Chapter 212 231. Absenteeism
Sixth floor?
This is truly incredible. Just thinking about it is spectacular, a city with seven floors suspended in the air.
And you can tell from the sound that the higher up you live, the higher your status is, and a clear class system is formed directly based on where you live.
After answering this question, seeing that Xu Zhi did not ask any more questions, Qi Yanxin walked towards the kitchen to prepare to cook. However, it was called a kitchen, but in fact it was just a kitchen area in the corner of the living room, and it still used a gas tank.
Xu Zhi felt a little strange when she saw this. There were many things here that made her feel contradictory. The technology seemed to be much more advanced than that of the Federation, such as the aerial city, prosthetics, accurate weather forecasts, and even some of the equipment in Ye Ran's father's eighteenth-hand car made Xu Zhi feel novel.
But judging from life in the slums, they are much more backward than the Federation. At least the Federation has long stopped using things like gas tanks, and some old electrical appliances and other daily necessities also have a strong sense of cheap retro.
Is it because this place is too poor and abandoned, so there is not even any infrastructure built?
So, what does the city above our heads, which is supposedly more "luxurious", look like?
Is it also so crowded and cheap?
I think it's probably impossible.
I don’t know if the guys who built the prison are in this city, but even if they are, they are probably at the top. Can they guess that there are still some people in the Federation who have slipped through the net and landed at the bottom?
This thought only flashed through Xu Zhi's mind once before she stopped worrying about it. Instead of worrying about things that she could not do anything about, it would be better to focus on the present.
Because Xu Zhi's stomach condition was worrying, Qi Yanxin only cooked porridge and added some shredded meat and a small amount of vegetables.
Meat is not expensive for people in the slums, and is even quite cheap. Various breeding factories are prevalent, and the good quality meat is sent to the upper class. The remaining meat is of average or poor quality and there is so much that it cannot be eaten.
Not only breeding factories, but all kinds of factories are basically built on the ground floor, and a lot of noise and pollution are also left on the ground floor. As a result, the vacant land for farming has become scarce and the soil cannot grow much, so fresh vegetables are very expensive.
When Qi Yanxin was serving the rice, she put almost all the vegetables in the pot into Xu Zhi's bowl. Xu Zhi didn't know the prices, and didn't have such an abstract concept as "vegetables are ten times more expensive than meat" in her mind. She just thought that Qi Yanxin wanted her to eat more vegetables, so she ate them without thinking.
After resting for a while after dinner and taking a bunch of medicine, Xu Zhi was finally able to lie in bed and continue resting.
In fact, she did feel tired and sleepy. Even though she hadn't walked or done any exercise today, just staying awake for four hours was enough to make her tired.
Before going to bed, the woman helped her change the medicine patch on her forehead. This thing was a bit like a fever-reducing patch and had no peculiar smell. After applying it, her forehead, which had been burning hot, did feel better.
When she woke up, it was completely dark.
Qi Yanxin was sitting in the living room, seemingly busy with something. She didn't turn on the lights, but just lit a candle. The candlelight flickered, illuminating the small mechanical object in her hand. The plastic bucket next to her seemed to be filled with many similar mechanical objects.
Xu Zhi's vision was blurry, and he couldn't see the specific appearance of those mechanical objects, but he could vaguely see that her hands were moving skillfully and lightly. Perhaps because the light source was not bright enough, her head was slightly lowered, her neck bent, and she looked carefully at the things in her hands. This posture looked very uncomfortable, and I don't know how she could endure it.
Xu Zhi hesitated for a rare moment, without making any noise to disturb Qi Yanxin. She could probably guess that he lit the candles because he had used up all his savings and couldn't even pay the electricity bill, and the thing in his hand was probably a job that could make money.
But she didn't need to shout. The busy Qi Yanxin would look up at the clock hanging on the wall from time to time. When the time came, she put down the things in her hands and planned to change the medicine plaster for Xu Zhi. Unexpectedly, when she turned around, she saw that Xu Zhi had woken up.
"woke up?"
"It's time for dinner. Wait a minute, I'll get the medicine for you first."
Her tone was a bit like coaxing a child, and Xu Zhi felt a little uncomfortable listening to it. Although he couldn't see clearly, the woman's tone inadvertently revealed fatigue and a little depression.
"Did something happen? Your voice sounds a little wrong." Xu Zhi didn't intend to hold it in and asked directly.
After all, she is now supported by Qi Yanxin, so shouldn't she pay attention to any problems? To avoid having her job suddenly destroyed by others.
Qi Yanxin paused in taking the medicine, probably because he didn't expect Xu Zhi to be so perceptive.
"It's not a big deal, actually. I heard that a coworker who I have a good relationship with is absent from work today."
Although she said it was no big deal, the woman's tone sounded quite worried.
"Is absenteeism a serious matter?" Xu Zhi asked softly.
Qi Yanxin nodded, then realized that Xu Zhi's eyesight wasn't very good and he might not be able to see, so he continued, "It's very serious. One absence without reason will result in a deduction of half a month's salary. A second absence will result in direct dismissal and the withholding of that month's salary."
"The work in our group is pretty good. It's relatively easy, and the monthly salary isn't particularly low. I don't think anyone would want to quit this job."
"And with the precedent of being fired for absenteeism, it will be difficult to find another job in this factory."
Factory owners don't want a workforce that is absent from work without reason.
"That's really serious. Has she ever been absent from work before?"
"No." Qi Yanxin picked up the medicine and put it on the bedside of Xu Zhi, and poured a glass of water: "She once insisted on coming to work even though she was seriously ill. If she hadn't encountered any problems, she would definitely not be absent from work."
Having said that, Qi Yanxin's tone dropped again.
Scavengers all want to have a stable job and will never skip work unless something unexpected happens.
He was depressed for only a short while. After pouring the water and looking back at Xu Zhi lying on the bed, Qi Yanxin forced a relaxed tone and said, "Maybe he's temporarily stuck by something. He'll be back to work tomorrow. Wait for me to go to work tomorrow to check it out."
This is actually a more "beautiful" expectation, because illegal workers generally do not skip work. Once they skip work, they will basically never come back to work again.
Most of these miners disappeared silently in this barren land. Only a few can be seen again, but even if they are seen again, there will probably be only corpses left.
After all, the bottom floor is not a safe place, and there is not even a sheriff around. Only in the center can there be such a thing as "order".
(End of this chapter)
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