Chapter 56: Father's Entrustment
After Seraphine finished her song, tears wet everyone's faces.
This was different from the songs she'd sung before. This wasn't some mind-bending magic.
She simply shared the stories she saw with everyone in the form of an "MV".
Modern people with a good life are often difficult to be moved by model operas, but the poor who experienced the oppression and pain firsthand often had tears in their eyes when they saw them.
Different experiences lead to different feelings.
For these Zaun people, the power of the story itself is enough.
So , not long after, after Baku, the second person came on stage, the third person came on stage, the fourth, the fifth...
Seraphine also sang her second song, and her third song...
Finally, Seraphine stepped off her stage.
No one treated this pink-haired girl in a gold-embroidered princess dress as a superior lady anymore, but expressed affection and respect to her sincerely.
"Seraphini, your singing... is so perfect!" Levi also admired from the bottom of his heart.
Janna flapped her wings slightly, creating a gentle breeze and wiping the tears from Seraphine's eyes.
"Are you okay?" Levi couldn't help but ask with concern.
He knew that every song Seraphine sang represented the life of a Zaun person, and the pain and darkness they experienced in their lives were far beyond what ordinary people could endure.
He originally planned to let Seraphine sing two songs and then stop, but this stubborn girl insisted on singing one song after another and telling one story after another.
Levi was a little worried whether her spirit could withstand such pressure.
"Don't worry, Mr. Levi."
After wiping away her tears, Seraphine smiled brightly instead.
"Before, I was just hiding in fear, so I didn't understand. But now I actively listen, and I find that there is more than just pain in the melody of everyone's soul."
“Although family members are separated by death, they still have family affection; although lovers find it difficult to be together, they still have love; although the world is dark, they still have eyes that can see the sun…”
Because family, lovers and other things are luxuries for the people of Zaun.
But precisely because this is a luxury, the love and warmth they have is more sincere and precious.
Even though they are trapped in darkness, they still live tenaciously and try to create a little happiness in this desperate world.
"I have seen all of this, so I feel not only their pain, but also their strength, courage, kindness, and warmth..."
Seraphine lamented emotionally for the souls of the people of Zaun, as if she was singing a beautiful song.
"Hmm..." Levi was also moved.
This girl's stupidity now seems...
Quite cute.
"Mr. Levi?" Seraphine suddenly called him.
"Um?"
"Why... are you suddenly praising me for being cute?" The pink-haired girl bit her cherry-colored lips, her cheeks also rosy.
"Huh?!" Levi was shocked: "You can read my mind even through the 'network cable'?"
“No…” Seraphine replied, “ It was Sister Janna. You were communicating with her through your thoughts, so…she also conveyed your thoughts directly to her.”
Levi: “…”
"Mr. Levi, it seems that you... you really like me." The little girl's tone was quite expectant.
Levi: “…”
No, he just praised her for being cute. Does that count as love?
Does he really like this pink-haired girl?
Hiss...it seems to be true.
etc--
Janna, please stop broadcasting this part!
"..." Seraphine's face had an alluring pink blush, as if she was planning to say something.
"Ahem!" Mr. Erwin came over with a gloomy face and held down his daughter who was eager to go.
"Levi! I say... For a career like yours, isn't it too early to think about personal relationships now?"
"If you can't even save your own life, isn't it harmful to fall in love?"
"Eh?" Before Levi could answer, Seraphine interrupted with a disappointed look on her face: "Dad, when can we talk?"
"Don't talk!" The old father was so angry that he wanted to explode.
"Anyway, Levi—now I know what you're going to do."
"I am willing to support your cause, and I can't control Seraphine... This girl is stupid and stubborn. If she insists on doing things with you, I definitely can't stop her."
As he spoke, Erwin sighed helplessly:
"My only condition is that you don't let her officially join your ."
"This...I can promise it."
Levi understood Erwin's feelings, but he still lamented his naivety.
This old business owner thought too highly of his peers.
When Piltover tears off the mask of civilization and peace, and when the enemy's butcher knife really falls, the grass will be burned, the stones will be cut, and the people will be replaced... the entire clan must be punished and burned to ashes.
At that time, not to mention assistants like Seraphine, even sympathizers, dissidents, and even innocent people within the enemy may be implicated.
In that situation, any dog passing by would have been stabbed twice.
"I can't guarantee that bad things won't happen." Levi promised solemnly: "But I can guarantee that as long as I'm alive and Janna is alive, we will definitely use our utmost strength to protect her!"
“Okay.” Erwin seemed to have aged a few years. “Seraphone, I’ll leave it to you to take care of.”
"Uh..." Noticing his daughter's eyes suddenly light up, he added in time: "I mean for you to protect her well, don't think too much!"
"Also, since we are already in the same boat, we must discuss what to do next."
Erwin's butt and head were both spinning very fast.
Firstly, he had indeed been infected by the grievance meeting just now; secondly, his daughter had already run away, and he had no choice but to follow her.
So Erwin immediately analyzed for Levi the first problem they were facing: "You guys came up with this on the spur of the moment, the issue of increasing the salary for apprentices—"
"The salaries of apprentices and contract workers can still be increased, but what about the bonded workers?"
An apprentice is at least a free man.
Contract workers are dependent on their master, but now that Elvin has followed the Leader, they are no different from free men.
But the contract laborers were temporary workers rented by Elvin from outside contractors. To put it bluntly, they were slaves.
Their lives, property and personal freedom are completely controlled by the contractors, who even send people to monitor and pick them up when they go to and from get off work every day.
After being taken back, they would be searched again to prevent these slave laborers from secretly hiding any rewards or extra money they received in the factory and not handing it over to their masters.
"So when I subsidized the contract workers in the past, I only subsidized their food and daily necessities - if I gave them money directly and the contractor found out, they would be in big trouble."
"Now you want to increase their salary tenfold in one go. How should you do it?"
"You can't exchange all that money for delicacies and give them to them, right?" Could the contract workers be willing to do that?
“Or should we save it for them first?” The contract workers didn’t even have freedom, so if we helped them save their wages, wouldn’t that mean they wouldn’t receive any salary for the rest of their lives?
"Or simply not give them the money first?" That's even worse. What's worrying is not the lack of money, but the inequality of the money. Apprentices and contract workers are all paid, but contract workers are not. Isn't this artificially creating divisions among the groups?
"Can't you redeem them?" Levi asked.
"No." Erwin shook his head helplessly: "They all owed usury, which is why they became debt slaves and bonded laborers."
"If you want to redeem them, the contractors who are actually the gang leaders will definitely take out the loan shark contracts of these people and ask us for an exorbitant price."
"We have 65 bonded laborers in our factory. We definitely cannot afford to redeem so many people."
"I see..." Levi realized the seriousness of the problem.
He was only thinking about how to deal with the business owners, but he didn't expect that he would have to deal with the slave owners first.
Damn it... It's already the Hextech Industrial Revolution, please try some benzoism! Slavery is too low!
"Then Mr. Erwin, which contractor did you rent the contract workers in our factory from?"
Levi wanted to find out who the enemy was first.
"Um, this..." At this point, Erwin suddenly felt a little embarrassed: "The owners of those indentured workers——"
"It's the Iron Fist Gang."
