Chapter 7: Starting from following the rules

Under the shade of the trees on the roadside, Lan Si looks at Ethan, "Is it a bit uncomfortable?"

Ethan shakes his head, insincerely, "No."

Actually, Lan Si can see that he is uncomfortable in his heart, just not saying it.

"I worked hard for a month, but that son of a bitch planned to swallow even my share; I beat him, and now I have to apologize to him..."

When Lan Si says these words, Ethan looks up at Lan Si with an unbelievable, seen-through gaze.

"Don't look at me like that; I don't know what you are thinking, I'm just a young man."

"I am often the same as you, always feeling that face is more important than other things, but Ethan, this is the Federation."

He looks up and uses his nose to suck in a few breaths of air, "Did you smell it?"

Ethan and Erwin also look up and suck, Erwin doesn't speak, Ethan is honest, "Sea fishy smell, bad smell, and a little machine oil smell."

"No!", Lan Si denies his discoveries, "It's the smell of money, and power!"

"This is a good place, Ethan, good to the point that as long as you have money, you can do everything you want to do, but the premise is, you have to have money."

"Do you have money?", Ethan shakes his head, Lan Si pats his arm, "So you can't do whatever you want to do, whether it's beating that son of a bitch, or doing other things."

"The reason I let you apologize is that I don't hope this matter expands.", he glances at Erwin beside him.

"The number of work cards on the wharf is just that many, but every day outside the wharf, there are countless people like us who don't have work cards waiting to work."

"If that bastard distorts this matter a little and spreads it out, Ethan, New Jincheng will have no space for you to survive."

"People won't give work opportunities to someone who will beat the employer at any time; giving others the same fifteen dollars, why give it to you, because they want to be beaten?"

"You can take all his money, but this also means that next, you, or even you guys, won't find work on the wharf."

"We are too easy to recognize, they can distinguish us from other races, so this is the lesson I give you today, rules."

"Only take what we should take; as long as we follow the rules, no one can use rules to attack us."

"If he doesn't mess around, doesn't mess around, no one will know what happened, and it won't have any impact on you."

"But if he messes around, the person who makes the rules will solve him; it is he who triggered unnecessary riots."

"This is not the Empire; you can tell your parents, your uncles and aunts when you are wronged, and they will stand up for you."

"Here, we have to carry it ourselves."

Lan Si turns to look at Erwin and presses on his shoulder, "Ethan sometimes has a bad brain, you watch him more, just mix through this period of time first."

The things that happened during this period made Erwin admire Lan Si very much, and he obeyed his words almost unconditionally.

"I will."

Lan Si nods, "If you have anything unclear, don't understand, tell me now."

"We crossed the ocean to come here, we flow with the same blood of ancestors, we are brothers, we should talk about everything, should be united together."

Ethan lowers his head for a long time and says a "thank you."

Lan Si smiles and gives him a punch in the chest, but his body doesn't move at all, strong like a little calf!

"Okay, I should go back too; if you have any things, don't be impulsive, come to me."

"Even if one day you want to kill someone, you must come to me before doing this kind of stupid thing; don't use your life to joke!"

He pats Erwin's arm again and leaves by car.

Seeing Lan Si leave, Erwin rolls his eyes and says to Ethan, "Do you know what happened today?"

Ethan scratches his head, a bit embarrassed, "Dragged you guys down."

Erwin waves his hand, "We are brothers, fellow villagers, Lan Si said it very correctly, we should be united together."

Then he talks about the things that happened after Ethan hid, when he heard that a batch of little friends who came on the same ship gathered money for him, and even two fellow villagers who didn't know him also gathered three dollars.

Ethan cried!

He was very moved, and a bit guilty, because he did very stupid things and let everyone bear a debt.

Now when guilt begins to impact that kind of shy and annoyed emotion, making reason return and becoming calm, he has realized how stupid it was to beat that son of a bitch impulsively.

"... So, the most urgent thing for us now is to pay back this money first."

"The good news is that I have seventy-something dollars here, so what we are missing now is actually not much..."

In the car, the prosperous street scene on the roadside constantly retreats backward; Lan Si sits in the passenger seat, "Do you have cigarettes? Fudisi?"

Fudisi glances at him sideways, "You should add 'sir'!", but he still pulls open the storage compartment on the center console, inside is a pack of cigarettes.

Lan Si takes one out, takes out a match and lights it, and takes a deep breath.

Thick smoke, accompanied by the fragrance of time full of years in summer, is sucked into the lungs together; what the alveoli filter is not tar and harmful substances, but time, is years, is history!

His right elbow is pressed on the open car window, half leaning out his head, the hot summer wind blows toward his face, messing up his hair, and also blowing into his heart.

New world, new life, new beginning!

A smile on his face that is always calm and composed, a smile from the heart; what made him come here, then treat this world as a canvas, and go to draw his own wild imagination!

Four fifty-five, the car stops outside the bakery; when Lan Si gets off with Fudisi, the fat owner's eyes are almost popping out!

He hesitates, surprised and suspicious, "Lan Si, you didn't cause me any trouble, did you?"

"This gentleman is..."

Lan Si is a black household, smuggled over; the fat owner confirmed this point long ago, otherwise a normal person couldn't work a job for only ten-something dollars a month, even if it was a child laborer.

The Federation has never banned child labor, just stipulated shorter working hours, and also required the payment of corresponding wages.

Lan Si has nothing, work card, social security number, so he is a black household.

A black household sitting in a luxury car and returning, this cannot but make the fat owner feel doubt, and a trace of unease.

Lan Si doesn't confuse certain things, "A new friend, Mr. Fudisi, bought some bread on the way back."

"I shouldn't be late, right?"

Without figuring out what the identity of this "Mr. Fudisi" is, the fat owner will perform more restrained, "Of course, I was just joking with you."

He pauses, "Go change your apron quickly, I'll entertain Mr. Fudisi."

Looking at the clothes on this gentleman, it is obviously not cheap.

There is no middle class who understands these things better; they might not have them, but they must know a lot!

Otherwise, who would sell those magazines?

Sell to rich people who don't blink when spending money?

"Lan Si is a very hardworking young man; even if it's a floor that has just been brushed, as long as he is free, he will brush it again."

"I have always taken him as an example to tell others how excellent he is."

"But he is a bit introverted in social interaction; he has never told me that he knows such a big person here."

"Can you tell me how you met?"

Very clumsy inquiry technique; Fudisi glances at him sideways and doesn't speak, entering the bakery.

Although the fat owner is a bit annoyed, looking at the brand-new car and the high-end clothing fabric, the smile on his face has not disappeared.

Perhaps realizing that this guy is not interested in himself, he doesn't lean forward anymore, "Lan Si, introduce our shop's food to your friend."

Lan Si, who has changed into an apron, stands behind the counter; the appearance after changing clothes makes Fudisi feel a bit funny, "So... what do you plan to recommend to me?"

Lan Si pulls open the display window, "The only thing here that I think is related to delicious is this high-end ham from Musuli Island."

Musuli Island is a bit far from here, another country, because of the special climate and geographical environment, Musuli Island produces three things.

Tobacco.

Ham.

Women.

Lan Si picks up tweezers and pinches a piece, handing it over; Fudisi pinches it with his fingers, stuffs it into his mouth, and feels it, then shakes his head, "Not authentic Su-style ham, can only say barely make do."

"If this is the best..."

He glances at the fat owner in the corner, "Give me two portions, and two more breads that can match it; do you have donuts?"

"Yes, buy a box of donuts and get a cup of coffee for free; if you are interested in roasted wood residue, I can give you another cup."

Fudisi closes his eyes as if there is a dizzy illusion, "So this is how you fool customers?"

Lan Si, while packing food, jokes with a smile, "Ninety-nine percent of the customers who come here just want to fill their stomachs; they only care about the price, not the taste or origin."

He packs the things into a paper bag and puts it on the counter, "Six dollars and ninety-nine cents."

A box of donuts is ninety-nine cents, and a cup of coffee is given away.

Two portions of the best ham add up to five dollars, and two portions of better bread are one dollar; the price is very fair.

Holding his own food, Fudisi pays the fee, and incidentally reminds, "Don't forget the deal between you and the boss!"

Saying this, he glances at the fat owner again, and amidst the smile squeezed out by the fat owner, pushes the door and goes out. ===== CHAPTER 8 =====