In the winter of 1080, on the streets of Londinium, Victoria, a young man wearing a shabby cotton coat hurriedly ran past with a newspaper in his arms. He just kept his head down while running, and accidentally bumped into a man. The newspapers in his hand were scattered on the ground. Two of them were blown away by the wind.
This is bad. If there is something wrong with these newspapers, he will definitely be beaten by his boss. It is better to get a beating. If he is fired, the whole family will go hungry today.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sir, are you not hurt?"
The panicked young man quickly picked up the newspaper on the ground and hurriedly checked the gentleman's condition. If the other person was a person who was not easy to talk to, he would be in danger.
"I'm fine. Are these your newspapers?"
The man who spoke had thick short black hair, no animal ears or a tail, and his race was indistinguishable. He was not a Victorian anyway.
Could this be a gentleman from abroad?
When the boy hesitated, the man opposite helped him pick up the newspaper, pulled out a few crumpled pages, and took out a few coins from his pocket.
"I bought these newspapers, don't worry, are you a local?"
"Yes sir, I was born in the outer city."
The man lowered his hat with a warm smile on his face, which slightly eased the young man's nervousness.
His voice was soft, without any condescension. He returned the remaining newspapers to the boy, and then said: "I came to Londinium and haven't found a place to live yet. Do you have any good recommendations?"
The young man was stunned. He couldn't believe that this kind of thing would happen to him after living in many neighborhoods.
If he were a foreigner, he might have some thoughts, but for the gentleman in front of him, he didn't dare to have any thoughts.
"Yes sir, I know a nice place that will satisfy you."
The man smiled: "Okay, you lead the way."
The young man looked at him carefully: "So, sir, what do you call me?"
"Mr. Four, just call me Mr. Four."
…
Snapped.
There was a cold breeze blowing in front of the newsstand. A middle-aged man wrapped in a coat looked at his pocket watch impatiently. Today's newspaper has not been delivered yet. It is a quarter of an hour later than usual. Maybe that kid is slacking off somewhere.
He can't get his full salary today!
The middle-aged man's face was gloomy. If the current situation hadn't been difficult and he couldn't hire a suitable adult for a few pennies, but he could hire a child, he would have kicked the lazy kid out of the house.
But the good times were not long gone. I heard that the Parliament had already been in turmoil. No one expected that the party would be so radical and even imprisoned His Majesty the King!
Thinking of this, the middle-aged man couldn't help but tremble, tightened his coat, and moved his blue lips a few times, as if complaining about the damn weather.
"Mr. Carl!"
In the distance, a young man holding a newspaper ran over. A middle-aged man named Karl narrowed his eyes and puffed out his belly. He planned to use a vicious tone to teach this uncultured boy that calling other people's names loudly in public is a mistake. An extremely rude thing to do.
Karl opened his mouth, but his eyes drifted back and saw a man in a black coat walking towards him, with several newspapers in his hand.
In any case, at least to be decent, he decided to wait until he got back.
When the young man saw the boss's gloomy expression, he couldn't help but shrink his neck. The cold wind filled his collar and he shivered all over, wondering if he could escape disaster today.
"Sir, is something wrong?"
"Boss, Mr. Fourth said he wants to find a place to live!"
Karl couldn't help but glare at the boy, and the frightened boy quickly shut his mouth.
Mr. Four?
A strange title.
But there were so many damn bad things that had happened to Victoria that one more was nothing.
Zhou Jinru smiled slightly and said, "I am indeed looking for a place to live."
Karl looked at this fourth gentleman, who was wearing a black top hat, a black coat, and even his leather shoes were black. In stark contrast, his collar was as white as snow, and his lining was lined with a dark red stripe. The tie is particularly eye-catching.
I have to say this man looks respectable.
"Well, Mr. Four, do you have identification?"
"some."
Zhou Jinru stood still, but his tone was firm, so Karl did not become suspicious.
Londinium now has a curfew after 8pm. People without ID cannot check into the hotel and will definitely be arrested by the police station. During this period, the Londinium police station is overwhelmed and the cells are full of people. .
There is no doubt that the chaos will continue until the gentlemen in the parliament come up with an answer, and we don’t know when it will end.
Karl subconsciously took in a breath to hold his belly in, and coughed twice: "Mr. Fourth, I do manage an apartment. Two days ago, a tenant quit the rent, and there happened to be an empty room. I would like to ask, how long do you plan to stay? "
"Two or three days, or a week or two, I can't say, but it won't be too long."
"Oh, that's it. Let's talk about the rent when we get back. It's very cold here. My wife made empanadas. You will like it."
Zhou Jinru lowered his head and smiled: "That's great."
…
In 1080, Vina was just a little girl. If you point the rivet at this historical node, you should be able to find her.
Zhou Jinru didn't know much about Victoria during this period. He only knew that a major event happened that could change history.
A king in Victoria was executed, and from then on the country entered a period of aristocratic rule without a king.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Leon, who had been indifferent to world affairs for many years, stood up. The nobles who supported Aslan instantly found their backbone and maintained the fragile balance for a while, even if the regent Tracy later entered London. Tinim didn't change anything.
"Later on the Festival of the Restoration, Lady Leon passed away, allowing Therese to clear the final obstacle. Although all parties did not agree with his ruling position, he still took over Londinium."
Zhou Jinru thought of the ring worn on Wei Na's right hand.
Twenty minutes later, I followed Karl to his apartment. It was a four-story building. Most of the plaster on the exterior wall had fallen off. It was dusty and there was no trace of vitality. There was a cold breath coming from the corridor. , presumably the decoration will not be very good.
Such buildings are very common in the outer city. Zhou Jinru has seen it many times in sitcoms. The tenants are basically ordinary people making a living in this city. The rent is low and the environment is better than that of the slums. People work hard to maintain their dignity, at least Make yourself look less bad.
"Mr. Carl."
As soon as Karl came back, the two people guarding the door of the apartment immediately surrounded him, making him embarrassed.
He said with a straight face: "What's the matter?"
"The rent thing..."
As soon as he heard the word rent, Karl immediately interrupted them rudely: "I can't decide on rent!"
