In the evening of the coastal city, the sunset is always very bright. On the streets of the manor area, the street light poles with complicated vine patterns are illuminated golden yellow. The evening breeze blows over, and a piece of paper posted on the street light pole is blown into the air.
Get up and draw a beautiful arc in the air,
It flew over the walls mottled by time, passed through the spire illuminated by the setting sun, went down along the patterned iron railings, and finally floated into the mailbox at the door of the manor, lying quietly at the bottom of the mailbox.
The hand that had been wearing leather gloves turned the lock of the mailbox. After opening the door of the mailbox, she took out the piece of paper. Looking at the content on the piece of paper, Merkel let out a sigh of excitement and raised her hand.
Taking the piece of paper, he pushed open the manor door with one hand and handed it to Schiller who was having dinner.
Schiller put down the newspaper in his hand, took the paper, glanced at it, raised his eyebrows and said, "What's going on? Is there really a theater company willing to come to Gotham to perform Shakespeare? And it's also "Macbeth"?"
"Yes, sir, I knew you would be very happy. This is the most famous Angelica troupe in the Met. They are very popular throughout the East Coast. Their best specialty is the Shakespeare play..."
Schiller looked at the piece of paper. It was just a simple version of the troupe's play list. On it was written the name of the troupe, the plays planned to be performed in the city, the main play and the names of other light comedies.
This simplified version of the play list is also very Gotham style. The main play is "Macbeth", one of Shakespeare's four tragedies. This is a play that Schiller loved very much.
But unfortunately, none of the theater troupes that came to Gotham to perform before were capable of performing Shakespeare's plays. Most of them were after-dinner sketches or light comedies, not serious dramas at all. Since coming to Gotham, Schiller has not seen any
A serious drama.
"Quick, Merkel, call this theater group and buy me one... no, buy two tickets... No, no, no, in addition to Victor, Lawyer Harvey should also like this play,
Buy him a ticket too, and as for Chief Gordon...you call him first to see if he is available, and also the Godfather, but I think he should move faster than me?"
Merkel took the simple play from Schiller, smiled and said: "Tomorrow, the fact that you like Shakespeare's plays will spread throughout Gotham City... Oh, no, maybe it will happen tonight.
"
Schiller stood up from his chair and said: "I haven't been so happy for a long time since I came to this city. By the way, who is their leading actor? Are their backstage open? Can I meet the leading actor?"
"I will ask for you." Merkel returned her chair, turned to the phone, and said: "But as far as I know, theater troupes from the Met generally do not accept backstage visits. They have to maintain the identity of the actors.
Mystery."
"That's fine. Although I know that the roles they play have nothing to do with themselves and everything should just stay on the stage, I still like to communicate with these actors who play different roles. They are playing certain roles.
The state of mind at that time can provide me with a lot of material..."
Schiller walked towards the door very briskly. He said: "If you can get the detailed play list tonight, be sure to help me see which scene "Macbeth" is scheduled for. I hope it will be after lunch. I won't
I hope it will attract as many people who just laugh out loud as those after-dinner skits.”
Merkel made a reassuring gesture, and then saw Schiller taking an umbrella and walking out of the gate of the manor. He called the driver, then got in the car and walked through the streets of Gotham to the East End.
In front of the Iceberg Restaurant.
After he walked into the restaurant, he found a few children practicing serving plates. When they saw him coming in, they took a few steps back in fear, but then they remembered that they had met Schiller before and remembered that Schiller seemed to be their boss.
friends, so they froze in place and did not dare to move.
The leading child carefully put down the plate in his hand and ran upstairs. After a while, Cobot came down. Seeing Schiller, he was a little surprised and asked: "Professor, why are you here?"
?”
"Let me take a look at your restaurant. How is the preparation going?"
"It's almost there. It can be opened within a week." Cobot walked down the spiral staircase. He straightened his tie and said, "I am planning to find someone to post notices and distribute flyers."
Cobot
He pointed to the table next to him. He and Schiller sat on both sides of the table. The waiter brought them two glasses of water. The children huddled in the corner and stared at the two of them.
Neither Cobot nor Schiller paid any attention to the children, who were discussing the opening of the Iceberg Restaurant.
"I think those newsboys and vendors should be of great help to you. As long as you put an advertisement in the newspaper or the brown paper used to wrap bread, soon the entire East District will know about your opening."
Le said.
Cobot was stunned for a moment and said: "Put the advertisement in the newspaper? I originally planned to ask them to make a special trip to deliver it..."
"This may be possible in the East District, because the vast majority of residents here do not have independent mailboxes, but if you want to promote the West District, you must not let them send leaflets alone. This is very rude." Schiller pointed out the loopholes.
,He said:
"Although I also think that these rules are somewhat unnecessary, the gentlemen in the West End just think that they should be done like this. The playlist of the drama, the flower list of the flower shop, and even the price list of the bakery can be sent to the mailbox separately.
inside, but not the opening advertisement.”
"Because it takes time to formulate these things and then print them on a piece of colorful and scented paper, it proves that these stores are opened for these gentlemen, and they will be happy to buy something."
"But if you just put the opening advertisement into their mailbox and say it's a restaurant in the East End and attach a menu, they will think you are humiliating them. If they see your name again, they may
I think you are a gangster and you are forcing them to support you."
Cobot nodded thoughtfully and said: "That's right, they may want to see some complex dishes on the menu instead of simple steak or bread."
"This building has seven floors. Don't you have VIP rooms or something?" Schiller said, looking at the ceiling of the hall.
Cobot choked for a moment, and he said: "I don't quite understand how to...how to be with them, I mean, to deal with people of your class..."
Schiller smiled and said, "Didn't you already see it when you were an umbrella boy before? Don't you already know how celebrities of all kinds behave?"
"Yes..." Cobot nodded and said, "But when I actually started preparing the restaurant, I discovered that things were not as simple as I thought."
"I guess you want too much." Schiller turned to look out the window and said, "You should be very clear that the pool of labor brought about by the development of the logistics industry will bring you a lot of wealth."
"For example, most of the restaurants in the Manor District are magnificent, and each one has an exquisite facade. The people who go in and out there are either rich or noble, but they may not have the most popular restaurant in the East District to make money."
"Many of these restaurants are even losing money. If it weren't for the support of the Twelve Families, they would have gone bankrupt long ago. The sales of those precious ingredients are not high, and they are very difficult to preserve. Once they are not handled properly, their reputation will be ruined.
It can be said to be thankless.”
"But on the contrary, these restaurants in the East District that operate on a small profit but quick turnover approach earn a large amount of US dollars every day. The ingredients are simple and easy to handle, and the customers' tastes are not that tricky at all. If the quantity is large and the food is full, almost everyone will praise it. In addition,
It's adjacent to the pier, and the passenger flow is huge, so all the bosses have made huge profits."
"When you see this situation, of course you want to get a share of the pie. We all know that if you have a patient at home, you are always short of money..." Schiller took a drink of water from the water glass, and then continued:
"But at the same time, you want to realize your ambition. You want to climb up and get in touch with people of a higher class. Therefore, you chose this mansion as the location of your restaurant because the facilities here are luxurious enough to attract twelve families.
And those in wealthy areas.”
"But many times, the two customer sources are in conflict. The rich and wealthy men want expensive and special ingredients to show off their financial resources and taste. However, the large number of customers here only want to have enough food. The customer sources are different. How to cope with the different customer sources?
The methods are naturally different, but there is only one restaurant, haven’t you figured out how to allocate it?”
Cobblepot seemed a little embarrassed. When he was young, he did come into contact with Gotham's upper class. However, with the death of his father, the Oswald family declined.
After falling, he has become no different from the lower class people of Gotham.
He doesn't know what is the most popular topic in the wealthy area now, he doesn't know how to deal with those strange rules, and he doesn't know how to integrate into this circle.
"Shouldn't I put the two together?" Cobot frowned and began to doubt his original decision. This was indeed his original plan.
The flow of people in the East District can bring him a lot of money, and the location and past role of the mansion itself can help him attract upper-class guests. This is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.
But in actual practice, you will find that there are still many problems. For example, those rich people are very hypocritical. They will never want to go to a restaurant where dockworkers and porters come, let alone dine with them.
Moreover, what they eat is different from ordinary people. They are willing to spend a lot of money to buy some expensive ingredients. Although they are not very delicious, as long as they are rare and difficult to preserve, those workers are just the opposite.
If you want to receive a large number of people, the hall on the first floor must be converted into a restaurant. If you want to attract wealthy people, you must set aside a ballroom to hold dance parties. There is only one restaurant, so it is difficult to balance these two aspects.
Schiller put his hands on the table, looked into Cobot's eyes and said, "Are you doubting your previous decision? Do you think the two parties are actually incompatible? But I think it is okay."
"If you were my student, you should have learned this knowledge in the previous few days of class - where does people's sense of superiority come from?"
Cobot frowned and began to think. Then, he thought of something, but it was difficult to express it in systematic language.
"People's sense of superiority comes from comparison. You don't have to be the richest person in the world, but you just need to be richer than most other people. You don't even have to be richer than most people, as long as you are richer than your neighbors.
Just be rich."
"This is human nature, and it is almost impossible to change. Even people who are indifferent to fame and fortune will feel happy because of their victory in comparison."
"As for the restaurant situation, there is now a basis for making comparisons. This mansion was originally only open to the upper class, so once ordinary people receive your flyer, they will be curious. Even if they don't come to eat, they will
come and see."
"In the early days of opening, you will gather a large number of customers. According to my observation, this restaurant should not be able to accommodate it. The large number of customers may cause queues. As long as you can ensure public security and let them queue up outside your restaurant honestly
, then these people are the basis for your comparison."
"On this basis, you can send invitations to those celebrities and take the VIP aisle to the upper VIP room."
"When they come here, they will see that those who are not as good as them can only queue outside in the wind and rain, but they can be surrounded by waiters and enter luxurious private rooms. This is a kind of
The victory of comparison is an affirmation of their wealth and status."
"Perhaps, you can build a channel to let these celebrities pass through the people in line, or let them see it directly and let them have some limited close contact."
"But..." Cobot raised an objection: "As far as I know, those gentlemen don't like dock workers. They think those who do coolies smell bad, and even frown when they see them from a distance.
"
"Yes, they may sit in the splendid private room and complain about this. They may complain about the whole dinner, saying that you really don't know how to do business, saying that those people have soiled their suits and gowns, and saying that they are even looking at them.
It makes me feel sick just by looking at it.”
"But these complaints actually strengthen the psychological implications. In order to show their difference from the common people, they will be more inclined to order more expensive dishes, eat food that others cannot afford, and drink wine that others cannot afford, and then
Use this as a talking point to show off to your peers."
"They will even use you as a talking point, thinking that if they open such a restaurant, they will definitely make smarter choices than you. They will definitely kick those people out and only retain the most wealthy and status customers."
"But does it matter? Cobot, are you angry about this? Are you humiliated by their views?" Schiller asked.
Kobat shook his head and said: "
Of course not, I don’t care what they say at all, I only care about how much money they spend here, how many times they come here in a week, and who they come with each time..."
"Sometimes, playing a fool in relationships is not a completely bad thing." Schiller looked at Copot and said: "Being someone else's talking point may make you look like a clown, but at least your name is
It will spread among this class and let everyone remember you, which is the first step to climb up."
From the beginning to the end, Copot's eyes were bright. He didn't know why Schiller understood this. He didn't know whether this understanding came from Schiller himself or from the subject he studied."
As the interaction with Schiller deepened, Cobot always felt that his interest in psychology was growing. For this reason, he would even go to the school of hell to attend classes even during his busy schedule.
See high school registration information.
His relatively simple worldview makes him feel that as long as he can learn these theories, he can win in the simplest and fastest way, just like making a fortune in gambling. This is what he likes to do most.
Cobot thought about the future for a while, but then he said: "I have been away from this class for too long. I really can't understand them. Fortunately, you are here, professor. Otherwise, I would really want to advertise
Put it in their mailbox, it will be a bad start..."
At this moment, Schiller took out a well-folded piece of paper from his coat pocket, handed it to Cobot, and said: "...You should take a look at this."
"What is this? The Met's Angelica Theater repertoire...is the repertory troupe coming to Gotham to perform?" Cobblet frowned, looking at the series of plays, feeling that he had no clue.
"If you want to open the door to a certain class, you must first get a stepping stone. If you can participate in a hot topic, you can naturally promote your restaurant in a new way."
Cobot recalled: "When I was very young, my parents also went to the theater to watch a performance, but it was very dark there. I don't remember what was on the stage at all. I only remember that my father was always talking to him.
talking to my neighbor.”
"Yes, this is the meaning of going to the theater. In fact, I already know the plots of many plays and have watched them many times, but I will watch them with different friends and discuss with them the plots, actors' performances, and the strength of the theater troupe.
Wait, there are so many topics to talk about."
"Should I go see this play?" Cobot said, staring at the playlist: "But I have never read this book, nor have I seen this play. If I don't understand the plot at once,
So how do you participate in their topics?”
"It's better if you don't understand, or even if you understand, you should pretend not to understand." Schiller took another sip of water and said, "You can raise this topic and then ask them questions you don't understand.
They will definitely explain it to you very enthusiastically, and if you bring up some topics such as movies and TV series, it will even more highlight their taste."
While Cobot was communicating with Schiller, he was thinking, and before he knew it, the night fell.
Schiller lowered his head and glanced at his watch and said, "It's getting late. I may have to go to Wayne Manor. After all, he won't be able to solve the problems of those children as easily as you."
When Bruce was mentioned, Copot's face became a little unhappy. He said, "I can even imagine what the situation is like on his side."
When Schiller left the Iceberg Restaurant, it was completely dark, and there was light rain falling from the sky again. The car lights were like neon in the refraction of the rain.
When Schiller arrived at Wayne Manor, Alfred did not come out to pick him up. This was not normal. The old butler almost never left here.
Schiller himself walked into the hall of Wayne Manor. There were no lights on in the hall, only the fire in the fireplace was flickering weakly. The firewood had burned out and the flame was about to go out.
Suddenly, there was a noise from behind. Schiller turned his head and saw Bruce Wayne lying drunk on the sofa.
This chapter has been completed!