302 The Future of Wizards (1/2)
Lu Zhiyu's first impression of Finnlit was that there were workshops everywhere, including military workshops, steelmaking workshops, metallurgical workshops and a large number of handicraft workshops. Among these workshops, workers had become the most important and the largest class in Finnlit.
”The best cotton garments, whether they are coats, hats, or women's long dresses and underwear... Our shop has it all!” an apprentice shouted at the door of a garment store.
”Look at this hat. It's so beautiful!” Several black-haired Tuten girls with thin noses and big eyes were gathered at the display window of the garment store, chattering and laughing.
”Do you want a new type of steam lamp? We also have various handcrafts and artistic ornaments, as well as vases and music boxes from the West!” another peddler proclaimed.
”The clocks of Hood's Watch Workshop are the most famous in Finnlit!” a watch workshop staffer called out.
Seeing this shop, Lu Zhiyu suddenly recalled Lars Brown, the son of the watchmaker. With the changes brought about by the steam engines affecting the whole world, Lars' reputation was growing. Even in the Sean City-State Alliance, where the Brown family had become notorious because of Jonathan Brown, people were starting to admire Lars more and more.
On the square of Akkad Alchemy College, besides the statue of Akkad, a statue of Lars had recently been erected. Just as Lars had looked up at the statue of Akkad, all of the students who entered Akkad Alchemy College now looked up to his face and were motivated by his story!
”Carol's Grocery Store! Beer, bread, coffee and black tea from Tuten...” Lu Zhiyu had just passed a grocery store.
As machines had gradually replaced manual operations, a large number of new commodities had flooded the market. The biggest change was in clothing.
Most people could now afford to wear decent clothes, which was impossible hundreds of years ago, or even decades ago. Along with these changes, workshop owners gradually became the most powerful and wealthiest group of people besides the aristocracy!
Also, the pollution here was not as bad as Lu Zhiyu had imagined. This was because, after the city had been built, an underground drainage and sewage system had also been implemented, and many public toilets could be seen along the road.
However, because a lot of wastewater discharge had polluted the Pegasus River, the stench became a problem for all of the residents in the city. The black smoke from the chimneys of the workshops also filled the sky, making the clouds gray, which caused a lot of the people who came here for the first time to feel suffocated.
In addition, the large number of people now flowing into Finnlit had brought tremendous pressure on the wastage system of the city. As a result, some of the main streets were very cleaned, while others were piled high with garbage.
”Please give us something to eat. We haven't had anything for several days!” Several children pulled Lu Zhiyu's coat, while another child was waiting for the opportunity to steal some money from his pocket.