At five o'clock in the morning, several people driving cattle carts came, accompanied by dogs. The animals gathered around the fire to keep warm, which made the stall owner very uncomfortable.
However, these coachmen were not good people. They formed a gang-like organization and formed groups to stay warm. So the aunt endured it and chopped the eels silently.
After a while, a large number of promiscuous women also gathered. Some left with the night shift workers, while others left with the men who had just climbed out of the bar.
The same was true for the girl who attracted Lu Li's attention. An old man took her away.
Click... click...
The high boots that squeaked on the ground, the silver cane on his hand, and the carriage parked outside the small square all showed that the old man was very rich.
Why not do business?
Always live.
Not far away, after taking a look at the sky still shrouded in thick fog, Lu Li decided to leave.
Since the mid-term exam and entering the plot world, the principal no longer assigns them main tasks and relies entirely on their own initiative.
Living in London is not easy.
The once empty main road became lively as 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 nightfall, this black line will appear again, moving in the opposite direction and dispersed to their original place——
Thousands of migrant workers go to and from get off work steadily, wearing white scarves and dark windbreakers, looking solemn.
And Lu Li was traveling with them.
financial city.
Located on the east side of London's famous St. Paul's Cathedral, it covers an area of only one square mile, but has gathered a large number of banks, stock exchanges, gold markets and other financial institutions.
Across the Financial City was Westminster, also known as Westminster, where Lu Li wanted to settle.
Three months later, there has to be a place to stay. Besides, how the next plan unfolds also depends on this aspect.
Open a small clinic?
After assuming the identity, the benefit of automatically acquiring relevant skills has not been cancelled. Therefore, 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.
I would like to ask what profession is more suitable than a detective to inquire about information everywhere?
Moreover, Lu Li has always had an inexplicable emotion in his heart about the role he played for the first time.
[When you come to the Victorian era, you must be a detective. If possible, it is best to "write" a few literary masterpieces and become a great writer so that Her Majesty the Queen can personally knight you. 】
"Gentlemen, do you want to take a ride?"
"Gentlemen, do you want to take a ride?"
On the street, the carriage driver shouted three times in succession, interrupting Lu Li's reverie.
This is a public car, which can seat about twenty passengers and is pulled by three horses. The fare ranges from 1 pence to 2 shillings and 6 pence, not including bridge tolls and turnpikes.
Frankly speaking, Lu Li regretted not bringing the black-maned horse with him. It was not to save time. In fact, pedestrians passed through most streets 24 hours a day, especially the main roads, where it was impossible for a horse to gallop.
The reason why I think of mounts is because there is a lot of excrement on the road, such as cattle carts and horse-drawn carriages. These animals are excreting all the time, and you will get caught if you are not careful.
Even Lu Li had to be careful where he stepped in such a dense crowd to avoid stepping on anything.
Not only that, London is extremely noisy during the morning rush hour, and your ears are filled with sounds. Men, women, children, carriages, wagons, carts, bells, and all kinds of noises.
When you step into the center of London, the world becomes quiet again. The Lawyers' Hall—Lincoln Hall—Gray's Hall—
Each guild hall has several buildings, including restaurants, gardens, chapels, libraries, and some conference rooms. Many decisions that affect the world economy come from here.
However, these prosperity did not belong to Lu Li for the time being. He was looking for a newsstand, but unfortunately it was not located in this area.
When Lu Li was about to walk forward, the childish voice of the newsboy rang out:
"The Times, The Times - The Times today! The Morning Chronicle! The Mail! 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 were waving wildly, trying to attract as many guests as possible.
Lu Li, who had only been in this world for seven hours, was still unfamiliar with the "two water streams" phenomenon and didn't have much understanding -
One is five or six feet above the sidewalk, and one is two feet below the sidewalk.
That is, adults and children.
The latter has penetrated every street in the West End and the Financial City. They start from home in the early morning, first go to the newsagent to pick up the pre-bound newspapers, then take the first mail train to the post office, and then pick up the exclusive large wooden board , tie up as many newspapers as possible and go to the streets to sell them.
"A copy of The Times."
Lu Li looked at the few newspapers left on the big board and said, "A copy of The Advertiser."
The former records news from London and the entire world, from anecdotes to political economy, so you can better understand your own situation.
The latter, mainly advertising, was probably the earliest commercial newspaper with comprehensive information.
"A total of 11 pennies." The newsboy stood on tiptoes and skillfully took the newspaper off the board.
Since he didn't have much change left, Lu Li could only use pounds. He only had nine coins in total.
It is worth mentioning that although it is now the time of Queen Victoria, the currency system is different from the original history and is not that complicated.
Penny, copper coin.
Shillings, silver coins.
Pound sterling, gold coins.
One pound was equal to twenty shillings, and one shilling was equal to twelve pence, supplemented by groats (four pence), florins (two shillings), and crowns (five shillings).
In this way, Lu Li received a lot of change and two stacks of newspapers.
[The City Council abolished Article 13 of the Police Act by 8 votes in favor, 2 votes against, and 1 abstention. Article 13 allows (but does not require) police to remove mobile vendors in order to keep roads and sidewalks clear of goods or obstructions. 】
[A certain congressman proposed to reduce daily working hours from sixteen to fourteen hours, with labor wages remaining unchanged. This bill was criticized by most members——]
[A congressman proposed to lift the ban on working hours (sixteen hours) and allow workers to work overtime voluntarily to earn more labor remuneration. This motion was approved by the majority of members——]
After standing on the street and looking for a long time, Lu Li couldn't find the information he wanted.
Why was there no mention of the strange incident?
Judging from my current experience, this world is perfectly normal and there is no danger at all.
But...the principal never bluffs.
Staying away from the foggy city means staying away from death.
This is a sentence on the blackboard that is worthy of consideration.
"Dear sir, do you need your shoes shined?"
Lu Li stood by the lamppost outside the sidewalk, silently reading the newspaper.
Because of this, a shoe boy was attracted. He was carrying a wooden stool in his hands and an extra-large box on his back. He looked at Lu Li expectantly:
"For just a penny, I can clean your shoes and dust your trouser legs."
"All right."
Hearing this, Lu Li folded up the worthless portion and tucked it under his arm.
There is neither the desired information nor a missing person notice. It is estimated that Pan Ming and Duke are also worried about the next step.
"Is this your first time in London?"
"No, I lived here a long time ago."
The shoe boy in a red coat applied solid shoe polish while chatting with the customers.
Lu Li was sitting on a small chair, answering one after another while his eyes moved on various advertisements.
[Westminster, Marylebone District, No. 23 Baker Street a is for rent. It is a single-family house with two floors, two rooms upstairs, a living room, a bathroom, a small balcony, and a dining room downstairs. A kitchen, a front room for doing business, and underground storage room…
There is no private lawn, but there is a public garden in front, and the environment is beautiful. It can be rented for one, two or three years. Short-term rentals are not accepted. The minimum start is three months. The weekly rent is 12 shillings. If you are interested, please come to No. 1 Baker Street a, find Mr. Johnny]
Soon, Lu Li found a good place to go.
Baker Street?
Very missed.
The fictional Mr. Holmes lives there. If this person really exists in this world, he should live at No. 221b.
In addition, Lu Li lived there during the first entrance exam, 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……
The weekly rent was twelve shillings, so for three months it was one hundred and fifty-six shillings, just the minimum.
The money Lu Li had around him was only nine pounds, equivalent to one hundred and eighty shillings.
Is there anything similar to the saying that one bets one to pay three in this day and age?
After renting a house, what will you eat in the next three months?
How to raise funds for activities?
Of course, the latter two can be easily solved. Kidnapping the black-hearted capitalist does not require any high ransom, just knock him unconscious and take away his wallet.
As for whether your conscience will hurt?
does not exist!
The sixteen-hour working day is already crazy enough, but I didn’t expect that the congressman would plan to add more hours, and even the production team would work so hard.
Moreover, the meager returns received are only enough for workers to barely support their families.
Based on this alone, the capitalists should be hung from the street lights and taste the iron fist of justice!
"Sir, that's it."
Just as he was thinking about it, 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 stuck to the trouser legs have disappeared.
"Hard."
Lu Li hesitated to speak. After all, before renting a house and settling down, he couldn't be too generous.
"Have lunch together?"
He looked at the sun that had risen in the sky and said: "I haven't been back to London for a long time. I feel that it has changed too much. I want to find someone to ask."
A lunch, just something to eat on the street, doesn't cost much at all. Even if it's a restaurant, as long as it's not too particular, it's still affordable.
The little shoe boy was stunned and immediately agreed.
He walks the streets and alleys every day and interacts with all kinds of people, so he is really well-informed.
Give - give back.
In addition, Lu Li's motives were very simple, so the shoe boy felt that this meal was okay to eat.
A few minutes later.
The two came to a small restaurant.
The place is not big, barely enough to hold eight square tables, and it also runs a hotel business upstairs.
Michael Alder, the little newsboy, ordered a piece of pudding with raisins, and then, at Lu Li's signal, ordered two pieces of cold Italian sausage.
Then, no matter what Lu Li said, the child stopped ordering and kept waving his hands:
"It's enough. I can only eat half of the pudding at most. I can even save it for dinner."
Seeing this, Lu Li stopped insisting and said to the waitress whose breasts were proportional to his age:
"Another plate of red beef and a beer."
"One shilling, beer for free, pay after the food is served."
After saying that, the waitress twisted her 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, his brilliant words that lingered in his ears, and the sumptuous lunch that was about to be served, Mi Gao felt that he had met a kind person.
"I can shine twenty pairs of shoes a day and get twenty pence, one-third of which must be handed over to the Shoe Shine Association, another third is used for daily life, and the remaining third is deposited in a savings account. You can take it out when you turn sixteen."
"The president is a very nice person. Seeing that I abide by the rules, always pay a lot of money, and honestly report my income every day, he gave me this area near the Financial City. As long as I work hard, it will be profitable."
"Association? It's an official organization. There are more than a hundred boys in total. Some of their mothers work as washerwomen, street vendors, or cleaners near their workplace. They will have dinner with their families at noon, and then go out to shine shoes in the afternoon."
"But more people don't have mothers, and I'm one of them. Every day I eat bread worth a penny on the street, or eat baked potatoes and drink coffee at the stalls. If I'm too tired, or if I'm scolded by a customer, I'll eat some meat. pie."
"Residence? Father Tony at the church is very nice and lets me sleep in the boiler room. It's very warm in winter."
Like a talkative man, Mi Gao talked about the past, happy, sad, and everything.
In his memory, there is no concept of a father, and his mother could not bear the criticism from neighbors and the abuse from guests, so she committed suicide by jumping into a river the year before last.
And Lu Li was like a beam of light, illuminating his world.
Face to face, around the fireplace, with plenty of food in front of you, listen patiently, and give encouragement with a pat on the shoulder 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.
"Child, will you come with me?"
Lu Li sighed in his heart, rubbed Mi Gao's short chestnut hair, and said with a smile:
"As you can see, I am a doctor. I just came back from Atlantic City yesterday. I am looking for a place to stay. I am also looking for a guy who is familiar with the environment to help open a clinic."
At first, Lu Li thought about asking around and around to find out what horror legends, rumors or strange murders there were in the foggy city recently.
But after listening to the child's narration, he still couldn't hold it back and broke his guard.
Just more mouths to eat...
In addition, who said that a clinic and a detective agency cannot be opened together?
