Chapter 743: Night Rain Elegy (Part 1)

In the evening of the coastal city, the sunset is always very brilliant. On the streets of the manor area, the lamp posts with complex vine patterns are illuminated in golden color. When the evening breeze blows over, a piece of paper posted on the lamp post is blown up and flutters, drawing a beautiful arc in the air, flying over the mottled walls of time, passing through the spires under the sunset light, and going down along the iron railings wrapped with patterns, and finally floating into the mailbox at the door of the manor, lying quietly at the bottom of the mailbox.

The hand that has been wearing leather gloves turned the lock of the mailbox, opened the door of the mailbox, and took out the paper. Looking at the content on the paper, Merkel exhaled a little excitedly, holding the paper in one hand, pushing open the door of the manor with the other hand, and then handed it to Schiller who was having dinner.

Schiller put down the newspaper in his hand, took the paper, glanced at it, raised his eyebrows and said, "What's going on? There are really theater companies willing to come to Gotham to perform Shakespeare? And it's 'Macbeth'?"

"Yes, sir, I knew you would be very happy. This is the most famous Angelica Theater in the Metropolitan. They are very popular throughout the East Coast. Their best play is Shakespeare's drama..."

Schiller looked at the paper. This is just a simplified version of the theater's repertoire list. It lists the name of the theater, the plays planned to be performed in the city, the main plays and other light comedies.

This simplified version of the repertoire list is also very Gotham-style. The main play is "Macbeth", one of Shakespeare's four tragedies. This is a play that Schiller likes very much.

But unfortunately, the theater companies that came to Gotham before were not able to perform Shakespeare's plays. Most of them were some after-dinner sketches or light comedies, not serious dramas at all. Since coming to Gotham, Schiller has not seen any serious drama.

"Quick, Merkel, call this theater group and buy me one... no, two tickets... no, no, no, besides Victor, lawyer Harvey should also like this play, buy him a ticket too, as for Sheriff Gordon... call him first to ask if he is free, and the Godfather, but I think he should be faster than me?"

Merkel took the simple play from Schiller, smiled and said: "Tomorrow, the news that you like Shakespeare's plays will spread throughout Gotham City... Oh, no, maybe tonight."

Schiller stood up from his chair and said: "I haven't been so happy since I came to this city. By the way, who are their leading actors? Is their backstage open? Can I meet the leading actors?"

"I'll ask for you." Merkel put the chair back in place, turned and walked towards the phone, and then said: "But as far as I know, the plays from the Metropolitan The troupe generally does not accept backstage visits, they want to maintain the mystery of the actors. "

"That's fine, although I know that the roles they play have nothing to do with themselves, and everything should stay on the stage, but I still like to communicate with these actors who play different roles. Their state of mind when playing certain roles can provide me with a lot of material..."

Schiller walked towards the door with very brisk steps. He said: "If you can get a detailed list of plays tonight, you must help me see which show "Macbeth" is scheduled. I hope it will be after lunch. I don't want it to be like those after-dinner sketches, attracting too many guys who can only laugh. "

Merkel made a reassuring gesture, and then saw Schiller took an umbrella and walked out of the gate of the manor. He called the driver, got in the car, crossed the streets of Gotham, and came to the front of the Iceberg Restaurant in the East District.

After he walked into the restaurant, he found that several children were practicing serving dishes. When they saw him coming in, they took a few steps back in fear, but then they remembered that they had seen Schiller before and that Schiller seemed to be a friend of their boss, so they froze in place and dared not move.

The leading child carefully put down the plate in his hand and ran upstairs. After a while, Cobert came down. Seeing Schiller, he asked in surprise: "Professor, why are you here?"

"I came to see your restaurant. How is the preparation going?"

"It's almost done. It will open within a week." Cobert walked down the spiral staircase, adjusted his tie, and said: "I'm planning to find someone to post notices and hand out flyers."

Cobert pointed to the table next to him. He and Schiller sat on both sides of the table. The waiter brought them two glasses of water, and the children huddled in the corner, staring at the two of them.

Neither Cobert nor Schiller paid attention to the children at all. They were discussing the opening of the Iceberg Restaurant.

"I think those newsboys and vendors will be able to provide you with great help. Just put an advertisement in the newspaper or the brown paper used to wrap bread, and soon the whole East District will know about your opening." Schiller said.

Cobblepot was stunned for a moment and said, "Put the advertisement in the newspaper? I was planning to ask them to deliver it specially..."

"Maybe it's okay in the East District, because most residents here don't have independent mailboxes, but if you want to promote in the West District, you can't ask them to deliver flyers alone, which is very rude." Schiller pointed out the loophole and said:

"Although I also think that these rules are somewhat unnecessary, the gentlemen in the West District think that this should be done. The playlists of the plays, the flower lists of the flower shops, and even the price lists of the bakeries can be sent to the mailbox separately, but the opening advertisements cannot be."

"Because it takes time to make these things, and then print them on a piece of colorful scented paper, it proves that these shops are opened for these gentlemen, and they will be happy to buy something."

"But if you directly put the opening advertisement into their mailbox, write that it is a restaurant in the East District, and attach a menu, they will think you are humiliating them. If they see your name again, they may think you are a gangster forcing them to support you."

Cobert nodded thoughtfully and said, "That's right, they may want to see some complex dishes on the menu instead of simple steaks or bread."

"This building has seven floors. Don't you have a VIP room or something?" Schiller said, looking at the ceiling of the hall.

I, Copperbot, choked and said, "I don't quite understand how to...how to get along with them, I mean, to deal with people of your class..."

Schiller smiled and said, "Before, when you were an umbrella boy, didn't you see it all? Don't you know how celebrities behave?"

"Yes..." Copperbot nodded and said, "But when I really started to prepare the restaurant, I found that things were not as simple as I thought."

"I guess you want too much." Schiller turned his head and looked out the window and said, "You should know that logistics production The gathering of labor brought by the development of the industry will bring you a lot of wealth. "

"For example, most of the restaurants in the manor area are magnificent, and each one has an exquisite facade. The people who go in and out of there are either rich or noble, but they may not make as much money as the most popular restaurants in the East District."

"Many of these restaurants are even losing money. If they were not supported by the twelve families behind them, they would have closed down long ago. The sales of those precious ingredients are not high, and they are very difficult to preserve. Once they are not handled well, they will ruin their reputation. It can be said that it is a thankless task."

"But on the contrary, these restaurants in the East District that make small profits but quick turnover are The restaurant has a large amount of US dollars in revenue every day. The ingredients are simple and easy to handle. The taste of customers is not that picky. If the quantity is large and full, almost everyone will give good reviews. In addition, it is adjacent to the dock and has a large flow of customers. Those bosses all make a fortune. "

"Seeing this situation, of course you want to get a piece of the pie. We all know that if there is a patient at home, you are always short of money..." Schiller took a sip of water and then continued:

"But at the same time, you want to realize your ambition. You want to climb up and get in touch with people of higher class. So, you chose this mansion as the location of the restaurant because the facilities here are sufficient. It is luxurious enough to attract the twelve families and those in the rich district. "

"But many times, the two types of customers are in conflict. The rich gentlemen want precious and special ingredients to show their wealth and taste, but the large number of customers here only want to be full. Different customers naturally require different ways of dealing with them, but there is only one restaurant. Haven't you figured out how to distribute them?"

Cobolt seemed a little embarrassed. When he was young, he did come into contact with the upper class of Gotham, but with the death of his father and the decline of the Oswald family, he has become no different from the lower class people in Gotham.

He didn't know what the most popular topic in the rich district was now, how to deal with those strange rules, and how to integrate into this circle.

"Should I not put the two together?" Cobolt frowned and began to doubt his original decision. He did plan to do so.

The flow of people in the East District can bring him a lot of money, and the geographical location and former role of the mansion itself can attract upper-class guests for him. This is a good thing to kill two birds with one stone.

But when it comes to practice, you will find that there are still many problems. For example, those rich people are very pretentious. They will never want to go to a restaurant where dock workers and porters are welcome, let alone eat with them.

Moreover, what they eat is different from ordinary people. They are willing to spend a lot of money to buy some precious ingredients, even if they are not very delicious, as long as they are rare and difficult to preserve, but those workers are just the opposite.

If you want to receive a large number of people, the first floor lobby must be converted into a restaurant. If you want to attract rich people, you have to leave a ballroom for dances. There is only one restaurant, and it is difficult to balance these two sides.

Schiller put his hands on the table, looked into Cobert's eyes and said: "Are you doubting your previous decision? Do you think these two sides are actually incompatible? But I think they can."

"If you are my student, you should have learned this knowledge in the previous few days of class-where does people's sense of superiority come from?"

Cobert frowned, he began to think, and then he thought of something, but it was difficult to express it in systematic language.

"People's sense of superiority comes from comparison. You don't have to be the richest person in the world, but you just need to be richer than most other people. You don't even have to be richer than most people, as long as you are richer than your neighbors."

"This is human nature, and it is almost impossible to change. Even those who are indifferent to fame and fortune will feel happy because of their victory in comparison."

"As for the restaurant, there is now a basis for making comparisons. This mansion was originally open only to the upper class. Once ordinary people receive your flyers, they will feel curious and will come to see it even if they don't come to eat."

"In the early days of opening, you A large number of customers will gather. According to my observation, this restaurant should not be able to accommodate them. A large number of customers may cause queues. As long as you can ensure public security and let them queue outside your restaurant honestly, these people will be the basis for you to create comparisons. "

"On this basis, you can send invitations to those celebrities and take the VIP channel to the VIP room on the upper floor."

"When they come here, they will see that those who are not as good as them can only queue outside in the wind and rain, while they can be surrounded by waiters and enter the luxurious private rooms. This is a victory of comparison and an affirmation of their wealth and status."

"Perhaps, you can build a passage to let these celebrities pass through the queue, or let them see directly and let them have some limited close contact."

"But..." Cobert raised an objection: "As far as I know, those gentlemen don't like dock workers. They think those coolies have a bad smell, and even frown when they see them from a distance."

"Yes, they may complain about this in the magnificent private room, and may complain about it for a whole dinner, saying that you really don't know how to do business, that those people have defiled their suits, and that they feel disgusted even looking at them. . "

"But these complaints actually strengthen the psychological suggestion. In order to show their difference from the common people, they will tend to order more expensive dishes, eat food that those people can't afford, and open wine that those people can't afford, and then use this as a topic of conversation to show off to their companions. "

"They will even use you as a topic of conversation, thinking that if they open such a restaurant, they will definitely make a wiser choice than you, and will definitely kick those people out and only keep the richest and most prestigious customers. "

"But does it matter? Cobert, are you angry about this? Will you feel humiliated for their views? "Schiller asked.

Kobat shook his head and said, "Of course not. I don't care what they say. I only care about how much money they spend here, how many times they come here in a week, and who they come with each time..."

"Sometimes, in interpersonal relationships, playing a fool is not a completely bad thing." Schiller looked at Cobert and said, "Becoming the topic of others' conversation may make you look like a clown, but at least your name will spread among this class, and letting everyone remember you is the first step to climb up."

From beginning to end, Cobert's eyes were bright. He didn't know why Schiller understood all this. He didn't know whether this understanding came from Schiller himself or from the subject he studied. "

As his interactions with Schiller deepened, Cobblepot always felt that he was more and more interested in psychology. For this reason, he would even go to the school of living hell to listen to classes in his busy schedule, and even look at the registration information of high school.

His relatively simple worldview made him feel that as long as he could learn these theories, he could win in the most concise and fast way, just like cheating in gambling. This was what he liked to do most.

Cobblepot imagined the future, but then he said: "I have been away from this class for too long. I really don't understand them. Fortunately, you, professor, otherwise, I really want to put the advertisement in their mailbox, which will start a bad start..."

Just then, Schiller took out a well-folded piece of paper from his coat pocket, handed it to Cobblepot, and then said: "...You should see this."

"What is this? The repertoire of the Metropolitan Angelica Theater... Is the drama company coming to Gotham to perform? "Cobert frowned, looking at the series of dramas, feeling clueless.

"If you want to open the door to a certain class, you must first get a stepping stone. If you can participate in a hot topic, you can naturally promote your restaurant in a new way."

Cobert recalled: "When I was very young, my parents also went to the theater to watch performances, but it was very dark there. I don't remember what was on the stage at all. I only remember that my father was always talking to his neighbor."

"Yes, this is the meaning of going to the theater. In fact, I already know the plot of many dramas and have watched them many times, but I will go to watch them with different friends and discuss the plot, the performance of the actors, the strength of the troupe, etc. There are too many topics to talk about. "

"Should I go to see this play?" Cobblepot stared at the playlist and said, "But I have never read this book or this play. If I don't understand the plot at once, how can I participate in their topic?"

"It's better if you don't understand, or even if you do understand, you should pretend not to understand." Schiller took another sip of water and said, "You can bring up this topic, and then ask them questions you don't understand. They will definitely explain it to you very enthusiastically. If you bring up some topics like movies and TV series, it will make them look more tasteful."

Cobblepot was communicating with Schiller and thinking at the same time. Before he knew it, the night fell.

Schiller looked down at his watch and said, "It's getting late. I may have to go to Wayne Manor. After all, it's not as easy for him to solve the problems of those children as it is for you."

When Bruce was mentioned, Cobblepot's face became a little bad. He said, "I can even imagine what the situation is like over there."

When Schiller left the Iceberg Restaurant, it was completely dark. It was drizzling again. The car lights were like neon lights in the refraction of the rain.

When Schiller arrived at Wayne Manor, Alfred did not come out to pick him up. This was not normal. The old butler almost never left here.

Schiller walked into the hall of Wayne Manor by himself. There was no light in the hall. Only the fire in the fireplace was flickering faintly. The firewood had burned out and the flame was about to go out.

Suddenly, a noise came from behind. Schiller turned his head and saw Bruce Wayne, who was drunk on the sofa.

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