Chapter 280: The Old Woman Who Sweeps the Streets

Chapter 280: The Old Woman Who Sweeps the Streets

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
The old woman had been sweeping the streets for over ten years.
In the memories of the neighbors, whether it was thick fog, drizzling rain, biting cold winds, or sudden summer downpours, her figure could always be seen on the streets.
"More than ten years ago, when I first got this job, there were still many ox carts and carriages on the streets. Never seen those, have you? Back then, the streets were covered in horse and cow dung—dirty and exhausting work that no one wanted to do."
Clad in an oilcloth apron and leaning on her broom, the old woman’s deeply wrinkled face crinkled like an aged chrysanthemum as she reminisced.
Beside her stood a black-haired man in a worn-out trench coat. Though young, his skin bore the roughness of one weathered by wind and sand. His peeling old leather shoes gave him the air of a young man unwilling to let go of gentlemanly dignity.
In contrast, the girl next to him was charming and pleasant, her simple clothing unable to hide her delicate beauty. Her eyes alone were enough to bring joy to anyone who saw them.
The two claimed to be some kind of reporters from the Internet Gazette, here to write a documentary article. The old woman didn’t quite understand but agreed anyway.
"So you’re the only one who stuck with it? Why not switch to something easier? You don’t seem that old," the young man asked.
He was none other than Yu Sheng’an.
The woman beside him was Gu Weimeng.
At the Gonghe Nation’s conference, Yu Sheng’an hadn’t proposed any specific governance policies, believing that without investigation, there was no right to speak. He wanted to thoroughly assess the situation before formulating appropriate measures.
As for why he brought Gu Weimeng along, it was to familiarize her with the environment.
"Ah, well... I had no choice. There was a little tail following me, so I couldn’t find other work," the old woman said sheepishly, gesturing toward the corner of the street.
A plump young man stood there, fingers fidgeting as he grinned awkwardly.
Though he appeared normal at a glance, Yu Sheng’an could tell at once that he had intellectual disabilities.
"You raised him alone? Where’s his father?" Yu Sheng’an asked, surprised.
"Gone. Left when he was seven or eight, after noticing something wasn’t right with him," the old woman replied, her expression dimming.
"All these years, you’ve been raising him by yourself?"
"That’s right. It was hard back then! Things are much better now—carriages aren’t allowed on the roads anymore, so the streets are cleaner, just some fallen leaves and such. After the Gonghe Nation was established, they even raised my wages! Twelve hundred yuan a month now. Before, it was only 2 pounds!"
Perhaps because she rarely had someone to talk to, the old woman was eager to share.
The "twelve hundred yuan" she mentioned was naturally the new standardized currency unit after the Gonghe Nation’s founding. Converted to pounds, it came out to exactly 5 pounds.
"That’s the base wage, right?" Yu Sheng’an recalled.
"Yes, yes, the base wage!" The old woman beamed, looking thoroughly satisfied.
"I’ve heard the economy hasn’t been doing well lately, with many struggling to find work. Has it affected you?" Yu Sheng’an pressed.
"The economy’s bad? Not that I’ve noticed. Feels fine to me. Bread sticks are still 10 pennies—Interconnected Coins, I mean. And they’re even cheaper if you buy the stale ones!"
"Let me tell you, nowadays, it’s not that people can’t find work—they just think the pay’s too low. Back then, everyone fought to be a bakery apprentice for 3 pounds a month. Now, if you don’t offer at least fourteen or fifteen hundred, no one’s interested!"
The old woman clapped the back of her hand against her palm, her face etched with frustration.
"Right?" Yu Sheng'an chuckled.
From what he knew, apart from basic agricultural products, most secondary industry goods had seen varying degrees of price hikes, with some even soaring by 50%.
The root cause, naturally, was the vicious cycle formed by shrinking raw material imports and declining purchases from Keville.
The old woman likely never consumed these products, so she wasn’t particularly sensitive to the changes.
"Dean! Dean! Come here, take out the trash, quick! Do you remember where the bin is?"
As she chatted, she called her son over, urging him to dispose of the garbage.
The young man shuffled timidly, clearly wary of strangers, before taking the dustpan from his mother. He glanced back at her every few steps, checking her expression and confirming the location of the trash bin.
"This boy, he’s so shy!" the old woman explained, somewhat embarrassed by Dean’s behavior.
"Everyone’s a little shy at first," Yu Sheng'an replied.
"Ah, sir, you’re an educated man—can I ask you something?" The old woman suddenly grew animated, her eyes bright with curiosity.
"Go ahead," Yu Sheng'an nodded.
"Do you think… our Gonghe Nation can… keep going?" She glanced around furtively before asking.
"Hmm?" Even Yu Sheng'an, who wielded the authority of language, was momentarily puzzled by her question.
The old woman looked sheepish. "The pastor says the Internet God is an evil god, that the Gonghe Nation won’t last long. But I think it’s been good for us. My boy, his mind’s slow, learns things at his own pace. I figured if ten years isn’t enough, then twenty. I’m only forty now, still got some years left. I just worry the Gonghe Nation…"
She trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought.
Yu Sheng'an paused, then smiled. "The Gonghe Nation will endure for a long time."
"Really?"
"Really. I promise."
"That’s wonderful!" Her face lit up with joy, but then her eyes reddened, and she muttered under her breath, "This life, I’ve repaid what I owed him. In the next, we won’t be mother and son."
"Mom, done." Dean returned, proudly holding up the grimy metal dustpan.
"Well done! Very good! Dean knows how to take out the trash now!" The old woman wiped her eyes, forcing a smile as she lavished praise on him.
"Granny, I’ll be going now," Yu Sheng'an said, taking his leave.
"Ah? Oh, yes! Take care!" She snapped out of her thoughts and quickly smiled.
Instead of turning away immediately, Yu Sheng'an patted Dean on the shoulder. The young man shrank back slightly under his gaze.
"Listen to your mother from now on. Take good care of her," he said before walking off.
Gu Weimeng followed closely behind.
The two strolled along the cobblestone street, swept clean save for a fine layer of dust. Gu Weimeng lingered half a step behind.
Tilting her head, she studied Yu Sheng'an—his worn clothes blending seamlessly into the mundane world—while the turbulence in her heart refused to settle.
Ever since signing the contract and logging into the internet, the kaleidoscopic wonders of the multiverse had gradually unfolded before her eyes.
This world was so dazzling, so overwhelming, that she couldn’t tear herself away, stunned into silence.
And yet, an overwhelming sense of absurdity welled up inside her.
She actually severed the left hand of the Internet God, a figure revered and feared by countless beings across the multiverse. Though it was merely a clone, the sheer absurdity of the act left her reeling.
The brazen words the Internet God had spoken to her, the humiliation she had felt at the time—now, unexpectedly, they stirred something else within her.
If that had already unsettled her, then the previously unseen side of the Internet God revealed today sent ripples through her heart.
So this is what a god is?
Manifesting in countless forms, walking among mortals, understanding their suffering, boundless in mercy and love.
"How do you feel about this world's level of scientific advancement?" Yu Sheng'an asked.
"Barely started," Gu Weimeng replied without hesitation.
"Exactly. Barely started, and already muddled with theology and magic—like a messy stew!" Yu Sheng'an nodded. "I want to develop science by leveraging this world's scientific atmosphere. For now, you'll serve as the head of the science education department."
Gu Weimeng abruptly stopped in her tracks.
"Me? Head of education?"
"Unwilling?"
"I—I don’t know anything about it!"
"I don’t keep useless people around, you know."
"..."
All of Gu Weimeng's words lodged in her throat as she stared wide-eyed at Yu Sheng'an's retreating, utterly mortal-like figure.
......
"Big dummy’s back!"
"Run for it!"
"Little waste! Big head! Crybaby! Call your mom!"
The old woman had just turned into the shabby alley on her way home when the rhythmic taunts of children echoed alongside scampering footsteps.
Though long accustomed to such jeers, her heart still ached.
"Go on, go on, don’t cause trouble." Despite the pain, she instinctively warned her son, afraid he’d foolishly try to play with the kids and get bullied.
"Mom!"
"Huh?"
She answered, but after a long pause with no follow-up, she turned to look. Her usually dull-witted son was gazing at her with unfamiliar clarity in his eyes.
"Mom!"
"What?"
"I’m sorry!"
Clang! The metal dustpan clattered to the ground, its noise deafening in the damp, narrow alley.
The old woman didn’t even notice, staring dumbfounded at her son.
......
"When did this happen? Huh?! When—when did you... get better?"
Even after closing the door and confirming over and over that her son wasn’t some monster, that he still remembered every detail of their lives together, she couldn’t stop asking in disbelief.
"It was... it was like when that brother patted me. My mind felt... like dust was shaken off, and I woke up."
Dean struggled to describe his sudden clarity, oblivious to his mother’s tear-streaked face.
—I knew it. Who else but a merciful god would bother with a filthy street sweeper like me?