Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 37 Tess
The underground levels 3-6 are the living areas, which are warmer and larger as you go down. In the event of an attack, the lower-level living areas are less likely to be damaged.

Although theoretically the air is more polluted on lower floors, the massive air circulation system works for the men on the sixth floor at all times. On the contrary, the people living on the third floor, several family members, are all crammed into a small box of 20 square meters, where the air is so polluted that it is almost suffocating.

Therefore, they often like to open the door, even though this compromises their privacy, they can enjoy fresher air.

Siren and Mathilde walked through it, where densely packed iron boxes formed a ring, converging towards the center. Some doors were open, and clothes were drying on the iron railings outside.

This floor can accommodate more than 50,000 people. It is not full yet, but one can imagine what a crowded and dirty scene it will be when it is gradually filled.

It inexplicably reminded Xilun of Kowloon Walled City.

For the sake of efficiency, he and Mathilde parted ways after visiting a few households together, each going along the circular corridor to offer their condolences.

“Let me see… Room 3-7-221, Ms. Tess…”

Xilun looked at the check-in form in his hand and knocked on the door.

However, no one answered after knocking several times, as the resident seemed to be away, and Xilun could only leave regretfully.

But as he turned his head, he saw the girl who looked like a startled bird.

Her light brown hair was tightly tied back, the overly tight bun distorting the corners of her eyes. Her thin body was wrapped in a faded coarse cloth dress, and oversized boots made a clattering sound on her bony feet.

Her eyes were a rare light gray, like the misty surface of a lake in the early morning, but now they were filled with terror.

Sheren noticed that her fair hands were covered in blisters, while Tess saw a strange man standing at her door knocking.

"Hello, I am……"

"Don't come any closer!!!" she screamed.

The surrounding residents heard the noise, and one by one, they opened their doors and gathered around.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Men and women gathered around, with a few of the strongest men leading the way, scanning the suspicious target with a united sense of righteous indignation.

Xilun seemed a little embarrassed. A holy healing spell landed on the girl's hand, healing her blisters. He then tugged at the white Roman collar of her neckline.

“I am Bishop Siron Delland of Speyside, and I think this lady is a little agitated,” he explained.

People looked at Xilen and Sophie suspiciously. Sophie looked at the crowd with a frightened expression, then suddenly wrapped her clothes around herself, rushed into the house, and slammed the door shut.

Those outside were bewildered and at a loss.

"What happened?" people asked one after another.

Siren picked up his basket and said, “I’ve come on behalf of the Gospel Church to visit the residents here and see if they are having any difficulties. I knocked on the door but no one answered. Just then, I ran into Tess, who was coming back.”

Many residents had just received eggs from Siren and Mathilde, so they chimed in in agreement.

"It's all a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!" several elderly people said, pulling the people away.

But Siron looked hesitantly at Sophie's tightly closed door: "What does Tess usually do?"

"It seems like they work in a livestock area," someone said.

"dairy farm?"

"Yes, a dairy farm."

"Those are milkmaids?"

"probably."

"She's a country girl."

"Those are milkmaids."

“Yes, milkmaids,” people said with certainty.

Xilun asked curiously, "Why are milkmaids the only women in the countryside?"

There was a slight commotion in the crowd, and then someone replied, "Because only they know how to do this."

"Why?" Xilun pressed.

Some of the people in the crowd avoided eye contact, seemingly unwilling to answer the question.

After about ten seconds, an old woman's voice rang out: "You will get scrofula."

"That's a terrible disease," someone in the crowd whispered.

"Yes, a big lump will swell up on my neck."

"Like purple blood cells."

"It will rot and become a hole."

"That's terrifying. She might be a witch who was hanged."

"I heard that's true, those people's necks were all rotten..."

"There was also meat and blood flowing out, and I heard that rats nested inside at night."

"That's terrible... My former neighbor had it."

Xilun wrote down the symptoms on the paper and added a bubble at the end: “Bovine tuberculosis?”

He asked, "Is there anything else?"

"You'll get kicked by a cow."

"Yeah, one kick and he's half dead..."

"We have to milk the cows early in the morning and late at night. It's very cold, and we get frostbite."

"They'll also get rheumatism." "The cowshed is too damp; people can even fall and die."

"We have to start pumping milk at four in the morning and don't finish until eight at night!"

“The wages are very low, and sometimes they don’t even pay us… I worked there for a few days before, I don’t know if it’s like that in Speyside…” a middle-aged woman said.

"I heard it's only a penny a day," someone said confidently.

"My God, a penny?" Gasps came from the people around.

"They will provide some food, but there is basically no salary."

“You can also be fired during the dry period,” someone added.

Xilun kept writing on the paper, then asked, "Is there anything else?"

The crowd fell silent, as if they had finished speaking.

But just as Siron was about to leave, a young girl suddenly shouted, "The farmer will bully us!"

People looked at her with varying expressions; some looked at her with disdain, as if she were looking at a pair of worn-out shoes, while others looked at her with surprise, astonished that she had spoken out about this.

“Male workers can do it too!” she said through gritted teeth. “Dairy farms are far from the city, no one cares about them, and they have no family to support them.”

“Very useful information, madam.” Siren strode over. “What’s your name?”

"Martha".

“Thank you, Miss Martha, you are a very courageous lady.” Siren took a crucifix from his pocket. “Would you like to volunteer at the church? One penny each time.”

She looked at Xilen's outstretched hand and grasped it tightly: "I do."

After receiving the cross, she whispered, "Tess might be being bullied. Please help her. I almost committed suicide back then."

“I will save everyone,” Xiren answered softly, looking into her eyes, as if whispering a secret.

He stood at Tess's door and knocked gently: "Tess, are you there? I am Bishop Celeste. May I see you?"

Some of the crowd outside dispersed, but only those with urgent work remained; the rest gathered at the door, looking at it with worried expressions.

Although some men, upon hearing such a thing, initially reacted with thoughts of infidelity or promiscuity, or even fantasized about various erotic scenarios, they abandoned these ideas under the collective atmosphere guided by Xilun and looked ahead with concern.

“Tess, listen to me, no one will blame you, you are the victim, everyone is worried about you,” Celen shouted. “I want to offer you spiritual comfort.”

People looked at Xilun in astonishment.

Spiritual care is a common church concept—in the church's view, a person is not only a physical being but also a spiritual being.

When a person faces illness, pain, crisis, death, or simply confusion about the meaning of life, their spiritual level is greatly impacted.

Therefore, pastors help people find meaning, regain hope, and comfort their hearts by responding to their spiritual needs, providing companionship, and engaging in conversation, thus helping those in need get through difficult times.

This is a long period of companionship that requires the pastor to have great patience, empathy, and religious cultivation, and is usually done by junior clergy.

Few bishops would be willing to do this because their time is too precious.

But there was still no response from inside; only faint sobbing could be heard.

After thinking for a moment, Celen suddenly asked, "Does anyone have a kitchen? Can I borrow it for a bit, and then go to room 3-1-226 and contact the Gospel Church. They need a large piece of fatty sirloin beef, as well as butter, flour, black pepper, milk, and salt. Just say it's what Celen wants!"

That room belonged to the church and has now been converted into a liaison point for the Gospel Church, with brass transmission pipes connecting directly to the Gospel Church's temporary headquarters on the sixth basement floor.

People were stunned for a moment, then suddenly became lively.

"It's mine! It's mine! Your Excellency!"

"Get out of the way! Who doesn't have a kitchen? Mine! My house even has a barbecue grill!"

"Come to my house! My house is right next door!"

Siron went straight into the nearest kitchen, and five minutes later, a newly recruited member of the evangelical church brought the food over, panting.

"Let's get a few people who can cook, we're making Sunday roast with Londonie pudding!" Siron shouted.

People cheered. The workers' community absolutely loved this kind of group activity, especially since there was food to be had. They started calling out to their friends and family, and two cooks squeezed around the stove.

Xilun opened the fireplace, looked inside, and then threw a ball of sacred fire into it, lighting the firewood amidst the shocked shouts of the crowd.

Sunday roast meat with London pudding is a middle-class dinner, made because it's the most delicious dish in West London's memory.

Several cooks began making Londonini pudding on the side, with Siron instructing them as he processed the beef.

I mixed flour and milk, added four eggs from Xilun, and then whipped them with an egg beater until they had a creamy texture.

During this time, Siron wrapped a whole thick piece of beef in sea salt and pepper, skewered it on a roasting fork, and placed it on the fireplace flames, with an oil pan underneath to catch the dripping butter.

About ten minutes later, a plate of scalding hot butter dripped onto it, emitting an irresistible, blissful aroma of meat. Xilun picked up the plate of butter and poured it directly into a shallow baking dish.

"Now, put it in!" he shouted, and the two cooks quickly poured the batter into the baking pan. Accompanied by hot oil splattering and sizzling, the mixture of eggs, milk, flour, and butter released a fragrance with the aroma of wheat and sweetness.

The hundreds of people outside the gate kept making rumbling noises from their stomachs.

The batter, first fried in butter, was baked in the oven and gradually expanded into a beautiful golden pudding. However, in Xilun's eyes, it was more like a soufflé than a pudding.

Soon, the Londonini pudding was served, along with juicy roasted meat cut into pieces on a baking tray, and a few sprigs of basil were placed on the side. The remaining juices from the pudding tray were poured back onto the roasted meat.

The aroma of wheat, meat, and sweetness... a rich blend of fragrances spreads like a tangible happiness, like clouds and a dreamlike dining table, reminiscent of the warmest family dinners of childhood, or the anticipation of every Sunday.

Amidst a chorus of swallowing sounds, Xilun carried it to Tess's door, casually using the "Stop" skill to create a barrier behind him, ensuring the aroma could only spread forward.

“Tess, everyone has cooked for you,” he said.

(End of this chapter)