The Black Lotus Farm's Harsh Truth
Next morning, early in the day, Yoo Eunhyeon left the inn alone, leaving Ju Yu-ryeon and Ho Won-jik still sleeping behind him. As he passed through the alleys and plazas, brushing past the stares and footsteps of the people, he found himself standing before a building before he knew it.
“Black Lotus Merchant Alliance.”
Eunhyeon gave a wry smile at the familiar name of the merchant group. He had known he would encounter it again someday, but meeting it here in Sichuan of all places was the last thing he had expected. How unexpected.
“Jigheondong is the branch manager of Shandong, so there shouldn’t be any chance of running into him here.”
Thinking of the person he had met during the martial contest, Eunhyeon reached up and touched the hat on his head. It didn’t cover his face completely, but with that alone his expression had changed enough to be sufficient. Eunhyeon took a deep breath, then stepped onto the threshold of the Black Lotus Merchant Alliance.
“Ten men each, line up side by side!”
Inside the Black Lotus Merchant Alliance, nearly two hundred people had already gathered. Before them stood about ten men, their posture steady and their gazes sharp. These were unmistakably the command group.
Believing everyone had assembled, the man at the front spoke in a booming voice and issued his orders without delay.
“Before we begin, I have several questions to ask. It is best to answer honestly. If you hide the truth or lie, you will have to bear the consequences yourself!”
The intimidating man’s appearance caused several timid people to nod their heads without thinking. Eunhyeon also shrank slightly and nodded along.
At that moment, the staff of the Black Lotus Merchant Alliance stepped forward with papers in hand and began firing off questions at rapid speed.
“Age and name.”
“Twenty-three years old. My name is Jin Unseong.”
“Who taught you farming?”
“From a young age I learned from my parents while helping them.”
Eunhyeon, who had been secretly eavesdropping on the questions beside him, felt a surge of joy inside. The questions were far easier than he had anticipated. If this continued, he sensed that things would go surprisingly smoothly.
While he was calming himself, his turn soon came around.
“Age and name.”
“Twenty-one years old. My name is Yeo Geumhyeon.”
“Where are you from?”
“I am from Hanzhong in Shaanxi Province.”
“Shaanxi? Quite a distance from here.”
The man standing before Eunhyeon paused for a moment with his brush, then looked up at him. At that, Eunhyeon put on a somber expression as if he had been waiting and continued.
“About a month ago, there was an earthquake in Shaanxi. The house was completely destroyed, and my father was severely injured, so I had to leave in a hurry. But I heard that this job pays a lot of money……”
Eunhyeon had already known about the earthquake in Shaanxi. There was no risk of being suspected of lying. The man nodded repeatedly, telling him not to worry as soon as he heard the words.
“Don’t worry about that. As long as you fill your quota, there will be no problem.”
“Thank you.”
“Good. Next.”
With that, the man brushed past Eunhyeon and moved on. How much time had passed? When the man returned, it seemed the investigation had ended, and he stepped forward again in front of everyone.
“Good! It looks like the workers have been narrowed down. I’ll ask again! From now on, you will be responsible for the entire farming process. The duration is one month. The location is near Mount Daesan in Qinghai Province. Since we trust those with farming experience, do your best!”
“Yes.”
When the man spoke, the laborers nodded and answered briefly. The man scanned them with satisfaction, then lowered his voice.
“And I must warn you—if anything happens, keep your mouths shut. If you know where we are going, it’s fine.”
The moment those words fell, the surroundings fell completely silent. The rumors about the Demonic Cult had spread even to ordinary people, so the man’s words had to be taken seriously. Seeing the laborers murmuring, the man laughed heartily and turned his body.
“That’s enough warning. Good. Now let’s move! Follow me!”
Following the escort of the merchant staff, the people entered inside and climbed onto the prepared carts one by one. It was time to head to Daesan.
Rumble, rumble.
“Ugh. My butt hurts like it’s going to die.”
About half a shichen after the cart had started moving.
As the road became rougher and the cart rattled, complaints mixed with irritation spilled out from various places. Some people even grumbled that standing would be better than riding.
While the expressions on the people’s faces grew more rigid on the swaying cart, Eunhyeon sat there calmly. Watching his behavior, the middle-aged man beside him spoke cautiously with a curious look in his eyes.
“Excuse me. Aren’t you uncomfortable?”
“I’m fine.”
In his forties, the man looked to be of a similar age to Eunhyeon’s mother Su Hwa-seon. When Eunhyeon answered politely, the man smiled with satisfaction.
“Oh dear. You have such patience, young man. My name is Mo Cheoldong. Call me Hyung-nim.”
“Hyung-nim Mo Cheoldong. I am Yeo Geumhyeon.”
Eunhyeon clasped both hands and boasted.
“I’m glad to meet someone like Hyung-nim. Honestly, I was worried a lot.”
“Haha. It’s only natural to be worried when you’re going somewhere for the first time. If you have any questions, ask me. This is also fate, so maybe I can relieve some of your worries.”
Mo Cheoldong spoke with a kind smile in a loud voice. Eunhyeon didn’t miss the chance and quietly glanced at him while asking a question.
“It seems there are quite a few people who have come here many times, like Hyung-nim Mo Cheoldong.”
“Most of them are veterans. Probably about seven out of ten will be repeat visitors. Even I am on my fourth time. That man over there has been three times, and that one is also on his fourth.”
Mo Cheoldong muttered, and the others in the carriage also chimed in. Judging by their reactions, it didn’t seem like a lie. Moreover, coming back so many times to support this place suggested that the job wasn’t as dangerous as he thought. After all, if the place were bad, no one would keep coming back in such numbers.
“Of course, the work is a bit difficult, but the pay is generous, so don’t worry.”
“Is the work really that difficult?”
“Hmm. It’s not easy. There’s a reason they pay a lot. One piece of advice: you must definitely meet your quota.”
“Quota?”
Mo Cheoldong spoke in a low voice, and Eunhyeon asked cautiously with a slightly scared expression.
“You know where we’re going, right? This place judges people strictly by ability. If you do the assigned work well, there’s no problem, but if you don’t……”
His face hardening at the words, Eunhyeon thought that being left out would mean no second chance. Unable to shake off the discomfort, Mo Cheoldong patted his shoulder lightly and laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! Don’t worry. Just don’t goof off. We won’t give you work you can’t do.”
“Whew. That’s a relief. I’m actually confident with most work. But…… is the food good?”
Eunhyeon exhaled a sigh of relief and asked quietly, and Mo Cheoldong grinned.
“You know what’s really important. Nothing is more important than eating when working. We are people who grow grass, but surprisingly, to grow grass, meat has to go in. Don’t worry. Every meal has plenty of meat.”
“That’s a relief.”
It was genuinely a relief. If things went according to plan, he would have to stay here for a month. The importance of the food’s taste in daily comfort became even more apparent.
“If you haven’t exaggerated your farming experience beyond the truth, there shouldn’t be any problem. In reality, there were some people like that.”
“I see.”
Since the procedures for such a paying job were simple, it was normal for people to exaggerate their experience. Small lies, like saying five years of experience was ten years, or counting a few simple tasks as experience, were entirely possible. Seeing several people flinch at Mo Cheoldong’s words, it seemed true.
“Well, it’s none of my business.”
Eunhyeon hadn’t exaggerated his experience; he had actually shortened it, so there shouldn’t be any issues.
“Haha! Young brother, you look like a farmer no matter who sees you, so there’s no need to worry about such things.”
Mo Cheoldong patted Eunhyeon’s back reassuringly. Eunhyeon secretly smiled.
After that, a few more questions followed, but now they were simply about farming methods. Eunhyeon felt his worries gradually ease among the advice and laughter. In the cheerful atmosphere, the conversation about farming naturally flowed.
“Ugh. It’s almost there. Let’s stop talking nonsense.”
Mo Cheoldong, who had been looking around, glanced ahead and muttered. Then, as if remembering something, he stopped quietly and spoke in a low voice for the final warning.
“While working, you might meet Murim people anywhere, anytime. If they don’t speak to you first, pretend you didn’t see anything. Pretending to know will get you nowhere. Understand?”
“Yes. I understand.”
His voice trembled slightly, and the hardships he had experienced could be felt. Eunhyeon thought to himself.
“What could have happened to make him like that?”
Right now, the situation was too unknown to guess, so Eunhyeon tilted his head. However, since he was planning to disguise himself as a laborer, there was no need to think any deeper.
Just as Eunhyeon was gathering his thoughts, the carriage suddenly stopped with a thud.
“We have arrived! Everyone get off!”