Starry Sky Railway: Opening Performance - Taixu Sword God

Jepard lowered his head and said sadly:

"Why did they actually fire us... I thought it was just a temporary departure."

Bronya sat back in the corner, silently gazing at the pedestrians coming and going on the street from this perspective.

"..."

"Hey, you three, don't you know what order is!"

"?"

Hearing the cursing, Jepard turned around and saw an old man with white hair and tattered clothes.

He was filthy and looked like a real beggar.

"Ah... old man, why are you still begging?"

Jepard recognized the person and quickly made room for him.

There are very few beggars in the upper district of Belleburg; this dirty old man often goes to the Iron Guard to ask for food.

"Hmm? That voice... Hey, kid, could it really be you?!"

The old man was surprised. He sat down next to Jepard and began to scratch Jepard's face with his dirty hands, as if trying to confirm whether he was the once majestic Silvermane Iron Guard officer.

"It's me, sir... Stop touching me, my injury just healed today."

"oh oh."

After confirming it was Jepard himself, the dirty old man released his grip, but Jepard's face was covered in black smears.

The old man then looked at the two female beggars in the corner behind him. One of them was lying lazily in the corner, scrolling through her phone.

The other one was hugging his knees, looking himself over.

The two stared at each other for a long time, and the old man felt that the girl looked somewhat familiar.

“Little girl, you look just like that… what’s-his-name future Great Guardian? The one who was giving a speech a few days ago.”

"...I, I am."

"..."

"Haha, it's alright... I'll take you begging from now on. Although I'm old, I can still manage to beg for three more meals." The old man patted his withered chest, a few smiles appearing on his thin face.

Seeing that the old man was starting to pity them, Jepard quickly interrupted:

"Grandpa...why are you still begging? Didn't I introduce you to a job last time?"

"Work?"

The dirty old man scratched his head, seemingly trying to recall something.

Finally, he slapped his forehead with his withered hand and shouted:

"Oh, you mean that...sweeping the streets!"

“Yes.” Jepard nodded:

"Not only do they have no worries about food and clothing, but they also earn a good salary and have a place to stay temporarily. Isn't that great?"

"Hey, hey, hey... don't mention it." The old man waved his hand, stopping him.

"I'm so old, why do you still want me to work like a dog? Aren't I tired of my whole life... I struggled when I was young, and now you won't let me off the hook in my old age?"

"Uh……"

"Besides, they promised me a pension, but I haven't seen a single penny of it!"

"Huh? Pension? I remember there being one."

Jepard paused for a moment, then quickly looked at Bronya and Pera behind him, trying to confirm.

Bronya nodded slightly and said softly:

"Yes, seniors who reach a certain age usually receive a subsidy, and seniors without children receive more."

"Yes...that's it, I didn't see a single thing."

The dirty old man snatched Jepard's bowl and said indignantly:

“I tried to apply for one before, but they asked me for my senior citizen card. I didn’t have one.”

"My hair and beard are all white, isn't it obvious whether I'm an elderly person or not? Why do I have to get a senior citizen card?"

"Afterwards, I thought that perhaps its existence is justified, so I asked how to obtain the certificate."

"The result was that I had to pay money again? I did... Then they asked me to give gifts to certain people and to the people who received me... After going through the whole process, I was completely drained of my savings."

Chapter 195 A Good Deal

"These days, you can't prove I'm an old man without a certificate?"

The old man's string of words left the three of them completely dumbfounded.

Jepard's pupils dilated, and he asked in confusion:

"How can this be? I've never heard of having to go through such a complicated process to get subsidies."

Bronya seemed to have thought of something, and her thin lips parted slightly as she whispered:

“I remember that the distribution of pensions was handled by a certain family and was not under our direct jurisdiction.”

Now that I think about it, maybe Sambo even stripped the good clothes off that family member?

"Sigh, I just want to live a better life. The cold wave is over, and we've been fighting all our lives. I really don't want to have any more roundabout dealings with our compatriots and causing any more trouble."

The dirty old man took Jepard's iron bowl, stood up silently, his eyes cloudy:

"I'll go get some food. Do you want some? If so, I'll bring it with you."

"Then bring four more portions."

"Hmm? Four portions?"

The dirty old man turned around and saw a gray-haired young man, even dirtier than himself, standing in front of him, grinning:

"But I don't eat spicy food, onions, or cilantro. Remember to order plenty of meat."

"You little beggar, you're quite picky!"

The dirty old man didn't say much. After making a few complaints, he patted Yan on the shoulder and left.

Jepard was sitting on the ground when he saw that the dirty old man really wanted to bring them food, so he tried to get up, but the latter pressed him down.

"Let them do their thing, stay calm."

"But he..."

"That's their specialty, we don't need to worry about it."

Yan collapsed to the ground with a "thud" like a dead fish, rolling around continuously.

Pera couldn't help but ask:

"What happened to you? Why are you so dirty...? Did Sambo send you to dig coal?"

"Oh, I'm going to beg for food."

"?"

"Look, these are the spoils I brought back."

Yan silently took out a series of documents from his pocket, which were wrapped in exquisite folders, and handed them to the three people.

Bronya, Pera, and Jepard all stood up, staring blankly at the large stack of documents in their hands, and asked in confusion:

"What are these? Is this concrete evidence that those people are trying to threaten the Berloberg regime? Or is it other evidence of oppression of the people?"

No, no, no, none of those are true.

After giving the items, Yan lay back down on the ground and rolled around, getting his clothes all dirty.

"These are from the Black Tower Space Station. They're not particularly valuable; they're just some optimization solutions from various industries."

"Optimization plan?"

"Yes, there are also various operation training manuals to quickly train a group of employees who can get started."

Pera asked in confusion:

"Why are you giving us this? To let us open a factory and become bosses?"

"Hey, that's a good suggestion."

Mr. Yan raised his head and gave a thumbs up:

"If the three of you work part-time as small business owners in some industry, you're sure to make a fortune!"

While the three were still wondering, the dirty old man returned from begging, carrying five boxed meals in his hands.

One of the portions was so full of meat it almost burst the lunchbox. Yan reached out to take it, but the filthy old man slapped his dirty hand away.

"These are mine! Those are yours!"

"wipe."

Yan took the second most plentiful boxed lunch and leisurely left while eating.

The remaining three boxed meals were relatively simple.

However, the three of them didn't pick and choose, each taking a portion and eating it readily.

It was, after all, a kind gesture from them, so they squatted on the ground and ate silently without uttering a single word of complaint.

"Oh? You haven't finished eating yet?"

After the group had been eating for a while, another discordant voice rang out.

The dirty old man looked up and exclaimed in surprise:

"Wow, Sambo? Why are you dressed so nicely?"

Compared to the three people behind the dirty old man, Sambo was dressed in a city builder's uniform, looking solemn and dignified, and even wearing an officer's cap.