In the early morning, the young Belinda crawled out of bed, tucked the two little ones who had been sleeping in her arms back into the covers, smoothed down the blanket, and only then began preparing breakfast for the family.
Their family was one of the many pioneer immigrant families that followed Oliver to the Northern Territory, consisting of four mbers in total: her, her husband, and their two children.
The children were still young; the older one was no more than nine years old, and the younger was just five, both boys, in their energetic, mischievous age.
They were all Weiss people who ca from the Weiss Duchy to Langton seeking a living a generation ago. Strictly speaking, Belinda was more of a Langton person than a Weiss person.
Of course, where soone is from doesn’t matter much, and becoming a "real" Langton person isn’t easy. Even though Belinda’s family lived in Langton, they were still considered Weiss people by others.
Besides their noticeable red hair, it also had to do with their lack of a decent job in Langton.
Belinda’s family mainly lived in the slums near the outskirts of Langton City. Her husband earned ager wages as a dock laborer, while Belinda primarily took in laundry to help support the household.
The family’s two little ones did not attend school; a poor family couldn’t afford it, even if the public school was rather inexpensive.
So, to this day, the only one in the family who could write the family’s nas was her husband, making it the sole cultural achievent in the household.
According to the plan Belinda and her husband had discussed, they originally intended to send both children to work as apprentices in a factory once they turned at least twelve years old, so they could learn a trade and eventually find a decent job.
Although working in a factory wasn’t considered a particularly respectable job in the Empire, among the poor, being able to find factory work was sothing enviable.
After all, factories typically sought skilled workers, those proficient in operating machines, while newcors? They couldn’t even handle the machines, and capitalists weren’t kind-hearted enough to waste money training them for free.
Generally speaking, finding an apprenticeship in a factory usually required either having semi-grown children or connections and soone to speak on your behalf.
Under normal circumstances, factory owners preferred to spend more money hiring experienced hands rather than rookies.
Thus, without the ans to send their children to school, Belinda and her husband could only plan and prepare for their children’s futures the best they could within their ans.
For this, they even saved a small amount from their ager spending, hoping to bribe factory overseers or the like, so they wouldn’t make things too difficult for their children when the ti ca to send them as apprentices.
As for themselves, they only wished that their children would secure stable and good jobs in the future, earn more money, and live better lives.
However, fate played a joke on them, or perhaps the goddess of fortune finally smiled upon them for once, as they encountered the recruitnt for pioneer immigrants to the Northern Territory.
For Belinda and her husband, going to the Northern Territory didn’t seem as tempting as one might imagine, since their life was relatively stable now and, unless Belinda’s husband beca unable to work, they could still raise their children.
Yet, compared to them, their neighbors, the Browns next door, were much more enthusiastic about this matter.
The Browns had no children, having been married for just a few years, and Mr. Brown worked in Oliver’s Alchemy Workshop.
Therefore, after Oliver was granted the title of Pioneer Knight and prepared to move the workshop to the Northern Territory, as Oliver’s employee, Mr. Brown naturally received recruitnt and promises from Oliver.
The Northern Territory was known to be a virgin land yet unexplored.
Even though Perfikot had already served as the Count of the North for over half a year and had undertaken so developnt, the Northern Territory was still considered a wild land in the minds of the Empire’s citizens.
In fact, it wasn’t far off; although it couldn’t be said to be completely devoid of human habitation or traces of civilization, the indigenous people still in primitive tribes were hard-pressed to be recognized as having a civilization by the Empire.
So, when the Lord of the North recruited pioneer immigrants to move to the Northern Territory and the Empire announced plans for a series of northern developnts over the next two years, the Browns, like most people in Langton City who felt their lives were unsatisfactory and wanted to explore opportunities in the Northern Territory, were undoubtedly intrigued.
Moreover, they not only beca interested themselves but also persuaded Belinda and her husband to join them.
The most critical point in persuading Belinda and her husband was Oliver’s promise that they could work in his Alchemy Workshop upon reaching the Northern Territory, and their children could also beco apprentices.
Do not underestimate this small promise; for ordinary people like the Browns and Belinda’s family, it was an enormous temptation.
In Langton, it was hard to find such good job opportunities, while in the Northern Territory, such issues weren’t a problem at all. Moreover, everything in the Northern Territory was now a blank slate, waiting for those with courage to explore and develop. Perhaps soone might get lucky and prosper!
So eventually, Belinda persuaded her husband, and they embarked on a ship bound for the Northern Territory with the Browns.
Throughout the journey, their hearts were filled with anxiety and hope; a new life beckoned to them, though what that new life would bring – better or worse – none of them knew.
However, after reaching the Northern Territory, everyone’s mindset cald quite a bit because, seeing the land with their own eyes and obtaining a small piece of land to build a house, many among them believed they would start a new life in the Northern Territory and live better lives.
After all, back in Langton, a whole family often squeezed into a room of less than ten square ters, sharing a kitchen and toilet with dozens of other households. Compared to the sunshine-filled land in the Northern Territory and the permission to build their own hos, the contrast was indeed stark.
Thus, the first task for more than five hundred pioneer immigrants upon arriving in the Northern Territory was to build houses for themselves.
Both Mr. Brown and Belinda’s husband participated in the labor, and Mrs. Brown and Belinda also did what they could on the construction site.
This was their new ho; everyone, filled with hope, dedicated their entire strength to it, working hard to build their new holand.
Even though they now had to sleep in the warehouse at the port’s dock, until the houses were finished, making them more like refugees crowded together.
Yet as long as they had hope, life, no matter how tough, showed promise.
User Comments
0 comments from readers