Nobles and Commoners

Kerry paid no attention to what Bald Man had said earlier, promising that he could squeeze even more benefits out of him. Now that he had arrived, things had to proceed according to his wishes.

No matter what, his status as a noble lord was the best tool in this world for dealing with commoners.

Before doing anything, however, Kerry carefully surveyed the gathered fishing boats and fishermen. Nearly all the dozens of fishing boats from Little Nose Bay Port City, along with several fishing households from South Australia Island, had come here. This showed just how much influence Greedy Cat Jack had among the fishermen. That would not do.

In this remote corner of the kingdom around Little Nose Bay Port City, the highest-ranking noble was only a viscount. Baron Kerry's status carried considerable weight here.

And as a lord, as a locally influential noble, how could he allow a fishing tyrant—part-time gangster, basically—to wield such enormous influence?

Kerry was already troubled enough by the problems on the legitimate side. If he also had to worry about the underworld, when would his territory ever develop properly?

South Australia Island had previously been a neglected island. Since no nobles or merchants had come here to develop it, the kingdom would not make things difficult for the islanders over taxes that did not even amount to a thousand Copper Coins a year.

Even Kerry's family had treated those taxes as nonexistent, because the manpower costs of officials collecting them would exceed the taxes themselves.

But Kerry had come here to undertake major construction, and tax officials would surely follow one after another. He had been considering such matters ever since obtaining the Dimensional Exchange system.

So having to deal with the underworld now made him even more irritated.

"Gentlemen, what have you gathered here for?" Kerry did not want to listen to that damned Bald Man ramble on any longer. Once Movie Emperor Uncle's fishing boat reached the center of the gathering, where Bald Man had been giving his speech, he called out loudly, trying to make sure everyone heard him.

"Are you the new baron of South Australia Island? I'm Jack. You may have heard of me. They all call me Greedy Cat Jack." The interrupted Bald Man, Greedy Cat Jack, spoke in a strange, mocking tone.

"No, I have not heard of you. I was merely curious because several fishing households in my territory reported that they were gathering here, so I came to take a look." Kerry needed to put on the airs of a noble and show disdain for learning about commoners. Otherwise, this fishing tyrant would probably become even more presumptuous.

Damn it. Greedy Cat Jack had not expected this young lord to be so arrogant. Even Viscount Jim Green of Little Nose Bay had heard of him.

That man was the lord of Little Nose Bay Port City. The noble before him was merely the lord of South Australia Island, inferior in both title and territory. What right did he have not to know who Jack was?

"It does not matter if you have not heard of me before. I will make sure you remember my name. Stop pretending to be ignorant when you know perfectly well why we have gathered here." Greedy Cat Jack did not know the roundabout way nobles spoke. He was practically laying everything out in the open.

"I truly do not know. Since Mr. Jack seems to understand so well, why not explain it to me?" Kerry maintained that noble tone. Even Carson, the butler beside him, was a little puzzled. Young Master did not usually speak so affectedly.

"Stop talking like some damned scholar. I'll tell you right now: we fishermen are not easy to bully. The payment you offered is far too low. This is cruel exploitation of us fishermen. We demand fair trade: 500 Copper Coins per barrel of jellyfish. If you refuse, we'll dump all these jellyfish back into the sea."

Greedy Cat Jack had always believed that this South Australia Island noble wanted to govern his territory and resolve the jellyfish infestation. So he threatened Kerry with returning the caught jellyfish to the sea, ensuring that the infestation would not improve at all.

Although the jellyfish infestation here had lasted for sixty years, the locals had always believed it persisted only because no one caught them. They thought that catching them would solve the problem.

Kerry was somewhat taken aback. He lowered his head and thought for a long while before understanding why Jack was threatening to dump the jellyfish back into the sea.

These commoners simply did not know that unless the local natural environment changed, the jellyfish would remain forever. Only the environment restrained them.

For example, Purple Poison Jellyfish existed only within twenty kilometers of South Australia Island's waters; beyond that range, there were none. In other words, even if Kerry caught every single Purple Poison Jellyfish in the sea at once, as long as jellyfish larvae remained, these waters would soon be filled with Purple Poison Jellyfish again.

Kerry had always regarded this place as a sustainable gold mine.

"Then dump them. Oh, I forgot to mention that my butler informed you yesterday that jellyfish collection would stop at eleven. Let me see... it is nearly eleven forty already. If you do not dump them into the sea, I will not buy them either. Mr. Carson, what are we having for lunch today?" Kerry still spoke in that unpleasantly aristocratic tone.

First, he mocked them, showing that he could not be threatened. Then he dealt them a real blow by refusing to buy their jellyfish before arrogantly turning to ask his butler Carson about lunch.

His entire attitude said that there would be no reconciliation, no negotiation, and that he did not take them seriously at all.

Boom... the scene instantly erupted. Fishermen on many boats whispered among themselves, and some of the more agitated ones even began questioning Greedy Cat Jack aloud. "This is not what you promised us! My boat is fully loaded, all with these damned jellyfish..."

Seeing the atmosphere at the scene, Kerry let out a shameless laugh.

"Shut the hell up!" Greedy Cat Jack had been caught completely off guard by Kerry's move. Wasn't he here to buy jellyfish? Did the time matter that much? Buying early or late was still buying.

He panicked for a moment, but years of experience in the underworld told him what he should do next.

"You say you won't buy the jellyfish from dozens of boats just like that? We do not agree! You evil noble, you made us work but refuse to pay us! We will go to the royal capital and report you. We will keep reporting you until you are stripped of your title!"

No matter how civilized a society was, it would still have labor laws. Jack dared to challenge a noble because he had the support of a large group of commoners.

Normally, nobles would pay out a little money and settle the matter. Unfortunately, Jack had run into Kerry.

Kerry intended to carry out extensive construction. If thugs kept coming to cause trouble while he was farming, how disgusting would that be? This time, he would thoroughly put this fishing tyrant in his place.

Otherwise, if some grain tyrant or mining tyrant showed up later, would he have to be manipulated every single time? Were they the masters, or was he?

"Go ahead and report me. The Second Prince stands above me. Besides, do you have a contract? You are all temporary hires. If you deliver on time, I pay on time. If you do not deliver on time, I can even refuse to pay the 500 Copper Coins per person that I promised." Kerry dropped another bomb. In the Little Nose Bay Port City area, households earning 2,500 Copper Coins a month were already considered relatively well-off. Five hundred Copper Coins was no small sum.

A fisherman immediately could not sit still. "Lord Baron, take all the jellyfish on my boat. I only want the payment we agreed on before." Once one fisherman spoke, many more quickly echoed him.

Even a comment would do. Let me know someone is reading my book.