Empire of Shadows

The fat boss looked at Lance with a smile that wasn't ferocious, but it gave people a sense of condescension. "Before you anger me, you better go and mop the floor again."

If capitalists felt remorse for exploiting and oppressing workers, they wouldn't do it in the first place.

【I hope readers remember our domain name: Taiwan Novel Net → 𝒕 𝒘 𝒌 𝒂 𝒏 . 𝒄 𝒐 𝒎】

Everyone who can be called a capitalist, or a potential capitalist, must at least pass the test of their own conscience first.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and Lance took two steps back, raising his hands. "As you wish, sir."

The fat boss was very satisfied with his performance and nodded with a smile, "I like you calling me 'Boss'. Call me that from now on."

"As you wish, Boss."

The fat boss contentedly let him leave, "Get out!"

Lance, with a blank face, took the mop he had just hung up again. When he was about to take the bucket to fetch hot water, he noticed the apprentice watching him from the doorway of the back room.

He had a strange sense 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 as the apprentice was about to say something, Lance didn't give him a chance to speak, "There's a saying in my hometown: a well-behaved dog doesn't hinder people from moving forward."

Subconsciously, the apprentice took a step back, but his face immediately flushed red.

Lance went to the boiler room amidst his curses.

The bakery has a large oven, not the electric or household type.

It's a large wood-fired oven. Firewood is constantly burning underneath. To make better use of thermal resources, most ovens have a copper pipe installed.

The copper pipe contains water. After the water is heated, the steam is connected to the bottom of another bucket through the water pipe. When the steam is squeezed out, it heats the water in the bucket.

This large bucket of water holds three hundred gallons and is filled at four o'clock in the morning. It's usually boiled around eight o'clock and maintains a temperature of about ninety degrees until night.

To save on cleaning agents, the fat boss requires Lance to mop the floor with almost boiling water.

Firstly, hot water can better clean the oil stains and clumps of bread crumbs on the ground, which can save the fat boss a lot of money on cleaning agents.

Secondly, hot water dries faster after mopping the floor.

Even though the floor was already scrubbed clean, Lance diligently worked again.

For the next two days, Lance silently resisted the fat boss's刁难. He really needed a place to stay now.

Leaving here is indeed simple, but what to eat and where to rest after leaving would become problems, so he planned to make a more stable decision before considering leaving.

As for the exploitation and oppression he suffered?

He would definitely retaliate. He wasn't the kind of person who would suffer in silence.

Weekend, a little after ten in the morning, the bakery was at its busiest.

Since the Federation began implementing the two-day weekend system a few years ago, some people have been able to enjoy the good times on weekends.

Taking a trip to the suburbs or having a dinner party are good choices. Even the poor people in the lower city have more opportunities and more choices.

Lance was sweating all over from the heat. He always had endless work to do.

Just as it was approaching noon and the customers were gradually decreasing, the doorbell suddenly rang, and two people in shirts and vests, wearing peaked caps, walked in.

These two people didn't look very old, probably only in their twenties. Their faces were somewhat fierce, and their eyes were like knives, which could make people feel uneasy.

The fat boss in the corner immediately walked to the cash register. The two young men walked to the opposite side of the fat boss with brisk steps. One of them took off his hat, pinched the brim of the peaked cap, and faced the fat boss.

The fat boss quickly opened the drawer of the cash register, took out a stack of cash from it, counted out fifty dollars, and put it in.

"Add ten dollars, the price has increased," the slightly shorter young man said with a cold face.

The fat boss wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't say anything. He counted out five more two-dollar bills and put them in.

The taller man put the peaked cap back on his head, casually took a piece of bread worth twenty-five cents, greeted the fat boss with a smile, and left.

Perhaps… his lack of strength and some weakness were seen by Lance. His originally docile and somewhat aggrieved face immediately became distorted—

"How long are you going to stand there?"

"Can't you see there's so much work to do?"

"Remember what I said before, don't make me always yell at you, or you'll regret it!"

Looking at the fat boss's angry and embarrassed appearance, Lance just smiled and continued the work at hand.

Today may be the boss's unlucky day. This doesn't mean he's dead, but it means his luck isn't very good.

A little after one in the afternoon, it was the slowest time for business. The doorbell made the drowsy Lance perk up. The fat boss and his daughter had already gone for their lunch break.

They were so fat, yet they still needed to rest. Perhaps that's why they were so obese.

Two policemen came in, wearing neat, handsome uniforms, with silver-gray police badges shining brightly in the well-lit place.

"Gentlemen, what would you like?"

"We have freshly baked donuts, the double-sugar kind."

"If you buy a box, we can also give you a cup of coffee as a gift."

The complimentary coffee was made from coffee bean fragments bought for six pounds a dollar. During normal processing, many coffee beans are crushed and then sieved.

The intact and larger particles are sold at the highest price.

And the bottom layer of coffee bean fragments, mixed with some roasted branches or coffee bean shells, costs six pounds a dollar.

The taste of this kind of coffee is not very different from the more expensive ones, but both are cheap goods.

Customers can't see what kind of coffee it is. As long as the coffee isn't too bad and there's a bargain to be had, some people will always go for it.

At this time, there was no one in the bakery. A fat police officer turned the "Open" sign over when entering the bakery and stood guard at the door.

Another tall, thin man walked to a chair, sat down, "Where's Johnny?"

Johnny is the fat boss's name. Lance nodded backward, "Sleeping."

"Wake him up and tell him an old friend has come to see him."

Lance had no sense of belonging to this bakery. He could feel that this police officer was here to cause trouble. He was happy to see the fat boss make a fool of himself.

He immediately ran to the break room and pounded on the door. Before long, Johnny's curses echoed in the room. About two minutes later, the room door was suddenly pulled open, and he stood there angrily, "Did you want to die or what?"

"Don't you know that people age faster if they don't sleep at noon?"

"If you don't have a good reason for disturbing my rest, I'll deduct two dollars from you!"

Lance waited for him to finish venting all his起床气, then pointed backward, "An old friend of yours is waiting for you, a policeman."

The fat boss's expression instantly changed from anger to uneasiness. He touched the clothes on his body, wanting to retreat back into the room, but eventually he walked out.

It could be seen that he wanted to escape.

When the two returned to the hall, the police officer was already enjoying the delicious bread.

He took the most expensive bread and opened a box of high-end ham. Watching him eat slowly and methodically gave a very absurd feeling.

It was as if… this wasn't his true face.

At least a police officer shouldn't be sitting in the bakery's dining area, eating slowly and elegantly, during what was probably his working hours.

"The bread is good, and the quality of the ham is also very high. Your technique is the best around here," the officer praised, then stuffed the remaining bread into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the bread crumbs or grease that might have remained on the corners of his mouth, "It's time to pay this quarter's fee."

The fat boss spoke cautiously, without the loud voice he used when talking to Lance or the apprentice, "Isn't the payment due next month?"

January, April, July, October, the time to pay the protection fee every year.

Of course, they wouldn't say it that way. This money was called "Security Assurance Money", given to the police boss of this area, and he would guarantee the safety of the merchants.

If someone robbed the shops, they would try their best to catch the robbers and return the money, but only try their best.

In fact, so far this year, there have been at least thirty robberies and thefts on this street, and no one has been caught yet.

Some people said privately that they actually caught them but swallowed the money.

Not everyone tried to resist, but the result of resistance was not very good. They were almost stolen from every few days.

One of the shop owners lived in the store at night to avoid being stolen, but that night he encountered a thief and was stabbed into serious injury.

No one has been caught yet!

Anyone who doesn't cooperate with paying the money will always encounter various troubles. Resisters have to continue paying, and even pay more.

Only in this way can they operate their business safely and steadily on this street.

The police officer tilted his head, "Over the years, I have been taking care of your well-being, delaying my career advancement."

"Now there is a good choice. If successful, I can directly enter the branch office."

“But I'm a little short on operating funds right now. You wouldn't make things difficult for me, would you?”

The fat boss's lips moved, but in the end, he still chose not to resist. “I'll get it for you.”

The police officer immediately revealed a sunny smile. “I knew you'd understand me the most. If I get into the office, I can guarantee you won't be harassed by the gangs anymore.”

No one believed that.

Before long, the fat boss came over with two hundred yuan. Perhaps because Lance was standing nearby, giving the fat boss a bit of security, he wasn't chased away.

The police officer counted the money; they were all large denomination bills of ten and twenty yuan. It didn't take long to count them all.

“Another two hundred, for half a year this time.”

The fat boss looked shocked. “There's never been such a rule!”

The police officer placed his handkerchief, stained with some grime from wiping his mouth, on the table, staring straight at the fat boss. “Now there is.”