He was so persuasive that he actually practiced extraordinary

"Okay, okay, I'll go tidy up that room right away." The shop manager said cheerfully as he went to the back to tidy up the room.

He was humming a song happily as he tidied up. Zhang Beixing looked at the manager and thought, "I'm just staying here, why is he so happy? Something feels off."

"Alright, the room is all tidied up. You can put these things away wherever you like. I'll go cook for you." The manager said, and then went to the kitchen.

He was in an exceptionally good mood, and while he was sitting there, he was also singing loudly. Zhang Beixing, who was tidying up inside the house, could hear everything clearly, but there was nothing he could do but let him sing.

By the time Zhang Beixing finished packing, the manager had prepared a meal. The meal consisted of simple dishes, along with some decent drinks; it was clear the manager had made a special effort.

"My income isn't very good, so just eat something simple," the manager said with a smile.

Then, while helping Zhang Beixing pick up food, he kept talking, and you could feel his happiness as he spoke.

Zhang Beixing looked at the food in his bowl. This wasn't just any ordinary meal! Many of the ingredients were rarely seen on the island. He had lived on a ship for a while before.
The people on the ship were overjoyed when they saw these things. He knew the shopkeeper had put in a lot of effort.

"I'm so sorry, it's too much trouble for you to go to so much trouble to come here," Zhang Beixing said apologetically.

"What are you talking about? I was worried you wouldn't eat well with just this much food! Eat properly." The manager said with a smile, while continuing to put food on Zhang Beixing's plate.

Zhang Beixing had no choice but to eat one by one. But as he ate, he noticed that the child next to him was just eating his food without saying a word.

"He just doesn't like to talk, so don't mind him," the store manager said sensitively, noticing Zhang Beixing's gaze.

"Hmm, it's nothing." Zhang Beixing was a little puzzled—wasn't this person's observation ability too good? He only glanced at him, and he already saw the problem? And he was being too kind to him, wasn't he?

Just because he bought some cakes, he's being so nice to him? It really doesn't make sense. This made Zhang Beixing suspicious.
But they couldn't show it, so they could only eat silently.

Zhang Beixing's doubts grew stronger, but he only felt strange and didn't ask any more questions. He then went to his guest room to prepare for sleep.

Before going to sleep, Zhang Beixing placed all his belongings on the bedside table. This was because of his previous experiences, and since he was away from home, he had to be careful, just in case something happened.

Put it on the bedside table, so that when you want to leave, you can just pick up your things and go.

The hotel room was fairly quiet, thanks to the manager's arrangement, so Zhang Beixing wasn't too picky. For him, it was already a very comfortable place to sleep; he probably wouldn't find such a pleasant environment anywhere else.

"You can sleep here tonight, I've already packed everything up," the store manager said before Zhang Beixing went to bed.

"Okay, thank you. If it weren't for you, I don't know where I would be sleeping tonight," Zhang Beixing replied with a smile.

"Look at what you're saying! You should just stay here and get some sleep," the shopkeeper said with a smile.

Then he went out. That night, he sneaked back. In the darkness, he made sure Zhang Beixing was asleep, then reached out his hand towards the bedside table where Zhang Beixing had left his bag.

He skillfully felt around, looked at the money in Zhang Bei's bag, took some, but after thinking about it, he put a lot back.

If you take too much at once, he'll notice immediately. Take smaller amounts gradually, and he'll be less likely to suspect anything.

The store manager looked at the money in his hand and was overjoyed—it seemed he was in for a treat this time; this guy had quite a bit of money!

He took the money and left, planning to take things slowly later.

Zhang Beixing slept soundly in a relatively comfortable environment, after all, life at sea is not easy.

The next morning, I heard noises outside, like a child crying and the store manager's voice.

Zhang Beixing thought he was dreaming and prepared to turn over and continue sleeping—after all, the store manager had been so attentive to that child before, how could he possibly lay a hand on him?

He told himself this and prepared to go back to sleep. But the sound kept going on, which made Zhang Beixing realize that something was wrong.

Even a dream wouldn't be this real, would it? It sounds so real.

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Beixing got up to calm himself down. After confirming that it was indeed the child's voice, he stood up abruptly.

When he came out of the guest room, he was completely dumbfounded. He saw the disabled child sitting on the floor, his face streaked with tears, begging for mercy, looking utterly pitiful.

The one who struck was none other than the store manager, who had seemed very fond of the child yesterday. This made Zhang Beixing sense that something was wrong, but he didn't ask anything.

Moreover, the child was still kneeling on the ground. It was clear that the shop manager had hit him very hard. The child was still swaying precariously while kneeling, and his arms had no strength left.

"Why are you awake!" The store manager quickly dropped his fierce demeanor as soon as he saw Zhang Beixing come out.

He had a smile on his face, and seemed completely different from the people before him.

“I heard a noise this morning, so I got up to check. What happened to the child? Why did you hit him like that?” Zhang Beixing looked at the child on the ground.

There were many marks on his body, and it was clear that the store manager had used a lot of force.

"It's alright, this child is just disobedient," the shop manager said, and prepared to help the child up.

But when the child saw the store manager approaching, he instinctively raised his hand, as if to avoid being beaten.

Zhang Beixing frowned slightly as he watched the child's subconscious movements—things were probably not that simple, otherwise the child wouldn't be so scared; he was obviously often beaten.

He went up to help, trying to lift the child onto a chair, but the manager wouldn't let him.

Zhang Beixing observed closely from the side and realized that the child had quite a few injuries. It seemed this store manager had serious problems!

"Why don't you go and take a nap? We accidentally disturbed your rest," the store manager said cautiously to Zhang Beixing.

"It's alright, I've slept for quite a long time, it's been a long time since I've slept like this." Zhang Beixing simply waved his hand.

He indicated that he was fine and had slept enough.

"Really? I'm so sorry, this child was really disobedient, otherwise I wouldn't have had to resort to physical punishment," the shop manager said with a smile. Zhang Beixing looked at the shop manager but didn't say anything, sensing that something was amiss. The child was clearly terrified of the shop manager, as if he were frequently beaten.

"So, what did he do wrong? Why did you hit him so hard?" Zhang Beixing wanted a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, he really couldn't rest easy—the child had been beaten until he cried like this, and if there wasn't a reasonable explanation, it really wouldn't make sense, and the store manager would really be in the wrong.

"This...it's not really a big deal, but it's important to me." The store manager saw Zhang Beixing keep asking why.

He had no choice but to tell Zhang Beixing, otherwise it would easily arouse Zhang Beixing's suspicion, and things would become difficult for him later. Naturally, he had to make up some reasons.

"What happened? How could you beat a child like this? I've always thought you loved this child quite a bit." Zhang Beixing listened patiently.

"This kid, I don't know what he was thinking this morning, helped me get a bowl, and then he accidentally dropped and broke it," the shop manager said with a forced smile.

"Just for a bowl? You beat him like that?" Zhang Beixing clearly didn't believe it. It's just a bowl; if it doesn't work, you can just buy another one. Is it really necessary to beat a child like that?
"This bowl has a special meaning for me; it's the bowl from the first cake I successfully made. And the kind of bowl used for making cakes isn't cheap. If I don't break it today, the loss will be too great if it breaks again," the shop manager said with a smile.

“Oh, I knew it. But you can’t hit a child like that, look how he’s crying.” Zhang Beixing nodded, but kept turning back to look at the child.

"Yes, I acted impulsively, but there's nothing I can do. I'm afraid he won't learn his lesson," the shop manager said with a smile.

Looking at the store manager's smile, Zhang Beixing always had an indescribable feeling, as if there was something strange hidden in his smile.

"That's true, but he's still a child and will make mistakes. Be more careful when you discipline him in the future, especially since this child's situation is special. If the bowl is broken, you can buy another one; but if the child's mindset is damaged, there's really no way to fix it."

Even so, Zhang Beixing still tried to persuade him gently. After all, the child was innocent, and treating him like this was really not good; it would be troublesome if the child was traumatized later in life.

"I know, you're right. I was just too angry and couldn't control my emotions," the store manager said with a smile.

"You should really try to control yourself in the future," Zhang Beixing said, shaking his head helplessly.

The shop manager didn't say anything more and went to prepare breakfast. The breakfast was quite substantial, but since it was a cake shop, everything was still centered around cakes.

"These might not taste very good, but you can eat them for now," the shop manager said, handing Zhang Beixing some milk.

"Thank you! It tastes great! Most people couldn't make it taste like this," Zhang Beixing said with a smile.

Then he ate the cake, bite by bite. After finishing, he looked at the remaining crumbs on the table. The child over there seemed to have been beaten and was doing something, seemingly lost in thought. The shop owner was making cakes again. Zhang Beixing stared at the things on the table.

He cleaned it up himself and took it to the kitchen. When he was almost done washing, the manager saw Zhang Beixing washing dishes.

"What? You've already washed up! Why is that kid just standing there daydreaming?" The shop owner looked at the child outside and was furious.

"It's alright, he's probably just scared after being beaten up this morning," Zhang Beixing said with a smile.

It was just something he could do easily, and helping with the washing wasn't a big deal. Zhang Beixing didn't think there was any problem with it.

"By the way, we had cake from the shop today, right?"

Zhang Beixing noticed this problem while eating.

"Hmm, what's wrong?" The shop owner looked at Zhang Beixing, finding his question rather strange.

“I have to pay you for everything in the shop. I can’t expect you to pay me for what I’m staying here, can I?” Zhang Beixing said, looking at the shop owner.

He went to get his wallet. When he came back, the shop owner was surprised to see the wallet Zhang Beixing brought, fearing that Zhang Beixing would discover that money was missing from it.

"It's alright, it's just some cakes, nothing serious, you don't need to pay." The shop owner said, reaching out to close Zhang Beixing's wallet.

The shopkeeper didn't want Zhang Beixing to open his wallet. Zhang Beixing shook his head, insisting on opening it. But the shopkeeper just wouldn't let go.

The two remained locked in a stalemate. Zhang Beixing noticed something was off about the shop owner's expression and wanted to ask him something, but seeing his expression, he decided not to.

"These are all as it should be, but I'll still give them to you," Zhang Beixing said, taking out his wallet and preparing to open it again.

"That won't do. I told you you don't have to think about anything here, and you still have to pay? I feel so bad about that!" the shop owner said, trying to stuff his wallet back into the shop.

Zhang Beixing found the shopkeeper's actions very strange. This wasn't normal; even if he wanted to refuse payment, he wouldn't do it this way. The more unusual it was, the more suspicious he felt.

But he just looked at the shop owner, sizing him up, without saying anything, preparing to observe what else the shop owner might do and whether there was really something wrong with him.

"I'm going to the cake shop to work later, why don't you just stay home?" the shop owner asked Zhang Beixing.

"Huh? I can go help too." Zhang Beixing realized that this meant he wasn't going to be taken along.

"You said you came to our house as a guest, so it's really not appropriate to ask you for help." The shop owner was a little suspicious when Zhang Beixing offered to help.

"Look at me all day long, just eating at home and sleeping in your room. It's only right that I help out, and all I can do is what I can manage," Zhang Beixing said with a smile.

The shop owner hesitated for a moment, sizing up Zhang Beixing. He was just a free laborer, and it would save him some money.

"Well... alright, since you've said so, let's go then." The shopkeeper looked at Zhang Beixing and had no choice but to agree.

And so, the shop owner took Zhang Beixing and his child to the cake shop. The work at the cake shop was alright.

Zhang Beixing's job was relatively easy. The shop owner was quite happy to see Zhang Beixing working so hard.

Feeling like he'd struck gold, he told Zhang Beixing to get to work. With Zhang Beixing's help, the cake shop opened two hours earlier than usual.

"Alright, we can open for business now," the shop owner said, seeing that the cakes were almost ready.

"Okay." Zhang Beixing nodded.

After opening, a considerable number of people quickly came in. Seeing that the cake shop was open, they came in to buy things. (End of Chapter)