Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste
Chapter 132: Arriving at the Coal Mine

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Arriving at the Coal Mine

When the guard cautiously woke up Perfikot, the train she was on had already been parked at the coal mine station’s platform for an hour.

No one truly dared to wake this Northern Territory Countess as soon as the train arrived, even though she was only fourteen years old, there was no one in the Northern Territory who would actually treat her as a child.

Especially the guards who were with her, they had all witnessed or even participated in the large-scale search and executions in New Shaker City.

In their eyes, this young Countess was almost the embodiment of terror, the nickname Scarlet Alchemist was too unpleasant, but the Blood Countess wasn’t much better according to the guards.

If waking up Perfikot and disturbing her rest made her unhappy, no one wanted to suffer the consequences of her anger.

However, when Perfikot was woken up and understood that the soldiers took a whole hour before waking her and just let the train stay on the platform, and the mine’s management had also waited on the platform for an hour, her expression instantly turned very unpleasant.

"Someone, drag him out, strip him of his shirt, and whip him ten times, let everyone watch him receive his punishment!" Perfikot raised her hand to point at the soldier, simultaneously explaining the reason for his punishment as he was dragged out: "You disobeyed my orders and caused everyone to be delayed for a whole hour due to your mistake! If on the battlefield, this hour could change the outcome of a war! I could have directly executed you!

This time, since it’s your first offense, it’s just ten lashes, next time I’ll directly wring your neck! You, being my guards, must remember my orders are absolute! Whether you understand them or not, you strictly adhere to my orders!"

When Perfikot finished speaking, she noticed the other soldiers showing subtle sympathy and reluctance, possibly even a hint of resentment, understanding that they were sympathizing with the punished soldier.

After all, in a certain sense, he didn’t wake her because he wanted her to sleep a bit longer and feared incurring her anger.

Her punishment only made these guards feel she was inhumane and capricious, which would make them less willing to seriously follow her orders.

Thus, Perfikot promptly added: "If you incur my anger by executing my orders, I won’t punish you; instead, I will reward you because you followed my orders.

But if you disobey my orders for any other reason, regardless of your reasons, even if I’m assassinated and about to die, you save my life, you’ll still be punished because you disobeyed my orders!

I hope you remember this point, the soldier was punished because he disobeyed my orders, not because he incurred my anger! Does everyone understand?"

Perfikot spoke loudly on purpose, so all the guards around her could hear her words.

She didn’t know how effective it would be, but at least after she finished speaking, Perfikot could clearly sense some shifts in the soldiers’ emotions; their gaze toward her included more respect and awe, not just pure fear.

Soon, the soldier who violated the orders was stripped of his shirt and tied to a pillar at the station, where the whip punishment was executed personally by the leading lieutenant.

During the execution, the entire guard was assembled to witness the whole process along with the mine’s management personnel.

After carrying out the lash punishment, the leading lieutenant loudly explained to all the guards why this soldier was punished and reiterated Perfikot’s earlier words.

This considerably dispelled the dissatisfaction in the hearts of the mine’s management personnel, who had waited at the station platform for an hour in the cold.

Though, from a certain angle, it had elements of theatrics, it indeed had a significant effect on these relatively straightforward individuals.

At least, it solidified Perfikot’s authority, making compliance with her orders deeply ingrained in people’s hearts.

After dealing with the soldier, Perfikot finally could converse with the mine’s management personnel regarding the impact of the snowfall on the mine.

"Countess, the mine’s operation has completely halted for now, we have no way to continue working until the snow stops." An elderly manager explained to Perfikot, holding a pipe in his hand, though it was already extinguished.

Apparently, he finished smoking the tobacco earlier while waiting and found it inappropriate to continue smoking in the presence of the young Countess, so he just held it.

As he explained the situation, Perfikot’s gaze was cast towards the outside of the station.

The situation here was considerably worse compared to the fjord camp, with the snow hardly cleared at all, and after a night of snow, it was now higher than the station’s platform, looking very bleak.

Especially since the snow hadn’t stopped and continued at what could be called a heavy snowfall rate, making the accumulation visibly deepen.

Therefore, upon hearing the manager say they couldn’t resume production until the snow stops, Perfikot wasn’t surprised; she even shook her head with a cold sneer: "Stopping the snow? You probably won’t be able to resume production until this winter is over! With snow this deep, how are you supposed to continue mining coal?

Mind you, this is only the first snow of the Northern Territory’s winter; you have a whole winter to face, and the entire mine will be buried in snow."

Although when constructing the coal mine’s facilities, Perfikot had considered the impact of the Northern Territory’s heavy snow on coal mining, making some plans accordingly, yet even she had to admit she underestimated the Northern Territory’s snowstorm.

Buildings designed to deal with half a meter of snow turned useless when faced with snow exceeding half a meter deep.

"Perhaps we can try drilling a mine shaft? Although this is an open-pit coal mine, there are coal seams underground, drilling a mine shaft could eliminate snow interference and continue coal mining during winter." The engineer in glasses suggested a new idea.

Upon hearing this idea, Perfikot looked at others, asking: "How feasible is this idea?"

"We can indeed achieve it, but it’s winter and the ground is frozen, in this weather it’s difficult to dig through the frozen soil and drill a mine shaft..." The manager holding the pipe shook his head, subtly rejecting the suggestion.

Perfikot could see that if it weren’t in her presence, he would probably curse.

But Perfikot did not want the coal mining to halt, although she did not understand the related technical issues, but if it was simply about digging the frozen soil, she had a way.