biography of lvan

1

When the gentle morning sunlight shone into the deep alley where the hideout was located, the old man woke up early. He got out of bed nimbly, opened the bedroom door gently, and walked slowly into the study.

On the sofa by the side of the study, the young boy was sleeping soundly. There was a relaxed look on his face, and his breathing was even and gentle. Obviously, he had been too tired yesterday and was now immersed in a sweet dream.

The old man didn't want to disturb the young boy, so he walked softly, quietly opened the door of the room, and then walked downstairs carefully and came to Baz's door.

In this hideout, none of the doors were locked. After all, all the people living here were experts in picking locks. Locks were basically useless here and were just for decoration. Moreover, if the doors were locked, it would easily make those "golden fingers" itchy-handed. Maybe they would be unable to resist fiddling with them on a whim and break the locks.

The old man reached out and pushed the door open gently and walked into the room. Unlike the young boy, Baz was an experienced and veteran thief who had been committing crimes for years. Any abnormal noise in the room could immediately arouse his vigilance. He had always been very alert when sleeping.

Sure enough, as soon as the old man entered, Baz was instantly awakened. He sat up on the bed at once, with a vigilant look in his eyes. Only when he saw clearly that it was the old man did he relax a little. Seeing Baz's alert reaction, the old man was quite satisfied and nodded, saying, "Get up quickly. Go and call Ted. We have to go to see the boss. Be quick about it."

"So early?" Baz was still a bit dazed, with sleepy eyes. He rubbed his eyes and asked in confusion. He wondered why they were in such a hurry to see the boss in the early morning, but he didn't dare to ask more and just replied.

"Leave here before everyone gets up. I don't want another mess like yesterday. Let's avoid the trouble," the old man said with a frown. Obviously, he didn't want too many people to know their whereabouts and wanted to go to see the boss quietly.

"Understood," Baz replied. Then he jumped out of bed nimbly, put on a piece of clothing casually, and then ran out of the room quickly. His speed was really fast, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

After quite a while, Baz came back, holding a piece of clothing in his hand. Panting, he said, "The carriage is waiting outside. Ted said the alley is too deep and his carriage couldn't get in, so it can only park outside."

"Go and wake that boy up," the old man ordered when he heard this, thinking that they should quickly wake the young boy up and set off together.

Baz replied and then turned around and walked upstairs quickly.

To wake the young boy up wasn't really that difficult. Baz walked up to him, pushed him gently and called out a few times, and the young boy woke up in a daze.

Baz handed the piece of clothing he was holding to the young boy and then stepped back to the window consciously. He looked out of the window. He wasn't interested in watching a boy change clothes and felt rather embarrassed, so he turned his back.

Baz stood by the window and looked downstairs. He saw the old man and Ted whispering something to each other. He didn't know what they were talking about. Ted kept nodding as he listened. It seemed that the old man was explaining something important.

"I've changed," came the young boy's voice from behind at this time.

Baz turned around and took a look. Oh, the young boy in the new clothes looked particularly energetic. There was some color on his face and he was no longer as pale and haggard as yesterday. It seemed that after a night's rest, he had slowly recovered from yesterday's turmoil and was in quite a good state.

"Then, let's go!" After saying that, Baz led the way and walked downstairs. The young boy and the old man followed him and walked outside together.

When they came outside the alley, sure enough, the carriage had been ready there for a long time. The coachman was sitting in the front of the carriage, waiting for them quietly.

Following the old man and Baz, the young boy got on the carriage and found a seat in the compartment and sat down.

Then, the carriage started to move slowly. The sound of the horse's hooves went "clip-clop, clip-clop", and soon they left the city gate.

After leaving the city gate, instead of driving onto the wide and flat main road as usual, the carriage turned a corner and drove onto the country lanes.

These country lanes were not as easy to travel on as the main road. The branches on both sides of the road kept hitting the carriage compartment as the carriage moved forward, making a "crackling" sound, which was rather loud. The three people sitting inside the carriage didn't say a word at this moment. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts. The atmosphere in the carriage was rather quiet and a bit dull.

The carriage was moving quite slowly, and there were several slopes along the way, making it bumpy as it went. There were also many forks in the road, turning left for a while and then right for a while. The young boy sitting in the carriage soon got dizzy and lost his sense of direction. He couldn't help wondering in his heart where they were going.

He prayed secretly in his heart that the coachman must not lose his way. Otherwise, given the road conditions, even if they wanted to get back to the main road, it would be quite a difficult thing. It would probably take a lot of effort, and they might even get lost in the countryside, which would be troublesome.

The young boy was sitting there, frowning and looking out of the window with a puzzled look on his face. He was still wondering why the employer lived in such a remote place with such complicated roads. If he had to go out to do something in the future, it would be really hard. Just getting familiar with this road would probably take months. The more he thought about it, the more worried he became.

Just when the young boy was frowning and thinking about these things, the carriage finally drove onto a neat tree-lined avenue. Finally, they were on a good road.

In the distance, there were rows of green and tidy fields. It was springtime now, and the crops in the fields were growing so green and full of vitality. The vast expanse of wheat fields was like a green ocean. As the gentle breeze blew, they swayed from side to side, creating waves like ripples, which looked quite spectacular. Besides the wheat fields, there were also large areas of rape fields. The newly grown rape plants were like a thick dark green carpet laid on the fields. The broad rape leaves densely covered the fields layer by layer, not showing any color of the soil at all. Everywhere was full of vibrant green, making people feel comfortable in their hearts just looking at it.

Looking up at the sky, one could see many birds flying merrily. It was hard to tell exactly what kind of birds they were. They were soaring freely in the air. They were probably looking for their first delicious meal of the day. Their cheerful appearance seemed to show that they were also enjoying this beautiful springtime.

Along this tree-lined avenue, the carriage was moving faster and faster. It seemed that this place was quite remote. Along the way, not to mention carriages, there wasn't even a single pedestrian in sight. It was very quiet around, and only the sound of the horse's hooves and the rolling of the wheels echoed on this empty road.

After more than a quarter of an hour, the carriage finally slowly stopped in front of a spacious and luxurious villa garden.

After getting off the carriage, the young boy looked up. The first impression that caught his eye was a sea of white.

It seemed that everything here was shrouded in white. The ground was paved with white gravel stones, mixed with not-so-common white pebbles. The round and white stones glistened with a faint luster under the sunlight, looking rather eye-catching. The trees and flowers in the garden were carefully planted in flower beds made of white clay bricks. The white flower beds set off the colorful flowers and plants inside, looking particularly elegant.

Looking at the high iron railing fence surrounding the garden, it was also carefully painted with white paint. The white paint was even and shiny, without any mottled marks. It was so white that it was a bit dazzling in the sunlight.

As for the villa, it exuded the delicacy and luxury of white everywhere. Not to mention that the floor was made of snow-white marble. If one walked on it barefoot, one could surely feel the coolness and the smooth touch. And the nine colonnades that one could just barely embrace with both arms were carved from white marble. The texture of the white marble was warm, smooth and delicate. Under the sunlight, it faintly emitted a soft luster, showing an extraordinary temperament. The walls of the villa were also pure white. It was unclear whether they were made of special paint or the bricks themselves were white. Anyway, from the outside, the whole villa looked like a white castle, holy and elegant.

And the most conspicuous part of the whole building was undoubtedly the big white dome.

Among the buildings that the young boy had seen before, only the Grand Cathedral in South Port had such a huge dome. You know, although the dome looks beautiful and magnificent, in fact, its construction is quite difficult. It requires a very high level of craftsmanship and a large amount of manpower and material resources, so the construction cost is extremely high. In South Port, those wealthy people are all shrewd merchants. They calculate every penny clearly and no one is willing to spend money on such seemingly flashy but not practical places.

Only the nobles who don't often appear in South Port are interested in buildings with domes. It's said that there are several such domed buildings in Luxembourg. They are all symbols for nobles to show their status and taste.

The young boy couldn't help guessing in his heart about the identity of the person who lived in this villa and was about to become his boss. Judging from this situation, it was very likely that the new employer was a big shot with a noble identity. Thinking of this, the young boy became more and more nervous. He subconsciously tugged at the corner of his clothes again and tidied his clothes carefully, hoping to make himself look more presentable and not be rude.

At this time, the old man walked forward and pulled a long bright yellow silk ribbon hanging in front of the door. With his pull, a clear bell rang. Immediately after that, the big door slowly opened and a middle-aged man wearing neatly and with a waiter's bow tie appeared at the door. The man had a serious look on his face and looked very meticulous.

"Mr. Pam, the master has been waiting for you in the study for a long time. However, I think you haven't had breakfast yet. The master has already ordered me to prepare it for you. You can go and have breakfast first. It won't be too late to see the master after you've eaten," said the butler. Then he politely led everyone to the kitchen.

Along the way, the young boy was like a curious baby, his eyes constantly looking around this completely strange place for him, and his heart was full of amazement.

The decoration here was luxurious yet elegant. It could be seen that the master obviously didn't want to deliberately show off his wealth. So, unlike most wealthy people's homes in South Port, there wasn't flashy decoration everywhere, nor were there those elaborately carved and extremely luxurious furniture. The overall style was simple and magnificent.

However, the whole building itself was already an extremely elegant masterpiece. Every detail exuded a unique charm, making people find it more and more pleasing to the eye as they looked at it.

In the young boy's eyes, the whole building was like those precious artworks from the far side of the ocean. Just as Mr. Madiield had said, those eastern ethnic groups really understood art. They could use simple lines to depict unforgettable artistic treasures. This villa gave people the same feeling, showing elegance and delicacy in simplicity.

Soon, everyone arrived at the kitchen. It seemed that the kitchens of the rich were all the same, spacious and bright, with all kinds of kitchen utensils neatly arranged. At this moment, several kitchen maids in the kitchen were busy preparing food. The alluring aroma of food was floating in the air everywhere, tickling people's noses and making their stomachs growl.

In the middle of the kitchen, there was a long table. On the table were freshly cut meat, kneaded flour, and vegetables that had been cleaned thoroughly. Looking at these ingredients, one could tell that a lot of delicious dishes would be made soon.

The butler walked over and gave an instruction. Then the kitchen maids quickly cleared a space at one corner of the table so that everyone could have a place to sit down and have a meal.

After that, the old man, Baz, and the young boy sat down around that corner, waiting for the meal to be served.

Before long, the kitchen maids took out the food one by one from the steaming steamers and placed them on the table. The scene looked quite lively.

"I didn't know exactly when you would arrive, so I asked the kitchen maids to prepare the food in advance and keep it warm in the steamers. Maybe the taste will be slightly inferior to that of freshly made food, but I think it's worth this small loss in order not to make the master impatient," the butler explained aside, with a very polite attitude.

When Baz saw that the first dish served was a tuna that was roasted golden brown and sprinkled with onions and pepper, his eyes immediately lit up. The little complaint he had before disappeared in an instant, and he was extremely satisfied. Coupled with the braised quail with mushrooms that was just one portion for each person, the quail was roasted until the outside was crispy and the inside was tender, emitting bursts of fragrance, and his favorite ham and eggs, the combination, the appearance, and the taste were simply wonderful. This meal was no less impressive than the celebration banquet on the day he was released from prison.

Baz looked at the table full of delicious food, with a satisfied smile on his face, and couldn't wait to start eating heartily. He was really content.

As for the young boy, he was obviously too nervous. After all, he was about to meet the new employer who might be of noble status. His heart was in turmoil and he was very uneasy. So even though he was facing such a table of delicious food that he usually had no chance to eat, he didn't have much appetite. He just forced himself to eat a couple of bites and then felt that he couldn't eat any more. So he left the rest for Baz to enjoy and sat there, still looking preoccupied.

After having breakfast, the butler led them towards the study. Soon, they arrived at the door of the study. The study was on the second floor of the villa. Between the second floor and the first floor, there was a spiral mahogany staircase connecting them. The mahogany staircase looked particularly textured, exuding an ancient and elegant charm. Each step was polished brightly and spotlessly clean.

On both sides of the study door, there were two huge paintings hanging. The paintings depicted the story of the Dawn Angel fighting against the Night Demon. The scenes were so vivid that they seemed to jump out of the paintings. In the painting on the left, the Night Demon defeated the Dawn Angel. The Demon King, looking majestic, drove the Moon Chariot and aggressively drove the Dawn Angel to the west. The ferocious look of the Night Demon and the defeated posture of the Dawn Angel in the painting were depicted in great detail, making people feel as if they could experience the fierceness and cruelty of the battle at that time. And the painting on the right depicted the scene of the Dawn Angel launching a counterattack at dawn. The Archangel of Light drove the Sun Chariot with brilliant light and infinite majesty, and instantly tore apart and shattered the Night Demon Legion. The scene was so shocking. Every detail in the painting demonstrated the magnificent momentum of justice triumphing over evil.

When the young boy was working in the shop, his favorite was the artworks from the East. Those exquisite paintings had fascinated him countless times, and he was immersed in the wonderful world of art. Now, facing these two paintings, he was equally attracted and stood there looking at the paintings, lost in thought, his eyes not blinking at all, completely immersed in the stories in the paintings.

Just when the young boy was engrossed in looking at the paintings, with a "creak", the door of the study slowly opened.

Only then did the young boy come to his senses. He quickly followed the old man and walked into the study.

Once inside the study, the young boy was astonished by the sight in front of him. The study was extremely spacious, so large that it made people feel particularly open and not at all oppressed. What surprised the young boy even more was that along the three walls in the study, all kinds of books were filled. The books were densely arranged on the bookshelves, looking like a sea of books. There were so many that it was impossible to count them all. In the corner, there was also a ladder placed there. It seemed that the ladder was used to reach the books on the higher shelves.

Because the bookshelves were really tall, reaching up to the ceiling. Without that ladder, it would be impossible to reach the books on the upper layer. Probably, standing on the ground, one could only stare helplessly at the books on the high places.

In this study, besides these tall bookshelves being particularly eye-catching, the most conspicuous one was the side where there were no shelves installed.

In order to let more light in, that entire wall had been knocked through and a huge piece of glass had been installed.

The young boy had never seen such a large piece of glass before. In the place of France, glass was not produced. Although there were one or two glass workshops, the glass made there was all in small pieces and the craftsmanship was limited. They definitely couldn't make such a large piece of glass.

The young boy thought to himself that such a huge piece of glass could be only custom-made from Otto. After all, Otto was quite famous for making glass.

However, glass itself was a rather fragile thing. Transporting such a large piece of glass was even more difficult. One had to be extremely careful along the way and take all kinds of protective measures. If one was a little careless, it might break. The young boy couldn't even imagine how much money one had to pay to the transport merchants to transport such a piece of glass. But one thing he was certain of was that it was definitely much more expensive than the porcelain plate he accidentally broke before. Just looking at it, one could tell that it was of great value.

The young boy became more and more certain in his heart that this new employer must be a noble with a prominent reputation. Otherwise, how could there be such a magnificent and luxurious study and be able to use such an expensive and rare large piece of glass.

"This was given by the Chief Magistrate of Otto to the Paro Cathedral to decorate the tall windows of the church. In order to prevent accidental damage to the glass during transportation, fifty more pieces were made at that time. Quite fortunately, after the cathedral was built, there were still more than twenty pieces left. I happened to want to build such a wall, so I bought it,"

Just when the young boy was still amazed and secretly sighing at the huge and beautiful window, suddenly, an old voice came from the upper right behind him. The voice echoed in the quiet study and sounded particularly clear.

Hearing the voice, everyone quickly turned around to look. They saw an old man with gray hair and a gaunt face slowly climbing down from above while holding onto another ladder. Under his arm were two thick books. He looked rather strained, but his posture exuded an elegant temperament that made people not dare to underestimate him.

The young boy couldn't help but look at the old man carefully, guessing in his heart that this old man was probably his new employer. There was a hint of curiosity and awe in his eyes.

This old man had deep marks left by the years on his face. The wrinkles were like they had been carved on, densely covering his entire face, making him look really old. His hair was already gray. Looking closely, one would find that the number of black hairs was far less than that of white hairs. It was sparse, giving a sense of having gone through many vicissitudes. The old man was also wearing a pair of wide gold-rimmed glasses. The glasses cleverly covered part of his prominent cheekbones, making his face look a bit more refined.

Looking at the old man's hands, they were thin and bony, covered with thick calluses. Those calluses were clearly left by years of hard work or many hardships. If just judging by his face and hands, the young boy thought to himself that he definitely wouldn't think this old man was a wealthy person. After all, in his previous impression, wealthy people like his former employer, even if they were thin, wouldn't be as thin as a branch that had been dried out. They would always have a bit of a prosperous look and be well taken care of.

Wealthy people usually knew how to take care of themselves. No matter how old they were or how many wrinkles they had on their faces, they wouldn't look as weather-beaten and extremely aged as this old man in front of him. This was really too different from the image of wealthy people he had imagined.

However, the clothes the old man was wearing clearly proved that he was a rather wealthy person. Just like the decoration style of this room, the texture of the old man's clothes was definitely top-notch. It must feel really good to the touch, and the workmanship was extremely fine. Every stitch was fine and even, and there wasn't a single flaw to be seen. Moreover, although the decoration was simple, it was quite tasteful, exuding a kind of understated luxury. These were all good things shipped from Otto. Just looking at the quality, one could tell that they were of great value. Just that crocodile-skin belt alone was probably worth several months' living expenses for ordinary people. It was really luxurious.

"Is this the child you found?" The old man asked Pam. Although his voice was old, it had an air of authority that made people not dare to neglect it.

"Yes, yes. I don't know if he meets your expectations," Pam quickly bowed slightly, with a flattering smile on his face, and asked carefully. In his heart, he wasn't quite sure whether the old man was satisfied with the young boy or not.

"Whether he's suitable or not, you can ask Odrie," the old man said unhurriedly. His tone seemed to suggest that he didn't care much about this matter. But those who knew him well were aware that he actually had his own considerations in his heart.

"Isn't that Baz? How have you been recently? During the three months you were away on a long trip, Pam and I discussed it. Pam said that you were already able to take charge on your own, and he also said that he was getting old. So, in the future, you'll gradually have to take on more responsibilities. You have to work harder," the old man said a few words to Baz. There was a bit of encouragement and expectation in his tone. After saying that, he turned around and ordered the butler, "Invite Odrie here."

The butler quickly agreed and turned around and walked away quickly to invite Odrie over.

After saying these things, the old man sat on the leather recliner on his own, then opened the book in his hand and started reading as if there was no one else around. He was so focused that it seemed that at this moment, there were only him and the book in the study. He was completely immersed in the book.

Pam, Baz, and the young boy didn't dare to disturb the old man when they saw him start reading. They could only stand quietly on one side, not daring to make a sound. The whole study was so quiet that they could even hear each other's breathing.

The young boy was extremely nervous at this moment. He stood there, not daring to move at all, for fear that if he made a little noise, it would leave a bad impression on the old man. That would be terrible.

As for Baz, he was much more relaxed. Hearing the boss say in person what the old man had told him yesterday, that is, about taking on responsibilities, he felt even more at ease and confident now. The excitement in his heart surged up again. He really wanted to shout three times to express his joy and excitement at this moment. However, he held it back and didn't dare to make a sound. After all, this occasion wasn't suitable for that.

In this way, a long time slowly passed. When Baz gradually started to feel uncomfortable from standing for so long, with a "creak", the door of the study opened.

A middle-aged man with two neat and beautiful little mustaches walked in from outside the door.

The middle-aged man was also wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looking quite refined and elegant. He was dressed in a black velvet soft vest, paired with a snow-white silk shirt inside. The combination of black and white made him look noble and elegant, exuding an extraordinary temperament. Looking further down, his loose black woolen riding breeches were paired with a pair of shiny soft-soled riding boots. The boots were so shiny that they reflected light under the lamp. It seemed that he had just come back from riding a horse. He looked energetic.

"I just went out for a ride. That newly bought pony is still quite unruly. Riding it felt rather dangerous. It seems that it's not very reliable for learning riding skills. I think if it really doesn't work, we might as well use that gray-spotted mare. That mare is quite docile and safer to ride," the middle-aged man said as he walked in. His tone was quite casual. It seemed that he was quite at ease here.

"You're the expert in this. You can make the decision. Pam has brought you the person you wanted. It's this child," the old man pointed at the young boy and said. Then he continued to say to the middle-aged man, "In the next half year, you'll have to teach him a lot of things. You have to be careful about it."

After saying that, the old man turned around and said to the young boy again, "From now on, you should follow Mr. Odrie and learn from him well. You have a lot of things to learn, but you only have half a year. I heard from Pam that you're very studious. Then show me your good performance. Don't let me down."

As he said this, the old man waved his hand at the middle-aged man, indicating that the middle-aged man could take the young boy out. That meant that he would leave the following matters to Odrie to arrange.

The middle-aged man understood the old man's meaning, so he led the young boy out of the study and gently closed the door behind him. His movements were very gentle, for fear of making too much noise and disturbing the people in the room.

The middle-aged man took the young boy for a walk in the villa for a while and then came to a room in a remote corner of the West Building.

As soon as he entered the room, the young boy couldn't help but look around. Although the decoration in this room was far less luxurious and magnificent than that in the study and the hall, it could still reflect the owner's elegant taste. Since this room was located on the west side of the whole building, there were windows on three sides. At this moment, the sunlight shone through the shutters and sprinkled on the teak floor in bits and pieces. The way the light and shadows intertwined looked rather warm.

Under the window on the north side, there was a big bed. It was the kind of bed with four pillars that only wealthy families could afford. It looked really magnificent. The bed curtain also looked quite exquisite. It was estimated that it must be very comfortable to sleep on.

In the middle of the room, separated by a rosewood screen, the young boy had seen the same one in the shop before. It was shipped from Xibai and was quite valuable. At that time, he thought that the screen was particularly beautiful. Unexpectedly, he saw it here again. This screen naturally divided the room into two parts, creating different spaces.

Under the window on the south side, there was a carved desk made of nanmu. The carving on the desk was very fine, and the patterns on it were vivid and looked extremely beautiful. It should be a good place for reading and writing. On the west side was a floor-to-ceiling bay window. Looking out from here, there should be a balcony outside. Standing on the balcony, one could probably see quite beautiful scenery.

On the right side of the door was a row of bookshelves. Although these bookshelves were far less spectacular and large in scale than those in the study, they were much more delicate. The books placed on them all looked quite interesting. They should have been carefully selected.

On the left side of the door, directly opposite the head of the bed, there was a beautiful portrait hanging. The painting was of a very beautiful noblewoman full of mature charm. Looking at the painting, the young boy couldn't help but guess in his heart whether this noblewoman was Mr. Odrie's wife. However, he wasn't sure and just thought about it secretly in his heart.