CHAPTER 550: CHAPTER 516: JIMMY’S DAY_2

Although the Northern Territory provides subsidies and assistance to orphans like them, Jimmy still remembers his mother’s teachings: people must rely on themselves and be self-sufficient.

So he found himself an apprenticeship in a factory, starting life as a screw-turner ahead of time.

This job was kindly introduced to him by an official; otherwise, a child who knew nothing could hardly work at a factory producing Steam Knights, let alone become an apprentice.

Jimmy did not let down those who helped him. He is a very hardworking child, very diligent and eager to learn.

Whatever the master taught, he held in his heart. Even if he didn’t understand it the first time, he would force himself to remember it and come to understand it slowly.

With such a serious attitude, Jimmy was quite popular in the factory.

When he clocked in and walked into the factory with his lunchbox, the workers all greeted him.

Jimmy responded politely, as his mother had taught him to be polite during her lifetime, a lesson he never forgot.

Moreover, everyone at the factory always took care of him. Apart from the master, other co-workers also taught him many things.

In their capacity, everyone would provide some help, allowing this young boy, who had to provide for his family at a teenager, to relax a bit.

Jimmy did not refuse the help from everyone because he indeed needed it.

But while accepting their help, Jimmy remembered all of it and secretly resolved to repay them when he was capable.

Arriving at his workstation, Jimmy saw his master already at work, so he quickly put away his things and joined in to help.

Jimmy’s master was a technician at the factory, responsible for the assembly and quality inspection at their station. Their station comprised six workers, forming a small team that took charge of part of the assembly work for Steam Knights.

The frames of Steam Knights, assembled in other workshops, would be sent to them for the installation of the outer shell.

This was relatively easy work; even a child like Jimmy, once he understood the procedures and steps, could complete all the tasks independently with the help of the equipment.

However, Jimmy only understood how to do it; he didn’t comprehend why or how to differentiate between doing a good job or bad—the latter still beyond his understanding.

Thus, Jimmy always worked conscientiously, diligently learning, accepting others’ criticisms and teachings, aiming to quickly master the skills needed for work and apply himself more seriously and effectively.

Though he didn’t go to school, Jimmy always held high respect for the Lord of the North, who enabled his sister to attend school.

Upon knowing that the factory produced armor for her, Jimmy worked even harder, believing that producing qualified products was a way to repay the Lord.

Many in the factory shared his sentiments; perhaps not as young, but each person felt gratitude towards the Northern Territory Lord.

Many, like little Jimmy, benefited from Perfikot’s grace, improving their lives.

Thus, they felt grateful and filled with respect and admiration for the Lord of the North.

Some amusing incidents arose as the original Revolutionary Army reformed into an autonomous territory. The Workers’ Federation, once spreading among the worker population in the New Continent, also began expanding to the Northern Territory.

However, their spread encountered significant resistance in the Northern Territory as local workers, compared to their peers elsewhere, were not oppressed and did not wish to overthrow the Lord’s rule.

On the contrary, they strongly supported Perfikot.

So much so that when some New Continent Workers’ Federation staff tried to disseminate their ideas among Northern Territory workers, urging rebellion against the Lord’s rule, some nearly got beaten up.

Jimmy didn’t understand much about this, but he knew that his current life was thanks to the Lord’s grace and mercy, so he needed to work hard to repay her.

Under this influence, Jimmy’s work attitude was very serious, so much so that when it was mealtime, he was too focused to hear the lunch bell.

It wasn’t until his master called him that Jimmy realized, stopping his work, wiping his hands, and preparing to eat.

Jimmy made a simple lunch for himself, or rather, for most in the Northern Territory, food had become simple—two compressed biscuits received yesterday, along with some homemade pickles.

His mother taught him this while still alive; although she only let him help from the side without teaching him how to make pickles, Jimmy recalled how she made them from memory and made some himself.

As for these vegetables, they weren’t bought from the market. Jimmy gathered wild vegetables outdoors, plus some given by neighboring friends.

Though Jimmy worked very diligently, he was still just a child. His wages at the factory, no matter how industrious, could not compare to adults, so he earned a little more than half of what others did, which was due to special care from the foreman.

Though the living expenses for two children weren’t particularly high and Jimmy’s salary could support them both, expecting Jimmy to buy the frightfully expensive market vegetables was beyond his means.

Currently, everything in the Northern Territory was expensive. Vegetables sold at the market were mostly grown in greenhouses or large underground shelters in surrounding towns—not only was production low, but the cost was also high for various reasons.

So while fresh vegetables were available for sale, though Jimmy could afford them by pinching pennies, it would be at most once a week.

Not to mention, he also needed to buy meat, eggs, and milk to improve the diet, ensuring his sister ate better, which required him to be very budget-conscious in life.

Making some vegetables and wild greens into pickles was a simple way to stretch their food supply over a longer time.

Regarding this, Jimmy’s master somewhat disapproved but knew Jimmy’s pride was strong; overly helping him would only overwhelm the boy.

For this reason, his master and other coworkers, even when aiding Jimmy, did so mostly by claiming to have bought too much for themselves and giving part of it to Jimmy.

Luckily, Jimmy and his sister were still children, inherently eating less than adults, and with Jimmy having a job, overall they lived reasonably well.

"Hey, Jimmy! Here’s something for you." The master tossed a small parcel to Jimmy, who caught it and found it was wrapped in oil paper, emitting a sandy sound when shaken.

"Master, what is this?" Jimmy asked, puzzled.

"Sugar. Yesterday, I saw some for sale at the grocery store and bought a bit. Your mistress said a little guy like you wouldn’t spend money on candy, so she asked me to wrap some up for you—take it home, let your sister have a taste of sweetness." The master spoke casually, though he had deliberately bought it yesterday.

"No, this is too precious; I can’t accept it!" Jimmy had seen the sugar at the grocery store yesterday and wanted to buy some but abandoned the idea upon seeing the price.

Saying this, he tried to return the parcel to the master.

"Take it as I said! It’s your mistress’s goodwill. Also, the master is a technician here, earning eight times your wage, and four others in my family have salaries; we’re not short of anything. If you keep pushing it back, I’ll get mad." The master replied, firmly refusing to take the parcel back.

Seeing this, Jimmy had no choice but to keep the parcel, his heart filled with gratitude towards his master.