"Don’t think I don’t know. I used to be in this business too, and if you want to make money in this line of work, it’s all about squeezing the weavers dry. A single weaver can do the work of two hundred rolls of fabric, and you only need to pay them for fifty or sixty rolls."
"So instead of asking me for a tax reduction, why not just cut more water? Lower the wages to forty rolls; they won’t starve. If you can push it down to thirty rolls, that’s more effective than reducing taxes twice!"
"That’s true, but on the weavers’ side, I’m afraid..."
"Then just drive out the troublemakers. Do I need to teach them this?"
After crumpling the tax reduction application letter from the weaving industry into a ball and tossing it into the trash can, Leonard said with impatience in his eyes,
"If you can’t recruit people, just go to the slums and pull some in! Those people will work for a meal. They can’t handle the skilled dyeing tasks, but can’t they manage the simple work of moving their arms and legs?
Also, don’t think that just because your last name is Kuko, I will tolerate you repeatedly. No matter how many benefits they give you, this matter ends here. Not a single Copper Wheel of the required taxes should be missing!"
"Alright, then I’ll go tell them the day after tomorrow..."
"Go tomorrow! Also, how’s it going at Treasure Flower Manor?"
After drinking a cup of refreshing tea from across the sea, Leonard rubbed his throbbing temples vigorously, and asked with his eyes closed,
"Hasn’t it been tidied up for four or five days over there? Is the main building of the estate ready? Can it be lived in?"
"Well, it might take another three or four days..."
The secretary replied awkwardly,
"Marquis, you know, that place has been abandoned for six years. Except for the garden, which is occasionally maintained, most of the other areas are deserted, so..."
"Ignore whether the estate is deserted or not. Just get the living space ready for me!"
"But, with it being so deserted, won’t you living there be..."
"It doesn’t matter if it’s deserted or not, as long as it can hold people and not collapse, it’s fine."
Stopping his hand that was rubbing his temples, Leonard explained with a weary gaze,
"The princess has gained the support of the Duke of Lionheart, and besides securing the military and the Department of Road Administration, she has essentially secured a vice-chairman position in the Upper House. If Prince Joshua wants to compete with her for the position, just having the Minister of Finance’s support isn’t enough; he also needs a voice in the Upper House. According to the Minister of Finance, as long as I acknowledge the marriage with that woman, he can work things out to forcibly take over the Bauhinia Family’s seat in the Upper House. This would level the playing field for the two princes. Moving from Verdant Feather Estate to live in Treasure Flower Manor is the first step of this operation. Even with the Minister of Finance’s and the royal family’s backing, my people need to be there. At least the appearance must be in place to inherit the Bauhinia Family’s political legacy. Got it?"
"If you understand, then go do it!"
Looking at his secretary, who was nominally his but was actually there to learn how to handle affairs and waiting for a chance to be transferred elsewhere, Leonard encouraged him with the last of his patience,
"Other matters can be postponed, but this one was instructed by the Minister of Finance. If we manage to occupy Bao Hua’s seat, even His Majesty the King will strongly support it. It must take priority! So go urge them now, get the workers up and have them work overnight!"
"Understood! I’ll go right away!"
The instructed secretary quickly got up and walked out of the office in haste, while Leonard, rid of distractions, put down the teacup and resumed examining the towering stack of documents on the desk. The entire room returned to silence, with only the soft scratching of the pen on paper, until...
The whale oil in the lamp on the desk flickered slightly, emitting a faint sound, causing the lamp’s light to flicker twice as well, startling the man busily writing at the desk.
Glancing at the empty side table, Leonard frowned slightly and called out loudly,
After waiting a while without receiving a response, not even a sound from the guards stationed outside, Leonard frowned again and stood up from the desk.
Accompanied by a slightly muffled response, a somewhat obscured figure appeared by the door. However, the figure seemed a bit different in size, appearing slightly slimmer than the slightly overweight Mark...
Accompanied by an affirmative response, the figure stepped out from the shadow of the door, and the previously somewhat obscured figure returned to normal under the lamplight, completely stabilizing.
Seeing the tense body relax again, Leonard, with eyes still filled with fatigue, gave a slight smile. The secretary, with a calm expression, said, "Sir Leonard, I’ve arrived."