The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1365 - 1365 664 Fierce Milk Steamed Bun (Four updates)

Chapter 1365: 664 Fierce Milk Steamed Bun! (Four updates) Chapter 1365: 664 Fierce Milk Steamed Bun! (Four updates) Gu Jiao doubted her own eyes. How could she possibly see Gu Chengfeng here?

Mu Qingchen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and looked at Gu Jiao in confusion.

However, the group of people had already turned a corner and headed in the opposite direction.

Mu Qingchen asked, “What are you looking at?”

Gu Jiao sat back down, “I thought I saw someone I know.”

Mu Qingchen leaned out of the window to look, and then turned to Gu Jiao with a deep gaze, “Do you know someone from the Han Family or those bonded laborers?”

Gu Jiao was slightly startled, “Bonded laborers?”

Mu Qingchen said, “You must be mistaken, right?” From any perspective, it was impossible for her to know any of those types of people.

Gu Jiao closed the window, “Maybe I really did see wrong.”

It was impossible for Gu Chengfeng to come to Yan Country, and even less likely for him to become a slave.

…

At the foot of Dongshan Ridge outside Shengdu, there was a vein of ore that the Han Family was responsible for mining.

Recently, there had been a small accident in the mine, resulting in the death of some laborers, and the Han Family had hurriedly purchased a new batch of laborers to come over.

These laborers were mostly servants branded as slaves; there were impoverished people from Yan Country, prisoners who had committed serious offenses, and strong men trafficked from the black market.

The team stopped at the checkpoint of the mine, and the guard on watch glanced at the laborers tied with ropes, clicking his tongue in disdain, “This batch of laborers doesn’t look very useful, there’s hardly any strong ones.”

An official riding on a horse said, “The current market is not good; it’s already not bad to have any at all, make do with what we have.”

The guard said, “Alright, go and start work, they are waiting!”

The official smiled, “Starting work this late, aren’t you afraid of another accident?”

The guard smiled helplessly, “What can I do? These were the orders from above.”

Though he spoke as if he had no other choice, his expression was clearly indifferent.

Indeed, who would care about the life and death of a group of lowly laborers?

The group entered the mine area, and a few officials found an open space for them to rest on the spot.

It wasn’t out of consideration for them; it was because they were already very tired from the long journey, and they needed to rest and eat something to regain strength for the work.

The people simply sat down on the ground.

Gu Chengfeng sat at the very back, looking inconspicuous.

After being exposed to the elements all this time, he bore no resemblance to the young master from a noble family back in Zhan Country.

After a while, someone brought over porridge and steamed buns, causing the laborers to surge forth.

“Line up! Line up! Don’t move!”

The official distributing food lashed out with his whip, and everyone behaved.

Each person was given a bowl of porridge and two steamed buns.

When it was Gu Chengfeng’s turn, only half a steamed bun was left.

Gu Chengfeng didn’t say a word, took the bowl of porridge and the hard steamed bun, and started eating voraciously.

After being hungry several times, he had learned that if he didn’t eat quickly enough, he would only get hungry again before the next meal.

Sure enough, just as he had wolfed down the half steamed bun in his hand, the official urged them to enter the mine tunnel.

“Your honor, please give us something more to eat? If we’re not full… we won’t have the energy to work…”

A laborer over fifty beseeched the official, clasping his hands together.

The official lashed out with his whip, hitting him so hard he rolled on the ground, “Now you have the energy!”

He fell right in front of Gu Chengfeng.

In the past, Gu Chengfeng would surely have helped him up, but at this moment, he did nothing, silently stepping around him and following the group forward.

The line entered the mine tunnel.

Some ore was on the surface, available for direct extraction, while other deposits were underground, requiring the digging of blind shafts.

They were now assigned to dig wells, and several older laborers were already working at it.

“Go get your own shovel!” the official barked.

Everyone hurriedly walked over with tentative steps, picked up shovels from the ground, and imitated the older laborers, beginning to dig.

Gu Chengfeng also picked up a shovel and started to dig with a semblance of experience.

They dug until midnight, until everyone was utterly exhausted and had no more strength, only then were they taken back to rest in a large communal room.

Dozens of people were crowded in a room, the smell so foul it was suffocating.

Gu Chengfeng lay on a board in the furthest corner, with one person beside him and a dusty dirt wall on the other.

Perhaps from exhaustion, almost everyone fell into a deep sleep as soon as they lay down.

After the officials had checked the room, they locked it from the outside and left.

In the darkness, Gu Chengfeng slowly opened his eyes.

He was not here to be a laborer. Now that he had arrived in Shengdu, there was no need to continue mixing with a bunch of slaves.

He had to think of a way to leave.

As he pondered, he turned over, but accidentally pressed against the wound on the outer side of his right leg, sucking in a breath of cold air.