Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 74 Meaning
"Please come in."

Connor knocked on the door gently and walked into the room only after hearing Hughes' voice.

He coughed lightly, and a smile appeared on his usually calm face.

"Master, your shop opening was quite successful. We sold over two thousand on the first day alone—that was all our stock, and it sold out in just a few hours."

"The soap is the best seller, the laundry soap is also pretty good, but the olive oil is just average."

Hughes nodded and laughed too.

It's nothing, it's just that their coffers are almost empty.

Castel's city hall had long since spent its last gold rum, and his private treasury had almost run out of cash, leaving only some jewelry and antiques that were difficult to cash in.

God knows how Connor, the steward who manages the purse for Hughes, has survived these days. He has never heard of a lord who can spend all the gold coins in the treasury. If Hughes hadn't been so tough, he would have refused Alexei from taking money from here.

"Don't worry, old Connor. I told you, if I give out gold coins, I can take them back."

Connor nodded approvingly, still a little amazed.

It’s not that no lord has ever thought about making money from his subjects, but the results are often very bad. Those poor people value money very much and are unwilling to hand it over no matter what.

But Hughes did it, and it was so smooth that Connor found it unbelievable and completely incomprehensible.

Hughes glanced at him and smiled even more happily.

"I've always insisted on hiring people from my territory to work, and I've never delayed their wages. What do you think?"

Connor was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke, "Master, you have your own ideas, but in my opinion, this is a bit wasteful."

"Waste of money, huh?"

The old butler nodded.

"But have you ever thought about this question: What exactly is money?"

Zeus took out a gold coin from his pocket and looked at it in his hand. It was about twice the size of a fingernail and very thin, but it was not light.

“Money, or all currencies, is essentially the embodiment of productivity—which might be a bit complicated, but you can understand it this way: it has only one truly effective use.”

Hughes flicked his finger, and the gold rum drew an arc in the air and fell into Connor's hands.

"trade."

Connor looked at the coins in his hand and frowned.

“The more transactions there are, the faster the currency circulates, and the more its significance becomes apparent.”

"At the beginning, I had money, but the people under my jurisdiction had none, so I gave the money to the people under my jurisdiction."

"Now, the money is back in my hands, and the circulation is completed."

"It looks like nothing has changed, does it?"

Zeus turned around and pushed open the window of the room. The bright sunlight outside poured in, filling the entire room.

Connor looked closely.

Factories have been built on the originally empty land. They are like silent giants. Workers are like ants, transporting raw materials in and goods out. Children are playing and fighting with smiles on their faces.

Beside the volcano in the distance, countless picking teams are busy in the woods, and under their feet, a wide road is slowly being paved on the ground towards the factory.

A little further away, Miss Zoe in the school was reading the text aloud, and the voices below, some young and some experienced, followed suit.

The barren island had changed without anyone noticing.

Connor felt his hair stand on end. He was busy following Hughes every day and had no time to pay attention to other things. Suddenly he looked up and found that Castel had changed so much.

He stood there in a daze, feeling something churning in his heart.

"How beautiful."

Hughes muttered to himself.

Connor looked out the window, then lowered his head and looked at the coin in his hand.

Gold coins. Connor had seen many of them. Duke Cohen’s vault was filled with one box, two boxes, countless boxes. They all looked the same, and had remained the same for thousands of years.

But for Castel, every day is different.

"It's strange. There are only so many gold coins, but everyone is getting richer. Everything is getting better, isn't it?"

Connor thought of those lords again, who tried hard to take every last Rio from their subjects, and complained that the poor people always held on to it tightly.

They were wrong from the start.

It’s not that Xius can make money from his subjects, but that he is already so rich.

His treasury was empty, yet he was the richest lord on the Ocean of Storms.

Money only has value when it is circulated; otherwise, it is just a pile of scrap metal. Connor suddenly remembered this sentence. Hughes had said this before, but he didn't understand it. He didn't understand too many of Master Hughes' words.

But at this moment he had a vague understanding in his heart.

When he looked up, Xius was looking at him with a smile.

"So, the money you collected also needs to be spent and put into circulation again, right?"

Xiu Si was stunned for a moment, then slowly clapped his hands.

"Yes, my old Connor, you are becoming more and more like a real Chancellor of the Exchequer. Would you like to consider becoming a civil servant?"

"You are right, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer is a second-class civil servant, higher than your title of Court Councillor. This is not in accordance with the rules."

Hughes choked on the tea in his hand.

"Ahem, by the way, I have something else for you. Chloe gave me an official document from the Candlelight Society, which mentioned the accompanying investigator. Could you help me investigate her situation?"

Connor took the document with some surprise, and nodded in realization after seeing the name on it.

"Beatrice Joan, are you suspicious?"

"Yes, it's a noble surname. She must be a member of the Ruoan family. There must be some story behind a noble becoming a transcendent, but that's not why I want you to investigate."

Houston paused. "She's a young noblewoman, so she must have her own circle in the Rhine. I think she'd be very interested in soap. This is an opportunity for us. Even better, she won't stay here long. When she returns to the Rhine, she'll be our best advertisement."

Connor's eyes lit up. "The Ruoan family is a frequent visitor to the royal salons. Although I've never heard of Miss Beatrice, she must have some influence among the noble ladies of the Rhine."

Aristocratic butlers often knew more about the upper class than the nobles they served, as they needed to arrange travel plans for their masters and invite guests to banquets. Connor had often been involved in related matters in the Duke's mansion, and he had detailed information about the Rhine nobles.

"I'll check for you right away."

Connor left quickly, and only realized he was still holding the gold coin when he left the room.

Connor smiled and put it in his pocket.

(End of this chapter)