Chapter 1807 - 502: The Short-Sighted Thunder City Citizens Ultimately Bought Off by the Demon’s Schemes

The first firefighting company on the Aus Continent was born in the most feudal place of the continent, with the Ryan Kingdom completely overtaking the Campbell Duchy this time.

In contrast, the firefighting bureau of Thunder City that belongs to City Hall wasn't as efficient, after all, City Hall itself was born from a guild, and the once advanced guild couldn't keep up with the rapidly changing times.

Until the spring of the Aus Calendar 1054, Thunder City still relied on civilian forces to extinguish fires.

The value of a small fire pump could equate to a stone mason's three years of hard work or a Sir's carriage, while a "large fire pump" could even rival a year of land rental income for a fallen noble.

Many remote parishes often went into debt to raise funds to purchase firefighting equipment; the Royal Family also assumed part of the responsibility, but not much.

If a merchant could have a fire pump in his backyard or next to his factory, he was not only considered generous but also called a "Guardian of the Citizens," even if his original intention wasn't to protect the citizens but to safeguard his own property.

However, His Majesty Theoden's generosity exceeded Newcastle's expectation. This kind feudal monarch morally surpassed Duke Edward, who "profited immensely" during the civil war!

When the Royal Guard cleared all obstacles for his Roland City firefighting company, the Royal Family immediately ordered 800 medium fire pumps and 100 large fire pumps!

And this was only the first procurement plan.

If they proved useful, they would buy another batch, until Roland City was forever free from fire calamities!

In Thunder City, a medium fire pump's price was 2100 silver pounds, equivalent to nearly eight years' salary of an ordinary worker.

And a large fire pump, the kind that needed a carriage to move, was priced as high as 4500 silver pounds!

Newcastle simply moved these devices from his left pocket to his right pocket, and they respectively transformed into 4 gold coins and 20 gold coins!

This was not just doubling...

It was several fold multiplied!

Newcastle was completely amazed; he had never thought getting rich could be so simple. Between cups of drinks, the hefty initial investment of ten thousand gold coins had already recouped half.

If it weren't for Sir Skidgin needing dividends and bribes from his end, his initial investment would have probably been fully recovered.

Only one thing puzzled him until the end.

Where did the money in his pocket come from?

In the spring of the Aus Calendar 1054, even if the sudden fire cleared away some useless poor folks for Theoden, the per capita income of Roland City citizens hadn't increased much.

With the same rushing river water, the same cargo fell on shoulders of the same skin color, yet the sweat flowing into their wallets was not even half of those downstream workers below the river.

They also wondered where their money had gone.

...

"Praise Saint Sis, these Ryan people are incredibly capable!"

In the new industrial zone downstream of the Rushing River in Thunder City, Horace Textile Factory was as busy as usual, with the workshop echoing with the roar of weaving machines.

Listening to that wonderful melody, Horace felt the cotton yarn and machine oil in the air were so refreshingly fragrant.

Until he inhaled too deeply and started coughing violently, then he fanned away the dust in front of his nose and left the workshop in embarrassment.

But he didn't go far, soon turning to the second-floor staircase which led to his new office.

If the entire factory was likened to a castle, there was his Audience Hall, and he was the monarch ruling this castle!

And at this moment, as an "enterprising" Lord, Horace was admiring the new territory he had just expanded.

Taking his multi-tasking accountant's advice, he purchased the warehouse next to the factory and transformed it into Horace Textile Factory's second plant.

With newly acquired equipment in place, the plant quickly went into production, vying for orders from the Gana Continent.

To satisfy the manpower demand of the new plant, he also "generously" adopted Elsey's suggestion and recruited a new batch of employees.

Not just fifty, but a complete hundred!

Half of them were Campbell people, and the other half were Ryan people from outside Rapids Pass.

These Ryan people came here escaping from Roland City or arrived from Twilight Province or other Earl Domains that were in chaos or about to go chaotic.

Honestly, Lords over there really weren't good at managing their domains.

Horace thought, if they could transfer half of their passion for horses to their domains, they wouldn't need the Grand Duke to clean up after them.

At least in Horace's eyes, these Ryan people abandoned by the King were no waste; they were simply gifts bestowed upon him by Saint Sis!

They were industrious and resilient, astonishingly nimble with their hands and feet, as if pouring their lifetime's energy onto the machines.

Moreover, what was even more remarkable, each one behaved as politely as gentlemen, remembering the foreman's rebukes by heart, with heads lowered and not a word of complaint.

Just like right now.

Horace squinted happily towards the corner of the workshop, where a foreman stood holding an employment contract explaining something to a new Ryan worker.

The man looked over thirty, with facial wrinkles like abandoned farmland in Twilight Province, but his physique was relatively strong, which is why he was able to enter here.

Because he was illiterate, he couldn't understand what was written on the contract and had to rely on the foreman to read it aloud.