"You all are embarrassing me by saying this; I know what we've been through," John said to everyone.
"I know the true meaning of hunger," John continued.
"This all happened because of your thinking, John. If you hadn't convinced us this morning, we would have continued living the same life. That's why I'm very grateful to you," Victor said seriously.
"Yes, John. Victor is right. If you hadn't convinced us, this day would never have come in our lives. Thank you very much, John," Uncle Tom expressed his gratitude.
"You all are my family, and I did all this for the family. In a family, there is no need to say thank you. Okay?" John said.
The three of them started laughing a little, and the atmosphere lightened up.
"John, what are you thinking about the future?" Victor asked, as he was now completely focused on what they should do next.
"What's there to think about? I've already found a place, and we will all stay there while farming potatoes," John replied.
"What... why should we stay there? Our home is here, and we will come and go as needed," Victor asked, a bit confused.
"Uncle Victor, that place is the only thing that can save us from hunger now. By staying there, we'll understand how to grow potatoes. That's why we will build a house there and live," John explained to Victor.
"Oh, is that how it is?" Victor said, looking at Clara.
"Wife, what do you think about staying there?" Victor asked Clara.
"If it means getting rid of 16 hours of work, I'll live anywhere in this world, husband," Clara said, holding Victor's hand.
---
"Alright, John, it's a yes from our side," Victor said with a slight smile.
Seeing Victor's smiling face, Clara felt deeply satisfied by that smile.
"This carefree smile, I've never seen it on Victor's face before. He was always thinking about something, and even his smile had faded away. Thank you so much, John, for bringing this smile back to Victor's face," Clara thought to herself, as she wiped away the small tear that had formed in her eyes.
"Alright then, it's gotten quite late. Let's get some good sleep, and we'll meet again in the morning. Good night, everyone," John said, suggesting everyone go to sleep.
"Oh, I didn't even realize the time," Uncle Tom said, looking up at the moon.
"Yes, I also didn't realize it's already 3 a.m. while talking, haha..." Victor said, looking up at the sky as well.
(Note: The time was mentioned by Uncle Tom and Victor while looking at the stars and the moon.)
"Alright, let's go to bed. Good night, everyone," Victor said as he stood up.
"Good night, John and Brother Tom," Clara said while taking her husband's hand and starting to leave.
Uncle Tom and John watched as they left.
"Today, I saw Aunt Clara smile for the first time," John told Uncle Tom.
"That's because Clara's smile returned when she saw Victor's smile," Uncle Tom explained.
" Well, it's good that at least someone's smile has returned today," John replied with a slight smile.
"I arranged their marriage 15 years ago, before you came to Oakville," Uncle Tom mentioned.
"Oh, is that so?" John said softly.
When Uncle Tom saw the sadness on John's face, he understood and placed his hand on John's shoulder, saying,
"Don't dwell on the past, son. It's better to forget bad memories." With that, Uncle Tom started walking towards his home.
"How can I forget, Uncle Tom? Those memories just won't leave my mind," John murmured in a sad voice after Uncle Tom had left and then walked back to his broken home.
Inside his broken home, he spread a cloth on the ground and lay down on it.
"INFO, do you keep any information?" he asked.
[Yes, Host, I have all kinds of information.]
"Can you find Someone ?" John asked in a sad mood.
[No, Host, I only acquire knowledge from every world and improve it, but I cannot find anything.]
After listening to INFO, he was silent for a while, and then INFO spoke again.
["Host, if you want to find someone who is lost, you must first become powerful.".]
"So how do I become powerful?" John asked in the same tone.
["To become strong, you need to increase your knowledge and find strong allies.".]
Upon hearing INFO's response, he blinked a bit and said, "Good night, INFO," before going to sleep.
[Good night, Host John] INFO replied.
----
Late at night in Dante Ward house...
"Are you still not asleep, husband?" a woman asked, addressing her husband.
The man walked around the room and responded to his wife, "You sleep,I can't fall asleep "
"Why do you worry so much, dear?" his wife asked.
"Why do I worry so much ?? Bitch What do you know? Just Go to sleep and stop talking nonsense," Dante Ward threatened his wife.
"Last year, the 4 INSPECTORS came and took 6 months' worth of ration and 1 month's income from my factory."
"Those thieving bastards, I make the Dregs work hard for a low wage here, and they come under the pretext of inspection just to rob me."
"Now, how much ration and Silver SOL will they take this time, the ROYAL INSPECTORS?"
Dante Ward, cursing the Inspectors, paced angrily around his bedroom
"He tells me to sleep, but how can I with all this shouting around me?" Dante Ward's wife said irritably in a soft voice.
"What should I do so that they can't demand more ration and Silver SOL from me?" Dante Ward thought to himself.
"I'll go to the factory quickly and think things over there," he decided, heading out of the bedroom.
"Well, at least He's gone. Now I can finally sleep peacefully," Dante's wife said once Dante had left.
Morning.....
At 8:30 in the morning, Dante Ward began to step out of his office at the factory.
When the manager saw him, he was shocked because it was the first time Dante Ward had arrived at the factory early.
"Good... Morning, sir," the manager said with a smile.
"Yeah... Okay... Has everyone arrived?" Dante asked seriously, not even bothering to reply to the good morning.
"Tch... What a lousy bald guy. Can't he ever speak with a smile?" the manager thought to himself.
"They haven't arrived yet, sir. They come in at 9 a.m.," the manager explained.
"What... 9 a.m.? Why so late? Change the factory time to 8 a.m. from tomorrow," Dante Ward said angrily.
"Sir, our factory already starts two hour later than others, and if we move it up by another hour, the Dregs won't have any time to rest. They'll fall sick, and our work will suffer," the manager tried to explain to Dante Ward.
"I don't care about that. And I'm sure those people won't take time off with the excuse of being sick. If they Take Holiday, they won't even get proper food. "
"They should be happy I'm giving them work. Just change the time from tomorrow," Dante said, walking inside to inspect the factory.
"What a heartless old man, showing no humanity towards his factory workers. I don't think WARD TEXTILES will last much longer. "
"I'll need to start looking for another job in advance. I don't see a future here," the manager thought to himself as he calculated his options.
He then went to stand by the gate as the factory workers began to arrive. Looking at them, there wasn't a single smile on any of their faces.
It was as if they had just risen from a graveyard and come to work, with completely emotionless faces and a silence that felt like a mourning procession.
One by one, all 405 workers gathered, including Jack and Stephen.
"Listen, everyone, the boss has something to say. Go to the ground in the back and wait there," the manager said after observing them all.
The ground behind the factory had no shade or shelter; it was just an empty space where the 405 workers stood in lines, and the sun was already beating down on them.
Standing in the sun, the workers were discussing what the boss might want to tell them. There was no joy in the atmosphere, only tension and anxiety.
"Brother, what could it be that made the boss keep us standing in the sun like this? When will he come, and what is this all about?" Jack asked, wiping the sweat from his face.
"We'll only know when the boss arrives and tells us," Stephen replied.
Just then, a 50-year-old man started walking in from the back door of the factory. His face was filled with anger. Seeing the old man, everyone fell silent, and only the sound of his footsteps could be heard.
The workers were terrified of Dante Ward; he had instilled deep fear in the hearts of the Dregs.
A large makeshift shade made of wooden poles and some grass for cover was set up to block the sun. Dante Ward stood under it and began to speak.
"Listen up, everyone! In one hour, the ROYAL INSPECTORS are coming to inspect the factory. If anyone makes a mistake during the inspection, they'll face severe punishment. "
"Understood? And from tomorrow, the factory time is 8 a.m., so make sure to arrive on time. If anyone is late, one day's ration will be deducted from your wages. Got it?
"Now, get back to work. I don't want to see any laziness," he said, heading back towards the office.
---------------------------------------------------
"I'm enjoying writing the story. Are you enjoying reading it?"
See... Yaa... Next Chapter
[ THE ROYAL INSPECTORS ]