Iron Powder and Spellcasters

  Chapter 487 Rebuilding the Country (2)

The unexpected turning point came from an unexpected person, that is Lord Blood Wolf's loyal subordinate (self-proclaimed), the most trusted assistant of the lords of Iron Peak County and Vogne County (other people boasted), Winters Monta Nirvana is the mouthpiece of the upper class in Fengshi City (this is not a fake), and gradually began to be honored as "Your Excellency" young people from other places (truly true)—little Priskin.

  The little Priskin who appeared at Winters' residence was originally here to use his weekly "audience right".

  I don't know when it started, everyone around Montagne will bow in front of him intentionally or unintentionally.

  And the more people who lack the intersection in official affairs, the more vigorous they are.

  For example, little Priskin, if Winters did not order to prohibit, he could come to "meet Your Excellency" three times a day, wishing to live under the nose of "Your Excellency", which annoyed Winters very much.

  So Winters simply gave little Priskin an order that if it wasn't an emergency, little Priskin was only allowed to see him once in half a month.

   Later, at the begging of little Priskin, it was changed to once a week.

  However, Winters gave a clear definition of "emergency": that is, as long as Winters thinks that the matter of little Pliskin is not urgent enough, it is not urgent enough;

  If little Priskin came to the door with an excuse that it was not urgent enough, Winters would let Charles and Heinrich do it and beat him up.

  With these few rules, little Pliskin is quite honest, and he doesn't run to Winters' house every now and then like before.

  On the second day after the meeting of all officers in Iron Peak County, little Priskin came to Winters' house again to use his sacred and inviolable "right of audience".

  Although he will definitely come every week, little Priskin actually has nothing to report to Winters himself.

  He talked about the sales of various goods produced in Tiefeng County in Maple Stone City, and then stayed in Winters' living room as usual, talking about it, and refused to leave anyway.

   In the past, Winters would have chased away the guests himself.

   But today's situation is special. Although the people who should go are unwilling to go, the people Winters has been looking forward to coming have finally come.

"Mr. Priskin." Anna walked out of the kitchen with a silver plate, and with appropriate enthusiasm, put a cup and saucer for little Priskin, and poured drinks from the cup into the saucer: "In Maplestone City, you can It's great to have someone you can trust to help him."

  Little Priskin was overwhelmed by the flattery, and hurriedly picked up the porcelain plate, but dared not drink directly, but kept glancing to the left.

   On the left of little Priskin, on the largest soft bench in the living room, Winters folded his arms, his face already blacker than the bottom of the pot.

  Winters’ residence has no servants, and there are only Charles and Heinrich as orderlies and guards—and they are all sent away today.

  So when the "uninvited guest" came to visit, Anna took the initiative to entertain the guests.

  If only Winters was at home, let alone a precious drink from the Far East, he wouldn't even give Little Priskin a sip of water, otherwise this guy would definitely hang on for at least half an hour.

  Seeing that the host didn't have the slightest enthusiasm for hospitality, he just sat there with a livid face and didn't say a word.

  After Anna arranged the cups, Tingting returned to Winters, sat down next to her lover, and calmly took his lover's arm.

   "Drink." Winters finally opened his mouth: "Drink more."

  He said so, but his eyes clearly conveyed: "Get out, get out, get out..."

  Little Priskin couldn't go straight away. He got advice from an expert today to solve the problem for Your Excellency Blood Wolf.

   "I heard." Little Priskin held the plate and asked cautiously: "The country bumpkins in Vogne County have blind eyes, didn't they see how good your Montessori plow is?"

"Oh? Has it all spread to Maplestone City?" Winters was not angry after being poked at the sad thing. He picked up the cup, took a sip of the soup and dregs, and grinned: "Don't whitewash it for me." , that no one cares about.”

  The blood wolf showed a smile, but little Priskin became even more frightened.

"He, it's too simple." Anna took the cup from Winters, and while filtering the liquid into the saucer, she said softly: "Although every family needs plow tools, but it is Because every household needs to use it, so every household has it. Just like furniture, once you have it at home, even if it is out of date, you will not easily replace it with a new one.”

   There is a special appeal in the voice of "Madame", which makes people calm down unconsciously.

   With "Madame" beside her, little Priskin was not so nervous. It's not like when we met alone in the past - my mind went blank, and I walked out the door only to remember that I had something to say.

   "That's it." Little Priskin nodded gratefully, but he boldly said, "But it's not just that."

   "Oh?" Anna showed a puzzled expression at the right time to keep the conversation going.

  “Not only because the plow is a big piece, it will not be replaced easily. It is also because the plow needs to be ground and repaired as long as it is used.”

  Little Priskin didn't dare to look directly at his wife's beautiful face, so she lowered her head and stared at the cup, and said in a stuttering voice:

"So, farmers... local farmers buy plows from local blacksmiths, because they not only use plows, but also blacksmiths. Therefore, blacksmiths everywhere regard the plow business as a monopoly. Your Excellency Selling plows is actually competing with blacksmiths from all over the world. Ordinary people buy your plows and send them to the local blacksmith shop when they need repairs, and the blacksmiths don’t even bother."

"So that's the case." Anna smiled suddenly, she turned her head and glanced at Winters—the latter moved his shoulders uncomfortably—and then looked at little Priskin, and asked sincerely: "Since you understand The reason, then you must know the solution?"

  Little Priskin is no longer reporting to the blood wolf, but talking to his wife, so the more he speaks, the more natural and fluent he is: "That depends on whether you want to make money or promote your plow."

   "What is the method of promoting the Montessori plow?" Winters finally became interested. He propped his knees and leaned towards Little Priskin: "How to make money?"

"It's easy to make money." The little Priskin subconsciously hid back, but encouraged by his wife's eyes, he mustered up the courage to continue: "Just pack the plow tools and send them to the plantations everywhere, and just order them to buy them." The plantation has money, and there is also a need for new farm tools, so there is no particular resistance. The plantation is self-sufficient, and most of them have their own blacksmiths, and they will not compete with private blacksmiths for business."

"The most important thing is, Your Excellency." Little Priskin licked his lower lip: "A large plantation is worth half a village, and every family sells it once. It is more convenient to sell it to them directly than to small farmers. Much more, the money is quick and easy.”

  Winters is noncommittal: "What if you want to promote the Montessori plow?"

"Then you can't think about earning money from small farmers. Just send the plows to blacksmith shops in various villages and towns for consignment, and don't charge them for mortgage money—you don't have to worry about anyone daring to default on your account anyway. Many blacksmiths have been working for a long time. We don’t make plows anymore, we just buy ready-made steel forts. If you consign the Mengshi plow to them, they don’t need to spend the capital but can make profits for nothing, and the blacksmith will be very happy.”

"The way you said, you can win blacksmiths from all over the world." Winters didn't intend to let little Priskin go easily, and asked sharply: "But even if the mortgage is not accepted for consignment, the farmers don't want to change it, and they don't have the money to change it for a new plow. , what should I do?"

Little Priskin replied happily: "Then you have to be hard-hearted, and you don't even want the principal. Depreciate it for a new one, collect the old plow, sell a new one. Or more directly, lend money to the poor to buy plows, and allow them to buy plows. Repay it in kind, if you don't pay it off in one year, it will be two or three years..."

   Speaking of excitement, little Priskin got carried away, and blurted out the true thoughts in his heart: "Anyway, those plow tools of yours will be stored in the warehouse, isn't it just a waste of space to get moldy?!"

   After saying this, little Priskin regretted it, wishing he could slap himself twice on the spot.

  To his surprise, the blood wolf didn't get angry, or even angry, but nodded slightly. Then, "Madame" covered her lips and smiled, and the blood wolf also smiled wryly.

   "If you believe me." Little Priskin felt relieved and volunteered: "I can handle this matter, and I promise to do it beautifully for you."

  Winters raised his eyebrows, and looked at little Priskin in surprise.

  Because little Priskin is causing trouble for Winters most of the time, even if he helps out occasionally, it is half the merits and demerits.

   It was the first time for such an "active sharing of worries" like this, but it made Winters a little afraid to nod easily.

  Winters looked at Anna questioningly.

Anna thought about it for a while, looked back at Winters, and asked with a smile: "Since we are going to send the goods on consignment, why just consign plow tools? The factories in Gervaudin can already manufacture a lot of things. For them , Nowhere to sell has become a problem.”

   "Gevaudin can produce a lot of ironware." This time it was Winters' turn to understand: "But are they all on consignment?"

  Little Priskin was also puzzled.

   "It is not necessary to go to consignment sales. Products that no one cares about can be sold on consignment. Of course, this does not have to be the case for products that are rushing to buy." Anna patiently explained: "The key is not what to sell, but the channel."

Anna thought for a while and made an analogy: "It's like a canal, where big ships and small boats can be used to transport wool or grain. Mom always said that the value of money is never the ship, nor the goods on the ship, but the It's the 'canal' that carries them."

Little Priskin suddenly realized, he stood up abruptly, stammered and danced and explained to His Excellency Blood Wolf: "I understand! Ma'am means... Madam means... to make Tiefeng County... no, Xinkeng All the blacksmith shops in the ground will become our branches!"

  Winters let out an "oh" and fell into the long exam.

"In this case, it's inappropriate for one person to do it." Anna continued eloquently: "Perhaps a franchised firm should be established in the name of the Tiefeng County Government or the New Reclamation Government to specialize in this matter." Forge township smelter, Rewodan ironworks and other industries can also be included in this franchised firm. In this way, the business between the factories and the government of Tiefeng County will no longer be left-handed and right-handed. As a result, the accounts are not clear, and the profit and loss are not clear."

   After finishing speaking, Anna looked at Winters and asked softly, "What do you think? Honey."

   "I..." Winters smiled wryly: "I...I listen to you."

   "In this case." Anna said softly, "It can also solve the headache you have been having all this time."

   With a clear understanding, Winters instantly understood what Anna meant.

  From Wolftown to Maplestone City, Winters has lost a lot and built a lot. He not only established an army and a regime, but also established many industries that are continuously creating wealth.

  From the vast farms scattered all over Tiefeng County, to the iron smelting blast furnaces in Forge Township that are always on day and night, to the bustling iron workshops in New Town of Revodan, and even the wool business with the Chihe Department...

  Everything Winters built with his own hands was so firmly bound to him that it was hard to tell what belonged to the public and what belonged to Winters Montagne.

  For example, the iron workshop in the new town of Gervaudin, except for Winters himself, I am afraid that everyone—especially the steel castle immigrant who is sweating profusely in the iron factory—would not question that the factory belongs to Winters Montagne’s private property.

  Some people around Winters even firmly believed that—what belonged to the blood wolf belonged to the public, and what belonged to the public belonged to the blood wolf.

   They instinctively resisted the distinction between "Winters' things" and "communal property," and resolutely resisted any attempt at division.

  Some leaders may relish this situation, or even enable it on purpose, seeing it as a great opportunity to profit or even swallow elephants.

  But Winters regards it as a hidden danger and a chronic disease, and has confessed his worries to Anna more than once.

  So hearing Anna's words, Winters immediately realized the subtext of his lover: If he wants to solve this problem that has plagued him for a long time, there is no better time than now.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so let's start with the plow and nails." Winters made up his mind, stood up, and put his hands on little Priskin's shoulders: "Let me see You not only have the ability to cause trouble, so that I can entrust you with greater responsibilities."

  Little Priskin was overjoyed, so excited that he didn't know where to put his hands: "Then can I..."

   "Once." Winters replied calmly.

  Little Priskin instantly wilted.

   "But if you have something urgent, you can come to see me at any time." Wen Tesla took Anna's hand, and said to little Priskin: "If you encounter any problems, you can also ask Madam for help."

  Hearing this, Anna was obviously more surprised than little Priskin.

   But little Priskin was very clever, and immediately replied: "Understood."

   After finishing speaking, he bowed deeply and respectfully to Anna Navarre.

  Anna hesitated for a moment, and finally smiled in relief. After meeting Winters' eyes, she nodded to little Priskin in return: "Then I will be tired, Mr. Priskin."

  Little Priskin didn't hold back anymore, and took up his hat and was about to leave.

  But after the farewell words were finished, and one foot had already stepped out of the threshold, until he saw the carriage parked far outside the sentry box in the block, little Priskin found that he still forgot one thing.

   Even the fact that he almost forgot about it was his real reason for coming today.

  So little Priskin turned around and turned back straight, just in time to bump into His Excellency Blood Wolf who was packing up the cups and saucers.

  Winters put down the silver plate in embarrassment, coughed lightly, and asked, "Did you forget something?"

   "It's not a thing, it's a person." Little Priskin wanted to poke his eyes blind, he explained incoherently: "A person."

  Winters frowned: "Did you bring outsiders in?"

   "No, no, no!" Little Priskin shook his head like a windmill: "I know the rules, sir. I let him stay outside the guards."

   Winters felt relieved. To be honest, if he still lived alone, he would not be afraid of anything. But now that Anna also came to Fengshi City, he had to be very careful.

  Anna touched the back of Winters' hand, signaling her lover not to be so sensitive. Then he picked up the silver plate and left the living room to the two of them.

   "Who is it?" Winters sat down firmly.

"I don't know him either." Little Priskin replied honestly: "This man was sent by several city councilors in Maplestone City. It is said that it took a lot of effort to find him. They said that this man might be able to help You 'solve' Maple Leaf Castle."

   "I just had the meeting yesterday." Winters sneered: "They sent people over to me today? It seems that they are very well informed."

  Little Priskin lowered his head, not daring to speak.

  Winters put his legs up, leaned against the back of the chair, and asked, "Tell me, what's the 'solution'?"

"The man refused to tell me, saying that he would only speak out in front of you." Little Priskin said cautiously: "He is outside now, and the white-headed Roger is watching him. You If you don't want to see him, then I drive him away?"

   "Go to the apartment next door and invite Father Kaman." Winters smiled: "Since the councilors of Maplestone City gave me such a gift, how can I not see it?"

  Little Priskin who got the order went to the apartment next door, found Father Kaman who was praying, and then ran to the carriage parked on the street.

   Roger, a steel castle man with pale hair and a thin figure, was sitting in the car with another young man.

   "Come out so early today?" Roger was quite surprised.

"You're lucky, Roger." Little Priskin ignored the strange young man, but urged Roger out of breath: "Come with me, and hurry to see Your Excellency while Madam is at home. "

   After taking a breath, the little Priskin smiled unconsciously, and added: "But the most important thing is to meet Madam."

  …

  A moment later, in front of the blood wolf, the strange young man finally spoke.

"Your Excellency, my name is Messer Jack, and I am Master Feigni's apprentice." The strange young man announced his family name neither humble nor overbearing, then suddenly his eyes turned red, and he bowed his head deeply: "I am willing to help you take back Maple Leaf Castle, but Please spare my mentor."

   [For a long time, the way of drinking tea in some places outside of China is to make tea in a cup, then pour the tea into a small saucer, let it cool before drinking...]

   [Thank you for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, rewards and comments, thank you all]

  (end of this chapter)