"I can't live a good life."
The girl sat on the table in the tavern and wiped the dirt from the corners of her eyes to get rid of her sleepiness.
Obviously, she didn't remember Lu Li and was complaining in a low voice.
Just now, Mr. Holmes invited the young lady to come over and ordered her a cup of hot coffee and bread and butter.
Ai Song En, a strange name.
"Are you from this country?"
Duke asked curiously.
"Yes, sir, Irish East Ender, born in London, raised in London..."
At this point, Aisongen's voice gradually disappeared, and she probably didn't know why life became so bad.
Next to him, through conversation, Lu Li learned about Ai Songen's basic situation. She originally lived a happy home life, but it wasn't until her parents died in an accident that she realized she was helpless——
One brother is serving in the army and has been out of contact for a long time. The other brother needs to use a weekly salary of 20 shillings to support his wife and eight children. His job is not decent and he may be laid off at any time.
"In fact, I have only left the foggy city once in my life. I spent three weeks picking fruit in Essex on the outskirts of the city. My whole body became as black as the berries."
Probably because she had not been able to talk about her worries for a long time, after getting to know her, the girl showed her talkative side and talked endlessly about the past.
Mr. Holmes did not interrupt. On the contrary, he liked to hear the life experiences of the lower class people.
I did this not to investigate the case, but simply to understand another side of the city.
"Why not try to be a waiter, that would be respectable..." Duke sighed and shook his head. This is why he has been reluctant to integrate into this era.
Fog City, a city that eats flesh and blood.
"I used to work in a cafe in the East End from seven in the morning to eleven at night. Although the weekly salary was only five shillings, the boss was willing to provide free meals."
Aisunen answered Duke's question.
There was a bright flash in her eyes, and then dimmed again, "Two weeks ago, I fell ill. After I spent all my savings and came out of the hospital, I couldn't find a job and had to sleep on the streets."
Without going into too much detail, Lu Li already knew what Ai Songen would go through next. As he saw now, he was forced to become a wandering warbler.
"After all, this is not a career that lasts long." Lu Li ordered a second meal for her and said in a deep voice, "What are your plans for the future?"
"You can go to the almshouse to stay for a while and slowly find a serious job." Duke said kindly.
"impossible!"
This sentence seemed to touch a sensitive nerve of Ai Songen, and he said loudly: "Even if I starve to death on the roadside, I will not go to that kind of place."
"Thank you for your kindness, but I won't be in a workhouse, and I won't die." She sniffed and fell into silence for a long time.
"I can introduce you to a job."
At this time, Holmes spoke, and he decided to save a lost soul. "The almshouse next door is short of kitchen girls. They can provide three meals and a separate room. The salary may not be ideal..."
"I do."
With almost no hesitation, Aison agreed to Holmes's suggestion and thanked him endlessly.
It seems that she does not resist the almshouse itself, but is unwilling to become a refugee and support herself. This is her last self-esteem.
Since the few people did not lower their voices and deliberately concealed the content of their conversation, other wandering orioles who were standing at the top of the stairs to attract customers immediately gathered around them.
Unfortunately, they didn't need a legitimate job, but wanted to drag Lu Li and others to a small room upstairs. As long as they were not blind, they could see that the three of them were rich. The key was that they could be exploited if they had sympathy...
Almost at the same time, the waiter who had received the full tip rushed over with his colleagues to come to the rescue.
The whole scene was so chaotic that the guests nearby laughed out loud.
In the end, the boss came forward to calm down the farce. After all, the Orioles relied on each other to take care of themselves to attract customers indoors.
"A roasted elbow."
The police officer responsible for secretly protecting Lu Li and others arrived late, which caused the bar to fall into silence.
The night shift workers secretly cursed their bad luck. Some packed up the leftover meat and wine and hurriedly pushed the door open to leave. Others lowered their heads and drank sullenly, no longer discussing various gossips or scolding those in power.
To be honest, Lu Li felt that they were right. The management had incompetence written all over their faces. Too many babies died of malnutrition, too many girls escaped from sweatshops, and too many overworked workers threw themselves into canals and committed suicide... …
While the management class enjoys good food and fine wine, they turn a blind eye to the millions of mouths that have not been fed, and the millions of poor people who do not even have enough clothes to wear and no place to live.
In fact, the poor are not even qualified to make a sound and can only find a corner to wait for death.
"Poverty and greed are the root of all evil..."
After stepping in personally and getting a deeper understanding of the dark side of this city, Lu Li was thinking:
In an era full of weirdness, where resentment and obsession can be turned into strength, can the authorities withstand the outburst of anger from millions of poor people?
"These are not problems that we can solve. We have to rely on the joint efforts of Mr. Mayor, Mr. Councilors, and wealthy businessmen." Holmes sighed, with a particularly complicated mood.
"Work hard? Try to devise better plans to oppress the poor."
Duke realized that his attitude was a bit extreme, shook his head, and simply stopped talking.
For a moment, he wanted to change his stance, stand in the perspective of a refugee, and vent his dissatisfaction and anger to the top.
"Let's wait for the news from Officer Wensley. No matter what, that evil organization that specifically targets women must be eliminated."
Lu Li raised his head and drank all the brandy in the glass. He didn't want to get himself into a deeper entanglement.
The atmosphere gradually became depressing.
What they saw and heard these days cast a shadow in the hearts of Lu Li and Duke. Holmes kept sighing and shaking his head. His personal power was limited and he could only try his best to eradicate the evil, but he could not cut off the source.
"Specially targeting women?"
Ai Songen felt that she should do something for these three kind gentlemen. In fact, she had already realized that the three people coming to Whitechapel must have a special purpose.
Of course, there are good and bad intentions, and Lu Li and his group are undoubtedly the former.
"That's right."
Lu Li nodded without thinking too much about it.
But Ai Songen's words immediately cheered up the three people present.
"In the early hours of the morning, there were two murders behind the pub."
Having said this, Aisongen subconsciously turned back and looked towards the stairs, worried that her leaking the secret would lead to revenge.
You know, warblers often fight for territory, and casualties are inevitable, but no matter how many casualties there are, they cannot be reported to the police station——
Even if the police officers are not willing to put in the effort to pursue it.
