Chapter 2075

"Daddy, Mommy sent me to bring you your meal!"

The boy held up the lunchbox on the pier and shouted to the porter, but then accidentally tripped over the hemp rope under his feet. It looked like not only he, but the lunchbox in his hand was about to suffer, but fortunately, Xia De, who was standing nearby, reached out to steady the boy and caught the lunchbox that had already slipped from his grasp:

"Be careful."

He said to the boy.

The porter, wearing a short-sleeved top, also hurriedly put down the sack he was carrying on his shoulder and ran over. Because his work was piece-rate, the foreman frowned but did not stop him.

"Newman, are you alright?"

The man asked his child, and then embarrassedly thanked Xia De:

"Thank you so much, sir."

Judging from Xia De's attire, he determined that Xia De did not belong to the dock area, so his tone was exceptionally respectful, while the boy was even more reserved, tugging on his father's hand and hiding behind him.

Xia De didn't mind this at all; he returned the lunchbox to the boy and asked the man:

"Do you mind if I treat you both to dinner? I am a travel writer from out of town and would like to learn about some local customs. It won't take up too much of your time. Let's go to the tavern over there; it's my treat, and your son can come along too."

If not for Xia De catching the boy just now, this request would have been very abrupt. But under the current circumstances, the man only hesitated for a moment before nodding:

"Alright, sir, thank you for your generosity. But could you wait a little while? There are still ten minutes until we finish work."

Xia De didn't mind waiting a little longer, so while the man hoisted the sack onto his shoulder again, he began to chat with the reserved boy on the side.

Outsiders probably really do have a unique affinity that they aren't even aware of. The boy hadn't said much at first, but by the time the man returned from confirming his work quota with the foreman, Xia De was already chatting happily with the boy about raising cats.

Of course, the boy's family was not wealthy, so he didn't raise a cat at home, but instead fed two stray cats that often came looking for food together with the children on the street. However, judging from his description, those two stray cats probably regarded the children as self-service food supply stations.

There were many taverns in the dock area for sailors and porters to rest, and the prices were cheap. As work was ending, the tavern was bustling with noise. Xia De, the man named Laurie Anderson, and the boy Newman Anderson sat down at a table against the wall. The boy sat with his father and was asked to sit on the inside, against the wall.

This meal cost Xia De a total of 10 pennies, which at the exchange rate was 14 copper pennies. Considering the cost of living in the Moon Bay area and the hearty food on the table, this price was quite reasonable.

The man and the boy thanked Xia De again. During the meal, Xia De was not in a hurry to ask what the boy's wishes were, but instead carefully inquired about the porter's living conditions and the working environment on the docks.

Laurie Anderson answered Xia De's questions very seriously while eating, and highlighted the "Moon Bay Dock and Warehouse Workers Society":

"The Moon Bay area has been an important port on the West Coast for a long time. In the early days, local workers and outsiders formed large and small societies like gangs to fight for jobs on the docks. Later, over the past few hundred years, these vibrant organizations on the docks merged into the current Dock and Warehouse Workers Society. You must join the Society to be allowed to work on the docks. And apart from the annual lottery, you can only join the Society through family inheritance. Sir, do you know how many people come to the Moon Bay docks from out of town looking for work every year?"

He was quite proud of this:

"My father was a member of the Society, which is why I was able to join. I'm thinking that when Newman grows up, I'll let him inherit my Society membership."

As he spoke, he excitedly patted the shoulder of the boy, whose mouth was stuffed with bread, causing the boy to cough suddenly.

"But that's not legal, is it? What if an employer really hires someone who isn't a member of the Society?"

"Then they have to pay an extra management fee. The dock office and our Society have reached an agreement, which also makes management easier. The gang fights on the docks are very tacitly agreed never to involve the workers who are working, and because we are united, the sailors on the ships won't bully us at will."

Xia De nodded to show he understood; this could also be considered local workers protecting their own rice bowls. Although in the eyes of the "decent people" in the city, the work on the docks was strenuous and the income meager, for those making a living on the docks, this income was already enough to sustain their families.

After all, this was the prosperous Moon Bay, and even the income of dock workers was higher than that of workers in other regions.

When Xia De and Anderson were talking, the boy Newman kept eating and didn't interrupt. But just now, when Mr. Anderson mentioned letting Newman inherit his "porter qualification" in the future, Xia De easily noticed that the boy's expression was wrong.

In other words, this ten-year-old child didn't seem to want to be a porter at all.

This kind of wish was much more difficult than persuading Miss Lisa to read stories to her daughter. Fortunately, Xia De didn't have to solve this matter immediately; he had plenty of time to handle it slowly. Moreover, he didn't dare to say whether the idea that "not becoming a porter is for the boy's future" was an outsider "arrogantly" deciding someone else's life.

Since he had decided that he could slowly resolve this matter, Xia De was in no hurry to ask more questions. So, the rest of the time was spent chatting with Mr. Anderson, and when the three of them were almost finished with dinner, a stranger walked up to the table and handed Mr. Anderson a note.

The latter glanced at it cautiously, then met Xia De's curious gaze.

Xia De didn't ask, because that would be invading someone else's privacy. But under his gaze, considering this hearty dinner, the porter "voluntarily" spoke about what it was:

"I have a gathering with friends tonight, and this is the note notifying me of the time and place."

He said embarrassedly, stuffing the note into his pocket. Xia De observed his expression, then smiled and asked casually:

"Eternal Light?"

"How did you know? Oh, I mean, you know about this too?"

Mr. Anderson seemed a little panicked, looking uneasily at his ignorant son:

"Since you know, that's fine, but we have rules; we absolutely cannot tell outsiders about things at will."

"It's alright, I won't go around talking about it. I'm just very interested..."

Xia De lowered his voice slightly:

"When I was at the docks just now, I heard your coworkers say that they still have to work tonight, otherwise the goods to be shipped out won't have time to be loaded onto the ships. You gave up work time to attend this kind of gathering because you agree with their views? They seem to like speaking up for the poor."

"No, no."

The man shook his head, also lowering his voice:

"Although every time I attend an activity organized by 【Eternal Light】, I can feel my mood is unusually calm, some of their views... are really too extreme. I don't want to speak ill of them; in fact, they have always done well, but... I always feel that this is not like a social group, but like some kind of sect."

He pursed his lips, not knowing what he was thinking, and swallowed the words he was about to say:

"However, every time I attend an activity, they give some eggs and vegetables, which is more than what I earn working at night."

Xia De nodded to show understanding:

"Then do dock workers have much contact with 【Eternal Light】?"

"Sir, I can't say that."

Xia De glanced at the boy and slipped the man a few banknotes under the table, so he answered very carefully:

"I know of about a dozen people, not many, and most of them are like me, only going for the eggs and vegetables. But there are also people who agree with them, just very few, and I can't name them."

This was enough to prove Xia De's initial guess, which was that 【Eternal Light】, an organization of ordinary people in name, was definitely not simple. As for what they really wanted to do, this had nothing to do with Xia De for the time being, but if Xia De was still active locally, he would meet them again sooner or later.

He kept his head down and continued to eat. The man across the table hesitated for a long time, looked at his son again, and then lowered his voice to say to Xia De:

"Sir, please don't investigate them, don't be curious about this."

"Why?"

Xia De raised his head curiously, and then saw the emotion of fear on Laurie Anderson's face:

"I met many people there, one of whom wanted to rely on reporting them to the police station to make a fortune, you know there are always people like that. Then, then, then he died... the body fell in an empty alley, and the head was gone."

"Hmm?"

First he was stunned, then Xia De was suddenly shocked and looked at him:

"Wait a minute, are you trying to say..."

The man lowered his head and shook it quickly:

"No, I don't know anything! This might just be a coincidence, I don't know anything. So, please don't continue to investigate, it's not good for anyone. There are many of them, really many."

Before parting with Mr. Laurie Anderson and the boy Newman, Xia De agreed to meet them again tomorrow at noon. He had to consider how to handle the boy's wish, and besides, contact with this porter should allow Xia De to touch upon more secrets related to "Eternal Light".

According to the plan, Xia De then went to the Belindell Manor to visit the witch, mainly to ask about her physical condition, after all, the Sage-level relic was still in her shoulder.

The witch was out on business in the afternoon and had returned to the manor by evening. When Xia De saw her, she was sitting on the sofa, tilting her head to look at the sunset outside. The orange-red light piercing through the dark clouds shone on her profile, and her expression looked lonely and sad.