‘Gong farmers’ were in charge of human waste
During the Middle Ages, there were no bathrooms. If someone wanted to “do the royal squat,” to put it in a clean way, that meant using a privy. Beneath these, there were large holes called cesspits where the poop would fall. Over time, the cesspits would fill up and start overflowing.
That is when the gong farmers had to step in and empty them. The word “gong” came from “going.” And the part of “farmer” was because they “harvested” the product for months and even years of the “going.” To ensure everything was removed, these poor workers had to go into the cesspits.