People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

At this moment, Ernst could not possibly regard those young people with their simple smiles and expectant eyes as mere numbers like the population figures in the game "Victoria 3" he had played in his previous life. He had thrown them into factories with the noble mindset of "national will," and then, in so-called "choice events," had resolutely chosen the option of prioritizing GDP above all else.

But he sincerely hopes:

Hopefully, a hundred years from now, the people of Sherag standing here will offer a cold critique of the sweatshops and capital accumulation that exist today.

Ernst would greatly approve of their actions.

Because they haven't yet taken it for granted. Because they still remember where they came from and where they originated.

And now, to put it bluntly, it's a case of overestimating one's abilities.

If all the people are guilty, let the blame fall on me first.

"Train! The train is arriving at the station!"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise, and Ernst turned his head to look at the end of the track shrouded in the first snow of the morning.

The headlights of the vehicle were the first to pierce the still-dark mountain night, followed by the roar of its wheels. The modern mechanical monster, carrying Sherag's first diplomat, finally revealed its hazy face.

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Sherag is not to be underestimated!

The day before returning to Shelag, in Lungmen, at the inn.

Vina covered her face in disbelief, looking as if she was about to perform the world-famous painting "The Scream" in another world.

"What! The little stove is broken!"

Why didn't you tell me beforehand?!

The employees of Kalan Trade also looked completely innocent:

"We...we'd like to come too. But these past few days you've been either at the Governor's Mansion or on your way there, we really haven't found any good opportunities..."

"I... sigh!" Vina wanted to say something, but seeing the apologetic look on her employee's face, all her complaints turned into a sigh.

No wonder they are.

I did visit Governor Wei Yanwu almost every day, and I always arrived very early.

Vina had heard from her etiquette teacher about some of the rules of the Great Yan court. If you wanted to show goodwill and respect to an elder, the simplest and cheapest way was to go and wish them a safe journey every morning.

Although Vina didn't quite understand how this action, which felt like "checking if you died last night" first thing in the morning, wasn't considered provocative or insulting, she figured that since it was something her etiquette teacher had taught her, she couldn't be wrong to do it.

And Wei Yanwu's attitude towards me has indeed become better and better, hasn't it?

No matter what she said, she would happily agree and then make arrangements for her. If she said that her daily "good morning" greetings were ineffective, Vina herself wouldn't believe it!

Meanwhile, the caravans trading with Kalan had to set out early in the morning to inventory their goods at the warehouses and sell them at the distribution points. They were busy all day long, not to mention that they had inexplicably run into the Guard Bureau and had been investigated several times.

In Victoria, if an organization like the Mounted Police comes to check you, it's most likely because they haven't received protection money from you—this is an experience Vina gained from years of living in the slums.

It's not surprising that Karan Trade had little time to contact them, given that they were being targeted by that pack of greedy hyenas.

But these aren't the most troublesome things.

The most troublesome thing is, what should I do about what I promised Ernst?

Ernst had always wanted a small stove in his office; it was no secret, but due to the circumstances in Sherag and the trading schedules of the caravans, this wish had never been fulfilled. Vina specifically mentioned it before leaving, and upon arriving in Lungmen, she didn't even see Wei Yanwu; she immediately went to buy a small stove and placed it in the warehouse of the Karan Trading Company, just in case she got busy and forgot about it.

Well, now look what happened. Something that seemed foolproof and impossible to go wrong has turned out to be an accident.

"The Guard Bureau has agreed to compensate us, but because it's almost Chinese New Year and there will be a holiday, the compensation will not be finalized for at least 20 days."

The employees of Kalan Trade truthfully stated,

“We all have families at home and must go back to participate in the harvest festival, but you, Foreign Minister, don’t have any families. If possible, why don’t you simply stay here and wait for compensation?”

Vina frowned, looking awkward.

Although she knew the employee from Kalan Trading probably meant no harm, her words still felt somewhat like a personal attack to Vina.

What do you mean I don't have family? Of course I do! What, do you want to go see them?

You just need to answer yes. They are all very approachable people, and they won't object to your request.

Putting aside the somewhat hellish topic, Vina seriously considered the proposal and nodded.

"Well, it's not that it's impossible. It would indeed be too impolite for me to go back like this."

"However, you must take good care of these things Ernst asked me to buy, and make sure nothing else goes wrong!"

"Vina instructed," Vina said. The employee of Kalan Trading immediately nodded, patting his chest—far less impressive than Vina's—to assure him.

"Don't worry, what happened before was an accident. This time there will definitely be no problem!"

"Then leave it to you."

Vina sighed, took out a pen, sat down at the desk, and took out a piece of paper.

"I'll also write a letter to Ernst to apologize, and please take it back with me. I'm so sorry I couldn't celebrate the festival with him this time. But we'll definitely spend countless future harvest festivals together!"

The Karan Trade employee nodded.

............

Longmen, Longmen Governor's Mansion.

Wei Yanwu glanced at the clock on the wall; it already pointed to ten o'clock. He then looked at the "Departure Application" submitted by Kalan Trade for confirmation, let out a long sigh of relief, and revealed a hearty smile.

"Phew—finally, that little devil is gone!"

"You've been so busy these past few days." Wen Yue said with some concern, bringing over a cup of tea and placing it on the desk in front of Wei Yanwu. She said slowly, "Have you finished reading your book? If you have, remember to lend it to me. And Adams, he also wants to see your copy of 'China Chapter'."

"Oh?" Wei Yanwu grinned, looking smug, and waved his hand. "Let that old sick tiger wait patiently. I'm still early here."

"If he's so capable, he'll get out of bed and walk to my office to ask me for it."

Everyone knows that Adams Schweitzer, the head of the Schweitzer family, is now terminally ill and unable to get out of bed.

Wei Yanwu's words, besides clearly indicating his unwillingness to relinquish his ambition, also carried some other implications.

But Wen Yue didn't care at all; she simply said:

"Speaking of which, Adams told me that he kept the portion of the Egypt section. The rest has been sent to the publisher for publication."

"Huh?" Wei Yanwu was taken aback.

I left behind the "China Chapter" here, and you left behind the "Egyptian Chapter" there. After this whole process, two of the four ancient civilizations in Ernst's manuscript of "Ernst's Chronology of Nations" are suddenly gone.

This part of the manuscript originally only covered the four ancient civilizations, and now it's been cut in half. This is unacceptable!

Is it appropriate to publish this?

If Ernst and the behemoth or beast lord behind him were to notice, where would Wei Yanwu put his face? Would he be seen as deliberately disrespectful?

What kind of retaliation would they face?

Wei Yanwu gasped, quickly sat up straight, picked up the phone on the table, and was about to open his contacts to find Adams' number, which he hadn't dialed in a long time.

Before his hand could even touch the phone on the table, a dark figure silently emerged from the shadows and appeared before Wei Yanwu and Wen Yue.

"My lord, my mistress."

The black-clad shadow guards saluted Wei Yanwu and Wen Yue.

Wei Yanwu's brows furrowed even more, his heart suddenly raced, and an ominous premonition began to creep down his spine. He asked nervously:

"What happened?"

The black-clad shadow guard abruptly knelt on one knee and solemnly reported:

"The sentry reports that the caravan of the Karan Trade has left the territory of Lungmen."

Wei Yanwu's heart had just begun to settle down a little, as if he were deliberately made to experience the ups and downs of life, when the shadow guard continued:

"However, our people discovered that Vina hadn't left."

"At the last moment, she had a private conversation with the leader of the caravan of the Kalan Trade, and seemed to learn something that greatly surprised her. She then changed her mind, handed a letter to the leader of the Kalan Trade caravan, and stayed in Lungmen."

Wei Yanwu gasped for breath, nearly fainting on the spot. He slumped into his executive chair, muttering to himself:

“Sure enough, sure enough!”

"She discovered the problem with Ers! And, in fact, she knew about it even before I did!"

"An intelligence network, magical prophecy, or a special ability of a behemoth or its lord?"

A flurry of speculations flashed through Wei Yanwu's mind, and he sighed deeply at his own act of popping champagne halfway through the game:

"Sherag is not to be underestimated!"

Chapter Seventy-Eight Ernst's Win-Win Situation

"Liars, they're all liars!"

Watching the train where all the passengers had disembarked, and after reading the private message Vina had sent, Ernst was still muttering complaints.

"They say they definitely won't be swayed by the allure of Lungmen, but they still end up staying anyway. All that talk about having important business to attend to is just a lie."

"Sigh, I really shouldn't have let Vina out. What if Windermere's people come in a few days?"

Ernst got goosebumps just thinking about how Kent had spoken to him in broken Sherag.

At that time, it was only himself who was suffering, but if Vina didn't come back, forcing Ernst to personally go on stage and communicate with the visitors from Windermere in Victorian, then it would be the other side who would suffer.

This is a subsidy of tens of billions of yuan for Wen Duoduo. A famous Tongliao Khan once said: "Xunzong treats you as a brother, but you try to outsmart Xunzong." This is absolutely unacceptable.

Even disregarding the precious start-up capital that Duke Windermere gave to Sherag, the vast market of the Dukedom of Windermere alone is a piece of cake that Sherag absolutely cannot give up easily.

Money talks; this is the most basic and time-tested truth since the concept of "money" was even born. If possible, Ernst would still like to maintain a good relationship with the Windermere family.

Of course, Ernst's headaches didn't stop there. With Vina staying, Ernst wasn't completely without Victorian language talent.

If things really don't go smoothly, Ernst could always have Lola step in. Our Miss Polar Bear did study in Colombia, and while her Colombian-accented Victorian isn't quite as good-natured as Vina's, she should at least be fine as a translator.

Forget about getting her to speak; speaking "Columbian" to a Victorian border duke would be a blatant insult and provocation. Ernst hadn't even met the Duke of Windermere in person and didn't know what kind of person she was. It was best to avoid doing something that might be taboo in diplomatic settings.

What really puzzled Ernst was—not only did you not come back, but where was my stove?

All the fireworks, lanterns, paper-cut window decorations, and firecrackers have been brought back, but where's my stove?

You promised me, you can't go back on your word, can you?

“Prime Minister, the stove… the stove is broken. Wei Yanwu sent people to search our warehouse several times, and the stove was damaged at that time. The Guard Bureau promised to compensate us, and Miss Vina is waiting to receive that compensation.”

The employees of Kalan Trading explained somewhat embarrassedly,

"She really cares about this matter. The first thing she did upon arriving in Longmen was to personally buy a stove. But... sigh, Wei Yanwu!"

"Alas, Wei Yanwu!"

Seeing this, Ernst could only sigh and put the blame on Wei Yanwu.

Combining this with the good news letter Vina had sent back some time ago, Ernst immediately understood what had happened in Lungmen. He pursed his lips sadly.

It seems that Vina's journey was far less smooth than she described in her letters.

Wei Yanwu even searched legitimate caravans involved in the Kalan trade, something the silver boss had never mentioned before. It must have been an unprecedented first.

That governor has no reason to apply double standards. Since he treated my little stove so harshly and roughly, Vina must have suffered a lot in Lungmen.

Did you write that letter specifically to keep me from worrying?

Ernst realized this in his heart.

At this moment, even the most unreasonable person would know that they could no longer blame Vina.

Our diplomats in Kjerag did their best, but unfortunately, that old scoundrel Wei Yanwu was utterly inhuman. I feel sorry for Vina; despite facing countless difficulties and exclusion in Lungmen, she still insisted on sending good news to Kjerag. Is she still staying in Lungmen to prevent her well-intentioned lies from being exposed, and thus continuing her efforts to win back her reputation?

I knew I hadn't misjudged you, Vina.

I hope you have a good New Year in Longmen.

........

While enjoying the meal prepared by Lady Fumizuki in the Lungmen Governor's Mansion, Vina felt a tickle on her nose and sneezed. Looking out the window at the Lungmen streets where snowflakes were beginning to fall, she prayed inwardly, "I hope Ernst won't worry about me and has a good holiday. I'm doing quite well here."

........

After offering his blessings to Vina, Ernst looked at the employee of Kalan Trading and asked:

"Let's put the stove aside for now, what about fireworks?"

"Here, here." The employee immediately turned around, led Ernst a short distance, and brought him to a carriage, where he pushed open the door and entered.