City Lord of Little Nose Bay Port City

Kerry arrived at the dock on the northern side of his territory.

This dock now seemed far too small. Before, it had merely felt cramped with piled-up cargo, but when the newly formed fishing team gathered here, Kerry knew there was something that needed to be dealt with immediately.

That was repairing and expanding the two deepwater ports, one in the south and one in the north of the territory.

In Kerry's mind, these two deepwater ports held the most important position in the territory. They were also the only thing the territory currently had that was worth showing off.

Compared to the nearly fishless waters, the unmineable mineral deposits, and the island residents who could only make a living by growing tobacco leaves, these two deepwater ports were nature's greatest gift to this place.

A great man had once said that if you wanted to get rich, you had to build roads first. Ports and docks were no different. This was where Kerry would build his fortune, so he first had to repair and expand the ports and docks to accommodate greater flows of goods and people.

There were too many beautiful places in this world. Kerry had no plans to develop tourism to drive the economy. People traffic did not matter. This place would become a hub for trade and logistics.

Kerry planned to repair the northern port and dock first. The territory did not yet have much merchant shipping business, so the southern port could hold things over for the time being.

There was no need for the northern port to be completed all at once. It only needed to be built into a medium-sized port for now, then gradually expanded as business increased.

Once the northern port was nearly insufficient, he could turn around and develop the southern port. The two could take turns expanding, growing bit by bit.

He would go find the butler Carson later to discuss expanding the port and dock.

Nearly all the fishermen from Little Nose Bay Port City and South Australia Island had gathered at the northern dock, which was packed with fishing boats, waiting to be assigned.

There was no helping it. The catches here were too scarce. Catching two or three fish with a single net was already decent, and the money earned from each trip to sea was nearly not enough to repair their nets.

With a noble willing to give these lowly commoners a chance at work, everyone rushed to take it.

"Gentlemen, the fishing team has been established, but I do not have fishing boats for you to use. You will still need to use your own private boats. I, Kerry Raynor, am not a stingy man. Since I will be using your boats to work for me, I have two options. First, I buy all your fishing boats, and you work for me using the boats I purchased. Second, I rent your fishing boats and pay monthly rent as depreciation. Once the depreciation payments exceed the original value of your boats, those boats will become mine." Kerry brought out the methods of outright purchase and finance leasing from his previous life.

How could these fishermen understand finance leasing? Although the second option seemed like it might earn them more, who could predict the future?

The first option was better—an outright purchase, clean and straightforward. After a noisy discussion, the fishermen selected Mike as their representative. He was the most skilled fisherman among them, and everyone respected him.

"Lord Kerry, we think we would rather sell all our fishing boats to you outright. But our boats vary in age and size. How will you calculate the price for us?" (Since there were simply too many people surnamed Raynor in the Renault Empire, Kerry always had others address him by his given name.)

Mike voiced everyone's concern. They chose the first option partly because they feared the second option's income calculations would be too complicated. These common people had received very little education; anything even slightly complicated would leave them dizzy.

What they feared most was working hard for an entire year, only to have those noble lords calculate and calculate until they were left with no money. So the best way to deal with these commoners was to keep things simple and clear.

"Mike, estimate the value of each boat and report it to me. Then I will find someone knowledgeable in Little Nose Bay Port City to verify it. Everyone will receive a fair price when the time comes, so rest assured." This matter could be considered complicated or simple.

It was complicated because it was difficult to assess their values precisely. It was simple because as long as Kerry was generous enough, it would be easy to make both sides satisfied with the price. Kerry certainly would not be stingy. To him, the price of these boats was merely a few barrels of jellyfish.

After five or six busy days, the fishing team's affairs finally began to get on track.

Just as Kerry finally had time to look for a construction crew to repair the port and dock, a noble gathering was being held at the City Lord's Mansion of Little Nose Bay Port City.

It was the birthday party of the city lord of Little Nose Bay Port City. This year marked his fifty-first birthday, and everyone of some status in the Little Nose Bay Port City area had come. Kerry, however, had not received an invitation.

It was a beautiful castle with a vast lawn and a five-story tower. Several long tables, each dozens of meters in length, had been arranged on the grass before the castle.

The tables were covered with all kinds of delicious food, fruits, and vegetables, but Jim Green, the city lord standing before the buffet table, was in a foul mood.

"Butler, what is going on? At least half of this city is my private property. I am not so poor that I cannot even afford a fish. If you make it so I cannot eat fish, I will make it so you cannot eat at all." Jim Green glared viciously at his butler.

It was the city lord's birthday, yet there was not a single fish. On the dozens-of-meters-long table, there was only one plate of shrimp that did not look very fresh and one plate of cold kelp strips.

What kind of seafood was that? If there was no decent seafood on the table today, every noble in the city would know by tomorrow.

A city lord managing a harbor city was so miserly on his birthday that he could not even serve decent seafood. This kind of disgrace might even spread all the way to Southport City. It was a nightmare.

"My apologies, my lord. This city can no longer buy any decent seafood. The fishermen have all gone to South Australia Island..." The butler, only in his thirties, replied with an innocent expression.

"What happened?" Jim Green demanded in a low voice.

"Allow me to tell you, my lord city lord." A very tall, skinny man, like a walking bamboo pole, appeared beside Jim Green. Though dressed in extravagant noble attire, he somehow made it look bizarre, whether deliberately or because he had nothing else to wear.

The outfit looked perfectly normal and luxurious on its own, but on him, the sleeves and trouser legs were too short. It gave the impression of a cropped suit paired with capri pants, yet it still looked utterly mismatched.

"Speak." Jim knew this fellow, but could not remember his name. He seemed to be a third-class baron, one whose title would end with his generation and whose descendants would become commoners.

He was no good. He had nearly squandered his entire family fortune on food, drink, women, and gambling.

Of course, whether he was an insignificant nobody or a noble nobody, a nobody was still a nobody. Jim naturally would not remember him.

Though Jim was only a viscount himself, he was a member of the Green Family. The Green Family was the greatest family in the empire aside from the Renault Royal House.

"A new lord has arrived on South Australia Island. I hear he is only a third-class baron, and after his generation, his descendants will become commoners. He came from the royal capital and seems to have some money." The bamboo-pole man spoke slowly, hoping to keep the city lord in suspense.

"Get to the point. I am not in a good mood right now, so do not try any little tricks." Jim felt like he was about to explode. There was no fresh seafood at his birthday celebration, and now even an insignificant nobody was putting on airs before him.