From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

After finally getting rid of the fanatical crowd, Lawrence turned into a cafe under the leadership of Anna, where Anna arranged for Lawrence to interview a house renter.

The cafe is not big, with only a dozen tables, but the scenery is very good, and you can see the coast of Ajaccio from the window.

There is also a small circular stage in the museum, with a badly damaged piano with inaccurate tone, and a third-rate performer who is dressed up seriously and plays a light-hearted ditty.

Nonetheless, this is already the best cafe in Ajaccio.

According to convention, a customer like Anna who was as dirty as a briquette would not be allowed in. However, the store manager quickly recognized that the girl next to him was the famous Laurence Bonaparte, so he granted permission. They came in. And personally led them to sit down at a table by the window.

Anna greedily sucked in the faint aroma of coffee beans mixed with oak in the shop. It was a pleasure for Anna not to smell the unbearable stench of the stinking ditch.

Since Lawrence was more than three hours late, the lessor had already left.

Lawrence had no choice but to give a waiter a silver coin tip and ask him to go to the address given by Anna to invite him back.

"What do you want to order?" Lawrence looked at the menu boredly and asked Anna casually.

Anna glanced at the menu secretly. She was not very literate, and the menu was in several languages, which made Anna confused.

Due to the common sense he inherited from this body, Lawrence was very proficient in French, Italian and High German.

"No sir," Anna was waving her hands, but her stomach suddenly growled, so loud that the guests at the next table couldn't help but look sideways.

"Sorry sir, I obviously ate two baked potatoes this morning." The girl blushed and lowered her head to apologize.

Lawrence smiled, waved to call the waiter, ordered a plate of four-inch cream cake and a plate of dark chocolate for Anna, and ordered a cup of coffee for himself, choosing coffee beans from Mocha.

Mocha was originally a famous coffee trading city on the Red Sea coast, and it directly became the name of a type of coffee in later generations.

Although the scenery outside the window was pleasant, he felt bored after looking at it for a while. While waiting for the renter, Lawrence boredly began to look at the girl next to him.

Lawrence was deeply impressed by Anna's excellent ability to observe people's emotions and her well-informed information, especially since she lived in Xicheng District. It is not only poor and backward, but also the various forces are intertwined and complicated.

Whether he plans to set foot in Xicheng District in the future or is dealing with the retaliation of the dockworkers union now, Lawrence will probably need Anna's help.

"If there is a chance, we can even let her serve as a diplomat or spy. With her talent, with a little training, she will definitely be able to do the job."

Lawrence picked up the coffee cup and took a sip, but his eyes were staring straight at Anna, imagining her future.

Anna, who was immersed in the cake and devouring it, was also keenly aware of Lawrence's direct gaze. Her cheeks immediately turned red, causing a common misunderstanding among sixteen-year-old girls, and she even stopped moving her mouth.

"What's wrong Anna? The cake doesn't taste good?" Lawrence asked casually when he saw Anna suddenly stopped moving.

Ana patted her face, shook her head, and shook the thoughts out of her head. The status gap between the two parties was so great that Anna did not even dare to hold back the slightest thought of transgression:

"No problem sir, I have never eaten anything so delicious."

At this moment, the lessor finally arrived, and the waiter led him to sit at Lawrence's table.

The person who came was a plainly dressed old lady, wearing a light green dress without any patterns, without a hat, and her hair was simply tied with a ribbon. Although there were many wrinkles on her face, she was very energetic.

Lawrence quickly stood up, bent down slightly, and apologized: "I'm very sorry to have to make you come again."

The old lady smiled and waved her hand, indicating that it was okay, and said: "You are Mr. Laurence Bonaparte. You are busy with official work. It is understandable. Just call me Mrs. Dora. I am a tailor."

Lawrence glanced at Mrs. Dora's fingers. Although there were some wrinkles, they looked slender and flexible.

After a while of greetings, the two parties sat down, and Lawrence took the initiative to order a glass of sterilized milk for her, and then began to discuss renting a house.

"I have listened to this girl about your requirements. This house for my son completely meets your requirements." Mrs. Dora always smiled and said: "He is a businessman and will go abroad for a long time. This The house was left vacant.”

Lawrence nodded and couldn't help but glance at Anna with some admiration.

His requirements for the residence were actually quite high, and the time he gave Anna was actually only half a day. Unexpectedly, Anna could find and contact a renter who met the requirements in such a short period of time.

"However, I really didn't expect that the famous Mr. Laurence Bonaparte would rent this room." Mrs. Dora said with a smile.

Lawrence touched his nose humbly. The formation he created in the morning was indeed too great. In just half a day, at least the citizens in the north and south districts knew his name and this conspicuous uniform.

Lawrence took a sip of his coffee and said, "So, what about the rent?"

"Since it is M. Bonaparte, the monthly rent will be thirty gold," replied Madame Dora.

Lawrence couldn't help but smile. It seemed that his fame had some effect. Otherwise, according to his estimation, the monthly rent for a house that met the requirements would be at least forty gold.

Anna stuffed chocolate into her mouth and listened enviously to the conversation between the two. Whether it was thirty gold or forty gold, it was a figure that Anna could not imagine.

For her, her monthly expenses would not exceed three gold coins.

After basically reaching an agreement, the two sides sat and chatted for a while. Lawrence also learned that Mrs. Dora ran a coat shop located next to the rented house.

Due to Mrs. Dora's superb craftsmanship, many wealthy businessmen and parliamentarians made a special trip to Beicheng District to ask her to customize clothing. Even Lawrence's brother Carlo once customized a shirt and trousers here.

After some small talk, Mrs. Dora took out a silver pocket watch, checked the time, and invited Lawrence to have a look at the house.

The three of them stood up, and Lawrence left three gold coins on the table to pay the bill, and the excess was used as a tip for the waiter.

After a short walk, the three of them stopped at a street corner. In front of them was a three-story apartment, and next to it was Mrs. Dora's coat shop.

The facilities of the apartment are very complete. The first floor is the living room, dining room, kitchen and study room; the second floor has four bedrooms, a small balcony and a bathroom; the third floor is an attic used as a storage room; in addition, there are There is a rather small basement.

Most of the furniture is half-new and half-old, which is when they are most comfortable to use.

Lawrence was very satisfied and signed a contract with Mrs. Dora in her shop, paid the first month's rent, and got the key.

Hanging the bronze key on his belt, Lawrence breathed a long sigh of relief. No matter in which era, having your own place is the most comfortable thing. Lawrence didn't want to live in the garrison dormitory and be crowded with the patrols every day.

"By the way, Anna." Lawrence suddenly said to Anna behind him: "Would you like to work for me?"

This was what Anna was waiting for. Her eyes could not help but shine with excitement, but soon dimmed again. She lowered her head and said:

"Of course, sir. It's just...what can a guy like me do."

Lawrence touched his head, pointed to the house in front of him, and said:

"This house is quite big, why don't you be the housekeeper?"

"Butler? But I heard that a housekeeper must be very smart, able to read, and keep accounts. I..." Anna shook her head repeatedly.

"No, you just need to do some simple housework."

Anna opened her mouth, as if she was still worried about her lack of ability, but she was also afraid that this opportunity would slip away from her eyes, so after hesitating for a moment, she mustered up the courage to say:

"In that case, please let me start as Sir's maid!"