CHAPTER 477: CHAPTER 451: RIOT · FIFTEEN

In the early morning, the window knocker promptly rapped on the Robert family window, prompting Robert to crawl out of the not-so-warm blankets.

The cold air made Robert shrink his neck; if he could, he’d very much like to crawl back under the covers, even though they weren’t warm enough, but at least they offered a trace of slight warmth.

But Robert did not do that; instead, he shivered his way into his clothes and finished washing up with icy cold water.

In the past, Robert’s wife would have heated up water before he got up, allowing the family to have hot water to wash with in the morning, along with a steamy bowl of soup or porridge.

However, now the Robert family can no longer afford the cost of fuel, and even breakfast is cold for the family.

Of course, a major reason for this is that now Robert’s family consists only of him and two children.

His wife didn’t survive last winter; she fell asleep on a cold night and never woke up again.

Though Robert does his best to take care of the two children, he is just one man who must also go out to work during the day to earn as much as possible to support the family, so it is truly difficult for him to handle the things his wife used to manage.

He went to the kitchen, crushed the two compressed biscuits received yesterday into a bowl, and added cold water to make three bowls of unappetizing gruel, only then did Robert wake his two children.

Though the family has lost their mother, it comforts Robert that the children are very well-behaved.

His eldest, now nine, is learning how to take care of his five-year-old sister.

While a nine-year-old can hardly do many things right by himself, he still tried his best to help his sister dress to avoid her catching cold after being woken by his father, then took her to wash.

When the two children sat at the dining table, Robert had already finished his portion of gruel.

He deliberately used a large bowl, pretending he had eaten a big portion and was already full.

In fact, the gruel enough for an adult was divided into three portions; the children might barely get half-full, but for an adult, it wouldn’t even fill the gap between teeth.

But this was all the food Robert could earn each day, and he left most of it for the children.

As for himself, he could manage a lunch at the construction site, just barely sustaining his basic needs for the day.

This is why Robert felt deeply grateful to the Countess Brandelis for giving him the job.

Although Robert heard her reputation was not great, supposedly cruelly suppressing any opposition, what did that have to do with a simple laborer like him?

To Robert, the noblemen the Countess destroyed had no impact on him; rather, he thought it better for more of those unkind nobles to die.

Compared to those damned nobles, the ill-reputed Countess instead provided him with work, letting him maintain a job that could at least provide some food in such a dire environment, enough to feed his children.

Albeit this food could only barely feed the children, just considering the current situation on Langton’s streets, makes it clear how precious a stable food-providing job is.

Therefore, Robert was very grateful to the Countess.

At least he did not have to line up every day like his neighbors, just to eat a relief meal at the street corner to stave off hunger.

Nowadays in Langton, even those in the lower town have a hard time finding jobs.

Although many construction sites have opened in the city, seemingly hiring everywhere, there are at least five people queuing for every job.

Even though the Countess was kind enough to hire three people per position, implementing a rotating system for 24-hour work, there are still two people left without jobs, relying on relief food to barely survive.

Those who found jobs were mostly skilled or had at least a decade’s experience; Robert was a foreman of a construction crew with nearly a decade of experience, so he was taken in and had a job to sustain him.

Though the work was exhausting every day, at least he received sustenance, and the site provided a meal, which allowed Robert to ensure he wouldn’t starve while still feeding his children enough—making him exceptionally thankful to the Countess.

As for those who gossip about the Countess, claiming her incompetence left Langton’s people hungry, Robert could only think they weren’t hungry enough.

Actually, among Robert’s colleagues, although rumors about the Countess circulated, their overall impression of her was very positive.

No matter what she had done, she provided them with work and allowed them to fill their bellies.

Moreover, compared to Langton before the disaster, the work hours the Countess demanded were already quite generous, with only ten hours of work and a half-hour break mid-shift.

It’s important to note, before the disaster, Robert couldn’t find any job in Langton with less than twelve hours of work a day.