At dawn, the rumble of steam engines rolled in. No one found it surprising. This was Venice Port, the New Holy Roman Empire's largest trading port, with more than a hundred ships coming and going every day.
Here, the roar of steam engines had become part of daily life. Dockworkers had already gathered together, waiting for the ships to berth.
Life was not easy. In an age of limited productivity, even filling one's belly was no simple matter.
Arnaud was an ordinary dockworker. He had worked here for three years, and the dreams of his youth had been worn away by reality. More than once, he had wanted to seek his fortune overseas, but whenever he thought of his wife and children, he gave up in the end.
The work at the docks was exhausting and grueling, demanding tremendous physical strength. Anyone who could not carry eighty to a hundred kilograms could not make a living from this trade.
None of that was a problem for Arnaud. He was not afraid of hardship or exhaustion. He only wanted to take on more work, earn more money, and give his family a better life.
Ideally, he wanted to send his boy to school and let him learn to read. Austria had already introduced compulsory education, but it had nothing to do with Arnaud.
Simply because he was not a local resident and did not yet hold Austrian citizenship. It did not affect his daily life or work much.
After all, he was manual labor. No one cared what country a worker at the very bottom came from. But when it came to social welfare benefits, they had nothing to do with Arnaud.
More than a decade ago, he had come with his father from Ancona to Venice to make a living.