"Dad, are you going out to work?"
"Yes, Tessa. Be a good girl at home and don’t cause your mom any trouble."
"Will there be any fruit candy today?"
"If you’re obedient."
In front of an old apartment building, its surface stained with rain marks, Martin was saying goodbye to his 6-year-old daughter, Tessa.
Seeing the look of anticipation and joy on his daughter’s face, a sense of parental guilt welled up inside him.
Due to the family’s previous income, they could barely maintain food and shelter in the slums of Farlim, and candy was naturally a luxury in these circumstances.
One could say that from birth to present, aside from holidays, she seldom had any.
Clearly, she’s at the age of having a sweet tooth...
Handing his daughter’s hand to his wife, he waved goodbye and walked down the alley towards the main road.
Spring in Farlim hadn’t fully warmed up yet.
He shrugged his shoulders and breathed warmth into his hands.
"Everything will get better...."
Martin had recently changed jobs, and he was quite satisfied with it.
Compared to his previous job where he earned about 25 copper coins a day, his income had now increased to 35 copper coins, and if he worked late overtime, it could even reach 40 copper coins or more.
This salary would be considered high in remote towns.
Unfortunately, the cost of living in Farlim was too high, and this income still remained at the bottom tier.
But for Martin, he was already very content.
At least now, this income allowed him to start saving a little after paying for rent, food, coal, and other necessary expenses, with much less pressure than before.
That’s why, on his way home from work last night, he had bought some candies for his daughter from the store.
Passing by Feather Pen Avenue, he saw his former workplace, where a young man had taken over his job.
The young man was unloading goods from the carriage and placing them onto the shelves according to category.
Retracting his gaze, Martin continued to stride forward.
Unconsciously, he began to hum a lighthearted tune, his steps became lighter, and he felt increasingly satisfied with his current job.
Although the work there was more tiring, the demands more, and management stricter with not much rest time, the income was considerably higher.
The difference wasn’t just the salary itself; the meals provided by the canteen each day also saved him quite a bit on meals, eliminating the need to spend money on bread and other meals.
Turning the corner, Martin arrived in front of a brand-new estate complex.
It had taken him an hour to walk from home to here.
Seeing the fierce Red Dragon statues on the grand archway, he instinctively straightened his posture, adjusted his faded old coat to look as presentable as possible.
"Morning, Martin." Glenn, his short and chubby coworker, had already arrived, rubbing his hands as he greeted him.
"Morning, Glenn. It’s cold today."
Entering the Red Dragon Estate required a check process to ensure they weren’t bringing any prohibited items.
Martin voluntarily opened his arms to cooperate with the guards’ inspection.
While cooperating, his peripheral vision couldn’t help but glance at the adjacent branches of the silver-leaved plane trees, where a black crow stared at them intently.
It was said that these ubiquitous little birds in the estate were the eyes of its owner.
Thinking of this, he repeatedly reminded himself not to have any ill thoughts.
He certainly didn’t want to end up like his greedy coworkers who lost their jobs.
After passing the check, he stepped onto the estate’s interior roads, walking on the bright white clean paths, he took a deep breath.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt that the air inside the estate was much fresher than outside, and it wasn’t as cold.
He took off his coat and hung it on his arm.
Walking through the main road towards the work area at the end.
Passing by a spot, he heard a thunderous snoring sound to his right.
His peripheral vision glanced toward the plane tree grove, even though he couldn’t see it, he knew there was a mountain-like creature sleeping there, which was also the origin of the estate’s name.
Even from a great distance, with the dense plane trees blocking, Martin instinctively felt a shuddering fear and quickly looked away, not daring to glance further.
Before entering the workshop, the workers underwent an even more detailed check before entering indoors.
It seemed like an important figure was present today.
He glanced at a spot in the workshop, where the big man Ivan was accompanying an extremely handsome young man, dressed in a white robe, who seemed to glow.
Virtually everyone entering the workshop couldn’t help but notice him immediately.
"..."
"Who is that?"
"Shh... lower your hand."
"That important person is the boss of our boss, the owner of this estate, the leader of the Red Dragon Team, Lord Gauss."
Hearing his colleagues’ hushed discussions, Martin, who had just arrived, also understood who the person was.
While he was secretly observing, the leader suddenly looked over at him.
Martin instantly felt tense, his breath halted for half a second.
Fortunately, the next moment, the leader averted his gaze.
He even felt that the leader smiled at him.
For some reason, his tense mood instantly calmed.
He felt... this distinguished leader was quite amiable.