men with scorn in his eyes.
He could tell at a glance that not one of them had much of a future.
At best, they might become Skin Refining Warriors. Without connections in the Poisonous Snake Gang, they wouldn't even make it to leader.
"Here are ten wooden gang tokens. Keep them safe, then go to your assigned posts and do your jobs." With that, Leader Liu strode away.
"Take care, Leader Liu!"
The ten watched him leave, then looked at one another.
Their faces ran the gamut: jealousy, resentment, contempt, envy, hostility, delight...
Zhao Han was the first to turn and leave. He headed for the kitchen.
When he arrived, he showed his wooden token to prove his identity. The dunzi helpers and the cooks visibly brightened.
One more dunzi meant the work would be that much easier.
There were two cooks. One was an assistant cook with a few basic skills who handled the big pots.
The other was a proper chef who only cooked for the Poison Dragon Hall's Hall Master and two leaders.
Naturally, that professional chef was the kitchen's boss, Wang Dawei.
"What's your name, kid?" Wang Dawei asked, staring at Zhao Han.
"Zhao Han. I hope you'll look after me, Master Wang." Zhao Han gave a slight bow and smiled.
"Sure. From now on, you're in charge of chopping and splitting wood, Xiao Zhao. Come over to the Wood Shed with me, and I'll show you."
The Wood Shed? So he was stuck chopping wood?
When they reached it, Wang Dawei shouted, "A Shun, you'll be hauling water tomorrow. The new guy, Xiao Zhao, is taking over from you."
"Uh..." Zhao Han was speechless. So much for looking after him.
Well, it made sense. Newcomers were workhorses wherever they went.
Without connections, they got saddled with the hardest jobs. Once they'd done it for long enough, a new workhorse would take over, and then they could finally escape.
Still, this was better than being stuck in the dark depths of the Mine Tunnel.
"Finally, I'm free! You, Zhao, come over here. Split tomorrow's firewood and get it ready." A Shun smiled, dropped his splitting axe, and walked off without looking back.
He hadn't even told Zhao Han where to get the wood or how to split it.
He'd been completely irresponsible, dumping the whole mess on Zhao Han.
Wang Dawei was no different. He gave his instructions and left.
Zhao Han looked around at the Wood Shed, packed with firewood, and the logs waiting to be split in the open space outside, sheltered from the rain by a canopy. He had a general idea of what needed doing.
Chopping wood meant going into the forest to find and cut firewood; splitting wood meant turning thick logs into smaller pieces.
He sat where A Shun had been, picked up the splitting axe, and got to work.
Since I'm here, I'll make the best of it!
"Thwack!"
"Crack!"
The wood didn't split. He hadn't used enough force. He tried again.
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