Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game-Chapter 203: Shirley

Ms. Shirley watched as the family members of Weisshem staff openly accepted the resettled women, and her smile broadened.

The group of women resettled by the city hall numbered around six hundred, most of whom were young females aged between 14 and 30, with a smaller number being middle-aged women aged between 30 and 37.

Given that Indahl was a city within the jurisdiction of a church, underage sex workers below 14 shouldn't exist, although the church wouldn't interfere if a man married a girl younger than 14.

Women who formerly worked in the bar district or lower-level brothels and whorehouses were happy to embrace a new life without having to entertain clients, whereas those who had worked in club district might not feel the same.

Many young women, believing they could continue to enjoy life because of their beauty, were unwilling to accept the city hall's resettlement. Some, after finding the resettled life too "austere," made excuses to leave. Ms. Shirley did not stop this type of people and let them go freely.

Ms. Shirley understood that those accustomed to a luxurious life would find it hard to return to simplicity without enduring sufficient hardship, similar to past Phoebe, who didn't see work in the entertainment venues as torture but rather believed she had enough capital to thrive among men.

Young girls often made the mistake of thinking that the patience and fleeting affection shown by men was capital for a better life.

But how long could one really enjoy such patience and affection?

Having been a former sex worker herself, Ms. Shirley was all too aware of this fact. Once past the age of 20, the most generous of clients started to drift away; by 25, the quality of clients dropped significantly, and one might encounter all sorts of terrible clients; by 30, one should be grateful for anyone for their patronage, regardless of who it was.

However, saying all of this was useless. Nobody would understand how painful it was to fall until they had fallen themselves. Ms. Shirley didn't see herself as a savior capable of rescuing everyone. She just aimed to do her best, to reach out to those extending their hands to her, just as the grim reaper once reached out to her through her window.

"Shirley!"

Just as Ms. Shirley was reminiscing about the Phoebe of the past, Phoebe came running from the other end of the street.

"What's the matter?" Shirley returned to reality.

Phoebe, who once boasted beautiful long platinum curls, now had her hair cut as short as Mr. Rex's. Her once delicate and fair face had tanned to a darkness similar to Mr. Rex's, and there were even freckles now.

Despite the drastic change in appearance, the pride inherent in this assertive young woman hadn't changed much; she still radiated confidence.

"Ms. Zhao has some urgent matters and needs to personally oversee the recruitment work at the sanitation bureau," said Phoebe, out of breath. "You know I can't deal with people who talk too much. I'll take over here, so could you go check on that?"

Shirley wanted to sternly reprimand her like Mrs. Mia would, telling her she shouldn't always be picky about the tasks assigned, but considering the workers the sanitation bureau was recruiting, she could only acquiesce. "Alright, just remember not to curse or be too harsh to these folks."

"I never curse at people for no reason, okay? It's always others who provoke me first before I do," Phoebe protested.

"How do you have the nerve to say that!" Shirley rolled her eyes at her, waved goodbye to Mrs. Hank, and hurried off.

A week into his rule over Indahl City, Mr. Rex had already reformed the local security forces.

First, he separated the prison system from the city's law enforcement, renaming the West Quarter's prison to detention center, and left it under the jurisdiction of Mr. Hal Maxwell.

Next, the city police department was dissolved, its responsibilities reassigned to the public security office. Jimmy was the new deputy officer of public security, and the investigators and security officers under him were tasked with maintaining the city's internal stability.

As for the former headquarters of the city police… it was handed over to the newly formed sanitation bureau.

Indahl City's sanitation bureau, like Weisshem's, provided jobs for the city's unemployed elderly—an eight-silver-coin salary wasn't much, but the additional provision of two meals a day and regular distribution of living supplies were enough to support them in gaining self-sufficiency. 𝖗Á₦ȯΒÈⱾ

When Ms. Shirley arrived at the former city police headquarters, now the sanitation bureau, she saw hundreds of elderly folk (aged 40 to 55, considered elderly in this world) crowded at the bureau's entrance, eagerly looking inside, yet none dared to step through the door.

This was understandable; the city police headquarters wasn't just any office but a grandly built establishment. Even though the city police sign had been removed and its officers were now cleaning gutters, ordinary citizens still felt intimidated to enter.

Seeing the crowd blocking the entrance, Ms. Shirley simply raised her hand and called out, "Citizens, please do not block the entrance to the sanitation bureau. We are conducting a public recruitment event today, and we ask that you make way for the applicants!"

The citizens turned to see Ms. Shirley in her city hall uniform and quickly scrambled to clear a path.

"Hey hey, don't rush, disperse slowly, no pushing! You sir, over there, slow down. Be careful not to bump into others!" Ms. Shirley swiftly switched to maintaining public order mode.

She organized the crowd to make way, walked confidently through them up the stairs, turned around, smiled at everyone, and said, "Citizens, are there any among you here to apply for a job?"

People exchanged glances with each other for a while before a woman gathered the courage to ask, "M-Madam, is it true that anyone over 40 without a job… can come and have a try?"

"Yes." Ms. Shirley nodded vigorously, ensuring everyone saw her gesture, and loudly stated, "The sanitation bureau's job is to keep the city streets clean, which requires patience and perseverance, something youth may lack, hence we need more experienced and mature individuals."

The first step in building trust with those lacking confidence was to help them gain self-esteem.

Upon hearing that the sanitation bureau's requirements were patience and perseverance, not physical strength, the crowd started to bubble.

Before the crowd could stir further, Ms. Shirley announced, "We need many sanitation workers to join our work. If you're willing, please look around and let the older ones go up the stairs first, younger ones step back, form a line, and come in one by one to register!

"You sir, please go up the stairs first, and the gentleman in the blue striped shirt, let that lady behind you go forward…"

Single-handedly, Ms. Shirley organized around four hundred individuals, who had lived their entire lives without knowing what order or discipline meant, to enter the hall in an orderly manner. She pinched her somewhat sore throat from speaking aloud and quickly walked to the registration area on the left side of the hall.

The registration area was set up in a side room on the left side of the main hall, which Ms. Shirley and Ms. Zhao had prepared the day before.

Seeing the situation inside, Ms. Shirley felt a surge of anger.

There were people in the room, three men in formal attire and ties. Two were chatting by the window, and one was making tea. They could see the situation at the door from the window, yet none showed interest in attending to the gathered citizens, comfortably minding their own business.

Only when Ms. Shirley led the applicants inside did these men leisurely move behind the registration desks to sit down.

Ms. Shirley suppressed her anger, not showing any obvious displeasure, and diligently organized the citizens to queue at the three registration points, recording their names, addresses, family members, and more.

Most low-level officials and clerical staff in the city hall, except for those who had chosen to leave, were retained in their positions.

These people were basically useless as everyone that came from Weisshem believed… Even Phoebe, who still had significant issues when treating people, was much better than these good-for-nothing idlers.

"Never mind, it's just giving one more month of salary to these fellows. Once our own are trained, we'll kick these blockheads out to fend for themselves!" Ms. Shirley thought irritably.

After taking over Indahl, the city hall hadn't made any drastic changes to the city yet.

It wasn't that Rex… or rather, Ji Tang and Zhao Zhenzhen's reformist zeal had waned. On one hand, there was indeed a shortage of personnel, and on the other, there were numerous projects ongoing in Weisshem that couldn't be neglected—transferring clerks like Shirley and Phoebe as well as officers like Barton to oversee the city hall operations and leaving Jimmy and his team to manage the city's public order was the most significant personnel shuffle the national team could afford. Any further transfers, and Weisshem's industrial sector would face problems.

With these reasons, Indahl City hadn't changed much from the Bartalises' era, at least not in the eyes of the ordinary citizens. Apart from the initial crackdown that eliminated over 90% of the city's illegal dens of vice, there hadn't been any notable action from the new lord, Rex.

As for the closure of over 80% of bars, all gambling venues, clubs, and brothels, its impact on ordinary people was… not that significant.

Indahl City wasn't like Weisshem, a town devoid of industries. It had a relatively developed handicraft industry and a passable manufacturing… no, processing industry.

With the relentless land consolidation by the nobles over the years, nearly half of Indahl territory's fertile land was concentrated in the estates scattered around, and at least another 20% belonged to the church. This highly concentrated land produced a considerable amount of food annually.

Moreover, as the towns and villages in Indahl were the "fiefdoms" of these nobles, they collected taxes on behalf of the Bartalis family, leading to further concentration of food resources.

The numerous factories in the northern industrial zone mainly processed and produced dairy products, fur goods, and various processed food items—flour from wheat, sugar from corn, oil from soybeans, and various alcoholic beverages from wheat and corn were Indahl's flagship industrial products.

Indahl was a paradox, with local food self-sufficiency treading a fine line yet none for its processed food products, which was quite reminiscent of India…

While it was a headache, the local grain and oil food processing industry indeed provided tens of thousands of jobs, unlike in Weisshem where many families had to rely on providing cheap services to the red-light district to make a living. There were still pros even if there were cons.

Not having to rely on the red-light district for livelihood meant ordinary citizens here didn't have a connection to the vice industries.

Including the northern factory area, where employment rates were the highest, the average monthly income of over 80% of the city's population did not exceed 20 silver coins, and the vast majority of lower-class citizens didn't have the extra money to spend on bars, gambling, or women; a relax day would be when men on the street could afford to buy a glass of rum and some fried soybeans to enjoy a drink and chat after work.

As for the new lord taking over the city police and prison, halting restrictions to the Central Quarter, forcing the former city police officers to clean sewers, and shipping batches of arrested patrons, gamblers, and brothel operators to Weisshem…

These were just after-meal conversations for ordinary citizens and had little impact on their lives.

Of course, it was impossible to say that there was zero impact.

For example, the active street gangs had all dispersed and vanished without a trace, with no one daring to congregate on the streets anymore; rumor had it that those caught by the new lord would be sent to that evil black mage as materials for summoning the undead, and even the bravest gang members definitely didn't want to mess with that.

Another example was the near absence of drunks on the streets of Indahl at night. Getting drunk on alcohol and causing trouble could indeed be effective in relieving stress, but being chased by the undead at night certainly wasn't a pleasant memory.

With no gathering of gangs, no drunkards causing trouble, and the absence of gamblers and patrons, Indahl's public order improved significantly. There was a sharp decrease in petty theft, robbery, and rape cases… If it weren't for these benefits, the citizens wouldn't have wholly accepted the undead wandering the streets day and night, and there would definitely still have been complaints.

Take Mrs. Griff, from the Grantham district, for example. These days, her afternoon walks were no longer limited to the middle-class women's gathering place, Prant Avenue. She not only ventured into the Central Quarter, where restrictions had been lifted, and toured around several times, but she also dared to bring her housekeeper to stroll through the alleys of the Southern Quarter and along Saint Joseph Street.

"It's a pity so many shops are closed."

Under the warm autumn sun, Mrs. Griff, dressed in a long skirt and holding a parasol, strolled leisurely on the spacious Saint Joseph Avenue, excitedly looking around. "Willie, is that the Free Market over there?"

"Yes, ma'am," the housekeeper, Madam Willie, promptly responded. "Indeed, the city has become much safer recently, and the Free Market isn't plagued with as many thieves. But as you can see, there are too many people there, with dirty horse carts carrying goods and baskets of vegetables everywhere. It would be a shame if your skirt got ruined."

Madam Willie's advice successfully dissuaded her mistress from a small adventure, and Mrs. Griff looked down at the expensive lace overlay on her skirt, regretfully saying, "Alright, let's go somewhere else, then. What other famous streets are nearby?"

Madam Willie knew her mistress wanted to visit areas populated by the poor to flaunt her expensive, beautiful dress to the ordinary housewives covered in dust and grime. However, she dared not take her mistress to places that were too dangerous… After thinking hard, the coiffured housekeeper came up with a compromise. "The bar district around here is quite famous, ma'am."