When it was time for dinner, Zheng Lin came out of the mine with a shovel in a nervous mood. A strong smell of food came from the hut.
There were at least a hundred people waiting around the hut, all of different ages. Among them, Zheng Lin, who was seventeen years old, was the youngest.
Generally speaking, even if there is no hope of breaking through the period of receiving essence, Qinglan Sect disciples can stay at Lingyun Peak for at least thirty years from the beginning of their cultivation. If they do not make progress within thirty years, they will be sent to
Work in mines everywhere.
Although Zheng Lin has only practiced for more than ten years, at this time, he has been determined to be unable to make breakthroughs in his life, so he was sent here at such an age. Naturally, he is also the youngest among the group.
The dozen or so people who came with Zheng Lin stood together in tacit understanding. The number of spiritual stones they carried was very small, but they also gained something. Only Zheng Lin, who could not dig out the rocks with a shovel, "got nothing".
All the miners lined up in a long queue and entered the huts one by one. When they came out, they all held meals in their hands. Then they found an empty space and ate with gusto. Judging from their devouring appearance, they seemed to be refugees who had not eaten for many days.
There were also many people who just stood aside silently. They did not queue up, but kept licking their lips and looking eagerly at their companions who were eating their meals.
"Look, those people probably didn't complete their mission yesterday, and they don't have food today." A fellow disciple who had just arrived like Zheng Lin said with a frown.
Under such circumstances, Zheng Lin and others can imagine how difficult the days ahead will be.
After everyone in line received their meals, Zheng Lin and others also entered the hut. There were two rooms in the hut. The inner room should be the old man's resting place, but there were several large pots at the outer door. At this time, there were
The rice and dishes are full of aroma.
Next to the stove, there is a cylindrical basket, six feet high and one meter in diameter, which is filled with spiritual stones of different sizes and grades.
The old man was behind the stove, holding a long-handled ladle. When he saw Zheng Lin and others coming in, he said seriously: "Put what you got today into the basket."
Everyone put the spiritual stones they had worked so hard to dig into the basket one by one, but the old man's expression did not change much.
When it was Zheng Lin's turn, Zheng Lin, who was empty-handed, shook his head helplessly, turned around and walked out of the hut consciously.
Zheng Lin had given up on this meal.
"come back!"
The old man pointed the spoon at Zheng Lin's back and shouted. When Zheng Lin turned around, he said: "You just arrived today and it only took half a day. Let's not count the harvest. Let's start from tomorrow."
The meal is very sumptuous, each person gets a big bowl of meat, and there are several vegetarian dishes to choose from, with rice or steamed buns as the staple food.
The resting place at night is where everyone works. There is no house or bed. Everyone sleeps with shovels on their pillows.
On the first day, Zheng Lin still didn't dig up a spiritual stone, and even a rock wasn't shattered. However, he still ate the first day's meal, but the old man told him: "You don't have to come to eat tomorrow.
"
At dinner the next day, Zheng Lin still got nothing, and he did not go to the hut to wait in line for food.
Knowing that he could not dig out the spiritual stone, Zheng Lin chose to sleep hard all day to conserve his poor physical strength.
On the third day, Zheng Lin persisted, but on the fourth day, Zheng Lin couldn't bear the torture of hunger and swallowed the health-preserving pill into his belly. The energy supplied to Zheng Lin by the health-preserving pill allowed him to
It lasted two days.
"I can't live this life. Didn't I get killed by the man in black, but am I going to starve to death here?" Zheng Lin thought sadly.
After thinking about it, Zheng Lin didn't know how to dig out the spiritual stones, and the rickety old man definitely didn't know how to benevolent outside the law...
Early in the morning on the sixth day, Zheng Lin was tired and hungry, with no energy left in his body. He lay weakly in the mine, thinking about everything he had on earth, and his parents who died young...
Just after midnight, Zheng Lin suddenly heard footsteps coming from the empty tunnel. He slowly stood up, only to see the rickety old man walking over with frivolous steps.
The old man was holding a food box in one hand, and holding his other hand behind his back, he kept beating his waist, which seemed to never be able to straighten up.
Zheng Lin bent down and bowed his hands, and asked in surprise: "Uncle Wu, why are you here?"
The rickety old man gasped slightly and stared at Zheng Lin with his turbid eyes. After a while, he sighed and sat down on the ground. He waved his hand to Zheng Lin and asked him to sit down too. He said, "As long as you don't starve to death, come on."
Eat something first."
After the rickety old man opened the food box, the aroma of the food seemed more tempting than before. Zheng Lin's Adam's apple flipped a few times, and after swallowing the saliva, he started to eat it as if he were eating it.
While Zheng Lin was eating, the old man suddenly took out a kettle out of thin air like a magic trick, pulled out the stopper, and the aroma of wine filled the air.
The old man handed the jug to Zheng Lin and said: "Boy, eat slowly, come and drink some shochu."
Zheng Lin glanced at the old man in surprise, seeing that although the old man looked young, his expression was very kind, so he didn't think much about it, took the bottle and took two gulps.
When he was on Earth, he was a small gangster. He could drink more than a kilogram of 52% liquor. This was the first time he had seen alcohol in this world for so long. Since it was a gift from an elder, he naturally accepted it.
However, when the soju entered his throat, Zheng Lin regretted drinking it too hard——
A burning feeling was raging in his mouth, throat, and abdomen, and the strong force of the wine was writhing throughout his body like a sword.
"Hoo..."
Zheng Lin opened his mouth and took a long breath of alcohol, his face turned red.
After a while, before Zheng Lin could regain his composure, he suddenly felt that the already weak muscles and veins all over his body began to hurt again, as if he was being stabbed by countless needles.
"Haha, young people are still too impetuous in doing things! Most monks in the semen stage will taste this liquor carefully. You just took such a few big gulps, I'm afraid your master Xiao Lu wouldn't dare to be so bold." The rickety old man said with a smile.
Zheng Lin gritted his teeth, and the pain all over his body almost made him think that it would be better to just die.
The old man did not do anything to Zheng Lin, but said to himself: "Your master sent you here, probably because he was thinking about my few swords and shochu. He looks old-fashioned, but in fact he is
He is good at calculations, but this time, the calculation is on me. If I see him again in the future, I will definitely pay back my capital with interest."
Zheng Lin was in pain, but his mind was always clear. Hearing what the old man said, he knew in his heart that the old man must have a close relationship with his master Xiao Lu. However, Zheng Lin did not understand the specifics of what the old man said just now.
refers to.
He wanted to have a few words with the old man, but the pain all over his body made Zheng Lin tremble uncontrollably, as if he was having an epilepsy attack.