Twenty Seven Years

  Chapter 307 Untitled

  On the evening of May 6th

  Two trucks drove into Kipu City and stopped in front of a warehouse in the urban area that was the closest to the substation and the least noticeable.

After receiving the news yesterday, Old Meren, the person in charge of the Kip City Substation, rented this unremarkable warehouse in advance. He plans to carry out some simple renovations on the warehouse in the next few days, and use it for the comrades sent by the main station. where our offices operate.

"Long time no see, Comrade Melen." Verac, Keating, Winston, Nord, Murphy and nearly ten other comrades dispatched to assist in the work got out of the car and greeted Melen in front of the warehouse gate. Wait for comrades to shake hands.

   "I heard that Laizein's side is going very well!" The old Melen with white hair and kind eyes invited Verac and others to enter the warehouse, "Let's come in and talk."

  The warehouse covers an area of ​​about 300 square meters and is divided into two floors. There are all kinds of cargo boxes and sundries piled up on the first floor. Old Meren leads a group of people up the unremarkable stairs on one side, and arrives at the room that has been preliminarily cleaned and equipped with beds, desks, chairs, daily necessities, etc. second floor.

  While taking people to visit the old Melun, he explained the renovation plan of each area: "This area is planned to be a conference room, this area is an office area, and this area is a rest area..."

Verak followed the plan and listened to the basically decent environment, and sighed: "I just started preparing yesterday, right? It's already done so well. Think about us before, a group of people couldn't even get together a desk Come out, really emotional."

   "Now that our strength is much stronger, this is nothing. The follow-up is to try to get everything ready within two days, so that you can work with peace of mind and complete the tasks assigned by the above." Old Melen said with a smile.

   "I'm sorry to trouble you." Verak thanked.

Everyone stopped at the most open place on the second floor. As an experienced introducer, Verac first introduced the comrades at the substation to the people who were transferred from Laizein on this trip: "Old rules, let's get to know each other. I It's Most Verak, this is Comrade Winston who we specially recruited in Pluman. He has made outstanding achievements in theoretical research. This is Comrade Andrei, who previously served as a Factory owner, the three of us are here to take charge of setting up the pilot factory."

"My name is Robin Keating, and I am the principal of the soon-to-be-established Equality Club School. This is Nord, and this is Murphy. They have worked in the study class and the workers' night school. These are Athena , Elsa, Donald... They are responsible for assisting me in the site selection and establishment of the club school." Keating introduced a team of people on his side.

"Then let me introduce the people from our sub-station to the comrades transferred from Laizein." After Verac and Keating finished speaking, the old Meren said, "My name is Melen, and I am Kip from the Equality Association. The station master of the city branch. This is Comrade Benedict, who is in charge of the publicity work of Kip City. This is Comrade Catherine, who is in charge of personnel management. This is Comrade Primo, who is in charge of finance and logistics.”

   After a brief acquaintance, the two parties sat down one after another.

"Comrade Verac, Comrade Keating, the notice I received did not mention the specific start time of your work. I wonder if you plan to prepare immediately, or take a break?" Old Meren asked for details, so as to be timely provide needed help.

"Of course I still hope that the sooner the better, as for the rest, just go to bed early tonight." Verak doesn't think they need any rest when they come to Kip City. "Our two tasks are carried out at the same time. What we have to do together is Select the site, decide on a place suitable for setting up a factory and establishing a club school, and then do other things around it."

"You can let Comrade Benedict and Comrade Catherine assist you respectively. Both of them are very familiar with Kip City, and because of their work, they have connections everywhere, which can facilitate you in many ways. Comrade Primo Now he is busy with work. On the one hand, he needs to connect with Laizein to receive the funds and materials allocated to support you, and on the other hand, he has to hurry up and dispatch people to improve the warehouse. "Old Mellon immediately assigned Benedict and Catherine, who were engaged in publicity and personnel affairs in the sub-station, to help Verac and Keating.

"Hi, next I can take you to familiarize yourself with Kip City and give you some suggestions for your site selection." Benedict looked less than thirty years old in a suit and leather shoes, but he had an old-fashioned look on his body inexplicably. temperament.

"Similarly, I also know the situation in Kip City very well." Catherine is a little younger than Benedict, with a simple and capable ponytail, and her back is straighter than anyone else. She is very aggressive at first glance. people.

   Keating, who was always amiable, looked at the two comrades at the branch station: "I will trouble you two later."

"If you are going to choose a location tomorrow, I will ask them to go directly to you and connect with you." Old Melen said, "It's getting late now, so I'll arrange for you to go to a nearby hotel under our control Rest. When the warehouse is ready, you can live here directly, without having to run back and forth."

   "There are hotels under our control here?" Verak felt that there seemed to be a hotel under the name of each substation.

   "Of course, almost every site will open or purchase a hotel to accommodate comrades and earn money." Old Melen stood up, "I'll take you there, let's go."

   It has been a month since Verac and the others came to Kip City last time. During this month, Kip City has also lowered its vigilance along with the loosening of the supervision from Laizein. There is no curfew at night, and because there are no active events of the Equality Association, there are no frequent patrol guards.

The old Melen took a group of people to the hotel which was less than a few hundred meters away from the warehouse, and introduced the comrades in charge of running the hotel for a few minutes. Afterwards, the hotel owner settled more than a dozen comrades in the hotel In the room on the third floor.

  Actually, I will show them tomorrow that Benedict and Catherine of Kip City, as well as most of the comrades in the sub-station, also rest here, even if they want to talk at night, it will not be troublesome.

   But Verac and the others just arrived, so they didn't come up and pull the comrades to stay up late to study things.

  After packing up their luggage, most of the people washed and rested. Only Keating and Winston, who were used to working until the early hours of the week, came to Verak's room to discuss matters together.

   "After you choose a location to open a factory, what kind of experiments will you do?" Keating was curious about what Verac and Winston would do next.

   "Are you or am I?" Verack asked Winston.

   "Come on." Winston asked Verack to explain the plan.

"Okay." Verak immediately talked about their plan, "We believe that even if we want to build a new world, the factory will not be replaced, and we will not give up production because of this, so if we want to achieve innovation in this area, we must start from Make a fundamental change in the system. What we have to do is to try to change in the pilot factory to see if the new system we propose is more advanced, more effective and more valuable, and to ensure the balance of interests of various groups.”

   Keating was thoughtful.

"In the existing factories, the factory owners are exploiting the workers without a bottom line. The workers would rather die. The first thing we need to do is to get rid of this kind of exploitation and restore a healthy and equal environment for the workers to improve their lives. and labor conditions.” Vilak said, “For example, give workers some favorable treatment, set up factories and stores, and sell them products at a lower price than the normal market. Refuse child labor, arrange these children in the established kindergartens, accept Free education and trusteeship. Reduce the working hours of workers, increase their wages, and improve the benefits of food and accommodation. Improve protection for emergencies, ensure that workers are compensated after injury, and can receive subsidies in the future. Opening a school for workers provides free education Learning channels, running factory entertainment centers, helping workers relax and boosting their enthusiasm, which translates into higher productivity.”

   "Each of these items is not available in other factories. Now if they are added together, the cost will become very high?" Keating asked.

"Yes, according to my calculations, the cost of these reforms will increase a lot, and the factory may fall into a state of low profit or loss. But the reason why we want to try this is to see if those uncalculated, human factors This situation can be reversed. If we can achieve better profitability than those oppressive and exploitative factories after such reforms, it means that this is feasible and can be promoted to more places. We can balance the interests of all parties to achieve a win-win situation Yes." Winston said.

   Keating asked again: "What if the experiment fails?"

   "Then we will re-examine all links and make some adjustments. If this also doesn't work, we can only find a new solution from the ground up." When it was time to implement it, Winston felt a little uncertain.

   "Your task is very difficult." Keating knew that there were many problems to be solved. "This is a road that has never been taken before. There are too many problems that need to be overcome."

   "It's the same for you. The club school is related to whether we can have a steady stream of strength injection, and it is the greatest confidence in our struggle to the end." Verak felt that Keating's side was also difficult to do.

   Keating smiled: "Let's go to bed early, there will be too many things to do tomorrow."

"OK, good night."

  Winston and Keating left, and Verac also lay down and fell into a deep sleep after washing.

  —

  May 7th, early morning

   After Benedict and Catherine had dinner with Verac, Keating and others, they took them to various places to learn about the situation.

  Villac, Winston, Andre, and Benedict first came to an industrial area in the south of Kip City.

"This is one of the main industrial areas in Kip City. It basically does light industry. I would suggest setting up a trial factory here. On the one hand, the cost will be relatively low, and on the other hand, it will be much faster to get started." Benedict pointed There are many factories around, and they also mentioned their own opinions in addition to the introduction.

   "Comrade Andre, what do you think?" Verak looked at the tall Andre beside him.

  When they attacked the government building more than half a year ago, all members moved to the factory in the North District to take shelter, and they were settled by the factory owner Andre.

  This time when we came to set up a factory, we needed an experienced factory owner to assist, so Verak thought of asking Comrade Andre to come with him.

"Comrade Benedict is very reasonable. Light industry is the most suitable for us. We also planned this way early on, so we must first consider the light industry area. But is this location too sensitive? We do so much The reform will definitely be noticed by many people, and it would be safer if we could choose to be in the suburbs, as remote as a heavy industrial area.” Andre retained some vigilance in Laizein, worried that doing so under the nose of the government things will be watched.

"But if we choose a remote place, our cost will actually increase. I think we can't avoid being sensitive when we do such a thing, and we can't avoid being hostile by other factory owners. Instead of giving in when it is unavoidable, It’s better to face the difficulties directly and be brave enough to accept the test of anyone in the most conspicuous place.” Verak advocates making a big deal and letting everyone know that it doesn’t matter.

They did this with the intention of promoting it to more places after success. If they can spread it now, let more people know that there is a maverick factory here. There is much more money than when it was squeezed before, so it is also of great help.

  Andre accepted Veraker's idea: "...well, that's right. We do things right in front of their eyes, which is more convincing than anything else."

   "Comrade Benedict, is there a light industrial area besides this?" Willak asked.

   "There is another one in the north." Benedict said, "The rest is a large heavy industrial area."

"We don't consider the heavy industrial zone. Today we will try to go through the two light industrial zones and find out which ones are on the verge of bankruptcy. It is more convenient for us to buy one than to rebuild it, and then we can try to reform and operate it." Wei Wei Lark decided that the final factories would be located in these two light industrial areas.

   "Okay, let's go." Benedict continued to take the three of them to visit and investigate.

  —

   At noon, the four of them returned to the hotel and joined Old Meren, Keating and the others.

   Keating and the others have a more complicated site selection. What they do can’t be as ostentatious as Veraker and the others, so they need to be extremely cautious.

  After a brief exchange between the two parties to settle the lunch, they went their separate ways to get busy with work.

  Although old Melen had met Verac and the others, this was the first time they worked together. Seeing their unstoppable work efficiency, they understand that the terminus can overcome all difficulties in Laizein.

  —

  Afternoon of May 7th

  Verak and his team took the lead in completing the search of two light industrial areas, and listed a dozen factories that either had low profits or were on the verge of bankruptcy because they were unable to make ends meet.

  At the same time, start contacting these factories and make the final decision.

   As for Keating, there are also some clues. They took a fancy to a small town near Kip City. The transportation in the small town was relatively convenient, and it was free from censorship, which made it easier for them to control and establish a club school.

  —

  On the evening of May 9th

  Villac and the others talked with more than a dozen factories, and finally chose to acquire a weaving factory that was on the verge of bankruptcy.

At first, the factory owner of this weaving factory thought that it was better to further exploit workers than to purchase new machines, and it was more cost-effective to use labor to supplement production capacity, so he repeatedly increased the workload of workers, and because the problems of production capacity and quality became more and more prominent, profits continued to increase. Decrease in workers' pay, creating a vicious circle. When he decided to purchase machines to save the weaving factory, the funds were already stretched out. He had just completed half of the mechanization, and the capital chain was broken and he was on the verge of bankruptcy.

   It can be said that this weaving factory has come from prosperity to today, all because of the short-sightedness and greed of the factory owner.

And the workers who were exploited by him to such an extent and still work in the factory are mostly farmers who lost their land, bankrupt handicraftsmen, homeless people, beggars and orphans. There are better options.

  As for the problems the factory is currently facing, it is nothing more than the lack of an injection of funds to help it through the stage of mechanization.

  In addition, there is such a group of workers whose lives are gloomy.

  This is the best experimental condition for Verac and Winston. If you can lead such a group of workers to make this weaving factory, which is not favored by anyone, profitable, which is better than any other weaving factory of the same size, then this system can be promoted.

  —

  Leizein, government buildings, conference halls

  Francois gathered a group of cronies, summed up the recent work situation, and formally prepared for the expedition.

"During this period, the Equality Association has ceased, and the people in the parliament have not made any obvious actions after Flynn was arrested. Although the Equality Association has not been wiped out, and opposition voices in the parliament still exist, but the interior as a whole is stable. There are many." Francois glanced at the subordinates present, "Today Wellland issued a final warning to Bash, and of course Bash will not agree to Welland's outrageous request, the war is about to break out, the expedition We should also prepare things.”

   "The conflict between Wellland and Bash is becoming more and more intense. They plan to make an official expedition in a month. The coalition forces will first go to Nile, and then attack Bash to expel their control of Nile." The foreign minister said.

   "How is your contact with Kanna?"

"Shenna is very happy to accept our aid and share a share of the profits in Nile. But they also know the purpose of our support, so they want to strive for more benefits, including military equipment, economic exchanges, and open resources. .”

"Heh." Francois is not surprised by Shennai's greed, "We are helping Shennai, Wellland must know. After all, we support them for no reason, and it is impossible to sit back and watch them grow. But we can't be too blatant , It’s not justified in terms of face. There is no problem with selling military equipment at a relatively low price, let’s delay economically first, to ensure that Shennai is under our control, and we also have a place in the eastern dispute.”

  The Foreign Minister nodded slightly.

"I have already decided on the candidate for the commander of the expedition. Vice Admiral Ulysses, who is stationed in Guarinidoya County, will be the commander of the expedition, and he will dispatch the Royal Fleet and the Oral Sea Fleet to participate in the battle. In this expedition, we will Try not to directly confront Bash, the main task is to block the route and block Bash's maritime trade to put pressure on them." Francois said, "Winning this battle will have a huge impact on our internal stability. help."

"clear."

"clear."

   "Joseph, Maguire, your tasks remain the same. One is to insist on eliminating the Equality Association, and the other is to continue to keep an eye on the forces of the parliamentary faction."

"clear."

"clear."

   "Okay, the meeting is over."

   Not long after Francois returned to the office, the foreign minister suddenly came.

"What's wrong?"

"Ambassador Selivanovich of the Bashi Empire, Ambassador Husse Julio of the Castelian Empire, Ambassador Robert Wright of the United States of Dunman, Auguste Ferik of the Pruman Empire Minister Sri Lanka wants to see you."

   "So many people want to see me." Francois raised his eyebrows. He knew that these ambassadors and ministers came to see him because the conflict between Welland and Bash became more and more violent, and he wanted to know Brecy's attitude.

  Bressi's attitude determines how countries should face the eastern conflict.

  Bash is obviously the most eager to know Brexi's attitude, because if Brexi does not participate in this dispute, then the situation is still acceptable. Their navy is far less powerful than Welland's, but their army is among the top in the world. It's hard to say whether they will win or lose in a real fight.

   And if Bresci gets involved, then things will be abysmal. Despite Bash's rapid rise in recent years, there is still no chance of winning against the world's top two powers at the same time.

  Dunman and Pullman's motives are also very clear.

  If Bressi does not move, the international situation is still stable. As soon as it makes a move, Pluman and Dunman can take advantage of the chaos to make some moves.

"We must meet, and avoiding it at this time is tantamount to publicly stating that we and Welland have decided to join forces." Francois said after some consideration, "Let's arrange for Bash's ambassador to come to see me first, About Pullman and Dunman, we will talk about it tomorrow."

"Yes."

   Half an hour later, Bash's ambassador to Bresci, Selivanovich, came to François' office for a secret meeting.

   "Good evening, Your Excellency the President." Selivanovich said in fluent Bresci after saluting.

   "Long time no see." Francois warmly shook hands with Selivanovich as if seeing an old friend, "Please sit down."

   "Thank you." Selivanovich sat opposite Francois.

   "You came to see me so late, what's the matter?" Francois asked with a smile.

   Selivanovich said respectfully: "I think you also know the public warning that the Kingdom of Wellland issued to our Bash Empire today."

"Yes, I heard about it." Francois looked concerned, "I was just looking for you to understand the situation. Can't you reach some consensus on the matter of Montrego? It is inevitable that the war will continue, but it is actually not beneficial to anyone.”

"Nile is an independent country. Whether it is our Bash Empire or the Kingdom of Wellland, we have no right to interfere. We also received a request from the Nile Provisional Government before deciding to participate in it to solve the problem. We The attitude of Nile has always been very clear, that is to prohibit any country from destabilizing Nile and interfering in its internal affairs. Wellland has been trying to control Nile and profit from this land..." Selivanovich insisted on Bash I talked about the unchanging attitude and the contradictions that are difficult to reconcile at the moment.

  Francois thinks deeply: "This should be the case, but now neither of you is willing to compromise, and Nero himself can hardly cope with the problem."

"We have never stopped solving problems through peaceful means, but things backfired. The situation in Nile is already very tense, and war is about to break out. Of course, we will not give up calling for a peaceful solution to the problem, but we are also ready to use war to make Wellland Get ready for reality.”

   "Then you come to me..."

   Selivanovich said: "I came to see you on behalf of the Bash Empire to understand your attitude towards this matter. If we go to war, what will Brexi do?"

   "Is Brecy's attitude important?" François played dumb.

"Of course it's very important." Selivanovich nodded solemnly, with a flash of anger in his eyes, "As we all know, Wellland and Bresci are the top two powers in the world today, if Bresci also participates in this In this war, the situation is extremely unfavorable to us. And if so many major countries are involved, the scale of the war will definitely escalate, triggering the end of more countries, and then escalate until it gets out of control."

"I want to ask you a question first. Do you really think that this conflict between you and Wellland revolves around the maintenance of Nile's sovereignty?" Francois wanted to tear off that layer of camouflage and let go of the conversation. .

"...No." Selivanovich said in silence for a long while, "This is actually Wellland, the number one power, blocking the rise of Bash. The fundamental contradiction in this conflict lies not in Nero, but in our desire to rise , Wellland does not allow us to rise."

"That's right." This is the real answer Francois wants to hear, "This is the fundamental, Welland will never allow you to rise up and pose a threat to them. Because your potential is too great, really If you let your development go, it won’t take decades, maybe ten years, the international situation will be very different.”

Selivanovic bit Blessie's attitude towards this matter: "Then what do you think? Do you want to unite with Welland to block us, or do we work together to break the world pattern created by Welland? To win their own new development opportunities?"

"Bressy?" Francois lit a cigarette, squinting his eyes and looking at Selivanovich through the smoke, "Do you think whoever wins this war is good for Brecy? "

   Needless to say at all.

  Willand won this war, further establishing its status, widening the gap with other countries, and maintaining its status as the world's hegemon.

  Bash wins, breaking through the blockade and officially stepping into the ranks of powerful countries.

   No matter who wins or who becomes stronger, it will not be good for Bresci.

   "Of course it's good for Bresey that Bash wins."

   "If Bash wins, there are powerful countries on both sides of Brecy, so how can it be considered good?" Francois asked with a smile.

   "Then do you think it is acceptable for Wellland to win?" Selivanovic asked back.

   "Of course not acceptable." Francois shrugged.

Selivanovic talked about the impact that Bash's victory will have on Bresey: "If Bash can win, he can pull Wellland from the position of world hegemony and achieve a real balance in the international situation. .Their influence on other countries has been weakened, and Blessie can take advantage of the trend to increase. And you are adjacent to Wellland. If they become stronger, you must be the first to be threatened. But if Bash wins, even if we Equally strong, the huge buffer area and room for development between the east and the west are sufficient to ensure our respective stable development for a long period of time.”

   At this time, it is meaningless to say that Bash will not rise, and even if he rises, it will not touch the interests of Bresci.

  The international situation is unpredictable. No one can tell whether the friends of one second will become the enemies of the next second, and whether the enemies of the last second will suddenly feel like brothers and sisters.

   Therefore, Selivanovic simply did not cover up, until the problem was critical, and gave Blessie the simplest choice.

   Either support Wellland, and after Wellland has firmly established his dominance in the east, he will point the finger at himself in front of him.

   Either support Bash, weaken the strength of Wellland around him, and wait more than ten or decades before confronting the stronger Bash.

"You make a lot of sense, but you just overlooked the most important point." Francois knew that both parties knew it well, so he simply pointed it out further, "I believe you already know that Bresci will be with Will. Lan Lianhe, who came to see me this time said that he wanted to understand the situation, but in fact he wanted to stop the United and let Brexi turn around and form an alliance with Bash. But have you ever thought about why Wellland dared to go on an expedition?"

"Willand simply acted on his own, and had too many worries. When a large army is dispatched, the rear is empty and it is difficult to guarantee safety. To ensure the safety of the rear, the troops in front are not enough to suppress us. That's why they joined forces with you. On the one hand, the hidden dangers in the rear have become an alliance, which can guarantee the safety of the homeland." Selivanovich knew that Welland dared to go to the expedition because Bresci was willing to form an alliance.

"Then you should know that if Bresci doesn't make a move, or chooses to side with Bash, Wellland will never go to war. If he doesn't go to war, Nero's interests will be handed over to you. Don't you Fei Yibing took down Menglege with one soldier, and we will directly turn against the powerful country that is close at hand. There is no room for profit in the east, where will Wellland's next goal be..." Speaking of the latter, Francois couldn't help laughing again, "Do you think we can't think about pushing ourselves in front of Welland to block Bash's gun?"

   Selivanovich said: "From this point of view, the problem you are facing now is that if you don't make a move, it will be detrimental to Bresey, and if you make a move, you can only stand on Welland's side."

   "If you can come up with a solution that is good enough for Brecy, I don't mind canceling the alliance with Welland at all." Francois didn't hesitate at all, and explained Brecy's attitude frankly.

  Bressi never stands for Wellland, Bash, or even any country.

  Bressy only thinks about his own interests, and only does things that are in his own interests.

   "I understand what you mean." Selivanovic found the key to breaking the game.

  This war must be fought.

  The thing to do now is how to make Brexi support Bash, and Wellland dare to take a shot to provoke a war of at least a medium scale in the east.

   Only when Bash and Wellland fight, will Blessie be willing to side with Bash.

   "Then do you have any good ideas?" Francois stubbed out his cigarette.

   "The next time we meet, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer." Selivanovich has no good solution at present. He needs to go back and contact Bash to discuss a feasible plan together.

   "Okay." Francois didn't expect this matter in his heart.

  This matter is unsolvable.

  Otherwise, Wellland wouldn't be so assured of Brecy's support for him.

   And they are also ready to help Shennai in this war, intervene in the situation in the east, and prevent Wellland from further growing.

   Now, regardless of whether Bash can find out the key to breaking the game and open up a new option for Blessie, Francois has a countermeasure.

  —

  May 10

  Kip City, Nak Weaving Factory, workers’ dormitory

  Two little boys who looked like they might not even be ten years old woke up early in the morning and started their daily work.

They have to rush to the cafeteria to help the chefs to make breakfast for the workers, and then return to the dormitory to clean the dormitory when the workers get up and eat. After cleaning the dormitories, they go to the factory to help carry the goods. rest.

   "Hurry up! Jacob!" Little Zachary quickly dressed and washed his face, urging little Jacob who was still lazy on the bed.

   "I'll sleep a little longer..." Little Jacob worked until two o'clock in the morning last night, and only slept for three or four hours after a busy day. Now he is so sleepy that he can't open his eyes.

   "You will be fired if you don't get up again!" Little Zachary soaked his hands in cold water, went over and wiped little Jacob's face.

   "It's so cold!" Little Jacob jolted awake a lot.

   "Hurry up!" Little Zachary pulled up little Jacob.

Little Jacob rubbed his eyes, put on his tattered clothes, followed little Zachary out of the dormitory, and rushed to the simple cafeteria to help cook breakfast for the chef who was fired until there was only one chef left because he was on the verge of bankruptcy. .

   "You peeled all the potatoes and steamed them in a pot." The breakfast was extremely simple, and the old chef was still dozing off, letting the two children who had already become familiar with cooking busy with cooking.

   "Yes." Little Zachary and Little Jacob didn't dare to question the chef's laziness, and squatted aside to peel potatoes.

  Little Jacob yawned.

  Little Zachary cursed in a low voice to the old chef who pushed all the work to them: "Damn old Tony! Sooner or later he will die on the haystack!"

   "Be careful of being overheard by him." Little Jacob reminded.

   "I'm not afraid of him!" He said he was not afraid, but little Zachary's voice became smaller and smaller, and finally he closed his mouth altogether.

   "Your father is a worker here, of course you are not afraid of him. I am different, helpless, if he talks nonsense with the boss and fires me, I will be finished." Little Jacob sighed.

  He was an orphan, and he was looking for work everywhere at a young age, but most people in most places didn't think that this thin, disheveled boy could do any work.

  Only the boss of the Nak Weaving Factory put forward harsh conditions, and recruited little Jacob to work with extremely low remuneration and work content no less than the intensity of an adult.

To have a place to live, to have food to fill his stomach, and to buy a few candies with the money he saved every month, it is already a wonderful life for little Jacob, he does not want all this They were all shattered by a word from their companions.

  Little Zachary’s conditions are slightly better than his. He came to work in the Nak Weaving Factory with his father. My father did the work of nearly three people alone, carrying goods while maintaining machinery, and weaving with other workers after these two tasks were done. Because he was too young, he simply did odd jobs in the factory, earning a meager salary to help his father share the pressure of life.

   "Hurry up!" The old chef dozed off, not even looking at how the two children were doing, just a stern roar.

   "Understood!" Little Zachary replied, still working with little Jacob in a leisurely manner.

  They have long been accustomed to these practices of the old chef, and gradually learned to be a little lazy, hiding some while steaming potatoes and eating when they are hungry.

   "Have you heard? The factory was sold yesterday." Little Zachary chatted with little Jacob.

   "Resold? Then will we be fired?" Little Jacob's hands trembled, worried that after the factory was resold, they, who struggled to survive here, would also be affected.

"I heard from my father." Little Zachary quickly peeled the potatoes with his hands quickly, and lit a fire aside, "Probably not, the factory is like this, if someone wants to buy it, it must be profitable. Bar."

  Little Jacob was a little relieved: "It's been a long time since we paid wages. If the new factory owner wants to make money, he probably has to squeeze profits out of us."

   "These damned factory owners..." Little Zachary scolded the factory owners instead, "No wages, no enough food, and so much work... They are all damned!"

"It doesn't matter, as long as this place is still open, as long as I don't get fired." Little Jacob doesn't care about those. He was very frugal, and he managed to save a considerable fortune for him—three silver grams—from his salary, which was almost nothing.

   "My father said that if this continues, he will go to other places to make a living." Little Zachary said.

   "Your father's leg is crippled. Where else can he go? If he didn't know how to repair a little, and one person insisted on doing the work of three people, he wouldn't even take him in here." Little Jacob saw it clearly.

  Those who are still in the Nak weaving factory are those who want to leave but have nowhere to go. If there was really a better place to take them in than here, they would have left long ago, so how could they be willing to endure such inhuman oppression.

   "Alas..." Little Zachary fell silent.

  His father's physical condition he knew all too well.

  Nack Weaving Factory is like life to Jacob, so it is to him and his father. They have been closely linked with this dying weaving factory. If they want to live together, they can only die together if they want to die.

"I don't know what kind of nonsense the new factory owner will do. In short, we have to do what they tell us to do." Little Jacob knew that his words had touched little Zachary's heart, so he changed the subject , "Don't be too sad, we can go to work in other factories when we grow up."

   "Grow up... How long will it take..." Little Zachary sees no hope.

  His world consists of cooking, cleaning, moving goods, and even running errands for other workers.

   "Maybe two or three years?" Little Jacob didn't know either.

  They also plan to lie about their age to find a job, but their malnourished bodies cannot fool others.

   "Let's live well now." Little Zachary smiled miserably, started the fire and poured water non-stop.

  (end of this chapter)