Chapter 1380: Deep into the People's Livelihood (2)

At noon, Yingzhou walked into a vegetable market in the East District of Central City.

It was noisier, more crowded, and more real than the central business district he had walked through that morning.

Vegetable sellers, meat sellers, fish sellers, and spice sellers—stalls were packed one after another, with shouts, haggling, and arguments all mixed together.

Yingzhou stopped in front of a vegetable stall. The stall owner was a woman in her forties, her apron stained with vegetable leaves and mud, her hands never stopping as she weighed vegetables for customers.

"Big sister, how much are these tomatoes?"

A young woman asked.

The stall owner said, "Three point five Star Alliance coins per jin."

The young woman frowned.

"Wasn't it three yesterday? Why is it three point five today?"

"The cost price went up, there's nothing I can do. It's five mao more expensive at the wholesale market, I can't sell to you at a loss. Why don't you look at some other vegetables?"

The young woman put down the tomatoes and picked up a bunch of greens.

"How about these?"

"Two."

The young woman shook her head and turned to leave.

The stall owner watched her back and sighed.

Yingzhou walked over.

"Boss, have vegetable prices gone up a lot?"

The stall owner glanced at him and said while tidying up the vegetable stall.

"You don't buy vegetables every day, do you?"

Yingzhou said.

"I don't buy them often."

The stall owner nodded.

"I can tell, vegetable prices have been up for a while. They said there was fighting at the border and transport ships couldn't get through. Now that the war is over, the prices haven't come down."

Yingzhou asked.

"Does anyone usually manage this?"

The stall owner was stunned for a moment.

"Who would manage it? The Price Bureau? They came by, asked a few questions, and left. They said this is market behavior and they can't manage it."

Yingzhou fell into Silence for a moment.

The stall owner seemed to realize she had said a bit too much and changed her tone.

"Big brother, what vegetables do you want to buy? Today's cucumbers are good, nice and fresh."

Yingzhou said.

"Give me two cucumbers, two tomatoes, and a bunch of greens."

The stall owner deftly packed them into a bag and handed it to Yingzhou.

"That's nine in total."

Yingzhou paid.

An argument broke out at the neighboring stall. A middle-aged man was arguing with the fish stall owner.

"This fish of yours isn't fresh! Look at these eyes, they've sunken in! The gills smell too!"

The middle-aged man said.

The fish stall owner's face turned red and his neck swelled.

"Where is it not fresh? It just arrived this morning! Do you know anything about fish?"

The middle-aged man said.

"I don't know anything? Are you going to give me a refund or not?"

"No refund!"

The owner's voice was even louder, slapping the cutting board.

More and more customers gathered around.

Some people advised the middle-aged man to let it go and buy from another shop. Some accused the fish stall owner of being unscrupulous, selling stale fish and still being so aggressive.

Yingzhou stood in the crowd, quietly watching this farce.

In the end, the middle-aged man didn't get a refund; he walked away cursing, and the fish stall owner snorted triumphantly, continuing to greet other customers.

Yingzhou carried the vegetables out of the market, hanging the plastic bag on his wrist.

At two in the afternoon, Yingzhou walked to a neighborhood park in the West District of Central City.

It was much smaller than Central Park, but quieter.

An old woman with completely white hair walked over shakily, carrying a cloth bag in her hand.

She sat down next to Yingzhou and caught her breath.

"Young man, are you here to watch the chess game?"

The old woman asked.

Yingzhou said.

"Just passing by to sit for a while."

The old woman nodded.

"My old man is over there playing chess too. I accompany him every day; he plays chess, and I sit."

Yingzhou asked.

"Do you live around here?"

The old lady said.

"Yes, the West District nursing home, ten minutes' walk away."

Yingzhou asked.

"How are the conditions at the nursing home?"

The old lady thought for a moment.

"It's alright. The food is good, the living is good, and the caregivers are decent too. It's just that sometimes there aren't enough staff."

Yingzhou's brows furrowed slightly.

"Not enough staff?"

The old lady sighed.

"The director has reported it to the higher-ups, and they said to wait for the funding. The funding has been pending for half a year and still hasn't come down."

Yingzhou did not speak.

The old lady continued.

"Actually, you can't blame the higher-ups either. When the war was on, all the money went to building warships. Now that the war is over, it should be our turn."

Yingzhou looked at her wrinkled face.

"Are you not angry?"

The old lady smiled.

"Angry? I've lived to this age, what haven't I seen? Surviving the Aliens is the greatest blessing. I'll just wait; it's not like I have many years left to wait anyway."

The chess game in the distance ended.

An old man stood up and waved in this direction.

The old lady stood up.

"My old man is calling me. Young man, you all work hard; the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance will only get better and better."

At three in the afternoon, Yingzhou walked on the road back to the Primarch Residential Area.

He passed a community notice board and stopped to look.

Posted on the board were various notices: community health check notifications, waste sorting propaganda, lost and found, and a "Seeking Witnesses" notice.

The notice was handwritten, the handwriting scrawled but legible.

"My daughter, Xiaofang, twelve years old, was grazed by a black van on her way home from school three days ago, resulting in arm abrasions. The driver did not stop. If there are any witnesses, please contact me."

Yingzhou stood in front of the notice board.

A black van, grazed, the driver did not stop.

A twelve-year-old girl. Arm abrasions; fortunately, it was only abrasions.

But what if the collision had been heavier?

Things like this happen every day. In Central City, in Anvil Fortress, in Morning Star Port, in every corner of the Xiuluo Holy Star.

If the Xiuluo Holy Star is like this, then the so-called improvement of the other planets in the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance is only better than it was during the time of the Aliens.

These things will not appear in Guilliman's reports; there are only numbers in the reports.

The number of public security cases has decreased by twelve percent year-on-year.

No one will tell him that a twelve-year-old girl was grazed by a car and the driver ran away.

He only needs to know the numbers; the numbers speak for themselves.

But the numbers will not tell him.

In the evening, Yingzhou walked to a small park near the Primarch Residential Area.

It was only a few hundred meters away from the Primarch Residential Area, but separated by a row of trees, it felt like two different worlds.

The Primarch Residential Area was quiet, solemn, and majestic.

This place was noisy, messy, and vibrant.

A young mother pushed a stroller past Yingzhou; the baby in the stroller was sleeping, drool hanging from the corner of its mouth.

A boy in a school uniform sped by on a bicycle, his schoolbag bouncing on his back.

Yingzhou sat down on a bench.

The evening breeze blew over, carrying the rustling sound of leaves.

In the distance, a young couple sat on the grass, the girl leaning on the boy's shoulder.

The boy said something, and the girl laughed out loud.

The laughter was crisp, drifting away in the evening breeze.

Yingzhou looked at them, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Coming out once in a while, one can also discover some small, detailed problems in the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance.

No matter how prosperous the age, there will always be some flaws; these flaws are not fatal, but to the people, they are like a great mountain.

What he can do is to try his best to reduce these flaws.