The Shift in Attitude

The question of the Holy Maiden is also one of the most embarrassing issues in Nagaril, and the whole society avoids these issues.

There is a very distorted value system in the lower strata of Nagaril society. They place great importance on chastity, but at the same time they can be quite open-minded, which is contradictory.

The Holy Maiden has lost her chastity due to serving the gods for many years. She has been serving various gods all these years, and ordinary families are unwilling for their children to marry such a woman.

At the same time, families willing to marry such women often lack sufficient financial resources to support them.

These Holy Maiden have become accustomed to doing nothing all day. While in the temple, they take various drugs and spend all day in contact with various scriptures. They have lost the most basic ability to work.

Nagaril is not a wealthy and developed country; in a family, as long as one person has a job, everyone can be supported.

Here, every member of the family must work together to maintain a normal life. Those willing to marry these Holy Maiden are all poor men who are willing but cannot afford it.

Ultimately, these women could only become the wives of a few men, or simply go to places that run prostitution. Some people would be interested in these Holy Maiden who had served the gods, which was also the choice of most of the Holy Maiden.

They can continue their lives in those places, living the way they've always been, without having to worry about making a living, until the day they are completely abandoned.

As the Flower Car gradually disappeared into the distance, the cars parked on the roadside started up again. The awe and curiosity in the eyes of the people on the roadside gave everything here a strange, distorted feeling.

After he arrived at the hotel and rested for a while, Asier delivered the "bill" during dinner.

It's clear that his mental state has improved a lot. Lin Qi's words in the car had a very good effect, and he has begun to return to work.

"Mr. Hassana offered 100,000 Galil for each Leopard Lion pelt, and for each live Leopard Lion, it was 1 million Galil!"

100,000 Galil are roughly equivalent to 2,500 Federal Sol according to the official Exchange Rate, but based on the actual exchange Exchange Rate, only 1,200 Federal Sol are needed.

One million Galil is equivalent to twelve thousand Federal Sol, a tenfold difference. No wonder Hassana was furious; those hunters had indeed caused him a significant loss.

Lin Qi glanced at the bills and tossed them back. "Tell him this is impossible. Reduce each request by a zero. That's our bottom line. Of course, if he's willing to accept bond payments, we can raise it a bit, with 20% of his quote as the bottom line."

Raw fur that has not been processed, labeled, or shown on the runway is not valuable. Its value lies not in the fur itself, but in the added value it brings to a commodity society.

These people from Hassana can't add any value to it, so it's only worth this price①! Asier quickly took notes, which was his job. After solving the problem, he picked up his notebook and began to talk about the upcoming schedule.

People from all over Magulana Province invited Lin Qi to come and inspect the area. Mayor Mishe Haye asked Lin Qi when he would have time so they could sit down and have a proper talk.

Some businessmen also sent various samples hoping that Lin Qi could take some time to look at them, and ideally, meet Lin Qi in person.

After looking through these documents, Lin Qi decided to talk to Mayor Mishe Haye first.

The next morning, under the warm and attentive service of the Police Chief, Lin Qi also enjoyed the wonderful feeling that privilege brought him.

On the "empty" road, only his convoy stood. People stood on both sides of the road, and regardless of whether their eyes were filled with fear, curiosity or hatred, they all lowered their heads.

A child in the crowd looked up at Lin Qi sitting in the luxury car. Lin Qi also saw him. One child's eyes were full of innocence and curiosity, while the other's were calm and without the slightest ripple. They looked at each other from a distance.

The eye contact lasted less than three seconds before a woman with a terrified expression reached out and pressed the child's head down, her face seemingly pleading with Lin Qi not to punish them for a child's innocence.

Seeing that the woman was about to cry, Lin Qi withdrew his gaze, acting as if nothing had happened.

The convoy quickly left, and the people crowded together again. The complex emotions in their eyes soon faded; this was their life.

Mishe Haye's house is located in the city center. In the Federal, people would rather live in the suburbs than give up land in the city center for commercial development, which would mean countless riches.

But here, the city center represents status, not wealth.

Those who live in the city center are considered respectable and have status in the city; only the lowly refugees live outside the city limits.

This made the "fun" road seem less long; in less than half an hour, Lin Qi was sitting in the back garden of the Mishe Haye family.

The excellent gardeners have filled this place with all kinds of blooming flowers, making everything so beautiful and creating a stark contrast with the rest of the city.

Surrounded by blooming flowers and natural fragrance, the maid brought the two of them tea and snacks.

Unlike the popular Flower Tea teas in the Federal, which are mainly focused on aroma, the local tea here is very sweet, with a lot of honey added. After taking a sip, Lin Qi lost interest.

Mishe Haye took a large gulp of tea from his cup, then poured himself some more. After setting the teapot down, he picked up a piece of pastry, took a bite, and said, "These past few days, many people have been asking me what industries you plan to invest in here, where you plan to build factories, and when you'll start operations..."

Lin Qi looked at him, watching the crumbs of the pastry fall onto his clothes. He didn't seem to care much about his appearance. "People are eagerly awaiting some good news, but several days have passed without any new information, which makes them a little uneasy."

He swallowed the pastry in one bite, clapped his hands, and continued to stare at Lin Qi. "Shouldn't we do something? You need to let the people here know you're here to do business, not to hunt!"

Mishe Haye's attitude has undergone a noticeable change. Just a few days ago, his attitude was relatively "soft," but in just a few days, his attitude has changed. This is actually related to the sons of the Provincial Governor.

Whoever is more outstanding will be the one to take the position of Provincial Governor in the future. The difference between Provincial Governor and a mayor may seem small, but in fact there is a big difference.

The Provincial Governor's son could easily order Mishe Haye to do things he might not want to do, and he couldn't resist. His family wouldn't go to war with a local tyrant for him. Rather than such a severe consequence, they would be more likely to replace Mishe Haye with someone more obedient. So his attitude has changed somewhat.

For the sons of the Provincial Governor, how to turn Lin Qi's things into their own became a test. The brothers started to act in perfect unison, thinking that Lin Qi would be as easily taken over as those other businessmen in the past.

Lin Qi looked at Mishe Haye without saying a word, just staring at him.

His calm gaze was almost unbearable for Mishe Haye. He lowered his head and used the act of brushing off the crumbs of pastry to shift his gaze away from Lin Qi's confrontation. His voice softened slightly as he said, "Only when the flame burns most fiercely can the water in the pot be boiled. The same goes for people's passion. Doing it now has more advantages than doing it later. You should understand what I mean."

Lin Qi then nodded slightly. "I understand what you mean. How is the power grid capacity of this city?"

Mishe Haye was slightly taken aback, but quickly recovered. "We... can meet your electricity needs!"

"But what you said gave me a feeling that you were being reluctant!"

Mishe Haye hesitated for a moment when he spoke. Nagaril mainly relies on thermal power and Small Hydropower for power generation. Their current power generation capacity can indeed meet the city's electricity demand, but if the power consumption is increased on a large scale, the city's power grid will face a severe test, as will its power generation capacity.

Mishe Haye seemed unwilling to be looked down upon by Lin Qi, so he shook his head slightly. "No, we can shut down power in some areas to mainly supply your electricity needs. So, do you already have some ideas about building a factory?"

Lin Qi picked up a pastry from the table, broke off a piece, and put it in his mouth. It was very sweet; the people here seemed to have a blind pursuit of sweetness.

"A raw material processing plant, a smelting plant, but before that I need to have someone survey where there are iron ore deposits."

"I will place the factory in the mining area, which will save a lot of costs. In addition, there will be another factory to produce some tools, which we will use extensively in the future."

"All of this takes time. If you expect me to conjure up a factory with a wave of my hand and give countless people jobs, you'd be better off praying at a temple than talking to me about this here!"

Lin Qi's attitude was neither particularly tough nor weak, which was exactly what Mishe Haye had expected.

Young people are never willing to back down, and even in Nagaril, some young people sometimes have foolish ideas about challenging authority.

"Since you have a plan, then we should spread this information to reassure people. There's also something else you need to know..."

Mishe Haye fixed his gaze on Lin Qi's eyes again. "Are you planning to leave here anytime soon?"

Lin Qi nodded. "I plan to go back to the Federal next week. I bought some things from Mr. Hassana, and I need to send them back and also take care of the backlog of work there. This kind of trip between the two places will become the norm in the future."

Mishe Haye nodded noncommittally. "Mr. Lin Qi, although I am reluctant to speak, there are always some people who have failed to live up to the enthusiasm of the Nagaril People. In order to avoid any negative consequences, I suggest that you make some statements before you leave!"

=① The price of raw leather/fur is very low. A whole piece of raw cowhide costs only about two or three hundred yuan. However, turning these things into finished products can cost anywhere from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan. The added value is not in the process of production, but in the brand value of the trademark.