The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

At this moment, the young master shouted loudly at the group of people again.

As for the dozen or so shirtless laborers carrying hoes in front of him, they kept their heads down and remained silent.

These people are clearly craftsmen who have been engaged in manual labor for many years.

Their skin was dark and covered in calluses. Their faces were sunburned, indicating they had been working for a long time in such weather.

Despite this, this young master Zhou clearly had no intention of showing them any sympathy and kept urging them to continue working.

Meanwhile, standing next to this young master Zhou, a man who looked like a butler took out a fan from his pocket and kept fanning the young master.

"Young master, please calm down. These people never learn their lesson. You've already taught them a lesson, so I believe they won't be lazy for a while. However, if you get sick from anger, it won't be worth it."

At this point, the butler-like man chuckled and helped the young man to a reclining chair. He then helped the young master lie down on the chair, and the butler fanned him with a smile.

"Young master, I just had someone bring some fresh grapes from the city. Please have a taste to aid digestion."

Then the butler clapped his hands, and a man took a bunch of purple grapes from a bucket.

Because there was ice in the bucket, the grapes were still slightly cold when they were taken out. Young Master Zhou peeled off a few grapes from the bunch and put them in his mouth. His mouth was immediately filled with a cool sensation, which felt very refreshing.

“Zhou Fu, you’re so thoughtful. Knowing I’m a bit hot, you brought me some chilled grapes. If there are many treasures in this ancient tomb, I’ll let you choose one.”

Upon hearing this from Young Master Zhou, the steward named Zhou Fu quickly replied, "Young Master, I have already received so many benefits from the Zhou family, how could I dare to hope for so much more? Just please take good care of me in the Zhou family in the future, and that will be enough for me. I absolutely cannot accept this money as collateral."

Zhou Fu knew that this young master Zhou was extremely greedy. Although his family was quite wealthy and he had no worries about food and drink, he never felt that he had too much money.

Every time a treasure was unearthed from the tomb, Young Master Zhou was most excited, and he would personally polish each and every piece.

Young Master Zhou was clearly satisfied with Zhou Fu's answer and nodded.

"Then you'd better keep a close eye on them. If any of these craftsmen dare to hoard any, I'll skin them alive."

Zhou Fu immediately nodded and urged several foremen to go down and keep a close eye on the workers.

· ········Requesting flowers· ····

Inside this ancient tomb, these craftsmen were naked and had no pockets, making it almost impossible for them to hide any treasures. However, if they found any treasures, they could simply leave them inside, bury them in some hole, and retrieve them later after the others had left.

That's why Young Master Zhou has been keeping an eye on them, afraid that they might stumble upon some treasure for him to keep to himself.

"By the way, young master, the master is unaware of the matter concerning the ancient tomb. As you know, the master has some things to do recently and doesn't like us doing these kinds of things, so I have instructed my men not to reveal a single word about this to the outside world."

0 .... .......

Upon hearing Zhou Fu's words, Young Master Zhou immediately sat up from his recliner.

"I would have forgotten if you hadn't said that. We're fine with our own people, but what about the craftsmen? If any of them gossips and tell everyone, we'll all be exposed."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Fu said, "That's easy to handle. After the project is completed, we'll give them a lot of money and then warn them not to say anything, or their families will be wiped out."

Zhou Fu originally thought that after saying this, Young Master Zhou would nod in satisfaction, but to his surprise, a hint of displeasure flashed across Young Master Zhou's face.

"This person has a mouth, can you control him all the time? Besides, how much money do you think is the bottom line? If you give too little, they'll come back for more later, what are you going to do then?"

Young Master Zhou's words immediately made Zhou Fu fall into deep thought, unsure of what to say in his divination.

Chapter 763 Malicious Injury

Just as the two were discussing this matter, a deafening sound suddenly came from the tomb, as if someone had dug into a depression again, causing the stones inside to roll down.

Upon hearing the voice, Young Master Zhou's face turned ashen. He jumped up from his recliner and shouted at the tomb, "Where are you all? Get out here! These things are all my possessions. You can't afford to pay for them if you break even one!"

Although Young Master Zhou was rather thin, his words struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Even from such a distance, the craftsmen in the tomb shuddered and their faces showed fear upon hearing the sound of "zero five zero".

At the cave entrance, the group pushed and shoved each other, none daring to go out and face Young Master Zhou first. One of them said, "If we come down here, we'll probably get a beating again!"

The others nodded and whispered, "Well, we have to bow our heads when we're under someone's roof. Who told Young Master Zhou to pay us? Once this is over, I'll go as far as I can and never see Young Master Zhou again."

As for the craftsman who personally shoveled the stone down, his face turned pale. When he saw Young Master Zhou's cold face as soon as he came out of the cave, he suddenly went weak and collapsed to the ground.

"Help me up. Why are you pretending to faint after causing trouble? Do you think you can get away with this?"

Young Master Zhou gave Zhou Fu a wink, and the latter then handed over a long whip. Young Master Zhou took the whip and swung it in mid-air, producing a piercing roar.

Young Master Zhou brandished his long whip, his eyes filled with disdain. He looked down at the craftsmen below as if they were ants. Now that these ants had actually damaged his work, Young Master Zhou was naturally furious.

"Is it you who just broke the rocks inside?"

Young Master Zhou's eyes turned to the person who stepped forward first.

"We will naturally deal with this properly, and everyone else will be implicated as well!"

When Young Master Zhou said this, although it was in line with everyone's impression, there was still an indignant look on his face.

Someone said, "This young master Zhou is too unreasonable. Why should we bear the consequences of his bad deeds? I think we need to explain things to him clearly." Upon hearing this, someone nearby immediately reached out and covered the man's mouth, whispering, "Do you still want to make money? If you talk back to him, he might beat you to death and no one will even collect your body!"

On the other side, the craftsman who caused the trouble simply collapsed to the ground, no longer daring to respond to Master Zhou's words.

Although they were all hired workers by Young Master Zhou, he treated them like slaves.

When he heard the long whip in Young Master Zhou's hand whistle again, the man could no longer hold on. He mumbled a few words, felt weak all over, and collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this, everyone wanted to go forward and help him up, but Young Master Zhou suddenly shouted, "Let's see who dares to move! This man caused trouble himself, so it's no big deal if he dies here. Are you thinking of saving him and sharing the blame?"

Young Master Zhou's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's hearts, instantly extinguishing any lingering desire to save the person.

Although it was heartbreaking to see the person exposed to the scorching sun, and although they were only unconscious for now, their lives would likely be in danger soon. But if they went to help, they would probably get beaten up again.

Thus, on the muddy ground, the craftsman lay there all alone, like a corpse left unattended.

Fang Yun just squatted not far away and watched this side. If he didn't want to hide his identity, given Fang Yun's personality, he probably would have jumped out and beaten this person up long ago.

This young master was dressed in fine clothes, looking every bit the wealthy man, yet he showed absolutely no compassion, which was truly despicable.

Fang Yun had been treated like this when he was very young. At that time, he made a vow that even if he could not become a leader or a great man, he would be a chivalrous hero who would uphold justice. Today, seeing a craftsman gradually losing his life under the scorching sun, Fang Yun had no choice but to take action.

Just then, Zhou Fu suddenly stepped forward and kicked the craftsman. The craftsman, jolted awake by the pain, rolled to the side and finally stopped under a wooden frame.

Although it looks terrible, the wooden frame does block the sun, so they won't be burned to death by the scorching sun.

“Young master, we are already short-handed with these craftsmen. If we want to complete this project as soon as possible, we need them to work hard. The best punishment for this man is to send him back to work more for me as soon as possible.”

Upon hearing this, Young Master Zhou nodded slightly.

"You're right, everyone needs to get on to the work schedule quickly. Anyone who dares to slack off will be in big trouble!"

Chapter 764 The Mysterious Tomb

Fang Yun hid behind a mountain hollow, hesitating whether or not to make a move.

Over the years, he had indeed witnessed many such scenes. He was no longer a child, and he had long known about such things; the world was a dog-eat-dog world, and no one could easily change that.

Since those farmhands had come here to work, they already knew this outcome. If Fang Yun acted rashly, it would inevitably enrage Young Master Zhou, and the farmhands would lose their jobs and be unable to earn commissions anymore.

Therefore, even if Fang Yun were willing to stand up for them, these people would not be grateful to him, and might even resent him for ruining their plans.

Therefore, Fang Yun could only sigh inwardly.

Childhood is the best; adolescence is still a dream.

Imagine the 19th century as an adult, with countless trivial matters and worries, and all sorts of mundane things coming your way.

I can no longer be as carefree as before. Even if I could take a long trip, I would probably be hesitant and unable to completely let go of my worries.

But childhood was a time when you could lie on the grass with your friends without restraint, keep a few pets, run around in the fields with cats and dogs, and feel the gentle breeze as you walk on the grass. It was such a wonderful feeling.

And when you get home, you'll be greeted with a steaming pot of fish soup, a plate of crispy fried peanuts, and a sweet cake...

Just thinking about these things made Fang Yun feel sweet; these were memories of childhood. Of course, Fang Yun also knew that these things were impossible to realize.

However, a fighting spirit towards life is also necessary.

Otherwise, like these craftsmen, although they endured humiliation and hardship just to make a living, which seems understandable, it also limited their future development and life.

Look at their dark faces and backs, and the sunburnt red skin on them. If there were still people like Zhou Gongzi, their skin would probably be covered with scars very soon.

Such a life, even if one toils all one's life, at best one will end up as a physically strong laborer, with no further meaning beyond supporting one's family.

If you learn to fight back, at least you won't be so submissive and spend your whole life doing menial tasks like digging dirt for others.

Even if making money isn't easy, at least you'll live a fulfilling life and won't have too many regrets.

Moreover, this is the kind of life that people live with dignity, and that's how people will respect you. Even if you don't have that much money on you, and your children can't afford to buy things, so what? After all, this is your own life.

“You’re all livestock, so you need to act like livestock, understand? If I see any of you slacking off or being clumsy again, you’ll have to pay for everything you’re supposed to lose!”

Young Master Zhou's words immediately caused the craftsmen to look bitter.

Digging is inherently an extremely unpredictable task; no one knows what's buried inside. If they were to follow what Young Master Zhou said—being in a hurry and not being clumsy—it would be like having their legs tied but still having to run fast.

Therefore, upon hearing this, many people's expressions became unnatural, but they dared not utter a word.

When they saw Young Master Zhou eating a lychee that the steward brought him while restoring his whip, their mouths were filled with white foam.

Although Young Master Zhou wasn't so cruel as to withhold even cheap water from them, he hadn't prepared much food either. The food was all blackened, bitter, and didn't fill their stomachs.

It is only because they are skilled diggers that they can endure hunger for so long. If it were an ordinary person, they would have collapsed long ago.

“Young Master Zhou… if we need to be careful about this, we might have to delay the construction schedule, and we certainly won’t be able to proceed at the same speed as before.”

After much deliberation, someone couldn't help but speak up.

Fang Yun, who was standing some distance away, was also taken aback by what he heard. He had thought that these people would not dare to speak up, but he did not expect that there were still brave people among them. He couldn't help but take another look at this person.

Upon hearing this, Young Master Zhou was about to shout and curse again, but the steward said at the right moment, "Young Master, what this person said is not entirely wrong. Look at those great thieves before, in order to avoid being discovered, they dug as hard as they could, and many of them were damaged."

"So, if we want to speed things up, we'll probably inevitably break some things. If we're not worried about the timeline, we can ask them to be more careful."