Chapter 1756: Summer in Fool

Gordon walked behind with Barbara. He was wearing the uniform of the police commissioner, and Barbara was wearing a bohemian-style long dress. When Merkel pushed open the door, the cool breeze blew up her hair and skirt.

"Look, I said air conditioning isn't that necessary," Gordon turned back and said to Barbara, "Nothing compares to the natural sea breeze."

Shiler had rarely changed into an outfit that fit the summer style: a white shirt and a light gray-olive vest. He turned and led Gordon inside. Gordon tugged at his tie knot left and right and said, "I've never seen you wear light-colored clothes. It's simply hard to recognize you."

"This summer is indeed too hot, and there is no air conditioning in my manor. My butler cannot understand that when I say I am not afraid of heat, I mean I can physically insulate myself from the existence of heat, rather than just talking tough."

"This is not bad," Gordon sat down at the dining table and said, "Your usual outfit makes people feel hot just looking at it."

"In order to still have friends after the summer, I am avoiding as much as possible that you all have similar associations." Shiler sighed and sat in the main seat.

Gordon laughed happily and said, "It can be seen that you don't like wearing this outfit, but this style is really good. It looks like the kind of old-world aristocrat who would go to the seaside for vacation."

"Such associations should also be avoided as much as possible."

Shiler raised his glass to Gordon. Gordon picked up his glass and looked inside. It wasn't the deep red wine liquid usually seen, but a mixed drink with ice cubes.

"The base liquor is gin, with lemon juice and coconut water added. It's a very common flavor." After Shiler finished speaking, he took a sip of the wine. He pursed his lips, turned to Merkel, and said, "Help me get some mint leaves."

Gordon, who was a bit thirsty, took a big gulp. The woody aroma of the gin, combined with the clear sweetness of the coconut water and the slight acidity of the lemon juice, plus the sufficient coolness provided by the ample ice cubes—one gulp down, Gordon couldn't help but let out a satisfied long sigh.

"If you feel it's not enough to cool off, then have some of this." Shiler placed a small plate of mint leaves in the center of the table. Gordon was busy pouring wine into his mouth, but Barbara used tweezers to pick up a few small pieces and put them into her glass. After taking a sip of the wine, she also let out a satisfied sigh.

"I didn't know you could mix drinks." Gordon put down his glass and looked at Shiler. Shiler shook his head and said, "I can't. It was mixed by my butler."

"He is truly versatile."

"His greatest merit is that he knows how to correct his mistakes. If you feel dissatisfied, he will have to be responsible for watering to death half of the flowers in my garden."

Merkel wore an embarrassed smile. Shiler and Gordon clinked glasses, and another breeze blew through the restaurant. Although many precious seedlings in the garden outside the floor-to-ceiling windows had died, the vast majority of woody plants were still lush, deep green and light green overlapping, bringing a visual sense of coldness when blown by the breeze.

Shiler turned to call Barry and Harley, who were playing around the bar. After they were all seated, Pamela, in a dark green silk camisole long dress, arrived late. She reached out to gather her red hair behind her head and wiped her sweat with a handkerchief handed over by Merkel.

Shiler sized up her attire. This was a cowl-neck camisole silk long dress. The dress was cut very appropriately, highlighting Pamela's figure well. The luster of the silk looked very gentle. The only problem was that it was a bit too green. Sitting against the background of the floor-to-ceiling windows, it was as if she had merged with the plants in the garden.

Shiler stood up to pull out a chair for her. After Pamela sat down, she nodded at Shiler and revealed her usual slightly cold smile. After sitting down, she didn't delay time and immediately spoke: "I've talked with Lex. This kind of large-scale murder of plants is about to stop. If there are no accidents, there will be a rain around three o'clock this afternoon. The cloud layer will partially recover, and tomorrow's temperature should drop by three to four degrees."

"Did he drive away all the cloud layers?" Barbara asked while holding her wine glass, "Including the rain clouds containing moisture?"

"It's not that he wanted to be like this, it's just that the machines in the previous stage couldn't achieve precise control. Either the sky was full of dark clouds, or there wasn't a single cloud."

"Then how was it solved?" Shiler stepped aside to give space to Merkel, who was serving dishes.

"Lex didn't want to solve it at first, but later I sent him two pots of newly cultivated light purple daisies. Before a week had passed, he fully upgraded the machine."

Shiler walked toward his seat and said, "I guess these two pots of daisies must have had quite good eloquence?"

"The latest variety, quite powerful."

Pamela picked up her wine glass and took a sip of the cocktail, letting out an exclamation. She looked down at the glass. Barbara explained the recipe of this drink to her and moved the plate with mint leaves in front of her.

Before long, the dishes were all served. The tablecloth on the table was changed to a green plaid style, hemp placemats were added under the plates, and the edges of the white porcelain plates were decorated with naturalistic patterns. The food was all cold dishes: Iberian ham, tomato bread, Manchego cheese, blueberry papaya with burrata cheese, Greek village salad, caviar, and olive oil, etc.

"Half of the famous local chefs in Cat Getan have fallen ill. Fortunately, Alfred introduced me to a chef who just came from Europe. He is a Spaniard. Originally, he should have stayed to greet the guests, but he is truly too busy..."

"Of course, completely understandable. The reservations for chefs who can still stand and walk must be fully booked." Gordon shook his head and said, "Even the owner of the barbecue stall we often eat at has heatstroke."

"Hasn't Batman developed any special medicine?" Barbara used a knife and fork to pick up a slice of ham and put it into her plate, turning to look at Gordon and asking.

"He's been very busy lately. Although I don't know what he's busy with, he's always elusive." Gordon curled his lips and said, "Honestly, I really like the promotion gift he gave me. Just because Cat Getan Police Department installed air conditioning, the number of applicants for intern police officers has almost increased tenfold."

"I don't understand. He's so rich, can't he install air conditioning in all of Cat Getan's important facilities?" Harley used a fork to pry open the cheese and asked while eating.

"His money is enough to install air conditioning in every place in Cat Getan, but the problem is where to get so many people to install it?" Gordon shook his head and said very helplessly, "Cat Getan almost doesn't have the profession of air conditioning installer. This is a technical job, and Cat Getan lacks the necessary manpower."

"Is installing air conditioning very difficult?" Pamela paused her hand movements and asked.

"Not difficult. What's difficult is how to make Gothamites believe that installing air conditioning under the sun in temperatures of over thirty degrees won't result in being heat-stroked to death. It's not like before anymore."

Gordon wore a complex expression, recalling as he spoke: "If it were in the past, as long as one was willing to pay a high price, there would always be people doing it, because Gothamites were always trying to find ways to fill their stomachs. But now everyone's economic situation has improved, and they have some spare money and have hoarded enough food, so naturally, they can choose to stay at home and rest when the weather is bad, right?"

"There is air conditioning in the buildings of the Cat Getan renovation project." Shiler spoke up, "But turning on the air conditioning costs electricity. Keeping it on all day costs quite a bit in electricity bills. Once the electricity bill for this month comes down, Gothamites will find ways to go out to work."

"I really don't know if Bruce is visionary or has the true nature of a businessman." Gordon laughed and said, "Can't raise this group of lazy people. They say they don't have the strength to work, but they haven't done less fighting and brawling in the air-conditioned rooms."

"In any case, let us congratulate Mr. James Gordon on becoming the commissioner of the Cat Getan Police Department." Shiler stood up and raised his glass, and the others also raised their glasses.

Shiler bent over and clinked glasses with Gordon and said, "Your efforts have not been in vain, Commissioner. Your smooth official career will prove to everyone that in this world, justice will prevail over evil."

"I am fighting for this."

The few finished their meal. Harley stood at the door reluctantly to say goodbye to Gordon, mainly to say goodbye to her air-conditioned room, and then quickly dragged Barry and plunged into the large garden.

No matter what, they were children. A large garden several times larger than a house was simply a paradise for adventure for them, regardless of whether it was lush or not. Everything here was fun.

"This patch of plants is too close to the wall, it won't grow very well, and it doesn't quite match the scenery behind it. Merkel, I think we can transform this patch of land into a small playground. What do you think?"

Shiler turned to look at Merkel. Merkel naturally had no opinion. If he planted fewer plants, he could plant fewer plants to death. And he had long discovered that, contrary to the professor's serious and unapproachable appearance, he was very patient with children, and the children were not afraid of him.

"How about a tire swing?" Pamela stood in front of the shrubbery, hugging her arms and looking inside, saying, "When I was a child, I envied those children who could play on swings. Or we can build a wisteria corridor here, leading all the way to the big tree, and then open a small door here. After walking in, there are tire swings, rattan chairs, sand piles, etc."

"Write it down, Merkel. We can complete it before Halloween. Leave a patch of lawn on the side for visiting children to have a picnic."

Merkel silently wrote down what Shiler said, while Pamela walked forward along the path, turning her head left and right to look at the plants in poor condition on the side. After looking for a while, she stopped in front of the flower pavilion and said, "I'm afraid all the types of plants will have to be changed. These plants from the cold zones of Northern Europe can indeed cope with Cat Getan's low temperature and lack of sunshine in the past, but they are indeed easily scorched to death by Cat Getan's sun now."

Pamela spoke again: "Watering is the most wrong solution, but in terms of reality, watering them to death early can be considered ending their suffering. Anyway, they will die sooner or later."

"Previously, the garden was arranged in a cold forest ecology. Although it can be considered elegant for the manor, I prefer a temperate style that is full of vitality, large flowers, lush leaves, layers of vines... I already have some ideas, Professor. I will send the design drawings to you via email in about a week."

Shiler sighed and said, "Why is it email again? Can't you just bring the printed version to me directly?"

Pamela was a bit confused and said, "Professor, you don't look like an old fogey who doesn't like electronic equipment. I heard from Bruce that you even mentioned the concept of miniaturizing the Bat-tablet before. That sounds quite advanced..."

"I don't dislike email, it's just that I don't have a computer. If I want to check your email, I can only go to the multimedia classroom at Cat Getan University. The whole way there doesn't have a bit of shade."

"Then why don't you buy one?" Pamela asked, a bit confused, "Although home computers are a bit expensive, you live in such a large manor, isn't it very simple to buy a computer?"

Shiler touched his chin and thought about it. The main reason he didn't want to buy a computer was that in the era before he traveled, a 10,000 RMB laptop could basically play various high-configuration large games smoothly. But in this era, a laptop bought for nearly 10,000 USD was only slightly better than a brick.

Don't ask why he didn't buy a desktop; the desktop computers of this era were much heavier than real bricks. ===== CHAPTER 1757 =====