Shivaash got out of the carriage. This time, he only held the silver-encrusted cane and did not carry a briefcase.
"You wait for me here."
Zhou Jinru stood where he was, watching the male host climb the steps step by step. The sound of his leather shoes clicking on the stone slabs was particularly loud in the silent night.
Not long after he left, a group of half-grown children came from the other direction of the street, sharing the food in their hands with each other.
"Adela, do you still have something to eat?"
"No more, that's all I have."
"I am so hungry."
"I'm hungry too."
The voices of hungry children kept coming, and the frustrated children raised their heads and looked at the quiet church. On the pointed roof in front of the church, there was a emblem symbolizing the sun.
The cold wind blew on the children, and their tattered clothes could not provide warmth, so someone suggested: "Let's go to the church to spend the night."
"We can't sleep in the park. Not only is it cold, but the patrolling military police will also drive us away."
"Don't mention the greyhounds!"
"Quiet."
The girl, who was half a head taller than the other children, raised her voice. The noisy children immediately quieted down and looked at her.
"We asked Father Albert to stay with us for one night, and he would not refuse."
"Yes, he didn't refuse last time!"
"He is a good man, much better than those factory owners!"
"They will also give us food."
Some people echoed, some seemed to have discovered the light, and some remembered the kindness of the priest.
So it happened, a group of children who looked like beggars climbed up the stairs, the door of the church opened slowly, and the respectable Mr. Shivaash walked down the steps step by step, and they passed each other.
"gentlemen."
"Father Albert is taking care of a sick nun. His time is very tight. I should come back at another time."
Shivaash seemed to be explaining something and noticed that Zhou Jinru's eyes fell on the backs of the children. He turned around and those children had already entered the church. He said softly: "They are Oliver Twist. You should have heard that Their parents gave birth to them but were unable to raise them, so they were raised in an orphanage in Londinium until they were ten years old before leaving to find a new life in the city."
"Ten years old?"
Shivaash's expression hardly changed: "Maybe smaller. The funds of the orphanage are quite limited. It is not easy to feed these children. There are many factory owners who are willing to take in these children, but this was last week. It is different now. ”
The male host boarded the carriage and a voice came from inside the thick curtain: "Just last week, the Parliament passed the child labor abolition bill. Business owners in Victoria can no longer hire children under the age of sixteen at low wages. Congressman They say children should be given more care."
Zhou Jinru didn't know what to say: "This is a good thing."
"Not really."
Shivaash coughed twice: "Ahem, they have serious differences on the issue of which party should fund the raising of children until they are sixteen years old. The president of the parliament shouted hoarse and failed to quiet the quarreling members. They decided to discuss it the next time Parliament convenes.”
This time, Zhou Jinru understood clearly that after the child labor bill was repealed, factory owners did not dare to risk breaking the law by employing children under the age of sixteen, and the officials who repealed the bill failed to come up with appropriate arrangements for children who have not yet reached working age. , now - those children he just saw - have really become a veritable Oliver Twist.
"Zhou, we should go back."
Zhou Jinru withdrew his gaze and drove away at Shivaash's urging.
Returning to the manor of the male owner, Shivaash took off his coat and untied his tie, wearing only a white shirt. He turned on the light and turned on the light. The light shone on the two people, and the two shadows were far apart.
"It's still a long time tonight. If you want to have fun, go ahead."
"Where should I go?"
Shivaash took out his wallet from his coat pocket, pulled out a few banknotes, grabbed a handful of change and handed it to him: "It depends on where you are willing to go."
In order to continue to play his role, Zhou Jinru decided not to fight against the male owner's wishes. After taking the money, he left the manor alone.
"Shiva Ash deliberately sidestepped me. He has important things to do."
“Where should I go, or to that intersection?”
Zhou Jinru grabbed the money in his pocket and didn't know where to go for a while.
He took out a coin, rubbed the smooth old coin with his fingers, flicked it up, held it in his palm, and stuffed it back into his pocket.
After a while, he returned to the previous intersection. The place was still as bustling as before. The gentlemen passing by looked as usual and were all wearing straight dresses. The ladies were wearing cute and compact hats, and their ankle-length fluffy skirts were gently swaying. .
"Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! Sir, would you like a newspaper?"
The newsboy standing at the intersection held a newspaper high and shouted loudly, selling newspapers to people passing by from time to time.
"A distinguished guest from the Yan Kingdom is visiting! A fire broke out in the occupied area of Leitania! The child labor abolition bill was passed!"
Zhou Jinru grabbed two coins and said, "Here is a newspaper."
He looked at the headlines of the newspaper, which read in huge fonts: Child Labor Abolition Act passed, factory owners announced that the factory was about to close down! ?
There is a big question mark at the end.
Zhou Jinru didn't need to figure out where the newspaper office was sitting. What he really cared about was the time of this newspaper. However, he searched the whole newspaper and couldn't find the specific time.
"The sitcom is by no means groundless, and it's not difficult for me to figure it out. But what is the real content of this show? With such a slow pace, if it were placed in the 21st century, it would have been violently taken off the shelves long ago."
Zhou Jinru exhaled, flipped through the newspaper, looked at some specious news, and walked into a bar that was open.
"A glass of milk."
"You come to the bar just to drink milk?"
The voice sounded familiar.
Zhou Jinru raised his head and saw Croissant in a bartender's uniform. The girl didn't seem to recognize him and was staring at him, asking him what he wanted to drink.
"A glass of milk."
He is not someone who can change his decision casually.
Snapped.
Two coins were slapped on the bar, along with the newspaper.
Croissant stared at the newspaper in his hand: "Sir, we don't collect garbage."
"Where's the trash can?"
The bartender mouthed to the other side of the bar. Zhou Jinru rolled up the newspaper and threw it into the trash can. A glass of fresh milk was placed in front of him.
Zhou Jinru drank milk:
"What's the latest news?"
Croissant snorted: "It's a rule to buy someone a drink before asking for information."
