Chapter 2: I never joke

The fat owner looks at Lan Si, his smile not ferocious, but it gives people a feeling of looking down from a high position, "Before you anger me, you'd better roll over and wipe the floor again."

Hiring illegal labor, using illegal labor; if capitalists felt their conscience condemned by exploiting and oppressing workers, then they wouldn't have done so in the first place.

Everyone who can be called a capitalist, or a potential capitalist, must at least pass the test of their own conscience first.

The two stare at each other for a moment, Lan Si raises his hands and takes two steps back, "As you wish, sir,"

The fat owner is very satisfied with his performance at this moment, still smiling and nodding, "I like you calling me 'Boss', call me that from now on."

"As you wish, Boss."

The fat owner is satisfied and lets him leave, "Get out!"

Lan Si, having left, expressionlessly takes down the mop he just hung up, and then, while carrying a wooden bucket to get hot water, discovers the apprentice looking over from the doorway of the back hall.

His face wears an inexplicable... sense of superiority, as if he is mocking Lan Si.

Lan Si looks at him, and he stares back at Lan Si without giving way.

"I only need to give him three dollars this month, while you have to give him ten dollars!"

Just as the apprentice intends to say something, Lan Si doesn't give him the chance, "There is a saying in my hometown: a well-behaved dog will not block people from moving forward."

Subconsciously, the apprentice takes a step back, but his face immediately turns red.

Lan Si goes to the boiler room amidst his curses.

The bakery has a large oven, not the kind that is electric or for home use.

It is a large stove that burns firewood, and to make better use of heat resources, most ovens have a copper pipe arranged inside.

There is water in the copper pipe, and after the water is heated, the steam is introduced into the bottom of another water bucket along the water pipe; when the steam is squeezed out, it heats the water in the bucket.

This large bucket of water holds three hundred gallons; it is filled at four o'clock in the morning, boils around eight o'clock, and maintains a temperature of about ninety degrees until night.

To save on cleaning agents, the fat owner requires Lan Si to use almost boiling water to mop the floor.

For one thing, hot water can better clean the oil stains and clumped bread crumbs on the floor, which can save the fat owner a large amount of cleaning agent costs.

On the other hand, the floor will dry faster after being mopped with hot water.

Lan Si works hard on the floor that has clearly been wiped clean.

For the next two days, Lan Si silently does not resist the fat owner's difficulties; he indeed needs a place to stay now.

Leaving here is indeed very simple, but what to eat and where to rest after leaving will become problems, so he plans to consider leaving after having a more stable decision.

As for the exploitation and oppression received?

He will definitely retaliate; he is not the kind of character who suffers a loss and stays silent.

Weekend, past ten in the morning, business in the bakery is at its best.

Ever since the Federation began implementing the two-day weekend system a few years ago, there will always be a portion of people who can enjoy the good times of the weekend.

Taking a trip to the suburbs or having a meal together are both good choices; even the poor in the lower city have more opportunities and more choices.

Lan Si is sweating all over from the heat; he always has endless work to do.

Just as it approaches noon and the customers gradually decrease, suddenly the doorbell rings, and two people wearing shirts and vests, with duck-billed caps on, walk in.

These two don't look very old, probably only in their twenties; their faces are somewhat fierce, and their eyes are like knives, capable of making people feel panicked inside.

The fat owner in the corner immediately walks to the cash register; the two young men walk to the opposite side of the fat owner with light steps, one of them takes off his hat, pinches the brim of the duck-billed cap, and points it toward the fat owner.

The fat owner hurriedly pulls open the drawer of the cash register, takes out a stack of cash, counts out fifty dollars, and puts it in.

"Ten dollars more, the price has gone up," the slightly shorter young man says with a cold face.

The fat owner wants to say something, but in the end, says nothing, counts out five two-dollar bills, and puts them in.

The tall one next to him puts his duck-billed cap back on his head, casually takes a piece of bread worth twenty-five cents, and greets the fat owner with a smile before leaving.

Perhaps it is... because he is not strong and has a somewhat weak side that Lan Si saw, his face, which was originally obedient and somewhat aggrieved, immediately becomes distorted—

"How much longer are you going to stand there?"

"Don't you see there's so much work to do?"

"Remember what I said before, don't make me always shout at you, otherwise you will regret it!"

Looking at the fat owner's angry and embarrassed appearance, Lan Si just smiles and then continues his work.

Today might be the owner's unlucky day; this is not to say he died, but that his luck is not very good.

Past one in the afternoon is the worst time for business; the doorbell makes the drowsy Lan Si try to stay alert; the fat owner and his daughter have already gone for a nap.

They are clearly so fat, yet they still need to rest; perhaps this is the reason for their obesity.

Two police officers walk in, wearing crisp, handsome uniforms, the silver-gray police badge shining in the well-lit place.

"Two gentlemen, what would you like?"

"We have freshly baked donuts, the kind with double sugar."

"If you can buy a box, we can give you a cup of coffee for free."

The free coffee is coffee bean fragments bought for one dollar for six pounds; in normal processing, many coffee beans are crushed and then sifted.

The intact and larger ones are sold at the highest price.

And the lowest layer of coffee bean fragments mixed with some roasted branches or coffee bean husks is one dollar for six pounds.

This kind of coffee bean actually doesn't taste much different from the more expensive ones; of course, both are cheap goods.

Customers can't see clearly what kind of coffee it is; as long as the coffee isn't too hard to drink and there's a bargain to be had, there will always be people who accept it.

At this time, there is no one in the bakery; a fat police officer flips the "Open" sign over when entering the bakery and then guards the door.

Another tall and thin one walks to a chair and sits down, "Where's Jonny?"

Jonny is the fat owner's name; Lan Si tilts his head back, "Sleeping."

"Wake him up and tell him an old friend has come to see him."

Lan Si has no sense of belonging to this bakery; he can feel that this police officer has come to find trouble, and he is very happy to see the fat owner make a fool of himself.

He immediately runs to the break room and bangs on the door; not long after, Jonny's curses ring out in the room, and about two minutes later, the room door is suddenly pulled open, and he stands there angrily, "Are you dying, or what?"

"Don't you know that people age quickly if they don't sleep at noon?"

"If you don't have a suitable reason for disturbing my rest, I will deduct two dollars from you!"

Lan Si waits for him to finish venting his waking anger hysterically, and then points backward, "An old friend of yours is waiting for you; it's a police officer."

The fat owner's expression changes from anger to some unease in an instant; he touches his clothes, wanting to retreat back into the room, but in the end, walks out.

It can be seen that he wants to escape.

When the two return to the hall, the police officer is already enjoying the delicious bread.

He takes the most expensive bread and opens a box of high-end ham; watching him eat slowly gives people a feeling of absurdity.

It's as if... this is not his true face.

At least a police officer shouldn't be sitting in the dining area of a bakery, eating slowly and elegantly, during what is probably still his working hours.

"The bread is good, and the quality of the ham is also high; only your technique is the best nearby," the police officer praises, then stuffs the remaining bread into his mouth, chews a few times, swallows, and takes out a handkerchief to wipe the bread crumbs or oil stains that might remain on the corners of his mouth, "It's time to pay for this quarter."

When the fat owner speaks, he is careful, without the loud voice he uses when talking to Lan Si or the apprentice, "Isn't it supposed to be paid next month?"

January, April, July, October, the time for paying protection money every year.

Of course, they won't say it like that; this money is called "security guarantee money," paid to the police boss of this area, who will guarantee the safety of the merchants.

If someone robs a shop, they will try their best to catch the robber and get the money back, but it's only "try their best."

In fact, so far, at least thirty robberies and thefts have occurred on this street this year, and no one has been caught yet.

Some people say privately that they actually caught them, but swallowed the money.

It's not that no one has tried to resist, but the result of resistance hasn't been very good; almost every few days, they get stolen from.

One shop owner, in order not to be stolen from, lived in the shop at night, but encountered a thief that night and was stabbed and seriously injured.

No one has been caught yet!

Anyone who doesn't cooperate in paying money will always encounter various troubles; those who resist have to continue paying money, and have to pay more.

Only in this way can they operate business safely on this street.

The police officer tilts his head, "I've been taking care of you all these years, which has delayed my career advancement opportunities."

"Now there is a good choice; if it succeeds, I can directly enter the branch office."

"But I'm still short of some operating funds; you won't make things difficult for me, will you?"

The fat owner's lips move, but in the end, he still chooses not to resist, "I'll get it for you."

The police officer immediately reveals a sunny smile, "I knew you understood me best; if I enter the office, I can guarantee that you won't be harassed by gangs again."

No one believes this sentence.

Not long after, the fat owner comes over with two hundred dollars; perhaps Lan Si standing on the side gives the fat owner a little sense of security, so he is not driven away.

The police officer counts it; they are all ten-dollar and twenty-dollar large-denomination banknotes, and it doesn't take long to count them.

"Two hundred more, for half a year, this time."

The fat owner is shocked, "There has never been such a rule!"

The police officer puts the handkerchief he used to wipe his mouth, which has some stains on it, on the table, and stares straight at the fat owner, "There is now." ===== CHAPTER 3 =====