"If you can't pay the rent next week, get out!"

A sharp sound that seemed to pierce the eardrums suddenly sounded, and the pedestrians on the street only glanced sideways when they heard it, and then returned to their normal lives.

Something like this has long been uncommon.

A fat woman with wavy hair and heavy makeup walked out of the room twisting her waist and rolling her eyes at the woman holding the boy behind her as she tossed the 1 shilling in her wallet.

Wretched?

Pity this mother and son, who pities her!

She eats by renting an apartment, and she doesn't do charity, if everyone can't pay the rent and lives in an apartment for nothing, she drinks the northwest wind?

Saying this, the fat woman has actually given the mother and son a few days of leniency, which is already the limit of her kindness.

In this cannibalistic world, the good ones are always the first to be eaten.

The fat woman knocked on the door next door, and this time it was a dirty coal miner, with a scruffy beard and bloodshot eyes, who looked like a night watchman who had just come up from the mine.

"Look at what! Haven't seen it? Rent for rent! ”

The fat woman straightened her chest and looked at her fiercely, which frightened the coal miner to lower her head and quickly handed over the prepared rent.

"The rent is 2 shillings, what do you mean you give me 4 shillings?" The fat woman glanced at the coin in her hand and snorted, "Is it to pay next week's rent in advance or what?" ”

The salary payment mechanism of the Kingdom of Windsor is mostly a weekly salary, which is paid once a week, and the way of paying the salary determines the payment interval of the worker's rent, the weekly salary is paid once a week, and the monthly salary is paid once a month.

It's rare to pay rent like this suddenly.

"Momolly's rent. I gave it for her." The coal miner whispered.

The fat woman looked at the man in front of her, then squinted at the closed door in the next room, and suddenly shouted at the top of her voice, "Swan, I heard you right, right?" You're going to pay Molly this week's rent? ”

"Don't shout." The coal miner, known as Swan, hurriedly waved his hand to stop the fat woman from screaming, but it was too late.

The door next door opened open.

"Since you're willing."

Jingle bells.

The coin made contact with the coin, and the fat woman threw 4 shillings into her purse, and by the way, she took out the 1 shilling she had just received from Molly's mother and son and threw it to Swan: "After the price increase, the rent for a week is 2 shillings, I won't overcharge, this is Molly's money, you pay her back." ”

"Good"

Looking at the man's spineless appearance, the fat woman lowered her tongue and said angrily: "The clothes are so dirty, is there no one to wash them?" Give me 5p and I'll wash it for you! ”

Swan took two steps back, shook his head repeatedly, and declined the fat woman's kindness.

The fat woman didn't care at all, rolled her eyes, twisted her waist and walked to the next room, slamming the door with her thick and fat palms, and dust fell from the cracks in the door.

"Open the door! Pay the rent! ”

Every week at 10 a.m., the tenants living in this apartment building experience a fat woman's terrifying voice bombardment, punctual and punctual, rain or shine.

If there is no one at home, come again at 8 p.m.

Watching the fat woman's rough banging on the door, Swan shook his head, and was about to close the door to sleep, when he saw the door open next door, which opened a gap.

Molly, who was dressed plainly, walked out and said to the man, "I made the soup, do you want to drink some?" ”

Swan nodded, and silently followed Molly into the house, the narrow room was only a dozen square meters, there was a bed in the corner, not far away was a carbon stove with a chimney, there was no independent toilet, only a common pool for washing hands and vegetables.

The room was small, but it was clean, the washed clothes were hanging by the window, swaying in the wind, giving off the smell of soap, the pot of the stove was bubbling white, and the boy sat obediently at the dining table, staring at the man motionlessly.

"Sit down."

"Hmm."

The table was small, less than half a metre wide in circles, with a basket of sliced bread in the center, covered with white gauze.

Soon, the woman brought a bowl of curry fish soup, and the first one was placed in front of the man, who pushed the bowl to the boy next to him and waited for the second bowl.

Three bowls of fish soup and a few pieces of bread were a simple lunch, and the three of them were eating silently at the table, when suddenly, the boy raised his head and said, "Mom, I can go down the mine with Uncle Swan!" You can earn 3p a day! ”

Without waiting for the woman to speak, the man preemptively said, "You should go to school." ”

"You can't learn anything if you go, why go!"

"His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince is reorganizing the public school, and it is different now than before."

"I'm not going!"

The boy pushed open the bowl, jumped off the stool and rushed out of the door, and the woman sighed helplessly: "Sorry, he didn't mean to"

"I know." The man nodded lightly and continued to drink the soup.

"I owe you money, and I will pay it back to you as soon as possible."

"No, you don't." The man said, "I promised Rosen to take good care of you." ”

"Rosen has been dead for five years," the woman said with some sadness, "it's not your fault that he died in the mines, you don't have to take care of us all the time for him." ”

"I was supposed to be on duty that night, but I had a stomachache, so Rosen and I changed shifts."

The spoon stopped, and the man held the handle of the spoon stiffly: "The one who died should be me." ”

The woman sobbed slightly, and the man continued: "Although the rent has risen, you don't have to worry, I work the night shift and earn more than the day shift, I will pay the rent for you in the future, let Turner go to school." ”

"He doesn't want to go to school"

"People like us can only change the status quo by studying, and if we don't study, Turner will only be a low-level worker like me in the future."

The man had no expression, and looked a little wooden: "The end of the mine man is to die in the mine, Rosen is like this, and I can't escape." ”

"Swan."

"I bought an insurance policy for myself, and the beneficiary filled in you, if I die in the mine, remember to pick it up."

"I'm full."

Putting down the spoon, the man stood up and walked out the door.

"Wait!"

The woman suddenly called out to him.

"Your clothes are dirty, take them off, and I'll wash them for you."

"Your Highness, this is the workers' opinion form submitted by the coal miners' union."

Educators' Association, Sean Rickman handed the report to Arthur, then sat across from his desk and lit a cigarette.

"Is there a coal miner's opinion or no opinion?"

Arthur looked at the contents of the opinion sheet, frowned deeply, and immediately relaxed: "The labor representative committee is all Shukry's people, how can they submit opinions that are unfavorable to them?" ”

Sean Rickman exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled: "Yes, Your Highness, this opinion form was made up by them, and I guess they didn't ask the workers for advice at all Interestingly, in order to make the opinion form look more realistic, they also added a few comments that they wanted to increase the rest time." ”

"It's still a fake." Arthur said.

"When will the misdeeds of this group of labor representatives be exposed? Isn't there any news from Father Mavi yet? ”

"Don't call the priest by his name." Arthur reminded, "Beware of the walls with ears. ”

Sean gentleman No, now Councilor Sean, he bowed his head and said, "How long are we going to wait?" Without collecting workers' demands, the Labour Party will not be able to formally introduce the bill. ”

"Wait for the workers' tolerance to reach a critical value."

"That would hurt too many people."

Sean Rickman muttered: "Maybe it will wake up more workers, but it may not be correct, especially if we know the outcome in advance." ”

"If the workers cannot be united, the revolution is likely to fail, and if the revolution fails, all efforts will be in vain, and then who will speak up for the workers?"

Arthur said slowly: "Without suffering, there would be no struggle, there have already been many people who have shed blood, in order not to let the blood shed by these people be in vain, and in order not to let more people fall into the same situation, we must wait." ”

Sean Rickman smoked a cigarette and didn't say a word.

Mercy not for mercy's sake, but mercy in heart.

He could not bear the suffering, so he drew his sword in anger.

Chivalry.

"There is no such thing as a successful individual hero, and I know it's fascinating, but unfortunately, it must end in failure."

Arthur said: "The strength of the kingdom comes from the people, the strength of the unions, the unity of the workers, even the gods, and the believers." ”

"The lone knight, always dressed in silver armor and holding a long sword, galloped across the vast fields on horseback, fearless even in the face of thousands of horses.

But what kind of armor did he wear, or the long sword in his hand, build it himself? ”

"Behind the heroes, there must be countless people who have paid in obscurity, and most of these people are civilians."

Standing up, Arthur went to the window, looked at the crowded street below, and said, "The state is a giant machine, we can't just look at the surface, the internal gears are necessary to keep the machine running." ”

"The task of a person in power is not to drive this huge machine, but to think about how to lubricate the gears in it, so that the machine can run for a long time."

Arthur turned around, looked at Sean who was smoking, and said: "For the country, there is no one who cannot be lost, the machine can run on its own, and in case of crisis, it is not the people in power, but the united people." ”

"Whew"

Sean Rickman exhaled a puff of smoke and said faintly: "I understand, Your Highness, the so-called hero is not an individual, but a whole. ”

"It won't be long, Shukry they'll pay the price."

Arthur said lightly:

"In this world, there is no such thing as a free lunch."

A week passed quickly, and the last few days in London have not been peaceful compared to the calm of the previous days.

Especially the Newham district.

Soaring housing prices and rents have made it unaffordable for many people, and more and more people have been evicted from their homes, and people who have no way to go have to come to the workhouse to ask for help, and suddenly the workhouse is overcrowded.

In the workhouse, husbands and wives were forcibly separated, mothers and children were separated, men, women, and children were managed separately, like prisons, dressed in uniform clothing, eating sour and hard black bread, and swill-flavored pea soup

The workhouse was originally set up to help the poor so that they would not freeze to death in the snow, but now the situation seems to have changed completely, and many of the people who came to the workhouse were able-bodied men, who had decent jobs and earned a few pennies a day, but even so, they still came with their families.

Some of those who have been evicted have rented slightly cheaper apartments, while families living in cheap apartments have fewer options: either to go to the park to build a shed or to go to a workhouse, and the high rent makes bricks and tiles that keep the wind and rain out on all sides a luxury.

Perhaps as fate would have it, on a weekend night, London received a heavy rain.

The rain washed over the ground, carrying away the dirt, sand and gravel, as well as the warmth and last glimmer of hope in many people.

In the midst of the rain, a muscular man jumped up to a high place and yelled like a madman, and the people did not move away from him, but got closer and closer to him, like firefighters huddled together.

The able-bodied man didn't make any shocking remarks, he just pointed to the warm and cozy neighborhood of the rich neighborhood that was lit up not far away.

The men's invective seemed to resonate, and people couldn't understand why some people were born in Rome, and some people never made it to Rome all their lives, but became cattle and horses.

Is it because they don't work hard enough?

They don't know how to work hard, confusion brings fear, fear deepens confusion, and the man's abuse makes them feel a little more happy, as if they can use it to vent their emotions.

Scolding and scolding, people were no longer confused, they were not even afraid, and the rain falling from the sky fell on their faces, cold and biting, crackling and shattering, like small stones.

"Fuck these bitches!"

A loud shout suddenly erupted in the crowd, shaking everyone's hearts like thunder, and some people looked around, only to see twisted and hideous, angry faces.

At this moment, the rain seemed to be heavier.

The dull footsteps echoed in the rainy night, and the crowd rushed towards the rich area, with strange weapons in their hands, staring intently at the lights fluttering in the heavy rain, as if it were the Garden of Eden, with endless milk and endless beef.

Just as they were about to cross the street, the door suddenly opened as a carriage parked on the side of the street, and Arthur stepped out of the carriage and stepped into the rain, standing in front of the crowd.

"The fourth prince is the fourth prince!"

The crowd grew noisy, and some people had seen pictures of Arthur in the newspapers, and celebrities like this were quite conspicuous.

Looking at the bustling crowd in front of him, Arthur ignored the frightened policeman not far away, nor did he look back at the frightened rich people lying by the window, but asked aloud:

"Guys, what do you want to do?"

"I want beef!" Someone in the crowd shouted, "I'm going to drink!" I want a warm blanket! ”

"There!"

The man who had been shouting from the heights raised his hand and pointed to the house behind Arthur: "There's everything there!" ”

The fourth prince is a good man.

That's what many people think.

It is precisely because of this that everyone is willing to stop and stand in the rain to talk to Arthur.

He's a good guy.

Not far away, Ma Wei, who was sitting in the carriage and observing all this, suddenly opened the car door and stepped into the rain.

"Big brother, what are you doing?"

Levin looked at him in surprise: "It's raining outside!" Come on in! ”

Ma Wei shook his head, looked at the crowd not far away and said, "They are in the rain, at this moment, I should feel the same way as them, only in this way, can I understand them." ”

Levine was stunned for a moment, pondered for a few seconds, followed Yunia, entered the rain curtain, and stood beside Mavi.

The cold came from all directions, and Levine shivered, as if something had been sucked out of him.

Licked his lips,

He was tempted to have a mouthful of hot soup to drink.