Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 56 Audit
"Miss, you look beautiful in this outfit."

Half asleep, Lu Ran was awakened by a timid voice. Rubbing his eyes, he saw Afra being helped to tighten her whalebone corset by a new maid in front of the carved dressing table.

Seeing that Lu Ran had woken up sitting up, she casually picked up a dark gray velvet short jacket and put it on.

Lu Ran was still a little confused.

What are you doing? Going out?
Then he saw Afra turn to the maid and say, "Arrange a carriage for me. Tell her I'm going to Baker City later... um, I think it's called Black Gold Transportation Equipment Machinery Manufacturing Plant. Tell her to get ready."

"Okay lady."

Ok?
Lu Ran was startled at first, then instantly came to his senses, his hair standing on end.

What kind of thing went to my factory? What was it doing there?

No, Miss, I haven't agreed to this agreement yet, so I can't show my face.

Afra ignored Lu Ran's rich inner thoughts, packed up, and prepared to leave with a clattering gait. Lu Ran, who was behind her, suddenly sat up and kicked off with his hind legs to follow Afra.

Whoosh.

Lu Ran jumped quickly onto Afra's skirt, then climbed up the skirt and onto Afra's shoulder in a few moments.

"Are you going too?"

Afra looked at Lu Ran on her shoulder with some surprise.

Lu Ran nodded quickly.

Since things have come to this, what else can I do but go and see what happens?

Afra smiled and said, "That's fine too."

……

The carriage swayed slightly on the uneven cobblestone road, and the street scenes of Baker City rushed past the window. Afra sat upright on the soft carriage cushions, her fingers unconsciously twirling the ends of her golden hair that hung down her shoulders, lost in thought for a few moments.

With the wheels rolling, we finally arrived at our destination: the Black Gold Transportation Equipment Machinery Manufacturing Plant.

When the carriage finally came to a stop, Afra leaned out halfway, her beautiful brows furrowing in surprise.

pat.

Afra stepped down from the carriage, glanced at the billowing black smoke in the distance, and strode briskly toward the factory.

Unlike Lu Ran, who could come and go as she pleased, Afra was quickly stopped by an old guard in dark blue overalls.

"Stop! What are you doing!" The old guard looked Afra up and down, his face full of vigilance.

"Help me find the current person in charge of your factory, and tell them that the person's surname is Biden."

"Biden?" The old guard looked suspicious, but still gestured for the young guard next to him to go in and report, while he stayed here to continue keeping an eye on Afra.

The wait wasn't long. Soon, a fat man wearing a full dark striped wool suit, his round belly stretching his vest, jogged out from the depths of the factory, accompanied by the young guard.

His round, sweaty face was plastered with an exaggerated smile, and he stretched out his chubby hand from afar, his voice high-pitched and loud, trying to drown out the roar of the machines:

"Oh my! Miss Afra, what an honor to have you here! I'm so sorry for not greeting you properly! My name is Dane Fisher, and I'm currently the general manager of the factory. Those rough drafts don't know the rules, so I'm sorry to have kept you waiting! Please come with me."

He led Afra through the workshop corridors filled with the smells of engine oil, coal ash, and scorching steam, and soon arrived at an inconspicuous two-story brick building at the end of the main factory.

Pushing open the door, a relatively cool but also mixed smell of old wood, cheap tobacco and engine oil wafted out, and Lu Ran, sitting on Afra's shoulders, was slightly surprised to see this.

Dane's office was surprisingly shabby.

As Dane diligently wiped the cheap leather on the sofa with his sleeve, Afra glanced at him briefly but showed no intention of sitting down, only saying...

"I'm here mainly to understand the current operation of the factory. Just give me the relevant accounts and reports."

"No problem at all."

Dane quickly poked her head out of the office and said to the clerk outside, "Bring me all the shipping and purchase orders, payroll, repair expense summaries, and all the ledgers from last month and this month!"

After saying that, he returned, and while waiting to avoid embarrassment, he suddenly pointed to Lu Ran on Afra's shoulder with a big smile.

"That gray squirrel on your shoulder looks really energetic; it's the first time I've ever seen such a unique gray squirrel..."

While speaking, he paid attention to Afra's emotional response, and seeing that she did not intend to respond, he immediately changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, Miss Afra, is your visit here about the new factory manager? I heard that the factory was recently transferred from Mr. Conrad to your father, and then not long after, it was rumored that a new owner had bought the factory outright. Are you here to help with the handover for the new owner?"

Afra raised an eyebrow: "Have you seen the new boss?" "No," Dane quickly replied, then changed the subject. "But some workers said they saw your dog outside the factory."

"Bella?"

Afra was taken aback, then a look of surprise appeared on her face, and she quickly asked.

"Was there anyone else with that dog, or did it just appear on its own?"

Dane was a little taken aback by the sudden question, but still replied decisively, "I don't know for now, but I'll send someone down to ask right away. Please wait a moment, we should have a result soon."

Before he could finish speaking, a clerk struggled to squeeze in through the door, carrying a thick stack of paper documents.

Snapped.

The files were piled heavily on the desk, their astonishing quantity leaving Afra stunned.

Dane bowed and backed away, then gently closed the door behind him. "Miss Afra, please stay here and keep watch. I'll go and find out what you want to know."

Afra took a deep breath, her voice tinged with exhaustion and helplessness: "Okay."

After the other person left and there was no one else in the office, she grabbed Lu Ran by the back of the neck as if venting her anger.

"So many! Look at all this!"

"If I can't find anyone after this is all done, hmph!"

Kaka.

Afra clenched her fists and stared at Lu Ran menacingly, making him feel a chill run down his spine.

Didn't this explode?

……

The Heijin Transportation Equipment Machinery Manufacturing Plant covers a total area of ​​22000 square meters and has 280 workers.

Among them, there are 40 senior technicians, 180 general workers, and 60 administrative and miscellaneous staff.

The monthly salary and wages of all employees are around £500, raw material purchases are £200, and equipment maintenance and various miscellaneous consumables are around £70. In total, the monthly expenses are close to £800 while ensuring operation.

Lu Ran clicked his tongue in amazement, thinking to himself that if the factory ran into problems, how long would his money last? Luckily, he hadn't squandered it.

Fortunately, the factory's financial situation is currently okay.

Relying on long-term orders from mines and other sources, we can generate at least £2,000 in sales each month. After deducting all costs, we can make a profit of about £200 a month, and in some peak seasons, it can even reach £400.

There are currently over £1,200 in liquid funds in the account.

As Afra read, she wrote down concise information on a piece of paper.

After all, it wasn't him who wanted to know this information, but rather a detective who refused to show his face.

Then, once the paper was full, I would start a new one. I kept working like this all morning. In the middle, I was so tired that I didn't care about the dirt anymore and just plopped down on the stool.

As Afra was stretching, she suddenly noticed Gray Mouse staring intently at the contents of a document beside her and became interested: "You're looking at it so seriously, you don't actually know how to read, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ran pretended to be oblivious as usual, but silently noted down the factory's employee registration book that he had just seen, in which he saw the names of several workers who had recently resigned from the factory voluntarily.

Given the dire job market conditions, why would someone resign? Was it due to unavoidable external factors, or did they discover something was amiss?

He plans to go back and investigate these few, as they are at least some clues or directions.

Seeing that Lu Ran was looking around again, Afra lost interest and, after resting for a while, continued working.

"what."

Suddenly, Afra sat up straight and stared strangely at a string of expenditure data on the account.

"£50 for worker's medical care?"

Upon hearing the sound, Lu Ran quickly looked over and then heard Afra ask in surprise.

"If there is a work-related injury requiring compensation, shouldn't the expenses vary depending on the worker's specific injury and disability? How can it be a fixed monthly fee..."

Lu Ran's spirits lifted.

Have we found the problem?!

(End of this chapter)