Chapter 171: Chapter 155 Two Worlds
The walls of the Inner City are still as majestic as ever.
Although on this wall, now full of grease stains and dirt, one could often spot the traces of repairs with wooden boards and iron sheets, the cast shadows still instilled an innate sense of awe in all those queueing up at the city gate.
Darkness had just faded and dawn was breaking, but a long queue had already formed at the city gate of South City, consisting of workers ‘fortunate’ enough to have secured jobs in some of the dirtier and more tiring positions within the Inner City.
Due to the disparity in identities and the high cost of living in the Inner City, the majority of these workers enter in the early morning and return at night.
Although the gate itself was wide, the part designated for the passage of these workers was less than half of its width. A much wider road lay adjacent, offering direct access to the Inner City, yet they still had to queue and wind their way around the walls and buildings inside.
They had to be checked to ensure they weren’t carrying any weapons or prohibited items, and they also had to make sure they weren’t excessively dirty. Only after passing these tedious procedures could they officially enter the Inner City.
Among the crowd, women cradling infants were not uncommon, and pregnant women were also in line, slowly moving forward with the queue.
“Lan, you were supposed to be able to rest for another two days, but there’s really no help for it, alas…”
An old man with snow-white hair and a face etched with the ravages of time, standing in front of Tao Lan, spoke with a tone tinged with a sigh.
“I know, Xiao Mei is also having a hard time, it’s her first child, right?”
Tao Lan’s somewhat delicate face was a bit pale, and she looked a little weak, but when she looked down at the scrawny monkey-like baby in the cloth pocket at her chest, a glimmer of maternal radiance still flickered across her face.
This job was hard to come by, and she and her family could not afford the loss of it.
“Later, I’ll allocate you to block number eight, the work there is a bit lighter. After we finish, we’ll come help you,” said the little old man, likely their foreman, who had made some adjustments.
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The company had certain favorable policies for pregnant women and nursing mothers, whether a bit of extra on their Yuan Force points or in the job allocation.
But, that was all relative!
“Alright, thank you, Uncle San.”
Tao Lan’s face brightened with a smile. The foreman was her father-in-law’s cousin, who usually looked after her to some extent.
But the fact remained that the work had to be done. Facing a premature birth, there was really no way around it.
As long as she didn’t step back, there were plenty of people scrambling to take her place.
The job was secure and stable, and the salary was even higher than what her parents earned, making it a rare and desirable position.
Especially for a woman with ordinary talents like herself and no other particular skills.
“Lan, how long do you think it will take for us to get a work card like your brother-in-law’s? Then we could enter directly from the side into the Inner City.”
A young man behind her, enviously watching the few people occasionally passing quickly through the wide adjacent path, said.
Their identity cards only allowed them to enter for a day and leave the same day; even staying overnight was not permitted. If they ever had to stay overnight for some reason, they needed a special permit from above and had to pay for a multi-occupancy hostel, with a cost equivalent to a day’s income. Not to mention, they had to endure these inspections daily.
But those with a higher-level work card could enter and exit normally after a brief questioning on the side.
Tao Lan’s husband had such a work card.
Hearing the words of the coworker behind her, Tao Lan opened her mouth, but in the end, she remained silent.
Uncle San had been working for so long and still had to queue with everyone else; it was almost impossible, just a distant hope dangling in front of them.
And even if one obtained such a card, it didn’t make much difference. Her husband had a long-term work card, yet he was still cautious, fearing that any mistake might lead to demotion; he still had to rise early and go to bed late, no different from before.
Occasionally, in urgent cases, because of his long-term work card, he had to stay overnight.
You couldn’t sleep on the streets in the Inner City, and even the worst communal sleeping quarters cost 10 Yuan Force points per night…
However, just as Tao Lan was pondering this, a somewhat familiar voice came from the side.
“Sis, are you feeling alright?”
Turning her head, she saw her brother, Tao Yu, who had grown sturdier, looking at her concerningly from outside the queue.
Seeing her younger brother, Tao Lan’s face lit up with surprise, her eyes crinkling in a smile.
“Little Seven, you’ve grown taller. You used to be shorter than me, and you’ve gotten sturdier too,”
As she spoke, she even made a height gesture with her hand, tiptoed, and touched Tao Yu’s head.
Tao Yu, seeing his sister’s expression, also breathed a sigh of relief. Her complexion wasn’t great, but she looked neat and tidy.
Girls from the outer city are very tough.
Tao Yu was also curiously looking at the tiny skinny monkey tied to his sister’s chest, a clean little blanket wrapped the baby tightly, revealing a small face that was still a bit wrinkled, with eyes closed and even breathing, seemingly asleep.
Years of adapting to the environment had made even the newborns strong.
Tao Lan’s colleagues, hearing her address, also started chattering.
“A’Lan, is this your brother with the Grade A talent?”
“He’s very handsome.”
“Does the young man have a girlfriend yet?”
“Grade A talent!”
“…”
Tao Yu’s presence had caused a little commotion in the line.
There was even a spreading trend.
This prompted the guards at the city gate to come over and scold them.
“What’s going on, what’s the noise for, keep it down.”
It was only with the guards’ scolding that the noise was suppressed.
Perhaps having heard their conversation, the guard who looked at Tao Yu nodded and did not tell him to move away from the queue.
At that moment, Tao Yu also took out his partnership certificate.
“Can I enter the city with this?”
The guard glanced at the certificate, then at the watch on Tao Yu’s wrist, and his expression softened considerably.
“You can. Do you have any identity chips in your watch? Just scan it later, you don’t need to carry this certificate with you all the time.”
“I do, thank you.”
This guard, who was usually very cold and serious towards the people in line, was kinder to Tao Yu.
“Later, you can download an Inner City notice at the entrance, which spells out some general precautions. Junior partners can directly enter the city, but if there’s no ongoing task, you need to leave the city at night.”
“Alright.”
Tao Yu nodded at the guard, then turned to Tao Lan and asked,
“Sis, where is your work area? I’ll come over and help you after I’m done.”
“I’m not that fragile. This is already the fourth one,” Tao Lan rolled her eyes at Tao Yu, but hesitated before saying,
“I’m in Street Block Eight. You can come and see me if you’re free, but you don’t need to help. You should spend your time improving yourself, doing work like this is beneath you.”
“Yeah, young man, don’t waste your talent. A Grade talent, that’s truly remarkable,”
The white-haired third uncle also felt a bit sentimental, a look of melancholy and envy in his eyes.
If only he had an ordinary combat talent, not even a Grade A, maybe he could have mixed in as a city fortress guard or something.
Alas… his talents were wasted, and his children had only average talents. Now it was up to the grandchildren to see if any of them could possess a better talent.
Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be around to see it…