Chapter 212 Chapter 212 [VIP]
Megan was sent back after playing with Poison Ivy for several days. She stood on the steps in front of the door and hugged her reluctantly, then watched Poison Ivy leave. When she pushed the door open and entered the house, she saw the Joker.
The usually unpredictable man sat upright on the sofa, his purple suit impeccably dressed even when seated. He looked up at Megan, his fierce features etched with a strange, profound meaning as he asked the child, "You've finally come back? Do you remember that wish you had waiting to be fulfilled?" It sounded like a serious topic. After all, it didn't make sense to abandon someone who had been running around for her, go out with friends, and stay out all night, right?
Hearing his questioning words, Megan ran over and sat next to him without panicking. Then she leaned on him and said, "But Dad, you clearly want me to go play with Pammy."
She raised her head with great effort and looked at the clown upside down, but she could only see his neat green hair and pale forehead. If she looked down, her neck would not be able to bear it. The clown looked at her improper sitting posture, raised his hand and turned her head back, so that she could sit up straight.
Megan said, "You obviously don't know how to teach me, so you let Paddy teach me." She understood all these things, so she only played with Poison Ivy for a few days and came back regardless of her pleas.
"I remember what we are going to do, Dad. Thank you for your hard work." She became eager at this time, and took out the strawberries from the kitchen refrigerator, which might have been washed by Bob this morning, and immediately gave them to the clown.
The clown waved at her indifferently. He had no interest in snatching Megan's favorite fruit. He said, "Then get ready. We have to leave this afternoon to inspect the factory. It's not good to delay things for too long."
You have to know that some teenagers just act on impulse. He used the excuse to delay for a whole semester, and found that Megan's idea remained the same. He was almost certain that her position would not change. Then there was naturally no reason to delay any further. It was better to put all matters on track and find something for the child to do so that he would not play with others outside and not go home.
After he finished speaking about his decision, Megan did not express her agreement or not. Instead, she took off her shoes and climbed onto the sofa, resting her furry head on his legs and closing her eyes as if taking a nap. The Joker looked down at her, pulled down a blanket from the back of the sofa next to her, and carefully shook it out before covering her with it.
…
In the afternoon, Arthur took Megan out. In their plan, due to lack of funds, they could not start from scratch. They could only buy abandoned factories, take over those dusty instruments, and recruit employees. The last item could be put on hold for the time being, but the first two items really could not be delayed any longer!
They went to the East Side of Gotham together, and in order to avoid being persecuted here, Arthur hired a middleman early in the morning before coming. The other party was very familiar with the situation in this area and could also contact the owners of those abandoned factories. It was because of his good connections that he was chosen by Arthur.
He introduced himself as Amy Hilton. When meeting with the client, he'd learned from a phone call that the client would be bringing their daughter, so he brought some tightly sealed hot drinks and snacks for Meghan. As for these two grown men? Their demands were too high. Why put on such a show? At most, they'd just meet for a drink at a pub, and once the deal was done, they'd just pay him the brokerage fee stipulated in their contract.
Megan took the food Amy brought after Arthur told her it was edible. He glanced at the child and said to Arthur, "Oh my God, Arthur, your daughter is so well-behaved and cute. I wish my son could be so obedient, but..."
He closed the distance between him and Arthur, patted the customer on the shoulder, and whispered, "I truly consider you a brother, so I don't recommend you open a factory here. But if you insist on not changing your mind, then you must not let your daughter come here alone. Also, you must hire good security and don't be careless about this matter."
"Otherwise, uh, there's a high chance that your efforts will go to waste." This is already a rather euphemistic statement, but it also implicitly explains the risks.
Although Amy makes a living as an intermediary, he has professional ethics. If he had given up this thing, he would not have sold factories and real estate in this damn place in the East District. You know, when he was first sent here, he almost fell into the trap of a group of "Wildcat Youth Gang" here. Those guys are very wild, but they are not the worst in the East District.
As the two adults talked, Megan followed Arthur, drinking milk tea and walking through the dirty and messy streets and alleys. Since the route was too winding, newcomers would definitely wonder where they were being taken, but neither Arthur nor Megan panicked.
But Amy took the initiative to explain, "The East District is like this. It's just the outer ring that's a bit bad. After all, something happened in the past." He was talking about the abandonment of the East District more than ten years ago.
At that time, the original residents of the East District naturally protested. They tried to build a wall to protect this place that had contributed to the development of Gotham but was sacrificed again. However, the current government wanted to turn the East District into a "garbage collection point" and would never allow them to succeed in their protest. As a result, the residents on the outermost edge could only repair the streets in a circuitous way, making the route into the interior of the East District complicated and tortuous.
A dozen years might not seem like a long time, but if you really look back, it's already the last century. Back then, the East Side seemed to be thriving with industrial development, but how could the workers living nearby and toiling in the factories prosper? They earned their hard-earned wages while enduring the hazards of inadequate safety management, such as pneumoconiosis, radiation sickness, chemical poisoning, and skin diseases. But when Gotham no longer needed them, it abandoned the land along with them.
They tried to make efforts, and some small factory owners insisted on maintaining production, but they were still unable to prevent the influx of vagrants, gangsters, prostitutes, gamblers, drug addicts, and even fugitives and illegal immigrants. The environment in the East District deteriorated and soon it was beyond recovery.
There are no longer any legitimate people here. Children and teenagers drop out of school, either joining gangs or following others' lead and running away from the East Side to steal and rob. Even if they're caught, they're usually put in juvenile detention for a few days, and then everything goes back to normal. As for those who make it to adulthood, because they've been exposed to bad habits since childhood and haven't learned any knowledge or reason, they're destined to continue down this path. And the number of people who can live peaceful lives into old age is even smaller.
Amy took the two of them to the factory. Before they set out for the on-site inspection, the relevant paper materials had been handed over to them. After preliminary screening, they roughly selected two factories and then came to visit with a targeted approach.
The first factory is right after entering the industrial park, but it has been abandoned for a long time. This can be seen from the plants in the park's green belt. The trees are tall and the shade is wide, without any signs of construction. The ornamental plants planted in the past have long been submerged in weeds. When a group of people approached, they could hear birds singing in the grass and treetops, and there were birds standing on the branches, watching the visitors curiously.
Amy opened the door with the key. It was obvious that he had come to see it before introducing it to them, and confirmed that the facilities and equipment on the assembly line were complete before sorting out the information. The dusty ground was covered with footprints from his previous walks, and now there were a few more footprints.
They passed the reception room and the large office. Megan looked around curiously and saw papers scattered on the desks that had not been moved, as well as old-fashioned computer monitors that looked strange to her, but there was nothing of practical value in this area. The big things were all in the back, in the operating workshop.
But the operating workshops were all inside the factory, and the power here had long been turned off. Amy had prepared a strong flashlight when she arrived, and she handed one to Arthur. He also had one in his hand and walked in front to lead the way. Megan stayed close to her father and whispered, "It's so dark in here."
It was so dark that there was hardly any light coming in from outside, and it was very closed. Only an old-fashioned ventilation fan somewhere above their heads was still working, blowing in some wind to prevent them from suffocating. There was not much odor inside the factory, at most it was filled with an "old" atmosphere.
Megan said something, even in a lowered voice it sounded loud, and Amy smiled very understandingly. He began to introduce the factory. The atmosphere was no longer so quiet that it was creepy. It used to be at the top level in the entire park, with good profits and products exported abroad. The machines in the workshop were very expensive at the time, but the shareholders and directors still made up their minds to buy it.
What Amy said was the truth. When they walked into the operation workshop and saw those machines whose appearance was not outdated even now, he wiped them with a handkerchief and could see that there was not even any rust on the surface of the machines. He said, "Made in Germany, you know." He even squatted down and wiped the iron sheet at the bottom of the machine, which was most susceptible to moisture, but the situation was not bad.
The conditions in this factory all look good——
Geographical location: Located in the former head industrial park, not far from the outer edge of the East District, with a smooth road, which is convenient for freight transportation and can also reduce some "minor troubles";
Machine: It is so good that they will definitely power it on and test run it before officially transferring it. Moreover, even after more than ten years, they can still contact the original manufacturer to apply for repair and maintenance. Even if there is a problem that cannot be repaired, they can communicate with the manufacturer and possibly replace it with a smaller, more recent product.
Price: The factory has changed hands several times but has never been able to reopen. The current price is in a delicate and appropriate range and can be negotiated further.
However, after looking at the machines and coming out of the factory, Arthur still asked leisurely: "Let's go, let's go to the next one to have a look." Obviously he thought this was not the most suitable one, perhaps he had other considerations?
The author has something to say:
Updated a draft (commissioned) in vb, super cute——
There are also small scene dialogues written by the artist.
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