The fat boss looked at Lance with a smile that was not ferocious, but gave people a condescending feeling, "Before you piss me off, you'd better roll over and mop the floor again". If capitalists feel guilty about hiring and exploiting and oppressing workers, they would not do so in the first place. All those who can be called capitalists, or potential capitalists, must at least pass the test of their conscience first.
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Lance raised his hands and took two steps back. "As you say, sir."
The fat boss was very satisfied with his performance at this time, still smiling and nodding, "I like you to call me 'Boss', so call me that from now on."
"As you wish, Boss."
The fat boss was satisfied and told him to leave, "Go away!" .Lance left this place and took down the mop that he had just hung up with an expressionless face. Then, when he was picking up the wooden bucket to get hot water, he found that the apprentice was looking at him at the door of the back hall.
There was an inexplicable look of...superiority on his face, as if he was mocking Lance .Lance looked at him, and he glared back at Lance without backing down.
"I only need to give him three dollars this month, but you have to give him ten dollars!"
Just when the apprentice was about to say something, Lance didn't give him a chance to speak. "There is a saying in my hometown, that a well-behaved dog will not stop people from moving forward."
Subconsciously, the apprentice took a step back, but then his face turned red. Lance went to the boiler room amid his cursing.
The bakery had a large oven, not the kind that had electricity or was used at home.
It is a large wood-burning stove with firewood burning underneath. In order to make better use of heat resources, a copper pipe is arranged in most ovens. There is water in the copper tube. When the water is heated, the steam flows along the water pipe and is connected to the bottom of another bucket. When the steam is squeezed out, it heats the water in the bucket.
This large barrel of water holds three hundred gallons and is filled at four o'clock in the morning. It is boiled around eight o'clock and remains at a temperature of around ninety degrees until the evening.
In order to save detergent, the fat boss asked Lance to mop the floor with almost boiling water. First of all, hot water can better clean the oil stains and clumped crumbs on the floor, which can save the fat boss a lot of cleaning agent costs.
On the other hand, the floor will dry faster after mopping with hot water.
Even though the floor had already been scrubbed clean, Lance started working hard again.
For the next two days, Lance silently did not resist the fat boss's harassment. He really needed a place to stay now.
It is indeed simple to leave here, but what to eat and where to rest after leaving will become problems, so he plans to make a more stable decision before considering leaving.
As for the exploitation and oppression?
He will definitely retaliate. He is not the type of person who will keep silent after suffering a loss.
On weekends, around ten in the morning, business in the bakery is at its peak.
Ever since the federal government began implementing a two-day weekend system a few years ago, there will always be a group of people who can enjoy a good weekend. Taking a walk around the suburbs or having a meal together are both good choices. Even the poor people in the downtown area have more opportunities and more choices.
Lance was sweating all over, he always had work to do.
Just around noon, when the number of guests gradually decreased, the doorbell suddenly rang and two men wearing shirts, vests and baseball caps walked in.
The two men did not look very old, probably only in their twenties. They had ferocious looks and their eyes were like knives, which could stab people and make them feel uneasy. The fat boss in the corner immediately walked to the cash box, and two young men walked briskly to the opposite side of the fat boss. One of them took off his hat, pinched the brim of his cap, and walked towards the fat boss.
The fat boss quickly opened the drawer of the cash register, took out a stack of cash, counted out fifty yuan, and put it in.
"Add ten dollars, the price has increased." The shorter young man said with a cold face.
The fat boss wanted to say something, but in the end said nothing. He counted out five two-dollar bills and put them in.
The tall man next to him put his baseball cap back on his head, picked up a piece of bread worth twenty-five cents, said hello to the fat boss with a smile, and left.
Maybe it was because... Lance saw that he was not strong and had a weak side. His originally docile and aggrieved face immediately became distorted -
"How long the hell are you going to stand there?"
"Don't you see there's so much work to do?"
"Remember what I said before, don't make me yell at you all the time, or you'll regret it!"
Seeing the fat boss's angry look, Lance just smiled and continued with his work.
Today may be the boss's death day. It doesn't mean that he is dead, but that he is unlucky.
Business is the slowest around 1:00 p.m. The doorbell woke the sleepy Lance up; the fat boss and his daughter had already gone for lunch.
They are so fat, yet they still need to rest. Maybe this is why they are fat.
Two policemen came in, wearing neat, handsome uniforms, and the silver-gray police badges gleamed brightly in the well-lit area.
"What would you like to order, gentlemen?"
"We have freshly baked donuts, the double-sugar kind."
"If you buy one, we'll give you a free cup of coffee."
The free coffee is ground coffee beans bought for one dollar per six pounds. During normal processing, a lot of coffee beans will be crushed and then sieved.
The ones that are intact and have larger particles will sell for the highest price.
The bottom layer of ground coffee beans mixed with some roasted branches or coffee bean shells costs one dollar and six pounds.
The coffee beans don't really taste that different from more expensive ones, but they're both cheap.
Customers can't tell what kind of coffee it is, but as long as it's not too bad and it's a good deal, someone will recognize it.
There was no one in the bakery at that moment. A fat police officer turned over the "Open" sign when he entered the bakery and then stood guard at the door.
Another tall and thin man walked over to a chair and sat down, "Where's Johnny?"
Johnny was the fat boss's name. Lance tilted his head back and said, "Sleeping."
"Wake him up and tell him that an old friend is here to see him."
Lance had no sense of belonging to this bakery. He could sense that the policeman was here to cause trouble and he was happy to see the fat boss make a fool of himself.
He immediately ran to the rest room and banged on the door. Soon Johnny's curses could be heard in the room. About two minutes later, the door was suddenly opened and he stood there angrily, "Are you going to die, or what?"
"Don't you know that if you don't take a nap at noon, you will age faster?"
"If you disturb my rest without a good reason, I will deduct two dollars from you!"
Lance waited until he had finished venting his hysterics, then pointed back and said, "An old friend of yours is waiting for you. He's a policeman."
The fat boss's expression changed from anger to a little uneasy in an instant. He touched his clothes and wanted to go back into the room, but finally walked out.
It was obvious that he wanted to escape.
When the two returned to the hall, the policeman was already enjoying the delicious bread.
He took the most expensive bread and opened a box of high-end ham. Watching him eat slowly gave people a very absurd feeling.
It's like... this isn't his real face.
At least a policeman shouldn't be sitting in the dining area of a bakery, eating slowly and elegantly during hours when he's probably still on duty.
"The bread is good, and the ham is also of high quality. You are the only one with the best skills around here." The police officer praised him, then stuffed the remaining bread into his mouth, chewed it a few times and swallowed it, then took out a handkerchief to wipe the crumbs or oil stains that might have remained at the corners of his mouth, "It's time to pay this quarter's fee."
The fat boss was careful when he spoke, without any of the loud voice he used when talking to Lance or the apprentice. "Shouldn't the payment be made next month?"
January, April, July, October, the time to pay protection fees every year.
Of course they wouldn't say that. This money is called "security deposit" and is given to the police chief in this area, who will ensure the safety of the merchants.
If someone robbed a store, they would try to catch the robber and return the money, but only if possible.
In fact, there have been at least thirty robberies and thefts on this street so far this year, and no one has been caught yet.
Some people privately said that they actually caught the suspect but pocketed the money.
It's not that no one has tried to resist, but the results of the resistance were not very good. They would be robbed almost every few days.
In order to avoid being robbed, one of the store owners lived in his store at night. As a result, he encountered a thief that night and was stabbed and seriously injured.No one has been caught yet!
Anyone who refuses to pay will always encounter various troubles. The resisters have to continue paying, and they have to pay more.
Only in this way can we run a business safely and securely on this street.
The police officer tilted his head and said, "I have been taking good care of you all these years, which has delayed my chance of career advancement."
"Now there is a good option. If it succeeds, I can go directly to the precinct office."
"But I'm still short of some operating funds. You won't make things difficult for me, right?"
The fat boss moved his lips, but finally chose not to fight back, "I'll give it to you."
The police officer immediately smiled brightly, "I knew you would understand me the best. If I come into the office, I can make sure you won't be harassed by gangs again."
No one believes this.
Not long after, the fat boss came over with two hundred yuan. Maybe it was because Lance was standing next to him that made the fat boss feel a little safe, so he was not driven away.
The police officer counted them and found that they were all large-denomination bills of ten and twenty yuan. He finished counting them in just a few seconds.
"There are still two hundred left, for half a year, this time."
The fat boss was shocked and said, "There has never been such a rule!"
The police officer wiped his mouth and put the stained handkerchief on the table. He looked straight at the fat boss and said, "Now we have it."