Chapter 69

"Even though the business estate currently lacks skilled masters, with your creative ideas, as long as the craftsmen work more carefully and finely, the products will sell without worry."

If Mathias hadn't said this in such a cold, jade-like voice with a calm expression, Elara might have thought someone was trying to flatter her.

But since the words came from Mathias, and he looked so indifferent and composed, Elara knew he would never stoop to flattery.

He was simply stating facts in a straightforward way.

To be honest, Elara's so-called "creative ideas" were just borrowed wisdom from the world she came from, a much more developed one. She made use of the collective intelligence of the people there.

Of course, with how thick-skinned Elara was, there was no way her face would really turn red.

But she was growing more and more satisfied with Mathias' insight.

Most wealthy people spend money to show off their status and superiority. This was true in every world and every time.

At first, Elara was worried that Mathias, who had grown up reading the classics, might not be as sharp in business. Even though this era hadn't completely suppressed merchants, their social status was still quite low.

Most noble families looked down on merchants even though they couldn't live without money.

But Mathias went straight to the point, and there was no disdain in his words. He even spoke like someone who had been in business for a long time.

Clearly, as someone from the top of the aristocracy, he had already studied commerce early on.

Elara's smile deepened a little, and she continued to ask, "What about the people outside of the rich and powerful?"

Mathias kept his gaze lowered as he replied, "The shop you picked on the commoner street mainly serves regular citizens, excluding the elite. Regular people care less about flashy looks and more about practicality and affordability.

In that shop, we don't need to aim for novelty or uniqueness. Just sell items that meet the most basic needs of daily life, at fair prices, and the goods will naturally sell."

Elara couldn't hide her smile anymore. "Then what do you think ordinary people need the most?"

Stability! Mathias opened his mouth, but swallowed the word before saying it aloud. After a pause, he said in a low voice, "Just the basics… things they need to survive. Clothing, food, housing, transport. Grains, oil, salt…"

Mathias truly lived up to his title as the most gifted young noble in the capital. Even though he was born into the highest class, he had taken the time to study how the lower classes lived.

Elara stared at him for a moment. For the first time, she could truly feel the talent and character of this so-called "top scholar of Plumera Capital." Especially in a society with such harsh class divisions, it was rare for someone from the top to even look down, let alone study the daily needs of the lower classes.

This was rare, and truly a blessing for the common people.

Unfortunately, in the past, this so-called "blessing for the people" hadn't had the chance to use his talents. In fact, he had nearly been ruined himself.

Elara sighed quietly to herself, but also felt lucky that she had chosen to keep Mathias with her back then. "What about the food? How do you plan to sell that?"

Mathias replied without hesitation, "The dishes you created were praised even by Lianyi Pavilion. So selling them in the two shops will not be a problem. The key is to distinguish between the focus of the common people and the wealthy when selling.

Ordinary people care more about value and portion size. Wealthy merchants and nobles want variety and creativity. So in the streets where the commoners gather, we don't need fancy chefs, just simple and affordable snacks. The high-end street shop should have more variety and delicate new dishes."

After hearing that, Elara lifted the veil from in front of her face and smiled at Mathias. "Mathias, you really are excellent. Truly one of the best."

Faced with her direct praise, Mathias' eyelashes trembled slightly. He bowed respectfully, but his expression didn't change much.

Elara didn't mind. She looked at him and continued, "You think just like I do. So from now on, those two shops in Plumera Capital will be yours to manage. What do you think?"

This was exactly why Elara always brought Mathias along when going out recently.

Since she intended to train him as her future chief aide, he needed to understand the development of the business and the layout of the shops firsthand.

Besides, she wouldn't stay in the capital forever. Sooner or later, she would leave everything here in his hands.

When he heard her request, Mathias' eyelashes moved slightly again. His tone remained calm. "Yes, Princess."

Elara nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at Damon. "From now on, have all goods and food from the business estate delivered directly to the two shops in Plumera Capital. Mathias' people will take over from there."

"Yes, Miss."

While Elara and Mathias talked, Damon stood quietly nearby listening.

Elara thought for a moment and looked back at Mathias. "You don't have many capable people around you now. Do you want Damon to pick some out for you from the business estate, or…"

She dragged out the end of her sentence on purpose. As expected, Mathias answered, "No need. Just give me a few of the estate's old servants.

They can go to the slave market or broker shops to buy already-trained servants for basic tasks. As for steward and accountant roles, those are more important. I'll choose from the estate's old staff. Some of them used to work in the Pei Family as stewards and accountants. They're more capable than most outsiders, and they're loyal and honest too."

That was the best plan. Elara had drawn out her voice on purpose just to see if Mathias would decide for himself. "Alright. In the future, if you can't show up personally, let the old steward go on your behalf."

The craftsmen, along with a few people who had experience with carving and forging, were all called over. Elara took out the diagrams she had copied the other night, staying up for most of it, which showed the models for the basic furnace and crucible. She pointed at the drawings and characters on the bamboo slips while explaining the structure and principle of the furnace and crucible in detail to the craftsmen.

Fortunately, these craftsmen were all quite talented and experienced. Even though the blueprints and items Elara wanted were things they had never heard of or seen before, after listening to Elara's explanations for nearly half an hour and having all their questions patiently answered, they managed to understand what they needed to do. Without any complaints, they each grabbed their tools and got ready to begin right away, hoping to create what Elara wanted as soon as possible.

When they were first called over, they had already learned about the artisan contracts. Getting a contract like this meant they had a strong chance of returning to their former lives, so they were all highly motivated. Each of them was eager to show their abilities. They listened to Elara very seriously during her explanation, and once they picked up their tools, they worked quickly and efficiently.

Still, this was the first furnace and crucible of this era, and it would become the foundation of Elara's future powerful army. So even though the process of making it wasn't too difficult, Elara didn't plan to leave the merchant estate for the next few days. She wouldn't relax until they successfully forged the first fine and usable iron weapon, only then would she feel safe handing the task over to Damon and the craftsmen.

As for the excuse for not returning to the princess residence... since she planned to announce tomorrow that she favored Mathias and would take him on a trip to another estate, he could be her reason for not going back. That way, she didn't need to come up with another excuse.

Over the next few days, Elara had Damon prepare a room for her at the merchant estate. Every morning after waking up early, she would inspect different parts of the estate's development. Then she would go straight into the underground workshop to work with the craftsmen on the furnace and crucible.

The craftsmen were surprised that she took it so seriously. Even though she was the estate's owner, she came every day, worked alongside them, and even rolled up her sleeves to help. This gave them a jolt of excitement like a rush of adrenaline, and they became more motivated to show their skills.

They started working even harder, waking up early to rush into the underground forging room. Every day, they gave their full energy and focus to the development of the project.

With everyone putting their heart into the work, their effort paid off. By the afternoon of the second day, they finally finished the first basic furnace and crucible.

At the same time, good news came from different parts of the estate. Many of the new decorative items Elara had designed were successfully made by the craftsmen. The quality and appearance were both excellent, clearly showing that the craftsmen, inspired by the contract and reward system, had gone beyond their usual abilities.

Besides these handmade goods, the common flour-based foods Elara had shown the cooks on her first day—like steamed buns, noodles, and dumplings—had now been fully mastered by the kitchen staff.

In addition, snacks made from soy products like fried tofu, dried tofu, and cold tofu salad had also been learned by designated people. With help from the carpenters, they even built simple food carts based on just a few of Elara's comments. They even planned where to set up the carts on the street to sell the snacks.

Even Elara was surprised by how enthusiastic everyone was. After asking around, she found out that Damon had improved the reward system even more in the last few days. Now, anyone who made products that sold well would receive a percentage-based reward.

This "commission" reward system was originally something Elara wrote into the contracts to motivate the craftsmen. Focused on the furnace and crucible, she hadn't noticed that Damon had already turned it into the main policy of the entire estate.

Elara's head was a bit foggy from working in the furnace, but she vaguely remembered Damon asking for her approval the day before. She had been too distracted to fully listen but remembered thinking it was good for the estate, so she agreed without asking too many questions.

Now that she understood the whole situation, Elara approved of it. For a developing business, a good incentive system could be just as valuable as good leadership. Elara never turned down anything that could improve productivity.

If she hadn't been so busy with the furnace and crucible these past few days, she would have written the commission system into the rules herself. Damon had just taken the initiative a step early and done something very helpful.

Under this fair and energetic reward system, the atmosphere at the estate became lively and motivated. Everyone brought in wanted to prove their worth. Even if they didn't get a formal contract in the end, they hoped to earn more food and clothes through the reward system and improve their lives.

With everyone putting in so much effort, the first batch of goods from the estate was quickly completed and ready.

At that time, Mathias also sent news from within Plumera's capital.

Mathias worked quickly. Within just a few days, he had already hired all the staff needed for the two shops in the capital and had arranged all the daily operations and bookkeeping.

The older servants and their teams had arrived at their posts. They only had to wait for the shipment of goods before they could officially open the shops.

So on the fourth morning of Elara's stay at the merchant estate, the two newly labeled "White Family Shops" officially opened in the capital city.

That same day, two more events brought Elara great joy.

The first was that, after working hard with the craftsmen for several days, they finally forged the first fine iron weapon in the new crucible and furnace.

The second was that the Qi brothers, Francis and his brother, who had completed System 92's first mission to suppress the rebellion for Elara, returned to the capital before nightfall on the fourth day, bringing the Qi army and the people Elara had requested.

Sharp.

After finishing the drawing of the arrows, Elara continued to take out more bamboo slips and drew the other weapons she wanted to make.

"There are also long sabers, longswords, and spears. Modify the details according to what we just discussed, then make fifty of each first."