Decide
Outside Duke von's residence.
"I just want to ask..." The man, curled up, hugging a woman warming her body, said timidly, "How long will it take for the factory to install the fireplace? And...how long will it take for us to see all the other things you mentioned earlier? My family, friends, and I are all recovering well, and we want to get back to work."
Even though Duke Feng was a minister who was extremely "biased" towards the common people, the distance of a door, the warm indoors and the cold snow outside, were still two extremes.
The servant smiled and said, "Your Highness has already invited the Queen, but they are just lacking some resources, so we have to wait a little longer."
"I was just trying to persuade you. You are the most important labor force in the territory, and all benefits must be considered for you. Don't just wait until everything is built. Go back to work first. Once the resources are accumulated, you will have all these things, right?"
The man's face turned pale, but he was not a fool.
Forget about double wages, it's clear that they have nothing at all. It's just that the territory is short of resources and needs them to work, so they temporarily spend a lot of money to make them go back to work obediently.
"But..."
Seeing him hesitate, the servant's face darkened. "Many people have already returned to work, and only a few have come to ask me. Why is that? Don't you really need to reflect on yourselves? What can you really contribute to the territory? You have to give first before you can reap the rewards. Don't even think about reaping before you've given!"
"This is the end of the world, not the day before it! Without the Queen's wise leadership, we wouldn't be able to move forward. You should be thanking the Queen. How can you have a bright future if you're so obsessed with personal gains and losses? I'll convey your words to His Highness. Go back and think about it."
He appeared to be timid but was actually weak. He slapped her in the face and then gave her a sweet reward. He slammed the door shut, isolating the warm air from the room.
The man's back hunched even further. Nuonuo responded twice, his mind going blank.
When the man returned to the crowd, they had already split into two groups. His group was gloating, thinking that with fewer people competing with them, their future job benefits would be much better.
But...is it really like that?
He looked at the two groups of people in silence, feeling that he couldn't fit in either side.
He didn't want to stay there stupidly and numbly, doing nothing and waiting for charity from those above him; nor did he dare to abandon his "possible" future and leave without hesitation.
He is not a fool, nor a hero, he is just an ordinary man.
He just wants to live, live before life, everything else is self-deception.
"Morris, what are you thinking about?" A sigh came from my ear.
The man remained silent, lost in thought. The two of them stood together outside the crowd, holding the warm woman, silently watching the two groups of people.
One after another, people left and returned, like dust particles, crowded before the two-wheeled carriage of fate, not knowing where to go.
"Actually, we're already considered dead," someone in the crowd said. "I lay in bed, even moaning was a luxury. At that moment, I thought back to the twenty years before the apocalypse, spent in a muddle-headed state, and felt immense regret. Throughout my life, I've carefully considered every decision, striving for perfection."
"Only before I died did I realize that no decision is perfect. In that society, in that country, no matter how I looked ahead and behind, my dreams were always out of reach. Until I gradually became numb, forgetting the passage of time, and living my only life as calmly as stagnant water."
"If it weren't for the hand warmers and food that Hungry Hungry gave me, I would have died. A life was given back to my homeland, and now I can no longer deceive myself and pretend that everything is fine. I can't make a perfect decision this time, but I decided to trust the person who gave me another life."
He held the warmer tightly in his hand and left the crowd without waiting for others to speak.
"I don't understand his idea, but I have decided to go and starve myself. We'll see each other again if we're lucky." Another person also left.
Morris left the crowd without saying a word.
He gathered himself in a place he could call "home," feeling increasingly relaxed. He reported to Arthur with his few belongings, and while waiting for nightfall, he unexpectedly saw quite a few acquaintances who had originally said they would stay.
As they looked at each other, they suddenly felt something.
In fact, everyone had already made up their minds, but they just hesitated to take action until they got together and gained strength from mutual encouragement.
They are all ordinary people, but they are also superhuman.
Night fell quickly.
The relaxed atmosphere became tense. During the distribution of supplies, many people quietly withdrew from the team, and many people joined in.
In the end, the team had nearly a hundred people, about half of the civilians came, which was much more than expected!
It was a pity that the other half of the family had not yet seen the truth. Arthur could only sigh. It was a pity that his father was gone, otherwise... he had no father. Now he had done the best he could.
Arthur had already arranged the guards, and the group of people braved the wind and snow and disappeared in front of Margaret's territory in just a moment.
In the middle of the night, Margaret woke up from a nightmare, and she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Suddenly, she had a premonition and turned on the light screen.
A long list of news about civilians leaving the territory, more than 99 in total, filled the entire light screen.
He was dazed for a moment, yawned, turned over and fell asleep again.
Early the next morning, Duke Feng received news from his servants that many huts had already been deserted.
Duke Feng was shocked and asked the reason.
The servant scorned her and said, as usual, "They have all left Margaret. Master, do not worry. They are such unteachable, ungrateful fools. Your kindness is wasted on them. If they stay, it will only be a waste of food. It is better for them to leave."
"Idiot!" Unexpectedly, Duke Feng did not accept his compliment at all. He kicked him to the ground and without waiting for his reply, hurriedly put on his coat without even straightening his collar, and went to meet the queen.
The servant sat on the ground, clutching his chest in a daze. He had served the Duke for decades, earning the title of butler and even receiving compliments from many nobles. He had long considered himself half the master. Unexpectedly...
The people around him looked at their noses with their eyes and their hearts with their noses. The room was silent. The servant silently swallowed the bitter pill, patted the shoe prints on his chest, and followed the Duke's footsteps.
The Queen received the Duke early in the morning and was surprised to hear his excited speech: "I knew it last night."
"Then why didn't you stop them?" Duke Feng forced himself to suppress his anger. "You always say I'm pro-people, but I'm obliged to consider the people because I'm loyal to you. The territory needs civilians to get back to work. Those with titles don't have to do any housework. You don't expect them to produce resources, do you?"
In order to give advice, he has already risked offending most people.
However, Margaret shook her head: "They are the elite, the future of the territory. Just forget about the commoners leaving, what a fuss."
Duke Feng's face turned dark. He could never imagine that the queen, who was once quite intelligent, was now so arrogant that she couldn't even understand these little principles.
In fact, if it were the original Margaret, she might have paid more attention to the common people.
But the reborn Margaret met a group of hungry residents in her previous life. The most prominent characteristic of East Asians is their hard work.
In the early days, with a large population working for her, she enjoyed the benefits of rapid development without ever pondering why. Later, as resources developed, the welfare of the residents naturally surpassed that of other territories, and Margaret no longer worried about a lack of residents.
The experience of nearly completing the game in her previous life, and the chance to start over, had completely blinded her with pride. Even when it was right in front of her, she couldn't see it; even when words were right in her ears, she couldn't hear them.
What would become of Margaret's domain? Duke von was filled with panic.
Tomorrow marks the seventh day of a significant temperature drop, and he has a bad feeling. He's devoted to the Queen, but when it comes to his own life and death, he needs to think carefully, at least...
He had to survive.
The hungry hungry territory in the early morning was bustling even before morning.
Yesterday, the first group of people who passed the "Fire Safety Precautions" test and obtained the "Catering Business License" had already customized special iron utensils in the factory.
The store sells all kinds of raw materials such as flour, cooking oil, and salt, but everyone has to find the ingredients needed for other snack recipes on their own.
The residents' market was no longer just a small market; it had expanded by half, now filled with snack shops. From the city gate to the bonfire roadside in the center, and then to the kitchen roadside, there was a dazzling array of goods.
Fortunately, thanks to the night watchman's supervision, order was restored amidst the chaos. The roads were kept wide and the roadside was kept clean. Even the indigenous market was tidied up.
The market that originally looked like a "refugee camp" has suddenly become a food street.
"Selling Jianbing Guozi (rice cakes), two points each. If you're in a hurry to get to work, grab two and you're all full! Buy two and get an egg for free!"
"Homemade candied haws, not in bunches, sold individually too! Take a look!"
"Hot and Sour Noodles! Homemade sweet potato noodles. A bowl in the morning will whet your appetite and keep you warm and energetic all day. Only five points a bowl, with free chili!"
"Delicious and nourishing sweet wine and egg, two points a bowl! Two points a bowl!"
The market was bustling with activity, and the aroma of food could be smelled for miles. Even the usually sedentary Dwarven Prince caught wind of the news, spruced up his appearance, and mingled with the crowd, buying a lot of food.
After a hundred or so people registered one by one in a dusty state, they finally walked into the hungry city gate after "going in the wrong direction", "almost giving up", and "regrouping", wasting a full four or five hours.
At this moment, my mood is almost "nothing", and my expectation of being hungry has become "I don't know what to expect" during the long journey, or has been reduced to "I just want a bowl of hot water."
Hundreds of people numbly walked into the city gate. Unexpectedly, shouts mixed together, and the strong smell of fireworks hit them in the face.
The ice and snow all over my body melted, and the fragrance I inhaled through my nose seemed to bring my entire stomach and even my entire body back to life.
Looking at the bustling market and the people coming and going, they looked at each other, and before they said anything, they couldn't help swallowing their saliva.
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