Imperial Crown

People burp when they are full. There is nothing new in this.

But it is a huge disrespect for a woman to burp in front of a man, not to mention that this man is the head of the Griffith family and the Baron of the Eagle Territory.

Fiona's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment, she shrank her head, her heartbeat accelerated rapidly, her eyes were so scattered due to nervousness that she wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Old Gordon's face turned the color of pig liver, and he was frightened and angry. He was about to scold Fiona when he heard Raven cough: "It seems that he has almost eaten."

In fact, Old Gordon didn't eat much, but now he really didn't have much appetite.

"Okay, now that we're full, let's get down to business." Raven untied the napkin, and naturally the maid took the tableware down and thoughtfully poured the after-dinner red wine.

Old Gordon continued his report.

Fiona sat up straight, quietly took off her glasses and started wiping them.

Old Gordon compiled the accounts of the recent construction of Eagle Town, specifically how much materials were used, how much they cost, how much money was spent, and how much food was consumed.

"Taken together, the average couscous consumed in Eagle Town every month is 20,922 kilograms."

"Hmm..." Raven nodded slowly: "The average monthly consumption before was, I remember, 23,890 kilograms. That adds up to..."

Old Gordon started to lower his head and calculate, and then Fiona's voice sounded: "It's 44,182 kilograms!"

Raven was stunned and looked at Fiona with slight surprise, who immediately lowered her head nervously.

"Sir, that's right, it's 44,182 kilograms!" Old Gordon calculated the number and said quickly: "Please don't be offended, Fiona is more sensitive when it comes to numbers, which means she can be more natural when talking about these. "

"Well, it's okay." Raven thought for a while and then asked: "How much couscous do we have now?"

Old Gordon immediately opened the account: "Counting the two batches shipped, the total is 663,300 kilograms. If all are shipped, then it will be 1,363,300 kilograms."

This amount made Fiona secretly stunned.

Such a large amount of food is enough to feed the city of Hovey with a population of 300,000 for four or five days.

But the Eagle Territory is just a small place with a population of no more than 5,000 people!

Fiona now understands why her grandfather admires the Baron so much.

Raven's voice sounded: "So according to the current consumption rate, how long can the food last?"

Fiona almost counted the numbers out of reflex and blurted out: "30.86 months!"

This question originally had some educational implications, and Fiona's quick response and such precise calculation really gave Raven a big surprise.

It seems that this socially fearful female academic is indeed as old Gordon said, very sensitive to numbers, but he doesn't know what his capabilities are in specific economic construction.

Thinking of this, Lei Wen tapped his fingers on the table: "30.86, which is two years and seven months. It can indeed last for a long time, but the food cannot be stored well. Some of it will still have to be sold when the harvest is slow in the spring next year."

He looked at Fiona and asked: "If the food on hand can only support the current consumption for half a year, and the next batch of food will not arrive until a year later, and the overall number of people remains unchanged or may even increase, What can we do to sustain it?”

Facing Raven's gaze, Fiona suddenly panicked and said, "M-M..."

"You don't have to use honorifics." Raven said, "You just need to state your plan."

At the same time, Old Gordon also looked at his granddaughter with encouraging eyes.

Fiona tried to calm her heartbeat, and her mind quickly became immersed in the numbers: "If it can only last for half a year, it will be 242,712 kilograms of semolina."

"We can provide them with supplementary food!" Fiona said.

Raven shook his head slightly disappointedly: "There is no supplementary food."

As if she was choked, Fiona thought for a moment and asked, "Can I ask how many people consume food every month?"

Lei Wen thought for a moment and replied: "There are 546 people in total, 189 of them will receive 50 kilograms of grain as a monthly subsidy."

"In this case, excluding subsidies, the food consumption per person per month is..." Fiona replied almost without pausing: "About 64 kilograms, about 2.1 kilograms per day."

Fiona's thinking seemed to be getting smoother and smoother. Her eyes moved quickly: "Since there is a food shortage, the subsidized food can be cancelled. This will save 0.945 million kilograms per month."

"As long as 0.756 kilograms of couscous flour can be saved from the daily rations per person, even if the food consumption per person per day is reduced to 1.344 kilograms, the couscous flour that can only last for half a year can be increased to a year!"

Raven showed a satisfied smile: "Very good, what should we do specifically?"

Not sure if it was because of Raven's encouragement, Fiona spoke more fluently: "You can change the composition of the food! For example, if you have two meals a day, you can only provide wheat porridge in the morning, and add loess into it to increase the viscosity. Spend."

"For dinner, you can mix sawdust and bran into the bread. In this way, the food consumption can be reduced by part, without making them feel that they are eating too little food."

Raven frowned as he listened and looked at Fiona with a strange expression.

This girl looks weak and weak, but when she cuts it, it turns out to be black. This idea will definitely make those soldiers and workers scold her!

Well done!

Not only are you sensitive to numbers, but you also have your own opinions on specific governance levels, which is a goal worth cultivating.

Thinking of this, Raven said with praise: "Fiona, that's a good answer. If you are just a staff member or an accountant, your talents are quite qualified."

Fiona was very happy at first, but after hearing the second half of the sentence, she felt a little unhappy, and her face suddenly turned gloomy.

Mr. Staff and Accountant, that’s not what I want to do!

Seeing her dissatisfaction, Raven asked with a smile: "You think I look down on you, right?"

Fiona still lowered her head and said nothing.

Raven was not angry about this. It was normal for a little girl who had just left school to have her own arrogance and confidence.

He said slowly: "If you are not convinced, how about I give you a question to test you?"

Fiona nodded heavily.

Raven thought for a moment and said slowly: "Your grandfather's main job next is to build Eagle Town and make Eagle Town prosperous again. As his assistant, of course you have to provide help and advice."

"So, the question is: If you were asked to preside over the construction of Eagle Town, what building do you think should be built first?"

Fiona said immediately without thinking, "School!"

"Oh?" Raven showed an expected smile: "Why?"

"Because talents are the foundation for the development of the territory." Fiona said confidently: "The reason why Eagle Town is poor is because the people in the territory lack sufficient education and knowledge and do not know how to change the current situation."

"It's too late for this generation, but their children may still change. Building schools can improve the cultural quality of the people, broaden their horizons and wisdom, and grow into excellent people. With them here, Eagle Town will certainly Be rich."

Fiona said these words with confidence, but she didn't get the slightest response. She gradually became a little anxious. She slightly raised her eyelids to look at Raven, but she met his eyes and saw the joking expression. With a look in his eyes, he quickly retracted his head.

"Fiona, you can't do this." Raven chuckled and said, "If you can't face your mistakes, you will never grow."

When Fiona heard this, she felt both dissatisfaction and fear in her heart. In the end, the former defeated the latter, and she raised her head and looked directly into Raven's eyes.

But it immediately moved to the cheek.

Lei Wen did not insist on this, but said: "The only and fundamental mistake you made is that you are too confident and only understand theory but not pragmatism."

Fiona's mouth pursed slightly.

Raven knew that nothing could convince her: "You said building a school is a great idea, but I have two questions that I need you to answer."

"First, since it is a school, there must be teachers. Where are you going to find them? How many will you find?"

"I know you graduated from the Nordschleife, but with your personality I'm afraid you don't have many friends. Even if you did, who would be willing to teach in a remote place like Eagle Town? How much salary do you need to impress them? ?”

"Second, the school is for students, where do the students come from?"

"Don't forget, the people of Eagle Town are all desperately poor. Every child is an important labor force. Why do they send their children to school? Even if they do, you know how expensive a book is. What do they pay for the textbooks?”

When Raven asked the first question, Fiona was still a little dissatisfied, but when the second question came out, she was immediately confused.

She could think of many answers to Raven's question, but every one of them was rejected by herself.

This was the first time she had encountered this kind of situation, and it was completely different from the exams she usually experienced.

"It's good that you have a clear goal." Seeing her uneasiness, Raven advised: "You have learned a lot from school, but the most important thing is how to apply this knowledge to practical aspects."

"Knowledge is indeed important, but that needs to wait until they are full."

“Only when people are not overwhelmed by life can they have time to look up at the stars.”

Fiona lowered her head again: "...I'm sorry."

Old Gordon was shocked when he saw this scene. This was not a transactional conversation, but a daily communication!

My granddaughter finally dared to confide in others!

"The last question." Raven took a sip of Angel Tears: "If you are given a brand new industry to produce products that have never been seen in the world, its raw materials are quite cheap, it can be said that there is no cost, and the craftsmanship is difficult to replicate. , how do you plan to run it?”

"You can say whatever you want, there is no standard answer to this question."

"What is the use of the finished product? What is the production volume?" Fiona asked.

"...You can think of it as a kind of furniture for women." Raven said: "The production is very large, and hundreds of pieces can be produced every month. The larger the size, the more practical it is."

Fiona thought carefully, pursed her lips, and gave the answer after a while: "Since the cost is very low, and it is furniture, the target customers can target the urban middle class, ship in large quantities, and sell one piece... ...Well, about 30 silver coins! About the price of a solid wood wardrobe.”

"In this way, if you ignore the labor cost and count 300 pieces per month, that is a profit of 90 gold coins!"

"Very good." Raven nodded slowly: "This is indeed a good idea, but do you want to hear my thoughts?"

Fiona nodded.

Raven said slowly: "If I were to run the business, then the target customers would not be civilians, but nobles, and big nobles at that!"

"The price of each piece is not 30 silver coins, not 90 gold coins, but starts at 3,000 gold coins!"

"Why?" Fiona had a very puzzled expression on her face.

"Because it's unique." Raven began to follow suit: "Only I can master this craft. Even if the raw material is just mud, I have the final say on its price."

"Who is the least short of money on the continent? The nobles! Who is the most willing to spend money on useless luxuries? Or the nobles! And they are female nobles!"

"3,000 gold coins is just the beginning." Raven's voice became deeper and deeper: "You think, the one who is willing to spend 3,000 gold coins to buy such a useless thing must at least be a lady or a lady from the Earl family. When they show off these things, others What will the nobles think, and what will the ladies and ladies of the Marquis family think? Will they want something bigger and more gorgeous?"

Fiona's eyes widened, completely convinced by Raven, and she nodded vigorously.

"Then it's easy. If the Earl family buys something for 3,000 gold coins, then the Marquis family can't offer a lower price. As long as it's just the slightest bit better, they might spend 5,000, 8,000, or even 10,000 gold coins to buy it!"

"I understand!" Fiona's eyes flashed with surprise, and Raven brought her to a whole new world: "There is a duke above the marquis, and there is a king above the duke!"

"As long as the quantity of products is controlled, the price of this kind of thing will get higher and higher and become synonymous with luxury goods! At that time, the money that can be earned is simply... just..."

She has completely fallen into the scene described by Raven. If there is such a thing, the gold coins that can be earned through it are simply beyond her imagination!

For the first time in her history, she felt admiration for a person, not because of status or wealth, but because of intelligence and brains.

Now she really understands why her grandfather admires Baron Raven so much!

Old Gordon looked at this scene and smiled like an aunt, with an old face like a blooming chrysanthemum.

What he was most worried about was that Fiona would not be able to integrate into the Griffith family, but now Lord Raven has clearly shown his appreciation for her and even spent time teaching her personally.

It's like a teacher teaching a student.

Fiona was obviously shocked by the Baron's words. This was the first time that Old Gordon saw her look with such respect and admiration.

"Then... man..." Fiona swallowed: "Does that kind of product really exist?"

"Who knows?" Raven smiled mysteriously and sat up straight: "You have very good abilities and are easy to learn, which is very good. Next, you can study hard with old Gordon, help him well, and accumulate more some experience.”

Fiona nodded vigorously.

"Mr. Gordon!"

"Yes, Lord Baron." Old Gordon quickly stood up straight.

Raven drank the last bit of wine left in the glass:

"Go get Eric."

…