NOVPUBAnother Christmas season had passed, and because of the return of Jerusalem, this year’s Christmas was exceptionally lively. All of Austria was soaked in cheerful laughter and chatter.
Merchants also took the opportunity to launch promotions, with discount signs everywhere on the streets. Some shops, in order to attract people, even started giving out candy and sunflower seeds for free.
Standing on the rooftop, Franz picked up a telescope and gazed at the bustling street, a longing on his face.
The joy of ordinary people strolling through the streets was something Franz could no longer experience. A mundane life was not suited for an Emperor; it was the price of holding a high position.
To sneak out would be irresponsible. The Emperor represents not just an individual but also the country.
If something unexpected were to happen, Austria would be turned upside down in an instant. Despite Austria seeming very stable at the moment, Franz was well aware that there were many hidden dangers in the Empire, merely obscured by the surface prosperity.
It’s not terrible for a country to have hidden dangers, they can be dealt with; what’s terrible is to be aware of them and still turn a blind eye, rushing towards doom - that would have severe consequences.
Franz was aware that there were many people in the country dissatisfied with the government, the losers in the struggle for power, those whose interests were damaged by reforms…
He could completely understand the grievances in their hearts. Understanding is one thing, but those who need to be suppressed still have to be suppressed.
Even if these people were very dissatisfied, as long as they haven’t rebelled, time can dilute everything, and Franz has not been exterminating them all.
This is based on one premise, which is not to give them the opportunity. The rest just requires biding time, slowly eroding their will through the daily grind.
Just like the Hungarian Independence Organization of the past, after society matured through harsh trials, the once passionate revolutionaries were defeated by reality.
Deep in his heart, Franz constantly reminded himself not to be reckless, not to be reckless. After another decade or two, once he had brought up his son and passed on the throne, he would be free.
"What’s so interesting that you have to be out here in such cold weather?"
A familiar voice came through, and Franz put down the telescope in his hand and turned to look at the newcomer, revealing a smile, "Isn’t it Christmas? I’m just seeing how the common folk are celebrating."
The reply seemed relaxed and comfortable, but it was filled with helplessness. People always yearn for something after they’ve lost it.
Queen Helen took the telescope from Franz and looked in the direction he had been looking before, then she frowned.
"Hmm, there are a lot of people on the street, but Santa Claus is made too ugly, with no artistic taste at all."
Franz couldn’t help but chuckle. "Artistic taste," such a sophisticated thing - even he, the Emperor, only understood it superficially, let alone those ordinary people who toil daily for their basic needs?
The laughter angered Queen Helen, who gave Franz a fierce glare, "Are you laughing at me?"
The question was flat, but her eyes already told Franz: You better have a good explanation, or you’re not going to have a nice Christmas this year.
Quick-witted, Franz thought of a reason, "No, I was just thinking about how some of the Santas outside are rather funny.
If you look closely, aren’t some missing an arm or a leg? If Santa Claus looked like that and still had to go around spreading blessings, it would be too much to ask of the poor fellow."
Seeing that Queen Helen continued to observe with the telescope, Franz hurriedly changed the subject, "Right, what brings you up here? Don’t tell me you’re idle, I remember you’re always busy on Christmas."
This was true, the royal family also had celebrations for Christmas, and the Empress was in charge of these events. Including preparing Christmas gifts for friends and family, inviting guests for banquets, it was all the Empress’s job.
Seemingly remembering something, Queen Helen’s expression changed, "Oh no, I have a lot to do. You can keep looking if you want, I have to go."
After saying this, she handed the telescope back to Franz and was about to leave, when Queen Helen added, "Frederick is almost 20 years old, and you, as his father, aren’t paying attention to his marriage prospects.
Don’t forget, we have many sons, and there’s a limited number of age-suitable princesses in Europe. If you don’t secure an engagement early, you’ll have troubles later!"
After this little episode, Franz no longer had the desire to continue watching the festivities. He really hadn’t noticed the gender imbalance arising in the European royal family.
This was an aftermath of the butterfly effect; the birth rate of males in the Habsburg family was somewhat high, especially since Franz himself had four sons, directly upsetting the gender balance of the European royal families.
But Franz soon put this issue out of his mind.
Apart from the eldest son, who would need to consider a politically suitable match, it was perfectly fine for the other sons to marry beneath their station or wait a few more years if a suitable match wasn’t immediately available.
For Franz, it wasn’t really an issue. All he had to do was lower the birth standard by one level, and the number of candidates would increase by at least two digits.
...
It seemed like God wanted to add to the festive atmosphere; as night fell, snowflakes began to fall silently.
The cold wind didn’t dissipate the festive mood, with wreaths hanging on every household’s door, snowmen piled up, and Christmas trees set up inside the houses.
After a busy day, Rehn returned to his small bedroom, picked up the materials he had prepared, and started to make his own Christmas tree.
Starting to prepare now was already somewhat late, but who could blame Rehn for being poor?
Rehn wasn’t a local. He had only come to Vienna to strive for a better life this summer. He didn’t have much savings, and the small bedroom of less than ten square meters was rented with much reluctance.
There was no helping it; although Vienna was known to have the highest per capita income in the world, the problem was the "per capita" part. As the lowest stratum of society, Rehn was undoubtedly one of those being averaged out.
In Vienna, aside from engaging in high-income fields like finance, scientific research, education, and healthcare, there were also poor people working in the service industry.
According to legal regulations, Christmas Day was a mandatory holiday, with the exception of the service industry. If businesses were closed on Christmas Day, how could people celebrate the holiday?
Seeing the double pay for overtime, Rehn decisively chose to work extra hours. He knew that on such a holiday, even the stingiest boss would give a Christmas gift to the employees who worked overtime.
Rehn was lucky; his grocer boss was a devout religious believer, and in high spirits due to Jerusalem’s return, he gave Rehn a bag of flour, packaged in a fifty-pound bag.
This was the best Christmas gift he had ever received. With this bag of flour, he now had enough food for the next month, far more practical than candies and seeds.
In good spirits, Rehn completed the making of the Christmas tree in the shortest time possible. It might be ugly, but it didn’t hinder his pursuit of a better life.
The church choir had already gone door to door in front of the believers’ homes to sing Christmas carols, and Rehn was very excited.
He had never experienced such treatment before. Although his hometown also had a church, it only had one priest; a choir like this was something only big churches had.
After watching the choir leave, Rehn became somber. Alone in a strange city, with no friends and family around, he didn’t know how to spend the coming time.
Looking at the prepared Christmas gifts, Rehn showed a bitter smile. The city, unlike his hometown, was a place where people were very guarded, and many wrapped themselves in layers of pretense.
When he first moved here, Rehn tried to reach out to his neighbors. But the tenants living here, being the lowest rung of society and toiling daily for their livelihoods, simply didn’t have the energy to deal with more people and affairs.
They were polite verbally, but the tone that rejected people from a thousand miles away made Rehn give up on the idea of further socializing. He didn’t have time to make friends either.
Vienna is a City that Never Sleeps, making life very hard for those working in the service industry. Although the Austrian "Labor Protection Law" stipulated an eight-hour workday in theory, in practice it was another story.
An eight-hour wage might allow one to survive in Vienna, but if someone wants to save money, they’d better willingly work overtime!
Like most of the service industry, Rehn’s grocery store also operated on a two-shift system. Except for Christmas Eve night, they were open twenty-four hours a day.
With the number of hours worked each day, the busy time reached up to fourteen hours. That was an ideal number, considering the grocery store restocked every three days.
In such cases, the boss wouldn’t hire extra help, and they had to work an additional 3 to 5 hours. Thinking of the overtime pay, Rehn decisively chose to work the extra hours.
With only two days off per month, one should give up thinking about anything else and just catch up on sleep! This was the daily life of an ordinary service worker in Vienna.
Rehn never complained; the situation in the majority of factories was even worse. Perhaps the working hours weren’t as long, but the working conditions were incomparable.
Here, there was hope; daily interactions with different people and situations expanded one’s horizons considerably. If one paid attention and observed, there was much to learn.
If one ended up in a factory, then it was crucial to learn skills quickly! For if one couldn’t overcome that obstacle, life would stay the same forever.
Fighting back the tears, Rehn took out the half roast goose he bought on the way and warmed it by the stove, flipping the almost done potatoes. This was his lavish Christmas dinner.
The night deepened, and the Christmas bells rang out. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
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