The night in Langton City, where the workers from the outer districts, after a whole day of toil, returned to their cramped and simple homes, consumed dinners that were neither warm nor ample, barely feeding themselves to a half-full state, then dragged their weary and grimy bodies to bed.
Although the Empire is now prosperous, with productivity having increased exponentially compared to the past, the lives of ordinary people have become more difficult.
The development of industry has led to population growth, and although agricultural yields have increased, they have not kept pace with the population growth.
The Empire, relying on large quantities of grain imported from overseas colonies, has managed to sustain the rapidly growing population, but it is clear that even the empire on which the sun never sets cannot feed everyone.
Typically, the main food for a worker's family is bread and oats, but it is clear that it cannot be quality white bread, nor can oats be cooked into dry rice as in the East.
Usually, what they can eat is still not much different from the black bread and oatmeal porridge of the pre-industrial era.
The development of the industrial era has not brought changes to their diet structure, but generally speaking, if a family's income can barely maintain sufficient food, their table may at least have enough bacon for a slice a day and some vegetables; the men can enjoy some butter to replenish energy for a hard day's work.
Of course, there is also the indispensable beverage prepared for the men at the table.
In the past, it might have been a cup of beer, providing precious calories and some of the trace elements and minerals the body needs.
But after the previous emperor issued a prohibition order, coffee and cocoa began to replace beer on ordinary people's dining tables.
After all, the empire's overseas colonies supply the empire with large quantities of coffee beans and cocoa beans each year, which can effectively invigorate the spirits of the empire's citizens and replenish their energy.
This also changed the dietary habits of the common people of the Victor Empire, from a cup of beer at dinner to a cup of coffee at breakfast.
Of course, if a man in the family works on the railway and can earn twice the average salary, eggs, sausages, and even rare cakes could also appear on their table.
But even so, most people find it very difficult to fill their stomachs, and it is not uncommon for someone to starve to death on the streets of Langton City every day. Most workers suffer from malnutrition, and as for the children...
They are lucky if they grow up to adulthood, while more children will prematurely leave this world due to diseases brought about by hygiene issues.
After all, in this era, whether it is the delivery of a pregnant woman or a surgical operation, it is already very rare to achieve cleanliness, let alone medical disinfection? This is a new concept that has only been proposed in recent years.
The state of medical care is like this, so the living sanitary standards of ordinary people can be easily imagined.
Without running water, unable to afford hot water, and with the need to store daily water brought by the district supply, these limitations make bathing, especially taking a hot bath, an extravagance for ordinary people.
More commonly, they attempt to clean their bodies as much as possible with a pot of warm water in the morning.
Living in such an environment, without the habit of drinking boiled water, coupled with the scarcity of medical resources and the fact that ordinary worker families cannot afford to see a doctor, it is easy to imagine how high the morbidity and mortality rates are.
In contrast, is the decadent luxurious life of the nobility.
For instance, tonight at Windsor Castle, a lavish banquet is being held.
Not to mention the exquisite and luxurious decorations and the utensils used at the banquet, just the delicacies placed in fine porcelain imported from the East and on gold and silver plates are already beyond the reach of ordinary workers and other grassroots members of society.
After all, the ingredients for just one dish alone would be enough to exhaust an entire month's income for a worker's family, a luxury they dare not even dream of.
Spices more expensive than the ingredients themselves are used to roast tender lamb chops to a golden brown, brushed with sweet honey, and placed in delicate porcelain from the East, enough to serve as the main course of a small-scale banquet even in wealthy families in Langton.
Yet at tonight's banquet, they are not even worthy of a prominent spot on the dining table.
On a long dining table where the entire orchestra performing and displaying musical instruments could lie down side by side, various delicacies were piled up, emitting enticing aromas, all meticulously cooked by the chefs.
But compared to the roasted peacock being the main course, these foods seemed lackluster, as no matter how vibrant the food's color was, it could not compare with the opened tail feathers of a peacock.
"Honestly, I really can't understand why they would insert the tail feathers back after roasting the peacock?" Perfikot, clad in a white evening dress, held a red gem-embedded cane in one hand and a delicate crystal glass in the other, complaining to Eldest Princess Annie with some boredom: "Is it just for looks? These chefs' aesthetic and culinary skills aren't that great; why don't you take my advice, Aunt Annie, and hire a few Eastern chefs to cook? "
"Eastern chefs surely make delicious food, but they are not suitable to be the head chefs of a banquet." Eldest Princess Annie, wearing a dark red evening gown, which highlighted her graceful figure while also making her feel quite constrained, remarked. Having not worn a corset for many years, she couldn't help but feel she had gained some weight over the years: "At least for noble young ladies, they're not suitable! Food that's too delicious could cause those young ladies' slender waists to expand."
On Perfikot's recommendation, Eldest Princess Annie once tried hiring chefs from the East, and the result was her gaining twenty pounds within three months.
After ruining twelve evening gowns, and even buttons of military uniforms couldn't be fastened, forcing her to change into a larger size, Eldest Princess Annie had no choice but to switch back to her original chefs to quickly slim down.
However, after a harmless joke with Perfikot, Eldest Princess Annie turned to more serious matters: "Perfikot, are you ready? You are the main character of tonight's banquet, don't be stage fright during the speech."
"Stage fright? Impossible." Observing the well-dressed gentlemen and radiant noble ladies at the banquet, a confident expression appeared on Perfikot's face, mixed with a trace of disdain: "They are actually easy to handle; as long as you throw out a little bit of interest, these people will swarm around like wolves smelling meat. Convincing them doesn't require much skill."