It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

He was wearing a white cloth hat to prevent his hair from falling out, and he looked very kind and approachable; he must be the manager of this bakery.

"Bread? No, I'm not here to buy bread."

When asked, Li Cheng shook his head and said the lines he had prepared beforehand: "I plan to buy your shop and use it to sell some small entertainment gadgets."

In fact, Li Cheng had a similar plan long ago, which was to produce a whole series of gadgets such as shuttlecocks, billiard balls, wooden tops, and Chinese chess... well, the last one would also come with an instruction manual.

He's been too busy lately, working tirelessly on textbooks and handing over his principal duties, and occasionally taking a trip to the soap factory. He simply doesn't have time for these little things.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he decided to buy the bakery that had caused the disaster to prevent it from doing something similar again.

Unfortunately, this unfortunate bakery was located in a prime location in a busy, working-class neighborhood.

If they were in a slum, where the residents struggle to make ends meet and can't afford these little toys; and if they were in an upscale neighborhood, where the people are wealthy, the rent would be far too high.

Incidentally, the most fundamental way to deal with fires is to replace the wooden buildings in London with stone, and at the same time strengthen the management of building partitions and street clutter.

But unless a memorable fire occurs, probably no one will bother to do that... It's a contradiction: no fire means no management, but management prevents fires.

Anyway, I'll write it in the letter I send to Veronica next time, and whether she listens or not is none of my business.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and seeing that the bakery manager didn't react, Li Cheng urged, "What do you think?"

Faced with such a sudden request, the bakery manager was naturally stunned. He only recovered after being reminded by Li Cheng, but he still felt a little confused - I'm running this bakery well, why are they suddenly coming to buy my shop?

With the spirit that the customer is always right, he wiped away his cold sweat and said, "Haha, sir, you're really joking."

“I’m reiterating, I’m not joking.”

Li Cheng frowned and asked him directly, "Tell me, how much do you earn in a month now?"

Upon hearing this question, the bakery manager couldn't help but show a smug expression: "Thanks to the local residents' patronage, I can earn 20 pounds a month, which makes me much better off than..."

20 pounds, why don't you exaggerate a bit more? That adds up to over 200 pounds a year, which is almost more than some impoverished barons earn... Li Cheng interrupted before the other party could continue boasting about his income, saying, "Besides the one-time payment for this shop, I'll pay you a monthly salary of 10 pounds to work in my shop."

"Sir, I can earn 20 pounds a month now!"

The bakery manager emphasized the words '20 pounds,' as if the other party's proposal was extremely unreasonable.

Li Cheng chuckled: "But that 20 pounds includes a large portion of the cost. I estimate that you'll actually get no more than seven pounds, eight pounds at most—what do you think? Was I right?"

"Forehead......"

The bakery manager remained silent.

In fact, after deducting costs, his net profit in a previous month was exactly £7, not a penny more. However, due to the impact of the pandemic, residents' incomes generally declined, and many people stopped buying white bread to save money, so his income was even lower.

Seeing this, Li Cheng chuckled and continued, "And from now on, you won't have to endure the sweltering heat of the oven, nor will you have to get up early every day to bake bread. You can just sit leisurely in the shop and wait for customers to come in. All the goods will be delivered to the shop by a dedicated person."

"What a wonderful life! Just sit in the shop and earn £10 a month!"

Seeing the bakery manager's shifty eyes, Li Cheng knew he had persuaded him, so he calmly added, "What do you think of my suggestion?"

"I......"

The bakery manager was indeed tempted.

Making bread is no easy task. The two steps of fermenting and kneading the dough alone are very time-consuming. Not to mention that in this era there were no ovens with a fixed temperature, so the temperature control really depended entirely on manual control. If you were to lose focus for even a moment, the whole batch of bread would be wasted.

Well, it's not entirely a waste of money; I can barely sell it to homeless people at a very low price, but that doesn't even cover the costs.

However, despite being interested, the bakery owner hasn't given a direct answer yet.

He said, "Can I ask about the details of the store you're planning to open?"

"Of course, you can rest assured that someone will contact you soon to discuss the specifics."

Li Cheng took out three banknotes worth a pound from a thick wad of cash in his wallet: "This is a deposit to show my sincerity."

Upon seeing the bulging wallet, the bakery manager became even more convinced of what the other person had said.

However, just as he smiled and reached out to take it, Li Cheng suddenly moved back, avoiding the other's fat hand.

?

The bakery manager looked puzzled.

"Don't rush." ​​Li Cheng smiled. "In return for my sincerity, I have a small condition, a very small condition that I need you to agree to."

"What is it?"

The bakery manager frowned, becoming secretly wary.

Seeing his nervous expression, Li Cheng shook his head and said, "Don't worry, it's just a small matter."

However, at that moment, a soft, clear voice came from outside the shop, interrupting his speech.

Excuse me, do you sell bread here?

Chapter Fifty-Eight: My Brother is a Good Person

Come to the bakery and ask if they sell bread?

The first thought that popped into Li Cheng's mind was, "I hope no one will cause trouble." Then he turned to look at the source of the sound.

A cute girl with light red curly hair and wearing a white floral dress stood at the entrance of the shop.

Clutching a black book tightly in her arms, she looked to be only about 14 years old. Her fair and delicate face already showed her future potential, but at this young age, she was curiously observing the bakery owner and Li Cheng with her pure black eyes.

Red hair and black eyes?

Upon seeing this girl with an unusual combination of features, Li Cheng inexplicably began to have wild thoughts.

I knew I was wondering why something seemed missing from the essential package for time travelers. It turns out I was missing a little sister... I suddenly had a bold idea... Just kidding, just kidding.

"Cough cough."

Seeing that Li Cheng remained silent for a long time, the bakery manager couldn't help but remind him, "Sir, what were the conditions you just mentioned?"

"Ok?"

Li Cheng was pulled from his thoughts. Seeing the other person's nervous expression, he casually shook his head: "Oh, this? Don't worry, it's just a small matter."

He paused, then continued, "Until the person I'm talking to arrives, you must close this shop, temporarily stop selling bread, and absolutely forbid the use of the oven."

"That's it?" The bakery manager looked puzzled. "Why?"

"Okay, that's it."

Li Cheng smiled and said, "I'm a cautious person. After all, ovens are risky. What if a small accident happens and the shop burns down?"

"I've been making bread here for over ten years, how could it be so easy for a fire to start..." The bakery manager swallowed his words and agreed to this seemingly strange but actually very simple request.

Thus, the transaction was successfully completed.

Li Cheng stopped the fire (presumably) and incidentally acquired a shop in a prime location. The bakery manager not only received a large sum of money but also a new, easy job.

Both parties were very satisfied.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, the red-haired girl asked again, "Excuse me, do you sell bread here?"

After discussing the shop transfer, the bakery manager had time to attend to the customer, and he greeted him warmly.

"Of course I sell them, I have some freshly baked, um..."

But before he could finish speaking, the bakery manager remembered his earlier agreement with Li Cheng and looked at Li Cheng awkwardly, his expression full of inquiry.

Li Cheng readily picked up where she left off: "Sure, little sister, what kind of bread would you like?"

Which one?

The red-haired girl thought for a moment, opened the book in her arms, carefully checked a certain page, then looked up and said without hesitation, "I want black bread!"

"Black bread? Are you sure?"

Li Cheng was taken aback.

The black bread of this era was different from the black bread of today. It referred to a type of bread that was made by baking wheat flour mixed with a large amount of bran. It was black and hard, and its taste, texture and nutrition were extremely poor. The worst quality bread even contained sawdust.

During the days Li Cheng was locked in Veronica's small dark room, he was fed only black bread mixed with sawdust, the taste of which was simply...

When asked this question, the red-haired girl said timidly, "Brother, can't I buy black bread?"

Her voice was clear and soft, the kind of gentle female voice that makes flowers and grass sprout in spring, very pleasant to listen to—especially that "brother," which made your ears itch.

Well done, you did a great job...

"of course can."

Li Cheng immediately took the initiative, took a piece of black bread for the bakery manager, bent down and handed it to him: "Here, consider this a gift from me—actually, black bread is nothing special, I've eaten it before, it's just a little bit hard."

The red-haired girl took the bread with her right hand and politely thanked him, saying, "Thank you, brother. You're a good person."

"A good person, this seems to be the first time someone has called me a good person..." Li Cheng grinned, revealing his teeth: "You have good taste."

However, just as the atmosphere inside the bakery was pleasant, a middle-aged woman dressed in a uniform similar to that of a housekeeper, who was as thin as a compass, walked anxiously past both sides of the street as if she were looking for someone.

Upon seeing the red-haired girl in the bakery, she immediately let out a scream.

"Miss Louise! What are you doing?"

The thin woman called out as she walked briskly toward Louise.

Seeing this, Louise hurriedly tried to find a place to hide, but the store was only so big, and the only place that could barely hide her was behind Li Cheng and the bakery owner.

After a moment's hesitation, she hid behind Li Cheng.

"I'm just a heartless tool..." Li Cheng thought to himself, then straightened his back slightly, trying to become a more competent cover.

Do you know what you're doing?

The thin woman had already entered the bakery. Ignoring Li Cheng, she shrieked at Louise, who was hiding behind her, "You sneaked away without saying goodbye to anyone while you were out! Do you know how worried we were about finding you?"

“Aunt Jenny, I know.”

Louise peeked out from behind Li Cheng and tried to defend herself: "But I was just curious about the description in the book and wanted to try buying a piece of black bread."

"That kind of thing is not something you should eat!"

The thin, middle-aged woman, called Jenny, said in a very sarcastic tone, "That's something only lowly servants should eat. You shouldn't even touch it. I remember I already told you that."

"Hey, hey, who are you talking about..." Li Cheng, who had eaten sawdust bread, looked at her with some displeasure.

Louise shifted her gaze to the other side and continued to argue, "But this brother said he's also eaten black bread, and that black bread is no big deal."

A double tool, both physically and mentally... Li Cheng continued to silently complain to himself.

"My God! What kind of nonsense have you fed the young lady?"