Volume 10 – Chapter 8: Work (Part 1)
Caroline had no dreams because she only wanted one thing: to make a lot of money.
When she was three years old, her father was hit by a stray bullet in an armed conflict and died.
Later, she heard from her mother that the effort of saving her father went futile when he was sent to the hospital. But when Caroline grew up, she seriously suspected that her father’s death was because the family couldn’t make up the money to pay for it.
She hardly had any impression of the man who gave him her life. Only after getting along with her mother did she know a bit of this man through her mother’s occasional reminiscents
This old man was naturally poor when he was young. Otherwise, why would he only save enough money for marriage only in his forties? Moreover, it was a widow with a young child like Caroline’s mother. As for young girls, the old man who would later become her stepfather could only sigh in helplessness.
In the end, it was still because of money issues.
She couldn’t bear the stench of the motor oil. She couldn’t bear the feeling when the old man’s palms tainted with motor oil touched her head. The hands looked horrible, like they had been soaked in the stinking ditch for three days and three nights.
She envied those girls who could wear beautiful clothes and sit in nice cars.
She watched the child sitting in a good car far away (though she later learned that such a car was low-end). She would be awed at the buildings in front of her. Those buildings were in a completely different world in comparison to the shanty she lived in. But, it was also ridiculous at the same time that there was only a street separating her shanty from the luxurious building.
Indeed, a street marked the difference between the two worlds. It wasn’t like the luxurious building was at the beginning of the street, and the shanty was at the street’s end. Instead, they were opposite of each other.
Caroline hoped that she could become rich one day.
Caroline hoped that she could become rich, at least owning her room.
When she was fourteen, Caroline met a man. This man came to his stepfather’s maintenance department to repair the car. She then heard that this guy was a pimp. Having been in this place since he was a child, Caroline naturally knew what a pimp was.
The man claimed that he could give her a chance to make a lot of money.
Without any hesitation, Caroline agreed with the man. She remembered that the first business she took was on the night of her fourteenth birthday. Due to the exhaustion of work, the family fell asleep early and forgot that it was her birthday.
Caroline didn’t feel how sad it was to sell herself out for the first time on her fourteenth birthday because the man told her that she could often sell it for a very high price for her first time.
Caroline began to get acquainted with more clients through her first pimps. She also got to know other sex workers and learn more skills. She knew if her skills were excellent, she could charge more.
Then, she began to know more pimps, and her customer base gradually increased. At the age of sixteen, Caroline had begun to do her business alone. Without the referral fee for the broker, Caroline felt that she could make a lot of money.
When she was sixteen, she left home.
There was no particular reason. It was just because her family knew about her work, and conflict arose.
…
“Mr. Neymar’s party?”
Caroline was putting on makeup in the living room. Due to the hot weather, she just wore a pair of underwear. The air conditioner here was a second-hand product that consumed hefty electricity, making the electricity bill more expensive.
Livia said, “Yes, they said they needed two women for that place, and they asked me if I’m going.”
“How do they charge?” Caroline frowned.
Caroline thought for a while and thought it was indeed a good job. Mr. Neymar was naturally not a big deal in consideration of the eight slums in Rio. But, he was the emperor of this place.
