Starting from iron smelting

Chapter 15 The Secret of the Woodshed

As time went by, Lu Xiuyuan felt his body gradually adapting to this strange and crowded environment. He no longer paid attention to the various sounds in the room and gradually fell asleep.

The morning light shone through the dirty windows, shining on the dust in the room, like a layer of golden gauze. Lu Xiuyuan opened his eyes, but felt that they were still heavy, as if the dream from last night was still lingering.

With the crowing of a rooster, the boss's shouting quickly spread throughout the woodshed. There was a sense of urgency in his voice, as if every second could delay something important. Lu Xiuyuan rubbed his forehead and sat up, feeling the heaviness of his body. He wanted to stay in bed for a while, but he couldn't. He had to get up and work.

Putting on the worn-out work clothes provided by the shopkeeper, he felt that the clothes seemed to have an indescribable sense of oppression, but he forced himself to accept it all. Walking out of the dormitory and into the backyard, he saw a mess of firewood piled up randomly. This became his task for the day, to tidy up this messy place.

The remaining dew on the ground had not completely dried up, and the surface of the firewood was covered with moisture, making the whole task more difficult. Lu Xiuyuan bent down and began to pick up the firewood one by one, patting it hard, trying to shake off the wet firewood. His movements seemed a little unfamiliar, and his fingers were a little sore, but he clenched his teeth and showed no weakness.

At this time, the boss's voice sounded again, like a whip, urging everyone to work faster. This kind of oppressive feeling that could not be ignored in the working environment made Lu Xiuyuan begin to have a deeper understanding of the boss's shrewdness and stinginess.

Every bit of hard work seems to be slowly passing by, and the meager reward seems to be unable to reflect the value of this hard work at all.

While working on sorting firewood, Lu Xiuyuan observed the expressions of the men from time to time, trying to identify who was the smart person in the woodshed and who might have information that he didn't know.

But the guys were just busy doing their own jobs, all with numb expressions on their faces, or with their heads down, working hard, seemingly immersed in their own worlds.

Lu Xiuyuan tried to guide the conversation with some clever questions, trying to get some valuable information. However, the guys' answers were often perfunctory, without any in-depth questions. They might have become numb to this kind of work environment, unwilling to say more, or simply had nothing worth sharing.

In his spare time, Lu Xiuyuan tried to communicate with the guys, sometimes talking about trivial matters in life, and sometimes tentatively talking about topics related to the mountains. However, whether they were cheerful or silent, they seemed to have nothing special, which made Lu Xiuyuan feel a little disappointed.

This woodshed seemed like an isolated little society, where everyone was silently completing their tasks and communication between them seemed a little unfamiliar. Lu Xiuyuan might be too anxious, or because these guys had become numb to this lifestyle, making them unwilling to talk to him.

Lu Xiuyuan asked for a long time but got nothing. He thought: "I can't get anything out of this place. If I want to find the answer I want, I have to ask in a different way."

At this time, Lu Xiuyuan found a relatively smart waiter and asked, "Brother, I'm new here. Does our store have any special rules, the kind that you absolutely cannot touch?" The waiter thought for a moment and said, "There are some rules, but you are absolutely not allowed to enter the inner room."

Lu Xiuyuan was puzzled: "Why? Are the gold, silver and jewelry hidden in the inner room by the boss? They are so precious, can't people see them?" The clerk said: "It's better not to ask about some things. I don't know the details. There are some very good woods in the inner room, which are delivered to the mysterious man every month. I don't know what they are specifically."

Lu Xiuyuan's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he felt that this was a good opportunity worth paying attention to. Moreover, he heard from his colleagues that the boss Li Er had only made his fortune in recent years. There were several firewood shops in Beishan Town, but due to various reasons, some of them caught fire, some fell ill, and finally went bankrupt. Only Li Er Firewood Shop remained strong, and the boss Li Er also made his fortune and established this industry.

After listening to this, Lu Xiuyuan felt that there must be something fishy and smelled an unusual smell in his heart. He thought there must be some secret information in it, which might be related to the mysterious man.

He decided to investigate further and try to find clues from every corner of the woodshed to uncover the mystery. Although he was full of curiosity and desire, in order not to attract the attention of his boss, Lu Xiuyuan had to pretend to be focused and joined the work.

He learned how to stack firewood and sort wood lazily like other workers. No matter whether he was tired or not, he tried to be like the others, blending in among the workers skillfully so that the boss would not notice his unique purpose.

Although he was full of curiosity about the identity of the mysterious man, Lu Xiuyuan did not intend to act rashly. He knew that caution was the key to survival in this unfamiliar environment, and any careless exposure could lead to unexpected events.

Therefore, he conducted the investigation behind the scenes, and tried to find out the mystery behind the boss through meticulous observation. Whenever the boss was not present, Lu Xiuyuan would take the opportunity to look around, check every corner of the firewood room, and pay attention to every detail. He carefully looked for traces that could reveal the identity of the mysterious man and the internal rules of the firewood room, thinking about the solution to this mystery again and again.

Despite Lu Xiuyuan's efforts, he did not find any clues about the mysterious man in the corners of the woodshed. Life was still dull. As the days passed, Lu Xiuyuan's strength gradually increased and his body became stronger. However, he had no clue about the pursuit of the mysterious man, which made him feel helpless.

Until one day, when the boss suddenly asked if anyone was willing to go to Beishan Forest Farm with him, Lu Xiuyuan's eyes finally gleamed. The name Beishan had always been lingering in Lu Xiuyuan's mind. This place was the biggest secret of Beishan Town. He knew that this was definitely a great opportunity, and he immediately stepped forward and said, "Boss, I am willing to go, let me go."

Li Er smiled slightly and said, "Okay, it's you. Don't work today. Take a rest. Follow me to Beishan Forest Farm tomorrow morning."

Lu Xiuyuan felt a little surprised. When did Li Er, who was so stingy and inhuman, start to care about and sympathize with his employees? Why didn't any of the employees volunteer to go, but signed up instead? Everyone had a strange smile on their faces, staring at Lu Xiuyuan, making his back stand on end. This look was definitely not one of envy, but one of looking at an animal on a meat stall. However, he had already taken on this job, and it would be difficult to refuse it. He had to be careful and do things in a convenient way.