shadow empire

"Who is that?"

In another corner, seven or eight teenagers stood around a young man who looked to be in his early twenties and was wearing a baseball cap.

It can be vaguely seen that this young man in the baseball cap is the core of their small circle.

A younger one said, "I heard his name is Lance, an illegal immigrant from Balmain State."

"He said he would earn 200 dollars for completing a job. That's why the annoying Rob had a quarrel with him just now."

Balmain State is not a developed region in the empire, with agriculture as its mainstay of economy. Although there are developed cities, it is still slightly backward compared to prosperous areas such as the imperial capital.

Most of the imperial people who have permanent residence and citizenship here come from the developed areas of the imperial capital. Only these people can successfully obtain permanent residence cards and citizenship.

So when talking about Lance's hometown, the youngest guy was a little uninterested.

"No matter where he's from, as long as he and Rob don't get along, we can be friends."

"As for the two hundred dollar job, we can go and hear what he has to say."

"And get to know him by the way."

Rob is not very popular here. He inherited Mr. Burton's materialism and snobbery, but he did not disguise these qualities well.

He would make sarcastic remarks or ridicule those who were poor and whom he looked down upon, giving people the impression that he was obviously superior to them.

As for children from wealthy families with a certain social status, he would behave like a pug, wagging his tail and saying nice things.

The more this happens, the more people dislike him, whether they are those he looks down on or those he wants to curry favour with.

Of course, although everyone dislikes him, it cannot be said that they hate him, they just don't like him, which is why he can still appear here.

As soon as the group approached Lance, they heard him say, "I have a job that needs someone to do, and I don't want to give this opportunity to others, so the first thing I thought of was our own people."

The young man in the baseball cap interrupted, "Can I ask what we do specifically?"

"Also, how much can you pay us for this job?"

Lance turned and looked at him. He was a fair-skinned man, and seemed to be about 1.73 to 1.75 meters tall, which was considered very tall in that era.

He looked thin, and was wearing a white shirt, dark trousers, suspenders, old but well-polished leather shoes, and a grey baseball cap.

Many times Lance couldn't understand the custom of wearing a hat in such a hot day. And it wasn't just him. Many adults and people on the street were wearing hats. Aren't they hot?

Facing Lance's gaze, the man in the peaked cap took the initiative to extend his hand, "Enzio, from Dokanis."

Lance shook his hand and said with a smile, "Lance, from Balmain."

The two quickly let go of each other's hands, and Ennio asked, "I heard just now that you have a good job to recommend to us?"

"That's right."

"Can I ask what it's like and how much it pays?"

The young people around me actually want to know this, otherwise they wouldn't come over.

Although most people here have obtained permanent residence cards and citizenship, it does not mean that they are definitely rich and middle class.

Those like Mr. Bolton who live in small apartments in slums are the mainstream of these immigrants.

Those who can become bankers like Mr. Jobaf are even fewer among the few, perhaps only two or three among more than 30,000 immigrants.

Most people still want to make more money.

"I don't know if you know the nature of my job, but it's the kind of job where I solve problems for others and they pay me for it."

"I can assure you that it is absolutely not illegal, but there may be some minor trouble."

"This job only takes one day, from 10 a.m. to around 8 p.m. It doesn't require any physical labour. You just have to sit in one place and can't leave."

"I can give you..."

He could clearly feel that the people around him were holding their breath. He stretched out a hand and spread his fingers, "Five dollars!"

Someone let out a suppressed cry. If you can earn five dollars a day, wouldn't you be able to earn one hundred and fifty dollars a month?

Even Enzio's breathing became a little rapid. He also needed money. There were few people here who didn't need money.

"How many days can I do this job and how will I get paid?"

Looking at more young people who gathered around him, Lance patiently explained, "This is a temporary job. It only lasts for one day, but there may be other jobs for you in the future."

"We will pay you right after the work is done. There will be no delay."

"Like I said, this money can be given to anyone, why don't I give it to my fellow brothers?" He glanced at the ladies around him and added with a smile, "And sisters."

The girls giggled and thought Lance was a very interesting person. It was rare for someone to speak like that and be so cheerful and outgoing.

Enzio continued, "So what does it do?"

"Enjoy your food…"

At first, Lance did consider looking for some homeless people, but then he quickly thought that homeless people could not enter the restaurant at all, and the manager at the door would stop them from entering the restaurant.

There is no point in employing homeless people if they can't get in.

If we provide them with clothing that allows them to enter the restaurant, not only will the cost increase, but it will also fail to achieve the purpose of disgusting Mr. Anderson. It would be better to just find some ordinary people.

At the same time, it is better to give this job to these second-generation immigrants than to others.

They have legal identities, and what they are asked to do is not illegal. At most they will be criticized, but no serious consequences will be incurred.

At the same time, you can also establish the image of yourself as a "capable" person among the immigrant community, which is killing two birds with one stone.

Soon enough young people wanted to participate in this event. Making money was one thing, but more importantly, they were interested in Lance's plans.

The next morning, Mr. Anderson was very satisfied looking at the prepared ingredients.

This is the significance of recruiting apprentices——

Give the least money and get the most work done.

He is not like the fat boss Johnny, who not only does not pay his apprentices wages, but also requires the apprentices to give him money.

Mr. Anderson would pay each apprentice fifteen dollars, but they lived almost entirely in the restaurant and had no days off.

Every day starts at six in the morning and ends at ten in the evening. I work almost all the time unless there are no customers in the restaurant.

Although the conditions are very harsh, there are still people who are scrambling to come in as apprentices, because Mr. Anderson himself is a practitioner who has gone from an apprentice to a restaurant owner.

These apprentices and their families all believe that they will be able to learn real skills here and then become a businessman and a middle-class person like Mr. Anderson.

After checking all the ingredients, it was almost ten o'clock. The lunch service on weekends is a little later, around twelve o'clock, but it will continue until around two to three in the afternoon.

Then there is no need to rest for much time, you can start preparing for the evening rush hour at five o'clock. Every weekend is the most profitable time for the restaurant, just like yesterday.

Today he plans to try to earn more money to prepare for the expansion of his business.

Just as it was ten o'clock, he heard the manager greeting the guests in the front. Although Mr. Anderson thought it was a bit early, since there were guests coming to dine, who the hell cared about how early it was?

As long as they paid him, he would do whatever they wanted.

Soon the waiter came with the menu to take the order, and the chefs were ready to work hard, but when they looked at the menu, they found that the total cost of the items on it was one dollar and ninety-nine cents.

A dinner roll for 99 cents and a plate of mixed vegetables for one dollar.

The former bread is packed in a hand-woven basket. After all, a piece of bread for 15 cents in a bakery can be enough to fill you up, so even if the restaurant charges a premium, it won't be too outrageous.

Ninety-nine points went to a pound of bread, which was enough to feed two or three people.

The mixed vegetable salad is one of the restaurant's best-selling dishes. Its core is a mixture of some crisp vegetables and some boneless meat that is cooked just right and still a little chewy.

It is a sweet and sour, refreshing and very tasty appetizer, but it seems that not many people order this alone.

Anderson asked around and found out that there was only one guest, so this was indeed enough for one person.

He had seen people who wanted to come to the restaurant to experience the atmosphere of a high-end restaurant but were short of money. He didn't say much about this, but just asked them to maintain the quality of the dishes.

We cannot neglect our guests just because they spend little and are alone.

Mr. Anderson got up very early in the morning. After the busy rush hour, he was now free and felt a little sleepy.

He said hello to the manager and went to the lounge to take a nap.

He didn't know how long he had slept in a daze, but suddenly, the sound of knocking on the door woke him up from his half-sleep. He sat up suddenly, was stunned for a while, and then opened the door.

"Are you too busy to handle the customers?" He reached out and took down the apron hanging on the wall and put it around his neck. "I'll go help you right away."

The manager was extremely anxious, "Something happened up ahead!"