MWC – Chapter 10 Tenants

I AM DROPPING THIS NOVEL. IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE THEY CAN. IF POSSIBLE PLEASE SHARE THE LINK SO I CAN BINGE READ TOO.

In the morning, I returned from the Husky Inn to the small building at No. 3 Jing’an Lane, and at the same time, I brought back the family heirloom and put it in the safe in my bedroom.

Because Zhen Shi was here, this place seemed to be the safest place.

After chatting with Zhen Shi for a while, I subtly asked about her childhood, but I didn’t get any clues.

Seeing that it was almost time, I came down from the balcony’s side stairs and waited for Zhou Xiaobao in front of the laundry shop on the ground floor.

Zhou Xiaobao called this morning and said he had found a partner for me. However, it was only a nominal partnership. My lawyer’s license could be hung at that law firm.

The law firm is called “Wang Da’an Law Firm”, a very small law firm with only one lawyer, Wang Da’an. Moreover, the firm is quite downtrodden, relying on taking legal aid cases to get by. Now, with me joining in name, I became a partner, adding another practicing lawyer, which means they can take on more legal aid cases.

Wang Da’an promised to pay me 20 yuan in dividends per month.

But I wouldn’t have to do the actual legal work myself. He relies solely on difficult legal aid cases to make ends meet. He can’t even get a proper client.

As for the registration fee, the conditions are actually quite good.

Twenty yuan, which for ordinary residents in other areas, is about their monthly salary. Even in the bustling area of the Eastern Sea, the monthly salary for an ordinary clerk in Beiguan is only 40-50 yuan.

So, the 20 yuan registration fee per month is a significant income for ordinary people, after all, it’s extra income.

Zhou Xiaobao asked me to wait for him; he would arrive later to pick me up and go meet my nominal partner, Lawyer Wang Da’an.

It is said that Wang Da’an’s law firm is very close to here.

The morning rush hour has just passed, and the large courtyard in the alley has already become unusually quiet, with only three or four strong men walking out of the alley. They are robust, with dirty towels around their necks, wearing worn-out vests and green trousers, clearly from the laboring class.

I rubbed my nose and couldn’t help but glance back at the laundry shop behind me. The sign of “Pamela’s Laundry” was still hanging with colorful light bulbs, looking very beautiful.

But opening a laundry shop in this kind of neighborhood is really bizarre; its closure is inevitable.

I heard that the laundry shop was run by a destitute Western family, a single mother with a daughter.

Used to being high and mighty, they are completely out of touch with reality.

Nowadays, only the middle class would use a laundry shop.

The tenants in the large courtyard all engage in the most bottom-level heavy labor. Normally, at the tap at the entrance of the alley, buying tap water costs only a steel coin, which they wish they could break into ten pieces. Needless to say, they wouldn’t even think of spending money on laundry.

Seeing that the lease for the laundry shop is coming to an end, it’s just as well. I’m not planning to renew it either. When it’s vacant, if Zhen Shi wants, she can do some small business there. After all, staying at home all day is really boring.

In the sky, suddenly dark clouds like lead are gradually pressing down, and there seems to be a faint drizzle falling.

I took a few steps back and took shelter from the rain under the eaves. Suddenly, the wind chime next to the laundry shop rang, and a cheer followed, “Mommy, it’s raining!”

Turning around, I saw a small figure rushing out of the laundry shop.

It was a golden-haired and blue-eyed little girl, extremely beautiful, with long golden hair somewhat resembling that kind of princess hairstyle with bangs. She was very sweet and lovely. She was wearing a school uniform, obviously from the kind of prestigious school for nobles. The yellow plaid uniform with a white shirt, wearing a beautiful bow tie, a dark red plaid skirt, knee-high white socks, and red leather shoes. Her soft golden hair was braided into several small braids, with colorful beads on them, incredibly cute.

What surprised me was that this little girl looked very much like a child star I used to like in my previous life. That child star had played both bad and genius girl roles. This little girl was like the child star in the stills, but even more beautiful and cute.

The little girl saw the drizzle first, but then she saw me, a stranger, a man, and timidly stopped.

“Bess, come back!” A slightly stiff and soft female voice came from the door of the laundry shop. It was a Western beauty, with golden hair and blue eyes, fair and delicate skin, exquisite features, and a high nose bridge that seemed to be cut like a knife. But in this era, there weren’t such advanced cosmetic procedures yet.

Although the red noble fluffy skirt was a bit old, it looked even more charming on her. It showed off her snow-white shoulders and charming collarbone curve. Plus, the half of the snow-white round ball and deep cleavage tightly wrapped around her chest made her even more sexy.

Her long, black, shiny eyelashes, and the dyed strands of hair, coupled with her watery blue eyes, seemed to be able to speak.

But at this moment, looking at me, her eyes were somewhat wary.

I knew that this should be the destitute Western noblewoman and her daughter. The beautiful woman was called Pamela, and her daughter was called Bess.

It is said that Pamela originally came from a noble family. She was only qualified to attend the prestigious Eastern District noble school for Westerners since she was a child. However, she became pregnant at a young age, seems like she was just fifteen at the time. She insisted on having this child, even dropped out of school for it, so she was driven out of the house by her father. In the beginning, she had her mother’s support, but later, as the family fortunes declined, her life also plummeted. With the last bit of savings, she came to Beiguan. It seemed that she was also deceived by intermediaries and acquired the laundry shop downstairs, but now she couldn’t keep it open.

However, Pamela still maintained that kind of aristocratic pride. Every move she made was very elegant, except when she looked at me, there was a hint of vigilance in her blue eyes.

Perhaps it’s because there are very few well-dressed people like me in this neighborhood. Perhaps she thought I was sent by her enemies from her family?

Although I am her landlord now, this is still the first time I have met her.

The previous landlord, or should I say landlady, didn’t dare to introduce me to them. She said the lease hadn’t expired yet, so she couldn’t disturb Mrs. Pamela. It would make her think that we lack manners. Since we rented the house to her, we should keep our promise. When the lease expires, I will take you to renew it and introduce you as the new landlord.

Obviously, the landlady is very wary of this “Western lady”.

After all, no matter how destitute a Westerner is, they are still Westerners, part of the privileged class.

Moreover, the landlady’s flattery towards her comes from the bone. She just thinks that Westerners are civilized and superior, and we must abide by their rules, otherwise it’s uncouth.

To other tenants, the landlady is like a domineering landlady, giving orders.

There’s nothing to be done about it. The people of Zhongzhou have been conquered for a long time, and many people have a deep-rooted awe of Westerners.

Even if this mother and daughter, Pamela and Bess, are destitute and living in a commoner gathering area of Zhongzhou, they are still a superior class.

Looking at Pamela and her daughter, Lu Ming could indeed see their destitution. Whether it was the noble red fluffy skirt of the mother or the school uniform of the daughter, they were actually a bit old, showing signs of long-term washing.

Perhaps they only have one or two sets of decent clothes to wear out to meet people.

Pamela felt a little displeased byLu Ming’s calm gaze, but she still behaved very elegantly, maintaining the dignity of a noblewoman. She said lightly, “Sir, are you here to take shelter from the rain? I can lend you an umbrella.”

If it were someone else, they would have been scared away long ago and wouldn’t dare to stand at her shop door even in the rain.

“Oh, that would be great, thank you!” Lu Ming thought to himself that although this person was cold and aloof, she has a good heart.

Pamela was stunned. It was the first time she had encountered such a situation. After being stunned for a moment, she wanted to turn back to the shop, but she saw Bess had already taken an umbrella and ran out, handing it to Luming, “Uncle, here you go!”

“Haha, thank you, you’re so cute and thoughtful!” Lu Ming took the umbrella and couldn’t help but pinch Bess’s little cheek. This little Western doll really made people want to hug and kiss her.

Bess giggled.

Pamela, on the other hand, looked at the scene in astonishment.

Sometimes, she herself understood that her usual elegant behavior and polite words were more like a kind of lofty hypocrisy. It seemed like she cared about these lower-class people, but that’s all it was. These lower-class people usually would express gratitude but wouldn’t dare to accept her kindness.

But today, there was a lower-class person who was so ignorant that he actually wanted her umbrella, and he even dared to pinch her daughter’s cheek. It was simply outrageous! It was so inexplicable!

But it also left her completely unsure of how to react.

“Bess, go back inside!” Pamela gritted her teeth and stopped her daughter, who was still timidly approaching the young man. She pulled her into the house.

But through the glass door, her daughter still looked at the young man.

Pamela sighed softly in her heart. Her daughter, living with her in this community of barbarians, had no friends at all, and no one dared to be friends with her. Perhaps she felt too lonely. So when someone talked to her and chatted with her, she found it very novel and didn’t want to leave.

Fortunately, it seemed that the young man had come with a companion from across the street. He whistled and opened his umbrella, walking over in the dancing rain.

Pamela shook her head. Soon, this inexplicable young man was thrown to the back of her mind. She picked up a lawyer’s letter from the table, and her face gradually became angry.