A Visit to the Sugar Refinery
A horse-drawn carriage slowly drove past the gate of the Two Rivers Territory Sugar Refinery.
Looking into the distance, one can see that the wide open space in front of the gate is filled with all kinds of carriages, and there are many people dressed in fine clothes standing or sitting around waiting for something.
These people were dressed in an air of luxury and wealth, clearly wealthy and extravagant. Each of them was accompanied by several burly, serious-looking guards, indicating their extraordinary status.
It turns out that these people were all merchants who had come specifically to buy up a new batch of high-quality White Sugar after hearing that the Sugar Refinery was about to produce it.
Sitting inside the carriage were Victor and Rabik. Not long ago, after discussion, Victor decided to go to Sugar Beet Estate.
Although Victor had decided not to go inside the Sugar Refinery, he still insisted on coming here to see for himself the grand spectacle Rabik had described.
Victor gently lifted a corner of the curtain outside the carriage window. He carefully observed the merchant guild emblems hanging on each carriage and silently counted them. He found that there were already more than thirty carriages scattered around! Such a huge scale was truly astonishing, and the scene could indeed be described as "extraordinarily lively".
However, in Victor's eyes, these merchants seemed somewhat strange at this moment. They were gathered in twos and threes, seemingly talking in hushed tones, but judging from the expressions on their faces, there was clearly not much joy among them.
Victor stood quietly to the side, observing everything carefully. After a while, he gradually understood the reason: it turned out that these merchants had all sought refuge in the small patch of limited shade under the carriage, trying to alleviate the intense heat brought by the scorching sun. Not only that, their servants were also constantly waving fans, trying their best to bring a cool breeze to their masters.
Keep in mind, it's midday! Even though it's only the beginning of June, the summer sun is still scorching hot.
Furthermore, the Sugar Refinery was located in a remote area, adjacent to a large Sugar Beet Estate, surrounded by open space with nowhere to find shelter. It's easy to imagine that these chamber of commerce leaders must have suffered under the scorching sun, so it's no wonder they were in a bad mood.
Victor asked with a suspicious look, "Why not let these chamber of commerce members enter the factory area to wait? Leaving them to suffer in the scorching sun seems inappropriate, doesn't it?"
Upon hearing this, Rabik's face turned extremely ugly, revealing a troubled expression.
He sighed and explained, "Marquis lord, we did initially invite these members of the merchant guild who came to purchase White Sugar to rest at the factory."
Please understand that we have always adhered to the principle of treating all customers equally, as you requested. As long as they are willing to pay for the goods and the factory has inventory, we will generally meet their needs.
However, the situation is unusual now; there's simply no stock available for sale!
Moreover, after each new batch of White Sugar is produced, a considerable portion must be allocated to fulfilling the orders placed with various nobles.
As a result, there was naturally very little left to supply these merchants.
Not long ago, when a batch of goods had just left the factory, those merchants actually instructed their guards to surround the wagons full of goods, attempting to force a transaction.
The scene descended into chaos; if it weren't for the nearby troops arriving to help, things could have escalated into a major disaster!
Victor was stunned after hearing this and asked, "Such a thing actually happened? Why haven't I received any reports about it? Didn't you report it to me in a timely manner as required?"
It's important to understand that Victor taken any situation that could potentially affect the local business environment very seriously and has never tolerated it.
Normally, if any conflict arises with foreign businessmen, it must be reported to him immediately without any delay.
Faced with Victor's questioning and reprimand, Rabik appeared somewhat flustered, but quickly regained his composure and hurriedly explained, "Sir, we have indeed reported this matter truthfully. How could there be a situation where it wasn't reported? Perhaps... perhaps you haven't seen the report yet?"
After saying that, Rabik secretly glanced at Victor out of the corner of his eye.
At that moment, Victor suddenly realized that he hadn't been to his office for two days.
Since successfully resolving the issues with the Telegraph Office, he has devoted himself entirely to agricultural production.
Moreover, he had explicitly instructed everyone that unless there was an extremely urgent matter, everything else could wait for his return before taking action.
Realizing that it was due to his own negligence, Victor showed no embarrassment or awkwardness. Instead, he nonchalantly followed up with, "So how was this matter handled afterward? Did you simply and brutally drive all those people out?"
Rabik frowned and said, "Of course we can't pretend nothing happened! Our garrison didn't hesitate to arrest those leading chamber of commerce officials."
It should be noted that, according to the laws of the territory, such acts of gathering and causing disturbances are absolutely prohibited!
They should have been arrested and sent to the mines to do hard labor for a whole month! But...
He then changed the subject and continued, "After all, they are all business leaders who have come from other places to do business, and they can be considered as key and important clients in our territory!"
Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided to show leniency and propose that each of them be fined one hundred gold coins as punishment.
After collecting all the fines, they were immediately sent to Sea Song Town and strictly forbidden from setting foot on land again!
They were also given an ultimatum: they must leave our Two Rivers Territory with their entire caravan within ten days!
Victor nodded, indicating his satisfaction with the outcome, and said, "Hmm, quite well done. I'm just a little curious, why did you specifically set these ten days? Is there some deeper meaning behind it?" He thought to himself that, given Rabik's consistently shrewd nature, this decision must have some purpose or consideration.
As expected, Rabik immediately offered an explanation. "As expected of the Marquis, you saw through my thoughts at a glance."
After all, doing business with these chambers of commerce is about making money, and we can't give up just because of a little trouble.
Although these individuals are restricted from disembarking, they can easily complete the transaction by entrusting their subordinates with it.
In this way, we can sell the goods smoothly without causing too much unnecessary trouble.
Moreover, the ten-day deadline was a well-thought-out decision—it allows them to prepare the goods for ten days later, and can also be seen as another form of punishment for them!
Victor clapped his hands after hearing this. "Haha, well done, Rabik! You're really quick-witted and flexible. This clever arrangement is indeed excellent and doesn't affect the territory's income!"
However, after he said that, Victor suddenly realized a serious oversight—they didn't even have a proper law enforcement agency in their territory.
The maintenance of order and security should have been handled by a dedicated department, but now we have to rely on the troops stationed here to solve these problems. This is undoubtedly a huge waste of resources and a complete misuse of their capabilities!
Victor fell into deep thought. After a moment, his eyes lit up and he had an idea. "In that case, why not take this opportunity to establish a brand new security department and let it take on the important task of protecting the key locations within the territory?"
At the same time, this new department can be integrated with existing public security work to form a complete public security system.
This approach effectively safeguards the peace of the territory while preventing the over-reliance on the military and the resulting abuse of military power. After all, the military is better suited to focus on external operations rather than interfering excessively in the trivial matters within the territory.