Chapter 541 Planning and Soliciting

At five o'clock in the morning, a few ox cart drivers came with dogs, and the herd of livestock gathered around the fire to keep warm, which made the stall owner very uncomfortable.

However, these coachmen are not good people. They grouped together and reported to the group for warmth, forming an organization similar to a gang, so the aunt forcibly held back and chopped eels silently.

After a while, a large number of prostitutes also gathered, some left with the night shift workers, and some followed the men who had just crawled out of the bar.

The same goes for the girl who attracted Lu Li's attention, an old man took her away.

click... click...

The high boots that slammed on the ground, the silver inlaid cane in his hand, and the carriage parked outside the small square all showed that the old man was rich.

Why not do business?

Always live.

Not far away, Lu Li took a look at the sky still shrouded in thick fog, and decided to leave.

After the midterm exam, when they entered the world of plots, the principal no longer assigned them main tasks, and they relied on their own subjective initiative.

Living in London is not easy.

The originally empty main road became lively, and office workers began to go to work.

This is the case every morning. If you look down from a high place, you can clearly see a thick black line extending from the suburbs to the center of the financial city.

And before night falls, this black line will appear again, go in the opposite direction, and disperse to their original place——

Thousands of migrant workers commute to and from get off work steadily, wearing white scarves and dark trench coats, looking solemn.

And Lu Li went with them.

financial city.

Located on the east side of the famous St. Paul's Cathedral in London, with an area of ​​only one square mile, it gathers a large number of financial institutions such as banks, stock exchanges, and gold markets.

And passing through the financial city is Westminster, also known as Westminster City, where Lu Li wants to settle down.

For three months, there must be a place to stay. Besides, how the next plan will unfold depends on this link.

Open a small clinic?

After substituting the identity, the benefit of automatically obtaining relevant skills has not been cancelled, so Lu Li can become a doctor and live a middle-class life.

You know, no matter which country you are in, doctors and lawyers are decent jobs.

However, in comparison, Lu Li was more inclined to open a detective agency.

May I ask what profession is more suitable for inquiring about news than a detective?

Moreover, regarding his first role, Lu Li has always had an inexplicable emotion in his heart.

[When you come to the Victorian era, you must be a detective. If you can, you'd better "write" a few more literary masterpieces and become a great writer, so that Her Majesty the Queen can personally confer a knighthood on yourself. 】

"Gentlemen, would you like a ride?"

"Gentlemen, would you like a ride?"

On the street, the coachman yelled three times in a row, interrupting Lu Li's reverie.

This is a public vehicle, which can seat about twenty passengers, and is driven by three horses. The toll ranges from 1p to 2s. 6p, not including bridge tolls and toll roads.

Frankly speaking, Lu Li felt a little regretful that he didn't bring a black-maned horse. It wasn't to save time. In fact, pedestrians passed through most of the streets 24 hours a day, especially the main roads, so it was impossible for a horse to gallop.

The reason why I think of mounts is because there are a lot of dung on the road, ox carts, horse carts, these livestock are excreting all the time, if you don’t pay attention, you will be tricked.

Even Lu Li, in such a dense crowd, had to be careful not to step on anything.

Not only that, London in the morning rush hour is extremely noisy, and the ears are filled with voices, men, women, children, carriages, wagons, carts, bells, all kinds of noises.

When stepping into the center of London, the world becomes quiet again. The Lawyers’ Hall—the Lincoln’s Hall—the Gray’s Hall—

Each guild hall has several buildings, which contain restaurants, gardens, chapels, libraries, and some meeting rooms. Many decisions that affect the world economy come from this.

However, this prosperity does not belong to Lu Li for the time being. He is looking for a newsstand, but it is a pity that this thing is not located in this area.

When Lu Li was about to move forward, the newsboy's childish voice sounded:

"The Times, The Times—the Times today! The Morning Chronicle! The Post! The Advertiser! The Illustrated London News!"

"Who wants today's newspaper? Sir, newspaper! News, news! Newspaper, newspaper, newspaper!"

In the crowd, a pair of immature hands swayed wildly, trying to attract as many guests as possible.

Lu Li, who has only been in this world for seven hours, is still very unfamiliar with the phenomenon of "two streams" and doesn't have much experience——

One is five or six feet above the sidewalk and one is two feet below the sidewalk.

That is, adults and children.

The latter infiltrated every street in the West End and the Financial City. They set off from home early in the morning, first went to the newsagents to pick up the pre-bound newspapers, then took the first mail van to the post office, and then picked up the exclusive big board , Tie up as many newspapers as possible, and sell them on the street.

"A copy of The Times."

Lu Li looked at the few newspapers left on the big wooden board, and said, "A copy of "The Advertiser."

The former records the news of London and the whole world, from anecdotes to political economy, so that you can better understand your own situation.

The latter, mainly advertising, is probably the earliest commercial newspaper with comprehensive information.

"A total of 11 pence." The newspaper boy stood on tiptoe and skillfully removed the newspaper from the wooden board.

Since he didn't have much change left, Lu Li could only use British pounds, and he only had nine coins in total.

It is worth mentioning that although it is the time of Queen Victoria, the currency system is different from the original history and is not so complicated.

Pennies, copper coins.

Shillings, silver coins.

Pound sterling, gold coins.

A pound equals twenty shillings, a shilling equals twelvepence, supplemented by grotes (fourpence), florins (two shillings), crowns (five shillings).

Just like that, Lu Li got a lot of change and two stacks of newspapers.

[The city council voted 8 in favor, 2 against, and 1 abstention to abolish the "Police Act Article 13". Title 13 allows (but does not require) police to clear itinerant hawkers in order to keep roads and sidewalks clear of goods or obstructions. 】

[A congressman proposes to reduce the daily working hours from 16 hours to 14 hours, and the labor wages remain unchanged. This motion was criticized by most of the members ——]

[A congressman proposed to lift the ban on working hours (16 hours), allowing workers to work overtime voluntarily in order to earn more labor remuneration. This motion was approved by the majority of members ——]

Standing on the side of the street and looking for a long time, Lu Li couldn't find the information he was looking for.

Why didn't you mention the weird event?

Judging from the current experience, this world couldn't be more normal, and there is no danger at all.

But... the headmaster never bluffed.

To stay away from the fog city is to stay away from death.

This is a sentence on the blackboard that is worth pondering.

"Dear sir, would you like to shine your shoes?"

Lu Li was standing by the lamp post outside the sidewalk, silently reading the newspaper.

Because of this, a shoe boy was attracted to him. He held a wooden stool in his hand and an extra-large suitcase on his back. He looked at Lu Li expectantly:

"For a penny, I can shine your shoes and dust your trouser legs."

"All right."

Hearing this, Lu Li folded up the worthless share and put it under his arm.

There is neither the desired information nor the notice of missing persons. It is estimated that Pan Ming and Duke are also worrying about the next step.

"Is this your first time in London?"

"No, I lived here a long time ago."

Shoeboys in red coats are putting solid shoe polish on while chatting with customers.

Lu Li, on the other hand, was sitting on a small chair, responding one after another, and at the same time, his eyes moved on various advertisements.

[Westminster, Marylebone District, No. 23 Baker Street, for lease, a single-family house with two floors, two rooms upstairs, a living room, a bathroom, a small balcony, and a restaurant downstairs. A kitchen, an antechamber that can be used for business, and basement storage...

There is no private lawn, but there is a public garden in front of it. The environment is beautiful. It can be rented out for one, two or three years. Short-term rentals are not accepted, starting at least three months, and the weekly rent is 12 shillings. If you are interested, please go to No. 1 Baker Street a, find Mr. Johnny]

Soon, Lu Li locked on a good place.

Baker Street?

I miss it very much.

The fictional Mr. Holmes lives there. If there is such a person in this world, he should live in No. 221b.

In addition, during the first entrance exam, Lu Li lived there, and the house number was: No. 4c.

Now, this street appeared in front of Lu Li again, still in this way, which made people feel emotional.

only……

At twelve shillings a week, the three months amounted to one hundred and fifty-six shillings, which was just the minimum.

As for Lu Li's money, it was only nine pounds, equivalent to one hundred and eighty shillings.

Is there such a thing as betting one pay three in this day and age?

After renting a house, what will you eat in the next three months?

How to engage in activity funds?

Of course, the latter two can be easily solved. Kidnapping a black-hearted capitalist does not require any high ransom, just knocking out and taking away the wallet.

As for whether the conscience will hurt?

does not exist!

The 16-hour working system is enough to be insane. I didn't expect the councilors to plan to increase the time. The donkeys in the production team didn't work so hard.

Moreover, the meager returns in exchange are only enough for workers to barely support their families.

Based on this alone, capitalists should be suspended from street lamps and have a taste of the iron fist of justice!

"Sir, all right."

Just as he was thinking, the timid voice of the shoe boy rang in Lu Li's ears. He had already finished work and was packing up shoe polish, brushes, and cotton towels.

Look down.

A pair of shiny boots can be seen, and all the mud spots on the trouser legs have disappeared.

"Hard."

Lu Li hesitated to speak. After all, before renting a house and settling down, he should not be too generous.

"Have lunch together?"

He looked at the sun that had already risen in the sky, and said, "I haven't been back to London for a long time, and I feel that it has changed too much, so I want to ask someone."

It doesn't cost much to have a lunch on the street, even if you go out to a restaurant, as long as you don't pay too much attention, you can afford it.

The little shoe boy was stunned for a moment, and immediately agreed.

He walks the streets and alleys every day, dealing with all kinds of people, and the news is really well-informed.

Pay - return.

In addition, Lu Li's motives were very simple, so the shoe boy felt that this meal could be eaten.

A few minutes later.

The two came to a small restaurant.

The place is not big, barely able to accommodate eight square tables, and at the same time, the hotel business is also run upstairs.

Michael Alder, the little newsboy, ordered a pudding with raisins, and then, under Lu Li's signal, ordered two more cold Italian sausages.

Then, no matter what Lu Li said, the kid stopped ordering and kept waving his hands:

"Enough is enough. The pudding can only be half eaten at most. I can even save it for dinner."

Seeing this, Lu Li stopped insisting, and said to the waitress whose chest was proportional to her age:

"Another plate of red beef and a glass of beer."

"It's a shilling. There's no charge for beer. You'll pay after the food is served."

After finishing the words, the waitress twisted the waist of the bucket and left.

In the next free time, Lu Li began to attack the child in front of him.

With his kind and amiable attitude, the clever words that linger in his ears, and the sumptuous lunch that is about to be served, Mi Gao feels that he has met a kind person.

"I can shine twenty pairs of shoes a day, and I get twenty pence, of which a third goes to the shoe shine society, another third is used for daily life, and the remaining third is deposited into a savings account, You can take it out when you are sixteen."

"The president is very nice. I have observed that I abide by the rules. I have never paid a lot of money. I honestly report my income every day, so I will allocate this area near the financial city to me. As long as I am willing to work, it will be profitable."

"Association? It's an official organization. There are more than a hundred boys in total. Some of their mothers live near their workplaces, working as washerwomen, street vendors, and cleaners. They will eat with their families at noon and come out to shine shoes in the afternoon."

"But more people don't have a mother. I am one of them. I eat bread worth a penny on the street every day, or eat baked potatoes and drink coffee at the stall. If I am too tired, or if I am scolded by customers, I will eat meat. pie."

"Abode? Father Tony in the church is very nice. He let me sleep in the boiler room, which is very warm in winter."

Mi Gao is like a chatterbox, talking about the past, happy, sad, and everything.

In his memory, there is no concept of a father, and his mother couldn't bear the neighbor's pointing and the abuse of the guests, so she committed suicide by jumping into the river the year before last.

And Lu Li was like a ray of light, illuminating his world.

Face to face, around the fireplace, with rich food in front of you, listening patiently, and patting the shoulders for encouragement from time to time...

In fact, not only Mi Gao thought so, but the guests next to him felt that if the difference in hair color was ignored, the two should be father and son.

"Son, would you like to come with me?"

Lu Li sighed inwardly, rubbed Mi Gao's short chestnut hair, and said with a smile:

"As you can see, I'm a doctor. I just came back from Atlantic City yesterday and I'm looking for a place to settle down. By the way, I'm looking for a guy who is familiar with the environment to help open the clinic."

At first, Lu Li wanted to beat around the bush and find out if there were any scary legends, rumors, or strange murders in Wudu City recently.

But after listening to the child's narration, he still couldn't hold back and broke his defense.

More mouths to eat...

In addition, who stipulated that clinics and detective agencies cannot be opened together?