934: 920 934: 920 Busy figures were everywhere in the newly built manor.
This was an unford manor, or rather, a construction site in progress.
The largest project was undoubtedly the large treehouse-shaped “Exhibition Hall,” surrounded by accelerating construction of factory sheds; this family was in the midst of rapid expansion.
Next to the Exhibition Hall, dium-sized Puppets were handling the work of construction machinery, but considering their precision, most of the work still required manual labor.
“It’s still not as good as on Earth, this hunk of tal has too low precision…”
“Cut the chatter.”
So were pushing carts, so were transporting building materials, and most of them were quite dedicated, but among them was a group who, while grumbling, showed exceptional performance.
tal steel materials as tall as a person were easily gripped in one hand by them, and they skipped the use of lifting Puppets for large building materials, simply tossing them up and down.
.
Agile, stable, and imnsely strong, they showcased their advantages as construction workers…
“…Tch, a bunch of monkeys.”
Their excellent display, however, also attracted hostility.
Don’t get wrong, it wasn’t from those invited Feather Tribe people, but rather other ethnic group laborers from the Refugee Camp.
The Feather Tribe Supervisors, absorbed in their own conversations, paid no attention to these interethnic disputes.
But clearly, soone stood out too much, causing dissatisfaction among the other ethnic groups…
Everyone knew the Master here was a “great philanthropist,” who had given big bonuses just two days prior; with good performance, they might receive even better treatnt.
When one ethnic group could do the work of ten, it naturally made the others look useless, and they might not be needed tomorrow.
“…Ha, look at how hard they’re working, they really are born…” Watching the “monkeys” above pretend not to hear, the nasty comnts grew more flagrant.
The increasingly crass words beca more direct, and “Water Wolf” Lu Wang, who was tiling the wall, furrowed his brow in anger.
As a Decree-level master, he had never been subjected to this kind of indignity in his hotown, and now, despite working as a construction worker, he was being judged by these worthless “riffraff.”
Subconsciously, he lifted his sleeve, and the “Poison Arrow” within was ready to launch.
He was confident that he could make these people die confused and inexplicably…
“Don’t act rashly, Old Lu.
If anything happens, we all might lose our jobs.
And besides, those peace officers are quite formidable…”
In the end, Lu Wang put down his wrist.
It wasn’t that he was persuaded; it was only then, with a look of embarrassnt on his face, that he rembered he had sold his “sleeve crossbow” as a toy in exchange for food half a month ago.
“…Hmph, lucky them.”
Grinding his teeth, he stored the grudge away.
The “Water Wolf,” who by human standards would be considered a cold handso man, could only keep his head down and work hard, playing the pitiful part-ti wolf.
anwhile, not far off in the main building’s hall, a contract directly related to their future was still being negotiated…
“…Mr.
An Nan, if you invest in this ‘Refugee Camp Factory’ project, it will surely greatly enhance your reputation and that of your wife for being warm and charitable, and at the sa ti, you can serve as role models for good citizens, qualifying for more tax benefits.
Personally, I cannot guarantee this for you, but the odds of a successful application are very high; I have friends in the Civil Affairs Bureau…”
The Refugee Camp Supervisor, Wudi, also a minor leader in a local civil affairs departnt.
And as for his words, Lu Ping’an just quietly held his feather fan, uninterested and disbelieving every word.
You’ve been sidelined to managing the Refugee Camp, a classic scapegoat assignnt, and you’re boasting to about having connections in the governnt, offering to help apply for tax exemptions and reductions?
Do you take for a fool?
Lu Ping’an rely responded with a polite smile, tactfully diverting the conversation, and for more than half an hour the topic danced from weather to tea without touching on anything substantial.
In the end, Supervisor Wudi could only leave helplessly, her face filled with dejection.
She felt that she probably saw through it all; others had money but weren’t foolish.
Indeed, no one was willing to be the sucker in a deal that was bound to be a loss.
“…The investnt projects in the Refugee Camp, let those refugees work to earn money, which can support themselves and also effectively reduce social pressures…”
This was the suggestion from the higher-ups, an implication to sink or swim…
A suggestion for self-reliance.
But in reality, implenting this was rife with problems.
Previously, two bosses had tried to invest so, but were so tornted by those “refugees” that they lost everything and gave up.
Now, Mr.
An Nan here…, Ms.
Nida at ho is expanding like crazy, with more and more factories and shops.
Theoretically, there are countless job openings and gaps, but when it cos to hiring refugees, he still pretends not to hear, obviously declining politely.
“I’ll co back tomorrow, I will discuss with my superiors to see if we can co up with better policies…”
Ms.
Wudi was an honest person, and since the other party didn’t directly refuse, there was still a chance for a turnaround.
She planned to go back to the Administrative Hall imdiately to fight for more policy support for the “kind-hearted Mr.
An Nan” to secure their potential investnt.
And Mr.
An Nan still wore a smile, not saying yes or no…
At that mont, Ms.
Wudi felt that this gentleman might be even more suitable to be a bureaucrat in the Administrative Hall than she was.
“…I’ll co earlier tomorrow.”
After seeing off the dejected scapegoat from the Refugee Camp, Lu Ping’an continued to drink his tea, finding that this local flavored milkshake was surprisingly to his taste.
“Why do you refuse?
I thought you were keeping them on the hook just to reel them in…”
The colleague within the Courtyard was sowhat puzzled.
Lu Ping’an had set up such a large sche, wasn’t it all for those people?
Yet now he had outright refused them.
“No rush, let the bullet fly for a while…”
The joke he let out once again t with no response, and after an awkward mont, Lu Ping’an still sighed and offhandedly remarked.
“…Those guys, not only are they slippery, but they are also like scared birds.
If you’re good to them, they’ll suspect you might harm them, even though we indeed want to harm them…”
Lu Ping’an sipped his tea while organizing his thoughts, also providing a rationale to the others.
In this huge estate, aside from Lu Ping’an himself, all were from the Feather Tribe.
He was fishing, naturally, he had to be willing to lay the bait.
Were Kadund coins an issue?
These non-transferable local currencies, destined to be consumables, were of no concern to Lu Ping’an.
But if he actually took out money and pointed at those “targets” saying he wanted to buy them, Lu Ping’an had no desire to taste the thrashing of cornered beasts, especially with a few Decree-levels amongst them.
He had indeed placed the “ring” where it would go undetected, but if their suspicions reached the extre, there was no telling what ans they might have to expose the truth.
Therefore, minimizing “suspicion” was certainly the top priority.
“…By taking the initiative to co to us, the other party can’t help but overthink.
Now, we wait for them to co to us to sell, and we keep refusing, until they lower the price to the point of their own desperation, then we agree…
Heh, they won’t just stop suspecting us, they’ll even say we’re the good guys.”
Lu Ping’an was not in a hurry; he was truly not in a rush.
The desperate ones were the “refugees” unable to make ends et and the “Refugee Camp.”
He even had the heart to reassure those anxious companions of his.
“…Look, this is their third day working here.
The first day they acted like an Ordinary Person, working without effort.
The second day they snuck around trying to find sothing out, and the third day…
heh, haven’t they all turned into super Part-ti workers, longing for long-term contracts?”
Lu Ping’an held the black feathered fan in his hand while covering his mouth with a light chuckle.
“…We’ll give it to them, as long as they work hard enough, we’ll give it to them.”
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