Chapter 2 Interesting Work
The owners of the hotel are a middle-aged couple with good looks. The husband is leaning on the bar and reading the latest "Strand Street" magazine, and the wife is sitting and relaxing and sipping coffee.
They seemed to recognize Watson as a war-wounded hero, and their service attitude was very enthusiastic and they even gave him a favorable discount.
Watson once again declined the boss's offer to help carry the luggage and insisted on going upstairs alone.
This hotel was converted from a private residence, so the layout of the rooms varies in size. Perhaps because of the off-season, there are not many guests at the moment.
He chose a guest room on the top floor. The room was not big, but it was very clean. Even the washed white bedding always smelled of the plum rain that had not been exposed to the sun for a long time.
This is one of the downsides of living in London.
Watson unloaded his luggage, put his cane next to the bed, and tried to move his left leg. There was still no improvement. Not to mention running wildly, he could only walk slowly and hesitantly.
This made him feel a little pessimistic.
Originally, apart from his more cutting-edge ideas, the only thing I could rely on was my combat experience in the army, and I could have used this to find a hard-working job.
Now that one leg is partially disabled, I am afraid it will be difficult to apply for a job as a bar janitor.
Watson sighed, feeling that his future seemed a bit gloomy. If he really couldn't find a suitable job, it seemed that he would have no choice but to return to his old profession.
However, is there any job in London that requires skills such as infiltration behind enemy lines, assault beheading, subversion and rioting...
After many days of traveling and traveling, he was now a little tired. He lay on the bed and fell asleep listening to the sound of carriages coming from outside the window from time to time.
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The next morning, Watson was drinking tea and chatting with the landlord and his wife downstairs. He drank black tea produced by Sam, with fresh milk added to it, which had a strong taste with a bit of milky sweetness.
There was a heavy rain in London this morning, and the road was a little muddy. The Stanford family's carriage drove up to the hotel as scheduled, splashing mud flowers.
Watson said goodbye to the landlady and his wife, picked up his cane and entered the carriage.
They took the car to the Holborn Restaurant, where little Stanford had already reserved a quiet seat.
Little Stanford ordered the dishes skillfully, shook the wine that had already sobered up in the glass, and stared at the buried war hero in front of him, "Watson, what are your plans to return to London?"
This is really a sleepy moment. There is no talent recruitment market in this backward era. Watson is worried about where to find a job.
"I'm thinking about finding a suitable job. Do you have any recommendations?"
Little Stanford laughed, drank the wine in one gulp, patted his chest and said confidently: "You have really asked the right person. Our Stanford family still has some connections in London, so feel free to speak out your request boldly. , I will definitely make arrangements for you.”
Watson nodded, knowing that the other party was not talking nonsense. Although the Stanford family was not a relative of the royal family, they were considered aristocrats with a long history in London.
But in fact, he himself has no specific goals.
"Actually, I haven't thought about it. I generally want to find an interesting job that is not so boring, where I can often be exposed to new things, which is exciting but not dangerous, and which is mentally and physically challenging."
This answer was somewhat beyond Stanford's expectations. He originally thought that Watson would want to find a job related to his military experience, at least so that he would not waste his battlefield skills. Now the rhetoric prepared in advance cannot be thrown out smoothly.
Interesting, exciting, challenging... Little Stanford lowered his head and murmured these needs, falling into deep thought.
After a moment, he suddenly clapped his hands with his fist and shouted excitedly: "Yes! I've thought of a job that meets your requirements!"
"Oh! What kind of job is it?"
Watson was also a little surprised. After all, after he made a lot of requests, he didn't know the details.
"How about a private detective?!"
Young Stanford explained: "London is currently the most advanced city in the world, attracting countless immigrants. The dense population is a breeding ground for crime. Now the authorities' peacekeeping police force is seriously insufficient, and difficult cases emerge one after another. Especially among the nobility. Among them, some cases are not suitable for disclosure to the public, and most of them will choose trustworthy private detectives to investigate.”
"Watson, if you open a private detective agency, you don't need to sit in an office all day long and do repetitive work. You can also often see the unimaginable things among the nobles. Moreover, the process of solving cases is also extremely challenging. Wouldn't it be just satisfying? Watson your request!"
Private detective... When Watson first heard about this profession, the first thing that came to his mind was the Shinigami elementary school student and Curly Fu.
He wanted to shake his head in denial, but after careful consideration, he found that what little Stanford said seemed to make sense. In addition to the boring process of staying on site, this private detective also followed and arrested suspects, investigated cases, and reasoned... These seemed to be in line with what he had said earlier. mentioned requirements.
And this is also the time when detective culture is on the rise.
The most important point is that Watson was once a real fan of mystery novels, and he did have a great interest in the detective industry.
And if you become a detective, you will definitely encounter many cruel damn criminals, so... it is reasonable and legal for me to use them to vent my inner murderous desire.
"good idea!"
Watson admired sincerely.
"However, it must be difficult for this industry to trust a stranger like me, especially since I have no experience working within the police station. If I directly open a detective agency, I might not be able to attract customers."
Little Stanford waved his hand, "It doesn't matter. I happen to know a detective who is recruiting assistants. I can introduce you to one or two. Let's start as assistants to accumulate experience and fame. It won't be too late to start our own business later when we are strong enough."
"But..."
Little Stanford hesitated, "I have to tell you in advance that the detective is not easy to get along with. You have to be mentally prepared."
"Why? Is there something wrong with her character?"
"Oh, that's not what I mean. As far as I know, she can barely be called a decent person, but she has a weird personality. She is particularly obsessed with certain scientific fields and often has some strange ideas."
"She?! Is this detective a lady?"
Watson was really surprised. Although the women's liberation movement has risen now, it has not yet reached the era of "women can hold up half the sky". Women are still discriminated against in the workplace and are not very popular in most industries.
Little Stanford nodded heavily, "Yes, although she is a young lady, she is indeed very talented in the detective industry. Even though she has a strange temperament, her detective agency has never lacked business, and customers are almost knocking down the door."
"You have always said that this female detective has a strange temperament and is difficult to get along with, but where is it specifically manifested? Why not give an example, so that I can be mentally prepared."
"Some things can only be understood but not expressed in words." Little Stanford smiled, "In fact, her temper is normal, but she is too enthusiastic about science, so it seems strange in the eyes of others."
"I remember once at a banquet, she was tired of facing a persistent pursuer, and she actually took out a small glass bottle from her arms. There was an alkaloid containing toxins. As long as this enthusiastic pursuer was willing to help taste it, she agreed to date him."
Little Stanford paused here, as if he wanted to observe Watson's reaction when he heard this. However, this disabled war hero is really mentally resolute, his face is calm, and he still has an expression of listening carefully.
He had no choice but to take a sip of wine to pretend to moisten his throat, and continued: "Of course, she did not do this out of pure malice, but also for the purpose of scientific research. While driving away the pursuers, she can also try to verify the effect of the alkaloid on the human body."
"Of course, I believe that if there were other professionals on the scene to help record, she would definitely swallow the alkaloid without hesitation."
Watson was not surprised. It sounded like she was just an enthusiastic scientist. He waved his hand, "That's fine. At least she would remind others that it was poison."
"Hey! She is more than that. I saw it with my own eyes once. She actually dragged the dead body out of the dissection room in front of other people and beat it hard with a stick just to verify the condition of leaving scars on the body. What a fucking freak!"
Little Stanford was a little indignant. It seemed that witnessing that scene back then really left a shadow on his mind.
Watson frowned when he heard this. It was not because he was disgusted by the strange behavior of the female detective, but he suddenly felt that this experience sounded so familiar, as if it was highly overlapped with a well-known novel character in later generations.
"And she also..."
"Wait a minute." Watson couldn't help but interrupt Stanford's words, wanting to verify his unrealistic guess.
"What is the name of the female detective you are talking about?"
"Charlotte Holmes."
The master of this work: John H. Watson
Origin: Retired military officer
Initial attributes:
[Health] * 2, [Pain] * 1
[Passion] * 1, [Passion (broken)] * 1
[Rationality] * 2
[Funds] * 28