49 Remnants of the Republic of China III (1/2)

Jiang Feng struggled up from the floor and looked around.

A cabin?

Jiang Feng had never travelled in a ship before, that was why he couldn't stand still as the ship rocked left to right. Jiang Feng kept falling here and there until he grabbed onto a pillar. Unless the ship stopped, Jiang Feng would have to hold onto the pillar the whole way.

The cabin was small and dark. It was crowded with people, and only a single window could be seen. There were more than 100 people of different sizes, genders, and ages. The only thing they had in common was that they were all skinny down to their bones. Most of them sat on the floor, staring blankly into nothingness.

Jiang Feng could not even tell which one Jiang Weiguo was.

As Jiang Feng continued to hug onto the pillar, he tried to cover his nose from the disgusting smell. It was way worse than the garbage dump that Li Mingyi used to live in.

There were smells from the sweat, body, piss, and excrement. If Jiang Feng had never felt what it was to live like in a garbage dump before, he would've run outside the cabin the moment he landed in there.

It seemed to Jiang Feng that it had been ages since the people had bathed. Judging from the torn shirts and the terrible situation they were in, Jiang Feng could tell they didn't have the chance to shower nor did they have a spare change of clothes.

If the people in the cabin weren't Asians, Jiang Feng would've thought that he was on board a ship that was smuggling black slaves.

The door opened not long after.

A skinny but well-dressed man walked in with a disgusted expression. He stopped in the middle of the stairs, clearly not wanting to touch the people in the cabin.

”Our chef that's responsible for the First Class guests is sick! Are there any chefs in here?” the skinny man asked. ”The reward will be two steamed buns per meal!”

The reward was so good that it caused an uproar. The people didn't care if the original chef was thrown into the ocean or not, the buns were all they wanted.

People began to try to volunteer themselves, no matter their age.

”I'm a chef!”

”I can cook!”

”I don't need two buns! One is enough!”

If not for the fear the people had for the skinny man, they would've run up and grabbed his shirt begging for food.

”Shut up!” the skinny man roared. ”I don't want women! Anymore chaos and I'm throwing all of you into the water! What I want is a real chef that has served before! I don't want people who only know how to make basic foods!”

The ship was a merchant ship that was sailing between China and Southeast Asia. When they weren't transporting goods, they would transport people. Some would even scam people of their money for a ticket and divide them into three grades. The pretty ladies were all sold to San Fransico, while grown men and women were sold as slaves. As for kids, they would be sold if there was a market for them. But if not, they were all thrown into the ocean.

The ship that Jiang Feng was in was at least better than most. At least the people were assured that they would reach their destination and were given clear congee every day.

But if the people couldn't live with that and die, it wasn't the company's problem anymore. The ship they were in was better than the others in the same line of business.

”Anyone?” the skinny man shouted again. ”Three steamed buns per meal!”

No one raised their hand.

They were afraid that if they messed up, not only would they not get the buns, but all of their family would die with them.

Because of the war, plague, and drought in the north, people from various communities all escaped to the south. The tickets for a whole family could cost their life-savings. Some would even have to sell their daughter or wife just to secure a ticket for themselves. As for those that were in first class, the people didn't even dare to imagine what kind of status they held.

”I used to work in Taifeng Restaurant's kitchen. Is that enough?” Jiang Weiguo raised his hand and said.