Chapter 744: Cat Getan 1990

Cat Getan's early spring is far less gentle than in the wilderness. In this season of all things growing, the cold wind still howls here night after night.

But the sound of the wind outside the window cannot cover the sound of the roaring fireplace flames. Merkel, who was cold, added the firewood he had just taken from the warehouse back into the fireplace.

The flames made his shadow very long. In the hall without lights, the outline of every piece of furniture appeared and disappeared in the light and shadow of the flames.

Footsteps came from the stairs. Merkel got up and turned back. He walked quickly to Shiler who had just gone downstairs, took the coat from the clothes rack on the side, and after Shiler put on the coat, he picked up the black umbrella from the umbrella stand.

Merkel looked down at his watch and said: "Sir, tonight's opera doesn't start until nine o'clock. Do you have an appointment with someone?"

"That's right, someone made an appointment to have dinner with me at a restaurant next to the Grand Theater. He called the school directly to find me, so you don't know." Shiler straightened his tie in front of the mirror. Merkel picked up the duster and dusted off the floating dust on the corner of his clothes. He said: "It seems this is a modern gentleman. He made an appointment for dinner with you and actually called the school directly."

"That's right. After all, this year is 1990. New Year, new atmosphere. Many old orders should step down."

After speaking, Shiler walked out of the gate and got into a car that had been booked in advance. Through the car window, he could see that the road was unusually prosperous. The West District Manor area, which had already declined, became brightly lit again.

After the logistics business in Cat Getan developed better and better, corresponding supporting service facilities were also developing. The catering business in the East District was booming, especially those local restaurants that were not large in scale, and even slightly poor and dilapidated, became the favorites of wharf workers and truck drivers.

Restaurants near every logistics gathering area will have such characteristics: the ingredients may not be the best, but the quantity must be enough. If there is any own flavor and characteristics, it can be passed on by word of mouth among drivers, porters, construction workers, etc., then there is absolutely no need to worry about business.

Just when Shiler was sitting in the car, heading to the restaurant near the Grand Theater for an appointment, Cobblepot was also sitting in the car, heading from the North District to the East District, to prepare for the opening of the Iceberg Restaurant.

Before deciding to open a restaurant, he did a long investigation, so he chose the location in the East District.

Most of the restaurants here meet the criteria mentioned before. Sitting in the car, looking out the car window, the roads here are still a bit broken. Compared with the re-prosperous West District, there are no luxurious Gothic facades, no fancy fonts, no restaurant signs written in French, and no waiters in suits and leather shoes whose reflection is brighter than the lights.

Cobblepot saw that most of the restaurants here didn't have any decent facades. They were mostly transformed from the first floor of residential houses. There was a small round window for handing out food and a wooden door. There was a sunshade on the wooden door, and a sign was hung next to the sunshade, writing what was sold here.

French lamb chops and Italian desserts were not popular here at all. As the vehicle moved forward slowly and entered the most crowded commercial street, the most popular restaurant here was called "Anderson Old Street Steakhouse".

The steak here is not placed on an exquisite porcelain plate, cut open, showing a slight red and flowing juice, high-end steak. Cobblepot, who investigated the suppliers and supply channels, knew best that the old bastard Anderson was reluctant to buy good beef, he would only buy the cheapest one.

The steak here is not eating any original flavor. A dish here is very famous, called Old Street Secret Steak, which is pouring a large bowl of chili sauce on the steak. The secret chili sauce is the capital for Anderson to settle down here.

The small steakhouse only had less than ten tables, all of which were full of people at the moment, and many people were squatting outside the door to eat.

Cat Getan is cold and wet all year round, and the spicy food here is very popular. Cobblepot absorbed this advantage, found a Mexican to adjust the chili sauce for him, and at the same time, people engaged in physical labor always crave a large amount of meat and carbohydrates. The thicker and thicker the steak, the better. If you can have some juice to dip in bread, it would be even better.

Cobblepot recalled the menu of his restaurant. Of course, he didn't forget to put the large thick-cut steak with bread in the first place of the main course.

In the moment the car roared past, the "ding-a-ling" car bell rang. Cobblepot looked at the car window on the right. Outside a bakery, more than a dozen children were surrounding it. Some were moving boxes, some were packing bread, and some were counting milk.

Cobblepot had also done this kind of work for a period of time, just when his mother had just been hospitalized in a mental hospital. Of course, he went to deliver bread and milk, not just to earn money, but more importantly, to figure out the activity trajectory of these vendors.

His heart contained huge ambition. He hoped that these children could be used by him, and in the end, he did it. Now he is the well-deserved child king of Cat Getan.

It sounds like not a very mighty title, but Cat Getan locals know that the person who owns this title will definitely have a place in the upper layers of Cat Getan, and the foundation is more stable than anyone else.

In the process of logistics industry development, it is not that there has been no setback. The previous snow disaster gave a head-on blow to Cat Getan's newly developed industry, but this made the Cat Getan child gang develop better and better.

Snow blocked the door, the weather was cold, and the road was congested, unable to go out to work. Everyone stayed at home. So what about food, drink and firewood?

Most people will not choose to buy it themselves. On the one hand, they don't know which store has goods. If they brave the cold wind and spend so much effort to walk over, but are told that the goods have been sold out, isn't it a wasted trip?

On the other hand, in a city full of gangsters, an

But the children did not have this worry; they were naturally suited for this work. They knew better than anyone which bakery had stock, which route to take to get the freshest, warm milk, and where to buy seasonings, beer, and household goods.

The gangs did not care about this group of children, nor did they view their trespassing on their turf as a provocation. Moreover, the children knew too many back alleys, especially underground passages. As long as one paid a small errand fee, they could provide newspapers, bread, milk, beer—anything.

Cobblepot figured out their network in a very short time, and because the previous child king had been involved in the Constantine affair, he had now been sacrificed to the devil.

Afterward, several children's gangs fought very fiercely to compete for the throne of the child king. At the very beginning, Cobblepot, who had emerged halfway, faced questioning from many people.

However, the Penguin's ambition and intelligence were beyond doubt. He was able to successfully sit on the throne of the child king not just by relying on violence, but more importantly, because he could lead everyone to make money together.

No other child had his ability to organize all the children in Cat Getan, rearrange suitable positions and the most efficient routes for them, and double their daily earnings without causing conflicts over stealing customers.

Bakeries in the East End would sell milk as a side business. Every morning, fresh milk would be delivered from farms outside the city to the bakeries. The children could buy bread and milk directly there. Depending on the different customer groups, they might also need to go to tobacco shops and bars to buy cigarettes and beer, and stop by a newsstand to buy a newspaper.

Cobblepot set these items into different packages. If someone only bought bread and milk, the vendors would recommend adding a newspaper; if someone frequently bought cigarettes and beer, the vendors would recommend a breakfast package to them.

During the snowstorm before, when people were trapped at home, they had no choice but to drive these children to buy things. But after the habit was formed, they felt that this was indeed very convenient.

Every morning before they even got out of bed, hot milk and steaming bread were already waiting outside the door. Every evening when they wanted to drink, they could have a glass without having to go to a bar.

After a few months of this, the vast majority of Cat Getan citizens had already subscribed to the full packages.

For an ordinary family of three in the East End, breakfast would consist of a pre-ordered pound of plain white bread, a bottle of milk, and for those with better family conditions, two slices of bacon or ham, plus a newspaper.

As for those who liked to buy cigarettes and alcohol, they generally ordered the day before for delivery the next day, and the same went for household goods.

Although the East End was a slum, because Cat Getan's overall economic level was decent and supplies were relatively abundant, the people here were not so poor that they were starving. The biggest problems in Cat Getan's slums were the very poor living conditions, frequent water and power outages, and diseases caused by poor sanitation.

The renovation work of the Living Hell slums was proceeding very smoothly and had now reached the third phase. The entire perimeter of the Living Hell had been completely renovated, but when it was pushed to more distant areas, it encountered great resistance.

The living and sanitary conditions in the Living Hell had reached an unbearable point, but other places were actually not that severe. And because it had not reached the point of people starving to death, many people were not that urgent about improving their living environment, and many even felt that maintaining the status quo was fine.

A local who had lived here since childhood, had never read a book, and had almost never been in contact with the outside world, had no urgent need to improve their own life; after all, it wasn't as if they couldn't get by.