Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 84 Boss, help! A rat is coming!
"Woof...are we leaving already?"

Bella was still a little reluctant to part with her little mouse.

"Otherwise what? Haven't you gotten tired of hearing it all these days?" Lu Ran rolled his eyes and landed on Bella with a dashing leap.

He no longer needs to crawl slowly while holding onto his fur like before, and he has also gained a lot of weight.

This is something Bella kept complaining about: "It's so heavy, I'm exhausted."

Of course, what Lu Ran didn't tell Bella was that he could actually run very fast on his own now...

……

Inside the manor, Bella's return seemed to foreshadow Sherlock's return as well.

Even though no one had ever seen Mr. Sherlock, the Biden family's butler, Philip, appeared at just the right moment—knocking on the oak door while Lu Ran was still sorting out matters related to Territory Number One.

knock knock --

Has Mr. Sherlock returned?

Lu Ran was taken aback, subconsciously stopping his movements, and did not respond immediately.

He began to wonder if this guy had come to ask questions or if he was genuinely certain that he was there.

I waited for about a minute.

"Is Mr. Sherlock not here? Then I will come to visit again next time."

Lu Ran then leaned against the wall and opened his mouth to respond.

"Excuse me, Mr. Philip, I just fell asleep. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Outside the door, Butler Philip's voice remained calm and polite: "Excuse me for disturbing your rest, Mr. Sherlock. Earl Biden, having heard of the opening of your factory, has entrusted me to convey his sincere congratulations to you."

Lu Ran replied, "I am deeply grateful for your concern, Earl, but I am unworthy of such praise."

Philip smiled and, without continuing the pleasantries, said directly, "As a gift for the factory's opening, the Earl sent me a long-term order. I wonder if Mr. Sherlock would be interested."

"An order?" Lu Ran was taken aback, somewhat suspicious.

Speaking of orders, he recalled the precision machinery that had been sent to an unknown location, especially the suspicion that it involved connections with another country. He wondered if this time they were dragging him into it.

Soon a design drawing was passed down from the opening above. Lu Ran took it out of the basket and glanced at it briefly.

A twin-cylinder reciprocating steam engine.

3.2m × 1.8m × 1.5m.

"Four tons?"

Lu Ran couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what kind of thing could use a three-meter-tall engine.

Philip, standing outside the door, explained slowly, "This blueprint is sufficient for basic production with the existing lathes at the Moss factory. The purchase price is 800 gold pounds per unit. Mr. Sherlock can verify and calculate the specific cost with the designers in the factory."

After all, Lu Ran had acquired his factory from this guy, so he wasn't too surprised that the guy seemed to know everything about his factory.

Lu Ran hesitated for a moment, then said, "This gift seems a bit too much. Isn't the Earl being a little too generous to me? May I ask why?"

Although the exact profit is still unclear, judging from the acquisition price, it won't be low. After all, since the Earl said it was a gift, there's no reason for him to be stingy and not make a profit. If he did, Lu Ran might just refuse the order, but the Earl would lose face big time.

Philip didn't answer Lu Ran's question, but instead asked, "This order needs to be done, doesn't it? It just so happens that you're opening your business, Mr. Sherlock, so don't worry about it."

Lu Ran choked, not expecting this answer, and hesitated for a moment. "I can think about it and give you an answer later... After all, I'm not very familiar with machinery, and the specific costs and output need to be verified."

"Of course, you can take your time to consider it."

The footsteps outside the door gradually faded into the distance until they disappeared. Lu Ran stared at the heavy blueprints in front of him and then let out a soft sigh of relief.

“800 gold pounds…” he muttered to himself.

The only problem is whether there will be any pitfalls... even if the other party has an attitude of "if you don't want it, I'll give it to someone else."

But on second thought, perhaps it is precisely because I proved my abilities that I have the opportunity to be scammed again.

Otherwise, why would so many good things come to you for free?

"Let's send this thing back and take a look."

Lu Ran smiled helplessly.

He's already so closely associated with Earl Biden, with even Biden's daughter Afraah personally helping to audit the black market factory. Whether he takes the job or not, no one will believe him if he later claims he has no connection with Earl Biden whatsoever.

The next day, Lu Ran received a reply from Bernard, informing him that if he wanted to take the job, without affecting the original orders and without working overtime, the factory's monthly production capacity would be about one unit, with a profit of about three hundred gold pounds per unit.

Since the factory has only been open for a few days, Lu Ran hasn't introduced the night shift hamsters into the factory yet to be on the safe side. Instead, he stays with the workers as a pet to observe their operations. Therefore, Bernard, the factory manager at Moss, is currently calculating the work efficiency of the pure day shift.

"Wouldn't that mean once we invest in the rats, we could manufacture at least two units a month, earning an extra six or seven hundred pounds? No, the cost of the rats is far lower than that of the workers, so with the original order profits, the monthly income could exceed a thousand?"

Lu Ran's eyes widened, and her heart pounded.

Bernard replied.

"Come to Biden Estate immediately to sign a contract."

……

After operating the machine, mail the letter.

Just as Lu Ran was happily packing his things and climbing out of the stone house to find Afra, he suddenly saw a figure wandering aimlessly on the grass in the distance.

The person who arrived was wearing a slightly worn wool sweater. He wasn't very tall, but his steps were steady, exuding a sense of leisure that blended harmoniously with the lush green grass around him.

He seemed to be carefully observing the environment of the forest, then he saw the stone house, and then he saw a gray squirrel in front of the stone house.

The man smiled and waved.

"Hello, Mr. Sherlock, I see from the newspaper that you've become a big businessman. Have you forgotten your old friend?"

Lu Ran's body tensed instantly, and he exclaimed in astonishment, "Anthony..."

"I have to admit, your growth has exceeded my expectations with each step," Anthony said with a chuckle. "But isn't it a bit too high-profile for a gray rat to cause such a commotion?"

Lu Ran forced herself to remain calm, rubbed her little hands together, and chuckled dryly, "So, you're here to congratulate me?"

As he spoke, his eyes darted around, subtly scanning his surroundings.

The first meeting was to stop me from exploring that medium shop, which can be considered a legitimate reason.

When this sudden visit came to his door, Lu Ran almost instinctively felt that it wasn't a good thing, especially after he learned that he was a Seed of Abundance, this feeling made him even more guilty.

Sure enough, the next moment, as Anthony strolled leisurely across the overgrown lawn, the grass twisted wildly into a tripwire and lunged at Lu Ran wherever his shoes touched.

Whoosh.

The next moment, Lu Hou, who was prepared, stomped his paws on the ground and shot out from the gaps in the grass net like a gray bullet, and ran away.

"This speed..."

Anthony, who had been nonchalant, suddenly narrowed his eyes and said something.

"Of course I congratulate you, but I'm afraid you'll run off again like last time. I'd like to find a place with you to catch up properly."

As they were talking, Lu Ran, who had just run a few meters away, suddenly got tangled in the grass stems that were growing wildly on the ground. He staggered, but then suddenly exerted his strength.

The straw net was stretched taut and then burst open.

collapse.

Lu Ran narrowly escaped before more grass netting covered the area.

"The power is also wrong."

Anthony's eyes showed a hint of confusion, and he finally quickened his pace. At the same time, a thicker vine suddenly burst out of the ground directly in front of Lu Ran's escape route.

"Damn! Are you serious?!"

Lu Ran cursed inwardly, but dared not stop moving his body for a moment.

Just as more thick vines were about to close in, *poof*—

The gray shadow entangled by vines in sight was instantly pierced and torn apart by thorns, turning into specks of scattered light.

hum-

"Oh? An illusion?" A hint of surprise flashed in Anthony's eyes. He turned his head sharply, his gaze sweeping across the distance like that of a hawk, and soon spotted the gray figure running further and further away.

“Unbelievable…” Anthony muttered to himself, then, without lingering, his figure drifted towards the woods like a ghost.

……

"Boss, help! A rat is coming!"

(End of this chapter)