Chapter 95

“Hey?”

Jin Ja-gang’s reverie was broken by Mr. Jang’s call. Mr. Jang was looking at him with a concerned expression.

‘Oh no!’

Jin Ja-gang suddenly realized that tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“Oh my…”

Mr. Jang’s wife also looked worried. Seeing him crying in front of an ordinary meal, they must have thought he had some extraordinary story.

Jin Ja-gang abruptly stood up and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry for showing such an unseemly side of myself.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Why apologize for something like that? If you live with us, Rangrang will cook for you often. Our daughter is a good cook. Actually, all this was made by Rangrang, not my wife.”

“Listen to him talk! Anyone would think he’s telling the truth.”

“Hahaha! Alright, I’m joking, just joking. Let’s say it was a joke.”

Mr. Jang’s wife pinched his arm. Meanwhile, Rangrang, who had brought water, sat down shyly.

It was a peaceful scene that naturally brought a smile to one’s face.

Jin Ja-gang wiped away his tears and smiled awkwardly.

The temptation of just one warm bowl of rice was more powerful than anything Jin Ja-gang had experienced before.

But Jin Ja-gang realized through his tears.

This was not where he belonged.

He hadn’t crawled out of hell to become an Asura just to live in contentment.

Even if he closed his eyes, he would still see the dying survivors of the Medicine Sect; even if he covered his ears, he would still hear their last words; even if he pinched his nose, the smell of decaying corpses would not disappear; the blood on his hands would not be forgotten.

Peace did not suit an Asura.

Jin Ja-gang gulped down his water, then picked up his cup again and said:

“If it’s alright, could I have some more water?”

“Oh? Yes, of course.”

Rangrang took the cup and went outside. Mr. Jang and his wife watched her go with pleased expressions.

During that moment, Jin Ja-gang’s hand quickly brushed over Mr. Jang’s bowl.

‘I’m sorry.’

Jin Ja-gang silently apologized to Mr. Jang, who was smiling without knowing anything.

But the food…

It was truly delicious.

* * *

Mr. Jang was restless.

“Urgh, again!”

No sooner had Mr. Jang returned to his seat than he stood up again and headed for the outhouse.

His wife and daughter were worried about him.

“What’s wrong? Was the food spoiled?”

“No, Mom. If it was, we would all be sick too.”

Mr. Jang’s wife asked Jin Ja-gang:

“Did he eat something at Poison Valley?”

Jin Ja-gang thought for a moment and said:

“Other than drinking a bit too much yesterday…”

“So it’s a hangover? Oh dear.”

Mr. Jang, who had already gone to the outhouse three times, looked pale. His legs were trembling.

“This is terrible. I need to go this afternoon…”

“You can barely stand! How can you go anywhere like that!”

“I need to find the finance officer before the assembly to collect our overdue wages. I need to get the money and distribute it to the workers. If I don’t get it today, they’ll make excuses and never pay us.”

“Sigh, why did you drink so much when you can’t handle it?”

“Urgh… this is driving me crazy.”

After another trip to the outhouse, Mr. Jang collapsed in exhaustion.

“I’ll go get a doctor.”

As Jin Ja-gang was about to leave, Mr. Jang stopped him.

“Let Rangrang go. I have something to ask of you.”

His form of address had already changed from “you, Jin Ga” to the more respectful “you.”

Jin Ja-gang shook his head.

“No.”

Mr. Jang, who was about to ask Jin Ja-gang to collect the overdue wages, smacked his lips.

“I thought you were just good at working like a bear, but you’re quick-witted too.”

“You’ve only known me for ten days. How can you entrust me with such a task?”

“I trust my eyes. I may have only known you for ten days, but you’re the most trustworthy person I’ve met in my lifetime.”

Mr. Jang’s wife scolded him:

“Oh my goodness, husband. That’s not the issue here.”

She then tried to comfort Jin Ja-gang:

“It’s not that we don’t trust you. We’re worried those people might not pay properly and might mistreat you.”

Even if they didn’t trust him, Jin Ja-gang couldn’t blame them, but this reason made him even more concerned.

“I won’t be the only foreman collecting money, so it should be fine. They might not pay the full amount, but they won’t refuse to pay entirely.”

“Sigh… dealing with them always turns collecting money into such a chore.”

“Can’t be helped. We can’t just not do it either.”

As Jin Ja-gang listened to the couple’s conversation, he realized this wasn’t a simple matter.

Each foreman was responsible for workers under them, ranging from as few as five or six to as many as twenty or thirty people.

Mr. Jang’s stomach ailment was caused by the poison Jin Ja-gang had used.

Because of this, Mr. Jang couldn’t go collect the money. If they didn’t get paid today, they might never receive payment from Poison Valley.

There were thirteen workers under Mr. Jang, including Jin Ja-gang.

Their livelihoods and those of their families depended on this money.

‘I never considered this…’

Jin Ja-gang believed they deserved to be paid for their honest work.

Since he was responsible for this situation, he needed to take responsibility.

After thinking for a moment, Jin Ja-gang said:

“I’ll go collect it.”

“Huh? You will?”

Mr. Jang brightened up. He took out a contract from his pocket and handed it to Jin Ja-gang.

“Show them this and collect the amount written on it. Can you read?”

“Yes. The amount to be collected is five taels.”

“But they probably won’t pay the full amount. We’ll be lucky if they give one or two taels.”

“Two taels isn’t even half of what’s owed.”

“Even that might not be given, so just take whatever they offer. They’ll make all sorts of excuses to reduce the payment. Other places are fine, but Poison Valley is different. Ugh!”

Mr. Jang tried to smile bitterly but suddenly grabbed his buttocks and crawled to the outhouse.

Jin Ja-gang stared at the contract for a while, then bowed to Mr. Jang’s wife and left the house.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang rubbed dirt on his face to make himself look dirty and entered Poison Valley.

The interior of Poison Valley, now that construction was complete, looked neat.

But it was even busier than before construction, as they were preparing to welcome guests. They were setting up tents, making seating arrangements, and preparing food.

He passed through the outer courtyard and entered the inner courtyard. Showing the contract and saying he came to collect money, he was allowed to go to the finance officer’s office.

In front of the office, he saw several familiar foremen. They too had come to collect wages and were standing in line.

Jin Ja-gang joined the line.

One foreman came out of the office. His face was flushed with anger that he was clearly trying to suppress.

The other foremen asked:

“Hey. Did the settlement not go well?”

The foreman who had just received money made a disgusted face and showed his hand, folding his thumb. Then he grabbed his index, middle, and ring fingers with his thumb.

Then he left in anger.

This was originally a merchant’s hand signal (sleeve language) used to indicate numbers by hiding fingers in the sleeve, but in his anger, he had shown it openly.

Jin Ja-gang looked confused, so the foreman in front of him explained quietly:

“He was supposed to get seven, but he only received three.”

The other foremen’s expressions darkened.

“The discount is especially severe today.”

“Damn it, should we be grateful they’re paying anything at all?”

“If we get on their bad side, we can’t work in this area… Ah, ptui!”

It seemed they were accustomed to not being paid properly.

Jin Ja-gang waited silently. The line moved surprisingly quickly. It seemed they weren’t calculating properly but just tossing money and finishing quickly.

“Next!”

It was Jin Ja-gang’s turn. He entered the office. A young man in scholar’s attire sat at a table piled with documents, and next to him, an elderly finance officer sat in a chair, working on something else.

Jin Ja-gang greeted them and presented the contract. The young scholar frowned.

“What’s this? I don’t recognize your face. Where’s Mr. Jang?”

“He suddenly got a stomachache, so I came instead.”

The scholar waved his hand dismissively.

“No, no. How can I give money to someone I don’t know?”

The scholar looked Jin Ja-gang up and down, then handed him two taels. Then he pushed forward a ledger.

“Stamp it.”

Jin Ja-gang neither took the money nor stamped the ledger.

“According to the contract, it should be five taels.”

“What?”

The scholar squinted one eye and looked up at Jin Ja-gang.

“What did you just say?”

“The contract states five taels.”

“Ha, look at this guy?”

The scholar spoke to the finance officer who was stamping documents.

“Finance Officer? He’s asking for the full amount as per the contract.”

The finance officer glared at Jin Ja-gang irritably and said:

“Give it to him. If that’s what the contract says, give it to him.”

But the atmosphere suggested they had no intention of paying the full amount.

“Let me see that contract.”

The scholar stood up and brought the contract to the finance officer. The finance officer looked at the contract and said:

“Yes, it says five taels?”

“Yes.”

“You’re right. The contract says to pay five taels when the construction is complete.”

But the finance officer threw the contract at Jin Ja-gang and said:

“Come back in three days. We’re too busy to pay now.”

How could they be suddenly busy when foremen had been receiving money just moments ago?

“Our assembly will last for three days, so come back after it’s over.”

Jin Ja-gang picked up the contract.

“The contract doesn’t say anything about paying three days later.”

“True. It doesn’t specify when payment should be made, so I’m saying it will be in three days. Don’t you see all these documents piled up? We have an assembly soon and we’re extremely busy. If you understand, please leave.”

The finance officer gestured for him to leave and then turned his head away.

Jin Ja-gang carefully rolled up the contract and put it in his pocket.

“I understand.”

As Jin Ja-gang was about to leave, the scholar and finance officer snickered as if he were strange.

The scholar called out to Jin Ja-gang:

“Hey, wait, are you really coming back in three days?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you want to get paid?”

“That’s why I came here.”

“Ha, this friend doesn’t know how the world works.”

The scholar spoke as if giving advice:

“I know everyone’s struggling to make a living. We’d like to pay everyone what they ask for. But we’ve paid everyone else this way. Are you asking for special treatment? That wouldn’t be fair.”

“I’m not asking for special treatment, just for what’s written in the contract.”

“Hmm, you should also consider the person paying. Why do you keep asking us to take care of just you? If everyone asks us to take care of them, how difficult would that be for us?”

Jin Ja-gang didn’t respond.

“By the way, you’re in big trouble. Our finance officer seems quite upset. That means it will become increasingly difficult for you to get paid. Three days? It could be fifteen days… a month… you might never know when you’ll get your money.”

Now Jin Ja-gang understood what they were up to.

Seeing Jin Ja-gang’s expression darken, the scholar pretended to be generous and said:

“But I can’t ignore people who worked hard… I’ll use my authority to be flexible and pay you. What do you think?”

The scholar offered one and a half taels.

One and a half out of five taels… Jin Ja-gang found it so absurd that he almost laughed.

“This is the limit. No more.”

When Jin Ja-gang remained silent, the scholar pretended to take the money back.

“Then come back in three days or a year later to get your full five taels.”

Jin Ja-gang still didn’t move.

“Are you really going to let me take this back? You won’t get anything? You’re only hurting yourself.”

The finance officer suddenly shouted:

“Just give him one tael! Why give so much to someone like him!”

“Oh my. You’re being stubborn for nothing… I have no choice.”

The scholar took back even the half tael.