Suldak stopped the magic caravan and asked the coachman to wait by the roadside. He pulled Thea into a street filled with sewage.
It had just rained yesterday, and water was still dripping down from the eaves. The water in the culvert next to the street was almost overflowing, with various debris floating on it, and the sewage flowed into the moat at the end of the street.
The stone slabs paved on this street have been exposed to wind, sun, and trampling for countless years. Many of the stone slabs have cracked. The weeds in the cracks have been cleared away, but some stone cracks and depressions are covered with moss.
, the whole street smelled of rotten musty smell.
Siya wore a long cross-grained skirt with a white lace hem. In order to prevent the skirt from getting stained, she could only hold it with both hands, exposing a section of her snow-white calves. On her feet were a pair of crystal slippers.
, this skirt must have cost her a lot of money. It actually has a mini version of the mist circle inside the skirt, which can keep her legs moisturized by the water mist, thus avoiding dryness and cracking caused by being out of the water for a long time.
She didn't like this environment very much, but she didn't want to wait alone in the carriage, so she bit her soft lips and followed Suldak.
…
A drop of rain falls from the eaves...
Suldak was walking in the alley, stretched out his hand to catch the water droplets in his palm, and the cold water droplets exploded with a 'pop' sound. The wonderful feeling was very Zen.
It is a perfect control of space after the spiritual power spreads outward. Recently, he will try to enter that door every night and take an exhausting winter swim. When he wakes up in the morning, his whole body and mind will become empty, and then
You will feel that your limbs and bones are constantly being infused with spiritual power, just like countless streams converging into a large river, and finally returning to the sea of spirituality.
The torrent formed in the sea of spiritual consciousness made Surdak feel that his body became stronger under the wash of this spiritual torrent, and the sea of spiritual consciousness was also growing.
Walking into the alley, Suldak didn't want to comprehend anything, but he wanted to see the real life of the people here.
This kind of pigeon cage-like house takes up almost every inch of available space. It has been raining recently, and the air is full of water vapor, making the inside of the house even more humid. The buildings here are very dense, so there is no good ventilation at all, and there are many window sills.
All the blankets and beddings were hung out to dry.
Some women are sitting in front of their homes with their children. They may be knitting a sweater in their hands, or they may be holding some hard leather corners, using a template in the shape of a shoe sole to draw an outline on it, and then using a sharp scraper to cut the hard leather.
The carapace is scraped off little by little to form the shape of the sole.
They carried the younger children on their backs and let the older children play in the street.
When the children saw Surdak and Siya walking side by side from the street, some of them did not dare to come forward and hid in the musty-smelling rooms, only sticking their heads out to reveal their dirty little faces.
The houses here are all shared by several families. Suldak stepped into a courtyard. There was actually a well in the courtyard. A group of women were washing clothes around the well, looking at the piles of clothes beside them.
Dirty clothes, obviously these women are all laundresses.
The younger girls were drying their washed clothes in the rope-lined yard, while the two older girls stood by the well and kept fetching water.
Although it's not summer yet, the clothes they wear are very cool.
Surdak wanted to exit the courtyard, but when he turned around, he discovered that there was a small, dark wooden house in the corner of the courtyard entrance. It looked like a toilet, and a series of rapid "squeaks" came from inside.
, then a man who looked like a hard worker came out with his trousers, hung his shriveled money bag on his belt again, and walked out of the yard without looking back.
A young woman walked out of the house immediately, adjusting her shoulder straps as she walked. She squatted next to the well holding a wooden basin, washing clothes alone. There were piles of dirty clothes around her.
The women around her seemed unwilling to pay attention to her. Although the women did not say anything harsh to her, there was a hint of contempt in their eyes.
When Suldak walked out of the yard, he saw an old woman sitting on the steps at the door, squinting in the sun. She squinted her eyes, and her eyes looked a little cloudy. In addition to wrinkles, there were some age spots on her face.
, it can be seen that she is very old, and maybe she will never be able to open her eyes again tomorrow to look at the sun above her head.
Surdak sat down next to the old woman. Perhaps the sun was blocked when Surdak passed by just now. The old woman squinted her eyes slightly, but her gaze fell on him.
Maybe it's because the aristocratic dress on his body is so exquisite that it dazzles...
"How long have you lived here?" Surdak asked curiously.
"I have been working as a washer here for many years when I was a child. When there was an iron mine in the past, the living conditions of the craftsmen here were very good. There were at least dozens of laundries here. Later, the mine finally could no longer be dug.
After the iron mines were mined, the steel workshops here were in decline, and there weren't even that many people coming here to wash clothes." The old woman would take a breath after saying a few words, but she was very talkative.
Only then did Suldak realize that the courtyard he had just entered was actually a laundry.
At this time, a man pushing a wooden cart walked in from the alley. The cart was almost full of dirty clothes. He came to the door of the workshop and carried bundles of dirty clothes into the yard. After doing this, he
Sitting at the door with a tired face and drinking water.
Seeing Surdak sitting next to him in a noble dress, chatting with the old woman, he stood up and said respectfully to Surdak: "My lord, what can I do for you?"
Suldak paused and asked the man, "Are you the owner of this laundry?"
The man showed a simple smile and said: "There is no boss here! I am just the one who goes out to collect clothes, and all the clothes I collect have to be sent here to be starched."
"How is business here?" Suldak asked like a man, looking at the two-wheeled cart whose rubber was almost worn out.
The man thought seriously for a moment, and said with a bitter smile on his dark face: "Usually there are only two cars, but the situation is much better these days. Sometimes we can receive four cars, each car can hold about fifty pieces of clothing, you can
A reporter from the Times newspaper?”
Only at the end did the man remember to ask about Suldak's identity.
Surdak shook his head and said: "No, I'm just curious about this and want to know more! How much does it cost for each piece of clothing to be washed?"
"The work clothes I collected are difficult to wash. The washing fee for each piece is about two copper coins. If I pay them one copper coin per piece, it is basically settled based on the number of pieces. In winter, it will cost more. In summer, it will be cheaper.
, but you have to pay extra for ironing. The laundry is cleaner in this laundry. We are a cooperative relationship..."
The man smiled and glanced at the old woman sitting at the door, and then said to Suldak: "My father used to collect clothes, and now that he is old, he gave this stall to me... Although the business is not good this year.
It’s not too good, but at least it’s much better than last year…”
Then he took Siya and left from this alley...
It wasn't until she reached the wider main street that Siya finally let go of her hand holding the skirt, and then let out a long breath.
"Is this the slum area of Luyint City? In fact, there is a place like this in the City of the Seven Worlds in the Seven Seas..." Siya said while standing in Surdak.
Suldak walked out of the alley, feeling a little relieved.
In fact, after all, the people here are not as miserable as the refugees in the deserted land.
After boarding the magic caravan, Surdak said to Thea:
"This is a group of people living at the bottom of the city. Maybe there are even more miserable people..."
"For them, life is always full of misfortune."
"Thea, look at this Luyint City. At least half of the people in this city are crowded in this dirty and messy area."
"Also nearly one-third of the residents live in urban areas."
"The remaining people are businessmen and nobles, but many of the nobles' families are gradually declining. It is estimated that it is very difficult for them to maintain even the most basic dignity."
"So there are very few aristocrats who can enjoy a luxurious life. Look at the top-notch mansions in the highest parts of the city. There are only more than seventy mansions in the aristocratic area of the huge city, but the land area they occupy is almost the same as this slum area."
"Do you know the population of Luyint City? Three hundred and thirty thousand."
"I am not going to seek more benefits for the nobles who are already living very wealthy lives. I want to raise the living standard of the residents of Luyint City so that their lives can be slightly better."
Surdak looked out the window, and saw the smell of fried food coming from the street, as well as the strong bitterness of oil smoke...
"What is this? Social responsibility?" Xi Yahu's blue eyes became extremely bright, with a look of admiration in his eyes.
Surdak smiled and spread his hands and said: "How can I be so noble? Only when the entire city becomes rich, will the overall value of Luyint City continue to increase. Marquis Luther took over more than just Luyint.
The management rights of the city, as well as a large number of McDonnell family properties. Although most of these properties have gone bankrupt, the manors and large tracts of land are still there. If you want to increase the value of these assets, you cannot do without the prosperity of Luyint City..."
Siya followed Suldak's gaze and looked out the car window at the crowds of people on the street. She held the sheepskin book to her heart with one hand and asked, "Dak, what are you going to do next?"
"I plan to renovate this ghetto..." Suldak said.
He pointed to the area in front of him that was almost closely connected to the steel workshop and said: "If conditions permit, I will demolish all the pigeon cages inside. Although these houses are extremely compact, their layout is very poor.
.”
"Look at the small townhouses in Duodan Town. If this place is renovated in the future, I plan to design it into a living area with complete facilities."
"Not only must there be a market around, but there must also be a war college open to civilians..." (To be continued.)