Chapter 823: Gangster Dilemma (Part 2)
"Yes, I was born here, probably more than 50 years ago? I can't remember clearly. My parents threw me in a trash can, and I picked it up for a tracker who worked at the dock."
"I'm quite lucky, aren't I? My father is very capable and can support me. Although he was beaten to death later, at least I grew up smoothly..."
In the ward, a slightly obese gang leader leaned against the wall, smoking a cigar, and recalled: "I see that you are quite young, so you have not experienced that era. It was really a magnificent time. I used this word, right?"
"Yes, you all know that I am new here. Not only did I just come to the hospital, but I also just got a gun and a whip," Bruce said very cryptically, but everyone else smiled and said, "Then you They are quite experienced, and there are many newcomers who have offended everyone here as soon as they kill their leader.”
"I know very well that many friends lead to many paths." Bruce also lit a cigar, frowned and took a sip, and said, "Actually, I'm also worried about how to take the next step."
"Why are you worried? Isn't life difficult now?" A younger gang boss on the other side said: "It's much better than ten years ago. I didn't catch up with the good times. I was shot twice while trying to grab the dock. It still hurts all the time..."
"You are already lucky." The fat boss said, "When I first came to Gotham, no one told you the rules. The whole city was in such a mess that it was impossible to see."
"Oh, by the way." He spoke again, looked at Bruce and asked, "Boy, did you get to the position after killing your elders? Or did you grab it from someone else?"
"I don't have any elders." Bruce shrugged and said, "I just couldn't stand the boss of my area. I lied that I was a businessman from out of town and killed him with a gun. Fortunately, the guy himself It’s so bad. He also deducted the wages of the people below him. Everyone tolerated him for a long time, but I caught him.”
The fat boss raised his eyebrows and said: "You are really capable and dare to shoot directly, but that's okay. You are so young. If you kill your father or uncle, you will be in trouble next time."
"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.
The fat boss waved his hand and said: "If you have no foundation and work on your own, then everyone will be more tolerant to you, but if you are brought into the social circle by your father or uncle, then if you go out of your way, everyone will They will all think you are unreliable and won’t do business with you.”
Bruce frowned and said, "Why would you be more tolerant of me if I don't have any foundation?"
The younger boss on the other side said: "Don't you know this? If you haven't learned the rules from your elders, then everyone will treat you as a country bumpkin. It's okay to make a fool of yourself occasionally. That's how I came here too." ”
"But, if you are originally a child from a gangster family, you learn the rules from your parents every day, see what they do every day, and you still make mistakes, doesn't that mean you are stupid?"
Bruce didn't expect that there was such a difference. He said, "Then if I make a fool of myself, won't they laugh at me the same way?"
"It doesn't matter, I've been laughed at too." The younger boss lit a cigar and said, "As long as you don't make those fundamental mistakes, it's okay to be laughed at twice."
"After all, you don't know how to do it because you haven't learned it. But if you have learned it and haven't learned it after so many years of learning, how can you let others do business with you? Who would learn the most basic etiquette and still haven't learned it after so many years? Learn to do business with a retarded person?”
Bruce nodded, and the fat boss said: "Speaking of this, I think of my daughter. Thank God, she doesn't have the mind for free love, but don't mention this to me, let alone fall in love with the son of a wealthy businessman. , none of those playboys are good..."
The fat boss took a puff of his cigar and said, "I originally wanted to send her to a missionary middle school to study, but my wife told me that she wouldn't learn anything there, and she wouldn't even be able to reply to invitations, and she would be laughed at. ”
"Church middle school? It should be pretty good, right?" Bruce said, "Especially the most famous girls' school in the city."
The fat boss waved his hands disdainfully and said, "That's true, but you have to see what they teach. They teach my daughter to read the Bible, make tailors, flower arrangements, and paint. But the problem is that she will marry into the Lawrence family in the future. Go."
"She will become little Lawrence's wife and the mistress of the Lawrence family. What's the use of just knowing these things? Match Malone...is that your name?"
"Let me ask you, if you want to visit the Lawrence family, write a greeting note and send it to their mailbox, at this time, should you expect their reply?"
Bruce nodded and said, "Of course."
"But if the mistress of their family is a stupid girl who doesn't even know who you are and what level you are, how can you expect her to give you a suitable reply?"
The fat boss blew out the smoke and said, "The Lawrence family is much stronger than you. If a little person like you wants to visit their home, of course they can't respond too enthusiastically, otherwise they won't be able to deal with those families at the same level."
"However, if the wording of agreement is too cold, it will be mistaken for rejection. If you want to grasp this degree, in addition to the wording above, you should also look at the handwriting, the texture of the letter, and the reply. Time, these are not managed well, isn’t it offending people?”
Bruce thought about it and felt that it was true. Not to mention the gangs with many rules, even the gatherings of the upper class in Gotham had all kinds of troublesome rules.
Men were a little better. The ladies and young ladies had hundreds of rules for a necklace and a headdress.
Who wore the new style, who wore the old style, who gave their fan, who wore their hat in which direction, all had rules. Who got engaged recently, who had a baby recently, and what changes had taken place in which family, all could be seen from the details of food, clothing, housing and transportation.
The reason why Bruce didn't feel it was difficult was that Bruce Wayne, as a disguise, was a rotten playboy. He could lose his temper at the banquet at will, and no one could do anything to him. He could come to the magnificent mansion in a sports suit right after working out, and the waiters and managers had to smile at him.
As for the invitation, he didn't even look at it, and Alfred wouldn't tell him. He would only tell him something like "The family of XX invites you to go, do you want to go?" If Bruce said no, Alfred wouldn't ask him how to write the invitation.
In short, Bruce's parents, butler and his own disguised identity helped him avoid these messy secret rules. No one in Gotham dared to offend him, so what rules did he have to follow?
At this time, he put himself in his shoes and thought about it. If he didn't have the status of the Wayne family, the diligent old butler, and the disguised identity of Bruce Wayne, he would be an ordinary wealthy businessman. It would take a lot of effort to integrate into the Gotham circle.
Not to mention how to write the visiting card and invitation? He even had to take care of who the person was, what clothes he wore, and what posture he walked in. Even if Batman had 48 hours a day, he would be exhausted.
Now, Bruce understood what Schiller was asking. At first, he asked Schiller to experience life in the slums with him, but Schiller asked him, "Do you really think it's harder to live in the slums than in the upper class?"
What Schiller meant was that in the slums, your relatives, friends, brothers, and colleagues are all your helpers, but in the upper class, all these people are your troubles.
If you make a mistake, these people won't say anything on the surface, but they will definitely gossip behind your back. If the news spreads, it will affect your reputation and your business will be difficult.
For people like Bruce who have high IQ and low EQ, it is actually easier to live in the slums. As long as he can turn around, his high IQ can bring him a lot of capital accumulation, and he can live comfortably in this environment.
But if it comes to the open and secret struggles in the upper class, Bruce's perception of emotions and expression of his own emotions are not enough for him to capture this undercurrent, understand everyone's psychology, and do his best.
Batman is a mental patient. The slums don't care whether you are mentally ill or not, but the upper class is different. If you are not high enough but do something very outrageous, you will never be able to integrate into their circle.
Bruce was thinking about this, and the young gangster boss said: "My son is only three years old this year. I plan to take him to meet his two uncles when he is five years old. Both of them are shipping businessmen. Also, when he is old enough to go to elementary school, I want him to go to the community elementary school..."
At this time, the fat boss tutted his lips and said: "Don't, Doyle, for the sake of our previous cooperation, I remind you not to let him go to school. This is for his good."
The gangster boss called Doyle frowned and said in some confusion: "Why? In the community where I live, many people let their children go to school."
"That's because you insist on buying a house in the South District and living with those rich businessmen. Of course, they will let their children go to school, but you can't do that."
"Why" Doyle asked.
The fat boss shook his head and said, "Think about it, he plays with those rich kids in the community school, so when he grows up, can he do business with them?"
"You have to hire a tutor for your child, preferably one of the same generation as the godfather, to teach him how to follow etiquette and rules, and then you have to let your wife take him to some salons and afternoon tea parties, to make out with his aunts, and finally, to play with their children. This is the most decent way."
The fat boss sighed and said, "What's more terrible is that if your child grows up with the children of those rich businessmen and wants to go to middle school like them, What if he is admitted to another place when applying for college? Are you going to give up your family business?"
"In Gotham, even if he stays there for four months, let alone four years, dozens of families will beat him to death. He has been away for so long, and when he comes back, he is just a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered. He knows nothing, can't do anything, can't see the situation clearly, and doesn't know anyone. How can you let him survive in Gotham?"
Doyle thought about it, then nodded and said, "Indeed, I said that I can't listen to Alina. She insisted that her children should go to college. In my opinion, students from Gotham University are nothing. If they join the gang for two days, they will probably lose their lives."
The fat boss waved the hand holding the cigar and said, "I told you when you got married that you didn't choose the right person. Your wife is a top student who graduated from Cambridge. She can't write a poem in cursive calligraphy like anyone else in the twelve families."
"But this is what it's like to marry a woman from another place. You have to cry and educate her every day, and tell her to read..."
"But don't you see where you are? You read a lot of books, but you can't even hold a gun when you come back. In the end, you can only go to see God with your books in your arms."