I am a master in India

Chapter 58 The Worthless Is Humanity
"Ron Soul! Ron Soul who doesn't look down on the poor!"

As Anand made the solemn announcement, the people around cheered, clapped and shouted.

"Thank you. Hello." Ron greeted the crowd a little awkwardly. Is it really okay to introduce like this?

Before he could recover from the cheers, the girl holding the wreath came over with the encouragement of everyone. She was nervous and excited.

Ron smiled and lowered his head, and a wreath with a herbal scent was put around his neck.

There were louder screams and laughter, and people were genuinely happy. The high-caste man did not refuse their kindness and allowed them to touch him.

This is unimaginable for people who have lived in slums for many years, and no one knows the shock.

"Everyone here thanks you, Ron." Anand stood beside him, feeling proud and happy.

Ron saw many familiar faces, including Vinod, Sanjay, Rajakannu, and their families and children.

The vast majority of the guides working for his company come from here, nearly a hundred of them.

In addition, rickshaw pullers, taxi drivers, and vendors also surround Ron's company's foreign tourists to solicit business.

Before they knew it, the number of slum dwellers who depended on Ron for their livelihood had already exceeded several hundred. Including their families, the number would be several times higher.

"You gave us a commission, Ron. Do you know what that means?" Anand said gratefully, "It means many of us get paid much more than the construction workers here.

It could be tens of thousands of rupees, tens of thousands of rupees in the slums, no one could imagine. Much of the funding for this temporary school came from this money.

So the construction site boss allowed us to hold the celebratory lunch here because their children also have to go to school.”

"You deserve it." Ron didn't know what else to say.

"Listen," Anand said, looking at the crowd, "We have worked in Mumbai for so many years, and no employer has ever said anything like this to us."

The crowd roared again, and everyone had a genuine smile on their face. They were happy, and the feeling of being respected and recognized was incomparable.

"Well, I think it's time to start lunch. My stomach's been growling." Ron changed the subject slightly.

He paid them a meager salary. Not to mention formal contracts, they were not even outsourced workers. They were just temporary workers who could be abandoned at any time.

Their sincere, grateful and flattering smiles tortured Ron's heart again and again.

"That's right, lunch begins!" Anand waved his hands and the crowd began to get busy.

Ron and Mary were invited to the center, where a group of women distributed the food onto plates, or banana leaves.

There was saffron rice, potato and pineapple stir-fry, minced lamb curry with peas, vegetable-stuffed fritters, and many other unusual dishes.

A row of kerosene stoves sat nearby, cooking other dishes. After washing their hands in buckets of water, they began to feast.

"How does it feel?" Ron asked Mary.

“Excellent, the curry and chili seasoning is better than in restaurants in town!”

She was the only woman at Ron's table. The other Indian women, according to custom, set up their own table five meters away from them.

During the meal, a few young women came over to clear away the used banana leaves and then placed a few small plates of fresh milk jelly desserts.

They were all staring at Mary, fascinated.

"Her legs are too thin," one of them said in Hindi. "You can see through her pants."

"And the feet are too big," said another.

"But the hair is soft and a beautiful red," a third person commented.

"Ladies, be careful." Ron laughed. "Although my friend is a foreigner, she can understand Hindi and can even speak a few words."

The women, shocked and skeptical, chatted among themselves. One of them leaned over Mary and loudly asked if she could speak Hindi. "My legs may be too thin, and my feet may be too big," Mary replied in fluent Hindi, "but my hearing is fine."

The women screamed with joy and laughed heartily around her. The foreigner could speak Hindi, which would make her very popular with the locals.

They begged her to come to the women's table, and then they all crowded around her and asked her questions. Everyone, women and young girls, liked her very much.

Here, Ron and Anand began to discuss the reception of the next British student tour group.

“We need a bus,” Anand suggested.

"I know a car dealer who has one. I can rent it at the cheapest price." Adi, who was driving the taxi, immediately raised his hand.

"Very good, there are also tourist attractions. They are students from the Academy of Fine Arts. You know, those temples and cave statues will arouse their interest." Ron reminded.

"No problem," Anand promised. "I'm familiar with all the attractions around Mumbai. Maybe we can make some extra money from the ticket sales."

"I'll figure out a way to do this. I know a few officials from the Tourism Bureau." Ron took care of this matter.

India has a dual-entry system for tourist attractions. For example, the Elephanta Caves cost only 20 rupees for locals, but 750 rupees for foreigners.

The difference is dozens of times. The Indian government is short of money, and this is a blatant act of plundering foreigners' wallets.

However, Ron used some connections to get these tickets at the local price, which allowed him to make an extra 2 rupees for each attraction.

With so many people sitting together, they quickly arranged all the food, clothing, housing and transportation for the tour group.

After lunch, Ron and Mary didn't go downstairs right away. It was a rare opportunity to see Mumbai from this angle, so they both leaned against the window sill, staring into the distance in a daze.

Far below, a vast, dilapidated slum stretched from the construction site to the seashore. Narrow alleys, obscured by the jagged eaves of small houses, were only partially visible, resembling tunnels.

Wisps of smoke rose up, drifting intermittently in the gentle sea breeze, and finally dissipated over the scattered small fishing boats on the muddy beach.

On the other side, the tall buildings were gleaming and sleek, and Ron could even see hanging gardens. Some of the top floors had palm trees and climbing plants planted on them, and servants from wealthy families were tending to the flowers and plants.

"The view here is great." Mary murmured as she looked into the distance.

"Does it remind you of anything? Home or hometown?" Ron also looked into the distance.

"Home?" Mary's eyes dimmed. "I don't know. I can't remember."

"I don't mean to pry, but could we chat?"

Her chest heaved a few times and she tried to speak but Anand’s shout interrupted them.

"Ron, Miss Mary! The first class cabin has arrived, we should get off."

Few outsiders come to the Sky Village, so Ron and his friends can't stay there for long.

After a few people came down, Ron was about to say goodbye and leave with Mary, but Anand gave him a package.

"This is from Taiji. He is very grateful for your care for the people in the slums."

Ron opened the package, which contained a lot of medicine, the kind that was not cheap on the market, as well as bandages and a set of surgical tools.

"Taji prepared these specially for you after hearing that you are a doctor. Don't worry, these things are free." Anand winked at him.

"Without spending money?"

"Yes, you will know later."

"Okay, remember to recruit some people in the next two days, the tour group will be here soon."

"No problem, Ron, we have plenty of manpower!" Anand has an entire slum's manpower pool behind him.

PS: Brothers, there will be four updates tomorrow! Go!
(End of this chapter)