Thanks to the Inferno Eagle, Old Man Chang's repair shop was raking in over ten thousand every day. One day, it even hit thirty thousand at its peak.
Thirty thousand MB wasn't much to most people in the city, but it was an astronomical sum in this area. Old Man Chang was so excited that he couldn't sleep for a few nights. At this rate, he would be able to pay for Chang Xiaowu's medical expenses.
Seven days later, Old Man Chang gave Silin and Bel their salaries after dinner. Cillin's salary was agreed upon a long time ago, and Bel's salary was calculated based on performance and other factors as mentioned earlier.
Silin had fifty thousand, Bel twenty thousand, and Old Man Chang almost a hundred thousand. Old Man Chang had wanted to give them a bit more, but Silin and Bel refused. Old Man Chang didn't object to the fact that he needed to save up for Chang Xiaowu's medical expenses, but Old Man Chang took care of all the food.
Huimao licked its paws while wondering when Silin would buy some fish biscuits from the city. It was already missing that.
"Oh right, I noticed that we're running low on some parts today. A couple of big clients need some important parts for their flying cars these days, but I don't think we have them in this area. I think we'll have to make a trip to the city," Silin said.
Huimao's ears perked up as it stared at Silin with sparkling eyes.
Old Man Chang nodded and handed over twenty thousand to Silin. Silin didn't turn it down. Old Man Chang was never one to turn down money like this. After accepting the money, Old Man Chang asked if there was anything else he needed to buy. After a moment of thought, Old Man Chang listed them all down one by one. Most importantly, he asked Silin to keep an eye on the big hospitals in the city. A full treatment cost at least a hundred thousand MB a few years ago, and that didn't include the recovery fees. He just didn't know how much it was now.
"Alright, I'll ask."
Silin had recently checked on Chang Xiaowu's condition. He was a lot better after the buffering medicine. At the very least, the success rate of a full treatment project would be much higher. In addition, Chang Xiaowu had been in a good mood recently. The number of times he smiled was also increasing. This was a good sign.
"Then it's my turn tomorrow!" Bel said eagerly as he patted Cillin's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm here with you!"
Silin: "…" Why does this sound so awkward?
Knowing that Silin was going to enter the city, Chang Xiao Qi did not sleep at all. He was even more excited than Chang Xiao Ba last time, causing Chang Xiao Liu and Chang Xiao Ba to be jealous.
Entering the city? It seemed like they had never entered the city in their entire lives.
Early the next morning, Silin carried Chang Xiaoqi and boarded the passenger flying car heading to the city. After all, Old Man Chang's family's flying car had long been dilapidated, and it would not be good for them to fly into the city.
The passenger flying cars had also been overcrowded recently. They had opened up many more cars, and the price had increased again and again. However, up until now, every single one of them was full, and those who were a little slow would not even have a seat. In the past, they could squeeze as many people as they could into the cars as long as there was some space. However, the security at the city's entrance was very strict, and there were strict rules that forbade overloading. If an overloaded car was found, it wouldn't just be a matter of a fine. The car would be detained and the driver would be sentenced. Therefore, everyone was more obedient now.
Many of the people on the passenger flying cars were heading to the city to try their luck. When Silin was at the repair shop, he could often hear the waiting car owners talking about the recent happenings in the city. They talked about who had gotten lucky, who had won the favor of who, and so on. Each story was more exciting than the last.
Regardless of whether these rumors were true or not, there were more and more people heading to the city to try their luck. Some of the people who had been waiting to see what was going on couldn't sit still anymore after hearing the rumors. They packed up their things and ran into the city. Even the owners of the repair shops that were doing better couldn't sit still either. They closed up their shops and rushed into the city. No matter how good their business was, it was still the life of a lower-class commoner. How many generations of people had been guarding a shop in this small and poor place? If they could win the favor of an aristocrat, if they could get a chance, who would care about this small shop?
Therefore, Old Man Chang's shop had made a lot of profits. He had bought a lot of spare parts and some other supplies several times at very low prices. He had earned a lot of money from Old Man Chang.
Even on the bus, the topics of the passengers' conversation revolved around those few successful cases. When they talked about it, it was as if they had been there at the time. They spoke passionately, but secretly, they couldn't hide their jealousy and yearning.
Chang Xiao Qi was someone who couldn't sit still. After getting on the bus, he leaned against the window and looked at the scenery outside. Even the most boring natural scenery could be watched with great interest.
"Look, look! That's the Star Tower! "a passenger shouted excitedly.
"It's true …"
"Let me see! Let me see! "
For a moment, the passengers in the bus stopped talking about the previous topic. All of them stuck their faces to the window and looked outside. There were images on the screen, but after all, they hadn't seen it with their own eyes. Only by seeing it with their own eyes would it be something worth showing off.
The Star Tower was the tallest tower on this planet. It was the landmark of the city. When one saw the Star Tower, it meant that the city was not far away.
Looking at Chang Xiao Qi's face that was about to be squeezed into a big pancake, Silin smiled and rubbed Chang Xiao Qi's head. "What's the hurry? You'll see it clearly in a while."
"En!" Although Chang Xiao Qi responded, his small face was still squeezed outside the window. "If only Little Six, Little Eight, and Fifth Brother could see it."
"It's okay. We'll come together next time."
"Really?!"
"Really."
"Okay!" Chang Xiao Qi smiled brightly. The little bit of guilt and regret he had just now was swept away.
After entering the city, Chang Xiao Qi was very quiet. This was what Old Man Chang had told them before. They shouldn't talk nonsense in the city. Although he remained silent, his eyes couldn't stay still. He kept looking around.
The passenger flying car was parked in a parking lot at the edge of the city. This parking lot was set up for the flying cars that came here from the civilian area. As far as the eye could see, there were people dressed similarly. It was just that there was no difference here.
There were also private manors or large factories of rich families outside the city. However, those people and factories had special parking lots in the city. The conditions were much more luxurious, not as crowded and old as here.
Moreover, some of the small shops around the parking lot were almost not completely from the city. Just like the customer that Band introduced, they only lived at the edge of the city. Even so, they felt that compared to the civilian area, they had an absolute sense of superiority.
As for the people who were completely from the city, they had always looked down on the people here. If they were passing by, they would basically take a detour. They felt that this place was full of filth and would lower their status.
There were many people at the station, especially at the exit. There were people coming in and out.
Silin carried Chang Xiao Qi out of the parking lot. There were no taxis in the station, and there were very few taxis around. It was as if there was a plague here. However, as long as they walked out and turned a corner, they would see more and more taxis.
It turned out that these people weren't going against money. It was just a matter of face. It was as if they were afraid that others would say that they had something to do with the people here. Before he came here, Cillin had inquired about the situation here. It wasn't hard to get an ID in the civilian district, so Cillin only needed to spend some money to get a fake temporary ID. In any case, people without IDs were basically treated the same as people in the civilian district when they were in the city. They wouldn't carefully check a person who had a civilian identity.
After the identity verification, Silin carried Chang Xiao Qi out of the station. He followed the route he had inquired about and walked a little further. After turning a corner, he saw a taxi parked there.
After hailing a taxi, Silin reported a place.
"Three hundred," the driver said without looking back.
Three hundred … No wonder people in the civilian area didn't dare to run to the city in the past. They couldn't afford to take a taxi here.
It was only after Cillin was done paying that the driver finally started the car with a look of reluctance on his face.
The traffic control in the city was very strict, so it would take about an hour to reach the place Silin said. An hour wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. Perhaps the driver was bored and found a topic to chat with Cillin. Although he was the one who started the conversation, his tone wasn't very good. There was a sense of superiority in his voice.
"You are also here to try your luck, right?" the driver asked with a sarcastic tone.
"That's not it. I'm going to buy some spare parts. The store is short of spare parts." Regarding the driver's tone, Silin didn't seem to hear it and said with a smile.
The driver was familiar with Silin. As soon as he heard Silin's words, he understood and said, "At least you know your place. You didn't get involved in this matter. Why would a noble choose someone from the civilian area? What a joke!"
Cillin didn't say anything. The driver then patiently explained some of the wishful thinking of the civilians outside the city after they entered the city. Cillin only listened with a smile and made a sound of assent from time to time. He didn't express his own opinion, and the driver probably didn't want to hear Cillin's opinion either.
The flying car finally arrived at the place Cillin had mentioned. It was a parts market, and for the city's upper-class citizens, this was a busy market. They didn't come here for long, and if their flying car broke down, they would just send it to the repair shop. They didn't care about the parts at all.
As for those who didn't have a high standard of living, they would often buy the important parts they needed themselves. After all, it was cheaper. As for those who didn't have money, they would sometimes secretly go to the civilian area to repair.
Replacing the same spare part in the city was more than three times more expensive than repairing in the civilian area. Perhaps the quality of the repairs in the city was guaranteed, but many people with a low income preferred cheaper repairs.
Cillin arrived at the parts market. This place was much livelier than the parts street in the Civilian District. Just a glance from the outside was enough for him to see a lot of high-end parts. The shops were also a lot more lavish, and the prices were absolutely high.
Silin mainly looked at second-hand parts. In Old Chang's shop, customers might not be willing to use first-hand parts.
Seeing Silin walk towards the second-hand parts store, some people around him looked at him with disdain.
"One look and you can tell he's a kid from the civilian area. He doesn't have money and still wants to buy spare parts?"
"He's just a kid who buys second-hand parts."
"Hey, why care about that? Let's talk about the last time we went to the casino …"
Those people's voices didn't stand out in the noisy downtown, but Silin could still hear them very clearly. For those people's words, he directly ignored them.
Cillin walked into a shop that sold secondhand parts. This shop wasn't particularly eye-catching among the many other shops, but if he really had to point out something special about it, the only thing he liked about this shop was the order in which the shop owner displayed the parts. Many merchants who sold parts weren't necessarily familiar with the specific usage of these parts, so the parts they displayed were arranged according to their personal preferences.
However, the order in which the owner of this store arranged the parts was different. At first glance, a layman would think that the owner's aesthetic view was not good, and the order of the parts was not good. But those who were familiar with maintenance would find that these parts were arranged according to the order in which they were assembled, which also showed that the owner was really good at maintenance.
When Silin walked in, the owner was immersed in drawing something. He didn't pay attention to the customers who came. Only two service robots that looked rough were dealing with the customers. The prices of the parts were marked, and no bargaining was accepted.
There weren't many customers in the store. Compared to other stores, this second-hand parts store was a little less popular, but the owner didn't seem to care. He leaned over the table and drew. He didn't use an electronic board, but paper. Sometimes he frowned, and sometimes he smiled. A few customers originally wanted to chat with the owner, but when they saw the owner like this, they gave up the idea and left.
The owner was a middle-aged man, a little stout. He didn't seem to care about the customers leaving, and he just did his own thing.
Before, Silin just took a look at the arrangement of the parts outside. Now that he walked in and saw that some of the micro-parts had a specific order, it could be seen that the owner was a little paranoid about the placement of the parts.
Silin put down Chang Xiaowu and looked at the prices of the parts he needed. They were not bad, at least not as expensive as the previous few stores. Although the previous stores were slightly more expensive, the price could be negotiated. This was only the final price, and the prices of a few parts were similar to the initial price of the other stores. No wonder the popularity of this store wasn't high.
Just as Silin was looking at the parts, a few more people left the store, and finally, only Silin was left. The store was a lot quieter. Even a service robot came to serve, but it didn't introduce the functions of each part to Silin.
After looking around, Silin said to the service robot, "I want the No. 3 blade of the inner spinner, the J-VII primary activator, the PV5 metal contact wire …"
Silin said the parts he needed, and one of the robots began to pick up the parts.
But when Silin said the parts he needed, the owner, who had been burying his head and minding his own business, suddenly raised his head. His eyes flashed, he laughed, put down the pen, and said, "You're an expert!"
The fat owner turned to the robot that was picking up the goods and said, "I'll give you a 20% discount."
Silin looked at the fat owner in surprise. This was an interesting person.
The fat owner walked over and looked at Silin and Chang Xiaowu, who was standing next to him curiously looking at the two service robots. He took out an unopened bag of candy from his pocket and handed it to Chang Xiaowu, but Chang Xiaowu swallowed his saliva and didn't take it. Instead, he looked at Silin.
"Take it. This is the owner's kindness," Silin said.
Only then did Chang Xiaowu take the bag of candy and said politely, "Thank you, uncle!"
"Ah, you're welcome." The fat shop owner chuckled and rubbed his fat belly. "I have a habit of eating sweets when I'm thinking. It gives my brain more energy to think about problems. So, every time I draw, I put a bag of sweets in my pocket. Hehe, that's how my belly grows."
Don't be fooled by the fat owner's indifferent attitude. Once you look at his words, you can tell that he's actually a lively person.
Silin looked at the packaging of the bag of candy. It didn't look cheap. Maybe the price of this bag of candy was comparable to a second-hand good part. He couldn't tell that this owner had some status.
The fat shop owner chatted with Cillin for a bit about the parts. The shop owner's attitude towards a knowledgeable person was pretty good, and he didn't show any disdain towards Cillin's frank declaration that he came from a civilian district outside the city.
"I know. There are some capable people in the maintenance street outside the city. My old man has a saying: Geniuses are buried in the common people."
Silin smiled and didn't say anything.
The fat owner chatted with Silin about the maintenance of flying cars, but in the blink of an eye, he said gloomily, "Some of the models I painstakingly made a few days ago were smashed. Otherwise, I could have shown them to you. Maybe you could give me some inspiration. Sometimes, inspiration just likes to throw a tantrum. It doesn't come out at the critical moment! "
Cillin felt that the fat shopkeeper was pretty special after listening to his complaints. He loved flying cars a lot, or rather, he loved designing flying cars a lot. However, his family looked down on this hobby of his. Did they send someone over to cause trouble for him and destroy the model he had painstakingly made? The only reason the shop was able to survive was because the fat shopkeeper had threatened his life with it.
After the robot sorted out the parts and handed them to Silin, Silin said goodbye and left. He still had something to do. The fat owner asked Silin to visit the next time he went to the city. He might be able to see his new flying car model next time.
After Silin left, he went to a big hospital in the center of the city to learn about the situation.
In another building not far from the big hospital stood two people. They were the two that the heads of the planet's government had treated respectfully.
"That's the kid?"
"Yes. His Royal Highness is now experiencing life in his house."
"Sigh, it seems that His Royal Highness is going to experience a poor life this time. It's rare for the Inferno Eagle Royal Family to produce such a freak who can afford to eat fine goods."
"Poor life? Not necessarily. According to what I know, our arrival has caused a commotion in the civilian area. Even the business of the repair shop is booming. I guess the poor and cold people won't be able to feel it. "
"When will the people that His Royal Highness mentioned be transferred over?"
"In a few days."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
