Bert sold all the ordinary utensils and furniture left in the house, and deposited the remaining antiques in the bank. I heard that the rent in the West Side was cheap, so I moved here with my sister.

This two-story building on rue etienne has a small living room on the first floor, with a dining room and a washroom on the left and right sides. There is also a large fireplace on the right wall for heating in winter.

There are chairs and sofas in the living room, but they are a little shabby. In the center of the living room is an old clock that is still ticking, and it is also the most valuable piece of furniture here.

At the back of the dining room is the kitchen, which has an old open stove, but there are no kitchen utensils in the cupboards.

On the second floor there are three living rooms, a small study and a washroom, as well as a separate balcony.

The living room is one large and two small. There is a bed, a table, a wardrobe.

The small study was furnished with bookshelves and some of the books that Bert had brought with him.

The washroom is divided into two rooms, the outer side is the washing area, and the inner side is the toilet, which is separated by a folding door. There are likewise folding doors next to the bathtub and flush toilet, which is very user-friendly.

Down the first floor is an underground storage room, where you can stack miscellaneous items that are not used for the time being, which is naturally empty now.

In addition, there are complete sewers, gas pipes and meters. A gas meter is a mechanical device embedded in the wall with a gray and white pipe connection, which can be used only by inserting coins.

Outside the small building is a small courtyard of a few square meters, although it is not big, but it is isolated from the dirt outside the street.

Of course, rent is also expensive, costing 19 halsos and 6p a week for furniture, plus a deposit for four weeks.

That's 6 pence a week, that's a gold pound rent.

That's an astronomical amount of money for Chris, who doesn't earn that much for a week of hard work.

It's nice to be rich.

You know, the rent for an ordinary one-room room in the West End is 4 halsos per week. For the working people at the bottom, it is still expensive, accounting for one-third to one-quarter of their wages.

Chris's current salary, plus tips, is only about 7 to 9 Halso a week, less than half the average worker's weekly salary.

Because under normal circumstances, Chris can pull about four to six people a day, 10p each, and earn between 280 and 420p a week.

But Daniel's condition was to take eighty percent of his daily income, so he only got 56 to 84 pence, followed by a week's tip, and a dozen pence. I didn't pay the rent, but I was crammed into a room with three people.

If you follow the market price, Chris is equivalent to giving the boss an extra 28 to 42 pence, deducting the price of 14 pence a week of rye bread, and the weekly rent is about 20 pence.

A room for four people is equivalent to 80 pence, compared to the common rent of 4 halso, or 48 pence. The owner, Daniel, does not lose money at all, and even makes a small profit because it is a property that has been bought out.

And, because the boss never comes here, it's basically the final say. Normally, the bathroom is cleaned once a week, and sometimes it is not cleaned for a month.

In this way, Chris will be raised in the home of his kind brother and sister for a week before he can walk normally. During the week, Bert and Bonnie were at home. Bert is 13 years old this year, and Bonnie is a few months younger than Chris, and she is only 10 years old.

Chris hadn't been working for a week, and he didn't know how to scold the steward, so he hurriedly took his leave, making up his mind to repay them in the future. Driving the carriage that seemed to have gained a little fatter, I returned to the carriage and horse shop.

When I got to the carriage shop, I saw the fat steward, smoking inferior tobacco leaves with his pipe on a sun-warmed chaise long.

Chris, who was still wearing a bandage, immediately got out of the car, walked in front of the steward, and roughly explained that he had disappeared for a week, naturally, it was just a matter of being robbed and beaten by gangsters and going to the hospital for treatment.

I thought that the steward would scold, but I didn't expect to hear only a laughing voice:

"I didn't expect so much to happen to our poor Chris, it's really the gods who bless you, hehe, the carriage is fine. Since you're so badly injured, rest for a few more days. ”

Chris looked up in surprise, only to see the steward with a kind expression but said cold words: "Hand over the car keys, a 13-year-old strong boy just came a few days ago, but he is much more powerful than you." ”

Chris was silent, he didn't argue or plead with the steward, after three years of getting along, he already knew the steward's personality and character, and he didn't plan to go to the boss Daniel to report the steward's unclean behaviors such as secretly deducting himself.

Silently returning to the dormitory, I packed my few belongings: a few coarse cloth clothes and rubber shoes for the year, borrowed books, and dozens of pennies hidden in the closet.

His savings for the past two years have been stored in the bank, and the change hidden in the closet is only for ordinary expenses and temporary needs.

When Chris walked out of Daniel's dilapidated staff dormitory and came to the dirty street, he saw Bert and Bonnie, who were still a little out of breath.

"You ......"

Chris was surprised, hesitated, and a little moved.

"Why are you here?"

Bonnie blushed and looked at Chris, a little panicked, and didn't know what to say for a while.

Bert was still calmer, and said quickly: "I forgot to tell you, you also know that we used to be nobles." ”

Bert paused and continued:

"We need stewards, servants...... Horse-drawn carriages are also required for normal travel...... Naturally, a coachman is also needed. ”

"Yes, yes. Bonnie reacted quickly, "We're just here to ask you, would you like to be our personal coachman?" ”

As she spoke, Bonnie looked at Chris, who was a little stunned on the other side, with some hope.

The steward fired him, and Chris didn't complain much, after all, he made his mistake first.

But what he didn't expect was that the two brothers and sisters of Bert actually guessed this result in advance, or rather, they had such doubts, but for this possible guess, they were willing to take practical action, so they ran out with Chris.

What's more, the brother and sister are afraid of hurting Chris's dignity, so they hurriedly tell this lame, clumsy, and cute lie.

Looking at the kind-hearted two, Chris's eyes suddenly lit up:

"Okay. ”

Then, I don't know who started it, the boy in the sunset, the three of them laughed together.

One morning a few days later.

The three of them finished taking notes at the police station where the last report was made in the West Side, and Chris was relieved to see that the gangsters had been put in jail, at least for a short time, they wouldn't be released and come to their own trouble.

After leaving the police station, the trio went to the market in the southern district of Federenburg, ready to buy some essential items for their new home.

Outcome......

"Here, buy it, our hall needs a granite dining table of this size. The little girl in the pink dress was at the door of a furniture store, excitedly pointing to a large two-meter-long dining table in the window.

"My eldest lady, it costs at least 5 gold pounds, and besides, we already have a table, although it is a bit old. Chris reluctantly pulled Bonnie away, who was thinking about how to spend the money.

"This revolver is fine, the three of us are not very old, buy a weapon for self-defense, at least it can be safer. ”

Bert stands in a "Franky" weapons shop. In the Republic of Ireland, as long as there is a safety certificate issued by the government and the military, it is generally legal to own firearms, of course, only pistols and shotguns with minimal lethality. Therefore, the vast majority of nobles and wealthy merchants owned at least one gun.

"My eldest young master, this costs 10 gold pounds. Chris pushed away the owner of the property, who had a mysterious interest in guns, with a black line on his face.

"Here and here, we need this soft leather sofa. The red-faced little girl exclaimed, "Oh my God, it looks so good." Buy it, buy it!"

"No!" Chris said decisively refusing without even looking at it.

......

In the end, a listless Bonnie and a silent Bert follow Chris who has only bought kitchen knives, cutting boards, pots and pans at the grocery store......