Ejied felt that he had been extremely unlucky in his life. First, he became a prisoner of war during a tribal war, and then was sold to the distant New Orleans in the United States to work as a slave for plantation owners. Later, he met the "man who claimed to have rescued him".
"Underground Railroad", he finally escaped from New Orleans to New York. He originally could live a free and happy life from then on, but he didn't expect that life in New York would even be worse than when he was a slave in New Orleans.
Yes, I have freedom here, but the premise of freedom is to be able to survive. But now in order to survive, in order to get the little salary that can satisfy my hunger, I have to work hard every day. This kind of freedom seems to be meaningless.
!
On this day, just as he dragged his exhausted body back to his residence, he suddenly saw a very familiar person standing at the door, but he couldn't believe it was true because this was New York, not New Orleans.
ah!
Seeing Ejid's appearance, this acquaintance took the initiative to greet him: "Ejid, why don't you recognize me? I am Agubin!"
At this time, Ejid dared to confirm that he was not dazzled. The man in front of him was indeed Agubin, his companion who was sold from the tribe to New Orleans with him, so he stepped forward and hugged him hard and said: "Agubin, when will you escape?"
Coming to New York? And how did you find me?"
"Who said I escaped? I came here with my master!" Agubin shook his head and replied.
"What?! Did you come with the master?" Eged asked in disbelief.
Agubin nodded and replied: "Yes, the master went to New York for business and brought me because he could use me. By the way, do you know why the master asked me to come to you?"
"You don't want me to go back and continue to be his slave, do you?" Ejid replied in a joking tone.
Unexpectedly, Agubin nodded: "You can say so!"
Hearing what Agubin said, Ejid snorted coldly: "Agubin, you don't think I'm crazy, do you? Instead of being a good free man, you have to go back and be a slave with him?!"
Agubin quickly explained: "Don't worry, Ejid, listen to what I have to say. The master wants to take you back this time, but it is not to let you work on the plantation, but to let you do something else."
This job not only does not require physical exertion, but also gives me the same treatment as I do now. I can eat enough every day, eat one meal of meat in three days, don’t have to work, and have my own woman and house!
"
"Ah? Is this, is this still a slave?" Ejid opened his mouth wide and asked in disbelief.
"Of course it is, it's just that the work is different. Okay, let me ask you first, tell the truth, how does the life you are living now after coming to New York compare with the life you are living on the plantation before?" Agubin asked without answering.
road.
"Of course it's much better than working on a plantation. Now I can earn as much as I work every day, eat as much as I want, and don't go to work if I don't want to. I'm very free!" Ejid said proudly.
Agubin unceremoniously revealed: "But the price of not wanting to go to work is to be hungry, right? The workload in the factory is much greater than that in the plantation, right? And there are times when the plantation is not busy, but
There is no time for you to be idle in the factory, right? Because once the workload is not heavy, those factory owners will fire some workers to save costs, right?"
"You, how do you know?" Ejid asked awkwardly.
"Of course I know, and I also know that if you are injured at work, the factory owner will not only not treat you, but will also fire you directly; if you are old and can no longer work, the factory owner will not
You will be given an easy job, but you will also be fired, right?" Agubin asked.
"Yes, that's right. After all, no one wants to hire a worker who can't do the work." Egid replied nonchalantly.
"But would it be like this on a plantation? Have you seen any manor owner kicking an old or sick black slave out of the plantation? Unless he has a disease that can be transmitted to other people, wouldn't he always arrange for one?
Do you want to take a lighter job to support yourself?" Agubin asked loudly.
Although Ejid felt that something was wrong with what Agubin said, in general he could not refute it, so he had no choice but to nod and admit: "That's the truth!"
"If that's the case, do you still think that being a worker here is better than working on a plantation?" Agubin asked.
"Yes, but there is freedom here!" Eged insisted.
"But is this kind of freedom meaningful? Is it better to be free to starve to death and to die from exhaustion than to be a slave who can have a full stomach?" Agubin asked.
"I, I don't know!" Egede replied with a dejected look.
Seeing Ejid like this, Agubin knew that he had been shaken, so he said softly: "Actually, the purpose of my master sending me to find you this time is to hope that you can go back with us and spend your time in the northern factory.
The experiences inside should be explained to other black slave brothers in true and detailed way, so that they know that the real northern factories are not as beautiful as those underground railroad guys described!"
Hearing this, Ejid suddenly realized: "Oh, I understand. It turns out that the purpose of letting me go back is to persuade other black slave brothers not to escape with the underground railway, right?"
"You can say that, but don't you think other black slave brothers have the right to know? After all, those guys on the Underground Railroad did not tell the truth. Now you tell the other black slave brothers the real situation so that they can know the truth.
After the real situation, make your own choice, should you choose the so-called free life like you are now, where you work hard every day but can barely make ends meet, or should you choose the current stable and down-to-earth life where you can have enough food, clothing, a wife and a house like me?"
Then he changed the subject: "Of course, if you don't want to go back with us, I won't force you. I believe there will be people who are willing to go back with me to earn this easy life, and there will be quite a few of them! I just
Because you and I are from the same tribe, that’s why I came to you first, do you understand?”
Hearing what Agubin said, Ejid immediately hesitated, because he knew that if the treatment was like what Agubin said, other black slaves who had escaped from the plantation would definitely choose to go back. After all, the temptation of such treatment was so great.
It's too big, and the price is just to selectively tell some truths...
So after struggling for a long time, Ejid nodded and agreed: "Okay, I promise you, Agubin!"
"That's good. I'll go back and report to the boss. By the way, I'd like to remind you, don't call me Agubin again. The boss gave me a new name, Pascal!"