At six o'clock in the morning in early May, the sky was not bright yet. The red moon setting in the west and the stars on the horizon shed light, making the darkness thin and distinguishing the outlines of nearby things.
Lumian woke up early, washed up briefly, put on yesterday's more formal clothes and a hat with a wider brim, and tried his best to smile while facing the glass window that served as a mirror.
As he slowly descended the stairs, rapid footsteps came from above.
Must. Search. Select the day. The whole network is the fastest.
Not long after, Charlie's figure appeared in Lumian's eyes.
He was still wearing a linen shirt, black trousers and strapless leather shoes, but his rosy face became a little paler, and his small blue eyes showed unconcealable exhaustion.
"Good morning, Charles." Seeing Lumian, Charlie greeted him angrily.
His spirit was quite high.
"Shouldn't you have gone out early?" Lumian asked with a smile.
He got up and washed up when he heard the church bell ringing at six o'clock, and Charlie should have gone out at six o'clock.
Charlie lowered his head to sort out his clothes and muttered:
"I drank too much last night and had a sweet dream. I didn't want to wake up..."
While they were talking, the two of them had already reached the first floor, walked through the dirty and dark hall, and walked towards the starry door.
The door was opened by an old couple, both with gray hair and a slightly stooped back. They were about sixty years old.
They were short in stature, the men were no more than 1.65 meters tall, and the women were less than 1.6 meters tall. Both their dark jackets and yellowish sarongs were in tatters and full of oil stains.
"Are they?" Lumian originally thought that the person responsible for opening the door in the morning would be Mrs. Fells or the stingy hotel owner Mr. Ev.
Charlie did not slow down and explained casually:
"They got up early every day, and Mrs. Fells commissioned them to open the hotel door in return for ignoring the fact that they made the room very dirty and smelly.
"You know? They haven't changed their clothes since I moved in. It's been seven months, seven months!" No wonder they are so dirty... Lumian can recall the state of his muscles when he was homeless, But the cleanliness habit developed by Aurore still made him frown.
Charlie quickly walked out of the door of the "Golden Rooster Hotel" and asked doubtfully:
"Char, why did you get up so early?"
As the two of them came to the street, a lively scene suddenly came into view:
Many workers, clerks, and coolies were hurriedly walking in gray, blue, black, or brown clothes, stopping from time to time to buy some food from street vendors.
Some women carrying wooden baskets were less anxious, walking back and forth between different vendors, comparing prices and quality.
Those vendors were scattered on both sides of the chaotic street, blocking half of the street, leaving only a space for a carriage to pass.
They shouted loudly and tried their best to attract customers:
"Sour, apple sour, two ricks a liter!"
"Freshwater fish from Bondi Fishpond!"
“Fresh cod and herring, come and see!
"Onion bread, 1 rick, only 1 rick!"
"Bacon, delicious bacon!"
"Soaps and wigs imported from Loen!"
“Buy the kids a bright soda!”
"Hot sauce, refried beans, onions, and cress!"
Listening to the rising and falling sounds and feeling the early morning vitality of the chaotic streets, Lumian turned his head and smiled at Charlie:
"I couldn't sleep when I first arrived in Trier, so I just walked around to see if I could find a suitable job."
As a "hunter", familiarity with the areas where you often move and mastering the specific environment here are homework that must be done as soon as possible.
If you wait until something actually happens to try, it will be too late.
Charlie nodded in understanding.
“You can try your luck in White Coat Street, between Candide Market and the steam railway station.
“Many hotel, hotel and restaurant managers like to chat in the cafes over there and recruit dishwashers, floor sweepers, washroom attendants and trainee waiters.
"If you have money, remember to buy a drink from the waiters at the cafe. They will bring you to the right people and give you a chance to get a better job."
Without waiting for Lumian to respond, Charlie imparted his experience:
"Be sure to take care of your appearance, like I do."
Soon, Charlie's slightly pale face turned "rosy" again.
"Look, look." He pointed at himself triumphantly and said, "Are you more energetic? Those managers are unwilling to recruit someone who is particularly poor and not healthy. They think it will cause a lot of trouble, or they are unwilling to give You have a good job, or you have to lower your salary. Like me, do it before entering the cafe, so that you can look like a person who has a place to sleep and a full breakfast. It's too early, and this kind of rosiness will slowly fade away. "
"I still have enough money to rent a house and put food on the table. I don't need to do this for the time being, but who knows if I will need it in the future?"
He purposely did not hide that he still had quite a bit of Ferkin.
Must. Search. Select the day. The whole network is the fastest.
What if there are kind-hearted people willing to "donate" another amount?
Charlie expressed his understanding, took out a copper coin worth 5 kopecks, and bought a piece of bread with onions from the vendor nearby.
This made Lumian suddenly feel a sense of familiarity:
During the time when he was homeless, if he could get money as charity, his first choice would be to buy onion bread:
One is that it is cheap, and the other is that the taste of onions lasts for a long time, giving people the illusion that they have just eaten recently.
Lumian also bought onion bread for breakfast, and together with Charlie, walked through the many vendors and walked out of the chaotic street.
"I really like the morning here!" Charlie looked back and sighed in his trademark enthusiastic tone, "Those gangsters who deserve to go to hell can't get up so early and ruin this fascinating atmosphere. Vitality." He then waved to Lumian:
"I'm going to take the subway, otherwise I will be late today, and the damn foreman will definitely deduct my salary!"
Farewell to Charlie, Lumian walked around the chaotic streets, looking outward in circles, like a tourist measuring the area with his feet.
The Candide Market District is located on the south bank of the Serenzo River, in the southeast corner of the metropolis of Trier. It is also called the Market District. The official name is "District 13" - the districts of Trier are named by numbers, but according to history and Characteristics, there will be some common common names, and sometimes the official will call them that.
It is named after the "Honest Man's Market". The Suchit Steam Railway Station was built near the Serenzo River to handle the crowds coming from the south of Intis.
Surrounding the market and steam train station, many streets are extremely chaotic and filled with poor people. It is one of several slums in Trier.
To the north of the market area and on the south bank of the Serenzo River is District 5, which belongs to the old city, also called the Memorial Hall District, or the University District. Trier Higher Normal School, Trier Higher School of Mining, and Intis Academy of Fine Arts are all here. .
To the northeast of the market area, on the north bank of the Serenzo River, is District 12, which is also in the suburbs and is called the Nole District. It has the Invalides, the Wounded Soldiers Hospital and several large hospitals.
Northwest of the market area is Area 6, which is the observatory area where Lumian will go next. There is the main entrance to the catacombs.
Southwest of the market area is District 14, which is habitually called the Botanical Garden. On Sunday, Lumian will receive treatment from a psychologist at the Mason Cafe there.
This is also called the sans-culottes area because there are a large number of factories to the south of the botanical garden.
In this way, Lumian spent nearly a morning walking around all the streets in the Candide Market area. Near noon, he returned to the area near Suhit Railway Station, intending to find a place to have lunch, and then go to the catacombs to find the fake wizard named Aosta Trull.
While walking, Lumian saw Ruel and Michelle, who were also staying at the Golden Rooster Hotel.
They are holding stacks of things sealed in small paper bags and selling them to a group of suspected outsiders. As soon as Lumian came closer, Ruel, who had gray hair, ragged clothes and many wrinkles, approached him and said in a lowered voice:
“Want a photo of a pretty college girl on the street?”
"What is a street academic beauty?" Lumian did not hide his doubts and resistance to Ruel's stench.
Rule shook the paper bag in his hand, which was as thin as an envelope, and explained in a low voice:
“In Trier, pretty girls who served as mannequins for painters were called academic beauties.
"Later, with the advent of cameras and photographers, they would also take some, you know, those kinds of photos, and some would be sold to painters as references for painting, and some..."
Ruhl then showed an ambiguous smile and shook the paper bag in his hand again: "Four Ricks in one box and two photos!
"Others sell it for more than 10 Ricks!"
Lumian laughed:
"Mr. Ruhl, Mrs. Michel, these are the souvenirs you sell to tourists."
Hearing Lumian call out their names, Ruel and Michelle both turned pale. They turned around and tried to escape, but Lumian's hand was faster and directly pressed Ruel's shoulder.
Michelle, who squeezed into the crowd, saw that her husband failed to follow, and returned here with a grimace.
"I also live in the Golden Rooster Hotel. My name is Charles. "Lumian introduced himself.
The Ruhrs, who finally understood why the other party knew them, breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Lumian with pleading eyes and said:
"What do you want, Mr. Charles?"
"What kind of photos are you selling?" Lumian asked curiously.
Rule timidly replied:
“Landscape photos of the Serenzo River, as well as photos of various castles and palaces in Trier.”
"No one has troubled you?" Lumian asked with a smile.
Ruel swallowed his saliva and said:
"People who bought it didn't dare to dismantle it on the spot, and they didn't dare to come to us later. They felt very guilty."
"Besides, if you sell landscape photos, no police will bother you." Lumian nodded, "Is there really anyone selling photos of street academic beauties?"
Mrs. Michel, who also had wrinkles on her face and a stooped body, muttered:
"There was a mannequin staying in our hotel before, but she hasn't appeared recently. Maybe she became the mistress of a painter, or maybe she was caught being a street academic beauty..."
The guests of the Golden Rooster Hotel are really diverse... Lumian asked with interest:
"How much can you make in a week by tricking outsiders into buying photos?"
"We sell it very cheaply, about 10 Firkin." Ruhl replied with a slightly evasive look.
It seems to be a bit more than 10 Firkin, but not much more. Just think of it as 12 Firkin, which is 1200 kopecks, 240 Rik... 60 fools are fooled every week?
Lumian looked around the station square and expressed disdain for the average IQ of humans here.
But Ruhr and Michel took great risks to deceive people, and only paid about 50 Filkin a month, which was far inferior to that of a trainee waiter or even a coolie.
After taking a look at their slightly stooped backs, thin bodies, and wrinkled faces, Lumian roughly understood that it wasn't that they didn't want to do more legitimate and more remunerative work, but that they just couldn't do it.
Must. Search. Select the day. The whole network is the fastest.
After waving his hand, he left Suchit Steam Railway Station and walked northwest to the observatory area.
