our family is gone

Chapter 177 Master Craftsman

Several gangsters surrounded a mother and daughter, one wanted to take a little girl away forcibly, and the other dragged the woman's hair to drag her away.

"Mommy mommy!"

"What are you doing? Let go of my daughter."

"Go away bitch!"

"Damn it, she looks so fair, but she didn't notice it."

"It's worth at least one gold coin!"

"Hahaha!"

No matter how much a woman struggles, how can she resist a few grown men, and the people around her are a little numb when they see this scene, they just want to avoid being involved, and dare not say anything, let alone help.

Lance wasn't too surprised that there were such things in broad daylight, because he had seen too many in the refugee camp these two days.

But calm does not mean he will stand by.

"Go, chop them up for me."

Lance raised his hand and pointed, and the bored Boudica also became excited, and directly picked up the war halberd and rushed forward with a scream.

"waaagh!"

A halberd went over and split the man in half, and the blood splashed directly on the woman's face, causing her to scream.

Those gangsters didn't expect a lunatic to appear out of nowhere, and before they had any more reactions, they were killed like chopping melons and vegetables, leaving only the frightened woman half-stained with blood and the girl who was at a loss.

"Boss, this little shrimp is not enough for me to kill." Boudica was raising his blood-stained halberd in a silly gesture as a gesture.

"Okay, okay~ Next time, be careful not to make it so dirty." Lance also came over at this time, his words were somewhat helpless, and he turned his eyes to the woman and asked, "Are you okay?"

The woman recovered from her panic and looked at the smiling man in front of her.

"Huh?" Seeing that she was still in a daze, Lance thought she had been frightened.

And this sound also called the woman's attention back, and she quickly got up and pulled the child aside.

"Thank you sir! Thank you sir!"

The tear stains on the little girl's face hadn't disappeared yet, and her small eyes were reddened, coupled with her emaciated appearance, it really made people feel pitiful.

It's just that she didn't know whether it was the influence of the environment or what. She didn't have much reaction to this bloody scene. She could only say that the environment is the most tempering.

"It's okay, don't cry." Lance squatted down to equalize the height difference between the two, and raised his hand to gently wipe away the tears on her face.

"My lord, take her away. She is still young, but she is very smart and can do everything. After two more years of raising her, she will be able to serve adults."

Seeing Lance's actions, the woman was heartbroken. No matter what, she couldn't let her daughter stay here. She wouldn't be so lucky next time. Even being a maid of a rich family was better than dying here.

"What's your name?"

Lance looked at the girl, and he had to say that he was really interested, because the girl had an extraordinary talent, and when she was emotional just now, she had a strong spiritual fluctuation, which was the strongest talent he had ever seen.

"Jeanne." The girl spat out a name in a crying voice.

"A nice name." Lance rubbed the girl's hair and stood up, "You two come with me."

The two were brought back to the camp. The original piece of wasteland was now being used, and at least 2000 people lived in it. Lance boldly used the refugees who had just arrived, just to test their abilities.

The woman held her daughter's hand and looked around the camp. The eyes of those around her did not reveal any madness. On the contrary, they were all doing their own things honestly. The feeling of returning to order calmed her down temporarily.

What's more important is the aroma of the food. The mother and daughter haven't eaten anything normally for several days.

"You take them to take a bath first, put on new clothes, and then go get some food."

Lance raised his hand to beckon a woman, and everyone who comes in here must have a procedure.

He has no experience in slave shipping, but he knows that getting sick in such a dense environment on a ship will be a disaster, so the first thing is hygiene.

Fortunately, the weather is not cold now, and the body can be washed directly with river water. For this reason, he also asked people to build a simple bathroom as a shelter, and prepared a set of simple clothes for each person.

Tiffany couldn't figure out why Lance was wasting resources here. Isn't it the same for these refugees to go to the river to take a bath?Not to mention new clothes.

Tiffany wasn't alone in thinking that, she just dared to say it.

Lance didn't explain their doubts. He could only say that Lance treated the refugees as human beings and hoped that they would live with dignity.

Rather than being dragged into the water like livestock to be washed while others watch.

When the filth on her body was cleaned and she changed into new clothes that were simple but refreshing and smelled of sunshine, the woman only felt that the pressure accumulated on her body for a long time was removed.

Not to mention the salty and meaty porridge in her hand, it made her feel infinite admiration and peace of mind for this camp and the man in front of her.

I came alive~
Because of Joan's talent, Lance didn't mind spending a little time on her. He sat next to the two of them and understood their origins in a few words.

They are all in the same situation. They were hit by a disaster and then fled here, but their family lives in the city. She is a teacher and her husband is a painter. Life is not very good, but it is also stable and rich, but I never thought about it. down to where it is today.

They still spent money and fled with the caravan, but they were scattered by the robbers halfway, and they were forced to separate. The life and death are unknown, and she and her daughter exchanged the remaining money for a boat ticket to Totnes, which was their agreed purpose. land.

But on the way, the captain asked for more money, and she couldn't get it out and was thrown away. Fortunately, it was not far away, relying on the last bit of food, after walking for three days, she finally came here.

They just didn't expect Totnes, who had just approached their dream, to encounter the scene just now.

The woman was a little scared when she said that, if she was taken away by them, she and her daughter would definitely suffer inhuman torture.

Lance couldn't help frowning when he heard that, Totnes is still singing and dancing, and the mainland can't even stand the city, how serious is the situation there?
But he still came back to his senses and looked at the woman to comfort her.

"Relax and settle down, now that you are my people, I will guarantee your safety and your life."

"Thank you, my lord!" The experience along the way made the woman dare not be too demanding, and now she is very satisfied.

"Of course, everyone has to bear certain responsibilities. Since you used to be a teacher, then help me manage those children for the time being, and we'll talk about the rest when we return to the territory."

Things are arranged here, and a person is ushered in outside.

"My lord, there is a man named Winston looking for you at the station?"

Hearing this, Lance's eyes lit up, and after a simple arrangement, the two of them rushed back to the station in Midtown.

These days, everything that should be prepared is almost done, just waiting for his news.

Back on the station, where Winston was.

"grown ups!"

Lance asked him to do his best to communicate and hand over the matter, and now he finally handed over an answer sheet.

After a brief communication between the two, Lance also learned about the current situation of those craftsmen from him.

Not only Lance was anxious to wait, but it was even more so for these craftsmen. They were expelled from the academy, and although those people outside did not know why they were expelled, they would always be labeled as having poor skills.

It comes with a question of "otherwise, how can you fire you and not fire others?"

Not to mention that these people make guns, and the low-end and high-end related markets have long been full. For other forging workshops, it is better to find a few new apprentices than recruit them, and they don't even need to pay.

Totnes just has no shortage of people.

You must know that the consumption pressure in Totnes is too great, and the source of funds has been cut off. If you are a single man, it is okay, but the most fearful thing is that you have to raise a family, and you may be evicted from the rented house tomorrow.

It can be said that when Winston came to the door, some of them had already changed their careers to other jobs, and they just wanted to subsidize some households so that they would not be driven out of the city.

It was also the first time that Winston felt that Totnes was so strange.

Lance didn't expect the situation to be so exaggerated, and fell into thinking.

Seeing him like this, Winston also seemed a little entangled, and after hesitating again and again, he still spoke.

"Actually, my lord...if you want to lower the wages...it's not impossible~"

As an intermediary, he should be on Lance's side logically, because he is on commission, but he is also a craftsman. Although he is not very familiar with them, he has a little personal emotion about those people's downfall, and hopes to help them.

Lance waved his hand when he heard it.

"Tell them that as long as they are willing to come, I will pay him whatever salary the college workshop pays, and I will also take care of their housing issues."

Although Lance knew their predicament, he didn't intend to lower the price. Instead, he was willing to give them good conditions.

He is willing to respect talents, provided they are used by him.

Winston immediately agreed when he heard this, and revealed a piece of news at the same time.

"Among these craftsmen, I feel that my lord still needs to meet one person in person."

"Who?"

"Master Eugene." Winston emphasized with a face of respect, "There are no more than a hundred people in Totnes who can be called masters."

"Then your golden hammer has stronger gold content than his?"

Lance asked curiously, but Winston was so embarrassed that he could only explain.

"The forging competition is a folk competition held by the workshop itself. It is held once a year, and it is only the seventh year. Of course, there are not enough ten, but the craftsmen who can have the title of master are all sitting on the judging table. They all have their own unique skills. , or there is a major invention.”

Lance understands that Winston's previous bragging is a bit of a slap in the face, but it is undeniable that his skills are indeed very good, otherwise it would be difficult to stand out from so many craftsmen.

In order not to be so embarrassed, Winston quickly brought the topic back.

"Master Eugene was born as a watchmaker. His most outstanding invention is a mechanical device that can magnify objects. He became a master with this, and later joined the college as a professor. He is also a craftsman, responsible for researching gun manufacturing techniques.

Unlike those who were dismissed, I heard from those craftsmen that Master Eugene quit voluntarily. It seems that he had a quarrel with the people in the academy, and the layoffs began after the master left. "

"I'm going to meet the master."

Lance suddenly became interested, even if it wasn't for people, he would go there for that unique invention.

It's just that he didn't let Winston accompany him, but asked him to contact the rest of the people as soon as possible. As for him, he went to Master Eugene's residence alone.

According to what Winston said was so powerful, Lance originally thought that this Master Eugene lived in a single house, but he did not expect that he actually lived in a rented house, and it was still a very ordinary old urban area.

It felt a little dark to enter it, and I basically went to work during the day, and I didn't see many people nearby.

"Is anyone there?" Lance knocked on the door, but no one responded. After knocking several times, there was finally movement behind the door.

Unlike the craftsmen who were basically strong men in his impression, when the door opened, an ordinary middle-aged man with glasses appeared in his sight, more like a scholar than a craftsman.

"Who are you looking for?" The man looked at the visitor hesitantly, but found that he didn't recognize him at all.

"Excuse me, is this Master Eugene?"

"What's your business?"

"I want to invite you to my territory to participate in a project."

"Not interested~" Eugene withdrew his gaze lightly and was about to close the door.

"So you know why the workshops are laying off workers? Why are the gun academy funding being cut?"

Lance tentatively asked a question, and after hearing this, Eugene stopped, and it seemed that he didn't know the way.

"Let me go in and sit down and talk slowly, you will be interested in this matter."

After a little hesitation, Eugene stepped aside to let him in. Lance noticed that the place was a bit messy. There were various manuscripts piled up all over the room. At a glance, he could see the blueprint of what it might be.

There are some books on the bookshelf, as well as some unnamed medals and trophies, and the most unique one is a brass-based device with a lens, which reminds Lance of optics. Here comes the microscope.

And there is no place to meet guests above the hall, but a large long table, on which are placed various drawing tools and an unfinished design drawing.

It can be seen that I don't interact with people often, because the chairs in the room have already accumulated dust, and there is no second cup or the like.

Lance knew from Winston that he had been celibate for many years, and he seemed to be a master who devoted himself to research, and this kind of person was the best to deal with.

Also don't try to beat around the bush, they don't understand.

"The reason for all this is blocked by the high-level, but I can tell you some useful information, such as a humiliating defeat..."

As soon as he was seated, Lance went straight to the point and directly talked about the original war.

It's just that he didn't elaborate on the details of the battlefield, but only emphasized the defeat of the gunnery unit. The high-level leaders were no longer optimistic about their willingness to invest, which in turn triggered the counterattack of the traditional factions and led to a cut in the academy's funds.

(End of this chapter)