Rifle charge in Ark, but without a mount

"As long as the money can be borrowed, the tuition fees for the next few years will be taken care of. I have already discussed it with those old guys. When the time comes, you guys can take the exam together. It would be best if you can become a civil servant in the government. If that doesn't work, being a tax collector in a village is also a good livelihood. You only need to write articles and make reports every day to get paid... Then I, an old man, will have a few years of free time. Maybe I can even take care of your children..."

Little Ford had a faint smile on his face, he didn't think too much about it. If the loan could be successfully processed this time, his grandfather would be more relaxed and wouldn't have to suffer so hard at such an old age. As for the interest on the loan, he could pay it back slowly after he got a job.

The city of Londinium has a very unique climate. It is cold and humid most of the year. Only when you arrive at certain places along the fixed waterway can you have sunny days for one or two months. This kind of weather is of course not friendly to the elderly, especially old workers like Ford who have worked hard all their lives. They have new injuries on top of old ones, and they are just relying on their strong physique to hold on.

This kind of body will feel unbearable pain and discomfort when it encounters rainy days. In fact, even old Ford, a man of strong character, will have a gloomy face and slow movements in such weather.

But in the cold fog that filled the streets and alleys, the little old man had a smile on his face and walked briskly, as if all the big and small ailments in his body had disappeared. This was of course impossible, but it did show how good old Ford's mood was.

The two of them slowly pushed away the fog and returned to their little home.

………………

The shovel stabbed out fiercely, scooped up a few pieces of coal from the steel deck, and then drew a short and thick arc and was thrown into the furnace. The heavy pieces of coal hit the furnace, sparked a few times, and then fell into the flames below.

Old Ford was like an old camel, doing his job mechanically without making any unnecessary noise, except for the harsh sound of the shovel rubbing against the ground.

His teeth were clenched tightly, and the muscles in his cheeks bulged like pieces of iron. A large amount of dust and coal slag covered his old skin. Only his eyes were like charcoal, burning in the darkness.

The old man was already very old, and in just two short weeks, he seemed to have aged even more, and even his body became hunched.

…………

"I'm sorry, sir. To get the full loan, you need a certificate from the police department to prove that you haven't committed any crime in the past five years. Only then can I process the loan for you."

…………

"Proof, of course it's no problem. You're the Ford family living in Block 36, right? You really don't have a criminal record. As long as you pay a data fee, we can issue you a certificate... What? What data fee are you asking about? Of course there is a fee for extracting the data for you, otherwise do you think it's free? It's not much, just 15 pounds, and you can take the certificate away..."

…………

"Of course it's no problem if you have proof. I'll process it for you now... Wait! Did you receive community subsidies last year?... Sorry, if you did, you don't qualify for our program... It's not that there are no other ways. We can help you with just a little consultation fee... It's not much, just 10 pounds... Okay, I've submitted the application for you now, and you'll get a reply in three days..."

…………

"Okay, this is our loan contract. Please take a look. If there is no problem, please sign it here..."

"You're talking about this. That's right. Our loan will be disbursed over 10 years... This is also based on your actual repayment ability. At the same time, in order to promote the city's economic development, we need you to provide 30 working days of free labor every year, so as to ensure the smooth disbursement of the loan... You're talking about the interest rate. Isn't this normal? What? You must have heard it wrong. We don't have such a low interest rate. You must have made a mistake. Yes, the repayment period is one installment per year, and the repayment is in December of the same year. For every 12 working days beyond that, an increase of 10% will be made... This is already very lenient, at least as far as I know, it is more lenient than any other loan in this city... So do you want to accept this agreement?... Okay, this is a wise decision. The first installment of the loan will be disbursed tomorrow. Please check it on time."

…………

His eyebrows were tightly squeezed together, and the wrinkles on his face were enough to kill mosquitoes. The old man's dusty face was as cold and stiff as an iron mask. His body was like a piece of stone, and he bent his waist very low so that he could put the pile of coal in front of the door into the furnace as quickly as possible. He only had a mask he sewed himself to protect his mouth and nose, and the rest of his face was completely exposed, so the old man developed the habit of squinting subconsciously to prevent a lot of dust from entering his eyes.

It is hard to say how effective this behavior is, but it makes the old man's eyes look even smaller. Now, even if he tries his best, he can't open them much, and there is almost only a thin slit left between his eyes.

Today's work was finally completed. Old Ford tiredly used the shovel in his hand to support his body. He felt particularly tired today. After finishing this level of work, he should have enough energy to rush home as quickly as possible, but now he felt even his bones were sore.

Just when he wanted to slow down, the wooden handle in his hand suddenly loosened, causing the old man to stumble and almost lose his balance. When he came to his senses, he found that the tool he had used for many years was broken at the connection between the shovel head and the wooden handle. The shovel fell directly to the ground, and he was left with only a wooden handle in his hand...

Old Ford looked at his shovel at a loss. He had used this shovel for so long but never thought that it would break one day. After all, it had always been so reliable and almost never had any problems.

Turning the wooden handle of the shovel upside down, Old Ford discovered that the center of the wood had rotted at some point, and the yellow wood had corroded into grayish white, becoming soft and brittle. But it happened to break in his hand today, at this moment.

The only thing to be thankful for is that there is nothing wrong with the shovel. All it needs is a new wooden handle. I can buy one from Mrs. Leet's grocery store and put it on...

Old Ford held the wooden handle in his hand and did not move for several minutes. Then suddenly, his iron-like face came alive. The wrinkles between his brows and nose bridge appeared, his thick and short eyebrows almost stood up, and his strong and powerful arms grasped the wooden handle in his hand and then broke it hard.

Even a piece of wood as thick as a goose egg could not withstand his brute force, not to mention that the middle part was already rotten. Without any surprise, the stick was broken into two pieces by him cleanly, and the tiny wood chips were thrown far away with the force of his arms.

"It's all rotten, all rotten, but it's hidden pretty well..."

The old man, who was like a ferocious beast just now, was now completely wilted. He slowly bent down, picked up the shovel, and threw the wooden handle in his hand into the boiler next to him, then left without looking back.

………………

"Mrs. Little, get me a handle of acacia wood."

Before entering the store, the old man washed his face and hands in a fountain on the roadside. In the past, such behavior would definitely attract the police to drive him away and scold him. Old Ford would definitely not dare to do that on weekdays, but today, for some reason, he didn't care... He didn't care at all about the looks of those well-dressed gentlemen and ladies. He washed his face in the fountain, and then came here to buy a new handle for his shovel.

"Mr. Ford, what's the matter with you? Is your shovel broken?"

"Yes, I didn't expect the handle to be rotten, but luckily nothing went wrong while I was working, otherwise M'Pin would have another excuse to deduct my money..."

"Your shovel should really be replaced. The shovel mouth is dented. You are the only one who is reluctant to replace it... This one is very good. There are no scars on it. It should be very sturdy. I guess you won't buy this thing again in the next ten years."

A bitter smile appeared on old Ford's lips.

"maybe……"

Yanguo, Longmen and Victoria: Chapter 2 Bureaucracy ()

The handle of locust wood is extremely sturdy. There are no scars or breaks on this straight wooden stick. If nothing goes wrong, it can be used for a long time. Old Ford was silent. He used a knife to cut one end of the wood to form a suitable cone and then tried it on the shovel. After many attempts, he polished it with sandpaper until there was no gap. Then he installed the shovel head on the wooden handle, turned the shovel upside down, slammed the wooden handle against the ground, and used the force of inertia to make the wooden handle go deeper.

After it is firmly installed, use a nail to hammer it through the small hole reserved on the shovel head to completely fix the entire shovel firmly, then pick it up to test the feel. The roughly polished wooden handle is far from being as smooth as the one I am used to. But after long-term use, I believe it will become the same feel.

Old Ford still looked resolute and strong, but his heart was full of confusion. He knew that the loan was a poisonous cake, but he had to eat it because at least this cake looked like a cake, while the other cakes simply tasted like shit and were equally poisonous. However, he was so hungry that he chose the one that did not smell like shit.

Although he made the choice, he was still restless. From time to time, a strong sense of regret would spread from his heart like a faucet that was turned on. Although he didn't show it on his face, his heart was already in a panic. So he could only work harder. This was the only thing he was good at. As long as he held his shovel in his hand, his heart would calm down... as if they could still live.

Old Ford sat there holding his shovel for a long time, but he still didn't know what to do. Although he was physically tired, he had no intention of cooking or resting. Even little Ford sat stupidly on the broken chair, reading his book.

The atmosphere between them was so depressing. Although a large sum of money was transferred into their account yesterday, both of them knew that within a few months, the money would have to be paid back with interest. However, they needed the money the most at this time and could not refuse it at all...

Thinking of his meager income and the loss of his only source of income, the old man became even more confused. He really didn't know what to do, but his grandson was right next to him, and he couldn't show weakness. So he could only stare blankly, but his hand holding the wooden handle became tighter and tighter.

However, although his strong arms could break a tough wooden stick, they were unable to resist this invisible and intangible thing... So all he could do was just stand there in a daze...

………………

"Old Ford! Stop being in a daze. These need to be shipped away within three hours. Hurry up!"

The old man, who was still immersed in his own thoughts, was awakened by a worker with a towel around his neck, who shouted at him. He ran over and stretched out his hard hands covered with calluses to hold a wobbly big box. The terrible weight made his solid body unable to hold on and shook slightly.

"Hold on! These are all important equipment. If they break down, we won't be able to pay for them in our lifetime!"

The worker who called him also had a red face, and was desperately supporting the boxes on his shoulders. Of course, no matter how strong they were, they could not lift it. They were just trying to keep the boxes stable and wait for the loading and unloading vehicles to arrive. But for some unknown reason, the ground beneath their feet was extremely unstable, causing the boxes to shake continuously.

If the instruments in these boxes were damaged here, they would certainly be held responsible, so the surrounding workers did not dare to leave and all came to help. However, it was still too difficult to stabilize these things weighing more than ten tons with just flesh and blood. Although everyone tried their best and used their strength together under the leadership of the leader, the weight of the boxes was still getting heavier and heavier, making it hard to breathe.

Old Ford tried his best to support it. He knew the technique of supporting heavy objects. He could only do it by using his own bones and skeleton as support instead of muscles. The heavy pressure made all the bones in his body creak, as if they would all break in the next moment.

Perhaps it was because these bones were as tough as he was, an old man like him could not hold on like the other young and middle-aged people. He had to wait for the arrival of construction machinery before he could rest for a while.

Once he relaxed, his bones, muscles, skin... every inch of his body seemed to be wailing. Old Ford couldn't hold on any longer and sat down. A lot of sweat flowed down his forehead, wetting his sparse white hair and even flowing into the corners of his eyes, causing a stinging sensation. He just closed his eyes, lowered his head and continued to breathe.

The old man was so weak at this moment, he seemed to have reached the end of his life in an instant. The old man, who had just been supporting the heavy cargo like other young people, suddenly looked like an old man, began to move slowly and was covered in sweat.

At this moment, the weight on the old man's shoulders was definitely not just the weight of the machine...

Although his mind was still in a state of confusion, he had some different thoughts. Although he didn't know what the machines he had just moved were, they must be extremely valuable, otherwise they wouldn't be of this specification...

A dangerous thought began to spread in his mind, and in an instant he broke out in a cold sweat, and his back, which had just dried, became cold and wet again. He shuddered at the thought from the bottom of his heart... If he really did this and was caught, the only thing waiting for him would be the gallows... What would happen to his grandson then?

But his grandson's living expenses and tuition fees could not wait any longer, and he had to prepare them early. Little Ford was able to go to school because of Mr. Bit's favor. If he couldn't even pay the tuition fees on time, there might be some problems... and such problems, or even the possibility of such problems, were something he absolutely could not afford and must absolutely avoid.

The old man's mind began to boil, all kinds of complicated thoughts flashed through his mind like moths in a lamp, making his expression confused again. The other workers basically knew what was going on, and just thought that he was worried about the loan again, so they didn't disturb him.

But no one knew what the old man was thinking at the moment. After a long time, he raised his head drowsily, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes that seemed small due to years of squinting. In the distance, the warehouse with a blue roof and white walls stood motionless in the fog, its door open, waiting for the construction machinery to deliver the precious materials and equipment.

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The ground is very clean and tidy. Due to the special nature of the goods stored here, there are strict requirements on the environment here. Every time the goods are transferred, they must be cleaned to keep the concentration of stone dust in the air source at a low level to protect the precision instruments and components here from damage. The guards here are also extremely strict.

Not only the factory guards, but even the police from Scotland Yard would come to check from time to time. For an old man like him, there was no chance of success if he approached from the ground, so he could only think of other ways.

His only advantage is his brute strength and the experience he has accumulated from decades of working life. He must make good use of these to complete this dangerous task.

…………

He was wrapped in a thick layer of canvas, which he found in the trash can. It was made of scraps of cloth stitched together. It was originally his work protection clothing, but now it can also protect him from being scratched by rust and sharp objects in the sewer. He tied a small primitive lamp to his forehead, but he was afraid that the brightness was too high, so he covered it with a layer of gauze.

This is a drainage pipe, which is very narrow and can only accommodate a person who is not very strong to crawl in. If you make the slightest mistake, you will get stuck inside. Here, several meters above the ground, no one will come to rescue you and you can only wait to die in the dark.

This kind of thing sounds terrifying, but old Ford did not hesitate at all. He had made up his mind. Any doubts now would only make it more difficult for himself, so he could only move his elbows and knees continuously to allow himself to slowly wriggle in the pipe.

After climbing for a while, he pulled out a small piece of paper from his glove, then turned on the small light on his head and looked at the dense lines on it. He put the paper back until he was sure that his route was correct. Then he lowered his head and continued to climb without saying a word until he came to a three-way intersection.

This is where three pipelines meet. If nothing goes wrong, according to the distance I estimated during the day, the center of the warehouse is right above my head...

He took two deep breaths. The turbid air here made him feel uncomfortable. He had to speed up his movements. In this narrow pipe, he turned around with difficulty, took out a small tool from the small bag on his waist, and gently pressed it against the pipe wall. This was a cutter he bought at a high price on the black market. Although it was disposable, it made very little sound and could cut through thick walls.

After pressing the buttons above a few times and setting the time, he quickly pushed back a distance, then covered his head with his hands, lay on the ground and waited quietly.

With a small sound of friction, some sparks fell on the back of his hand, igniting some tiny hairs and leaving faint marks on the skin. Until a snapping sound was heard, he quickly reached out to catch the cut round concrete block, then slowly put it aside, carefully folded the useless cutter and put it back into the small bag.

Next, he took out a small shovel and began to dig the soil above the hole, and carefully spread a thin layer of soil at the lowest end of the pipe. He would rather climb a longer distance to make the soil as evenly distributed as possible, so that the pipe would not be blocked and noticed... at least not so quickly.

This work was very difficult, because in this narrow space, his range of movement was very limited. Fortunately, he made sufficient preparations, even bringing an oxygen tank. With these tools, he finally dug to the steel plate on the bottom floor of the warehouse. Then he carefully removed this piece of deck, and slowly poked his head out to test the surrounding environment.

He did not climb out immediately, and even tried to slow down his breathing. He remained vigilant until 30 minutes later, when he started the next step, exposing himself and trying not to make any noise as he came to the tall containers. At this last step, the old man hesitated...

He didn't regret his actions. After all, it was already decided and now that regret had come to this, there was no point. He just didn't know what to do next. How to take out the things inside without being discovered and leaving any clues...

After a while, the old man realized that he could not waste any more time, so he took out his tools from his bag and began to try to open the box. The huge padlock did not stop him. A child who grew up on the streets of Londinium always knew something special. He had learned to pick locks when he was 5 years old. Perhaps he was gifted in this area, and he soon discovered that all the doors on the street could not stop him. With just a thin wire and a steel bar, he could easily enter any room.

At that time, he was only happy for himself, because it meant that he would never go hungry again. Unlike other street children, he could enter the houses on the street at any time to find food for himself. In order to survive, he began to use his talent unscrupulously, and opened more and more locks. Later, ordinary locks could be opened by him in just a few seconds, and even those more complicated locks only took him a dozen seconds longer.

But he was eventually caught by the police and imprisoned for several years. During these years, he also deeply realized the price he had to pay for using this skill. So after he was released, he never opened any locks again for decades, until he met his wife, had children, and had his grandson... Then his wife and children all died, leaving only himself and his grandson to depend on each other. As if it was destined, he finally picked up his old set of tools...

Although these tools of various shapes were a little rusty, they were still usable. The thing that was really unusable was himself. His fingers, which had been wielding shovels for years, had long lost their original dexterity and his reactions were extremely slow. It took him a lot of effort to open the lock.

Next, he could only hope that there were some good things in it, otherwise he really had no other choice...

Yan Country, Longmen and Victoria: Chapter 256 Incident

There was a very strange mechanical device in the huge container. Under the illumination of its simple headlights, the white painted shell flashed a gentle light. The whole machine looked like a pile of cubes stacked together. Every edge and corner was square without any curves. Old Ford tried his best but couldn't find any gaps on it... This didn't look like a machine, but more like a work of art carved out of marble.

In order to deal with Coke's situation, he brought the tools he thought he could use, but now it seems that he is still not prepared enough. At least the machine in front of him makes him feel that he has no idea where to start. There are no screws or interfaces. He has no idea how to disassemble it quietly. If he makes too much noise or wastes too much time here, there may be variables.

Old Ford stepped back decisively and put the lock back. His method of unlocking the lock was very clever and he did not damage the structure of the lock at all, so that it would not be discovered too early. There were many other boxes in the warehouse, so he could go find two more, maybe there would be something he could take away.

With just a piece of wire and a steel bar, he opened the huge padlocks one by one, trying not to make any noise. He relied on the dim light of a small lamp wrapped with tape on his head and squinted his eyes to look for valuable items.

Time passed by minute by minute, and every container was filled with the same machine. There was no chance to take action at all. Old Ford's expression began to become anxious. Fine beads of sweat seeped out from the skin on his forehead, and then were absorbed by the towel wrapped around his head so as not to leave any traces on the ground.

The shoes on his feet were loose, he deliberately wore two sizes larger, just to leave the wrong information, but now it really hindered his actions. Moreover, he had been working for 15 minutes, but still had no results. If this continued, he would have to leave empty-handed.

Another box was opened, and the square white edges inside made the old man feel cold in his heart. He locked it without hesitation. He had wrapped himself tightly before coming here, with only his eyes exposed. Although the temperature these two days was not hot, it was not cold either. The sweat from his body had soaked his inner clothes. If it continued like this, his old bones would not be able to bear it.

I made a silent decision in my mind to open two more, and if I didn't find what I wanted, I would turn around and leave immediately.

As the iron wire was inserted into the keyhole, the steel bar beside it was also inserted as an aid. His fingers moved deftly, but just when he was about to succeed, he suddenly paused. His fingers felt a subtle touch, and he knew that the thin iron wire could no longer support it, but he absolutely could not let it break inside...

The old man held his breath and slowly pulled out the shaky thin wire. Metal fatigue had caused a tiny crack in the middle of it, and it would break directly if he used a little more force. Resisting the urge to wipe the sweat off his face, the old man put the broken thin wire into the small bag on his waist, and took out a new one to continue his work.

With a slight sound, the old man gently took off the huge padlock and placed it on the ground. He slowly opened the door of the container and stuck his head in, using the small light on his forehead to illuminate the darkness inside.

The old man breathed a sigh of relief. There was no longer that strange machine inside, but small boxes one after another. These boxes were packed tightly and looked difficult to take out. The old man found a wooden box at the corner as a stepping stone, then removed the top one, put it on the ground and opened it.

In the thick pine wood box, there are mechanical parts wrapped in plastic one by one. Each of these parts is oiled and has extremely high processing precision. There is no visible flaw at all. Based on the old man's many years of experience in reselling parts, these are definitely worth a lot of money.

Unable to suppress a smile, he quickly packed the parts into the package around his waist. After packing more than 20 pieces, he slightly adjusted the placement of the Midsummer Arrow so that the box would not shake too loudly. Then he put the box back and restored everything to its original state. He also carefully wiped the ground he had walked on with the rag he brought with him, and then returned to the hole he had dug and reinstalled the steel plate.

Curling his short and sturdy body in the narrow pipe, he took out a metal lever and turned the regulating valve on it to make the metal feel reach a suitable level, supporting it between the steel plate and the pipe wall. There are several supporting heads on the head of the metal rod, which firmly hold the entire steel plate. In this way, when others step over it, they will not hear a hollow sound.

Although exhausted, the old man could not suppress his smile. He took out a pocket watch from the inner layer of his clothes, confirmed the time, and hurriedly took action. In another 30 minutes, the sewage here would be discharged, and he would not be able to leave then.

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Still in that dim alley, the middle-aged man cursed at the old man:

"You're old and your hearing is not good, right? I clearly told you that I quit, but you still called me in broad daylight. I almost thought you were caught by the police and gave me away!"

The man was about to curse again, but something was handed to him, which made him swallow back all the words that were about to be said. The expression on his face changed rapidly, the corners of his mouth slightly pulled up, and his eyebrows drooped down, which was extremely inconsistent:

"Three-sex separation device! How could you have such a thing?!"

Old Ford was also slightly surprised, he didn't recognize this thing at first, but now he knew that it was the legendary three-property separation device. This device was extremely important and basically only existed in the rumors they had heard. One of the rumors was that this device would be used on the armor of the Steam Knights to provide the knights with a suitable temperature during combat and prevent the body from being in a state of overheating for a long time.

It is not known whether this rumor is true or not, but there is no doubt that this device is a genuine good thing, because it can be used in many places and has a wide range of applications, but the quantity is very small, and in most cases, less effective substitutes are used, and it is often out of stock.

The man's expression froze slightly, and he obviously realized that he had said the wrong thing. If he hadn't shouted it out excitedly, he might have been able to buy this batch of good goods at a lower price like before. But now that he said it, the old man in front of him was obviously not that kind of fool. Now he had to buy it at a very high price...

That's right, retirement has been thrown out of the man's mind. If he can make this deal and increase his income, why not? After all, even if he doesn't do this business anymore, he can't just sit back and do nothing. He still has to find a way to make money in the future.

"How many do you have? I can give you 200 pounds for one..."

The man was the first to state his purchase price, and as old Ford had expected, it was quite low. This three-sex separation device could be sold at a high price of thousands of pounds in the market, and people often paid a higher price to buy it. However, the guy in front of him asked for 200 right away. Although this money was equivalent to the old man's income for half a month in the past, it was pitifully little when he found something good like that day. Most of the time, the old man's income was only more than 10 pounds.

"At least 800. Don't think I don't know the price..."

Knowing the price of the items in his hands, he certainly would not suffer such a huge loss, so he also told his own price.

"Of course I know what the price is, but you, an old man, should also know where this thing came from, right? Don't expect to sell it at the same price as those high-end stores. Besides, such an expensive thing is very hot for others. Only a guy like me who doesn't care about his life dares to accept it... So 500... If you agree, we can make a deal."

The man tried desperately to lower the price. After all, the biggest difference between him and the old man in front of him was the channel. Having a reliable channel to cash in these things gave him the confidence to lower the price.