Chapter 0 Prologue
On a Sunday morning in London, a roadside restaurant was open for business. There were not too many people in the restaurant, some were eating at seats, and some were drinking hot tea at the long bar . The waitress brought coffee pots and black tea to each customer, and stopped from time to time to chat with familiar customers. The atmosphere in the restaurant was slow and comfortable.
Two kids who were packing sandwiches were playing and laughing in the long, narrow restaurant, ruining the atmosphere. The waitress couldn't help but shout, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Gentlemen, be quiet."
The two children stopped and looked at each other. After the old lady turned around, the older child twisted his butt and knocked the younger child down. The younger child fell on the side of a middle-aged man's chair. The middle-aged man quickly reached out to hold the child. The child stood up, as if he had done something wrong, and apologized with a restrained expression: "I'm sorry, sir."
The middle-aged man smiled a little: "It's okay, but the restaurant is not a place for fighting."
"Yes, sir." The child nodded.
The waitress said, "Boys, your breakfast is ready."
The older child stepped forward, took the paper bag, and walked towards the restaurant door with the younger child, one after the other.
A bald man in his fifties with a big belly sitting on a bar stool slowly folded up the newspaper and reached out to stop the child. He smiled at the child and said, "I'll buy you breakfast."
The child was a little nervous, shook his head, turned to look at the older child, and looked for help.
The older child stood at the door, just watching and saying nothing, as if waiting for the younger child to come over.
The aunt noticed something unusual and asked, "John?"
The man, who was called John, glanced at the child's right trouser pocket and said, "I noticed that he was hungry, right?"
The child was the one who asked, "Is that right?" The child nodded in response to the question. John smiled with satisfaction and pushed the bar chair next to him for the child to sit on. At this time, the older child quietly left the restaurant.
John ordered a milk and a hot dog, and then took out five bills from his coat pocket and put them in front of the child. The child didn't dare to move, so John explained, "I want to buy the wallet in your right pants pocket."
The child hesitated for a moment and took out the wallet from his right trouser pocket. John took the wallet, threw it on the ground without even looking at it, and asked, "What's your name?"
The child replied: "Liang Xi."
John asked, "Vietnamese?"
The child replied: "Chinese."
At this time, the aunt saw the wallet, picked it up and shouted: "Hey, which careless guy lost the wallet?"
Everyone was groping around, and the middle-aged man finally realized that his wallet was lost, and he hurried forward to claim it.
John pushed the milk in front of Liang Xi and looked at the five bills he had placed on the table: "This is your money, you can keep it."
Liang Xi picked up the banknotes and asked, "Can I count them?"
John chuckled: "Of course."
Liang Xi picked up five banknotes and began to count them. His way of counting money was different from others. He first held the money in his left hand, then took out a banknote with his right hand and placed it on the table, counting: "One, one, one, one , one."
After counting, Liang Xi's hands were empty, and there was only one bill on the table. Liang Xi pushed the bill to John: "I'm sorry, sir, I can't take your money."
John was very surprised. He knew it was a magic trick, and he also knew how to use it. He was just surprised that Liang Xi could do it so well. John put away the banknote in front of him and thought for a while: "Liang Xi, I know you are a student of Blue Jacket School."
This time it was Liang Xi who was surprised: "How did you know?"
John smiled and replied, "I'm a detective." Unless a Chinese child is an orphan, he will not be a pickpocket. There is a Blue Jacket Charity School four blocks away, and the restaurant is near the bus stop. Combining all the information , John came to a conclusion.
Liang Xi was not interested in the detective profession at all. He tilted his head and said, "There are detectives everywhere in Britain."
John thought this was right, nodded in agreement, and asked, "Do you like being a pickpocket?"
Liang Xi did not answer, but drank the milk silently.
John knew what was going on. "My detective agency is not far away on Berning Street, and I'm in need of someone to help me clean up. If you're willing, I can help you out."
Liang Xi looked up at John: "But...but they are a very bad group of people."
John said, "I just asked whether you are willing or not. As for how to solve the problem, that is my business."
Liang Xi thought for a while and said, "Sir, it is illegal to employ child labor."
John said nonchalantly, "If you don't pay me, it's not employment."
Liang Xi was stunned. Is this the detective's logic?
John smiled for a while when he saw Liang Xi's expression, and said, "But I allow you to help me count the money once a week."
