In winter, the branches of the tree take on a dry gray color and look denser than the most fashionable comb in a Begley Street boutique. Rough marks and scars become denser along the thicker branches.
, when they reached the trunk part, they were already connected into one piece.
Under the tree, ladies wearing woolen skirts and fur shawls were holding handbags. When they stepped on the scattered soil next to the flower bed, they wrinkled their carefully painted eyebrows. They let out a gentle breath, white mist
When it was spit out from between the graceful lips, it was frozen in the cold air.
Just when they and their companions were complaining about the weather, a newsboy riding a bicycle quickly passed by the street brought a gust of wind, causing their clothes to dance. They looked back with wide eyes, but only saw the slightly nasty look of the newsboy.
Smiley face.
"Ding-ding-ding-" the bicycle bell rang softly, with a "pop" sound, the slightly worn boots stepped on the snow, a hand wearing thick gloves reached into the arms of his coat, and took out a newspaper
, drop it into the mailbox.
The newsboy grabbed the end of his glove and tugged, then pulled his sleeve forward. He shrugged his shoulders, as if he felt a little cold, but he still stretched out his hand and patted the bell on the mailbox vigorously.
Just when he sighed, held on to the handlebars of his bicycle, and stepped on the pedals, he suddenly looked up at the house's house number and stopped.
After a while, a man dressed as a butler walked out of the gate of the manor, holding an old-fashioned newspaper folder and a small brown paper bag in his hands.
When the newsboy saw his figure, he sat astride the bicycle, put one foot on the ground, rubbed his hands, and let out a breath of white mist.
The housekeeper stepped forward, took out the newspaper that the newsboy had just delivered, clamped it in a newspaper folder, and then handed the brown paper bag to the newsboy.
The newsboy took off one of his gloves and opened the mouth of the brown paper bag with his fingers. As soon as he opened it, thick steam came out of it. If he looked carefully, he saw that there was an apple pie inside, and the soft part was still puffing.
It sounded like it had just been heated in the fireplace.
The newsboy quickly folded the brown paper bag and stuffed it directly into his coat, regardless of the fact that the apple pie was hot. Then he smiled and said to the butler: "Thank you Professor Rodriguez for me, he is such a good man!
"
The housekeeper also smiled, looked at the little newsboy in front of him who was only in his early ten years, waved to him, and then watched his figure pedaling hard and disappear at the end of the street.
He turned around, pushed open the door of the manor, walked through the front garden and front hall, walked inside, then climbed the stairs, crossed the covered bridge on the second floor, and came to the study at the back. He knocked on the door, and inside
A calm and powerful voice came: "Please come in."
He opened the door and saw the afternoon sunlight shining on the floor of the study, leaving the shape of the window lattice and illuminating the fibers of the carpet.
As he walked in, he heard the rustling sound of the radio, and then came the most commonly heard voice in the city:
"... What is shocking is that Gorbachev officially signed an order for major disarmament yesterday. It is not difficult for us to see from this move that the giant bear in the distance has gradually weakened and is unable to support itself..."...
"In this winter, the people there are living extremely coldly. They are about to lose all initiative. Even the army they were once most proud of can't keep it..."
"Gorbachev, a successor who was once held up to the altar, has not shown any talent to match his reputation. Where will the future of this big country go? We can only wait and see..."
One hand reached out to the button of the radio, and with a "click", the news broadcast inside stopped. Schiller took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, leaned back on the chair and said: "Thank you.
, Merkel, did you hear the news just now?”
"Yes, sir." The butler known as Merkel was turning around to take out a newspaper iron from the small storage room next to the study, with his back to Schiller, he replied.
"How do you think things will turn out? Will it be what he said?"
Merkel paused while unfolding the newspaper. He looked up at Schiller and found that Schiller had taken out a medical record and was writing. Merkel lowered his head and said while ironing the newspaper: "To be honest,
I don’t know, I’ve never had an opinion on that, sir.”
Schiller put on his glasses again, and while examining the words he wrote, he said: "To be honest, when I asked Alfred to introduce me to a butler, I didn't expect that the person he was looking for would be...
So young."
"I thought that butlers were born with white hair and elegant temperament just like Alfred." Schiller smiled, and Merkel also smiled. He said: "Sir, from the butler school
Butlers tend to find patrons who are similar to themselves in age, and patrons also like to find butlers who are similar to themselves in age.”
"If the housekeeper is too young, not only will he not be a helper, he may also be a burden. But if the housekeeper is too old, some parents of the family will worry about them controlling their children."
"But..." Merkel shook her head and said: "Hereditary butlers are different. They are deeply trusted by their families. They often assist their grandfathers, then their fathers, and then their sons. If there is a chance, they may also
I will assist my grandson..."
"Which housekeeping school did you graduate from?"
Merkel shook her head again and said with a smile: "Butler school is different from university. There is no distinction between graduation. When I was in my second year of university in London, I was spotted by an old butler from a hereditary butler family and became a
His apprentice."
"There is a manor in the south of England that is specially used to teach us new butlers. There are about six or seven people like me. We call it the butler school."
"So, you still have an apprenticeship system?" Schiller asked.
Merkel nodded and said: "Anyone who wants to join this industry knows that the hereditary butler family controls all the connections. If you want to become a qualified butler, you can only learn from them."
"So, you are the first generation of a hereditary butler family?"
Merkel smiled and said: "Thank you for your kind words."
At this moment, the doorbell rang again with a crisp sound. It passed through the empty hall and dim corridor of the manor and reached the study, which was already a bit dull...
Merkel hung up the iron, spread out the newspaper, and then turned away to receive the incoming guests.
When he pushed open the door of the manor, he saw a rather low-key black classic car parked outside. The door opened, and Alfred walked out with Elsa in his arms. He first put Elsa down, and then went to give her a
Dick, who was still in the car, opened the door.
Both children, one large and one small, were wearing thick winter clothes. Dick tried hard to pull away the scarf that covered half of his face, and then said, "Is this the teacher's home? This is too luxurious!"
Merkel rushed to meet her. He helped Alfred pick up Elsa. Alfred turned around and put Dick's scarf around him, and the two walked towards the manor together.
When they arrived in the hall, the children were allowed to take off their scarves, hats and gloves. Merkel hung the clothes on the hangers one by one. Alfred looked at the manor and said to Merkel:
"You've been working for a week, how do you feel?"
"Very good." Merkel nodded and said, "Mr. Rodriguez is much easier to get along with than I thought."
"That's the same thing, Merkel, don't express your opinions about the people you serve." Alfred raised his eyelids, turned his eyes upward, and looked at Merkel.
This butler is indeed very young. Although he looks like he is in his thirties from the outside, it is actually because of his pretentious appearance. In fact, he is only 28 years old and has only been trained for a short time.
However, he looked relatively honest and had a calm temperament. At first glance, he felt that this person was trustworthy. Alfred walked over and patted him on the shoulder and said, "You are born to do this."
"Thank you, Mr. Pennyworth. I thought it would be a long time before I got my first job. After all..." Merkel shook her head and said, "Many people don't trust young housekeepers now."
They led the two children up the stairs. As they walked, Alfred said: "I heard from Bruce that this professor is a very kind man, so I will recommend you to him, a professor who is older than you."
Big patrons are more tolerant of small flaws."
"To be honest, I did mess up some things this week." Merkel sighed and said a little embarrassed: "Mr. Rodriguez is used to going to bed late, and I can't go to bed too early, but this
It makes me a little distracted when I'm working during the day, and I almost broke a globe on my desk last time..."
"Moreover, he told me that whenever the newsboys come to deliver newspapers, I have to bring them something to eat, but I forgot once..."
"It's okay, Merkel. This is all normal. It's just a little mistake. You can't imagine how much trouble I caused when I first started working as a housekeeper."
As he spoke, Alfred told some interesting things that happened when he just met Thomas Wayne, and both of them laughed.
Dick held Elsa's hand from behind and looked at it. He said, "The British accent is really difficult to understand, isn't it?"
"Wow wow wow! Wow!"
"What? You want to learn? That's not possible. Then I won't be able to understand what you say in the future?"...
Soon, Merkel walked to the door of Schiller's study and knocked on the door. After Schiller answered, he opened the door and walked in.
Alfred stepped forward first, opened his suitcase, and took out a gift box with exquisite but not exaggerated packaging. He said:
"I have long admired you, Professor Rodriguez. I just heard on the radio this morning that your new achievement won another award..."
"I think such good news is very worthy of celebration, so I brought a little gift."
"Just think of it as a reminder of the academic dream I didn't take away from the rainy days in London."
As he spoke, the old man turned down the corners of his mouth, showing a somewhat funny sad expression, which made several people laugh. Schiller took the gift box and handed it to Merkel.
Merkel opened the gift box and revealed several hardcover volumes of "Sherlock Holmes" inside. Alfred gently stroked his palm and said: "Originally, I proposed to Mr. Bruce to send Shakespeare, but he said,
Maybe you'll like this more."
Schiller took the books from Merkel, touched the gilded text on the cover, and said with a smile: "I didn't know that Bruce knew me so well. Usually, he and Professor Victor
The relationship is better, which makes me a little jealous."
Alfred also smiled. He turned around and pulled Dick and Ella over. Dick stared at Joy timidly, as if he was a little afraid of such a teacher-like figure.
"Actually, I also know that Bruce must have caused a lot of trouble. His thinking has always been a bit too active, but I think Dick will be a good student. Although he entered school late, his grades in all subjects are good...
"
Schiller knelt down, looked straight at Dick, looked into his eyes, and said, "I can tell that this is an obedient child."
Then he touched Dick's head, stood up again, looked at Alfred and said: "As I wrote in my previous reply to you, he and his sister can come here every week from now on."
Three hours of class.”
"I will teach Dick grammar and some basic psychology and sociology knowledge."
"As for Aisha, as we said before, I will give her some basic sensory training to promote the development of her language system as much as possible..."
"Then I'm sorry to trouble you, Professor Rodriguez."