German Red Prince

Page 42

Even when cornered, Williams persevered, gritting his teeth and enduring. He didn't want to give up, and he couldn't give up.

Because he knew that once he gave up, he could only quietly await death.

Williams still believes there is hope.

He will definitely have another chance, even in the lowest and most wretched place. As long as he works hard every day, his life will definitely get better.

He believed his efforts would not be in vain and would definitely change the current situation.

Fortunately, the capitalists didn't hear his beliefs that sustained his struggle to survive. If they had...

Capitalist: "Happy."

As he passed by a fast food restaurant, Williams handed the bottle he had found to the owner.

"Would you like to exchange it for Fennis or soda?" the shop owner asked, taking the glass bottle.

Williams glanced at the soda on the shelf behind the shopkeeper, swallowed hard, and even though it only cost a few pfennigs, he still couldn't bring himself to buy a bottle.

"Let's switch to Fenny."

Williams hesitated for a moment, but still decided to switch to Finney. He would save up as much as he could, since his family wasn't well-off.

The store manager glanced at him, but still took a bottle of soda from the counter.

"Take it, I won't charge you."

He handed the soda to Williams and then took out a few pfennigs and placed them on the table.

"Keep it; consider this bottle of soda my treat."

"Really? Is it really possible?" Williams was somewhat surprised and was still hesitant.

"Really, take it, child, it's yours." The shopkeeper smiled.

"Thank you." Williams bowed to the shop owner in thanks, then ran away clutching his soda.

"Poor kid." The shopkeeper shook his head as he watched Williams run off into the distance.

The factory is bustling with activity, with various machines humming loudly and workers constantly busy on the production line. Thälmann and Holman are also working diligently at their respective posts.

The factory manager, heavily pregnant, was pacing back and forth, his small eyes fixed on the workers. If anyone was slow to move, he would immediately rush up at a speed completely out of proportion to his size.

However, he would not use corporal punishment, because it would be counterproductive. Corporal punishment would only damage the workers' physical strength, which would hinder his ability to make money.

In his eyes, these workers weren't people; they were tools for him to make money, and the best tools at that. Nothing in this world was more important than money.

When profits reach 10%, they will become restless; when profits reach 50%, they will take risks; when profits reach 100%, they will dare to trample on all human laws; when profits reach 300%, they will dare to risk being hanged.

He dared to collude with those people and sell weapons; if he were caught doing that, he would definitely be executed.

But he doesn't care. He's willing to do anything to gain more wealth, including selling his soul!

Thorne watched the person in charge pacing back and forth, and he felt an urge to rush up and punch him.

Damn it, I'm working and you're staring at me with your eyes wide open. It's making me feel uneasy. If you have nothing better to do, go find somewhere to sit down and stop acting crazy here!

Williams entered the factory, went to his post, and started working, only to find an unfamiliar face.

At this moment, Thorne was working while cursing this damned Brandt, wishing that the guy would fall to his death as soon as he stepped outside.

"Hi, how are you?" Williams greeted Thorne.

Thorne, who was cursing, glanced to the side and saw Williams greeting him.

"This person seems to be around my age. Great, finally I have someone to talk to."

Although Thorne's job was relatively easy, the repetitive, mechanical actions were exhausting. He felt suffocated by the depressing environment, and the work amplified his negative emotions.

"Hello, my name is Carl," Thorne said, carrying a pile of materials into the cart.

“My name is Williams,” Williams replied to Thorne.

"How old are you? You look about my age," Thorne asked, looking at the somewhat immature young man.

“I’m 15, how about you?” Williams said as he assembled the screws.

"15?!"

Thorne was incredulous. What the hell? This is child labor! Child labor is illegal!

During the reign of Chancellor Bismarck, laws were enacted to regulate industrial order and explicitly prohibited the employment of child laborers.

In the Kingdom of the Rhine, laws concerning the protection of minors were passed as early as the reign of Charlemagne.

"I don't want to see a day when, on the land of the Rhine Kingdom, there are again instances of Rhine people bullying each other, elderly people without care, children without support, and wounded soldiers facing discrimination. If that happens, the blood of so many martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the independence of the Rhine will have been shed in vain..."

Charlemagne's last words were inscribed on the Great Revelation Column, which still stands in Reflection Square in Frankfurt.

This statement is the fundamental law of the Kingdom of the Rhine, the foundation of all laws in the Kingdom of the Rhine, and is Charlemagne's famous quote.

No wonder the Rhine people today all miss the era of Charlemagne. How could there be child labor here? If Charlemagne were alive, he would probably have slaughtered countless people.

Although the Kingdom of the Rhine has developed to the point where it could become a dominant force in Europe even after gaining independence from the German Empire, no one would dare to underestimate it.

But is all of this really the Rhineland that Charlemagne wanted to see?

It's back, it's all back.

“15 years old is child labor, that’s illegal! How dare he?” Thorne asked in a low voice.

"So what if you're 15? Are you just going to starve to death if you don't work?" Williams said with a hint of helplessness.

"Where are your parents?"

“My father fell ill recently and couldn’t work. My mother has always been in poor health, and I also have a sick younger sister.”

"Oh, this, I'm sorry," Thorne apologized to Williams.

"It's okay. I believe that as long as I work hard and keep going, everything will be alright. There will be bread, there will be milk, there will be everything."

Williams smiled and quoted a famous line from Charlemagne.

Looking at the young man before him, Thorne suddenly felt a pang of pity. This ideal, this ethereal and unattainable ideal, had been the only thing sustaining him all along.

What era are we living in? Charlemagne's ideas are all outdated.

Those who live a good life now are all murderers and arsonists, all swindlers and cheaters. How can someone who works honestly and diligently expect to live a good life?

In this era, if you work hard honestly, all you'll end up is waiting for those people to fleece you!

"Perhaps this is the German version of 'Rickshaw Boy'?" Thorne thought to himself.

I wonder how many people in Germany, and all over the world, are like this young man, dreaming of getting rich through their own hard work, only to end up with endless disappointment.

“They shouldn’t be treated like this! Why can’t good people be rewarded?” Thorne clenched his fists. He had to change this country, change this era.

This world shouldn't be like this!

The young man in front of him hadn't suffered any setbacks yet, and Thorne didn't want him to end up like Xiangzi, completely degenerate.

"Stop slacking off! Get to work!"

Brandt's voice came from behind, pulling Thorne back to reality. Hearing that voice, Thorne felt a strong urge to throw the stroller at his face.

"You bunch of lazybones! All you ever think about is slacking off! I spend all my time supervising you people! I didn't even attend my child's coming-of-age ceremony! You didn't see how disappointed my child was! I feel so pathetic. If you were just a little more diligent, I wouldn't have missed it!"

These disgusting words coming from the mouth of a disgusting person made Thorne feel nauseous again.

Shameless, I feel like throwing up.

"What is a coming-of-age ceremony?" Williams suddenly asked Thorne.

"It's my 18th birthday."

Thorne rolled his eyes and said irritably, after all, this Brand was really shameless.

"Birthday? What's that?" Williams asked curiously, as he had never heard of birthdays before.

"Every time you grow a year older, we celebrate your birthday and give you cake."

“Cake? That’s wonderful. I wish I could have a birthday celebration,” Williams exclaimed.

His family's financial situation wouldn't allow them to waste money on this.

Thorne looked at Williams, who was lost in his fantasy, and then at Brand, who was shouting behind him.

You're just on the verge of starvation, but they've missed their child's coming-of-age ceremony!

"Art truly originates from life. Writing novels requires logic, but reality does not."

Thorne shrugged. This was truly a magical world.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Though There Are Thousands, I Will Go

Finally, it was lunch break time, and Thorne finally perked up and was fully recharged.

"I'm exhausted." Thorne sighed. Although I didn't do much, it was still hard work for me.

"Is this all we're going to eat?" Thorne looked at the food on the plate and found it hard to believe. After working so hard all day, was this all we got to eat? Would that be enough to fill us up?

"Otherwise what?" Holman picked up the bread and chuckled. "I'm afraid you'll get sleepy if you eat too much and won't have the energy to work. If you eat less, he'll earn more."

"And we're already considered lucky. Rhine Machinery Factory is directly under the Kingdom, so the treatment is better and the food is already considered very good. There are many factories that are worse off than us."

"What do those people eat?" Thorne asked, struggling to break off a piece of bread. "What is this thing? Why is it so hard? Can it be used as a brick?"

“We still have sausages here. Those people only have black bread to eat, and you never know what weird stuff they might put in it.” Holman dipped his bread in the soup and started eating. After all, he was used to this kind of life.

"You call this a sausage?" Thorne stared at a piece of "meat" no bigger than his little finger. This thing is a sausage? This is actually a sausage? This is outrageous!

“You haven’t seen the life of miners,” Thälmann, who was sitting next to me, said. “I worked in the mines for a few years when I was in Hamburg. Those miners did the hardest and most tiring work. They could only eat bread that was blacker than coal and a few potatoes every day. If they were lucky, they could get some pea flour porridge.”

Listening to their words, Thorne suddenly felt a little sad and lost his appetite.

What was the foundation of the German Empire's strength? Who supported the entire edifice? Was it Emperor Wilhelm? Was it the noble lords? How many monarchs came and went on German soil? How many nobles changed hands? Beneath their thrones lay the bones of countless people?

Don't expect those people to empathize with the common people at the bottom of society. Even if their ancestors were cattle herders on the banks of the Elbe River, they are no longer the same people after a few generations.

Thorne looked at the workers eating and felt a feeling he couldn't put into words.

What are these people in the eyes of those above? Consumables? If they are defeated, they die in the factory; if they are defeated, they die in the trenches. What would have happened if Thorne hadn't traveled through time?

Although the conflict between Germany and France has not yet reached an irreconcilable point, who knows when the next war will break out?

Who could have imagined that a single shot fired in the Balkans would lead to the deaths of two million Germans at the hands of Ferdinand?

A century of ethnic conflict and ideological clashes destined the two countries to go to war, and given their current size, it was destined to be another world war.

The two countries still maintain a large military presence along the Franco-German border, and the arms race between them is intensifying. The Kingdom of the Rhine, facing the entire French Commune, is most aware of the current crisis.

The Kingdom of Rhine has been in a state of near-war, with nearly 80 percent of its army stationed near the border.

Once war breaks out, the entire Kingdom of Rhine will be on the front line. That's why they are constantly updating their tactics and equipment. Recently, the army issued all the newly finalized M26 steel helmets to the front-line troops, which is enough to show their concern for the possible crisis.

Who wants to experience another war? Thorne didn't want to think about it anymore. Now that he was here, he was determined to stop the future war. We're all human; why must we kill each other?

Why fight amongst ourselves here, seeking superiority over other countries and nations? The universe is so vast, must we really fight to the death here? In the end, we'll just turn into a speck of dust in the universe, and who will remember these once-proud intrigues and power struggles then?

"Ugh."

Thorne turned all his feelings into a sigh. He was thinking too far ahead. One must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. At least for now, he should think of ways to improve the lives of the people in front of him.

"Why aren't you eating?" Thorne looked at Williams beside him and found that he was just sitting there leaning against the wall, drinking water and resting.

“I’m not a permanent employee, so meals aren’t provided. Besides, I’m young and don’t eat much, so I’ll just save on food expenses and bring some food from home.”

Williams pulled a paper packet from his pocket; it contained only two thin pancakes.

"I'm not hungry right now, I'll save these pancakes for tonight."

"Fuck shit!" Thorne couldn't help but swear as he listened to this. Never have any sympathy for capitalists hanging from lampposts; hanging them is the most humane punishment.

"Take mine and eat it." Thorne handed over his portion. Doing so much work at his age and not getting enough to eat was really taking a toll on his health.

“No need, this is yours. If I eat it, what will you eat?” Williams waved his hand in refusal, declining Thorne’s offer.

“You take this.” Thorne pushed the plate into Williams’ hands. “Take this too, Holman, you two take this as well.” Thorne then pulled out a few bags from somewhere.

"What is this?" Talman asked curiously as he took the bag. This was understandable; who had ever seen instant noodles in this day and age?

Thorne prepared a packet of tea first, and the others followed suit.

"It smells so good! This must be very expensive, right?" Williams asked somewhat embarrassedly, smelling the aroma of the instant noodles. He certainly wasn't qualified to eat something so high-class.

"It's not expensive, it's not expensive, eat up." Thorne opened the lid and stirred it. "Eat up, it's best eaten while it's hot."