In the evening of the coastal city, the sunset is always very bright, on the streets of the manor area, the street lamp poles with intricate vine patterns are illuminated in golden yellow, and the evening breeze blows, and a piece of paper posted on the street lamp poles is blown and fluttered, drawing a beautiful arc in the air.

Fly over the mottled walls, through the spires illuminated by the sunset, down the patterned iron railings, and finally float into the mailbox at the gate of the manor, lying quietly at the bottom of the mailbox.

The hand that has been wearing leather gloves, flicked the lock of the mailbox, opened the door of the mailbox, took out the paper, looked at the contents of the paper, Merkel sighed a little excitedly, held the paper in one hand, pushed open the gate of the manor with the other, and then handed it to Schiller, who was eating dinner.

Schiller put down the newspaper in his hand, took the piece of paper, glanced at it, raised an eyebrow and said, "What's the matter?" Are there really theater companies willing to come to Gotham to play Shakespeare? And "Macbeth"? ”

"Yes sir, I knew you would be glad that this is the most famous Angelica troupe in the Met, and they are very popular all over the East Coast, and they are best known for their theatrical ......."

Schiller looked at the piece of paper, which was just a simplified version of the company's repertoire, with the name of the troupe, the plays planned to be performed in the city, the main plays, and the names of other light comedies.

This simplified version of the repertoire is also very Gotham-style, and the main play is "Macbeth" from Shakespeare's four great tragedies, which is a play that Schiller loved very much.

But it's a pity that none of the troupes that came to Gotham to perform in Gotham are capable of performing Shakespeare's plays, most of them are some after-dinner sketches or light comedies, not serious dramas at all, and Schiller has not seen any main plays since coming to Gotham.

"Quick, Merkel, call this troupe and buy me one...... No, buy two tickets...... No, no, no, in addition to Victor, Lawyer Harvey should also enjoy the drama and buy him a ticket as well, as for Sheriff Gordon...... Call him first and ask if he's free, and His Godfather, but I suppose he should be quicker than I am? ”

Merkel took the improvised play from Schiller's hand, smiled and said, "Tomorrow, the news that you like Shakespeare's plays will spread throughout Gotham City...... Oh no, maybe it will be tonight. ”

Schiller got up from his chair and said, "I haven't been so happy in a long time since I came to this city, by the way, who are they starring in?" Is their backstage open? Can I meet the main actors? ”

"I'll help you ask." Merkel put her chair back in place, turned to the phone, and said: "But as far as I know, the troupes from the Met don't usually accept backstage visits, they want to keep the actors secretive." ”

"That's fine, even though I know that the roles they play have nothing to do with them and that everything should just stay on stage, I still enjoy communicating with these actors who play different roles, and their state of mind when playing certain roles can provide me with a lot of material......

Schiller's brisk walk towards the door said, "If you can get a detailed repertoire tonight, be sure to help me see how many shows Macbeth is scheduled for, hopefully after lunch, and I don't want it to attract too many laughing guys like those after-dinner sketches." ”

Merkel gestured reassuringly, and then saw that Schiller took his umbrella and walked out of the gate of the manor, he called the driver, and then got in the car, and walked through the streets of Gotham all the way to the Iceberg restaurant in the East End.

When he walked into the dining room, he found that several children were practicing serving plates, and when they saw him come in, they took a few steps back in horror, but then, they remembered that they had seen Schiller before, and that Schiller seemed to be a friend of their boss, so they froze in place, not daring to move.

The child in the lead carefully put down the plate in his hand, and then ran upstairs, and after a while, Colbert came down, and when he saw Schiller's figure, he asked with some surprise, "Professor, why are you here?" ”

"I'm coming to see your restaurant, how are the preparations going?"

"It's almost there, and it will be open in a week." As he descended the spiral staircase, he straightened his tie and said, "I'm looking for someone to put up notices and distribute flyers." ”

Copote

Pointing to the table next to him, he and Schiller sat on either side of the table, the waiter brought them two glasses of water, and the children cowered in the corner, staring at the two of them.

Neither Cobot nor Schiller paid any attention to the children, who were discussing the opening of the Iceberg Restaurant.

"I think the newsboys and peddlers will be of great help to you, just put an advertisement in the newspaper or on brown paper wrapped in bread, and soon the whole East End will know that you have opened." Schiller said.

Cobot was stunned for a moment and said, "Clip the ad in the newspaper?" I was going to have them send a special ......."

"Maybe that's okay in the eastern district, because most of the residents here don't have their own mailboxes, but if you want to go to the western district to advertise, you must not let them go alone to deliver leaflets, which is very rude." Schiller pointed out the loopholes in this, saying:

"Although I also think that these rules are somewhat unnecessary, but the old men of the West End just think that they should do this, and the repertoire of the play, the flower shop and even the price list of the bakery can be sent to the mailbox separately, but the opening advertisement cannot."

"Because it takes time to make these things and print them on a colorful, scented piece of paper, it proves that these shops are for these gentlemen, and they're going to be happy to buy something."

"But if you just stuff the opening ad into their mailbox, say it's an East End restaurant, and include a menu, they'll think you're humiliating them, and if they see your name again, they'll probably think you're a gangster and force them to go for it."

Colbert nodded thoughtfully and said, "Yes, they might want to see some complex dishes on the menu rather than simple steaks or bread." ”

"This building has seven floors, don't you have a VIP room or something?" Schiller said, looking at the ceiling of the hall.

I choked and he said, "I don't know much, how to ...... How to deal with them, I mean, with people of your class......"

Schiller smiled and said, "Didn't you see it all when you went to the umbrella boy before?" Aren't you already very clear about how celebrities behave? ”

"Yes...... Copote nodded, "but when I actually started preparing the restaurant, I realized that things were not as simple as I thought. ”

"You want too much, I guess." Schiller turned his head to look out the window and said, "You should know very well that the labor pool brought about by the development of the logistics industry will bring you a lot of wealth." ”

"For example, most of the restaurants in the manor area are palatial, and each one has a delicate façade, and the people who come in and out of it are either rich or expensive, but they may not make money from the most popular restaurants in the East End."

"Many of these restaurants are even losing money, if it weren't for the support of the twelve families behind them, they would have closed down a long time ago, and the sales of those expensive ingredients are not high, and it is very difficult to preserve, once they are not handled well, they will ruin their reputation, which can be said to be thankless."

"But on the contrary, these restaurants in the East District, which do small profits and quick turnover, have a large amount of dollars every day, the ingredients are simple and easy to handle, and the taste of customers is not so tricky at all.

"Seeing this, of course you will want to get a piece of the pie, we all know that there are sick people at home, and they are always short of money......" Schiller took a sip of water from his glass, and then continued:

"But at the same time, you want to fulfill your ambitions, you want to climb up and reach people from the higher classes, so you chose this mansion as the location for your restaurant, because the facilities here are luxurious enough to attract those from the Twelve Families and the wealthy districts."

"But many times, the two sources of customers are in conflict, the rich and the old man hope to have expensive and special ingredients to show their financial resources and taste, but the large number of customers here only hope to be full, the source of customers is different, the way to deal with it is naturally different, but there is only one restaurant, haven't you thought about how to distribute it?"

Cobott was a little cramped, and when he was younger, he did come into contact with the upper echelons of Gotham, but with the death of his father, the Oswald family declined

Fall, he has become no different from the people at the bottom of Gotham.

He didn't know what was the most popular topic in the rich area right now, how to deal with those strange rules, and how to fit into the circle.

"Shouldn't I put the two together?" Colbert frowned, and began to doubt his decision in the first place, which he had indeed planned.

The flow of people in the East End can bring him a lot of money, and the location and role of the mansion itself can attract high-class guests for him, which is a good thing to kill two birds with one stone.

But when you put it into practice, you will find that there are still many problems, for example, the rich people are very hypocritical, they will never want to go to a restaurant where dock workers and porters are in the house, let alone dine with them.

Moreover, they eat differently than ordinary people, and they are willing to spend a lot of money on expensive ingredients, even though they are not very tasty, as long as they are scarce and difficult to preserve, but the workers are the opposite.

If you want to receive a large number of people, you have to convert the hall on the first floor into a restaurant, and if you want to attract the rich, you have to set aside a ballroom for the ball, and there is only one restaurant, and it is difficult to balance the two.

Schiller put his hands on the table, looked Copot's eyes and said, "Are you doubting your decision?" Think the two parties are not compatible? But I think so. ”

"If you were my student, you would have learned this in the previous few days of class - where does the feeling of superiority come from?"

Copote frowned, he began to think, and then, he thought of something, but it was difficult to express it in systematic language.

"The superiority of people comes from comparison, you don't have to be the richest person in the world, but as long as you are richer than the vast majority of other people, you can even be richer than most people, as long as you are richer than your neighbors."

"This is human nature, which can hardly be changed, and even the most indifferent to fame and fortune will be happy because of the victory in the comparison."

"And the situation of the restaurant, now there is a basis for making comparisons, this mansion was originally only open to the upper class, so once ordinary people receive your leaflet, they will feel curious, even if they don't come to eat, they will come to see."

"At the beginning of the opening, you will gather a large number of customers, according to my observation, this restaurant should not be able to accommodate, a large number of customers may cause queues, as long as you can ensure law and order, let them honestly line up outside your restaurant, then these people are the basis for you to make comparisons."

"On top of that, you can send invitations to the celebrities and go through the VIP passage to the VIP room on the upper floor."

"When they come here, they will see that those who are inferior to them can only line up outside in the wind and rain, while they can be surrounded by waiters and enter the luxurious private rooms, which is a kind of comparative victory, an affirmation of their wealth and status."

"Maybe you can build a passage for these celebrities to pass through the queues, or just let them see it and let them have some limited close encounters."

"But ......," said Copote, objected, "as far as I know, the old men do not like dockers, and they think that those who work as coolies smell of them, and even frown at the sight of them from afar." ”

"Yes, they might sit in a glittering private room and complain about it, they might complain about a whole dinner, they might say you really don't know how to do business, they might say they defiled their suits and dresses, they might feel disgusting to even look at them."

"But these complaints actually strengthen the psychological suggestion that in order to show that they are different from the common people, they will be more inclined to order more expensive food, eat food that people can't afford, drink alcohol that people can't afford, and then use this as a talking point to show off to their fellow citizens."

"They will even use you as a talking point, thinking that if they open such a restaurant, they will definitely make a smarter choice than you, and they will definitely kick those people out and keep only the richest and most established customers."

"But does it matter? Will you be outraged by this, Copote? Do you feel humiliated for their opinions? Schiller asked.

Kobat shook his head and said, "

Of course not, I don't care what they say at all, I just care how much money they spend here, how many times a week they will come here, and with whom each time......"

"Sometimes, in relationships, playing a fool isn't entirely bad." Schiller looked at Cobot and said, "Being someone else's talking point may make you look like a clown, but at least your name will circulate among this class, and making everyone remember you is the first step up the ladder." ”

From beginning to end, Copote's eyes lit up, and he didn't know why Schiller knew this, he didn't know if this understanding came from Schiller himself, or from the subject he studied. ”

As his acquaintance with Schiller grew, Colbert felt that his interest in psychology grew, and for this reason, he even went to the hellish school to listen to lectures and even read high school registration information in his busy schedule.

His relatively simple worldview made him feel that as long as he could learn these theories, he would be able to win in the most concise and fast way, just like gambling with a thousand, which was his favorite thing to do.

Copote imagined the future for a moment, but then he added, "I've been out of this class for so long, I really can't figure them out, but it's good to have you, Professor, or I'd really have to put the ad in their mailbox, and it would be a bad start......"

At that moment, Schiller pulled out a nice stack of paper from his coat pocket, handed it to Copote, and said, "...... You should take a look at this. ”

"What is this? Repertoire of Metropolitan Angelica Theatre Company...... Is the Repertory Theatre coming to Gotham to perform? Copote frowned, looking at the barrage of theatrical plays, feeling clueless.

"If you want to open the door to a certain class, you need to get a stepping stone first, and if you can participate in a hot topic, you can naturally promote your restaurant in a whole new way."

"When I was very young, my parents also went to the theater to see a show, but it was dark and I don't remember anything going on stage, except that my father was talking to his neighbor all the time," Copot recalled. ”

"Yes, that's the meaning of going to the theater, in fact, I already know the plot of many dramas, and I've watched them many times, but I will go to watch them with different friends, discuss with them the plot, the actors' performances, the strength of the troupe, etc., there are so many topics to talk about."

"Am I going to see this play?" Colbert stared at the repertoire and said, "But I've never read the book, I haven't seen the play, and if I don't figure out the plot in one go, how can I get involved in their conversation?" ”

"It's better if you don't understand, or even if you do, you should pretend you don't understand." Schiller took another sip of water and said: "You can bring up this topic, and then ask them questions that you don't understand, and they will definitely explain it to you very enthusiastically, and if you bring up some topics such as movies and TV series, it will be even more satisfying for them." ”

Copote was thinking as he communicated with Schiller, and before he knew it, the night was falling.

Schiller glanced down at his watch and said, "It's not too early, I might have to go to Wayne Manor, after all, he won't have as much trouble as you do to solve those children's problems." ”

At the mention of Bruce, Copote's face turned a little bad, and he said, "I can even imagine what the situation is like on his side." ”

By the time Schiller left the Iceberg Restaurant, it was completely dark, and there was a light rain in the sky, and the headlights were like neon in the refraction of the rain.

When Schiller arrived at Wayne Manor, Alfred didn't come out to pick him up, which was not normal, and the old butler almost never left the place.

Schiller himself walked into the hall of Wayne Manor, where there were no lights, only the glow of the fireplace flickering faintly, the wood had been burned out, and the flames were about to be extinguished.

Suddenly, a noise came from behind, and Schiller turned his head to see Bruce Wayne drunk on the couch.