ttznovel Chapter 718 - Visiting the in-laws: Port City of Hurley (Part 8)
Chapter 718 - Visiting the in-laws: Port City of Hurley (Part 8)
During the next days that we stayed in the barony, the four of us, the baroness, my father-in-law, Xenos and I finalized the plan to improve the territory. I did not hide the fact that I was a mage since it would be useful to openly use magic. We are also quite pressed for time and visible results.The first thing in our agenda is to improve the overall look and quality of structures in the area. In modern architecture, what we actually did is the combination of rehabilitation, restoration, renovation and remodeling depending on how long we want the structure to remain useful and our perceived use for it. We also did not forget to be smart in the use of the limited space in the port area.
Besides me working using magic to fix things up and do the more strenuous tasks, the baroness also hired workers for smaller jobs like cleaning, repainting and replacing furniture and structures inside the establishments. I dealt more on the overall structure to ensure that the building will be usable for several more decades to come. I also used a few enchantments to make it easier to maintain the structures as well.
Our second order of business is improving the service, products and ensuring that the current pricing will still give the same if not more profit. The reason people go into business is to gain profit to be able at least to support the continuity of the venture (if not becoming rich). It is just plain weird to not improve a system when you know that you are operating on a deficit.
There were also crash courses in customer service, improving the taste of food items and the presentations of items that are on sale. I also decided to open an alchemy shop and a bank that doubles as a shipping point in the area. It will increase the profits if things can be sold even in far away places. The alchemy shop will also keep the overall health of the population at its peak.
It took some time for the baroness and my father-in-law to notice that all the renovations are in a full swing without them paying a single coin. I paid all the workers, provided all the construction materials, did all the teaching in the crash courses myself and even covered the food of the workers. When they noticed, they frantically asked how much have I spent for all of it.
I replied with a smile and told them that everything has been paid for and that they just simply need to accept it as a Xenos’ dowry. My two in-laws looked at me as if they were about to cry and then smiled warmly as they looked at Xenos. My husband looked totally weirded out with this silent interaction and hid behind me for safety.
Though the workers and my in-laws have a set time of work since they are humans, Xenos and I usually sneak out to continue working in the wee hours of the night. It is also kind of training for my husband as I was also teaching him how to use basic spells since his body can now hold mana after completing the deification. He totally looked like a child that found his new favorite toy.
With our daily overtime, everything that needs to be done was finished within a week. It even included me setting up some safety measures within the territory including the businesses in the port area. I did do this in the other territories but I did a bit more here because of the type of crowd in the area. Ships from outside the territory dock here and with them come people that may not have good intentions so it won’t be bad to be more careful.
After all the hard work, I knew that we will have this same old conversation. I said "same old" since I have had the same one from the other two territories as well. My in-laws have their own pride and though I called my monetary and intellectual help as part of the dowry, that they should not worry about it because we are family or that they can take it as borrowing money without interest, we just always end up with this talk. If you are curious, this talk is about profit sharing.
My in-laws always demand that me and my husband take a percentage of the profits from here on out since "we are a part of the family". They also said that since it is borrowed money, we can take the profit as "repayment for it" and that even if I don’t need it, our future children would so the money has to be accepted by my husbands.
It is really hard to fool smart people. The same reasons I used for them to receive the monetary help were the same reasons used for me to not be able to decline the profit sharing. So far, I fought with everything I had to just keep the profit sharing at 25%. They all wanted it to be at least 40% but I don’t want to get in trouble with other family members or business partners of the territories.
As for the deification process, me and all my husbands have decided to delay this topic for now. Even if they were family that they have found again, they said that the deification is a more permanent thing that required outmost trust and secrecy. They also wanted the talk to be done in the palace so I believe they wanted their fathers or whoever they invited to visit them back in Hoffen City as well.
I really do not care if I discuss it with my in-laws since it is up to them if they believe me or if they would even be brave enough to go through with. I still also have the final say as to whoever will receive this gift and I have my ways to ensure that they could not discuss it with others too. I don’t want any issues so I just let my husbands decide if it should be discussed and make the necessary arrangements as they see fit afterwards.