Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Today was an exceptionally hot day compared to other days.

The sweltering heat was to the point of suffocating, and even while sitting quietly in the shade, one could not control the flowing sweat.

Drip, drip…

Watching them work under the scorching sun was truly pitiful beyond description.

Sitting in the shade, leisurely chewing on sugar candies and looking to one side, Namgung So-hye felt that their lives were truly miserable.

"Ah, damn it…"

"…"

"Ah, it's hot…"

It was pitiful.

Putting the two men aside, So-mi was truly pitiable.

She desperately wanted to have her sit in the shade and rest together, but So-mi was full of loyalty, wanting to stay with the other two uncles until the work was finished.

"So why are you doing this, cultivating the field on such a hot day? You seem to have plenty of money, why not hire someone?"

"Do you think we're doing this because we don't know that?"

Jang Sam-tae raised his voice, seemingly highly annoyed by Namgung So-hye, who spoke so leisurely and calmly.

They wanted to hire people just as much.

Unlike So-mi or Gwon Mu-jin, it was even more so for Jang Sam-tae, who had to chop wood, a task from which there was absolutely nothing to learn.

However, all of this was Dan Woo-hyun's command.

Only by working in half-double-hour segments with a short tea-time break, and then chopping wood for a full two double-hours, could they use the remaining time freely.

This was no exception, even for So-mi.

Ever since the incident with the Three Ways Society, Dan Woo-hyun had been making them do these tasks as if driving them hard, even though only four days had passed since they started.

At that moment, Gwon Mu-jin frowned and muttered softly, seemingly displeased with Namgung So-hye, who was resting quietly.

"Why don't you help out instead of just staying still?"

"Because it's hot."

"There isn't a single person who isn't hot. Even So-mi is doing it, yet you are worse than a child."

"Ugh…!"

"No, this is our work. Big Sister doesn't have to help."

So-mi smiled brightly.

Perhaps because she had worked outside under such a scorching sun for four days, So-mi's face was much more tanned than before.

Even her hand, which had been holding the sickle, showed a bit of blood because her skin had blistered and burst, which was also due to her still being clumsy at holding a sickle.

To make such a young child labor…

Namgung So-hye let out a deep sigh.

"So-mi, come here. Sit next to me."

"I can't. It's the work my dad told me to do."

"You shouldn't listen to such a stepfather. Your pretty hands will be completely ruined."

So-mi glanced at both of her hands.

She saw blood flowing where the blisters had burst.

She looked ready to cry for a moment, but soon shook her head.

"Honestly, I am fine. I have done farming work before in the past."

Chuckling, So-mi squatted down.

Then, she picked up her sickle and began to work again, cutting weeds.

Actually, it was not that it was not hard, but because she remembered cultivating the fields with her two parents in the past, it was also quite enjoyable.

The moment Namgung So-hye sighed softly while watching her.

"Those who do not work shall not eat. Have you not heard of such a saying?"

A voice was heard from behind.

Namgung So-hye, who was eating sugar candies, coughed as if choked and patted her chest, as what she was eating had gotten stuck in her throat due to the person appearing without even a trace of presence.

"C-could you please make some noise when you walk around?"

"It only looks like you are blaming others for your own failure to hear."

"Hmph! Anyway. And what do you mean, those who do not work? I completed the Murim Alliance's mission and am currently on a break, you know? Besides, I am paying lodging fees every single day. Ex-trem-ely expensively!"

Namgung So-hye furrowed her delicate eyebrows.

The lodging fee for a single day was a whopping one silver coin.

Since there was no inn that charged silver coins, it was an enormously expensive amount.

Even charged money for two out of the three daily meals.

Five copper coins each.

'Thank goodness I brought money from home. Otherwise, I would have had to beg again.'

Namgung So-hye thought her foresight was truly remarkable.

Realizing that Hunan was the place where the opium was being spread, she had received twice the usual amount of money from the Murim Alliance, and also took a substantial amount of pocket money from her father who remained at the Murim Alliance.

Had it not been for those things, she would have been broke by now.

"Expensive? We provide one free meal a day, and isn't the room you are staying in quite large? It would not be enough even if we charged five silver coins instead of one."

"…Hmph."

Namgung So-hye turned her head away with a pouty look.

Dan Woo-hyun's words were not wrong either.

The cost of sleeping at an inn, even a shabby one, was over twenty copper coins.

Since meals were not provided, buying various foods to eat meant that money sneaked away quite fast.

Which was why she had gone broke once.

Even the rooms were small.

"Anyway, if you have nothing to do, why don't you try it as well?"

"Eh? Me? I have never done field work before…"

Her eyes shifted…

Namgung So-hye averted her gaze.

It was not even proper farm work. What the people in front of her were doing was the process of cultivating a field. That was why it felt even more difficult.

Gwon Mu-jin was holding a huge hammer, breaking stones, and Jang Sam-tae was chopping wood.

Since So-mi was removing weeds, it actually seemed like there was nothing she could do.

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun smirked.

He handed over a hoe he was holding in his hand, which he had brought from somewhere.

"You just have to strike the ground."

"Eh?"

"Starting from here, the entire area that has been flattened."

Namgung So-hye stared blankly at the ground.

The ground around where she was currently sitting was fairly flat. Since the preparation was already finished, it seemed she could start hoeing to plow the field right away.

The only problem was that no matter how much they cleared the stones, cut the trees, and pulled the weeds, the rocks embedded in the ground would not disappear.

Even now, she could see a few small stones embedded in the dirt right in front of her.

She was supposed to hoe this?

It would probably be faster to turn it over using an ox.

"We should rather use an ox…"

"Buy one."

"…"

She had nothing to say to the command to buy one.

For whose benefit would she buy and offer an expensive ox?

"I am paying lodging fees."

"Then I shall receive two silver coins a day."

"What?!"

"The room is spacious, the scenery is nice, and there is water… It happens to be summer, and since we are entering the peak season, I think I will overcharge you a bit."

Was that something to say out loud, mister?

Namgung So-hye's lips twitched as she trembled slightly.

However, Dan Woo-hyun's words were not wrong.

It was a hot day like this, and it was a time when people would typically go on trips.

Since this place was Yueyang, situated right by Lake Dongting, most inns would overcharge customers significantly to make a fortune during this period.

Dan Woo-hyun was planning to do exactly that now.

However, Namgung So-hye also had a countermeasure.

For her pockets were currently not just full, but overflowing.

"Go ahead!"

"Oh? It seems your pockets are quite heavy this time?"

"Of course, after going through all that. Do not underestimate me."

Namgung So-hye grinned.

This time, it would not go according to Dan Woo-hyun's wishes.

Although the amount she received from the Murim Alliance was large, the pocket money she got from her father was practically equivalent to an ordinary person's annual salary.

"Then shall we make a bet?"

"A-a bet?"

Namgung So-hye looked at Dan Woo-hyun with suspicious eyes.

A bet out of nowhere?

He did not seem like a person who gambled, did he enjoy such things?

Because it was quite unexpected, Namgung So-hye let out a soft chuckle and spoke.

"What do you want to do?"

"It is a very simple thing. It is to see who, carrying a hoe, can plow ten rows of the field from here to there first."

Hmmm, Namgung So-hye swallowed a groan.

The distance from where she stood to the end, namely where So-mi was cutting weeds, was a little over twenty zhang.

Although it was her first time hoeing, she had more than enough stamina for that.

Since she was also a woman with quite high internal energy, if she made up her mind, it might not even take fifteen minutes to plow.

As she grinned, Dan Woo-hyun spoke.

"Are you accepting?"

"What are you going to wager?"

"I will waive one day's lodging fee."

Namgung So-hye thought it over.

She had no idea what this man was thinking, but it did not seem like a bad proposal.

It was also a golden opportunity to save money.

"Fine! But one more thing. You must also provide my meals for free."

"Of course."

"Then what should I wager…?"

"I don't particularly need anything from you, but since it's a bet, there must be something. That way, it'll be more exciting. How about one silver coin?"

It was merely a single day's lodging fee.

Namgung So-hye nodded readily.

'Why is this man making a proper offer for once?'

It was enough to make her wonder if the sun would rise in the west tomorrow.

But it was not bad. The loss would not be very great either.

"However, since Young Master Dan is a master, count to twenty after I start before you begin. That shouldn't matter, right?"

"I will count to fifty before starting."

"You seem quite confident?"

She saw Dan Woo-hyun smirk and nod his head.

Namgung So-hye also smiled back.

Having had good stamina since childhood, she was confident that she would not lose in strength and endurance, no matter how great a master Dan Woo-hyun was.

Moreover, since he had to count to fifty, the reality was that he had no choice but to lag behind her.

Of course, since she had never hoed before, it might be somewhat awkward, but since she only had to dig the ground as she went, there was nothing difficult about it.

It was merely twenty zhang and ten rows.

Even time was on her side.

"Then let us begin."

"Good!"

Namgung So-hye picked up the hoe and infused it with her internal energy.

She unleashed her power vigorously, thinking that she would plow the ground all the way to the end in one breath.

Thud, thud, thud!

She rushed forward in an instant.

Showing the momentum to go straight to the end, and focusing entirely on what was in front of her, nothing else seemed to enter her sight.

Right now, her mind was solely focused on digging the ground.

'I will win! I am going to win!'

Namgung So-hye hoed with a burning glare.

Because she could hear the voice counting one, two from behind, her moving hands had to become even faster.

Before long, sweat poured out profusely.

Finishing one row, she turned back and went down the second row.

Once again, she dug the third row.

As if proving that this was not an easy task, sweat dripped like rain, and she stumbled as if all the strength in her body was draining away.

But even so, she gritted her teeth and continued hoeing.

Just so she would not lose to Dan Woo-hyun this time!

She had cultivated nine rows of the field in an instant.

Soon, at the same moment she heard fifty from behind, Namgung So-hye plowed the final stretch of land, set the hoe down roughly, and wore a broad smile.

"Huff, puff! S-see! I won, didn't I?"

Without even being able to wipe away the streaming sweat, she looked at Dan Woo-hyun. A triumphant face and the thrill of having defeated Dan Woo-hyun seemed to dominate her entire body.

However, something was strange.

Dan Woo-hyun had not plowed even a single row of the field.

Then, looking at her smiling self, he let out a chuckle and threw the hoe in his hand to the ground.

"Yes, you won."

A soft chuckle entered her ears.

Soon, he turned his back and disappeared.

"…"

Namgung So-hye stared blankly at his back. Unable to comprehend what was happening for a moment, her lips trembled slightly as she turned her head.

At the end of her gaze, she saw Jang Sam-tae and Gwon Mu-jin.

Pointing toward the disappearing Dan Woo-hyun, she asked.

"H-hey, where are you going? Huh? Tell me a bit more! You can't just leave like this!"

However, Dan Woo-hyun did not pay any attention even though he heard her voice, and continued to walk away.

Namgung So-hye watched him with a dazed expression.

Soon, her lips trembling, she looked around.

"I… won, right?"

"Sigh…"

Gwon Mu-jin shook his head and sighed. As if he did not want to pay attention any longer, he focused on breaking rocks again.

Perhaps because Jang Sam-tae also felt an indescribable pity, he approached, patted her shoulder, and turned around.

"Hey! Tell me I won! Please! I won, didn't I?"

No matter how many times she spoke, the two kept their mouths tightly shut. Because in this current situation, Namgung So-hye had completely fallen for Dan Woo-hyun's trick.

'Simpleton.'

'What a fool.'

The two of them smiled bitterly, hiding their respective thoughts.