Chapter 93: Working in the Mine

Although the young girl's complexion did not look like that of a living person, she had regained quite a bit of vitality in such a short time, and she could even make some micro-expressions on her face.

Yang Pingqiong faced her index finger, lowered her head, and asked very embarrassedly, "We have a strange thing in our cave that has caused the children of our family to undergo Mutation, but even after the Mutation, we still feel very uncomfortable when we get close to it. Boss, can you help us take a look?"

If it were a normal person, their face would probably be beet red by now.

Liu Mu guessed almost instantly what it was that caused the Mountain Rat group to undergo Mutation, but she still asked, "Can you describe the appearance and material of that thing in detail? And also how you feel when you get close to it."

Yang Pingqiong nodded, her long hair sliding down her shoulders to cover her blood-stained white dress, making her look even thinner and more pitiful.

"It is a black stone that glows at night. The children who are touched by the light will undergo Mutation. But the process of Mutation makes them become very irritable, attacking the companions around them, and some even eat them. This makes us very uneasy. We don't know what will happen to the children born in the future."

"Alright," Liu Mu agreed very readily, "I will take a look when I bring the contract to find you tomorrow morning. If I cannot handle it either, I will ask experts from the Barrier to come."

Liu Mu asked Yang Pingxi again if he wanted to go back with her. He did not want to leave, but Yang Pingqiong was afraid it would be unsafe for him to stay on the mountain at night, so she persuaded him to go back.

"Then you also take good care of yourself, and you, whatever Great King, you must protect her well. Tomorrow I will go up the mountain with the Boss to bring you clean water."

Yang Pingxi looked back every three steps, then discovered that Liu Mu had already walked quite a distance, and had to speed up to catch up.

The Black Rain had actually lessened. Seeing the people walk far away, the Mountain Rat Great King actually spoke, "Thank you, A-Qiong. Can she really bring that person?"

Tears mixed with rainwater rolled down Yang Pingqiong's face, "That brother is a good person. You promised me you wouldn't hurt him. You must keep your word. Boss Liu values credit the most, otherwise she wouldn't help you."

"Alright, since I promised you, I will not break my word. Don't cry, be good, let's not cry, okay?"

"Sob sob sob, it's all your fault for not helping me..."

"Alright, alright, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have left you all back then, but the matters within my tribe... Sigh, it is because I was gone for too long that you and the aunties were trapped. I should have kept an eye on them today, but they were just too worried about you, afraid that you would be bullied by those humans again..."

The human and the rat talked for a while, never noticing a big guy lying behind the nearby hillside.

Liu Mu and her companion climbed over the mountain directly, and when they returned to the town, they were actually a few minutes earlier than the motorcade.

Yang Pingxi felt he had an obligation to stay by the Boss's side to wait for instructions. He was very grateful in his heart that Liu Mu allowed the rat group to settle in the nearby mountains, as this meant he could see his sister almost every day.

So when he saw the motorcade from afar, he was a bit anxious, "Why isn't Niu Ge here? Boss, nothing happened, right?"

Liu Mu naturally knew where Niu Boyi had gone; after all, he was her Gouzi, how could he not be sharp? "He must have gone for a stroll nearby. Alright, you go notify Uncle Fugui to help arrange the reception."

She did not leave herself, and her letting the rat group live in the nearby mountains was not just to help the Yang siblings; the most important thing was...

"Go work in the mine? Boss Liu, the contract says they can get a fixed amount of food if they help work. Is it true?"

The entrance to the largest rat hole on the hilltop was shaded by rocks, creating a dry area.

Liu Mu sat on the stone sealing the entrance, and Liu Fugui stood by her side.

The latter had a tattered briefcase of unknown origin tucked under his armpit, and his long-untrimmed hair was combed back into a decent-looking slicked-back hairstyle, giving off the vibe of a wealthy first-generation entrepreneur from the 80s or 90s.

Liu Fugui had already received instructions from Liu Mu beforehand, so it was time for him to step up. He said, "Mr. Rat King, Miss Yang, do not doubt it. The most important business of our Shengli Recycling Group Sunshine Energy Branch is currently mining, and what is needed for mining? We need suitable labor. You Mountain Rats are not ordinary Mutated Animals either; you are Mutated ones with great prospects. If you are willing to cooperate with me, you will surely be able to exert your greatest rat-life value!"

If anyone with social experience heard this, they would know it was just empty promises, but the ones opposite were Mountain Rats, along with a naive teenage girl and a middle-school-aged youth who took it upon himself to save the vast number of female compatriots...

Liu Fugui spoke eloquently, and seeing the youthful passion gradually emerging in the eyes of the siblings, he knew that listening to the Boss was the right thing to do.

Sure enough, one must treat companions with the warmth of spring and the enthusiasm of summer.

As for the Mountain Rat King not understanding the empty promises, it didn't matter; as long as Yang Pingqiong could understand, then things would be easy to handle.

Sure enough, as soon as the benefits were mentioned, Yang Pingqiong, who had suffered a lot in the mountains, asked impatiently, "Really? Can you really treat everyone with the same status as workers?"

For a human, especially a human before the apocalypse, entering a factory or going down into a mine to work as a laborer did not provide much sense of achievement.

But think about it, for a Mountain Rat—even if they had a slightly better impression than the rats at home—to have the same social status as a human... even the legendary demons would not dare to hope for such a thing.

Perhaps Yang Pingqiong did not think too deeply about it, but Yang Pingxi, a college student with a sense of justice and fairness in his heart, would surely fill in the blanks with plenty of passionate emotions.

Yang Pingxi's face turned slightly red, his expression excited, "You can let the Mountain Rats receive benefits just like miners? But, what can they do?"

Liu Mu, who had been silent, glanced at him, her gaze carrying some reproach, which made Yang Pingxi fall silent immediately. He wondered if he had said the wrong thing or thought in the wrong direction. Also, how could rats be the same as humans?

Just as his expression drooped, he heard Liu Mu say, "Don't have too much of a sense of superiority as a human. I'll ask you one thing: now that there is no intact mechanical equipment, after the miners dig out the coal, how is it transported out?"

Speaking of transporting coal from the depths of the mine, Yang Pingxi had long heard everyone complaining that the natural disaster had destroyed a lot of equipment, and everyone had already discussed using manual labor to carry it out.

There was no other way; the conditions were just that difficult!

Thinking of this, his eyes lit up. He turned to look at his sister, his lips trembling, "That's right, we can let the Mutated Mountain Rats transport the coal out. In this way, the work they complete will be no less than that of the miners, and of course, they can receive sufficient remuneration."

Liu Mu corrected him in time, "Piecework, okay? It counts by the rat head; one Mountain Rat is one share. This calculation method was very common before the disaster. You must not pass on even a single bit of error to the Mountain Rat King."

This group of Mountain Rats had at least several hundred individuals. If they all went down into the mine together, that would not be labor. Limiting the number, working in batches, and receiving wages according to labor—these were all necessary.

Of course, this was not devious; after all, Liu Mu was not taking advantage of them for nothing; on the contrary, it was very fair.

One couldn't have such a large group of rats, and have those who didn't work be supported by the mine either.

Liu Fugui also explained this logic carefully to the two young people, and emphasized that the mine, and even the entire Yang Family Town, did not have the strength to support anyone for free right now.

The apocalypse does not need a saint!