Chapter 26: An Unusual Purchase Order

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The overwhelming drowsiness and exhaustion gave Milton an exceptionally deep sleep. Even after getting up, he could not quite tell how much time had passed.

He could make out the hour, but the date was another matter...

“I hope I haven’t slept through an entire day.” Milton sat up from the sofa and stretched his aching limbs. “I’ll wash up first.”

The moment he stepped out of the room, Milton saw Leah sitting at the dining table, staring blankly into space.

Her parents had both been brutally murdered by the Van Gang, leaving behind only one child...

Milton sighed inwardly and walked over. “Leah, how long was I asleep?”

Leah hurriedly pulled herself together and put on a smile. “Inspector, I believe you slept for a little over eight hours?”

What a strong child.

Milton did not sit down. After studying Leah for a moment, he asked carefully, “What are you planning to do from now on?”

“I... I don’t know.” Leah froze for a moment. “I still have a few dollars left—the ones you gave me last time. Maybe they’ll last a few more days?”

There was no way she could keep running the fruit shop.

The Van Gang would certainly come looking for her. The shopkeeper was dead, her father was dead, and she no longer had anyone to rely on.

A little girl could never find respectable work in a place like this. Perhaps she would starve to death within days—or sell herself to the traffickers lurking deep in the Old Streets.

Feeling the numb despair in her voice, Milton spoke calmly. “Go to school.”

School... Study...

Leah blinked and clenched her fingers tightly. “But I don’t have money for tuition, Inspector.”

“For now, work at the pharmacy. By the beginning of next term, you’ll have enough for your tuition.” After saying this, Milton turned toward the bathroom. “Remember, only knowledge can change your fate.”

Leah watched him walk away. As she looked at the familiar surroundings, the sense of security that had shattered began to return bit by bit. The composure she had been forcing herself to maintain finally collapsed, and her eyes gradually blurred with tears.

“...Thank you.”

Milton stopped. He turned around and corrected her with great seriousness. “Don’t thank me. You paid taxes, and this is a taxpayer’s right.”

Leah stood frozen.

If she paid taxes, she could enjoy the rights of a taxpayer?

Leah had been robbed by all sorts of people under all sorts of pretexts. For the first time, she seriously savored the meaning of the word “rights,” and felt her entire understanding of the world tremble.

Milton had many things to attend to and did not dwell on the matter. He hurried into the bathroom to wash up, changed his clothes, and then went to the small cafeteria on the surface.

He was a little hungry. He might as well eat first.

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Brandon and Luz were already waiting there. When they saw Milton enter, they quickly rose to their feet.

“Boss? Are you eating? I’ll have the Chinese restaurant across the street send something over. Let me tell you quietly—the Chinese really know how to cook. Most of the food in our cafeteria comes from them.”

Milton fell silent when he heard the words “Chinese restaurant.” Three seconds later, he said to Luz, “Go to the Chinese restaurant and buy some ingredients and seasonings. No prepared food.”

Is he worried about being poisoned?

Luz nodded, inwardly marveling at how cautious his boss was, then took the money and left.

Brandon sat down on a chair and rocked it slightly. “Boss, you’re not as cold-hearted as you look... Seeing how obsessed you are with taxes, I thought you’d drive Leah away.”

Milton glanced at him and said coldly, “No wonder you people have managed this place so badly. No wonder you can’t collect any taxes.”

Brandon looked confused. “Huh?”

“If you only collect taxes while refusing to let a single penny flow back out, people will feel they are being robbed and become fiercely resistant to taxation. The cost of collection will rise beyond imagination. Once the cost of collecting taxes exceeds the taxes themselves, order collapses.”

“You’ve only let people feel the consequences of not paying taxes, without letting them experience how their quality of life improves after paying them. Naturally, conflict and hostility grow ever more intense.”

Milton paused, then continued, “To put it in terms you can understand: suppose a shop pays me protection money and then discovers that it can conduct business without hindrance, that counterfeit bills have vanished, that the police will even help recover a stolen packet of tissues, and that customers are coming in greater numbers because order has been restored... Would you still need to chase after the owner to collect his taxes?”

“He’d be begging on his knees for me to come collect them! Do you understand the difference between cost and efficiency? Don’t just think about how to divide up more bread. Think about how to produce two loaves.”

Whoever had money was the one they preyed upon, while they devoted all their energy to bullying ordinary people. They would never make a real fortune that way.

Brandon had not read many books, but he could tell that Milton’s words made perfect sense. He nodded in sudden realization.

“So that’s how it works... Is that what schooling does for a person? Looks like I’ll have to earn another tuition fee for my children.”

“...”

By the time Milton finished lecturing Brandon, Luz returned carrying several large bags.

He placed the ingredients on the table and let out a breath. “Chicken wings, eggs, a large piece of beef, tomatoes, some vegetables, rice, and a few seasonings. Boss, do you think this is enough for everyone? Do we have a cook here? Who knows how to prepare any of this?”

“Oh! When they heard you were the one shopping, they also gave us several bottles of cola. American-made—the good stuff. Your reputation as the Hell Taxman is truly astonishing!”

Mention that nickname one more time and I’m going to lose my temper...

The corner of Milton’s mouth twitched. He gave Luz a deeply warning look, then carried the ingredients into the kitchen.

Luz stared in astonishment before turning to Brandon. “Is the boss cooking personally? He can cook?”

“I have no idea!”

Forty minutes later, under the astonished gazes of everyone present, including Leah, Milton expressionlessly carried out several large steaming basins of food: tomato and egg-drop soup, poached beef in chili broth, cola chicken wings, and steamed rice.

To accommodate the palates of this group of foreigners—and because some of the seasonings were missing—he had added only the tiniest amount of chili to the poached beef. As for the numbing spice, there was none at all.

“There’s meat, vegetables, and soup. It’ll do.” Milton served himself a plate, awkwardly speared a slice of beef with a fork, and ate it. In his mind, he gave the dish a mere 6.5 out of 10—barely acceptable.

What he could never have imagined was that the expressions on everyone else’s faces changed violently after they had taken only a single bite.

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Everyone, Leah included, took a bite, then looked up at Milton. Their expressions and eyes grew more astonished each time. Before long, even admiration appeared among them, and some were moved to tears as they ate.

“This is unbelievably delicious... I’m getting another bowl of soup!”

“You can make chicken wings like this?”

“Don’t take so much beef. Have some decency!”

Nearly everyone demolished a plate as quickly as possible, then hurried back for another, as though they had not eaten in days.

Milton stared at the starving wretches in disbelief. “Is that really necessary?”

Brandon said nothing. He merely kept his head down and shoveled food into his mouth.

Luz barely managed to raise his head. “Boss, this is really too delicious... Let me finish eating before I talk.”

And so Milton watched his cooking vanish at incredible speed. Those lunatics did not even leave behind the sauce.

Afterward, everyone was so full they could barely stand, yet they still wore expressions of utter reluctance to stop.

“Boss... You’re actually this good at cooking?!”

“Damn, it’s even better than the Chinese food across the street. That’s the highest praise I can give any food!”

By then, Milton understood. In a poor place like this, breakfast, lunch, and dinner consisted of bread and fried eggs washed down with plain water. Occasionally, people ate scraps of offal for protein. Going out for a meal at an American-style Chinese restaurant was already considered a reward.

In a place where people could literally starve to death, being able to eat their fill was more than enough. Who had the time to study cuisine?

Luz let out a satisfied sigh. “Now I’m certain I chose the right boss! What country’s cuisine is this, Boss? When I retire, I’ll learn your cooking and open a restaurant. It’ll definitely do better business than that Chinese place.”

Milton closed his eyes briefly before replying, “This is Chinese cuisine.”

“...What?! This is Chinese cuisine? Then what is General Tso’s chicken?”

Milton was utterly speechless at this group of clowns. He sighed and shook his head.

“When you’re finished eating, come downstairs. We’ll study the shopkeeper’s ledger and see whether we can get hold of a lead to the Ivy Charity Foundation.”

At present, most of the pharmacy’s “customers” were allowed to move only around the first floor. Only those deemed absolutely trustworthy were permitted into the basement.

With that, he returned to the small meeting room on the first underground level, opened the ledger, and began examining it bit by bit.

It was an extremely terse purchasing record, listing only the names of medicines, their unit prices, and a few miscellaneous notes... Perhaps they had been afraid of leaving behind too much evidence.

Milton continued turning through the accounts. Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly.

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