A sharp sound that seemed to pierce the eardrums suddenly sounded. The pedestrians on the street only glanced sideways after hearing it, and then returned to their normal lives.
Similar things have long been commonplace.
A fat woman with wavy hair and heavy makeup twisted her waist and walked out of the room. While throwing the 1 shilling in her hand into her wallet, she rolled her eyes at the woman holding the boy behind her.
Pitiful?
Pity this mother and son, who pity her!
She makes a living by renting an apartment, and she is not doing charity. If everyone can't pay the rent and lives in the apartment for nothing, why should she drink the northwest wind?
By saying this, the fat woman had actually given the mother and son a few days of grace, which was the limit of her kindness.
In this world of cannibalism, kind people are always the first to be eaten.
The fat woman knocked on the door next door. The person who opened the door this time was a dirty coal miner with an unshaven beard and bloodshot eyes. He looked like a night watcher who had just come up from the mine.
"What are you looking at! You've never seen it before? Rent rent!"
The fat woman puffed up her chest and gave her a fierce look, which scared the coal miner to lower his head and quickly handed over the rent he had prepared.
"The rent is 2 shillings, you give me 4 shillings...what do you mean?" The fat woman glanced at the coins in her hand and hummed: "Is it to pay next week's rent in advance or something?"
The salary payment mechanism in the Kingdom of Windsor is mostly weekly salary, which is paid once a week. The method of salary payment determines the payment interval for workers to rent a house. Weekly salary means rent is paid once a week, and monthly salary means rent is paid once a month...
Things like this sudden overpayment of rent are rare.
"Mo...Molly's rent...I paid it for her..." the coal miner whispered.
The fat woman looked at the man in front of her, then glanced sideways at the closed room next door, and suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs: "Swan, did I hear you right? You want to pay Molly this week's rent?"
"You...don't shout..." The coal miner known as Swan quickly waved his hand, trying to stop the fat woman from shouting, but it was too late.
The door to the next door was open a gap.
"Since you are willing."
Jingle Bell...
There was a crisp sound when coins came into contact with each other. The fat woman threw 4 shillings into her wallet. At the same time, she took out the 1 shilling she had just received from Molly and her son and threw it to Swann: "After the price increase, the weekly rent is 2 shillings."
, I won’t charge more, this is Molly’s money, you give it back to her.”
"good..."
Looking at the man's spineless look, the fat woman clicked her tongue and said angrily: "The clothes are so dirty, is there no one to wash them for you? Give me 5 pence and I will wash them for you!"
Swann took two steps back, shook his head repeatedly, and declined the fat woman's kindness.
The fat woman didn't care at all, rolled her eyes, twisted her waist and walked to the next room, slamming the door with her thick and fat palm, and dust fell from the cracks in the door.
"Open the door! Pay the rent!"
Every Monday at 10 am, the tenants living in this apartment building will experience a bombardment of the fat woman's terrifying voice, on time, rain or shine.
If no one is home, do it again at 8pm.
Seeing the fat woman slamming the door roughly, Swann shook his head. Just as he was about to close the door and go to sleep, he saw the door next door open with a gap.
Molly, who was plainly dressed, came out and said to the man: "I...I made soup, do you want some?"
Swan nodded and silently followed Molly into the house. The narrow room was only a dozen square meters. There was a bed in the corner. Not far away was a charcoal stove with a chimney. There was no independent toilet, only a common place for washing hands and washing vegetables.
's pool.
Although the room is small, it is very clean. The washed clothes are hanging by the window, swaying in the wind, exuding the aroma of soap. The cooking pot on the stove is gurgling and steaming. The boy is sitting obediently at the dining table, motionless.
staring at the man.
"sit down."
"Um."
The dining table is small, circular and less than half a meter wide. In the middle is a basket of sliced bread, covered with white gauze.
Soon, the woman brought a bowl of curry fish soup and placed it first in front of the man. The man pushed the bowl to the boy next to him and waited for the second bowl.
Three bowls of fish soup and a few pieces of bread were a simple lunch. At the dining table, the three of them ate in silence. Suddenly, the boy raised his head and said, "Mom, I can go into the mine with Uncle Swan! I can make money in one day."
It’s 3p!”
Before the woman could speak, the man said first, "You should go to school."
"Why go there if you can't learn anything?"
"His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince is rectifying the public school. It is different from before."
"I dont go!"
The boy pushed away the bowl, jumped off the stool and rushed out of the door. The woman sighed helplessly: "Sorry, he didn't mean to..."
"I know." The man nodded slightly and continued to drink the soup.
"I will pay you back the money I owe you as soon as possible."
"No need." The man said, "I promised Rosen that I would take good care of you."
"Rosen has been dead for five years..." the woman said sadly, "It's not your fault that he died in the mine. You don't have to take care of us all the time for him."
"I was supposed to be on night duty that day, but I had a stomachache, so Rosen and I were asked to switch shifts."
The spoon stopped, and the man held the handle of the spoon tightly: "I should be the one who dies."
The woman began to sob slightly, and the man continued: "Although the rent has increased, you don't have to worry. I work the night shift and earn more than the day shift. From now on, I will pay the rent for you and let Turner go to school."
"He doesn't want to go to school..."
"For people like us, only by studying can we change the status quo. Without studying, Turner will only be a low-level worker like me in the future."
The man had no expression and seemed a little dull: "The fate of a mine worker is to die in the mine. If Rosen is like this, I can't escape."
"Swan..."
"I bought an insurance policy for myself. You should fill in the name of the beneficiary. If I die in a mine, remember to pick it up."
"I'm stuffed."
Putting down the spoon, the man stood up and walked towards the door.
"etc!"
The woman suddenly stopped him.
"Your clothes are dirty, take them off and I'll wash them for you."
............................
"Your Highness, this is the workers' opinion form submitted by the coal mine union."
Educators Association, Sean Rickman handed the report to Arthur, then sat across from the desk and lit a cigarette.
"The opinion of the coal miners...is that there is no opinion?"
Arthur looked at the content on the opinion form, frowned deeply, and then relaxed: "The Labor Representative Committee is all Shukri's people, how could they submit opinions that are unfavorable to themselves?"
Sean Rickman exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled: "Yes, Your Highness, they made up this opinion list. I guess they didn't consult the workers at all... What's interesting is that in order to make the opinion list
Looks more realistic and also added a few comments about wanting to increase the rest time.”
"It's still a lie." Arthur said.
"When will the evil deeds of these labor representatives be exposed? Isn't there any news from Father Mawei?"
"Don't call the priest by his name." Arthur reminded: "Be careful that walls have ears."
Gentleman Sean... No, it's Senator Sean now. He nodded and said: "How long do we have to wait? The Labor Party cannot formally introduce a bill if we cannot collect workers' demands."
"Wait until workers' tolerance reaches critical mass."
"That would hurt too many people."
Sean Rickman said solemnly: "Perhaps this can wake up more workers, but it is not necessarily correct, especially if we can predict the results in advance."
"If the workers cannot be united, the revolution is likely to fail. Once the revolution fails, all efforts will be in vain. At that time, who will speak out for the workers?"
Arthur said slowly: "Without suffering, there would be no struggle. Many people have already shed their blood. In order to prevent the blood of these people from being shed in vain, and to prevent more people from falling into the same situation, we must wait."
Sean Rickman smoked a cigarette and said nothing.
Not showing pity but showing mercy, but having kindness in mind.
Unable to endure the suffering, he drew his sword in anger.
knightship.
"There is no such thing as a successful person with personal heroism in this world. I know this is very charming, but unfortunately, the outcome of fighting alone will definitely be failure."
Arthur said: "The strength of the kingdom comes from the people, the strength of the union comes from the unity of workers, even gods must rely on believers."
"The aloof knight always wears silver armor, holds a long sword, and rides a horse across the vast wilderness. He is fearless even in the face of thousands of troops.
But which of the armor he wears and the sword in his hand was made by him himself?"
"Behind the heroes, there must be the unknown contributions of countless people, and most of these people are civilians."
Standing up, Arthur came to the window, looked at the busy streets below and said: "The country is a giant machine. We can't just look at the surface. The internal gears are necessary to keep the machine rotating."
"The task of a person in power is not to drive this huge machine, but to think about how to lubricate the gears in it. Only in this way can the machine continue to operate for a long time."
Arthur turned around, looked at Sean who was smoking and said: "For the country, no one is indispensable. The machine can run on its own. When faced with a crisis, it is not the people in power who rely on it, but the united people.
"
"call..."
Sean Rickman exhaled a puff of smoke and said quietly: "I understand, Your Highness, the so-called hero is not an individual, but a whole."
"It won't take long, Shukri and the others will pay the price."
Arthur said calmly:
"There is no free lunch in this world."
.....................................
The week has passed quickly. Compared with the calm of the past few days, London has not been peaceful in the past few days.
Especially Newham.
The soaring housing prices and rents have made it difficult for many people to afford them. More and more people are being evicted from their houses and losing their shelter. People with nowhere to go can only come to the workhouse to ask for help. Suddenly, the workhouse
Overcrowded.
In the workhouse, couples were forcibly separated, mothers and children were also separated, and men, women, and children were managed separately, just like prisons. They wore uniform clothes, ate sour and hard black bread, and pea soup that smelled of swill.
.
The original intention of establishing the workhouse was to relieve the poor so that they would not freeze to death in the snow. But now the situation seems to have become completely different. Many of the people who come to the workhouse are strong men.
I have a serious job and can earn a few pennies every day, but even so, I still have to bring my family and support me here.
Some people who were kicked out of their homes rented slightly cheaper apartments, while families living in cheap apartments faced few choices. They could either go to the park to build a shed, or go to a workhouse. The expensive rent left them shielded from the wind.
The bricks and tiles above the head to keep out the rain have become a luxury.
Perhaps it was fate that there was a heavy rain in London on a weekend night.
The rain washed the ground, taking away the soil, sand and gravel, and also took away the warmth and last glimmer of hope from many people.
In the rain curtain, a strong man jumped up to a high place and yelled like crazy. People did not stay away from him, but got closer and closer to him, like fire fighters gathering together.
The strong man didn't make any shocking remarks. He just pointed at the brightly lit wealthy area not far away, which looked warm and comfortable, and cursed.
The man's insults seemed to resonate, and people could not understand why some people were born in Rome, while others could never reach Rome in their lives and instead turned into cows and horses.
Did they not work hard enough?
They didn't know how to work hard anymore. Their confusion brought fear, and fear deepened their confusion. The man's abuse made them feel better, and it seemed that they could use this to vent their emotions.
Cursing and cursing, people were no longer confused, and they were no longer even afraid. The rain falling from the sky hit their faces, which was biting and cold, crackling and breaking, and it hurt like small stones.
"Fuck these sons of bitches!"
A loud shout suddenly erupted from the crowd, shaking everyone's mind like thunder. Some people looked around and saw only twisted, ferocious faces full of anger.
At this moment, the rain seemed to be falling harder.
The dull footsteps echoed in the rainy night, and the crowd rushed towards the rich area, holding strange weapons in their hands, staring intently at the flickering lights in the heavy rain, as if that place was the Garden of Eden, with endless drinks.
Milk, endless beef.
Just as they were about to cross the street, the carriage parked on the street suddenly opened its door. Arthur stepped out of the carriage, walked into the rain, and stood in front of the crowd.
"The fourth prince...it's the fourth prince!"
The crowd gradually became noisy. Some people had seen Arthur's photo in the newspaper. Celebrities like this are quite conspicuous.
Looking at the bustling crowd in front of him, Arthur ignored the frightened policeman not far away, nor did he look back at the frightened rich people lying by the window. Instead, he asked aloud:
"Everyone, what do you want to do?"
"I want to eat beef!" someone in the crowd shouted: "I want to drink! I want a warm blanket!"
"There!"
The man who was shouting from above raised his hand and pointed to the house behind Arthur: "There is everything there!"
The fourth prince is a good man.
Many people think so.
It is precisely because of this that everyone is willing to stop and stand in the rain to talk to Arthur.
He is a good man.
Not far away, Ma Wei, who was sitting in the carriage observing all this, suddenly opened the door and walked into the rain.
"Brother, what are you doing?"
Levin looked at him in surprise: "It's raining outside! Come in quickly!"
Ma Wei shook his head, looked at the crowd not far away and said: "They are soaking in the rain. At this moment, I should have the same feelings as them. Only in this way can I understand them."
Levin was stunned for a moment, thought for a few seconds, followed Yunia, entered the rain curtain, and stood next to Ma Wei.
Cold air hit him from all directions, and Levin shivered, as if something had been taken away from his body.