Chapter 825: Chapter 823: Charge Forward
As he walked out, Didak took large steps, moving so quickly that he was practically taking three steps at a time.
After just over ten steps past the counter, his legs gave out, and he collapsed toward the ground.
Bo Fei saw this and quickly helped Didak, preventing him from falling to the ground.
Breathing heavily, Bo Fei asked Didak, “Brother Didak, what’s wrong with you? Are you sick?”
“It’s you who’s sick!” Didak retorted, taking a breath and freeing himself from Bo Fei’s support, “I’ve just been eating too little lately and have no strength left. I got up too quickly and walked too fast, almost fell because of that.”
“Can you still follow me to the No.13 Mine now?” Bo Fei looked at Didak, slightly worried, and said, “If you can’t walk, I can’t carry you.” Didak’s body was almost twice the size of Bo Fei, so he wasn’t exaggerating.
Hearing this, Didak smirked and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine after some rest. If I could eat something now, I’d recover even faster. Oh right!”
At the end, Didak remembered something and turned to look at the counter.
Behind the counter, a bartender stood with his back to him, diligently scrubbing the shelves, and Didak spoke up, “Hey, Hua Wen, give me a fat chicken, put it on my tab, and I’ll pay tonight when I get money.”
Upon hearing Didak, the bartender turned and revealed a pockmarked face, squinting at Didak in annoyance, “Who’s Hua Wen? I’m Tomson.”
Didak paused, his expression freezing, as he stared at the other for several seconds, surprised, “Hey, you… are called Tomson? But where’s Hua Wen? My friend Hua Wen, why isn’t he here?”
“Hua Wen?” The pockmarked bartender frowned deeply, “Who exactly is this Hua Wen you’re talking about?”
Bo Fei approached, clearly familiar with Hua Wen, and explained to the bartender, “He’s the guy who used to stand where you are and did your job. About seventeen or eighteen, with golden hair, a bit shorter than me, but better looking. He worked as a bartender for several years before you, you must know him?”
The pockmarked bartender nodded with a knowing expression, “Oh, you mean that guy. Yes, I know him.”
“Then where did he go?” Didak asked.
“That, I don’t know.” The pockmarked bartender shrugged, “Anyway, he’s not working at the bar anymore, which is why I can be here.”
“This…” Didak was stunned, clearly struggling to accept this news, but the hunger pangs in his stomach reminded him what was important, so he looked back at the pockmarked bartender.
“Okay, I now know Hua Wen is gone, so I’ll ask you, Tomson,” Didak said to the bartender, “Let me introduce myself. I’m Didak, and this is Bo Fei; we’re both regulars at the bar, always with good credit. Currently, we just happen to have no money on us, but we’re hungry. Can you get us a fat chicken from the kitchen and put it on our tab? I’ll pay when I have money tonight.”
After speaking, Didak looked at the pockmarked bartender full of expectation.
The bartender thought for a moment, then refused with a stern face, “Sorry, no can do!”
“What!” Didak’s face stiffened, getting agitated, and asked, “Why not? I could do this when Hua Wen was here.”
“Hmph! Hua Wen is Hua Wen, and I am me, get it?” The pockmarked bartender snorted coldly, in a bad mood.
Saying this, he tossed the cloth he used for cleaning the shelves onto the counter with a light ‘snap’, looking at Didak with quite the demeanor, “If you could owe money to Hua Wen, that’s his issue, but now it’s me who’s in charge here, understand? I say no, then it’s no! No money, no eating, go back to wherever you came from, paupers!”
“What!” Didak’s face instantly turned red, his eyes wide as he glared at the pockmarked bartender, furious and ready to punch the bartender’s face. But halfway through, seeing the mixture of yellow and white on his face, he turned his fist into a grab and pulled at the bartender’s collar, intending to drag him out from behind the counter and give him a good kicking.
At this point, Bo Fei stepped in and pulled Didak, persuading, “Brother Didak, calm down. If he won’t let us owe, then forget it. Let’s go sign up at the mine, make money, and eat whatever we want then!”
“I’m not mad because he won’t let me owe; I’m just sick of his tone,” Didak said, red-eyed.
“I know, I know. Alright, Brother Didak, just ignore him, let’s leave quickly, or if the mine is full, we won’t have anywhere to go.”
“This…” Didak’s movements froze, hesitating, but ultimately rationale prevailed over anger, and he gave the bartender a fierce glare, then headed out of the tavern with Bo Fei.
Watching Didak and Bo Fei leave, the slightly shocked pockmarked bartender Tomson rolled his eyes with disdain. Exhaling, he pressed his chest as he looked at the tavern’s entrance, coldly muttering to himself, “Two bastards, paupers. Hope you starve to death! If not, when you have money and come here to eat, I’ll make you eat my spit!”
Didak and Bo Fei didn’t hear the bartender’s words; otherwise, they’d have beaten him up. They were now on the road leaving Shambala Town and heading to the No. 13 Mine.
It was a relatively flat road, usually taking just over an hour to walk. But due to hunger and weakness, they stopped to rest several times, taking nearly two hours to reach their destination.
When they finally arrived at the base of the No. 13 Mine near noon, they rubbed their eyes, almost thinking they were seeing things.
Before them, there were nearly a thousand miners crowded in front of several tables, all ready to sign up.
Obviously, they weren’t the only ones moved by the news of No. 13 Mine reopening and offering high wages.
The lure of money stirred their hearts, with a fifty percent wage increase driving many struggling miners insane.
In the face of poverty, potential rumors, and danger mean nothing, after all, it can’t be worse than death. On the verge of starvation today, few are considering what tomorrow holds.
Bo Fei swallowed and nervously eyed the crowd, looking pale as he said to Didak, “Brother Didak, there are so many people! It looks like we won’t have a chance to be hired.”
“Now’s too early to say that, let’s squeeze in first,” Didak appeared slightly calmer, looking at the crowd, he gritted his teeth slightly and snarled, “I thought the rumors of a demon would scare many people away, but there are so many fearless ones! Since that’s the case, we won’t bother with it either, let’s charge in together!”