Part 1. The Joker Chapter 29: “Occupation” and Housing are Serious Businesses
Trying hard not to behave abnormally, Klein asked with genuine curiosity:
”What are the powers of a ‘soothsayer’?”
”Your question isn’t accurate enough, it should be what abilities do you gain from taking the ‘Diviner’ magic potion?” Dunn Smith shook his head and smiled, his gray eyes and face were turned back to the red moon and hidden in the shadows, “Astrology, card divination, spirit pendulums, spirit sight, and many, many things like that, of course, it’s not that if you take the potion, you instantly know and master them, the potion simply qualifies you and gives you the ability to learn them.”
”Because of the lack of direct means of confrontation, heh, you should be able to imagine that ritual magic requires too much preparation and is simply not suitable for encounters, so, accordingly, in terms of occult knowledge, ‘Diviners’ will be more knowledgeable than ‘Peeps’ ‘ More knowledgeable and specialized.”
Sounds pretty good to me too …… It’s the lack of direct means against the enemy that’s a bit hesitant …… And odds are the Church of the Dark Goddess doesn’t have the “sequence” that comes after it …… “Sanctuary” should refer to the Church’s headquarters, the Church of Serenity …… low sequence of direct enemy means may not be comparable to the firearms… …Klein fell into silence, the balance in his mind swayed from side to side, sometimes “secret spy”, sometimes “soothsayer”, as for the “corpse collector”, he As for the “corpse collector”, he no longer considered.
Dunn-Smith, seeing this, laughed and said:
”Don’t be in a hurry to choose, let me know the answer on Monday morning, no matter which one you want to choose, or intend to just give up, there will be no additional views within our Night Watch.”
”Calm yourself and ask your mind.”
With that, he removed his hat, bowed slightly, and walked slowly past Klein to the stairway.
Klein did not speak, did not give an immediate answer, was silent in his curtsy, silent in his eyewitnessing.
Although he had always wished to become an extraordinary person, but when the opportunity really came in front of him, he was still full of hesitation: after the lack of the “sequence”, the “extraordinary person” all kinds of loss of control, the credibility of the diary of Rossel the Great, make people crazy and lead people to fall, all mixed together with the illusory whispers of the “extraordinary person”. The lack of the “Sequence”, the loss of control of the “Extraordinary One”, the credibility of the diary of Rossel the Great, the whispers of madness and depravity, all mixed together to form a swamp that hindered progress.
He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.
”Comparable to a bad and not so bad student filling out their high school entrance exams ……” Klein smiled to himself, collected his frenzied thoughts, opened the door in a whisper, and returned to his home, where he lay down on his bed.
He lay there, eyes open, quietly looking at the bottom of the upper bed stained with a light scarlet.
The murmur of drunks stumbling by outside the window and a carriage speeding down the empty street in the distance didn’t ruin the peace of the night, but rather made it more distant and deeper.
Klein’s emotions settled down, remembered all the past on earth, remembered the father who likes to exercise, always speak loudly, remembered the mother who has a chronic disease but likes to be busy for his own, remembered from childhood to grow up together, from the evolution of playing soccer and basketball together to the game of war rubbing mahjong diehards, remembered that the blurred looks of the failure of the confession of the target …… These are like the quiet flow of the river, not many ripples, not too deep hurt, but noiselessly drowned the mind.
Perhaps only the loss will know how to cherish, when the scarlet fades, the sky is on fire, and the gold emerges, Klein has made a choice.
……
He got up and went to the public lavatory and washed his face to refresh himself, then took the one-soule bill and went to Mrs. Wendy’s and bought eight pounds of rye bread for nine pence to supplement the staple he had finished last night.
”The price of bread is beginning to stabilize ……,” Benson commented as he changed after breakfast.
It was Sunday and he and Melissa were finally getting a break.
Crane, who had long since been in full dress, sat in a chair and looked through the out-of-date newspaper he had brought back yesterday, rather surprised:
”Here’s an advertisement for a house for rent: 3 Wendell Street, North End, a detached house, two floors in all, six rooms upstairs, three lavatories, two large balconies, a dining room downstairs, a living room, a kitchen, two lavatories, two guest rooms, and a subterranean storeroom …… Beyond the house , with two acres of private lawn in front, and a small garden at the back, may be let for one, two, or three years, at a weekly rent of £1 6s. Interested parties should call at 16 Champagne Street, and ask for Mr. Gucheff.”
”That’s what we’ll do in the future.” Benson smiled as he put on his black half-high bowler hat, “The rents of the houses in the papers are on the high side, and the ‘Tingen City Improved Housing Company’ has cheaper and not much worse alternatives to them.”
”Why not go to the ‘Tingen Working Class Housing Improvement Association’?” Melissa stepped out from inside the cubicle with the tattered sarong in her hand, changing into a lightweight off-white dress that had been mended a few times but was still the most fetching.
She was quiet and introspective, but it was hard to hide her youthfulness.
Benson laughed harshly:
”Who did you hear about the ‘Tingen Working Class Housing Improvement Association’ from? Jenny? Mrs. Rochelle? Or was it your good friend Selena?”
Melissa looked to the side and replied in a whisper:
”Mrs. Rochelle …… happened to run into her last night while she was washing up, she asked Klein about the interview, I told her about it, and then she suggested the ‘Tingen Working Class Housing Improvement Association’. ”
Benson shook his head with a smile when he saw that Klein also looked puzzled:
”It’s a housing association for the poor, er, accurately described as the lower classes, the houses they build and remodel are basically communal washroom types and only offer three options, one, two and three bedroom, you wish to continue living in something similar?”
”‘Tingen City Improved Housing Corporation’ has the same business as them but also gives the lower middle class a choice, frankly we are a little better than the lower middle class at the moment but a little worse than the real middle class again, it’s not the paychecks, it’s mainly the lack of time to build up. ”
Klein understood, put away his newspaper, grabbed his bowler hat, and stood up:
”Let’s get going, then.”
”I remember the ‘Tingen City Improved Housing Corporation’ is on Daffodil Street.” Benson said as he opened the door, “They’re called ‘Five Percent for Charity’ like the ‘Tingen Working Class Housing Improvement Association’, any idea what it’s for?”
”No idea.” Klein lifted his cane and walked to the side of Melissa.
And the girl with the silky black hair draped to her undershirt nodded along.
Benson stepped outside:
”Such associations and companies for the improvement of housing are formed under the influence of the Bakerland side, and they are financed in three ways: first, by raising money from charitable funds, second, by declaring that they get good loans from the Government Loan Commissioners for public affairs at an interest of only four per cent. per annum, and, third, by accepting commercial investments, and by charging a certain amount of rent and giving the other party five per cent. per annum in return , hence the name ‘five percent charity’.”
Stomp, stomp, stomp, the three siblings descended the stairs and walked slowly towards Daffodil Street, intending to go to the current landlord, Mr. French, only after they had secured the house, lest there be a situation where they couldn’t move in over there yet, and had to move out here.
”I heard from Selena that there are still those purely charitable improved housing companies?” Melissa said as if in thought.
Benson chuckled:
”There are, the ‘Devereux Trust’, which Sir Devereux donated to set up, is one, he builds apartments aimed at the working class and provides specialized property management, yet only charges fairly low rent, however, the requirements are very strict.”
”Sounds like you’re not too fond of it?” Klein, keenly aware, asked rhetorically with a smile.
”No, I have a lot of respect for Sir Devereux, but I’m sure he doesn’t know what life is like for the truly poor, and the requirements for occupancy of his apartments are like hopes given by a priest, so out of touch with reality, such as having to be vaccinated against the major vaccinations, having to take turns cleaning the lavatory, not being able to sublet the house or use it for commercial purposes, not being able to litter, and not letting the children play in the hallways of the building. O Goddess, does he wish to make every one a gentleman and a lady?” Benson replied in his usual tone.
Klein frowned in confusion:
”Doesn’t sound like there’s any problem with that, it’s all a good request.”
”Hmm.” Melissa nodded in agreement.
Benson turned his head sideways, glanced at them, and grinned:
”Maybe I’ve protected you guys too well to really see what life is like for the poor. You guys think they have money for major vaccinations? The line at the free charity medical organization can go on for three months.”
”You guys think their jobs are stable and not temporary? If you can’t rent out your home in shares for a fee and then move back out when you hit unemployment? And as many of the ladies help in the house to mend clothes and glue match-boxes to make ends meet, which is a commercial application, are they all to be thrown out?”
”Most of the paupers are using every ounce of energy they have to make ends meet, and do you think they will have time to discipline their children and keep them from playing in the building? Probably just have to lock them up in the house, wait until they’re seven or eight, and send them to a place that’s willing to accept child labor.”
Benson described it without using many adjectives, and it slightly creeped Klein out to hear it.
This was the life of the underclass?
Next to him, Melissa also lapsed into silence for a long time before speaking in a wispy tone:
”After moving to Lower Street, Jenny is no longer willing to let me go to her house to find her ……”
”Let’s hope her father can move on from his injuries and find steady work again, but I’ve seen too many drunks who’ve paralyzed themselves with alcohol since then ……” Benson snorted in a heavy tone.
Crane didn’t know what to say, Melissa seemed to be in the same state, and the three of them walked down Daffodil Street to the Tingen Improved Housing Corporation.
They were greeted by a middle-aged man with a kind smile, no formal attire, no hat, white shirt, black vest.
”You can call me Scutt, I wonder what kind of housing a few of you need?” He glanced at Klein’s silver-encrusted cane, his smile growing warmer.
Klein glanced at Benson, who specialized in eloquence, and gestured that he should answer.
Benson spoke very directly:
”The townhouse.”
Scutt turned over the papers and files in his hands, the corners of his mouth quirking up as he said:
”There are five that are not yet rented out, and frankly, we’re more for laborers and their children who have real housing difficulties, six, eight, even ten, twelve crammed into a room, and there aren’t too many townhouses, one right at 2 Daffodil Street, one on the North Side, and one on the East Side …… The weekly rent varies from twelve to sixteen soules, and you may see the particulars.”
He pushed the document in his hand to Benson, Klein and Melissa.
After skimming through it, the three siblings looked at each other and simultaneously pointed to a certain spot on the paper.
”We’ll start with 2 Daffodil Street.” Benson spoke up, and Klein and Melissa followed with nods.
The neighborhood was barely an area they were familiar with.