Autumn's footsteps set foot on the land of the Western Continent, and the scorching summer finally came to an end. It seemed that the weather had turned cooler overnight.
The sky has just dawned, and the sun has not shed its rays yet. The remaining cold breath of the night still wraps the streets and alleys of Aldernan. Confetti, the wind swirled between the buildings, and swirled again, blowing the bells hanging from the windows, making a tinkling sound.
Sam glanced up at the ringing bell, at the still-not-quite-bright sky outside, then lowered his head and continued to quickly swallow his not-so-good breakfast—a small pot of sticky vegetable soup , which is soaked with broken rough bread.
Soaking bread in soup can effectively speed up eating, while providing a rather effective sense of satiety, and can also reduce gastrointestinal discomfort caused by fast eating. This can be regarded as the wisdom and experience accumulated by civilians in life.
The daughter sat across from him, also devouring breakfast, and the wife had already left the house a quarter of an hour ago—the boss of the textile factory once again moved up the start time, and the female workers had to enter the factory half an hour before sunrise .
After swallowing the last mouthful of soup, Sam smacked his mouth and yawned deeply.
He was sleepy, his back and arms ached so badly that he felt the need to lie down and get a solid night's sleep for a day or two—but he knew that wasn't realistic.
There are mountains of boxes and barrels that need to be moved at the pier every day, and he has no holidays.
The daughter also finished her meal. The girl with flaxen curly hair stood up and tidied up the table swiftly. Her wrist was a little too thin, so that when she picked up the largest plate, it was even worrying whether her wrist would break off.
Sam couldn't help but glanced at his daughter: "Next eighth... we should be able to eat bacon once."
The flaxen-haired girl looked up, showing a surprised expression after a moment of astonishment. She brushed her hair and opened her eyes wide: "Really? Dad?"
"The station is being repaired in the south of the city. A lot of things are transported to the nearby pier every day, and then loaded and transported to the construction site. I should be able to earn a little more."
The daughter laughed, and there were some light yellow lines under her eyes and inside her lips.
Sam noticed the lines, but didn't say anything - they did make both his wife and himself feel nervous when they first appeared a few months ago, but now the months have passed, and the daughter doesn't feel anything wrong with her body Uncomfortable, it must not be something important.
Time was tight, and the father and daughter didn't have much time to talk after dinner. They quickly packed up their things and left the small rented house.
Another gust of wind blew from the street, rolled up Sam's collar, and he tightened his coat, which would soon look flimsy this season, and nodded to his daughter who was about to go in another direction: "Be careful, stay safe at night." Go straight home after work, don't stay on the street."
The daughter nodded, pressed the bonnet on her head, and quickly walked to the other direction of the street—at the end of that direction, a tall chimney loomed in the depths of Aldernan's iconic mist, and there were billowing waves in the mist. The smoke and dust continued to rise and float high into the sky.
She works in the burning rock acid chemical plant. As a child, her job is of course not to operate the furnace or push the material cart, but to clean the cooled air duct and recover the burning rock from the waste residue that can be processed again. Fragments—The air duct is narrow, and adults cannot enter it. This kind of work is done by children, and the wages are very low, but neither physical strength nor skill is required.
Sam watched his daughter walk around the far corner before turning his head and walking quickly towards the pier area.
When the cool wind blows, he can't help recalling some things—
He used to own a piece of land, just outside the city. Although it is not big and not too fertile, it can at least maintain the food and clothing of the family. Breakfast has milk mixed with water and a little sugar, which is sure to be eaten every week. Bacon, but since when has life been like this
Sam walked in the wind, and the smell of autumn reminded the farmer of the harvest, but "harvest" had nothing to do with him. That land had become part of Master Dürer's cotton plantation, where hundreds of serfs worked it—serfs were, of course, better workers than freemen.
Now Sam can only miss his land, but he can't do anything: Mr. Durer bought the land from him with thirty-seven silver coins, instead of taking it by force. The original contract was clear. , with the testimony of the judge and two members of the city, it is fair and appropriate.
Sam just didn't expect that the thirty-seven silver coins would be spent so quickly. The houses in the city are so expensive, and the clothes and food are much more expensive than he imagined. He wanted to start a small business, but found that That little money is not enough to get a license... He once thought that he had exchanged the land for a huge sum of money, but he never thought that the "big money" in his eyes was nothing in the world outside the town.
Many people dressed similarly to him also came out of their homes. These figures walked in the dim light of the early morning, in the mist of Aldernan, and walked towards factories, docks and construction sites.
Sam walked forward, slowly blending into the flow of people, becoming one of these people.
A newspaper that was discarded by someone was swept up by the wind, flew over Sam's head, and was finally blown by the wind on a nearby fence. The newspaper stretched out, and the bold letters on it were eye-catching and beautiful:
Salute to this harvest era.
…
"Salute to this harvest era, to our far-sighted Emperor, as well as to the diligent parliament and wise scholars; the accumulation of the empire over the past ten years is like a long cultivation, and at this moment it finally bears fruit... What a wonderful sentence Ah, don't you think so, Master Daniel?"
Viscount Hermiel sat on his favorite brown-red seat, waved the newspaper in his hand, and looked at the magician, the most prestigious university student in the imperial capital, with a smile on his face.
The refreshing aroma of incense lingers in this gorgeous and private reception room. Gentle and soothing palace music is being played from the spar device in the corner of the room. The windows not far away are open, but a layer of The shimmer shield filtered out the unpleasant fine smoke smell in the air, allowing only the fresh and cool morning breeze to blow into the room.
Daniel sat on the chair opposite Viscount Hemir in a relaxed posture, with the artificial nerve cord protruding from the hem of his clothes, and he stayed honestly: "Mr. Harbier? Reston is an excellent grammar master , is a well-known poet, even in those years when I lived in seclusion, I occasionally heard his verses circulated. It is undoubtedly a wise move for His Majesty the Emperor to choose this master as the editor-in-chief of the "Imperial Gazette" .”
"My tribute to Your Majesty," Viscount Hermiel laughed happily. He took the black tea on the small round table, lifted it up slightly to replace the fine wine, and then frowned again, "The newspaper is really good... It is said that Sergeant of the Kingdom of Ansu The Silers thought of this first, but unfortunately, when I heard this concept for the first time, I didn’t realize its function, so that a businessman like Polberg who had no taste and background became the author of "Empire" The first investor of the newspaper... so many members of the aristocratic council now have to pay that businessman to promote their products, that is a lot of money!"
"Money is endless, Mr. Viscount," Daniel said lightly, "Exploring new things is more valuable than that."
"Ah, you're right," Viscount Hermiel quickly restrained the complaint between his brows and eyes, as if he was afraid that this "worldly behavior" would disgust the wise old man in front of him, "I've always been keen on exploring new things , such as the magic train under construction recently, I am considering investing in it... "
"The train... the technology from Ansu Lai, but it is really worth investing in," Daniel frowned slightly, as if he was a little unhappy when talking about some new technologies that he couldn't even master, but he still nodded and said, " If you want to invest, you better move fast."
Viscount Hemir tasted the deep meaning in the other party's words: "Is there anyone else competing?"
Daniel nodded slightly: "I have gossip, don't spread it out. I heard that the nobles in the south are determined to get the qualifications to participate in the two railways under construction. For this reason, they even formed a group to raise funds, and also Borrowed a large sum of money from the Duke of Seven - an amount that would impress His Majesty the Emperor."
Viscount Hermiel was stunned for a moment, and suddenly showed anger: "Those vulgar southerners! They want to have a hand in everything!!"
"There is no way, my friend," Daniel said calmly, just like a true scholar, calmly analyzing the huge flow of interests, but his heart is not moved by interests, "The nobles in the south Cotton has already suffered a lot, and there are new plantations everywhere in the north. The cotton they planted last year has not been sold this year—now that the Cecilians are here to build the railway again, if the nobles in the south catch it again If they don't live up to this opportunity, they will really be overwhelmed."
"The railway... the railway... the railway cannot fall into the hands of those southerners!" Viscount Hermiel is a very smart person, and because he is keen to explore new things, he has always known a lot about cutting-edge and trendy things, so he naturally understands their respective values , "If they really want to control the north-south railway, even if they only get a certain priority within the scope of His Majesty's permission, then the transportation of this line will be up to them! His Majesty the Emperor will not be in such a matter Let's favor the North!"
"Yeah, when the time comes, they will solve the problem of inconvenient transportation, which is the biggest reason why Southern Cotton lost in the competition last year," Daniel helped analyze, "After the problem of transportation cost is solved or reduced... you are You know, Mr. Viscount, because of the climate and soil, the quality and yield of cotton in the south is indeed better than that in the north, and the plantations in the north can't compete at all."
"In the name of the God of Commerce! I just invested a large sum of money in Earl Durer's plantation! I also called several friends!" Viscount Hermiel couldn't help raising his voice, his aristocratic manner It was almost broken, "God, how can the Duke of Seven lend money to those southerners?"
"The Duke of Severn owns a bank, and the bank cannot refuse legitimate and legal loans," Daniel couldn't help reminding, "What's more, you also know that the wife of the Duke of Severn is from the south... He dare not offend that A strong lady."
"That's why I don't want to get married—it would ruin a man's dignity!" Viscount Hermiel stood up, pacing back and forth quite anxiously, and then suddenly stopped in front of Daniel, "Sorry, master, it seems I have to end this meeting early—it cannot be delayed. My personal loss is nothing, but I don't want to bear the partner's wrath."
"I can understand your feelings," Daniel stood up, and the artificial nerve cord behind him squirmed and contracted, "and it's time for me to leave—my apprentice is still waiting outside. Before leaving, I suggest you go to Talk it over with Earl Dürer—his contacts in Parliament will produce better results."
"Thank you for reminding me, you are really my good teacher and helpful friend," Viscount Hermiel stepped forward, grabbed Daniel's hand and shook it up and down, "If it wasn't for you, I don't know how many detours I would have taken!"
Daniel smiled slightly, and frankly accepted the gratitude of the revolutionary nobleman, and then waved to the coat rack next to him, let the staff and robe automatically fly to his hand, put it on himself, and then left the mansion of the viscount .
He came to the side of the road and got into the carriage waiting here. The female apprentice Mary sat in the carriage and seemed to have never left.
After a while, a carriage with a hanging emblem pulled out from the main gate of Viscount Hermiel's mansion, and hurried to the distance.
—Although Typhon's magic vehicle technology has made breakthroughs, and practical vehicles have entered the sight of the upper-class nobles, but because of its priority supply to the army and industrial construction, it has not yet been popularized among the middle- and lower-class nobles, and horse-drawn carriages are still the majority The choice of noble travel.
Daniel looked at the situation on the street through the gap in the car window, with a smile on his face.
Mary noticed this smile and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, you seem very happy?"
"Because I did our Majesty Augustus a favor..."
"Did Your Majesty a favor?" Mary looked confused.
"Yeah," Daniel said softly, "I helped him take some detours..."