Chapter 159 Hope

"Yes, and it has actually been made public to some people now. All the students in the advanced class know about it, and most of them have seen the banshees."

Zoe was shocked: "What!? You just made it public, but they are, they are"

"They are also Castel's subjects." Hughes picked up the tea on the table and blew the hot air leisurely. "Miss Zoe, you have been working as a maid in the Duke's Mansion since your parents passed away, right?"

"Yes, you were still young at that time."

"So you haven't seen the lower class people much, right? Even your students, although they are dressed in rags, at least they are very enthusiastic about learning and studying, right?"

Zoe nodded. Her understanding of poverty was limited to having no money, no money to eat, no money to buy clothes, and then dying of illness or starvation. This was what was written in novels.

"Miss Zoe, perhaps you should go and see what the people at the bottom of society are really like." Hughes looked into Zoe's eyes. He was wearing a simple set of coarse cloth clothes, which were specially made for workers. There were many pockets on the clothes for storing various parts. He had just dismantled a steam engine on site, and this set of clothes was wear-resistant and convenient.

"Those people at the bottom of society are indeed short of money - but who doesn't? I am short of money too, very much, but there is one thing I am not short of."

"hope."

"It's a very intangible thing, it can neither fill your stomach nor cure illness. You feel it is very valuable, but you don't know why. You want to cherish it, but you don't know how to cherish it - it's very simple, because you have it."

"Go and see the numb eyes of those poor people."

“When despair fills every gap in life, people will instinctively reject beauty and live like animals, only focusing on grasping everything in front of them and using numbness to deal with suffering. They themselves cannot tell whether they are alive or dead.”

"You still remember Gaia, right? You care about her a lot and must have given her a lot of help, right? Have you talked to her?"

"some."

"How does she evaluate her life now? Is she richer? Does she eat better? Does she make more money?"

Zoe's eyes gradually widened, and she murmured to herself: "Gaia said that she is happier now. She is happy to attend classes, happy to study, and happy that her hard work is rewarded."

"It's very strange, isn't it? She didn't mention how much rio she earned or how much fried fish she ate, but instead talked about how happy she was, even though her family was so poor."

"Miss Zoe."

Hughes looked at the confused girl in front of him and said softly, "That's because you can only see her poverty but can't understand her despair. Being poor is terrible, but being hopeless is even worse."

"It's strange, isn't it? I'm so poor and weak, and I'm going through hardships that you'd be terrified to hear about, but I'm longing for something so illusory. Do you know why?"

Zoe shook her head subconsciously.

"Because they are human beings, and as human beings they have emotions and they pursue beauty. They can live better and stay away from this quagmire by abandoning their human nature, but they just can't give it up."

“If you want to understand the grassroots, you can’t just watch from afar, you have to touch it in person and feel it in person.”

Hot steam rose from the tea as Zoe stood there in a daze.

She had tried to write many novels about poor people and showed them to her younger sisters, who all said they were good. However, she herself felt that something was not right. There seemed to be something between the characters she wrote about and the people she had met.

She never knew what it was.

But Zeus' words made her feel like she had suddenly realized something.

Does she really understand those people who are struggling in hardship? How can she write about them if she doesn’t understand them herself?

Zoe clutched the hem of her skirt.

"With the factory in Castel open, everyone can earn a rio with their own hands, and they can earn more by going to night school. The money can attract them, but I hope to keep them here."

"You still remember Gaia and her family, they came to work for me to earn money, but they would rather become poor again to go to school. I gave them subsidies to allow them to go to school, but even without the subsidies, they would have come anyway."

"Hope is such a precious thing. When you don't have it, you don't care about it, but once you have it, it's hard to let go. How many people have even thrown away their lives for those illusory promises? What I offer is a real and beautiful future."

"Now, they are finding those hopes are slipping through their fingers."

Zoe's breathing became heavy and her eyes widened, as if she was the one who was about to lose hope.

"Forget about the Banshee. Even if I said I was working with the devil, they would rush forward and sign their names."

Xius pulled out a booklet from his pocket. "This is the report Connor gave me. He sent people to investigate all the students who had contact with the Banshee. All of them supported Caster more firmly. None of them wavered."

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

"That seems a little bit..." Zoe said hesitantly, with a conflicted expression on her face.

"It's a bit despicable, isn't it? I'm taking advantage of their pain and weakness."

"That's not what I meant."

"But I am."

Hughes faced Zoe's surprised eyes and said firmly, "I used them in a despicable way. I will not make any excuses. I am willing to bear your contempt for this - but I will continue to do it, no matter what means I use, as long as I can keep this hope alive, I am willing to do it and will keep doing it. As long as this hope is not realized, I will not stop, even if it is neither noble nor moral."

"And today, I came to ask you for help for the same reason. I asked you to use the power of words to mislead my subjects. This may be something that is far from your ideal."

"So Miss Zoe, are you willing to help me do something bad?"

Zoe was stunned. She stayed still for a while before she spoke hesitantly, "Why are you telling me this, and why are you doing this?"

"Ms. Zoe, I've read your novel. You really want to reach out to the grassroots and the people. I think this is a great idea. Don't rush to refute me. Come to me when you have really achieved it."

"As for your other question, why should I do whatever it takes to continue this hope?"

"It's very simple, just because this hope is equally precious to me."

"Maybe it was just a casual promise at the beginning, just a simple and vague idea, but I have been on this road for too long, and too many people have walked with me. They have sacrificed and given without hesitation, and I have no way to live up to them."

(End of this chapter)