Terrifying Boost

At dawn, the wind died down.

A long line formed along the snow road outside No. 3 Mining District.

Zhou Fu led the miners' families and the men rotating back to duty out of the city. The end of the line was nowhere in sight.

Ye stood atop a broken beam above the pit entrance, a stack of new contracts in his hand still smelling of fresh ink.

ANBU agents steadied a wooden board. He raised his hand, and iron nails were driven one by one through the corners of the papers.

Kakashi unfolded the document, his voice carrying over the wind.

"Starting today, the entire mine will operate in three shifts. Each shift will last six hours. Once your shift ends, you rest. No one is allowed to keep anyone working longer."

"Wages will be paid in cash daily. Anything mined beyond the quota will be calculated separately. One extra cart means one extra payment."

"The accounting office will post the figures that same day. Anyone can go check them."

For a moment, no one at the pit entrance spoke.

Zhou Fu stood there with his mouth open. The words on his tongue rolled around twice, but he still could not bring himself to say them.

He had mined for thirty years. This was the first time he had heard that mining more could earn him more money.

He squeezed half a step forward, rubbing his hands repeatedly against the front of his padded coat.

"My lord, what if someone tears these papers down after a few days?"

Ye looked down at him.

"The two who tore them up have already rolled into the snow last night."

"These rules are mine."

A young miner in the back was the first to snap out of it, and his shout tore