Chapter 383: The Troubled Times of Ladies (Third update, please subscribe)

"Wesley!"

Once again, Amisia woke up from a nightmare. She dreamed of her husband and how he died on the battlefield.

Thinking about her missing husband, just as tears fell from Amisia's eyes, her daughter's words interrupted her thoughts.

"Mom, I'm so hungry..."

Looking at her young daughter's eager eyes, Emilia forced a smile and said.

"Baby, when it's daybreak, Mommy will go buy some milk, okay? I'll make sure you have enough to eat by then, can you take a nap first?"

"Okay, I'll go to sleep."

Amisia thought to herself as she watched her daughter fall asleep again.

“I must find a job today!”

Only if she finds a job can she support her daughter.

…

Even though the blockade of the city has ended, life is not easy for ordinary people. Although most shops in the city have reopened, daily necessities for ordinary citizens are still in extremely short supply. It is not because of a shortage of supplies, but because when citizens take out banknotes to buy things, they are always rejected by merchants.

"Sarento took away all the silver pesos in the banks. The bankers all ran away. The paper money is nothing but waste paper!"

Of course, not all of them were waste paper, at least the "Nanhua Coupons" were not. The Nanhua Coupons used by the soldiers to pay for shopping were as hard currency in Buenos Aires as silver pesos and other gold and silver coins, because Nanhua Coupons could be used to purchase food, cloth and various other daily necessities from officially designated suppliers. Although those products were basically produced in Nanhua, no one had the capital to choose at that time.

At the same time, in front of the closed doors of government-run, private and foreign banks, groups of citizens who could not withdraw money or exchange silver coins wandered around in confusion and despair. Some of them were well-dressed, some were ragged, but one thing was certain, they were all facing the same dilemma now - no money!

The rich people with piles of banknotes, like ordinary people, wore hats and stared blankly at the South China soldiers who were eating barbecue and drinking corn whiskey, while they themselves were hungry.

For the citizens of Buenos Aires, every Nanhua soldier was a walking treasure trove. In order to keep their families from starving, people would take out woolen coats, pocket watches and other goods from their homes. The soldiers seemed to be quite interested in them. A woolen coat that was 80% new could only be sold for one or two yuan. The same was true for pocket watches. Jewelry such as gold rings and necklaces could be sold for a little money, but merchants would desperately lower the price. Jewelry worth dozens of pesos, "Deville Silver" could only be sold for a few silver pesos or a few Nanhua notes.

“I just want a job.”

Alicia tucked her messy hair behind her ears. With an empty stomach and enduring hunger, she walked and thought.

Her husband was a captain, and she had a comfortable life, but now she was starving, as was her daughter. In the past month or so, she had pawned everything she had to make ends meet.

But now she was penniless and could not afford to buy bread. Thinking of her young daughter crying "Mom" when she was hungry, she felt heartbroken and once again looked forward and walked along the sidewalk. Soon she smelled the pungent smell of cheap corn whiskey. There were many women in gaudy and revealing clothes near the park. They were wearing colorful and extremely revealing dresses. Although it was morning, they all looked half drunk and half awake. Their arms were without exception held by soldiers in green uniforms, and most of the soldiers were the same.

Among the crowd, Alicia saw a woman with long, messy slate-colored hair draped over her shoulders.

It’s her!

It was Cosette. She was the wife of a major in her early thirties, but now? She was leaning on the South China soldier and laughing wantonly. With her skirt shoulders falling off, she looked even more wanton than the most wanton prostitute. Who would have thought that she was once the wife of a high-ranking major?

In Buenos Aires, many soldiers' wives have lost their livelihoods. In order to support their families, they can only do the jobs that they used to despise. Of course, there are also some people who will look for an officer or soldier and become his regular lover, which is actually using their bodies to exchange for food for themselves and their families.

Cosette saw Alicia, and her beautiful and slightly blurry eyes were staring straight at Alicia, as if she was tempting her.

"Come on, come on, as long as you let go of your reserve, you can have enough food, and let your daughter drink milk, as long as..."

As long as I go over there, there will be food. As she walked towards Cosette like a ghost, Alicia saw a restaurant across the street with a long queue at the door. The restaurant's sign had square characters on it. The soldiers lined up outside the door spoke a language she couldn't understand. The small tables inside and outside the restaurant were all full of guests, all of whom were Nanhua soldiers. A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties was busying around there, and he even limped when he walked.

He must need to hire someone!

Without thinking, Alicia walked straight over and said to the middle-aged boss who was busy cutting meat and serving soup.

"Do you need help?"

"What did you say?"

Lai Zi was so busy that he was a little dizzy and couldn't understand what the foreign woman said at all.

Although Lai Zi came to Nanhua several years ago, he had been working on a railway construction site. Three years ago, when he was digging a tunnel, the tunnel collapsed and his leg was broken.

When his leg healed, he became a disabled person. But the company did not despise him, but arranged a very easy job for him.

But Lai Zi was not willing to be supported by the company like a useless person. The war gave him some opportunities. A month ago, he resigned from the construction site and opened a beef soup restaurant here with the skills he learned as a kitchen helper in his hometown.

Buenos Aires is very big, but there is not a single Chinese restaurant. Apart from the meals in the barracks, the soldiers can only go to restaurants run by locals if they want to eat something. Seeing this, Lai Zi opened this Lai Zi Beef Soup Restaurant, which immediately attracted many soldiers. People lined up every day to patronize this small shop.

Although he was very busy, Lai Zi felt that this was the life he should live. It was too boring to be supported by the company like a useless person.

"You bitch, stop standing here and getting in the way..."

Lai Zi said in a gruff voice.

"I can, I can..."

Alicia imitated the movements of holding a bowl, and even took the initiative to clear the table, then looked at the boss in a flattering manner.

Seeing this, Lai Zi understood that this foreign woman was here to do work. He was already too busy to handle everything, and actually planned to find someone else to do the job, but he couldn't speak Spanish. This was good, it would be fine if someone came to him.

"Then you just do it here first!"

Although they couldn't communicate, Alicia understood that the other party had given her a chance. In the following time, she was busy in the store, cleaning the tables and washing dishes. Although she was busy all day, after a busy day, to her surprise, the short fat boss in front of her not only gave her 20 cents in salary, but also gave her a piece of beef. Then he said to the woman.

"Take the meat back to your family. If you want to work, come early tomorrow."

Early the next morning, before the store opened, Alicia came to the store. When the door opened, she smiled at the boss and said.

"I am coming."

"Um,"

Lai Zi nodded and then spoke.

"Let's do this from now on."

In the following days, Alicia was busy in the store. In just half a month, she learned to speak a few simple Chinese sentences and could even speak a few simple words to Lai Zi.

(End of this chapter)