Chapter 116: Life experience (Third update seeking monthly votes)

At 6:00 AM in early May, the sky had not yet brightened. The setting red moon and the stars in the sky spilled brilliance, making the darkness thin and precipitating the outlines of nearby things.

Lu Mian woke up early, washed up simply, put on the suit-like clothes from yesterday, wore a hat with a wide brim, and tried hard to squeeze out a smile at the glass window acting as a mirror.

When he walked down the stairs slowly, rapid footsteps came from above.

Not long after, Charlie's figure appeared in Lu Mian's eyes.

He was still wearing a linen shirt, black trousers, and leather shoes without laces, but his ruddy face became a bit pale, and his small blue eyes revealed undisguised fatigue.

"Good morning, Charles." Seeing Lu Mian, Charlie greeted him with high spirits.

His spirit was quite excited.

"Aren't you supposed to have gone out long ago?" Lu Mian asked with a smile.

He heard the church bell representing six o'clock before getting up to wash, and Charlie should have gone out at six.

Charlie lowered his head to tidy up his clothes and muttered:

"Drank too much last night, and had a beautiful dream, didn't want to wake up..."

While speaking, the two had arrived on the first floor, passed through the dirty and dark hall, and walked toward the gate reflecting starlight.

Opening the door was an old couple, both with white hair, their backs slightly hunched, and their age was around sixty.

They were short, the male no more than 1.65 meters, the female less than 1.6 meters. Whether it was the dark jacket or the yellowish cloth skirt, they were all tattered and full of oil stains.

"Who are they?" Lu Mian thought that the one responsible for opening the door in the morning would be Madame Fels or the stingy hotel boss Mr. Ev.

Charlie didn't slow down and explained casually:

"Mr. Rul and Madame Michel, they are the peddler couple I mentioned who cheat tourists.

"They get up very early every day, and Madame Fels entrusted them to open the hotel door, the reward being ignoring the fact that they make the room very dirty and smelly.

"Do you know? From the time I moved in, they haven't changed their clothes, for seven full months, seven full months!"

No wonder it's so dirty... Lu Mian could recall his own dirty state when he was wandering, but the habit of loving cleanliness cultivated by Aurora still made him unable to help frowning.

Charlie walked out of the gate of the "Golden Chicken Hotel" quickly and asked in confusion:

"Charles, why did you get up so early too?"

As the two arrived on the street, the quite lively scene appeared in their eyes:

Many workers, clerks, and coolies wearing gray, blue, black, or brown clothes walked in a hurry, occasionally stopping to buy some food from street peddlers.

Some women carrying wooden strip baskets were not so urgent, walking back and forth between different peddlers, comparing prices and quality.

Those peddlers were scattered on both sides of Chaos Street, blocking half of the street, leaving only space for one carriage to pass.

They shouted loudly, trying their best to solicit customers:

"Sour wine, apple sour wine, two Ricks a liter!"

"Freshwater fish from Bondi Pond!"

"Fresh cod, herring, come and see!

"Onion bread, 1 Rick, only 1 Rick!"

"Salted meat, delicious salted meat!"

"Soap, wigs imported from Ruen!"

"Buy a bottle of bright soda for the kids!"

"Hot sauce, bean paste, small onions, water celery!"

"..."

Listening to the voices one after another, feeling the morning vitality of Chaos Street, Lu Mian tilted his head and smiled at Charlie:

"I couldn't sleep a bit after arriving in Trier, just walking around to see if I could find a suitable job."

As a "Hunter," familiarizing himself with the area where he often operates and mastering the specific environment here is homework that must be done as soon as possible.

It would be too late to try when something really happens.

Charlie nodded, indicating understanding.

He said enthusiastically:

"You can try your luck on White Coat Street, between Honest Market and the steam train station.

"Many managers of hotels, hotels, and restaurants like to chat in cafes there, and by the way, recruit dishwashers, floor cleaners, restroom attendants, and trainee waiters.

"If you have money on you, remember to treat the cafe waiters to a drink, they will take you to the right person, giving you a chance to get a better job."

Not waiting for Lu Mian to respond, Charlie taught the experience:

"Be sure to pay attention to your appearance, do as I do."

While speaking, he raised his hands and patted his face, just like slapping himself, but not so heavy.

Soon, Charlie's slightly pale complexion became "ruddy" again.

"Look, look." He pointed to himself proudly, "Isn't it much more energetic? Those managers don't want to recruit someone who is particularly poor and not healthy enough. They feel that it will cause a lot of trouble, either they are not willing to give you a good job, or they lower your salary. Like me, do it before entering the cafe, let yourself look like someone who has a place to sleep and has eaten breakfast. Too early won't work, this kind of 'ruddiness' will slowly fade."

This kind of small trick for finding a job was quite strange to Lu Mian, who came from a wandering background, and felt it was quite interesting.

He nodded with a smile:

"I still have enough money to rent a room and fill my stomach, I don't need to do this for the time being, but who knows if I will use it in the future?"

He deliberately didn't hide the fact that he still had quite a few Ferkins.

What if a kind person is willing to "donate" another sum?

Charlie expressed understanding and took out copper coins worth 5 Copés, buying an onion sandwich from a peddler nearby.

This made Lu Mian suddenly feel a sense of familiarity:

During the time he was wandering, if he could get the charity of money, the first choice was also to buy onion bread:

This is cheap, and the taste of onion will last for a long time, making people have the illusion that they have just eaten their fill recently.

Lu Mian also bought onion bread for breakfast and, together with Charlie, passed through the many peddlers and walked out of Chaos Street.

"I really love the morning here!" Charlie looked back and sighed with his iconic enthusiastic tone, "Those damn gangster thugs can't get up so early and can't destroy this fascinating vitality."

He then waved to Lu Mian:

"I'm going to take the subway, otherwise I'll be late today, that damn foreman will definitely deduct my salary!"

Saying goodbye to Charlie, Lu Mian circled Chaos Street, circle by circle outward, like a tourist measuring this area with his feet.

The Honest Market District is located on the south bank of the Selenzo River, in the southeast corner of the great metropolis of Trier, also known as the Market District. Its official name is "District 13"—Trier's districts are named after numbers, but according to history and characteristics, there will be some conventional common names. Sometimes, officials will call them that.

It is named after the "Honest Market." Near the Selenzo River, the Suhit Steam Train Station is also built, undertaking the crowd coming from the south of Intis.

Surrounding the market and the steam train station, many streets are abnormally chaotic in security, full of poor people, and it is one of the slums in Trier.

North of the Market District, on the south bank of the Selenzo River, is District 5, which belongs to the old city, also known as the Memorial Hall District, or University District. Trier Higher Normal College, Trier Higher Mining College, and Intis Academy of Fine Arts are all here.

Northeast of the Market District, on the north bank of the Selenzo River, is District 12, also biased toward the suburbs, called the Noel District, with the Invalides, the hospital for the wounded, and several large hospitals.

Northwest of the Market District is District 6, which is the Observatory District that Lu Mian is going to later, where there is the main entrance to the catacombs.

Southwest of the Market District is District 14, habitually called the Botanical Garden District by people. By Sunday, Lu Mian will receive treatment from a psychologist at the Mason Cafe there. This is also called the Sans-Culottes District because there are large factories south of the Botanical Garden.

Just like that, Lu Mian spent nearly a whole morning walking through all the streets of the Honest Market District.

Near noon, he returned to the vicinity of the Suhit Steam Train Station, planning to find a place to have lunch, and then go near the catacombs to find the fake wizard named Osta Trull.

While walking, Lu Mian saw the Rul and Michel couple who also lived in the Golden Chicken Hotel.

They were holding stacks of things sealed in small paper bags, peddling them to groups of people who looked like outsiders.

Just as Lu Mian approached, Rul, with white hair, tattered clothes, and many wrinkles, leaned toward him and whispered:

"Do you want photos of street academy beauties?"

"What is a street academy beauty?" Lu Mian did not hide his confusion and his resistance to the smell on Rul.

Rul shook the paper bag as thin as an envelope in his hand and explained in a low voice:

"In Trier, those beautiful girls who act as nude models for painters are called 'academy beauties.'

"Later, there were cameras, there were photographers, they would also take some, you know, that kind of photo, some sold to painters as references for painting, some..."

Rul then showed an ambiguous smile and shook the paper bag in his hand again:

"4 Ricks a bag, two photos!

"Others sell them for more than 10 Ricks!"

Lu Mian laughed:

"Mr. Rul, Madame Michel, is this the souvenir you sell to tourists?"

Hearing Lu Mian call out their names, Rul and Michel's faces changed drastically.

They turned their bodies, trying to escape, but Lu Mian's hand was faster, directly pressing on Rul's shoulder.

Madame Michel, who squeezed into the crowd, saw that her husband failed to keep up and returned here with a bitter face.

"I also live in the 'Golden Chicken Hotel,' my name is Charles." Lu Mian introduced himself.

Finally understanding why the other party knew the two of them, the Rul couple breathed a sigh of relief slightly and looked at Lu Mian with pleading eyes:

"Do you have anything to do, Mr. Charles?"

"What kind of photos are you selling?" Lu Mian asked curiously.

Rul answered timidly:

"Landscape photos of the Selenzo River, and photos of various castles and palaces in Trier."

"No one bothers you?" Lu Mian asked with a smile.

Rul swallowed saliva:

"Those who buy them dare not open them on the spot, and they dare not come to find us later. They are very guilty."

"Moreover, selling landscape photos won't be managed by the police." Lu Mian nodded, "Is there really anyone selling street academy beauty photos?"

"Yes." Rul answered very affirmatively, "Last month, the police arrested a group of photographers and print merchants, saying they confiscated more than 10,000 photos. If these were given to us, I don't know how much they could sell for!"

Madame Michel, who also had wrinkles and a hunched body, muttered:

"A nude model lived in our hotel before, but she hasn't appeared for a while. Maybe she became a painter's mistress, or maybe she was arrested as a street academy beauty..."

The tenants of the Golden Chicken Hotel are really diverse... Lu Mian asked with great interest:

"How much do you earn a week by cheating outsiders into buying photos?"

"We sell them very cheaply, about 10 Ferkins." Rul answered with evasive eyes.

It seems to be a bit more than 10 Ferkins, but not much more. Let's say 12 Ferkins, which is 1200 Copés, 240 Ricks... Are there 60 fools being cheated every week? Lu Mian looked around the station square and expressed disdain for the average intelligence of the people here.

And the Rul and Michel couple took great risks to cheat people, and only earned about 50 Ferkins a month, far less than a trainee waiter, or even a coolie.

Looking at their slightly hunched waists, thin bodies, and wrinkled faces, Lu Mian roughly understood that they might not be unwilling to do more legitimate and better-paying work, but were unable to do so.

Waving his hand, he left the Suhit Steam Train Station and walked toward the Observatory District to the northwest.

PS: Third update seeking monthly votes~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 117 =====