There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

Mr. Dick quickly clarified, "I injured my back while moving barrels! I was planning to ask you for the money I'd spent on alcohol over the past few months to hire a worker! You guys better stop this now!"

Boss Dart quickly noticed the key point: "You really hurt your back... How did you stand up so quickly just now?"

Mr. Dick was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then clutched his lower back and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

According to Popuri's later statistics, after hearing the horrific screams that day, their chicken farm's egg production dropped by a full third.

…………

"Ah... come help me up, I twisted my back..." Boss Dick wailed as he lay on the ground.

But Mr. Dart calmly poured his drink, saying, "It's good that the vital parts are alright."

Boss Dick gritted his teeth and said, "Do I look like I'm alright?! Help me up!"

Jeff, the boss, said with ill intent, "As long as you can get up there, it's fine. You seem quite comfortable lying down!"

Boss Dick roared, "Damn it! Why are you only concerned about my lower body? I feel like I'm about to be cut in two!"

Thomas the Tank Engine was indeed quite responsible. As the town mayor, he couldn't bear to see Mr. Dick suffer, so he finally bent down and reached out his hand...

He pried open Mr. Dick's tightly clenched hand and put the slip of paper with the phone number on it into his pocket.

I also sighed. The fact that Dick's Dick was safe and sound is the biggest thing in the world; everything else is insignificant.

This is truly something to celebrate!

"Hey, Mr. Dick, what are you doing lying here?"

Cliff, who had been looking for work on the street for the past two days, returned to the tavern and immediately saw Boss Dick lying on the ground.

Given the boy's innocent nature, he would have certainly stepped forward to help. However, not only was Dick lying on his back on the ground, but Old Sebala was also lying face down opposite him. The two of them occupied the ground in a symmetrical formation, one yin and one yang, as if they were performing some kind of mysterious ritual, which made Cliff hesitant to act rashly.

So he turned his attention to me, his good older brother.

"Don't help him up. Boss Dick is playing a 'whoever moves first is the tortoise' game with Sebala. You don't want Boss Dick to turn into Master Roshi, do you?"

Cliff scratched his head. "But Marcus, old Sebala is clearly asleep, while Boss Dick looks like he's in a lot of pain..."

I explained, "That's right! Look how much pain Mr. Dick is in, yet he's still persevering. How can you bear to ruin his efforts!"

Cliff immediately understood: "Oh! I get it!"

Mr. Dick lay on the ground, tears streaming down his face. He probably realized that entering this tavern today was the worst decision he had made in the past three months...

Chapter 589 Treasures of Human Civilization

"There's nothing seriously wrong with it."

The doctor, Dr. Dort, who was called in to provide on-site first aid, carefully examined Mr. Dick's injured lower back. After a thorough diagnosis, he finally confirmed that Mr. Dick was not in any danger.

However, Dr. Dort was still dissatisfied with such an unruly patient as Mr. Dick, saying, "Mr. Dick, I have already told you to pay attention to protecting the lesions, how can you still be so careless? If you continue like this, your lumbar spine disease will have no chance of recovery!"

Mr. Dick was finally helped up by Cliff and Dort, and sat on the sofa in the tavern, holding his back and breathing in the cold air.

"Doctor... hiss... if you encountered a shameless person spreading rumors about you... you wouldn't be able to stay this calm either..."

Upon hearing this, Dr. Dort turned to look at us, who were also present. We immediately turned our heads away, indicating that we were just ordinary Kamen Riders passing by and knew nothing about it.

Dr. Dart, seeing the furious Mr. Dick, returned to the bar and said, "Dick, don't be angry with us. With a sudden injury like yours, we wouldn't dare to help you up rashly. We definitely need to have Dr. Dort come first, and it's better to have a professional take care of you. This is for your own good!"

Mr. Dart's words were magnanimous and also explained our behavior of standing idly by earlier.

In cases of sudden illness, it is indeed safer to have a professional handle the situation – in case of an emergency such as a stroke or heart attack, carelessness could really lead to death.

"Oh...that makes some sense..."

After thinking for a moment, Boss Dick immediately retorted angrily, "That's not right! It makes no sense at all! If it weren't for you bastards spreading rumors, how could I have injured my back again! Don't try to change the subject!"

At this point, Mr. Dick's mind cleared up even more. "That's right! Pay me back! Pay me for my drinks!"

Mr. Dart looked at me with a complicated expression, whispered a few words in my ear, and then I immediately looked at him with a complicated expression as I moved closer to Mr. Dick, whose temples were already gray, and asked him earnestly.

"Boss, don't rush. You need the money to hire workers to help you brew wine?"

Mr. Dick replied with displeasure, "Yes, didn't I just say that?"

How many people do you need first?

"At least five!"

"Five people? That's not cheap..." I muttered to myself. "With the current labor market, there's a shortage of manpower everywhere. Boss, if you want to hire people to Mining Town, you'll have to provide them with food and lodging, which will make the cost even higher..."

Mr. Dick glanced at me, then gestured with his left hand, "I think it has to be this amount! My wine isn't finished yet, so I'm relying on Dart's money to get through this difficult time. And I need to lower the wages a bit, finding some easygoing, hardworking workers with low demands..."

This damned bourgeoisie actually dared to openly declare their intention to exploit workers right in front of me, it's really...

awesome!

"Mr. Dick, you said you need five people. What will they mainly do? Are you planning to hire them as apprentices and pass on your brewing skills to them?"

As soon as I asked the question, Boss Dick looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "That's impossible!"

Despite his aching back, capitalist Dick waved his hand firmly and said, "My brewing technique is a closely guarded secret! No one can steal it from me! I'll take it to my grave!"

Then, completely puzzled, I asked, "So, this is the price..."

I mimicked his gesture from earlier, "Hiring five people is a stretch..."

"...Was it really that difficult?"

"Very difficult!"

Mr. Dick sighed, “It’s alright, I’ve done the calculations. I’ve basically got the process for this batch of wine sorted out. The main problem now is that we need people to carry the 500-pound barrels out of the cellar and then put the newly filled barrels into the temperature- and humidity-controlled cellar to wait for fermentation. Five people are mainly needed for the initial period, and then two more people will be needed to help out later.”

Hearing this, I knew what to do. I patted Cliff, who was staring blankly at the TV, and said, "Boss, what do you think of this young man?"

"Cliff?"

Mr. Dick recognized the young man who had suddenly barged in and immediately understood what I was trying to say.

"Is he stupid enough... oh no, is he capable enough? If he's willing to work, then there's definitely no problem. But there's only one person, which isn't enough..."

A sly glint flashed in his eyes; he knew I was acting as an intermediary for Boss Dart's failure to repay his debt, so he quickly said that the price was far from enough.

From any perspective, Cliff is the most suitable person at present.

First, this person is already in Mineral Town, so he can take up his post immediately without any delay; second, he has been living in the inn above the tavern, so food and lodging are not a problem, saving the cost of providing food and lodging for hired workers; even better, this person's moral character is currently flawless, so we can trust him with peace of mind.

But bargaining was also Dick's habit, and he said that one person wasn't enough and that more money would be needed!

Dick's idea was excellent, but he misjudged the mindset of the unemployed man, Cliff.

This young man had been completely unemployed for the past two days, and if he waited any longer, he would soon have to find another job. When he suddenly heard that someone was willing to hire him, he immediately showed great enthusiasm.

"Boss! You don't need to worry about that! I'm in excellent health, and I can easily do the work of three to five people!"

The words that were swirling in his mind were instantly cut short by Cliff's interruption, leaving him no chance to speak. Mr. Dick awkwardly opened his mouth to look at Mr. Dart, then asked, "Uh, I didn't quite catch that... what did you say?"

Cliff quickly patted his chest and said, "I'm enough on my own! I can get to work right now! Do you need me to help you back?"

Mr. Dart gloated, "Dick, you've struck gold! Don't waste this opportunity. If you don't agree soon, Jeff will recruit him!"

Upon hearing this, Dick decisively gave up on haggling. After all, capable people are easy to find, but those who work blindly and foolishly are rare. "I want him! I'll take him! Jeff, you get out of the way!"

Jeff slyly gestured to Boss Dart, indicating that Boss Dick was his good brother and he couldn't cheat him—unless he offered more money.

But Mr. Dick still had some concerns, "Are you really sure you can handle this? I'm going to have to move a whole barrel of wine, each weighing 500 pounds, from the cellar to the surface in the next couple of days..."

Seeing that Cliff was finally going to have a foothold in this small town, I went along with it and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Dick, I don't have anything to do today. I'll take care of moving these barrels for you."

Mr. Dick slowly stood up, supporting his back. "You're here to help? That's a whole hundred barrels!"

I looked at him dismissively.

"That's just going back and forth fifty times, it won't take an hour."

…………

After successfully recommending Cliff to become a long-term worker at Mr. Dick's winery, I felt relieved. It wasn't just about giving this honest young man an explanation, but also about protecting Mr. Dart's money and ensuring my television was delivered safely.

...If Mr. Dart hadn't threatened me with a color television, I wouldn't have had to personally move those mountain of barrels.

According to Mr. Dart, the television has already been shipped and is on its way across the ocean. It will arrive in just a few more days.

I have high expectations for this appliance; at the very least, it will add some entertainment to my otherwise meager leisure time.

The colony system does have recreational facilities available, but since there's no one on my ranch to play chess with, the chessboard is useless, leaving only a horseshoe, which is better than nothing, for amusement.

But can anyone tell me what's so interesting about this project of throwing horseshoes at nails on the ground?

It's fine to specifically invite someone to play chess, but who in their right mind would play board games... oh no, who in their right mind would waste their time on that?

So, in my boring free time, I actually discovered that teaching Mei and You is now quite an interesting activity.

For example, this morning, after the two diligent and eager-to-learn elementary school students arrived, we began a new day of classes.

"Today, we'll continue with the lesson. How did you do with your homework from the day before yesterday?"

Mei and You immediately held up the small wooden carving in their hands and placed it on the desk for me to inspect.

After comparison, I could clearly see that Mei's handicrafts were more exquisite. After more than a day of polishing, the wood was smooth and delicate, and the grain was clear and beautiful, perfectly meeting my requirements. There was even a hole drilled at the top of the wood, just the right size to thread a rope through, which I suppose was made by Old Muqi for his granddaughter.

As a little boy, Yu's creations were much rougher, with many burrs remaining. I initially wanted to criticize his attitude, but I quickly noticed the cutting marks on the small pieces of wood.

The small piece of wood in his hand seemed to have been artificially shaped, transforming its irregular structure into a teardrop shape. It was precisely because of this artificial cutting that the edges and corners were not rounded and full.

"Hmm...very well done."

Children's creativity is beyond my imagination, and their pursuit of beauty is not to be underestimated. Since these two little ones have already developed a nascent aesthetic sense, let them continue to cultivate it in this area.

"Mr. Marcus, what are we going to learn today?" May asked.

I stroked my chin and guessed what I was doing before saying, "I'm planning to teach you an art class today."

Yu excitedly banged on the table and said, "Is it a course like Boss Jeff's, where we paint on a canvas? I've wanted to try it for ages!"

Mei said to her friend, "You, what you're talking about is oil painting, which requires paint and canvas. There's no way you can have those here!"

Drawing is certainly a great way to teach art, but where am I supposed to find such a luxury as a canvas? I can't exactly have them draw sand art from the ground, can I?

But coming from Mei's mouth, I always felt that this educational institution, which called itself "Heavenly God Elementary School," was actually at most a "Western Hope Elementary School," and was extremely poor.

Not having classrooms or textbooks is one thing, but I'm also a part-time teacher for all subjects. But not even having all the necessary materials for lessons, forcing me to teach according to individual student needs, is truly tragic…

"Hmm... there are many forms of art classes. Pottery, paper cutting, and sketching are all good choices. It doesn't necessarily have to be oil painting..."