It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

In a state of extreme emotional instability, Joanna opened her throat and screamed, "Help!"

"Damn it, don't yell like that!"

Li Cheng was shocked. Fearing that passersby might hear him, he immediately covered Joanna's mouth to prevent her from shouting anymore.

"Uuuuuuu..."

Joanna couldn't make a sound; she couldn't imagine what would happen next, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Li Cheng breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, it's quiet. Why are you so decisive at a time like this—'Don't shake, don't shake, I'll let you go right away.' You're such a coward."

creak-

Just then, Miller, who had gone out to inquire about some data, returned with the documents. He pushed open the door and saw a vicious crime taking place in the office.

"..."

Li Cheng glanced at Joanna, who was being held in his arms, covering her mouth, with tears in her eyes, and trembling all over. He then glanced at Miller, who appeared at the door and whose eyes suddenly became sharp.

He said very sincerely, "Sir, this is a misunderstanding."

Chapter 134 Cat People

early morning.

Not long after the sun rose, Li Cheng was woken up again by his cat.

Another day where I woke up to a cat's butt.

He lifted Elizabeth, who had woken him up with her tail, and glanced at her lower body, muttering, "Seriously, you're a male cat, why do you always turn your butt towards me?"

"Meow," Elizabeth meowed, confused.

"Even though you don't understand,"

Li Cheng looked at Elizabeth in front of him and solemnly lectured the white cat: "But listen carefully, do what a male cat should do, understand? Stop always turning your back to me!"

"Meow!"

This time, Elizabeth's voice was much more serious.

"Very good, it seems you understand."

Seeing this, Li Cheng tossed it aside with satisfaction, then lay down to take another nap.

Elizabeth landed smoothly with another 720-degree turn, then swished her tail, made a purring sound in her throat, and turned and ran out the door.

Not long after, Elizabeth, with a pair of white and red floral puffer pants slightly larger than herself in her mouth, dragged them all the way to Li Cheng's bedside before letting go. Then she started meowing and making random noises, trying to get Li Cheng's attention.

Li Cheng was just drifting off to sleep when the incessant meowing of the cat kept him awake. Anger rose in his heart, and he abruptly got up to see what this stinky cat was up to.

Then he saw the puffy pants on the ground, and Elizabeth squatting next to them, seemingly waiting for praise.

???

These days, women's underwear is called "puffy pants" because it is very loose. Its shape is similar to modern men's trousers, except that the lower part is tightened to prevent air leakage.

That's not the problem. The problem is, how the hell did Elizabeth bring this thing over? I just told her to do what male cats do, and then she went and grabbed the puffer pants?!

Help! This cat has become a spirit!

Li Cheng was in utter shock. He stared at Elizabeth in disbelief. It seemed not to be a cat, but a feline alien lurking on Earth disguised as an ordinary cat, ready to seize the planet from humanity at any moment. And to stop them, he had to contact the leader of the canines, Mad Dog...

Just as Li Cheng's thoughts were wandering, Annie suddenly ran in from outside with unusual liveliness: "Time to get up, Li Cheng! Today—Emma, ​​what's my puffy pants doing here?"

Li Cheng broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

He looked at Annie, who was horrified that her puffy pants had appeared in Li Cheng's room, and said very seriously, "Would you believe me if I said the cat did this?"

"Oh, I see."

Anne breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest. "You scared me to death! I thought you were planning something bad on me..."

Li Cheng had prepared himself for Annie to look down on his intelligence, but he was stunned by what he saw.

How could I believe that? Such a ridiculous reason (even if it's true)...

"You really believe that?" Li Cheng asked incredulously.

"Yeah—could it really be you who did it?" Annie had relaxed, but this question made her horrified again.

Li Cheng quickly waved his hand: "Of course it wasn't me. I'm just quite curious, after all... most people wouldn't usually associate it with cats."

"Oh, you mean this? Actually, I've been training Elizabeth to hold a towel in her mouth recently, so I believed you as soon as you said it."

Anne bent down and tapped Elizabeth's cat on the head: "I guess it mistook my puffy pants for a towel. I didn't expect this cat to be so stupid, it can't even tell the difference between the two."

"Meow." Elizabeth, who had been hit, was somewhat confused.

Li Cheng was almost driven to the brink of fainting by this idiot's actions.

To hell with cats! To hell with dogs! It turns out it was all Anne's fault! And seriously, why train a cat to fetch a towel?! Do you even know Elizabeth is a cat?!

Hearing Li Cheng's question, Anne asked curiously, "I've heard that many taverns use dogs to catch mice for gambling. Is there anything wrong with me training Elizabeth to fetch a towel?"

"..."

For a moment, Li Cheng was speechless, but then he immediately remembered something: "Wait, your puffy pants are here, so what are you wearing?"

"Forehead......"

Annie avoided Li Cheng's gaze, her eyes darting around somewhat uncertainly: "These pants... don't absorb sweat very well... they tend to stick to my thighs if I move even slightly."

"Oh."

Li Cheng had become somewhat numb to this idiot's unbridled behavior, and even when he heard news that was generally considered shocking, his expression didn't change much.

While the two were discussing some random topics, the butler knocked on the door: "Master, we have a guest visiting."

guest?

Li Cheng was a little puzzled as to who would come to the door so early in the morning. He asked, "Did that person say what their name was?"

The butler replied, "He said his name is Roy and he has something urgent to discuss with you."

Li Cheng then realized who it was. He nodded and said, "I understand. Tell him to wait a moment, I'll be right there."

The housekeeper left, but Annie didn't. She was still clutching her puffy pants, squatting there lost in thought: "Why does the name Roy sound so familiar?"

Of course it sounds familiar; Roy used to work for your dad.

Li Cheng ushered Anne and Elizabeth outside, then quickly dressed, washed up, and went downstairs.

Roy had been waiting in the living room for a while, but his expression was calm, so it didn't seem to be anything urgent.

Li Cheng approached Roy and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting. Is there something you need so early?"

Roy's gaze first fell on Annie, who had followed out of curiosity, and he showed a slight look of surprise before nodding and saying, "Yes, I found something wrong with the ship when I went to inspect it yesterday."

Next, Roy told Li Cheng about some of the suspicious points he had discovered.

"I did not investigate further, nor did I dare to send anyone to investigate, so it is possible that it was just a simple misunderstanding."

Roy concluded, "But I think we still need to be cautious; there are too many suspicious points."

"You did the right thing."

Li Cheng thought for a moment and said, "It's not appropriate for us to interfere too much. This matter doesn't have much to do with us. How about this, we'll pretend it never happened and continue with the procurement as usual. But after a while, you can try to send someone to anonymously submit a few reports, without revealing that we are involved."

"understood."

Roy nodded. His main purpose in coming here was to confirm Li Cheng's attitude, since this matter could be a big or small one, and no one could say for sure.

Chapter 135 Breakfast

The news Roy brought surprised Li Cheng. He didn't expect that his advance purchase of a batch of cotton would lead him to encounter suspected smuggling activities—the probability of encountering a robbery by bandits while depositing money at a bank was about the same.

Fortunately, Roy didn't rush in to pry, so at most he just circled around the bank entrance and came back.

However, comparing it to robbing a bank isn't quite accurate. These days, smuggling is a rather delicate business because it's impossible to completely eradicate, yet it can't be allowed to continue unchecked. Therefore, the only recourse is to use very strict laws, which serve as a deterrent. But usually, where there's a will, there's a way; bribing inspectors is commonplace, and as long as it's not done too outrageously, it's generally tolerated with a blind eye.

Li Cheng was also thinking about this point. If it were just ordinary smuggling, his method of having unidentified people report on him would be ignored.

Unless you really run into something big... haha, then the probability isn't like encountering a bank robbery on the street, but rather like going to an amusement park with your childhood sweetheart and stumbling upon a secret transaction by men in black and getting shrunk into a drug.

Thinking of this, Li Cheng nudged Annie next to him with his elbow: "Listen to this, this is the person you said would definitely give you face, who might be involved in smuggling."

"What does this have to do with me? Didn't you ask me first if I knew that guy, St. John?"

Anne, who had been listening to the story with great interest, immediately exclaimed upon hearing this: "Besides, he even dares to let your men board the ship to pick up goods when he's smuggling. Isn't that giving him enough face?"

Li Cheng was stunned and speechless—this was almost equivalent to the thugs making Li Cheng's men deposit money halfway through robbing a bank. The level of courtesy shown to them would probably make the police suspect them of being accomplices and arrest them together.

But he felt it would be quite embarrassing to lose an argument with Annie, especially in front of his subordinates, so he forced an excuse, saying, "First of all, that man's name is Spründen, at least remember his name; secondly, could it be that he thinks I have a bright future and is therefore showing his sincerity?"

"Don't you feel guilty saying that? Are you sure he knew you before?"

Anne was never one to back down; she was determined to prove herself right.

So the two of them started arguing back and forth, which was quite lively—mainly because Li Cheng didn't take the matter too seriously and didn't think it was a big deal.

Roy had come with a serious attitude to report, but when he saw the two of them arguing, he couldn't help but twitch his lips, unsure whether he should interrupt—mainly because one of them was the boss and the other was the former boss's daughter, and it wouldn't be appropriate to side with either of them.

"Forget it, I can't explain it to you."

After chatting for a while, Li Cheng noticed that Roy was feeling awkward, so he quickly changed the subject and said, "Roy, it must be tiring for you to come so early today. Why don't you stay and have some breakfast?"

"no need."

Although Roy hadn't eaten breakfast, he still waved his hand in refusal, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

"Let's keep it."

Li Cheng chuckled: "My family's breakfast today is steamed buns. The chef and I worked on it for several days to make them. You probably haven't had them before."

It's hard to change eating habits formed over 20 years, so he plans to slowly recreate Chinese cuisine at home.

Of these, steamed buns were undoubtedly the most convenient. Not only was flour readily available, but the preparation method was also similar to that of bread, allowing the chef to quickly get started. Furthermore, compared to rice, which was exorbitantly expensive and might not be suitable for the local climate, steamed buns, being similar to bread, were more acceptable to the British family, excluding Li Cheng.

Li Cheng had researched the difference between steamed buns and bread since his childhood. He also wondered why steamed buns were not a popular food in the West.

It's worth noting that steamed buns are much easier to make than bread, and they also have lower requirements for the quality of flour. The fact that bread wasn't widely popular in China can be understood as a result of the complicated preparation process and the resulting inefficiency. However, the fact that steamed buns, a food much softer than rye bread, weren't popular in the West is quite difficult for Li Cheng to understand.

Is it because of storage that dark bread keeps longer? But the problem is, ordinary people can't store food!

Clearing his mind of the jumbled thoughts, Li Cheng focused on the present moment, awaiting Roy's reply.

"Steamed bun?"