Shadow of great britain

1,500 pounds, this amount of money was not considered a small amount of money in 19th century Britain, or even in the world.

In London, 90% of people have an annual income of less than 100 pounds.

If you are engaged in high-income industries such as construction and machinery manufacturing, a diligent skilled worker can earn approximately 60-100 pounds per year depending on the type of work and technical ability.

As for some jobs that require a certain level of knowledge, such as company employees, you can also earn a stable annual income of more than 70 pounds.

And if you are engaged in a light manual labor industry such as the textile industry, which is extremely competitive and has low income, then even a healthy and healthy man can only get a salary of about 30-50 pounds at most.

The low profit margins in the textile industry also drove factory owners to employ a large number of female and child laborers.

According to them, the amount of labor in the textile industry is not large, and hiring adult male workers is really a waste of labor.

But in fact, you can understand their intentions just by looking at the wages. The wages of female workers are usually only half of those of male workers.

As for child labor, their price is less than one-third of that of adult male workers.

Moreover, due to lack of physical strength, child workers and female workers are easier to manage than adult male workers. A supervisor with a whip can make the looms in the factory keep spinning.

But if they hire a group of adult men, then most textile factory owners will not dare to engage in this kind of 'hard-core management'.

Because most of them still have fresh memories of the Luddite movement that smashed their machines and burned down their factories more than ten years ago.

Because of this, the British textile factories in the 19th century can be said to have proved with practical actions what kind of place is called "Brother, don't go there, it's a black factory."

In other words, 1,500 pounds is roughly equivalent to the income of a skilled craftsman for 15 years, the income of a decent company employee for 20 years, and can also sign a 50-year life-long labor contract with a skilled and literate domestic maid. A contract, or a generous payment for a year's salary in a textile factory with 100 child laborers.

Arthur was walking behind the real estate agent, Elder and others. He held two bills in his hands and looked at them again and again. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that he seemed to have become a powerful person in an instant. of Greenwich’s little rich man.

Agares leaned down and looked at the two bills, the red devil pushed up his monocle, and he muttered.

"Arthur, how do you feel? I've told you before, it's better to have wealth than to have a conscience! Come on, hurry up, let's buy a high-end small villa first, and then hire a housewife to take care of your daily life. Servant, don’t forget to rent a high-end carriage and pair it with a well-dressed and skilled coachman. Finally, remember to hire a skilled French cook. I don’t want to eat those cheap roadside meals that are filled with all kinds of unknown toxins. food!"

When Arthur heard this, he counted on his fingers and couldn't help but frown.

"Although I don't know the house prices in London, I know that just renting a high-end carriage will cost at least 80 pounds a year. If you add a skilled coachman, this is a net expenditure of about 150 pounds a year. What is France in your mouth? The cook plus the domestic maid together would probably cost me the same amount. If I spend money like this, it won’t be long before I become poor again.”

But the Red Devil obviously didn't care so much. He persuaded: "My dear Arthur, how could you become poor? Aren't you already planning to become the underground king of London's East End?

A scoundrel like Fred can afford to open a detective agency, so what if you take over his job and get two cooks and a maid?

Arthur, look at me, don't look at me now. When I was in hell, I would go out with countless followers and lead my little brothers to shout and drink in the streets. Whoever I let have food will have it, and whoever I let move out tomorrow will have to move out.

A big shot should look like a big shot! Arthur, listen to me, just this once. You have been busy for so long, shouldn't you enjoy it? "

Arthur glanced at the Red Devil. Just by looking at the smile on this guy's face, he knew that he must not be holding anything good in his stomach.

He said: "Enjoy your enjoyment? I am not convinced about your request. But you are right about one thing. If I had listened to you, I would have become a big shot by now."

The red devil smiled and rubbed his hands: "Who says it's not the case? So you have figured it out?"

Arthur took out his pocket and lit a cigarette: "Think it through? If I had figured it out back then, my face would have been plastered all over the streets of Great Britain by now, and there would be a string of zeros under the portrait. Who would have caught me? , he can really enjoy it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Arthur raised his legs and followed Elder and others.

When the red devil saw this, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. His enlarged right eye was fixed behind Arthur. The size was almost like a small villa.

He cursed: "Arthur! Damn you! How come you still haven't figured it out? The reason for your poverty is not your lack of ability, but that you put the priority of making money after your conscience!"

Everyone's footsteps stopped at the entrance of Central Street, the most expensive house in Greenwich District. The real estate agent walked up to Arthur with a smile on his face, nodded and introduced him.

"Mr. Hastings, I heard that your budget for buying a house this time is 1,500 pounds?"

When Arthur heard this, he felt a little uneasy. Even though he thought that 1,500 pounds was a lot of money, based on the painful memories of his previous life, he still had great confidence in whether he could buy a good property. doubts.

Although Greenwich is a suburb of London, it is also a suburb of the Capital Region. Housing prices here shouldn’t be too low, right?

Arthur pretended to be calm and said: "You can introduce it to me and get a small one. I need two rooms, one for me and the other for the fat gentleman next to me."

When the real estate agent heard this, he couldn't help laughing and said: "Sir, you are really joking. I can't find a two-bedroom apartment for 1,500 pounds in Greenwich. You are looking for a house with gorgeous decoration and high-end decoration. I can The introduction takes you to the City, Westminster or several new locations in London's West End.

Many new and spacious apartments have been built in the West End. As for the houses in the Financial City and Westminster, although they are smaller, they are located there after all. Most of the people living there are upper-class gentlemen from the political and banking circles. This will definitely help expand your social circle. helpful. "

“Can I afford a house in Westminster and the City?”

"Of course!" As soon as the real estate agent finished speaking, he suddenly noticed a drop of water falling on his face. He quickly took out the umbrella he carried with him, opened it and stepped forward to cover Arthur's head: "Mr. Hastings, Please come this way."

"Ah...is that so?" When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but straighten his waist. He straightened his collar subconsciously, then put his hands behind his back, as if he was a leader going to the countryside to inspect. His style: "Then tell me about this little house in Greenwich first."

Unexpectedly, when the real estate agent heard this, not only did he not introduce it, but he politely put the umbrella into the hand of Alexandre Dumas who was standing aside.

He said sheepishly: "Sir, please help me hold the umbrella for Mr. Hastings while I search for something in my bag."

He took out a brand new document from the small leather bag he carried with him, then leaned forward respectfully and said to Arthur: "Mr. Hastings, you saw this house with a gray chimney and a red roof at the entrance of the street. Yet?"

Arthur took a look at the house. It was a two-story wooden structure. Judging from the new white exterior wall, the house should have been renovated in the past two years.

And judging from the number of windows, at least four families should be able to live in it. Not only Arthur and Alexandre Dumas can live here, but even Elder and Darwin can come in and share a bed.

Arthur nodded: "It looks pretty good, let's go in and have a look?"

"No, no, don't worry." The real estate agent pointed to a three-story apartment building in front of him and said, "That building is also my agent, and it is also on the market for sale."

Arthur saw it, touched the stubble on his chin, and said: "I just want to buy a house to live in, an apartment or something. I haven't thought about it yet. I haven't decided whether to buy a house to collect rent. "

Elder on the side couldn't bear the rain and squeezed under the umbrella. He muttered: "That's right! Votes in London are worthless. If you want to invest in fixed real estate, it is better to go back to the countryside and build a farm." "

Unexpectedly, Arthur just shook his head after hearing this: "I didn't think about the votes at all. The money for voting has nothing to do with me."

Elder couldn't help but frown after hearing this, and slapped Arthur on the back of the head: "Are you stupid? Why don't you want the free money?"

"Of course I want the free money." Arthur raised an eyebrow and said, "But according to Scotland Yard's internal regulations, no matter how rich the police are, they cannot obtain the right to vote or be elected, so the amount of real estate has no political meaning to me. meaningful value."

When the real estate agent heard this, he laughed repeatedly and said: "So you are a police officer of Scotland Yard? But it doesn't matter. Even if you don't have the right to vote, you can still rent out the property! Although the price of houses in London rises slowly, , but the return rate from renting out is not low at all.”

"Really?" Arthur looked at the three-story apartment in front of him and seemed a little tempted: "Then let's go check out the apartment first?"

Just as he was about to take a step, the real estate agent interrupted him again. He said, "No, no, no, Mr. Hastings, you misunderstood me."

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to show us the apartment in front and this small two-story house in front of us?"

The real estate agent smiled and took out the document in his hand. He pointed to the apartment and then to the small single-family house next to him.

"Mr. Hastings, what I mean is that if your budget is 1,500 pounds, then start from the two-story detached house next to you, all the way to the apartment in front, plus a grocery store sandwiched between them. shop.

Let's do this, even if I suffer a little loss, these three houses will be sold to you for a total price of 1,500 pounds.

If you think the price is not bad, then sign the document in my hand. I went to negotiate the details with several landlords at noon today. We can go to the notary office to transfer the property in the afternoon, and you can just pack your bags and move in in the evening.

As for the apartment building, you don't have to worry about having vacant rooms. The apartment building is now full, so you can just collect rent as usual every month. What do you think? "