Chapter 833 - Only Then Will You be Earning Your Keep
“Have you heard? The results of the contest between Young Mistress Gloria and Young Master Cyril of the Moreton Family will be released today. It’s said that the result of this contest will determine who gets to stay as a board member of the Chamber of Commerce, and the winner will also be given a selection of businesses under the Chamber of Commerce.”
“Doesn’t that essentially mean that the winner will become the designated heir to the family?”
“Not necessarily. President Jeffree has always been renowned to be quite sexist, but if Young Mistress Gloria wins this contest, then she’ll at least draw level with Cyril. Perhaps she’ll truly have a chance to inherit the Moreton Family then.”
“Who do you think will win this contest?”
“I can’t say that for sure, but during the past month, whenever I’ve passed by Kerry’s Forge, they always seemed to be super busy. In contrast, Blue Suede has always been closed, and they only opened their doors about two or three days ago. They’ve gotten a lot of business during these few days, but surely a couple of days of business can’t compare to a month.”
A few businessmen were discussing among one another as they enjoyed some morning tea on the second floor of a teahouse in the Aden Square.
The Moreton Family was one of the most renowned families of Chaos City, so the subject of its designated heir had always been a hot topic among those in the business world.
Everyone had thought that despite Cyril’s many fallacies, he would still inherit the Moreton Family with no competition, but Gloria had suddenly emerged out of the blue to spice up the contest.
Of course, if Gloria were to lose today, then this contest would be treated as nothing but a farce.
It was already quite extraordinary that a prodigious businesswoman had emerged from the Buffett Family; if another one were to emerge from the Moreton Family, then everyone would be struggling to pick up their jaws from the ground.
At the entrance to Kerry’s Forge, Cyril disembarked from his horse-drawn carriage with a set of dark rings around his eyes. Kerry hurried over to him from inside the forge with a fawning smile on his face, and Cyril asked, “What’s the current situation like?”
Kerry hurriedly replied, “Young Master, up to last night, Blue Suede has earned a total of around 1,000,000 copper coins. Even though most of their textiles were already available as part of their storage supply, they hired many renowned tailors within Chaos City and purchased many pieces of equipment, with the total expenditure amounting to around 600,000 copper coins, so their profits lie at around 300,000 to 400,000 copper coins.”
“How have they made so much profit?” Cyril was quite startled to hear this. Blue Suede had been closed for over 20 days and only been open for the past two or three days; how had they managed to earn so much revenue during such a short span of time?
However, Kerry wore a confident look on his face as he said, “Don’t worry, Young Master, we’ve also earned around 1,000,000 copper coins this month, 500,000 of which is pure profit. On top of that, I secured a few big orders during the past few days that amount to around a further 1,000,000 copper coins. I’ve received 500,000 copper coins in deposits from those orders, so our total earnings amount to 1,500,000 copper coins. The contest had already concluded at 10 am this morning, and most importantly, Blue Suede plastered a notice onto their doors last night, stating that they’ve sold out all of their supply.”
An elated look appeared on Cyril’s face upon hearing this, and he patted Kerry on the shoulder with a smile on his face as he said, “I wasn’t wrong about you, Kerry!”
At the stroke of 10 am, Jeffree would send out a group of people to each shop in order to verify their revenue and profits, and then derive the final result from those findings.
Kerry’s Forge clearly held an absolute advantage in both parameters. Regardless of how fast Blue Suede was selling their stock, they couldn’t make any further profits, as they’d exhausted their supply, so he had won this contest for sure!
I underestimated you in the beginning, Gloria, but you were always destined to lose to me anyway. A triumphant smile appeared on Cyril’s face. He was already beginning to envision how he was going to gloat to her following the announcement of the results.
Kerry also wore a fawning smile on his face as he strode over, and said in a low voice, “Young Master, this contest is in the bag for you; do you remember the woman that you promised me earlier…”
Cyril’s brows furrowed slightly, but he quickly recomposed himself and smiled as he replied, “Of course I do. I’ll send her to your house tonight.”
“Thank you, Young Master!” Kerry was absolutely ecstatic. He was already beginning to fantasize about the young woman whom he’d had the pleasure of meeting once before.
A hint of disgust flashed through Cyril’s eyes, but he hid it by turning his head to the side before waving a dismissive hand. “Get everyone to tidy up the forge in preparation for the arrival of the verification team. Also, tell everyone that they’ll get a three-day holiday commencing tomorrow, as well as a sizeable bonus for their efforts during the past month.”
“Yes, Young Master!” Kerry’s eyes immediately lit up in response as he hurried away. He spurred the workers into action before informing them of the holiday and bonuses that Cyril was rewarding them with, sending a stir running through all of the blacksmiths as they expressed genuine gratitude to Cyril.
You’ll only be receiving a few hundred copper coins each, but I’ll be getting the entire Moreton Family! Cyril thought to himself in a smug manner as he looked at the elated blacksmiths.
…
A horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of the Blue Suede clothing shop early in the morning, following which Gloria disembarked in a long gray dress. She looked at the notice on the door, stating that their supply had run out, and a smile appeared on her face as she strode into the shop.
As soon as she made her way into the store, Mars quickly strode over, and said in a quiet voice, “Young Mistress, the 30 custom-made dresses are ready, and we’ve notified all 30 customers last night; they’ve all confirmed that they’ll be issuing the full payment for their dresses this morning.”
There were 30 young men and women standing inside the shop in blue and white uniforms, and an intricately carved wooden box was positioned beside each of them.
Gloria looked at the beautiful and fragrant wooden boxes, then at the energetic young men and women beside them, and she nodded with a pleased look as she said, “Very good, you can all deliver the dresses now. Make sure to return to Blue Suede with the payments for the dresses before 10 am.”
“Yes,” Mars nodded before turning to all of the young men and women as he said, “Remember to face every customer with a smile and to ensure that the dresses are delivered in perfect condition. If any mishaps occur, you’ll have to pay 100,000 copper coins as compensation to the shop; only then will you be earning your keep.”
“Yes!”
The young men and women all adopted serious expressions as they carefully picked up the wooden boxes beside them, then strode out the door one after another, and got onto the white unicorns that had been prepared for them in the Aden Square.
Gloria looked at the dark rings around Mars’s eyes, and smiled as she said, “Thank you for your hard work during this past month, Uncle Mars. Let’s have some breakfast together.”
Mars’ eyes glazed over slightly at the sight of the smile on Gloria’s face. He felt as if he’d been transported back in time to when little Gloria would also smile up at him in the same manner as she sat on her swing in the garden. A smile also appeared on his face as he replied, “I certainly can’t refuse an invitation from the young mistress herself.”
Not long after that, a horse-drawn carriage departed from the Blue Suede clothing shop, heading toward Mamy Restaurant.
…
At 10 am, two verification teams consisting of eight members each entered the Blue Suede clothing shop and Kerry’s Forge at the same time. All of the staff were vacated from the two shops, including Gloria and Cyril.
…
Over at Moreton Manor, Jeffree was holding a cup of tea while standing beside a window, seemingly waiting for something.