Colin Mine was a mine vein managed by the Foster Coal Mine Chamber of Commerce under the Mellor family. It mainly produced iron ore and was located in the western suburb of the slum area. Dudian hailed a carriage and went straight there with the three of them.
The number of carriages in the slum area was extremely small. Usually, only the managing class of various chambers of commerce or factories stationed in the slum area would take carriages for convenient travel.
It was the first time for Joseph and the other two to take a carriage, and they were a bit nervous. They didn't dare to move around for fear of soiling the horizontal chairs in the carriage.
Dudian knew that they were used to a hard life and it was difficult for them to get used to it all of a sudden, so he didn't say much. Half an hour later, they arrived in front of Colin Mine in the western suburb. In the small town in front of the mine, the most prominent and magnificent building was the branch of the Foster Coal Mine Chamber of Commerce responsible for this mine vein.
Dudian asked the carriage to stop in front of the chamber of commerce.
Getting off the carriage first, Dudian paid eight copper coins for the fare. Then he turned around and looked up at the chamber of commerce. He beckoned to Joseph and the other two and took the lead to the door of the chamber of commerce.
The two listless young guards chatting at the door straightened up a bit when they saw the people coming. After seeing that they were just a few children, they returned to their lazy posture. One of them looked Dudian up and down and said, "This is the Foster Chamber of Commerce. What do you want?"
Dudian said, "Ask the highest person in charge here to come and see me."
The two were taken aback. One of them rolled his eyes and said, "Little brother, you're from the residential area, right? If you're here to buy minerals or place an order on behalf of your master, there will be someone inside to receive you. As for wanting to see our branch president, he's too busy to pay attention to you."
Dudian took out his guard medal and said, "You just need to pass on the message. I'm here on behalf of the main family of the Mellor family."
The two guards were stunned when they saw the medal with crossed swords. They took a closer look and confirmed that it didn't seem to be forged. Then they looked at Dudian suspiciously. The one who had spoken earlier hesitated for a moment and said, "Please wait a moment. I'll go and ask. May I have your name?"
"He's not qualified to know even if I tell him." Dudian said indifferently.
The guard was muttering to himself when he heard Dudian's overbearing tone. But after all, the other party was a guard. Although he had no right to interfere in their chamber of commerce, if Dudian said he was here on behalf of the main family of the Mellor family, the meaning was different.
Soon, the guard ran inside.
Dudian followed in as well, and the other guard didn't dare to stop him.
Dudian entered the hall of the chamber of commerce and took a quick look around. Having seen the luxury and grandeur of various buildings in the commercial area, this hall of the chamber of commerce, which was considered high-end and magnificent in the slum area, seemed rather shabby in his eyes. He casually sat on a guest sofa and asked Joseph and the others to come and sit down to rest.
Joseph and the other two were nervous and restraint as it was their first time in such a luxurious and clean place. They closely followed behind Dudian.
After a while, the guard came back, and a tall woman followed behind him.
When the guard saw Dudian sitting and resting in the hall, he immediately said something respectfully to the woman behind him.
The woman looked at Dudian. When her eyes swept over Joseph and the other two sitting beside him, she frowned and a cold look appeared on her face. She came over and said, "Excuse me, are you the person sent by the main family of the Mellor family?"
Noticing the doubt and a hint of contempt in the woman's eyes, Dudian raised his eyebrows and said, "Are you the branch president here?"
"I'm the supervisor." The woman frowned when she saw that Dudian didn't answer but asked a question instead.
Dudian's face turned cold, but he didn't bother to pursue it. He said, "I'm here to retrieve someone, a miner who was assigned here not long ago. Can you make the decision on this matter?"
The tall woman immediately understood Dudian's intention and her expression was a bit displeased. "All the miners have already been registered as slaves. If you have a noble's written order, I can retrieve him for you. Otherwise, you must pay a high compensation fee to buy him. But even if you buy him, he will still be a slave, and there will be no compensation if he is killed by others."
Dudian took out his hunter's medal and said coldly, "Do you recognize this?"
The tall woman was taken aback and shook her head, saying, "I've never seen it."
"Then ask your branch president to come here!" Dudian said.
The tall woman was so angry that she was momentarily speechless. She said, "You're a guard, right? If you don't have a written order from the main family of the Mellor family, I have no right to inform him. The branch president is very busy and not everyone can see him. Even if you're a guard, you have no right to interfere in our chamber of commerce."
Dudian looked directly at her and said, "I can only tell you that with just a word from me, I can end your job. You're not qualified to know my identity. Be sensible and go and call your branch president here. Otherwise, you'll bear the consequences!"
The tall woman was so angry that she wanted to laugh, but when she saw Dudian's cold gaze, she couldn't laugh. She suddenly thought that since the other party could become a guard, he shouldn't be a crazy person. And hearing Dudian's overbearing tone, she was also a bit scared. Maybe the other party really had some background that she didn't know. She gritted her teeth slightly and said, "All right. Wait here. I'll go and inform the president for you."
After saying that, she turned around and left quickly.
Joseph and the other two were a bit stunned. They didn't expect Dudian to be so tough and domineering, which was completely different from the thin and taciturn boy they had remembered.
After a while, a middle-aged man in a black suit came over following the tall woman. He saw Dudian and the others from a distance and frowned, but he still maintained his courtesy and endured his temper as he stepped forward and said, "Hello, I'm the branch president here. May I ask who you are?" He scrutinized Dudian as if he was going to ask them to leave immediately if Dudian's answer didn't satisfy him.
Dudian naturally felt the doubt and impatience in the other party's eyes and didn't want to say more. He waved his hunter's medal and said, "Do you recognize this?"
The middle-aged man had sharp eyes and immediately saw the pattern on the medal. His pupils shrank in surprise, and he looked at Dudian in horror. He quickly reacted and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, sir."
Seeing that he recognized it, the coldness in Dudian's eyes subsided. He ordered, "I want to retrieve someone named Barton, a miner who was assigned here not long ago. You immediately ask him to come here."
The middle-aged man quickly said, "Yes, I'll do it right away." He turned back and waved his hand at the tall woman, indicating that she should deal with it immediately.
The tall woman was stunned when she saw his respectful attitude. She had only seen the president show such an attitude when someone from the general chamber of commerce came to inspect. She couldn't help but think of what Dudian had said earlier, and the hairs on her back stood up slightly. She felt a bit lucky that she had restrained her impulse. Otherwise, she might really have lost her job.
Half an hour later, the tall woman came back, bringing with her a thin and dark boy who was as small as a monkey. She frowned slightly, enduring the unpleasant smell on the boy, and brought him in front of Dudian. She said respectfully, "Sir, this is the person you want."
Dudian's eyes had already fallen on Barton. What stunned him was that after not seeing him for three years, Barton, who had a limp, was like a little old man. He was completely dark-skinned, extremely thin, and from the side, one could see rows of his ribs. His hair was messy, there was little flesh on his face, making his eye sockets sunken.
Barton's eyes, however, fell on Joseph and the other two, and he was a bit stunned.
Joseph and the other two recognized Barton at a glance and immediately jumped up from their seats and stepped forward, saying, "Old Ba, it's me. We've come to find you."
"Why have you become so thin?"
"Don't they even provide food for miners?"
The three of them looked at the thin Barton, feeling both surprised and heartbroken.
Barton's throat was hoarse, and he said in confusion, "Why, why are you here?"
"Dean brought us here." Clune pointed at Dudian on the sofa and said, "Dean redeemed us all."
"Du, Dudian?" Barton looked at Dudian in a daze.
Dudian didn't expect that just one year of working as a miner had tortured him like this. He sighed and said, "It's me. I'm late. Are you all right?"
Barton then confirmed that he hadn't mistaken him. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he said, "You still, you still remember me. I thought, I thought..."
Dudian sighed and said, "I went to other places in these three years and couldn't leave. Otherwise, I could have redeemed you earlier."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man was even more certain of his identity. He said respectfully, "Sir, Barton is the youngest miner here and has always been well taken care of. However, the living conditions of miners are originally poor, and you know this. So he has become like this, and there's nothing we can do about it. It's all the regulations from above."
"Shut up first." Dudian glanced at him.
The middle-aged man was taken aback and immediately closed his mouth without showing the slightest bit of temper. He knew what kind of person he was facing. Even if this person killed him, he would at most be punished a little. For such people, the only thing to do was to stay away from them.
The tall woman was taken aback and immediately felt that she had underestimated Dudian's identity.
"Let's go." Dudian stood up and said. He didn't pursue the matter. Although Barton's life here was definitely not as "well taken care of" as the middle-aged man had said, at least one thing the other party had said was right. This was all the regulations from above.
And the weak could only comply.