Chapter 1786 - 497: The Train Arrives in the Hero's Nation

On the second day after the celebration ended, Mr. Horace sat in his cramped office, glaring at the Thunder City Daily on the desk with a look of a resentful woman.

Until yesterday, he still liked this newspaper, until the speech of the Governor was published on the new front page headline.

Is licking the Royal Family's backside the only thing these toilet-paper sellers know how to do?

Why not pay some attention to the fire in Roland City?

Must say, that fire is equally tied to the fate of the Campbell Duchy.

Based on his past experience, yet another group of beggars will soon move into Princess Aileen's Refugee Camp, and then that woman will release her overly vigorous energy on useless kindness.

People who always say thank you actually thank no one, just like Horace clearly forgetting who saved his dog's life before.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Knock knock—"

He shouted irritably.

"Come in."

His accountant, Elsey, pushed the door open and walked in. The young man's face was glowing, creating a stark contrast to the low atmosphere in the office.

"Good morning, sir! There's terrific news!"

"Good news?" Horace snorted coldly, "Could it be that our Majesty finally found a conscience and shut down that damned Parliament?"

Elsey pretended not to hear the boss's complaint, excitedly slapped a ledger onto the table: "It's orders, sir! Orders! Our orders... have completely exploded!"

He opened the ledger, and his mouth fired away like a Prince's rifle, not even pausing for breath.

"The esteemed Mr. Sak Jifeng not only wants to clothe the lizards on the Gana Continent, but also won't spare the lizards in Mire City! He wants to teach them to bathe, too, so towels have to be arranged!"

"Thanks to the settlement agreement signed with the Royal Family and the Colin Duchy, Gutaf Kingdom's purchase volume has doubled! Saint Sis above, our production capacity for the next three months is fully booked!"

Horace had heard of that settlement agreement.

In simple terms, Gutaf borrows from Thunder City's banks to purchase the light industrial products lacking in the Gana Continent, then pays off the debt with the continent's plentiful ores.

Including Gold and Silver.

The Colin Duchy seems to have lots of these precious metals, and it's said that the richest mineral resources of the Gana Continent are in the hands of the Prince!

Not just diamond mines!

Horace stared at the numbers in the ledger, his breathing became a bit heavier, feeling the Duchy's warmth towards him for the first time.

He decided to temporarily spare Princess Aileen, today he won't "bless" her to hurry up and get married—no, still bless her!

"So..." Looking at the boss grinning ear-to-ear, Elsey rubbed his hands, cautiously said, "We're facing a happy problem, sir. As you can see, our manpower and factories... are not sufficient."

Horace's newly relaxed face instantly tensed up again, he couldn't help but growl.

"Elsey, are you crazy? Hiring people at this time? Didn't you hear the Governor's speech yesterday? They're about to vote to make us become slaves to textile workers! If we hire one more person now, in the future we'll have one more ancestor to feed!"

Elsey froze, momentarily confused by the boss's logic, stammered.

"But, but, sir, the act hasn't been passed, but the orders are real. And our pay is 30 silver pounds, much higher than the minimum 2000 copper coins stipulated by Act Six..."

Horace's expression stiffened.

He hadn't really looked at the specifics of Act Six, but if that's true, there's really nothing to worry about?

"Of course I know, but that severance compensation... if I can't let them dismiss at will, what if they slack off on purpose?"

"Well... I, I think it probably won't happen, right? You don't know, your reputation is extremely good now, the employees at Horace Textile Factory praise your generosity outside!"

This time Horace was completely stunned.

Is that the case?

Elsey coughed, continued speaking.

"Moreover, think about it. If we don't take the orders, our competitors won't just sit around waiting, they'll take the chance to expand their production scale, then use the scale to lower costs, and ultimately conquer us in terms of price... Now's not the time to worry about Act Six, we must accept all orders! And one more thing..."

Saying this, the young man leaned closer, his eyes sparkling with shrewdness.

"If we recruit fifty new workers, then Thunder City has fifty families relying on you for their livelihood. When everyone hesitates about moving the factory, if you act against the trend, showing support for the Grand Duke, even if the Grand Duke doesn't see your contribution, when they elect representatives... they'll have to think about who gave them their bread, won't they?"

Horace jerked, sitting straight up in his chair.

He stared at Elsey, as if meeting the guy for the first time.

This logic was so shameless, yet so unbreakable, and it seemed he'd been stuck in a dead end—bribery doesn't necessarily have to be upwards, it can also be downwards!

Oh, this damned "new era"!

Horace suddenly felt that his heart, which was dripping blood, didn't ache as much.

After all, bribing guilds requires giving up profits on raw material orders, while bribing workers just needs paying wages normally.