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Chapter 411: Everything Starts with Winter (1)

Winter, the branches of the trees appeared in a withered gray color, the branches looked denser than the most fashionable comb in Bergley's fashion store, and the rough marks and scars became denser and denser along the increasingly thick branches until they reached the trunk, which had already formed a continuous mass.

Under the trees, the ladies in woolen skirts and fur shawls held their handbags, wrinkling their carefully drawn eyebrows as they stepped on the soil scattered beside the flower beds. They exhaled a breath, and when white mist was exhaled from their beautiful lips, it froze in the cold air.

Just as they were complaining about the weather with their companions, a paperboy riding a bicycle quickly passed by the street, raising a gust of wind that made their clothes flutter. They turned their heads with widened eyes, but only saw the paperboy's slightly malicious smile.

"Ding Ling Ling-" the bicycle bell lightly rang, and with a "pop," a somewhat old boot stepped on the snow, a hand wearing thick gloves reached into the coat and took out a newspaper, throwing it into the mailbox.

The paperboy grabbed the end of his glove and pulled it, then pulled his sleeve forward. He shrugged, seeming a little cold, but still stretched out his hand and vigorously tapped the bell on the mailbox.

Just as he sighed, held the bicycle handlebar, and his foot had already stepped onto the pedal, suddenly, he looked up at the doorplate of this house again and stopped his action.

After a while, a butler came out of the mansion's gate with an old-fashioned folder in his hand and a small leather bag.

The paperboy saw his figure, straddled the bicycle, and with one foot on the ground, rubbed his hands and exhaled a breath of white mist.

The butler walked forward, took out the newspaper that the paperboy had just delivered, clamped it with the folder, and then handed the small leather bag in his hand to the paperboy.

The paperboy took off one glove, separated the mouth of the leather bag with his fingers, and as soon as he opened it, a strong heat came out. Looking closely, it was an apple pie, and the soft part was still making a popping sound. Obviously, it had just been heated in the fireplace.

The paperboy quickly folded the leather bag, ignoring the hot pie, and stuffed it directly into his coat. Then he smiled at the butler and said, "Thank you for me to Professor Rodriguez, he is really a good person!"

The butler also smiled, looked at the little paperboy who was only ten years old, waved at him, and then watched his figure pedaling hard until he disappeared at the end of the street.

He turned around, pushed open the mansion's gate, walked through the front garden and lobby, walked all the way inside, then climbed the stairs, crossed the corridor on the second floor, and came to the study in the back. He knocked on the door and heard a calm and powerful voice from inside, "Come in."

He pushed the door open and saw the afternoon sun shining on the floor of the study, leaving the shape of the window mullions and revealing the fibers of the carpet.

When he walked in, he heard the sound of the radio, and then the most common broadcasting tone in the city came from there:

"...shocking news, Gorbachev officially signed the order for demilitarization yesterday. We can see from this move that the distant giant bear is gradually weakening and cannot support itself alone..."

"In this winter, the people there are unusually cold, and they are about to lose all their initiative. Even their once proudest army cannot be preserved..."

"Gorbachev, an heir who was once worshipped, has shown no talent that matches his reputation. What will be the future of this great country? We can only wait and see..."

A hand reached for the button on the radio, and with a "click," the news broadcast stopped. Schiller took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, leaning back in his chair and said, "Thank you, Merkel, have you heard the news just now?"

"Yes, sir." Merkel, who was called the butler, turned around and took out an iron for ironing newspapers from the small storage room next to the study. He answered with his back to Schiller.

"Do you think things will develop as he said?" Schiller asked while picking up a medical record and writing.

"To be honest, I don't know. I have no opinion on this matter, sir." Merkel paused for a moment when he unfolded the newspaper, raised his head to glance at Schiller, and then lowered his head to iron the newspaper.

Schiller put on his glasses again and, while scrutinizing the words he had written, said, "To be honest, when I asked Alfred to introduce me to a butler, I didn't expect the person he found to be so young."

"I thought all butlers, like Alfred, were born with full heads of gray hair and elegant temperaments," Schiller chuckled, and Merkel also laughed. He said, "Sir, butlers from butler schools tend to seek clients who are close to their own age, and clients also prefer butlers who are of a similar age."

"If the butler is too young, not only will he be unable to be of assistance, but he may also be a burden. However, if the butler is too old, some families may worry about them controlling their children."

"However..." Merkel shook his head and said, "Hereditary butlers are different. They are deeply trusted by their families and often assist their grandfathers before assisting their fathers, and then assist their sons. If given the opportunity, they may also assist their grandsons..."

"Which butler school did you graduate from?"

Merkel shook his head again and smiled, saying, "Butler schools are different from universities. There's no graduation distinction. When I was in my second year of university in London, I was noticed by an old butler from a hereditary butler family and became his apprentice."

"There's a mansion in the south of England that's specifically used to teach us new butlers. There were probably six or seven other people like me there. We called it Butler School."

"So, it's still an apprenticeship system?" Schiller asked.

Merkel nodded and said, "Anyone who wants to enter this profession knows that hereditary butler families hold all the connections. If you want to become a qualified butler, you can only learn from them."

"So, you're the first generation of a hereditary butler family?"

Merkel smiled and said, "May your words come true."

Just then, the doorbell rang again with a sharp sound. It had passed through the empty halls and dim corridors of the mansion, and by the time it reached the study, it had become a bit muffled...

Merkel hung up the iron and smoothed out the newspaper, then turned and left to greet the arriving guests.

When he opened the mansion's gate, he saw a rather low-key black vintage car parked outside. Alfred walked out holding Aisha, then put her down and went to open the door for Dick, who was still in the car.

Both the big and the small child were dressed in thick winter clothes. Dick struggled to remove the scarf that covered half of his face and said, "Is this the teacher's house? It's so luxurious!"

Merkel hurried over to help Alfred carry Aisha, and Alfred turned around to wrap Dick's scarf around his neck. Together, they walked towards the mansion.

In the hall, the children were allowed to take off their scarves, hats, and gloves. Merkel hung up each item of clothing on a hanger, while Alfred looked around the mansion. He said to Merkel, "You've been working for a week now. How do you feel?"

"It's very good," Merkel nodded and said, "Mr. Rodriguez is much easier to get along with than I imagined."

"Just one thing, Merkel, don't express your opinions about your clients casually." Alfred lifted his eyelids and rolled his eyes, looking at Merkel.

This butler was indeed very young. Although he looked like he was in his thirties on the outside, in fact, he was only 28 years old and had received very little training.

However, he had a rather honest appearance and a calm temperament. At first glance, he seemed trustworthy. Alfred walked over and patted his shoulder, saying, "You're naturally suited for this profession."

"Thank you, Mr. Pennyworth. I thought I'd have to wait a long time for my first job, especially since many people don't trust young butlers these days."

As they walked up the stairs with the two children, Alfred said, "I heard from Bruce that this professor is a very kind person, so that's why I recommended you to him. An older client is more likely to be tolerant of small mistakes."

"To be honest, I did mess up a few things this week," Merkel sighed and said a bit embarrassedly, "Mr. Rodriguez is used to staying up late, so I can't go to bed too early either. But this makes me a bit absent-minded during the day. Last time, I almost damaged the Earth globe on his desk..."

"And, he instructed me to bring some food for the newspaper delivery boys every time they come, but I forgot once..."

"It's okay, Merkel. These are all very normal, just a few minor mistakes. You can't imagine the mess I caused when I first started working as a butler."

As Alfred spoke, he recounted some funny stories that happened when he first met Thomas Wayne, and the two of them laughed.

Dick held Aisha's hand from behind and looked around, saying, "British accent is really hard to understand, right?"

"Wah, wah, wah! Wah!"

"What? You want to learn? No, that won't do. Then I won't be able to understand you when you speak in the future," Alfred joked.

Soon, Merkel arrived at Schiller's study door and knocked. After Schiller responded, Merkel opened the door and walked in.

Alfred stepped forward and opened his briefcase, taking out a delicately packaged but not showy gift box. He said, "I've heard of your great reputation, Professor Rodriguez. Just this morning, I heard on the radio that you've won another award for your latest achievement..."

"I think such good news is worth celebrating, so I brought a small gift."

"Just consider it a souvenir for the academic dream that I didn't take away from the rainy days in London."

As he spoke, the old man turned down the corners of his mouth, revealing a somewhat funny and sad expression, which made everyone laugh. Schiller took the gift box and handed it to Merkel.

Merkel opened the gift box, revealing several hardcover editions of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." Alfred gently stroked his palms and said, "Originally, I suggested sending Shakespeare to Bruce, but he said that perhaps you would like this better."

Schiller took the books from Merkel's hands and caressed the gold-stamped letters on the cover. He smiled and said, "I didn't know that Bruce knew me so well. Normally, he has a better relationship with Professor Victor, which makes me a bit jealous."

Alfred also smiled and turned around, pulling Dick and Aisha over. Dick looked a little timid as he stared at Schiller, seemingly a little afraid of this teacher-like figure.

"I also know that Bruce must have caused a lot of trouble. His mind has always been a bit too active, but I think Dick will be a good student. Although he started school relatively late, he has good grades in all subjects..."

Schiller crouched down and looked at Dick's eyes, then said, "I can tell that he's a well-behaved child."

Then he touched Dick's head and stood up again, looking at Alfred and saying, "As I wrote in my reply to you before, from now on, both he and his sister can come here for three hours of classes every week."

"I will teach Dick grammar and some basic psychology and sociology knowledge."

"As for Aisha, as we agreed before, I will give her some basic sensory training to promote her language development as much as possible..."

"Thank you, Professor Rodriguez."

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