Blackstone Code

In the evening, Katherine, who had worked all day, felt somewhat exhausted as she changed clothes and embarked on her journey home. She declined several suitors' offers to give her a ride on their bicycles, insisting on walking home.

The summer night breeze carried not much coolness on her face, instead, it bore the last hint of daytime heat and restlessness, making her feel immensely irritated.

Katherine was a strong girl who didn't often display obvious emotions, even though there might be other things simmering within her.

Before the sky turned completely dark, she arrived home. Since moving back to her own house, she never stayed out on the streets after dark.

It wasn't safe here; whenever nightfall completely shrouded the sky, evil would descend. The sounds of arguments, fights, and even gunfire were commonplace here, including cries for help and the constant blaring of sirens.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, Katherine sensed a different atmosphere. The mood in the house today seemed unusually heavy.

She changed her shoes and hung her bag, which held no more than five bucks, on the coat rack before heading towards the living room.

Her father sat somewhat absent-mindedly on the old sofa they had salvaged from a dumpster, while her mother wore a face full of worry.

The man seemed oblivious to the sound of the door closing, his gaze fixed on the TV, but Katherine's mother glanced up at her before lowering her head again.

"What's wrong?" Katherine asked, feeling that something was different about this couple today compared to usual.

The man continued watching TV as if he hadn't heard anything, while Katherine's mother wore a sad and bitter expression, her voice trembling slightly. "Your father... lost his job."

It was a common occurrence; in fact, people had been mentally preparing since the latter half of last year. Many factories had begun shutting down, even though labor unions organized protests demanding their reopening, they dared not push too hard.

They even scheduled "strikes" on weekends, which became an international joke, yet it reflected just how conflicting and acute societal issues were at the time.

Katherine's father's factory declared bankruptcy today, which was not unexpected. It had stopped importing raw materials since last month; they had this premonition for a while, but they had been reluctant to face it or believe that misfortune would befall them.

Katherine fell silent. Her salary wasn't much; she earned only two hundred and twenty-five bucks a month, just slightly above the minimum wage requirement mandated by law.

Before today, her father used to earn three to three hundred and fifty bucks every month, which was more than enough to support their family of three.

But if it was only Katherine's salary, supporting this family of three would be incredibly difficult.

Nowadays, most factories weren't hiring, even though the city hall demanded an increase in job opportunities; they failed to comply.

In times of profit shortage, every employee was like a pawn on the scales before death; adding one more would bring them closer to bankruptcy.

For a factory with thousands of workers, just paying salaries every month would cost hundreds of thousands. Without sufficient profits, paying salaries alone could bankrupt them in a month. So, no company would choose to expand hiring at this time, even if the city hall demanded it.

This also meant Katherine's father would have a hard time finding suitable and long-term work at the employment center; perhaps he might find short-term work, or maybe he wouldn't find any work at all.

As for Katherine's mother, it was even more challenging. She had no work experience, and even if she tried to learn now, she wouldn't have the opportunity. In other words, the responsibility of supporting the family would fall entirely on Katherine's shoulders.

Her monthly salary of two hundred and twenty-five bucks would become the sole source of income for this family.

The three of them fell into silence. Katherine's father kept watching TV, seemingly shut off from the world, while Katherine's mother wore a sorrowful and bitter expression, occasionally sighing, full of worries about the future.

Katherine herself felt exhausted; it was the only feeling she had experienced in the past few years. She had felt it before, but not this profoundly until this moment.

She was not an inexperienced girl in life and society; she was well aware of why she and her family were in their current situation. The problems stemmed from their family background, social class, and level of education.

The latter was more evident; if she could go to college or pursue a specialized profession like accounting after high school, she might have a completely different job now.

The older young man who pursued her had studied accounting, and now he not only had a decent job but also a good salary.

But for a child born into an ordinary family, continuing education after high school was a daunting task. She could only think about it.

Dinner that night was lighter than usual. Katherine's father suddenly exploded at the dinner table, smashing plates in a fit of anger before storming off.

In his eyes, losing his job meant the women in the household no longer respected him, and he felt neglected.

Katherine and her mother calmly and silently accepted everything and cleaned up after him.

Early the next morning, Katherine's father left home to look for work on the streets. After a night, he had accepted the reality.

Life had to go on. If he did nothing and lay in the house, in a month or two at most, they would have to sell the house and wander the streets.

It took him over a decade to attain his current life; he wasn't willing to lose it so easily. He had to persevere.

Katherine faced life calmly and chose to go to work.

However, at noon, the young man found her again.

"I heard from Auntie that Uncle lost his job..."

Katherine glanced at him, giving no response, which made the young man feel awkward and stutter in his speech.

"If... I mean if, if I... if I arrange for Uncle to work in our mall... what do you think?" His face flushed with excitement, speaking hesitantly.

He had a good relationship with the mall manager and helped manage the manager's personal tax affairs, saving him money each time he filed taxes, which was the value of an accountant.

Apart from the manager, various levels of management within the supermarket relied more or less on his professional skills. Personal tax filing also required the help of an accountant, for which he received payment. Although the amount was small, it earned him good rapport among the management.

Katherine's mother had come to him in the morning, explaining some things and asking if Katherine's father could work in the mall, even if the salary was lower.

In fact, for supermarkets and convenience stores at this stage, their business conditions were much better than many people imagined, even maintaining healthy profit margins against the tide.

But they wouldn't say so; they had to show the difficulties in business to garner sympathy and lower salary standards, thereby releasing more profit space.

The young man had discussed this with the manager, who agreed to let Katherine's father work in the warehouse. They needed some laborers there, and they could offer a base salary.

So, he came to Katherine to share the good news and also hoped that through this, their relationship could take a leap forward.

Katherine neither nodded nor refused, but ended the conversation by saying that she needed to discuss it with her family when she returned home.

However, this made the young man feel that there was a chance for this matter to achieve his goal. This was the first time Katherine hadn't outright rejected his idea, which was a positive sign.

A monotonous day at work passed in long suffering or brief waiting. Katherine still refused offers from others to take her home, returning home alone.

Her father had already returned. The man who used to exude confidence now looked dejected.

Throughout the day, only a few dozen job opportunities appeared in the entire city, but there were thousands waiting at the employment center!

Katherine's father had no impressive resume to speak of; there were too many people more capable than him. He didn't even get an interview, which made him realize that he shouldn't expect to find a job in the short term.

This left him extremely discouraged, even doubting his own worth.

Katherine's mother was equally speechless. She hadn't told her husband about what she had discussed with the young man or even Katherine.

She planned to bring it up when the young man gave her an answer.

Both of them felt despondent, but Katherine was about to erupt.

She hung her bag on the coat rack and walked into the house, looking as calm as usual, but her steps were heavier.

She poured herself a glass of water, then moved a chair and sat opposite her parents on the sofa, reaching out to turn off the TV.

This action drew both her parents' gaze to her. There was no visible anger on her face, only calmness.

She looked at her mother and asked sharply in the same calm tone, "How much do you plan to sell me for?"

With just one sentence, the man abruptly raised his head, and Katherine's mother's face changed slightly, but Katherine didn't give them much time to react.

"Roman hinted at me at noon. He offered me a deal: if I'm willing to accompany him, he'll give Dad a job. So, how much do you plan to sell me for?"Please vote for this novel at https://www.novelupdates.com/series/blackstone-code/There are advance chapters available nowAccess will be granted 24 hours after the donationTier 1: 7 Advance chapters Link

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