Chapter 145: Cobblepot's Happy Life (Part 2)_1

Kolbott hasn't been doing well recently, or from another perspective, he's been doing quite well.

Oswald Kolbott, born into one of the four big gangster families in the East District, the Kolbott family, grew up in a fairly affluent household.

However, during his childhood, the backbone of the family, his father, died of pneumonia, and from then on, the family fell into decline.

Now, the era of the four big gangster families of the East District has passed, with him and his mother living in an old house on a street near Living Hell.

His father had worked hard to save some money during his youth, and Madam Kolbott was relying on these savings to get by.

As Oswald grew older, the household expenses increased bit by bit. Madam Kolbott used her husband's old connections to get her son a job with the Munney Gang.

The Munney Gang was originally the largest mob in Living Hell, but now their boss, Fish Muni, is a hot-headed woman whom no one dares to defy. Kolbott, being short and relatively timid, is not at all to Fish's liking.

For this reason, Kolbott is often sent out to be a doorman or an umbrella boy at the mob's enterprises on other streets.

This is no easy task. Being abused and teased by customers is all too common. Not only does Kolbott have to give a portion of his earnings to the mob governing the area where he works, but he also has to give an extra share to the Munney Gang. There's not much left for himself.

Kolbott is often ridiculed and mocked at work by others. He can only keep a low profile, trying not to draw their attention. However, due to his short stature and lack of strength, he often angers some patrons, leading to him getting scolded by the supervisor, and thus returns home looking like a drowned rat.

Kolbott thought he would have to endure days like this for a long time, but to his surprise, Gotham changed overnight.

Construction was beginning everywhere in the city. Everyone was hiring, and every industry was short on workers. Starting from this change, Kolbott had worked in a variety of jobs such as bartender, cleaner, counter, waiter and many others. As he walked on the streets of Living Hell, he would typically encounter someone asking him if he's looking for work.

Before that, he was a waiter at the biggest night market around Living Hell. To be called a waiter, in reality, was nothing more than helping out at a roadside barbecue stall, washing grill pans, or opening beer bottles for customers.

Although this job wasn't easy, it was much better than being a doorman. For one, it paid more, and secondly, he often had the chance to eat leftover barbecue scraps.

The customers were usually various drivers. They were often in a hurry, ordering a portion of barbecued meat matched with a bottle of beer, eating and then promptly leaving, not lingering or creating difficulties for the waiters, and sometimes even leaving tips.

Originally, Kolbott was quite content with this life, at least he had taken a big step forward, but the changes that followed took him by surprise.

Later on, the transformation of Living Hell started. Although Kolbott didn't live inside Living Hell, he was not far from it, and he witnessed with his own eyes the transformation of this crowded and run-down city.

But then, the rhythm of his life was disrupted completely.

Due to the renovation of Living Hell, many gangs set their sights on this lucrative piece of land. The Munney Gang, unable to fend off the growing competition, saw more and more gangs flood into this poorest district and divide it all among themselves. The original territory that Munney gang owned was reduced to a small southern plot of land.

After the transformation was complete, the gangs began to set up their own management systems. However, a problem arose - where were they going to find people who could manage Living Hell?

Despite the renovation, Living Hell was still intricately complex. But these foreign mob bosses had no idea about the terrain of this place, let alone collecting protection money.

As Kolbott was somewhat of a local, and he frequently shopped in Living Hell, and was also a member of the former dominant Munney Gang, the mob bosses took an interest in him, and he began to work for them.

At first, he was responsible for the counting at the entrance of the cargo outlet. The junior head in charge of cargo noticed Kolbott's proficiency in math and his even counting, even after a whole day. Hence, he was recommended to collect protection money in the commercial area of Living Hell.

Having previously worked at the night market, Kolbott soon got familiar with the owner of a restaurant in the commercial district, and became in charge of delivering ingredients specifically for this restaurant.

Till here, Kolbott's life had improved significantly, at least he could be considered a junior head now.

Kolbott hadn't even come of age yet but he was already in charge of sourcing ingredients for a restaurant. As one could imagine, this job offered many benefits and hence was very rare in Gotham.

But that wasn't all. In his early years, Kolbott received a good education and even lived in the wealthy southern district for a while. Thus, he could write cursive script in English, had a talent for mathematics and statistics, and could even do mental math. This made him a rare talent in Gotham!

It wasn't long before he was noticed by a big mafia boss and transferred to the water supply management department in Living Hell.

The so-called water supply management department was in charge of connecting and maintaining the tap water system and then collecting water charges.

Speaking of water charges, it's essentially another form of protection fee. Once a gang took over a district in Living Hell, the residents would pay their water bills to them, and these gangs would then be responsible for maintaining the tap water system.