The family of three gathered around the stove, having a midnight meal of hamburg and hot water, but it was the best thing they had eaten in over a month.
Outside, there were fewer and fewer people jumping off buildings, and now the head of the family had found a job. To them, it seemed like life was gradually improving.
Steve stuffed himself with beef hamburg, almost bursting his stomach, but lying on the old wooden bed, listening to the howling cold wind outside, he slept very soundly that night.
Although hamburg wasn't the cream cake in his dream, life was now pretty much like the good days in his dreams. Although he didn't know when Wilson Enterprises emerged, his heart was filled with gratitude.
The next morning, his parents left early, and he got up just as early to help with chores like making a fire and preparing food.
His mother was a bit malnourished and weak, but still insisted on going out to work. She needed to go a few blocks away to the wealthy district to clean houses for money.
After finishing his meal, he returned to his small room to study, a textbook he thought he would never need.
But before he could read much, he heard someone secretly tapping on his windowpane.
Looking up, he saw it was his little buddy Baki, looking around sneakily, with his signature smile on his face.
"Steve, let's go out and play~"
Steve opened the window begrudgingly. The structure of their apartment was such that there was a small air vent in the corridor, which, if opened, could allow a skinny child to sneak through. Baki must have been locked at home and then slipped out through this window.
"Didn't your dad tell you to stay home and study?"
Baki nonchalantly waved his hand and climbed in from the window, plopping himself on Steve's small bed.
"What's so great about books? Once we're back in school in a few days, there will be plenty of time to read." The black-haired boy dug his ear, utterly uninterested.
Steve knew it would be like this. Baki's personality was just like his father's. Asking him to stay home and study honestly was more unbearable than anything.
"If he finds out you ran out when he gets home, you're dead."
Baki scratched his head. "He won't know. As long as we're back before he's off work, we'll be fine, right?"
"No, if you want to play, go by yourself. Don't drag me along. My dad told me to be someone useful to the country, so I have to study hard."
Steve quickly refused. Once Baki started playing, he never had any concept of time. Plus, he was thick-skinned, and Uncle Tom's beatings were useless on him.
Baki's eyes darted around, and he changed the topic.
"Did you eat that hamburg yesterday?" Baki lay on Steve's bed.
"Yeah, and I had a sandwich this morning." Steve replied absent-mindedly.
"Was it beef?" Baki turned over, noticing the pillow felt a bit wet.
"Probably, yeah." Steve maintained a blank expression.
"Where do you think that beef came from, Tennessee?" Baki sniffed the pillow. The damp marks had a fishy smell, likely drool, not tears.
"Who knows? I haven't seen any cows in the city." Steve sighed.
"Do you think they'll bring back something else to eat today?" Baki dodged the drool marks and flipped the pillow over.
"I doubt it. The boss can't just keep sending stuff to the workers every day." Steve answered with a tone of helplessness.
"True, I remember those rich folks on the street. They were all pretty stingy." Baki wiggled on the bed like an insect, rolling back and forth.
..........
Steve tried to focus on his textbook, but Baki, like Grandma Mary downstairs, kept chattering away, making it impossible for him to concentrate.
But every time Steve turned his head to look at him with a stern gaze, Baki would act innocent and start whistling.
"Alright, where do you want to go play today?"
Steve finally gave in. His little buddy was driving him crazy. In such a situation, holding a book was just a waste of time.
"Did you see the packaging of that hamburg yesterday?" Baki pulled out a crumpled piece of kraft paper from his pocket.
"I saw it. There was a 'W' letter on it, and the small print below said Wilson Enterprises." Steve put down his textbook and turned to look at his friend.
"I've never heard of such a big company in the city before. I heard from my dad that last night they recruited over ten thousand people, and the docks were packed."
Baki spoke mysteriously, winking and making faces at Steve.
Steve already understood what he wanted to do. To be honest, he was curious about this enterprise too, but not enough to immediately investigate like Baki wanted.
"Listen, Baki, you can ask your dad about this company at night. Even if we find it now, what next?"
Baki scrambled off the bed and got closer to Steve, his dark eyes filled with eagerness.
"Aren't you curious? Last night they gave out at least tens of thousands of hamburgs and sandwiches. I'm thinking if... there are more, can't we ask for a few more? We've been hungry for over a month, and I don't want to be hungry anymore. The more food, the better, right?"
Admittedly, Baki's point resonated with Steve. He was tempted, but whether begging or 'picking up', neither felt right to him.
"No, Baki, we can visit where our fathers work, but we can't ask others for food."
Baki nodded, agreeing that Steve was right, but he hadn't planned on begging.
"I never said to beg. Even though we're not very strong, we can read and do arithmetic. Think about it, yesterday they hired so many people, today there must be a lot of follow-up work, like registering phone numbers or writing IDs and work badges. We can work as temps, earning food in return. It's honest work, nothing to be ashamed of."
Many people didn't have phones at home, but there must be things that needed recording, right?
Earning food through labor was indeed a smart suggestion. Baki was always more clever than him.
Such opportunities come only once. Doing the work for just a day or two could get them quite a bit of food, reducing the burden on their families, and they could learn more about this mysterious company.
Steve was persuaded. He stood up to change his clothes and put on his cap.
"Alright, I'll leave a note for my mom, then we can head out."
"Haha, that's the Steve I know. I'll wait for you."
Baki stood up happily, strolling around the room, urging Steve to hurry.
The city never lacked smart people. What a child could think of, surely others could too. Although they only wanted to do boring little jobs that adults overlooked, the sooner they went, the better.