Watching from afar the welcoming crowd gathered around the station dispersing, Huck, wearing a green vest of the City Health Department and holding a broom in his hand, muttered in disgust.

"Hurry up! Brat! It's your turn! Clean this place up! When I come to check at noon, I don't want to see even a piece of orange peel on the floor!"

A municipal official in charge of the subsequent on-site cleanup was wearing a blue uniform and stared at Huck fiercely, as if he was looking at a bad horse ready to slack off at any time.

Huck nodded perfunctorily, holding the big broom in his hand, he walked to the avenue that was crowded with people more than ten minutes ago, but now it was deserted with only a pile of garbage left, and started the extra work added to his responsibilities today.

"Where are the others? What are you doing? You are a bunch of lazy gluttons! Do you want me to clean up the mess myself? Now is the time when heroes are returning in triumph, villains are being punished, and the whole city is celebrating! You'd better not make trouble for me at this time! Work hard, and your good days will come soon!"

At his urging, four or five sanitation workers with brooms soon came over and joined the cleaning work.

"Don't you think that all problems will be solved once the emperor dies?"

A young man about the same age as Huck dragged his sweep to his side and complained in a low voice.

Turning his head to look at his friend who had just graduated from school with him and came out to do sweeping work, Huck sneered, and continued to work while whispering in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Only a fool would believe that! The Duke's words may fool our parents, but would anyone who knows a little about other cities really think that all the problems are caused by the emperor?"

"The central government is so far away from Xinlan! It takes more than 20 days to get there by car! The Duke is clearly at odds with the royal family. Will he give the royal family a penny of the taxes we pay? Are the gold, jewels, and diamonds that are sent to us every day worn on the head of our Duke or on the head of the emperor in the central government?"

"Only a blind man can't see clearly! Only a deaf man can't hear clearly! Only a fool can think that the problem lies with the emperor!"

Huck was cursing, saying such outrageous words that if he was discovered he would be taken to the police station and have his mouth smashed. His friend who had started the conversation suddenly looked around nervously.

"Don't look at it. That pig won't stay outside and stare at us in such a cold day. He must have already hidden in some cafe, sitting by the fireplace and eating the beef your grandma just sold at a low price!"

"Don't say that. My grandmother raised that cow for thirteen years. This time she couldn't sell it because of my father's illness. She almost cried until her eyes went blind."

"I don't have to say it, but this is the truth! Look at those people, do you really think they are here to welcome heroes? This shitty foundation didn't do anything at the central government, except to blow up a building before fleeing, killing hundreds of innocent people like you and me! And they actually became heroes!"

It was as if Huck had told a huge joke, and he couldn't help but laugh mockingly after he finished speaking.

He swept all the garbage on the ground into a pile.

"Before, I heard some rumors from my cousin that the former Pope used the power of Twilight in the central government and turned those unforgivable evildoers into monsters with animal heads and human bodies! Among those people from the foundation just now, several of them covered their heads with cloth. Those people must have suffered such punishment! It's ridiculous, so ridiculous that it makes people laugh out loud!"

"The only real hero is the priest Sun Wei who chopped off the emperor's pig head with his own hands! I heard from the priests in the church who escaped from the central government that the Pope had always liked him before he died. Later, in order to practice Twilight's teachings, he killed many evil people in the central government and finally killed the emperor to avenge the Pope! Comparing the people in the foundation with such people is simply an insult to him!"

Huck became more and more excited as he spoke. He swept the street with gritted teeth, as if he wanted to vent all his anger on the road.

"When I came back from the city hall this morning, I heard someone say that the property tax may be raised again this year, and the increase may be quite large."

"It's going to go up! Do they really have no shame at all? I thought that with the emperor dead, those masters above would at least pretend to give the people below a break and make us really believe that things will get better. But it turns out that they are too lazy to even pretend!"

"Keep your voice down, or someone else might hear you."

"It's unclear whether your father can survive this year. With the property tax, can he really survive? If he dies, what will happen to your family? Who will take care of your brothers and sisters, your grandma and mom? You? Will you bear the burden alone?"

Huck seemed to have given up hope, and he said this in an angry tone. Just as he was about to throw the broom in his hand to the ground, his friend grabbed his arm.

"Don't! You can't just think about yourself! Think about what your cousin and the others are doing! Now, let alone Xinlan, even other cities are looking for them everywhere. If you do something irrational, not only your family, but many families will really be broken up!"

After hearing such advice, Huck's face, which was originally full of anger, gradually calmed down. He took a deep breath and continued with the work at hand.

"Stop talking and get to work. If you don't clean up before noon, you won't get lunch today."

But with the workload on this avenue, they couldn't have a hot lunch after all.

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

It was not until two o'clock in the afternoon, when the snowflakes falling from the sky became bigger and denser, that they finally completed the temporary work added today.

Huck was given a piece of cold, hard bread. Just as he was about to find a place to ask for some hot water so that he could eat this stone-like bread.

Under the parasol outside the cafe, a young man with brown hair and blue eyes was holding a thermos cup with a smile on his face and pressing his shoulder.

"Hey man, do you want some hot milk?"

Huck took a step back warily, looking at the young man whom he didn't know but suddenly greeted.

"I don't know you."

"Wu Wei, you can call me that. You can just call me Wei."

The young man smiled and said so.

(End of this chapter)