Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 708 Knowing it is possible but not doing it?

When Lingge and his two companions stepped into the Sherlock Holmes Watson Detective Agency on Baker Street, Sister Livia was introducing the local customs and practices of the Seven Stars District to the guests from afar on the more lively Ritter Street. As a native of the Seven Stars District, she has never left the land under her feet since she could remember her childhood. Her understanding of this neighborhood may be second only to those old people who still retain memories of the old times.

She described the spiritual springs and wells in the Seven Stars area, mentioning that St. Craven's ancient well was buried under the abandoned old boathouse, the small spiritual spring in Chard Lane now houses the office building of the Parish Council, and the strangely named but very effective Appuardino Well was said to have been used to cure leprosy and asthma. It was believed to be the tears of the saint, so black monks often preached here. However, with the promulgation of the "Religious Decree", the animists collectively evacuated Renwitin, and it gradually became deserted. Now it has become a public theater, selling tickets at a low price every Saturday. The audience only needs to pay one penny to enjoy dramas such as "The Merchant of Renwitin", "Midsummer Night's Bubble" and "The Gift to My King".

In addition, there are changes in the lives of residents. Twenty years ago, the area around St. Annville Cross Church was still so desolate and bleak, as if isolated from the world. The believers of the Spiritual Prayer Society brought food and clean water to the poor, vagrants, beggars and orphans here, but they could not change the poverty and violence flowing in its bones. Corpses were buried in the cemetery next to the church every day, and then at night, corpses would be dug out and discarded, and new corpses would be buried. "Don't walk here at night." This is the advice of historian Maximilian. In one of his articles, it is clearly mentioned that the Seven Stars Pan area is a frequent place for murder and suicide. Suicide is considered "blasphemous" in the doctrine of the Spiritual Prayer Society, but those who are desperate seem to have ignored the teachings of the saints.

It was the church union that finally changed the situation. Their various measures were always not perfect in the eyes of the believers of the Spiritual Prayer Society. Sometimes they established order but seemed too tough, for example, forcing homeless people and beggars to undergo high-intensity "labor reform" and imposing cruel punishments of up to the death penalty on criminals such as pickpockets, thieves and robbers; and sometimes they provided relief but seemed not merciful enough. Although they were so wealthy, they set strict limits on the number of people and the number of times they could provide relief, and even required children to work in exchange for food and water...

However, this series of measures did bring the Qixingpan area back to life. To this day, it is still the most backward neighborhood in the entire Lenwitin, and the residents here are still poor, but there is no more numbness and despair in their eyes, and their steps are no longer just wandering aimlessly. For the first time, they know what "survival" means, and they start to work hard for survival. And for the monks of St. Annville Cross Church, the most direct manifestation of these changes is that the public cemetery they manage has finally resumed its normal frequency of use, and the number of suicides and murders has been greatly reduced, until one year it dropped to single digits.

"This is completely different from what the old nanny at the workhouse taught us."

Sister Livia walked and chatted with Metien next to her: "The old lady always said that those people were suffering from hunger and cold, and it was a pitiful thing to suffer in the world, so we should try our best to help them, let them feel the warmth of humanity and get comfort, but the relief agency of the united order never let the recipients eat enough, and required them to work before they could get food; the old lady also said that criminals resisted in the wrong way because they suffered injustice in the world, and we should try to influence them. If there is one less evil person in the world and one more good person, then the saints will be happy, but the united order never shows mercy to those criminals, and always throws them into prison, or even ties them to the gallows, no matter how they beg for mercy.

"I always feel that their actions are cruel and brutal, just like the northern barbarians during the reign of King Ingwill, who would not show mercy to their own people. But there is also a voice in my heart telling me that their actions are correct, because judging from the results, the Seven Stars Region has indeed become better... I am very confused and can't figure out what is going on. If only the old lady were still alive, I could ask her about this issue."

The nun looked at every resident who was in a hurry on the street, and a trace of confusion rarely appeared in her eyes. The saint once taught his followers that the journey in the world is a spiritual experience. Only by washing away the dirt on the soul can the spirituality return to its purest state. This process requires meticulousness and patience, otherwise it will be counterproductive. But every resident she saw was so hurried and anxious, as if a step later would waste a precious second in life. Have they stopped following the teachings of the saint? The union of the sects has changed their lives, but at the same time it has also delayed their understanding of the world, making it impossible for them to calm down and hone their spirituality?

"The devil is always good at deceiving people," she murmured. "I remember that you could buy thirteen big oysters for a shilling."

Metien didn't know what this sentence meant, and she didn't know it was actually a famous quote from a realist novel. Olvera, who might know the origin and meaning of this sentence, was holding her beloved little package, looking around for something and had no time to pay attention to their conversation. Therefore, the pink-haired girl could only rack her brains and answer with the logic she understood: "Maybe, maybe it's because of human nature?"

"Human nature?" Livia blinked her big blue eyes, her expression obviously a little surprised. It was unclear whether she was surprised at how such a profound topic as human nature came up, or at hearing this word from a little girl of twelve or thirteen years old.

"That's right!" Metien nodded vigorously. "Linger once said that human nature is lazy and hates work. If they are not pushed to move, they would rather lie still. So it is the right way for the church to unite and force them to work. Simply giving them relief will only make them dependent!" "So that's how it is. It seems to make sense..." Livia said thoughtfully, "I heard that Mr. Linger was originally a pastor. Is this a lesson he learned from his own experience?"

"Well, I guess, right?" Metien was a little uncertain.

"In that case, is the method used by Mr. Lingge's church to provide relief to the people very similar to that of the church union? What is the effect? ​​Is it very obvious?" Livia became interested and continued to ask.

"Uh."

This question made Metien stumped for a moment. After a while, she shook her head with difficulty: "No, no, the Seven Days Service of our Tianxin Church is the same as the almshouse and the Poor's House of your Spiritual Prayer Society. We distribute relief food directly to the residents. We just ask them to listen to a sermon."

"Eh? Why?" Livia tilted her head in confusion when she heard this: "Mr. Ling obviously knows this truth, why doesn't he do it?"

"This……"

Metien couldn't explain it for a moment, after all, it was really too contradictory. Was it because the young man couldn't do it? It was possible that the church union could cooperate with the government to provide jobs for those homeless people by carrying out public works, and could also arrest criminals and convict them, but the Tianxin Church did not have this ability.

However, Metien vaguely felt that this was not the reason.

The scene of last night appeared in her mind, the conversation between the young man and her, those calm but weighty words, it seemed that she understood something.

"Ah!" Livia wanted to ask something, but at this time, Avella's surprised voice came from the front: "Found it!"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)