Chapter 272 Caroline is attacked
Six radios and loudspeakers, covering the six public streets in town...excluding residential areas.
After all, the horn is really loud. If installed in a residential area, it is no longer a public service facility but a nuisance to the residents.
Of course, at this stage, the indigenous people will not feel bored or irritated by the music. Six speakers have been set up in the town to play music in a loop, and many people even take benches and sit on the street to listen.
Caroline and the other three bought a lot of delicious food from the Undead Deli and did not rush home. Instead, they sat on the curb of the town's main avenue, chewing delicious spicy shredded pork, and listening intoxicatedly to the beautiful singing coming from the loudspeaker.
"This song is so beautiful, better than any other song. Even if I don't understand what it's about, I can still feel some kind of power." After the song "Jiu Er" sung by Tan Jing ended, the prelude to the next song started, but Caroline still felt unsatisfied. "I really want to know the name of this female singer. She must be as famous as the Red Queen who sings opera."
"Yes, it's really nice. It would be nice if I could hear it at home." Benjamin said intoxicatedly, "Caroline, do you know how much the cheapest radio can cost?"
"I don't know, but it must be very expensive." Caroline thought for a moment and said, "In the restaurant where I used to work, the head waiter was not allowed to touch the radio in the lobby. Only the manager could touch it. Some guests would come to the restaurant at a specific time just to listen to the opera played every Saturday afternoon. Even the living rooms of those restaurants that can afford it are struggling. It is definitely not something we can afford."
"What if the four of us pool our money to buy it?" Benjamin refused to give up. "We can take turns using it after we buy it. Put it at my house today and yours tomorrow."
"Stop it. You can listen to the radio when you go out. Why spend a lot of money to buy a radio?" Simon said with a smile, "If my family knew that I had such a crooked idea, it would be a disaster. The whole family would come to teach me a lesson."
"I won't do it either." Caroline shook her head. "I want to save money to buy an apartment in the city and live in the city."
"Don't look at me, I won't support it either." Allen also said, "Even if it costs money, I would rather buy a sewing machine for my mother than buy this."
Benjamin, who was isolated and helpless, could only sigh: "Really, you guys are so boring."
"Come on, you've only made a few bucks and you're already looking down on us." Simon cursed and laughed as he knocked on Benjamin's head.
The four friends were playing around when a young man wearing the uniform of the city's public security department came over from the other end of the street and said, "Hey, you guys, what are you doing?"
"Brother Jimmy." After seeing who was coming, the four of them quickly stood up and greeted him respectfully.
Jimmy, the militiaman who used to be the gatekeeper in the town, is now the deputy chief of the city's Public Security Department. His status in the eyes of the townspeople has risen greatly. Caroline and other young people in the town no longer dare to laugh and joke with him casually.
"Come on, stop pretending to be a good kid. I know what you are like." Jimmy smiled and waved his hand. "I heard that your small caravan is doing well and making a lot of money, right?"
"Hehe..." Several young men wanted to show off, but were a little embarrassed. They looked at each other, and Simon, who was the thickest-skinned and the boldest, spoke up, "Actually, I didn't make much. It's just hard-earned money."
"Come on, I heard Mayor Ji Tang praise you. The taxes you paid in the past few months are almost equal to other people's annual income. You are still pretending to be modest in front of me. I am not asking you to borrow money, so there is no need to be so nervous." Jimmy smiled and pointed at Simon. "There are a number of stores in the bar district of the city that are for rent. Are you interested?"
"Really? Of course I'm interested, Brother Jimmy. How much is the rent?" Simon's eyes suddenly lit up.
It is the dream of all young people in small towns to own a small business in the city, and these four young people are no exception.
"The town hall is preparing to launch a policy to support private self-employed entrepreneurs. The rent for stores won't be very high, but there are strict requirements on the goods sold and the price." Jimmy patiently explained to a few fellow villagers, "The stores that are now open will mainly sell agricultural products. There will be people in the town who are responsible for the unified marketing of agricultural products to connect with the business operators so that you can get affordable products. The transportation department will also be responsible for transportation. You just need to provide good terminal sales services..."
The four of them listened carefully to Jimmy's introduction. The more they listened, the more confused these four young men, who already had considerable small business experience, became.
"I don't quite understand, Brother Jimmy. A business like this that is arranged from start to finish doesn't seem to have any risks. As long as you work hard, you can make money. So why not let the clerk do it?" Caroline said in confusion.
Jimmy was very proud of the New Innaderi regime he followed and served . He said with a little pride, "It's not an arrangement. It's a government service provided by the City Hall to private individuals. The Market Department does this. Besides, the clerks have plenty of things to do, so where do they have the time to run the stores? Now even the public stores in Westram have been subcontracted to the families of the operators."
Spring planting is approaching, and the city hall's main task is to persuade and assist farmers. Not only are all the clerks arranged properly, but even the thousands of young and strong contract workers have been organized to go to the countryside after completing the construction of the radio signal tower and the transfer tower. There is no spare man at all...
The four young men were very surprised to hear the new term "government service"... They all had experience working in the city. In their impression, the city hall only existed when collecting taxes and imposing penalties, but they never thought that the city hall would provide services to people like them.
Jimmy smiled and added, "Besides, in this kind of business that is managed from beginning to end, it is okay to make reasonable hard-earned money, but excessive profits are not allowed. If you accept the services of the Market Department, you must obey the management of the Market Department. Whether it is malicious price increase or price reduction, you will be punished."
"Me!" Caroline, who had always dreamed of buying an apartment and living in the city, immediately raised her hand and said excitedly, "Brother Jimmy, I want to do this. I want to rent a store in the city!"
"I know that our Caroline is always very courageous." Jimmy gave Caroline a thumbs up. "What about you guys? Do you dare to give it a try?"
"Of course I dare, count me in as one." Simon already had a plan in mind and nodded vigorously.
Their small caravan does make money for now, but with the city hall opening discount stores in the city and in Kane Town, which they had just taken back from the noble lords, it is becoming difficult for them to sell their goods in the villages around the city and in the vicinity of Kane Town. It is obvious that when discount stores are opened in all towns in the future, their caravan will have to close down and disband.
"I, I want to do it too, but I can't do it alone." The youngest Benjamin was so anxious, "Who of you can help me?"
Simon said happily: "How about this, the four of us should be more cautious in the early stage. Instead of renting a store, why don't we form a team of two? I'll take Benjamin, and you two will be a team?"
"Okay, Alan, will you cooperate with me?" Caroline felt a little scared when she thought about it, and quickly looked at her friend.
"If I were to open a store alone, I would definitely be nervous. It's better to have a partner." Alan said with a smile.
"Okay, then you should come to the city tomorrow and report to the Marketing Department of the City Hall." Jimmy patted Alan's shoulder happily.
Jimmy took advantage of the half-day holiday to go back to the town to visit his family. After finishing his work, he had to go back. He chatted with a few young people and then prepared to go to the station at the town gate to wait for the public carriage.
Before saying goodbye, Jimmy thought of something and winked at Caroline with a smile: "By the way, Caroline, I heard that Gold is pursuing you?"
Caroline, who was excited about opening a store in the city, suddenly looked gloomy.
"What's wrong? You two can't get along?" Jimmy was stunned.
"I don't like him." Caroline said unhappily, "His mother always said that their Gold would marry a girl from a good family in the city and would not like town girls like us. Now he said that Gold is pursuing me, but he just thinks that I can afford the same dowry as the city girls, but I am not as delicate as the city girls, and I can work and make money."
"That's how it is." Jimmy didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I told you that you like guys like Gold who please girls. Well, ignore him and focus on your career."
At dinner time that day, Caroline announced the good news to the whole family and enthusiastically asked her mother to go to the city with her to run their small store.
Ms. Winnie never expected that her daughter would be so brave as to open a shop in the city. Mr. Megan supported Caroline's brave decision: "It's good to go to the city. There are more good guys in the city than in the town. Caroline can take this opportunity to find a good husband."
"Dad!" Caroline didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I don't really want to nag you about your marriage, dear, but Gold is definitely not a reliable marriage partner." Mr. Megan said seriously, "That slick-talking guy can't even do odd jobs during the autumn harvest. He is not someone who can endure hardships. I don't want that kind of son-in-law."
Grandpa Megan, the head of the Megan family, put down the spoon and nodded in agreement with his eldest son: "I don't want this kind of grandson-in-law either."
"Grandpa, Dad, don't worry about it. I don't like him at all." Caroline raised her head proudly. "Even if I want to find a husband, I want to find someone who is more capable than me."
"Okay, our Caroline is always so ambitious." Mr. Megan couldn't help laughing, "Then you can go to the city with her, Winnie, and show me what kind of talent our future son-in-law is."
Winnie glared at her husband in reproach, but did not continue to object... Most small town girls of Caroline's age were already engaged, and she was really worried about her daughter's marriage.
Megan's grandfather works at the Environmental Sanitation Bureau. Ms. Winnie and her two sisters-in-law often go to the town's Logistics Department to do odd jobs like washing vegetables and delivering meals for the road construction team. Mr. Megan and his brothers and cousins all work for the road construction team. The family's income has increased several times compared to before the undead came. They are financially well-off, and their lives are getting better and better. The second and third aunts have taken the initiative to say that they will take good care of Mr. Megan after Winnie and her daughter leave home. Even the two little cousins have sensibly taken on the job of picking up their grandfather from get off work.
After dinner, Caroline, who couldn't sit still, wanted to go to Allen to discuss opening a store together. Ms. Winnie was busy packing their luggage and belongings. She only had time to remind Caroline to go home early before she ran out.
After packing the things she was going to take to the city, Ms. Winnie saw that it was getting dark, so she took the oil lamp from the cupboard, lit it and put it in the living room, then walked to the door and looked outside: "This child, why hasn't he come back yet?"
It was getting dark, but Caroline still hadn't returned home, which made Ms. Winnie a little anxious: "What's going on? Allen's house is not far away... Could it be that these children got together to play crazy again?"
Ms. Winnie was just hesitating about whether to go to Allen's house when a member of the security team hurried into the street where Megan's house was with a lantern.
Not long after, Ms. Winnie, Mr. Megan and Caroline's three cousins went out with the security team with anxious looks on their faces.
When Ms. Winnie saw Caroline, covered in blood and with a pale face, at the temporary shelter of the Town Hall's Public Security Department, she almost fainted.
"Calm down, ma'am. Caroline is fine." The security guard quickly comforted the frightened woman. "She blocked it with her hand and her arm was cut. Her head was not injured. She just needs to rest for a while."
"Ms. Gold Coin, Ms. Gold Coin..." Mrs. Winnie was so distressed that she burst into tears. "Who is so cruel to hurt my Caroline?"
The security guards present looked at each other with somewhat reluctant expressions.
"Is this something we can't tell you?" Mr. Megan was so upset that his face turned blue, and he couldn't control his emotions. "My daughter was hurt, and we can't even find out who did this?"
"Please calm down, Mr. Megan. We all sympathize with Caroline's misfortune. I watched Caroline grow up, and I don't want to see her get hurt either." An older security guard spoke up to smooth things over. "It's just that the nature of this incident is a little different. In fact, the other party was also attacked... His injuries are more serious than Caroline's. Caroline smashed his head with a brick."
After hearing this, the Meghan family, who have always been honest and well-behaved, all changed color.
"Caroline has a tough personality, but she is definitely not the kind of person who would deliberately attack others. Something must have happened here!" Ms. Winnie screamed with a pale face.
"Yes, Caroline is a good girl. No one in our family would believe that she would hurt others." Caroline's eldest cousin also said, "Go to my street and ask around. Caroline has never been a bully since she was a child."
Megan's family started to make a noise, alarming the people in the next room.
A woman broke free from the security guards and rushed to the room where Caroline was placed like crazy. She stood at the door and pointed at Megan's family and cursed: "How dare you say such things! Look at my son, my poor Gold can't even wake up! If anything happens to him, I want that bitch Caroline to pay with her life!"
Mr. Megan roared, "My daughter didn't go out with a brick, and she didn't go to see Gold at all, but she was cut by Gold with a knife! What on earth is your bastard son planning?!"
Many people from the Gold family also came. When they heard what Mr. Megan said, they were very annoyed and wanted to fight with the men of Megan's family on the spot.
The security guards were having a headache trying to control the conflict between the two sides when Mayor Ji Tang and Lord Tattle Joe finally arrived.
"Why don't you stop? Do you all want to go to the prisoner road construction team to live a good life?" Seeing the chaos in the house, Tuttle Joe, who was overwhelmed by government affairs, became furious.
