vstars Chapter 519 Expanding Production
Chapter 519 Expanding Production
In the winter of 1460, the outskirts of Helmingen were covered with thick snow.
The lead-gray clouds hung low, turning the daylight into a hazy halo.
Several factories stood abruptly on the snowy plain, and the gray smoke spewing from their chimneys twisted into pale ribbons in the cold wind.
The gears of the mechanical spinning mill turned slowly, and the linen cloth on the conveyor belt was stained with damp water vapor by the steam.
Most of the workers have gone home to prepare for the Festival of Light. Only a few figures wrapped in coarse coats are busy in the workshop. They stare at the roaring steam engine, stuff linen into the leaking pipes from time to time, or adjust the tightness of the belts with pliers.
The promise of free food and accommodation and double salary makes these workers willing to guard the cold machines in the cold winter.
"call-"
The wooden door of the public cafeteria was kicked open, and the cold wind blew snowflakes into the room.
Several workers sat around the stove, sparks jumping in front of them.
The older worker used tongs to stir the firewood pile, and several bright flames burst out.
"It snowed so quickly this year. In previous years, the cold wind had just started to blow at this time."
He spoke while breathing out white air, with tiny ice crystals forming on his eyelashes.
There was a sound of dishes colliding in the corner. The workers were eating bread with pickled sausages. Some of them even skewered sausages on sticks and placed them next to the stove. After they were roasted until they were charred, they blew on them near their mouths, and then took a big bite of bread after each small bite.
"Who says it isn't?"
Another worker threw a log into the fire.
"But now every household has enough firewood, which is much better than when we were fleeing a few years ago."
He rubbed his cracked palms, the chilblains on his knuckles were purple.
The copper kettle on the fireplace made a bubbling sound, and the rising hot steam made the workers who were far away from the stove feel a little warm.
"Oh, by the way, Uncle York, why haven't I seen Aunt Merry recently?"
A young worker suddenly asked a middle-aged worker. York scratched the back of his head, and the tip of his ear turned red:
"She went home. My kid's school is on vacation, so she has to take care of him and buy some things for the Festival of Lights."
He took out a copper coin and weighed it in his palm.
"I'll be back in a few days. I've earned enough money to buy gifts for the kids."
"I really envy your family. I'm still single."
York smiled:
"You're not even twenty yet, you still have a lot of life ahead of you."
He suddenly lowered his voice and said to him:
"If all else fails, ask the priest to find someone suitable for you."
"Let me tell you, the country now has a childbirth subsidy of five silver coins per month for each child, which is equivalent to my monthly salary."
"You should also hurry up and have a child, otherwise you won't know if you will have one in a few years."
There was a good-natured laugh at the wooden table, and someone imitated the priest's serious tone:
"'The Lord has given you offspring, you should be grateful'..."
"Just plant crops. After a few months, you can harvest a lot."
The young man shouted at York with a red face, causing everyone to laugh.
The laughter startled the sparrows foraging for food outside the window, and they fluttered away into the lead-gray sky.
……
The mines south of Yoda were shrouded in deathly silence. The lead-gray entrance to the mine tunnel was like the open mouth of a giant beast, spitting out miners with faces covered in coal dust.
They dragged their heavy steps towards the work shed, the sound of the pickaxes rubbing against the mine carts gradually dissipating in the wind. Today was the day they received their pay, so they did not leave after finishing their day's work and came to the nearby supervisor's shed to collect their pay.
The supervisor who had been waiting for a long time stepped on his stilt-like leather boots and slapped a roll of yellowed parchment on the wooden box:
"From today on, everyone's salary will be reduced to two silver coins!"
The crowd exploded instantly.
"It's OK to cut salaries in the past, but why are you so stingy when the Festival of Light is coming up?"
A burly miner shouted angrily.
"You won't even let us have a good New Year?"
His voice echoed in the mine tunnel, startling the ravens roosting on the roof beams.
They flapped their wings and made shrill chirps, as if mocking the miners' tragic fate.
"That's right. Two silver coins are only enough to buy a few pounds of wheat flour."
The old miner picked at the coal cinders between his fingernails as he spoke.
“It’s not even enough money to get through the winter.”
"What? What!"
Just as the situation was getting out of control, a middle-aged man in elegant clothes came walking over in riding boots, his jacket embroidered with gold thread glowing in the dim light.
A dozen thugs followed closely behind, their spears and one-handed swords reflecting cold light.
He was the steward appointed by the businessman who bought the mine to manage the mine. His eyes were full of arrogance and indifference, as if these miners were just ants in his eyes.
He walked over to the miners who had just complained and started asking:
"How much money do you owe my master? You dare to ask for salary without paying it back. It is a great favor for the master to pay you."
"And you, don't you know that you are a fugitive slave? If my master hadn't given you a meal, you would be carrying manure for a noble master in some manor!"
After the butler's verbal attack, coupled with the group of thugs beside him, the miners, who were originally filled with righteous indignation, lowered their heads and dared not speak, wishing they could bury their heads in the ground like ostriches.
"Alright, alright, the master has been kind lately. In consideration of the holidays, all of your debts can be deferred for a month. If you don't want to stay here, pay up quickly and stop complaining about this and that every day. You think you are someone important even though no one cares about you!"
Seeing that no one was talking, the housekeeper left with his thugs. The disappointed miners had no choice but to go back to their homes. They could not defeat the man they scolded, so they could only endure it.
A bearded miner pushed open the wooden door of his house in the night, scooped a bowl of water from the wooden barrel and washed his dusty face.
The cold well water splashed on his face, making him a little more sober, but it also made him feel a bit chilly.
His eyes were a little dull, as if he had not yet recovered from the humiliation he had suffered during the day.
The wife, who was lying on the bed, worked as a laundry worker in the city. She had just coaxed the child to sleep. When she heard the noise, she got up from the bed, walked to the kitchen while the child was sleeping soundly beside her, poured the still warm oatmeal porridge mixed with various wild vegetables from the pot into a bowl and brought it to the only table in the room.
"How's it going? Did you get your salary?"
The miner closed his eyes in pain when he heard this, and then placed the two silver coins on the table.
The coins hit the wooden table, making a crisp sound that was particularly harsh in the quiet night.
The sound was like a heavy hammer, hitting his heart hard.
"Why is it only this much? Didn't you pay back the three silver coins last month?"
"Oh, I have no choice. If it doesn't work, I'll find a night job."
The miner's voice was hoarse and tired, as if he was suffocating under the pressure of life. Even if he survived this winter, the housekeeper would send people to collect the debt in the spring of next year.
His eyes were full of helplessness and despair, as if he could no longer see a way out for the future.
"No, your health will collapse like this, otherwise I will go to the city early tomorrow to find a job."
There was a glint of worry and heartache in the wife's eyes, her voice was soft but firm. No matter how much hardship she had endured following her husband over the years, she had never complained.
"If it really doesn't work, don't let your child study..."
"Can not be done."
The miner shook his head:
"What's a child to do if he doesn't study? We don't have any land, and there's nothing nearby. You have to be educated to be an apprentice. Are you going to be a miner like me?"
The child listened to his parents' conversation and understood what was going on even though he was young. So the next morning, he left home and went to the parish college in the town. When he met Minzer, he immediately said:
"Principal, I won't study anymore. I want to find a job and make money."
"what?"