musicians of old

Chapter 163 The Workhouse in the New Era (5K [-]-in-[-])

This Langefni workhouse has a large area and buildings with different functions. The greening is done well. The central main area is a rectangular square. Four four-storey brown-gray buildings stand intersecting, dividing the large courtyard into several sections. separate areas.

"Mr. Fanning, are you driving yourself?"

After the car came to a complete stop, the factory owner Stanley stretched out his white-gloved right hand and held the half-open main driver's door with impeccable courtesy.

"Yeah, I still eat by myself."

After jumping out of the car, Fan Ning glanced at him expressionlessly, then went to the back to pick up the two little girls.

Intuition told Stanley that the first two sentences of the conversation were not pleasant, but he didn't understand what the problem was, so he could only smile sarcastically.

Several people were walking slowly in the courtyard, during which several men in short-cut jackets dragged a transport cart loaded with vegetables and passed by the four of them. On the other side, Fan Ning saw a group of young women in gray rough canvas, Clothes and sheets are drying in front of the low and wide red brick house door, and there are skipping ropes and hoops for playing in the open space in the distance.

Stanley continued: "I heard from my daughter that you have served as the permanent conductor of the Saint Lania Symphony Orchestra. Are you satisfied with her recent performance?"

Fanning recalled again that when he was conducting the orchestra, he sensed that the strength of Julius's inspiration had reached the level of a knower.

If it is said that this family has nothing to do with the secret organization, he does not believe it. Even if this place is not connected, other places are also connected.

Many problems and activities, as early as after the battle at the watch factory, he had already seen that the reason why he did not choose to report the information of the "prohibited persons" to the special inspection office was that he had discovered that these people were harsh to the outside world, and they were strict with themselves. The group of the interest class is the green light all the way. If the Guiding School does not have substantial mysterious evidence, it will not be able to win a big factory. The second is that he wants to continue to track down the "experience officer" Erov or more secrets through Julius. Traces of organization members.

Besides, I was on guard against suspicion with the Special Patrol Office.
"Her recent progress is very fast, very fast." Fanning turned to look at him with a half-smile.

"I'm sorry to bother you to worry about her." Stanley quickly expressed his thanks, and his words never stopped:
"Mr. Fanning, you came all the way here, and you didn't call here to say hello in advance, otherwise I would have sent a car to pick you up. The reception was not good last time. I will arrange some for you in a nearby town tonight. Authentic meals”

"Miss Sheeran, we meet again, and you need to continue to guide the mediation of labor rights. Who is this equally beautiful lady?"

The two girls chatted softly. While Fanning silently looked at the surrounding environment, he was thinking about why he saw Stanley here.

This incident is both logical and unusual.

In the appointment of management personnel of the Urban Poverty Relief Committee, the authorities would give priority to the class of large business owners and large factory owners, and the newly introduced "Urban Poverty Law" encourages social forces to intervene in the relief system to fill the funding gap of the poverty relief tax... Factory owners are often keen to improve their moral level and political status through this way.

In other words, Stanley, the factory owner, was also a "philanthropist" or "social activist".

This is very logical, but what is not common sense is that he, a man with a family business all over the place, is here today.

"It seems that you are not busy with your business these days? Did you visit the poorhouse in a small town on the weekend?" Fan Ning said casually, looking straight ahead.

Stanley's tone was sincere and frank: "Although I am the main person in charge and the main funder here, I rarely come here in person on weekdays, because it is not a profitable industry, but a charity organization we established out of social responsibility... By the way, The 834 version of the "Poor Law Amendment" has been abolished, and there is no 'poorhouse', and this type of unit is now called a 'poor institution'..."

"So, today was a whim?" Fanning asked.

"To be honest, Mr. Fanning..." Stanley shook his head, "The reason why I ran here to spend the weekend is because the Special Inspection Office came over yesterday, and they checked until late at night..."

"Oh?" Fan Ning raised his eyebrows, "Who led the team?"

"Mr. Joe Vassius."

This thing is a bit strange and contradictory.

Investigators from the Special Inspection Office came all the way to explain that they thought there was something here, and today the workhouse was peaceful, and Stanley was standing beside him, explaining that they didn’t find anything here...

And Stanley also told himself casually and easily.

The vision of my three-person team may not be as good as that of the special inspection hall.

"Where did they check?"

"It's mainly about our paint production line, Mr. Fanning, are you interested in this place too? Now I'm really curious... Do you want me to take you to visit now?"

"I'll turn around first."

Fan Ning walked into a building on the central square. Under the summer sun, there was bright light inside. There was a smell of washing water and vegetable leaves in the air. The walls were old and peeling, but overall it was acceptable. Neat and clean.

He saw the food room sign on the door plate, the temperature inside was a bit high, the boiler was already running, several rows of wooden tables more than ten meters long were lined up in parallel, women in white coarse clothes and a few men who looked like chefs Interspersed with busy periods.

The black bread was lined up in a row, cut into fixed shapes by the women, and divided into iron basins; a chef was stirring the stewed potatoes in the cauldron, pouring salt into it for free; Chop vegetable leaves and carrots on a large chopping board, throw them into a cauldron of boiling water, wrap a wooden pestle in a lard bucket with a layer of white flowers, and dip it in, and finally unpack a bag of yellowish ones. Cane sugar is poured in.

"The Poor Committee has formulated a total of six reference recipes, and we implement them in accordance with the highest standards." Stanley said, "The staple food for breakfast is porridge, and the rest are bread, mainly black bread, occasionally white bread, and pigs are added. Vegetable soup with oil and sugar is basically available every day. Potatoes or broth are provided twice a week. The elderly can get extra butter, tea or sugar. On some major festivals, we will provide a small amount of bacon bread, small cakes, boiled eggs, and sweets. and allow them to have a small beer, or a cigarette or two..."

Joan looked at the food, her eyes flickering, as if she was thinking about something.Sheeran tried to reach out and press the black bread on the counter. It was cold, but fluffy.

Scanning everywhere carefully with spiritual sense, Fan Ning turned around and left after noticing anything unusual, Stanley and several management personnel hurriedly followed the three of them.

Fan Ning then went to another residential building for adult men, where there were a total of 16 beds in each room, the floor was tidy, and cleaning tools were placed beside it.

The management system was printed and posted in conspicuous places everywhere. At this time, a team leader in sackcloth led the crowd to read aloud, which included observing the work and rest time, prohibiting hiding food, prohibiting random walking, prohibiting unauthorized leaving, and prohibiting unnecessary conversation. , Prohibition of pretending to be ill to evade labor and other regulations.

They were mainly the elderly, the disabled, or those who seemed to be seriously ill. Everyone sneaked a glance at Fan Ning, looked directly at the rules and regulations again, and read them aloud. Even a few people who were obviously mentally ill Normal, with crooked eyes and drooling mouth, the man has also learned his posture.

"Many of the rooms you see are vacant at present, because most of the people who are physically able to work are working in the paint factory at this point in time, and you can see them later when you go there," Stanley explained.

"How did they get in here?" asked Fanning.

"Come and explain to Mr. Fanning." Stanley pointed to a manager next to him.

The gentleman who was pointed out took a step forward: "Applicants, they are applicants. We have a special poverty relief officer who is responsible for reviewing their degree of embarrassment, physical condition, working ability, and whether they have bad habits... Eligible ones are Before entering the main building, the concierge will search and confiscate their personal belongings and clothing, take a bath in a vat and shave their hair, and then put on uniform clothes. At the same time, health officials will check their infectious diseases. Assigned to a different area to start living and working...Of course, if the applicant has his own family, the whole family must enter together and be managed separately."

"You guys are no different from a prison." Joan clenched her fists and glared at the managers.

"There is a big difference, they are free." Stanley corrected seriously, "The feudal era has long since ended, and the spirit of freedom is everywhere in the empire. Every law-abiding citizen has the right to happiness and freedom... They voluntarily apply to move in, You can voluntarily abide by the management regulations, and you can also apply for resignation at any time, take your family and take your personal belongings and leave here."

Fanning went again to the second floor of another house, to a large room that served as a children's classroom.

Different charts were drawn on the light-colored floor and doorposts, and the walls were decorated with brightly colored children's paintings. The middle-aged female teacher was trying to explain the characteristics of the compass. She stopped teaching after seeing a few people approaching, but the children The performance is also as quiet as ever.

The girls' hair was cut very short, and the boys were almost shaved, and their clothes were uniformly dressed in hard blue serge, which can be said to be old and ugly.

The children seem to be in good health and cleanliness. Although they are generally thin, their complexions are not as malnourished as Fanning had expected. The only problem may be in their spirit and behavior... They seem particularly inactive, their eyes There are not many agility of this age in the book.

Several people squatted down and chatted for a while with some older children. Their desire to communicate with Fan Ning was not strong, but the conversation between the two more friendly girls and them had some effect, and there was no way to obtain basic information. hinder.Some of them were illegitimate children whose parents disappeared, some of their parents were craftsmen, including carpenters, tailors, blacksmiths, mining and shipbuilding workers, and even two were clerks and land managers.

However, these parents either died in accidents, or lost the ability to work in the previous harsh working environment, or were lazy and wasteful or addicted to gambling and alcohol. Even if the parents are alive, the whole family must be managed separately after being in the workhouse , The number of meetings is very small.

In order to exclude situations such as hidden knowledge pollution, Fan Ning specifically asked about the study arrangement and checked the content of the teaching materials. They have 4 hours of study time a day, mainly learning reading and spelling and common sense of life, and the rest of the time is spent on labor, eating, Go to bed, have a holiday every Wednesday afternoon, if the weather is fine, I will play outside the square under the leadership of the teacher.

"The age group of children here is 2-7 years old, and there are 8-14 years old in another building." Stanley explained, "For older boys, we will let them read some historical materials, learn arithmetic and grammar. , forms, and practice writing with copybooks; girls learn sewing, weaving, time recognition, and housekeeping work... Of course, the organization gives them food and shelter, as compensation, the rest of their time should be used in my factory labor or organization life affairs..."

Seeing Fanning's thoughtful look, the factory owner Stanley asked, "Mr. Fanning, overall, is this very different from the workhouse you imagined?"

"Oh? What do you say?" Fanning asked him.

"Three meals of porridge a day, an onion each twice a week, and half a bread roll on Sundays... The brick floor was full of poor women and children crawling around with dirty faces... Elderly women were lying in bed panting and unable to move, or sitting around the fire coughing loudly, and elderly men were hunched over their work, lingering on their last breath...Children who did not have enough to eat were beaten to death for asking for more food..."

Stanley described a bunch of scenarios like a family, and then said, "These stereotypes used to exist, and they don't now... Maybe there are exceptions in dark corners, but that is definitely an accident... In short, there are bad people in business owners. , I hate those managers who have a rough temper or do not follow the rules the most in my life, and they lower the overall impression of the public."

"Fortunately, the era when the poverty relief system was criticized as 'the bottom bus for the poor' is over." Stanley seems to recall, but also sighs, "Now it is 913 in the new calendar, they can have enough to eat, and they can live in relatively Clean environment, brand new institution 'Urban Mental Patient Committee Hospital' to treat them when they are threatened with serious diseases... They will no longer be ordered to engage in pointless deterrents such as throwing stones, smashing bones, grinding corn, pulling lint Sexual labor, but real productive labor, with a field education of 'trying to be industrial labor'..."

Speaking of this, Stanley looked a little proud: "From food to life to education, you have also seen... The management and conditions of our Langefni poverty relief organization have been well received by the National Committee, This is something to be proud of...Our efforts in the field of charity can withstand the scrutiny of every citizen of the Empire."

Fan Ning couldn't help retorting: "You don't flatter me so much, I think this state is higher than expected, but since the words such as pride and pride are used...you don't think this is far from life in the normal sense of people's mouths ?"

"The asylum deserves worse treatment than the poorest independent laborer." Stanley said sternly: "Or contaminated with vice, or short-sighted, or dissolute, or lazy and stupid... For whatever reason, people who do not create wealth Shameful, poor people are responsible for their own poverty, and our responsibility is to help them realize their responsibility..."

"But children don't have this kind of responsibility." Sheeran said with a frown, "I just learned that some of these children's parents do have bad habits, and many of them are even illegitimate children whose parents have disappeared... But in the end, the children entered the workhouse. Because they are lazy, wasteful, uneducated or short-sighted...they are not responsible for their poverty."

"Miss Hiran, you are so right!" Stanley agreed deeply, "This is exactly how the empire practices it. If you carefully compare food, sanitation, education and other conditions, you will find that our The protection of children is higher than that of adults, and they are required to strictly abide by the principle of separation. They live, eat and sleep completely apart, and minimize contact with their parents so as not to be contaminated with bad habits that lead to poverty... After all, the times have changed. We advocate gentle education for the poor, rather than brutal survival of the fittest, emphasizing spiritual rather than material 'inferior treatment', so that they will spontaneously regard entering the poor institution as a turning point in their life's reputation... The Empire encourages these hopeful descendants A generation of children, get rid of the influence of their inferior families as soon as possible, and become independent laborers with dignity..."

"You call the workers of the Gold Ronnie Watch Factory dignified?" Fanning stared at Stanley and sneered.

"Every day, some people enter the workhouse because they can't support the whole family, and at the same time, some people choose to accept the worse environment and lower treatment in the factory because they can't bear the workhouse. Is this your pride? Your pride is to keep the two sides competing Rotten, complete your inner circle?...Sir, if you have business in your heart, it's better not to be too much in your mouth."

Stanley was taken aback: "... But you have to know that whether it is the gate or the gate of the factory, more families or individuals want to enter and they are not ranked... My biggest headache every day is that the poor management or personnel staff Bribery issues in reviewing access qualifications..."

As he spoke, his voice became smaller and smaller.

Because he read from Fanning's demeanor that the officer was considering whether to draw a pistol to his forehead, and to deal with certain things according to his requirements.

His tone finally softened: "Sir, no matter how you look at it and think about it, in fact, if there are more people like me in the empire, it is definitely a great thing... It will not only increase the average income of workers, but also lead to unemployment at the age of 35. The reduction of wages and salary cuts, and the better popularization of the 3-day maternity leave welfare system for women... More intuitively and realistically, even the protection level of the imperial poverty relief institutions will increase significantly, and everyone will have more choices. Come on, I'm here to apply..."

Fan Ning did move this idea, but he suddenly realized at the next moment that the factory owner's soft tone was not because he thought he was wronged, but purely because of force... On the contrary, he was still confused about why he treated him The idea is this reaction.And besides resorting to violence, I don't seem to know where to start to refute.

Stanley sighed again: "If it is said that even people like me have become unpopular and less and less due to subjective and objective reasons, it means that this hopeful and prosperous Tiolan Empire It's starting to go downhill..."

"Lead the way to the paint factory." After a short silence, Fan Ning said calmly.

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(End of this chapter)