Chapter 61 The actions of little people

163

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the passenger ship entered the waters of the Rhoside Islands. Although it has already ushered in early winter on land, there is still a slight warm breeze on the sea. The ocean is always synonymous with opportunity and chaos, and all kinds of people mix in the city, bringing with it the differences between the north and south continents.

They all have completely different lively styles.

After the ship docked at a small port he was familiar with, Richard Ernst unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, carried his small black suitcase, and slowly got off the ship with the people arriving at the destination. In the port

Most of the workers are dark-skinned lower-class people from the Southern Continent and indigenous people with distinctive clothing styles. They work under managers who hold canes and wear top hats. If they slack off even a little bit, they will be severely criticized or even whipped.

The colonists of the Northern Continent have almost omnipotent privileges here. Even if they kill one or two natives, the worst punishment they will receive is deportation. They can even open their joints with a small amount of money. Bureaucrats in the civilized world will not refuse.

With the opportunity to make money, the local people will not make enemies with the superiors just because of a human life. As for the price of compensation... it is so low that the businessmen who can come here will not care at all.

Richard was not surprised by all this, but he was not accustomed to it, because once upon a time, he was one of them.

The child of the invaders, the mixed-race son of Fusac, and the colonist father he had never met, was unable to raise his slowly declining mother.

The shoeshine tool in his bag, the mud and vegetable leaves that fell on him, the aunt and sister from his neighbor who were taken away by slave traders and never seen again, the royal family and the Church of the Bound God who were indifferent to the suffering of the people, blamed

Their war of resistance was a barbaric act by the nations of the Northern Continent.

Richard Ernst truly felt that the temperance ideals had become distorted and needed a radical change.

When the Highland Kingdom was still there and the Rose School was still the "Church of the Bound God", as the national orthodox church, it certainly had the ability to restrain its citizens to live a simple and peaceful life. But now that the Highland Kingdom has been subjugated for decades, it is still doing this to keep itself clean.

The dream is too stupid, somewhat escaping reality and self-deception.

If you adhere to the concept of "control yourself and restrain your heart", you can either have the ability to make others follow you willingly, like the legendary saint, and even your enemies will be impressed by your moral character; or you can move yourself. Otherwise, you will become the enemy's butcher knife.

Falling down, when people's cries are heard, when anger and hatred are burning, but you still choose to be restrained, this is escape.

Otherwise, if you just exercise restraint, will you want to explode?

Richard took a deep breath.

Hatred?... No, I have given up hatred.

Forgive? No, this is a sin that can never be forgiven.

Sure enough, there are always some things that cannot be controlled. For example, the desire for freedom, the yearning for dignity, and the love for hometown.

164

The Temperance Angel wiped his nose with his hand, hired an old local man as a guide, and asked him to take him to the nearest affiliated institution of the Ernst Foundation. The old man was still a little impressed by his civilized manners and tall stature.

He was afraid, but He spoke fluent dialect, which quickly dispelled the old man's guard and started talking to Him in a relaxed manner.

So, Richard was surprised to learn that this old man had worked for the Ernst Foundation for decades. Because he had no education, he could only work as a chef. Later, when he got older, he was involved in a robbery attack.

He lost his right hand (the old man shook his empty sleeve) and lost the ability to work. After he cultivated himself in the workhouse until he could take care of himself, he left voluntarily and found another way to make a living. It has been ten years.

Hearing that the young man who asked him to lead the way was related to the foundation, a very slight smile appeared on the old man's sad face, and the wrinkles between his brows that had been painstakingly polished also relaxed a little.

"When I was working there, there was a little girl who... really liked to eat the food I cooked, ahem..." the old man said slowly, his eyes filled with the brilliance of memories of the good past, "She sang very beautifully.

, and is very lively and active, and has light blue hair. The way she smiles is exactly the same as my missing little daughter..."

Richard thought for a while and asked with a smile: "Is your name Cosette?"

"It seems...I can't remember clearly." The old man thought deeply at first, and then sighed deeply, "Ahem, it's been so many years...If she grows up smoothly, her child should be that old..."

The two chatted and walked through the bustling port and city center before arriving at a two-story building on the outskirts of the city.

"Here we are, sir."

"Thank you for your help." Richard did a little trick and turned the five-pound banknote into a one-sule note and handed it to the old man.

The old man thanked and left. Richard looked into the small building and found someone moving in the small yard behind, so he tentatively called out: "Mr. Solera? Is that you?"

First a bald head popped out from behind the wall, and then three smaller heads popped out. Then a middle-aged woman came out generously and opened the door for Richard. Then she went back and put her hand on the bald head.

Pat it hard and it will make a crisp sound like a ripe watermelon.

"...Oh my god, Richard! It's really you, you're back!"

Mr. Solera, who was bald and beaming with joy, ran over with a bumpy belly that made him feel safe, and gave Richard a big hug. Then he realized that he had just arrived at Richard's house.

Chest, quickly pushed him away, looked up and down: "Have you grown taller again?"

Richard smiled and said: "You said the same thing last time."

"It's good to be young, it's good to be young, you can still grow taller." Mr. Solera, who is not short but not very safe, was very emotional. He patted the young man's shoulder hard and laughed.

"How long ago was the last time you left? Three years ago? Five years ago? The little girls you sent have grown up, and there are only a few children left to accompany me!"

"By the way, how old are you this year? Are you in your twenties? You're already here, why don't you just have a drink with me before leaving!"

"Don't listen to his nonsense." Mrs. Durda complained to her husband and pointed out the children hiding behind her and peeking out in the small garden. "Remember? They were all the slave traders you bought from

The babies we snatched back. Well, the girls have grown up, gone out to get married and have their own families, and they will come back to see us every year."

"The budget Mr. Garland gave us is enough for us to adopt five children, but we also have jobs, so we support a few more... Our eldest son went to study in Lunen, graduated two years ago, and is now back in Zhongsunya.

He works in a company. This is a very respectable job. We are already planning marriage for him. Oh, we also have a young son..."

Richard listened with a smile. Mr. Solera, who was always impatient with his wife's nagging, had already cheered and returned to the backyard to play with the children. The management of institutions in the sea is different from that in the northern continent, because the flow of people in the city is too large and excessive.

Chaos. Too many vulnerable people gathering together can easily become targets for human traffickers and extremely vicious people.

Therefore, there are almost no orphanages or almshouses in the true sense. Instead, families adopt children and sponsor their lives. Not providing all accommodations will leave a lot of expenses, but it cannot be guaranteed to a certain extent.

There is no way around the safety of the children.

"Who is your youngest son?" Richard asked.

Mr. Solera laughed and gathered all the children with his arms: "They all are!"

"Stop making trouble." Mrs. Durda couldn't help laughing, pointing to one of the children with slightly red hair and said, "This is our child."

"He is very cute." Richard looked at the shy little boy seriously and smiled, "He will definitely become an outstanding person."

"Since you're here, let's have dinner before leaving. I'll treat you to the wine and bacon I brewed by myself!" Mr. Solera said quickly, "If you are willing, come and tell stories to the children. I will

I’m also curious about where you have been over the years and what you are doing when you come back this time.”

165

Maria knocked on the door of Isengard Stanton's house. An apprentice-looking man wearing a brown vest poked his head out warily. Seeing that it was a lady, his expression and tone softened: "Hello?"

"Hello, I have a commission and want to see Mr. Stanton."

The apprentice nodded, turned around and closed the door. After a short while, he opened the door again and made a gesture to invite Maria in: "Mr. Stanton has no schedule now. Madam, you can come in and discuss in detail."

Maria was overjoyed and hurriedly entered the door. She neatly arranged her appearance and tightened the document bag in her hand. She had put on a disguise today, covering up the most representative scar on her face and dyeing it.

She changed her hair and put on a skirt and high heels. She looked like a slim young beauty. No one would associate her now with the lawyer principal in the East District who was very skilled in gang fights. Essinger was waiting in the living room to meet the guests.

When they came, the old gentleman stood up to greet them. The two briefly said hello, and after looking at each other, Maria took the initiative to explain her purpose:

"Mr. Stanton, I have heard of you for a long time. I would like to ask you to help me investigate something..." The apprentice brought hot tea. She took out a few pieces of paper from the document bag in her hand and spread them out on the coffee table. "I am

I am a businessman who does a simple processing business. I have a processing factory in the East District. But Mr. Capin used some unfair means to rob my goods, injured my workers, and demanded ransom from me, otherwise he threatened me.

No more business."

"I planned to report this matter to Silveras Field, but the case could not be accepted because there was no evidence. Soon I reached the deadline required by Kapin. I would like to entrust you, a famous private detective, to help me do something.

Investigation... These are the photos of my missing workers. I suspect that they were imprisoned by Kapin. I hope you can help me find the place where they are being held. I want them to return to their families."

Essinger frowned slightly, holding the archive document provided by Maria and reading it attentively, but he did not say a word, but slowly blew out bursts of thin white smoke from his pipe.

Maria waited quietly, and finally heard Essinger speak: "Sorry, madam, I cannot accept this commission."

"I understand your concerns. Kaping has a large number of manpower in the East District. I don't mind if you distribute this commission to more detectives. I...I have sufficient funds to reduce risks for you." Maria touched it.

The accounts and checks in my pocket were very heartbreaking, but I felt confident.

"That's not the case, madam... You want to rescue your workers. I am touched by your kindness. However, Kaping has been entrenched in the East District for too long. Even the police dare not take action rashly. We private detectives can

What we can do is very limited.”

Essinger politely declined.

"No, sir, I just hope that you can understand the structure of his house a little bit. No matter what method you use, you can..." Maria's voice was a little dry, "Even if it's just the change of members within the mansion... it's OK.

...I must bring them back."

"Ma'am, I really want to help you, but this is beyond my ability. You should call the police and file a record instead of asking for help from a detective."

Essinger sighed and emphasized the police, trying to hint to the lady opposite him not to try to play tricks with Kapin. The other party had deep connections and secret support. But in order not to make the lady sad and desperate, he still comforted: "

But Emperor Russell said: Wherever you walk, you will leave traces. Kapin will definitely leave a lot of clues after doing these things. Maybe you need to wait patiently. As long as you find the evidence, you will definitely be able to bring him to justice.

By law."

Of course I know... Hehe, this incident actually happened in April last year, and the case is still refused to be filed because there is no evidence. If I hadn't personally committed suicide and snatched the person back, the grass on the grave would probably be one meter high by now...

…! Maria forced a smile, and the two of them played Tai Chi for a while. She knew that she could not persuade Isinger, so she had to leave.

After leaving Essinger's house, Maria looked at the list of available detectives in her hand, Stuart, Kaslana, Moriarty... She suddenly felt that her future was bleak: if even the strongest possible detective

Isengard Stanton refused because he was worried about the power behind the other party, so it was even less likely that other little detectives would agree, not to mention that Maria herself would not be able to conceal information or use coercion or inducement for her own purposes.

It may not be useful if the heads of other cities come. Everyone is sequence 6 or lower. The only person who may be able to help is Mr. Garland, the "gatekeeper" on the Rhoad Islands, but when the other party arrives, he will need to count.

It’s hard to predict what will happen during this period of time.

What to do...

TBC

——————

"My son works for the East India Company. It's a very respectable job..."

In the transitional chapter, I planned to skip the plot of Klein Sharon and the others fighting the Rose School, but it didn’t seem possible.

I will post one tonight (I will research what the VIP chapter is) and will update it as usual at 12:30 tomorrow.
Chapter completed!