biography of lvan

"Who are there in your family?" Baz asked knowingly. In fact, he had already known about the young boy's family situation through eavesdropping before, but he still had to pretend so that the young boy would think he was sincerely trying to help.

"Aunt Jenny isn't my real aunt, but we're as close as a real family," the young boy said. When mentioning Aunt Jenny, a warm look appeared on his face. It could be seen that they really had a good relationship.

"In that case, I can help you send a message after I finish my business. Just tell me your address," Baz said, thinking that this would make the young boy feel more at ease to follow him.

The young boy thought about it and felt that there was indeed no better way. After hesitating for a while, he told Baz the address in detail and even carefully explained how to get there, for fear that Baz would go to the wrong place.

Baz promised repeatedly and appeared very enthusiastic, making the young boy think that he was quite reliable.

After leaving the young boy, Baz first slipped out from an alley quietly, then walked around in a big circle and returned to the original place. He carefully followed behind the young boy and quietly observed every move of the young boy without showing any signs.

The young boy was always hesitating. He took two steps forward and then two steps back. For a while, he lifted his foot as if he wanted to walk towards his home, but just as he took a step, he withdrew his foot hesitantly. He was extremely conflicted in his heart. He wandered back and forth like this for a long time. Finally, the young boy made up his mind and walked towards the stagecoach in the suburbs.

Seeing this situation, Baz finally felt completely relieved and secretly let out a sigh of relief. He quietly followed the young boy until he saw the young boy sit down on a slope beside the waiting area of the stagecoach, lowering his head silently as if he was thinking hard about something. Then a big stone in Baz's heart finally fell to the ground. Now it was safe.

Baz turned around and walked towards the center of the town. After all, there was still quite a long time before evening. It happened that he could take this opportunity to have a good time again. He couldn't waste this rare chance.

However, Baz didn't forget to take another look at that shop to see what the follow-up situation was like, so that he could know what was going on in his mind.

Baz quietly came near the shop and peeked inside. He saw an old man with white hair standing inside the shop. The old man had an air of dignity about him, and one could tell at a glance that he was a person of status. Beside him was a tall and slender young man. The young man stood straight, with a clever look in his eyes, and was standing respectfully beside the old man.

The fat shopkeeper and the hunchbacked second shopkeeper that Baz had seen before were now standing aside respectfully, not daring to make a sound, and their attitudes were extremely humble. There were also several customers who were obviously there to watch the fun, gathering around, whispering to each other and talking about it. After all, such unexpected incidents could sometimes attract the attention of passers-by very much, and everyone wanted to come over to see what was going on.

At this time, the young man bent down, picked up a glass bead from the debris of the broken porcelain on the ground, and then handed it to the old man for him to look at.

"It seems that someone deliberately made trouble here," the old man said with a sigh as he took the glass bead, frowning slightly. There was a hint of helplessness and regret in his tone, as if he was quite dissatisfied with this kind of underhanded act of sabotage.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before. How could this be?" The young man asked with a puzzled look on his face, full of confusion, as if he was surprised that someone dared to make trouble in their own shop.

"Yeah, who would do such an unreasonable thing?" The shopkeeper echoed, shaking his head as he spoke. He was equally bewildered, unable to figure out who had a grudge against their shop.

"You should go to the Security Association later and tell them about this. It's best to let everyone know so that everyone can be more careful. It seems that South Port has been a bit restless lately," the old man instructed the young man, his eyes serious. Clearly, he attached great importance to this matter and thought it necessary to involve the Security Association in the investigation.

"Father, don't worry. I'll handle it properly," the young man quickly replied, with a confident tone in his voice. He seemed to be a reliable and capable person.

Hearing this, the old man nodded with satisfaction. Then he turned to the shopkeeper and the second shopkeeper and said, "I know this isn't your fault. Don't worry. There's no need to be so worried. Also, go and find that child and tell him it's okay and not to be too scared to come back. However, you must be more careful in the future. Since someone wants to make trouble in South Port, you have to be cautious in everything."

After saying that, the old man lowered his head again, looked at the shattered porcelain pieces scattered on the ground, shook his head and sighed once more, "Alas, what a pity for such a fine thing. Such exquisite porcelain has been ruined. It's truly a pity." He really seemed to feel heartbroken about the destruction of the porcelain.

Baz, who was hiding and peeking, secretly nodded in approval when he saw how the old man handled the situation. He thought to himself that it was no wonder the old man had made such a fortune. He really had his ways. The way he dealt with things was quite reasonable.

As for the shopkeeper and the second shopkeeper, after hearing the old man's words, they were so grateful that they were on the verge of kneeling down. Their grateful expressions showed that they were truly grateful from the bottom of their hearts for the old man's tolerance and understanding. Baz knew that after this incident, no matter how great the difficulties they encountered in the future, these two people would definitely be loyal to the old man and would never have second thoughts.

Just a broken plate, an unchangeable fact, yet the old man could make such good use of it. He not only appeased his employees but also made everyone more vigilant and was able to show his magnanimity at the same time. This shrewd businessman was really remarkable in handling affairs. His methods were truly brilliant.

Watching this scene, Baz couldn't help thinking secretly to himself when he could reach such a position. If only he had such abilities, how nice it would be. Then he could live a more carefree and comfortable life in this world and wouldn't have to do those sneaky things while being on tenterhooks all day long.

After leaving the shop, Baz walked swiftly and rushed towards the docks as fast as he could. He was thinking about going to those casinos again to try his luck. After all, gambling was a particularly interesting thing for him.

When doing something one likes, time always flies by quickly without one noticing. It didn't seem like he had played for long, but quite a bit of time had already passed.

Fortunately, Baz always kept in mind that he had to arrive at the stagecoach before evening and couldn't leave the young boy behind. After all, the main task of coming to South Port this time was to find such a suitable new recruit. He couldn't delay the important matter because of having fun.

When coming out of the casino, Baz was extremely satisfied. Unlike yesterday, he was going back to Lair today. He didn't know when he could come to South Port to have fun again. So this time, he didn't need to hold back at all and played with all his might.

Today, Baz was like a greedy gambler, fully demonstrating his skills at the gambling table and completely defeating his opponents. The pile of money in front of him grew higher and higher. His opponents looked at him with fierce eyes, almost gnashing their teeth with hatred. But Baz pretended not to see it and still went his own way, indulging in the joy of winning money.

The old gamblers who had been hanging around in the casino all year round and the bodyguards in charge of keeping order in the casino all looked at Baz with unfriendly and warning looks in their eyes, as if they were staring at a dead man. Because they all knew very well that those who were too arrogant and reckless in the casino often ended up floating on the shore near the docks the next day, turning into a cold corpse waiting for others to pick it up. The end was really tragic.

When Baz swaggered out of the casino, he turned around and found that a group of gamblers were following him. These people had been cleaned out by him at the gambling table. At this moment, their eyes were fierce, looking as if they were going to devour Baz alive. It was really scary.

Baz had all the property he won in the casino in his arms. In this casino trip, he had exchanged all his money for more than 150 gold coins in total. It was quite a good harvest. Although this amount of money was still not enough to buy the carriage he had always dreamed of, it was enough to buy a horse and then some (meaning it could make up the money for a horse). Having such a harvest in just three days, Baz was already quite satisfied and was extremely happy in his heart.

Now, the first thing he needed to do was to find a way to get rid of these guys who were eyeing him covetously behind him. If they kept following him, no one knew what would happen.

However, for Baz, a "golden finger" who was always ready to escape and had extremely strong adaptability, it was an extremely easy thing to get rid of a few guys with obvious targets and whose minds had already been clouded by anger at this moment.

Baz used a little trick. He just cleverly made those fierce-looking guys attract the attention of one or two plainclothes sheriffs. When the sheriffs saw that these people didn't look right and seemed to be about to make trouble, they immediately kept an eye on them. Taking this opportunity, Baz easily got rid of these followers behind him and got away smoothly.

With the biggest fortune he had ever gained in his life in his arms, Baz returned to the waiting area of the stagecoach in a happy mood.

Before he even got close, from a distance, he saw the young boy walking uneasily back and forth there. It was obvious that he was extremely nervous in his heart, constantly worrying about whether Baz would come or not and what he should do if Baz didn't show up.

When Baz got closer, the young boy saw him at a glance. The expression on his face immediately relaxed and was no longer as tense as before. The corners of his mouth even turned up slightly, showing a bit of a smile. It could be seen that seeing Baz appear, a big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.

"You're here. I... I thought you wouldn't come. Did you tell Aunt Jenny that I'm going on a long trip with you?" As soon as the young boy saw Baz, he couldn't wait to ask. There was anxiety in his tone. Obviously, he cared a lot about this matter. After all, Aunt Jenny was the person closest to him. It would always be uneasy in his heart if he left without saying goodbye to her.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Of course I did it. The road to where you live is really hard to walk on. The ground is full of mud, and the smell is really bad. It's so strange. How could you live in such a place for so long," Baz casually made up these words. Anyway, he just wanted the young boy to believe that he had really been to his home.

And the young boy believed Baz's words completely. In his opinion, since Baz could mention these details, it meant that he must have been to his home. So he had more trust in Baz in his heart.

At this time, a stagecoach happened to be parked at the station. So Baz took the young boy and got on it together.

To be honest, this was the first time in Baz's life that he had sat inside the carriage. In the past, he always secretly hung on the back of the luggage rack to hitch a ride. Once he sat inside, he found that it was much more comfortable than hanging on the luggage rack. It was spacious and stable, and it felt quite novel.

Baz sat down by the window. The young boy was sitting opposite him. At this time, the carriage wasn't full yet and there were still two empty seats. Because it wasn't fully loaded, the coachman didn't plan to set off and was still waiting to see if there were other passengers getting on.

An old woman was sitting beside Baz. After getting on the carriage, the old woman closed her eyes and rested by herself, not talking much, looking quite at ease. The middle-aged man sitting diagonally opposite was different. Obviously, he was an impatient person. All that could be heard was his continuous complaints about why the carriage hadn't left yet and how long he had been waiting and so on. He was muttering to himself with a look of impatience on his face. A young couple was sitting by the door of the carriage. The two of them were whispering to each other as if no one else was around, and from time to time, there were soft laughter. It seemed that they had a very good relationship.

"I... I don't have any money with me. What... what should I do? Is it..." The young boy said to Baz in a worried and uneasy tone in a low voice. He was quite worried, afraid of causing trouble for Baz because of things like not being able to pay the fare, and also afraid that Baz would dislike him because of this.

"It doesn't matter. I'll pay for it first. You can pay me back later," Baz said casually, looking as if he didn't care at all. Anyway, he had money in his pocket now and didn't care about this small amount of money.

He thought for a moment and then asked, "I guess you must be hungry by now. I haven't eaten anything either. I'm not familiar with this place. Go and buy some food." As he spoke, Baz took out a gold coin from his arms and handed it to the young boy. He was so generous that he didn't even blink an eye.

"Oh, we don't need so much money," the young boy was shocked by Baz's generous offer when he saw the big gold coin handed over by Baz and quickly waved his hands and said. In his opinion, it was completely unnecessary to use so much money to buy some food. It was such a waste.

"There's nothing I can do. I only have gold coins with me at the moment," Baz said while showing the money in his arms. The pile of gold coins glittered with golden light in the sunlight, looking rather dazzling.

The young boy's face turned a bit pale when he saw so much money. He widened his eyes and quickly said, "Be careful. What if it gets stolen?"

Hearing this, Baz almost burst out laughing. He thought to himself, Humph, I'm an old hand in the theft business. In the whole southern region, is there any thief I don't know? And is there any thief who doesn't know me? Worrying about getting stolen? How naive.

However, Baz couldn't say these words to this inexperienced young boy. Even if he said them, the boy wouldn't understand and might even be scared away. That would be troublesome. So Baz just smiled and didn't pick up on this topic.

Baz smiled and comforted him, "Don't worry. Look at the people sitting in the carriage. Which one of them looks like a thief? Nothing will happen. Just relax."

"It's better to be careful. By the way, how come you have so much money?" The young boy blinked his eyes and asked curiously. He was full of doubts about the large amount of gold coins in Baz's arms. After all, in his opinion, such a large amount of money was no small sum.

"Oh, I'm here to collect debts. Every month, our employer will ask me to come to South Port to settle accounts once. It wasn't very smooth today. I only received less than 30% of the money," Baz's mind worked quickly and he made up a reason casually, thinking that this excuse should be able to get by.

"30%? I think there are about 120 or 130 gold coins. That means an income of nearly 400 a month. What does your employer do? Is the money collected the payment for goods or interest?" The young boy became even more interested when he heard this and threw out a series of questions. His eagerness to get to the bottom of things came up all of a sudden.

Hearing the young boy asking so detailed questions, Baz's heart skipped a beat. He was afraid that he might accidentally give himself away. So he quickly pretended to be impatient and said, "Why are you asking these? It has nothing to do with you. Stop prying."

"No, no, I didn't mean it. I just have this habit of always asking questions. Aunt Jenny always says that this habit of mine is not good and asks me to get rid of it, but I just can't seem to change it. Aunt Jenny said that if you're a wealthy person, this is called being studious and you'll be very promising in the future. But we don't have money and can't afford to go to school. Always asking questions like this can easily annoy others. I really didn't mean it. Please don't mind it. Don't take it to heart..." Hearing what Baz said, the young boy immediately panicked and quickly started to explain. He spoke so fast as if he were a machine gun, for fear that Baz would get angry and not take him along.

Listening to the young boy chattering on and on with his explanations beside him, Baz couldn't be more annoyed. He turned his head to look out of the window and didn't want to pay attention to him. He thought to himself that this kid was really too talkative. He was always crying and now was so talkative. He was just like a woman. Had he made the wrong choice? Was such a guy suitable to be the new recruit? Baz began to hesitate and became a bit shaken about his previous decision.

The young boy was quite sensible. Seeing that Baz didn't want to pay attention to him, he shut his mouth and didn't say anything more. Then, he jumped off the carriage, moved quite nimbly, and quickly ran towards the alley in the distance. Before long, he came back carrying a big basket.

After jumping onto the carriage and returning to his seat, the young boy pushed the basket in front of Baz. He was still holding a handful of silver coins he got in change in his left hand and said with a smile, "This should be enough. If it's not enough, I'll go and buy some more." As he spoke, he stuffed the change into Baz's hand.

For a seasoned and skillful "golden finger" like Baz, he could roughly tell the amount of money just by holding it in his hand. This was a skill he had developed over the years.

When Baz felt the money, he was quite surprised. Such a big basket of food only cost two silver coins. It was even cheaper than the meals in the cheap inn where he stayed on the first day. It was really beyond his expectation.

Seeing the puzzled look on Baz's face, the young boy immediately became nervous and said in a flustered manner, "I... I definitely didn't pocket a single copper coin. Really, I paid the exact amount. I didn't take any extra..." He looked so worried that Baz would misunderstand him as a greedy person that his face turned red.

The young boy's frightened and respectful look made Baz find it rather interesting and he couldn't help but want to laugh. He quickly comforted him, "Don't worry, don't worry. I didn't mean to suspect you at all. I'm just surprised that this basket of things seems a bit too cheap."

Hearing what Baz said, the young boy finally let out a sigh of relief and explained, "Here, the prices of different things can vary a lot at different times. All the things I bought are top-quality pastries that were made in the morning but didn't get sold. If those big shops still can't sell them by this time, they will just throw them away. So when I went to buy them, they sold them to me at a very low price. Anyway, not many people would think of eating pastries at night."

"Then what about this basket? Are they going to throw the basket away too?" Baz still found it rather strange. After all, the basket looked quite nice. How could they be willing to throw it away?

"Oh, the basket. Those big shops will give away baskets when selling any pastries. If you buy a lot of things, they'll give you a big basket. If you buy less, you'll also get a delicate and small basket. Usually, all these pastries together would cost at least seventeen or eighteen silver coins. The price of the basket is already included in it," the young boy patiently explained. He explained it very clearly and seemed to know these situations quite well.

"Seventeen or eighteen silver coins," Baz couldn't help exclaiming when he heard this number. While smacking his lips in amazement, he said, "Today, I must have a good taste of these pastries that are worth seventeen or eighteen silver coins. They must be really delicious."

As Baz said this, he casually opened the basket, took out the pastries wrapped neatly in cardboard boxes one by one, and then took a bite of each to taste how good they were.

The young boy was obviously also starving. Seeing that Baz had started eating, he also picked the pastries that Baz had already taken from and ate them with great relish, looking quite satisfied.

"Um, good, good. What's this?" Baz asked curiously as he was eating and thought one of the pastries had a rather special taste.

"This is eel bake. It's a famous specialty in South Port. If you eat it while it's hot, the taste will be even more delicious. It's a pity that it's a bit cold now, but it's still quite tasty," the young boy explained with a smile, while reminiscing about the delicious taste of the eel bake when it was hot.

"I think it's already quite good like this. Then what's this? I think it's even tastier than the eel bake," Baz picked up another pastry and took a bite. His eyes immediately lit up, thinking that this one tasted even better.

"That's the famous crab meat bun in South Port. The filling is made of sea crab meat. It's really delicious," the young boy quickly introduced it. When mentioning the crab meat bun, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva. It seemed that he also loved it very much.

"Yes, yes, it's really delicious. Then what's this? I think it tastes no worse than the crab meat bun," Baz picked up another kind of pastry, took a bite and said. He couldn't stop praising the taste of these pastries, thinking that each one was extremely delicious.

"That's the curry beef roll. The beef is nothing special. However, it uses a precious spice called curry. It's shipped from the distant East and is very expensive. That's why the curry beef roll has such a unique taste," the young boy introduced it. He was quite familiar with the ingredients of these pastries.

"Very expensive. Well, but it's really worth it. It's quite worth it even if it costs seventeen or eighteen silver coins. The taste is so great," Baz kept praising while eating the pastries. He thought to himself that if he had known there was such a good thing that was cheap and delicious, he would have eaten these nice things every day during the three days in South Port. What a pity that he didn't discover it earlier.

The amount of food bought with two silver coins was indeed quite sufficient. Before Baz had eaten half of it, he already felt full. After forcing himself to eat two more curry beef rolls, he really couldn't eat anything else and was stuffed to the brim. As for the young boy, his appetite was much smaller than Baz's. By now, he had almost eaten his fill too and his stomach was also bulging.

Baz looked at the half basket of pastries left and started thinking about how he could keep it from being discovered by those "wolves" (referring to the others in the hideout) when he got back. Such nice things should be kept for himself to enjoy slowly. At most, he would pick two pieces and offer them to the old man to butter him up and make the old man happy. After all, the old man was quite important to him.

While Baz was wholeheartedly thinking about how to hide the pastries well, he heard the coachman shout. It turned out that the last two passengers had finally arrived. Immediately after that, the stagecoach slowly started to move. The wheels rolled, making a "creaking" sound, and slowly drove towards Lair.

Baz leaned against the window of the carriage and leisurely looked at the scenery outside the window. This feeling was really novel for him. He had never experienced it before. There was a special feeling surging in his heart. He couldn't tell whether it was excitement or comfort. Anyway, it was quite unique.

It was already evening at this time. The sky gradually darkened. The distant scenery became blurry and only a faint shadow could be seen, indistinct and not clear. And the nearby trees and fields were also shrouded in a dim, lifeless afterglow of the setting sun. The whole picture looked a bit gloomy and even had a touch of desolation. To be honest, the scenery outside the window wasn't really that nice.

However, Baz was still watching it with great interest and didn't care at all whether the scenery was nice or not. In the past, every time he took the stagecoach, he always secretly hung on the back of the carriage. At that time, there was only the whistling wind in his ears. The wind was blowing so hard that it made his ears ache and he could hardly open his eyes. In such a situation, any scenery seemed thrilling and exciting, and he didn't have the mood to appreciate it properly.

But now it was different. Sitting comfortably inside the carriage, Baz finally felt that traveling could be such a relaxing and leisurely enjoyment. This feeling was really wonderful.

The carriage moved slowly along the road in the fields. The wheels rolled over the ground and the carriage swayed gently. It felt like when he was a child sleeping in a cradle, being gently rocked by someone. The rhythm was slow, making him relax completely. It was really comfortable and extremely pleasant.

Moreover, through the screen window, the night wind blowing into the carriage wasn't as biting and piercing as it was outside. On the contrary, the wind carried the fragrance of trees. The fresh and natural smell wafted over, making people feel comfortable in their hearts. It seemed that even the fatigue of the journey was blown away by this wind.

Baz really liked this kind of enjoyment. He leaned back on the seat, closed his eyes, and fully savored this rare and pleasant time. He was almost reluctant to see the journey end.

The distance from South Port to Lair wasn't really far. It was at most a two-hour journey. Before long, the stagecoach slowly stopped at the city gate of Lair. At this time, Baz was still immersed in the pleasant enjoyment of the journey just now. He was a bit light-headed. If the young boy hadn't reached out and pushed him to remind him that it was time to get off, he probably would have been in a daze for quite a while.

After getting off the carriage, it was completely dark. The surroundings were pitch black. They could only barely make out the road under their feet by the hazy moonlight, just like walking in the dark.

For Baz, he was so familiar with the city of Lair, as familiar as the lines on his own palm. Even without any light at this moment, he could still find his way smoothly by relying on his memory and sense of direction. There was no need to worry about getting lost at all.

However, it was different for the young boy. He was completely unfamiliar with this place. He could only stagger along behind Baz, taking one step forward and one step back. There were several places on the road where the surface was uneven. The young boy wasn't careful a few times and almost tripped over. He looked rather clumsy.

Baz walked in front, secretly glad that he had the foresight. Fortunately, he didn't let the boy carry the basket of pastries just now. If he had let him carry it, with his unsteady walking, no one knew how many good things would have been wasted. That would have been such a pity.

Walking in the dark along the night road like this, Baz led the young boy towards their hideout. Before they even entered the alley, Baz lowered his voice and said softly to the young boy, "It's already very late today. I'll take you to see my employer tomorrow. You can stay at my place tonight. Remember, don't talk to anyone, got it?"

Hearing a soft reply from the young boy in the dark behind him, Baz knew that he had listened. So he took off his coat, carefully wrapped the remaining pastries into a bundle, and held them in his arms. As for the basket, Baz thought it was useless to take it with him, so he casually threw it outside the alley. Then he took the young boy, walked through the alley, and headed towards the hideout.

As soon as they entered the hideout, those "golden fingers" saw that their leader had come back and greeted him enthusiastically one after another. A few of them even came up to try to get on good terms with Baz. But Baz was thinking about other things at this moment and didn't want to pay attention to them at all. With a straight face and without saying a word, he took the young boy and walked straight towards his room upstairs. His steps were quick and hurried, as if someone was chasing him from behind.

Seeing the leader's abnormal behavior, those "golden fingers" all felt rather puzzled. They looked at each other, not knowing what was wrong with the leader. However, some of those who were quicker-witted saw that there was a new face following behind the leader and roughly guessed what was going on in their hearts. They vaguely understood the situation.

But there were still one or two guys who didn't know how to read the situation and were rather tactless. Regardless of how bad Baz's face looked at this moment, they still came up to try to curry favor. They said some flattering words, and Baz was really annoyed in his heart.

Just when Baz was feeling embarrassed and thinking about how to get rid of these people and saw that the young boy was gradually showing a suspicious look on his face, probably feeling strange about the situation, an old voice came from upstairs: "Baz, is it you who's back?"

Following this voice, the little old man slowly walked downstairs. He first took a look at the young boy following behind Baz and then said, "You've had a hard journey. The journey must have been tiring. There's still a lot of work to do tomorrow morning. You, quickly take your little friend to have a rest. Don't delay here."

"Yes, the employer is waiting for my reply tomorrow. I really should go to rest early," Baz quickly echoed the old man's words. He secretly thanked the old man for coming to his rescue at this moment. Otherwise, he really didn't know how to deal with those "golden fingers".

When the old man heard Baz mention the employer out of the blue, he immediately understood the general situation. After thinking for a moment, he guessed what had happened roughly. He smiled and said, "Yes, yes. The employer must be impatient. You've been away for such a long time. The employer will want to see you early tomorrow morning. You should go and have a rest quickly. As for this little friend, he can stay in my room tonight. Your room is really too dirty and in a mess. It's not convenient to receive guests."

Hearing the old man's arrangement, Baz quickly pulled the young boy and walked upstairs, for fear that something might go wrong again.

When he saw that the young boy had followed Baz and left, the old man then turned around and said to all the "golden fingers", "Everyone has worked hard today. Go to bed early. There's still work to do early tomorrow morning. Be energetic."

Those sharp-minded "golden fingers" immediately understood that the old man was giving them the hint to leave when they heard this. So they quickly started to tidy up and prepared to go back to their own rooms to rest. Of course, there were still a few guys who were really slow on the uptake and didn't know how to read the situation. As soon as the old man finished speaking, they seemed to have not heard anything and started playing and making noise again, shouting and yelling. The noise echoed in the hideout, sounding particularly harsh.

Seeing those guys who didn't know how to behave and were still making noise non-stop, the old man walked towards them unhurriedly. And those clever and tactful "golden fingers" who knew how to read the situation had already moved aside quickly when they saw the old man's posture. They hid far away, for fear of getting involved. They stood aside quietly, not daring to make a sound.

The old man walked up to them and suddenly moved as fast as lightning. He grabbed the throat of the one who was making the most noise with one hand. His movement was so quick, just like a bolt of lightning. It didn't seem like something an old man with an aged appearance could do at all. It made people couldn't help but gasp.

Looking at the old man's face, he still had that extremely natural smile on it, as if he was just chatting casually with people. However, his withered and old yet extremely powerful fingers, with the veins bulging, were firmly gripping the guy's throat without moving at all, exuding an unquestionable air of authority. And looking at the poor fellow whose throat was being grabbed, his face turned as red as a pig's liver, and the whites of his eyes were rolling upwards. That uncomfortable and wretched look made anyone who saw it no longer think that the old man was an amiable person. The contrast was really too big.

"You young people always don't know how to control yourselves and don't know how to take care of your own bodies. Going to bed early is for your own good. It's for the sake of your health," the old man said slowly to all the "golden fingers" in a tone like a kind and loving old grandfather nagging at playful little grandchildren full of care. There seemed to be endless patience and concern in his tone. But the fierce scene just now was still in everyone's eyes, so when they heard these words, they just felt a chill down their spines and didn't dare to have any other thoughts.

After saying these words, the old man gently loosened his fingers. His technique was quite ingenious, allowing the blood that had been blocked in the guy's throat and filled his head to slowly flow back to the heart, and the breath that had been held in his lungs could also be slowly exhaled, so as to avoid causing violent coughing. The old man's method was really quite clever.

In fact, the strange smile on the old man's face itself had an invisible deterrent power, making everyone too scared to make any sound. Even the guy who had just suffered a lot just covered his throat and didn't dare to breathe heavily at this moment, let alone protest or cry. The whole scene was terrifyingly quiet.

As the old man waved his hand, just like giving a silent order, all the "golden fingers" walked towards their bedrooms quietly. Each of them walked on tiptoe, afraid of making any noise to displease the old man. Before long, the whole hall became completely silent. Even if someone couldn't help but cough softly once or twice occasionally, the sound was immediately blocked by the thick quilts, only some slight and muffled sounds could be heard, and they quickly dissipated in the still air.

Seeing that his actions had such an obvious effect, the old man showed a knowing smile on his face and thought to himself that it seemed his authority was still as impressive as before. These kids really needed to be kept in check.

The old man then looked up at his own room upstairs and lifted his feet to walk upstairs.

He came to Baz's door, reached out and pushed it open gently. As soon as he entered, he saw that slippery Baz was lying comfortably on the bed, eating pastries with great relish. And on the table beside the bed, there was still a pile of such nice things, looking quite plentiful.

"Oh, crab meat buns. You've got a good harvest during this trip to South Port. You can even afford such expensive pastries now," the old man was quite surprised when he saw the pastries in Baz's mouth and couldn't help saying, "These probably cost you a gold coin." As he said this, the old man also stretched out his hand, as if he wanted Baz to hand over his gains voluntarily.

Baz knew what the old man meant, but how could he be willing to do that? So he pretended to be confused, took a piece of fish cake from the table and stuffed it into the old man's hand, saying with a smile, "It wasn't that expensive. Try this fish cake. The taste is quite good too."

"Stop pretending to be confused. Hand over your gains from this trip to South Port. Don't try to fool me," the old man still had that smile on his face, but there was a hint of unquestionable meaning in his eyes. He said slowly. Obviously, he wasn't so easy to be fooled.

"I really didn't get much. Don't be suspicious for no reason. These things aren't worth much. They only cost two silver coins in total," Baz quickly explained. He sounded so confident, but in his heart, he was hoping that the old man would believe his words.

"Two silver coins? The crab meat buns you're chewing on are worth more than two silver coins. If you put together a big basket and get a 30% discount, it would still cost about twenty silver coins," the old man didn't fall for his trick. He knew it clearly in his heart and directly exposed Baz's words. He explained it very clearly. It seemed that he was quite familiar with the prices of these pastries.

"So you know about the basket thing. But you've never told me about it and never treated me to any. You're really not nice," Baz felt a bit aggrieved when he heard the old man's words. He muttered, looking rather pitiful, trying to change the topic.

"Oh, so you also bought a basket? You're quite wealthy," the old man said following his words, but in his heart, he thought that this kid definitely wasn't telling the truth. However, he wasn't in a hurry and would slowly deal with him.

"I threw the basket outside the alley. But it really only cost two silver coins. If you don't believe me, you can ask the new guy. He went to buy them. There's a trick to it," Baz said triumphantly, thinking that he had found a good reason and that the old man should believe him now.

The old man gave Baz a look and found it funny in his heart, but he still nodded and said, "Well, then when you go to South Port next time, bring some for me. I'd like to taste these cheap and delicious pastries. By the way, what's the story with that new guy? Tell me about it." The old man changed the topic and asked about the young boy again. He was quite curious about this new situation.

Hearing that the old man didn't mention the gains from South Port anymore, Baz was extremely happy. He quickly told the old man in detail what had happened in South Port from beginning to end. Of course, he definitely wouldn't tell the old man about the two money bags he had secretly taken in South Port and the big wins he had in the casino. These things couldn't be known by the old man. Otherwise, he didn't know how much the old man would scold him.

"I'm glad to hear all this. It seems that you're gradually learning to use strategies. That's very good. I'm much more relieved now," the old man said with a smile after listening. His face was full of a gratified look and he was quite satisfied with Baz's performance this time.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Baz was confused by the old man's words and asked with a puzzled look, not understanding the deep meaning in the old man's words.

"I'm getting older and older. I'm old and should retire. I plan to let you take over my position. Tomorrow, you'll have to go with me to see the boss. Go to bed early tonight," After saying that, the old man turned around and walked out of Baz's room, leaving Baz alone in the room, staring at the old man's back in a daze for a long time.

At this moment, Baz was the only one left in the room, standing there in a daze. He had never expected that he would be able to take the old man's position one day. This was really great news for him, like a pie falling from the sky and making him feel dizzy. The excitement in Baz's heart couldn't be suppressed at all. He was so excited that his whole mind was thinking about how majestic he would look when sitting in that position in the future.

As for the old man, after walking out of Baz's small and gloomy bedroom, he returned to his own room.

As soon as he entered the room, the old man saw an interesting scene. The young boy was sitting under the lamp, reading the books that the old man had put there just for show with great relish. He was so absorbed in it that he didn't seem to notice that someone had come in.

"Do you like reading very much?" The old man asked softly. His voice broke the silence in the quiet room.

Obviously, the young boy who was immersed in the book didn't notice that someone had entered the room at all. He was startled by the sudden voice and shuddered violently. The book in his hand almost fell to the ground. After all, he had been in an extremely tense state all day long. This little fright was definitely not a small shock for him at the moment. His heart was pounding, and it took him a long time to calm down.

The old man looked at the young boy's pale face without a trace of color and his frightened eyes, thinking that this child must have been really frightened today and should be comforted properly now. So, with a gentle smile on his face, the old man said with a smile, "Don't worry, child. If you like it, you can read as much as you want. I'm quite happy that there's someone here who's interested in reading. It's quite a rare thing."

"Thank you. You have so many books here," the young boy had obviously regained his composure. Hearing what the old man said, he was quite grateful and said sincerely, with a hint of love for these books in his eyes.

"Not bad. By the way, do you like reading that much?" The old man pretended to be curious and asked again. Actually, he wanted to take this opportunity to understand this young boy more deeply and see what kind of person he was.

The young boy didn't think too much and replied without suspicion, "Yes. Mr. Madi Erd also has a lot of books. Ah, by the way, Mr. Madiield was my former young employer. He was really a very learned man. Mr. Madiield said that only knowledge is the only wealth that will never be lost or lose its value, and books are the treasure trove of knowledge. So he collected a large number of books. However, I couldn't understand most of the books. Only the parts that I could understand did I find particularly interesting."

"Oh? Which books do you think are very interesting?" The old man continued to ask calmly, becoming more and more curious about the young boy's preferences and wanting to know where his interests lay.

"Many. For example, books about various plants and animals, and those introducing the local customs and practices around the world, and also those about navigation. Oh, by the way, I like books about navigation the most. They're really interesting. The adventure stories on the sea told in the books are so fascinating," the young boy became excited when he mentioned the books he liked. He talked animatedly, with his eyes shining.

"Then are there any novels? What kind of novels do you like?" The old man asked again, wanting to understand the young boy's reading preferences from different angles.

"Novels? No, there were no novels among Mr. Madiield's books. There were quite a few collections of poems, and there were also some books about myths, legends, and religions. But I couldn't understand most of them. But I really don't remember there being any novels," the young boy tilted his head and thought for a while, then replied. He was quite serious and was trying hard to recall the situation of reading books before.

"Have you never owned your own books?" The old man then asked, wanting to further understand the young boy's past experiences and see if he could find out more about him from it.

The young boy had an embarrassed look on his face. He lowered his head slightly and said a bit shyly, "They're too expensive. I hardly have any money. Although Aunt Jenny once said that she could lend me money to buy books, how could I let her spend so much? She's already worked hard to take care of me. I really couldn't bear to let her spend money on me again."

"Aunt Jenny? Is she very kind to you?" The old man continued to ask, with a hint of inquiry in his eyes, wanting to understand the relationship between the young boy and Aunt Jenny more deeply.

"Yes, she's just like my mother. Since I became sensible, it's been Aunt Jenny taking care of me. My father and Uncle Caul were both sailors. But later, my father got a terrible disease, and it was contagious. I didn't even get to see him for the last time. In the end, not even his ashes were left. He just... just disappeared," the young boy's voice choked up as he spoke, and his face was full of sadness. That painful memory obviously still deeply hurt his heart even now.

"Well, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Caul also lost their respective relatives. They got together later, right?" There was deep sadness in the young boy's tone, a kind of extremely heavy sadness that only those who had personally experienced that disaster could deeply understand. It seemed that as soon as he mentioned these things, those painful scenes would reappear in front of his eyes.

From the young boy's words, the old man learned that the young boy lived in a family that was rebuilt after losing relatives due to that plague. He knew in his heart that this was quite valuable information for him. After all, for everyone, with different experiences, the ways to control them were naturally completely different. Knowing these past events would enable him to better figure out how to get along with the young boy and how to make him work for him.

The old man was quite satisfied with the results of this inquiry and thought that this trip had been quite fruitful. He reached out and gently stroked the young boy's head, comforting him like a kind elder, "I'm really sorry for bringing up these unpleasant things. You must be very tired today. Go and have a rest quickly. You can sleep on the sofa in the outer room. There are blankets and pillows in the wardrobe. Just take them out and make the bed yourself. Have a good sleep."

"I... I want to read for a while longer," the young boy hesitated for a moment and still said in a low voice. There was a longing for reading in his eyes. Obviously, he couldn't bear to put down the book in his hand at this moment.

"Well, in that case, you can pick a few books from these and take them away. Consider them as a gift from me. But you must go to bed early. I'll have to take you to see the employer tomorrow morning," the old man thought for a while and said with a smile. He thought that it was a good habit for the child to love reading, and it wouldn't hurt to give him a few books.

"Just for a while. Anyway, there isn't much oil left in the lamp. Let me read until the oil lamp goes out. Please," the young boy raised his head, looking at the old man with a pleading look in his eyes, earnestly begging. His appearance made it hard to refuse.

"Alright, then you can read. But don't go to bed too late," the old man shook his head helplessly and instructed. Then he turned around and prepared to go back to his bedroom.

After the old man returned to his bedroom, he didn't close the door of the study completely. Instead, he deliberately left a crack, thinking that in case there was any noise, he could detect it in time and feel more at ease.

Through that crack, the old man could see that the young boy had obviously turned down the flame of the oil lamp outside to make it very small and dim. In this way, the oil in the lamp could last a bit longer. It seemed that the young boy really intended to read for a while longer by this weak light.

Looking at this scene, the old man shook his head helplessly and thought with a wry smile that Odrie would probably be quite interested in this new recruit he had found. After all, a studious child like this had never appeared among them before. He was really quite special.

The hideout was extremely quiet at night. It was so silent that it seemed that one could hear everyone's breathing. However, no one could fall asleep.

Those "golden fingers" had been ordered to rest early. They didn't dare to disobey the old man's wishes. After all, they had witnessed the old man's powerful means just now, and no one wanted to court disaster. But for them, who were used to staying up late and having fun, lying in bed so early, how could they fall asleep? They tossed and turned in bed, still thinking about the various abnormal behaviors of the leader and the old man today.

As for Baz, he was actually quite tired today. But because the old man told him that he would take over his position, his mind was in a turmoil and couldn't calm down at all. He tossed and turned in bed and couldn't fall asleep.

"Is the old man going to retire?" Baz kept thinking about this matter over and over in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and at the same time, he couldn't quite believe it was true.

The old man's retirement was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. It meant that he could suddenly rise to a position that he had never dared to imagine before.

For him, who grew up in the slums since childhood and later became a "golden finger" hanging around on the streets all day long, the old man's position was already the top in his perception of social status. Above that, there was only the boss.

Baz also thought that maybe Odrie would replace the boss in the future. After all, the boss was already getting on in years. Odrie had a pretty good relationship with him. If he could look after him, he should be able to do quite well here in the future. The more he thought about it, the brighter he felt the future was.

Once he took the old man's position, money should no longer be a problem. Although Baz didn't actually know exactly how much property the old man had, he knew that the old man owned at least one manor in France. Just this alone made him a small wealthy landowner.

Baz couldn't help but start thinking about what he would do if he had such a sum of money.

He didn't want to be a stable landlord like the old man. That would be so boring. He thought that he should learn from those merchants in South Port. Maybe investing in business could earn him more money. After earning money, he could continue to invest, and then his assets would grow like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger. By then, he would become a truly wealthy man, able to get whatever he wanted. What a wonderful life that would be.

Baz was so immersed in the beautiful vision of the future that a smile unconsciously appeared on his face, as if he had already seen the day when he became a millionaire.