Chapter 28: Turning Stone into Gold
Now the Morel father and son are almost at the end of their rope.
Not only did they sell off some of the most valuable items in their home, they even sold a lot of shares to Miss Faria.
What they want is to occupy a certain share in the ten-day celebration three months later.
However, as the saying goes, good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone. The intention behind Herbo's invitation to the father and son to the banquet at this time is naturally self-evident.
They must find a way to stabilize this "social person".
Coincidentally, they met Viserys on their way to Morrel's house.
Both father and son felt a chill in their hearts.
After all, the second brother Long is now the most energetic one in Herbo's "dynamic social group".
And he himself could change from the reassuring shield to a sharp blade that stabs them at any time.
This put a lot of pressure on the father and son.
"Mr. Morel."
"Lord Viserys."
After the two sides greeted each other in their respective carriages, there was a brief silence.
Morel was fine, but young Labedo was on pins and needles.
Somehow, the dozen or so corpses kept appearing before his eyes.
I handled everything that happened to those people myself, and the memory of it is very vivid.
What if I become a part of them, who will take care of me?
The more Labedo thought about it, the more desperate he became.
"Mr. Herbo told me that he has prepared some good wine. It's really exciting."
After a long pause, Morel uttered an insignificant remark.
Brother Long Er only thought this was a simple greeting, so he said:
"Then let's speed up and get to the banquet earlier."
"Yeah! OK!"
Viserys urged the driver to speed up, leaving the gloomy father and son behind.
Labedo looked at the dust raised by the carriage of Brother Long Er in front of him and felt extremely sad.
He thought that in Viserys's eyes, they had become the ones being collected.
Labedo thought of the incident with the 'vicious fish eater' again, and felt his hands and feet getting colder.
He could only keep telling himself that Miss Faria had a stake in the workshop, so Herbo didn't dare to go too far.
This gives you some sense of security.
However, he knew in fact that Faria had a lot of properties under her name.
How much help can be provided to them remains to be seen.
What they rely on now is just that Herbo is not clear about the true relationship between the workshop and Faria.
In other words, the father and son were actually preparing to use the tiger's skin as a banner.
As their thoughts changed, they arrived at Herbo's mansion.
The only person with Herbo was the young accountant.
In fact, Herbo did not prepare any banquet, but just put some wine and snacks in the living room.
He saw Viserys first, and was about to say something when he saw Morrel and his son following closely behind him, so he calmly said that he would negotiate later.
But Brother Long Er did not agree with his arrangement, he had his own plans.
Even though I'm working for him now, this relationship will soon be reversed.
Everyone sat down, and Herbo asked straight to the point:
"Mr. Morrel, I heard that something happened in the workshop some time ago. I wonder how it is being handled now?"
Morrel hastily replied:
"Thank you for your concern. It has been properly handled and will not affect subsequent production."
"That's great!" Herbo raised his voice. "Let's toast to the workshop!"
After they drank a cup, Herbo continued:
"Mr. Morrel, it is an honor to work with you this time, and of course it is also thanks to Lord Viserys."
Morel and his son raised their glasses to express their gratitude to the second brother Long, and he raised his hand in response.
"Our cooperation will end in a few days, and I hope to get some money in advance. I know this request is a bit rude, but I can reduce it a little bit."
Herbo pretended to be helpless, spread his hands and said:
"I believe you understand and can comprehend that we are not alone and are responsible for many people."
"Here we go!"
The hearts of Morel and his son sank. They knew that this was a test from Herbo, and whether they could pass this test depended on today.
In fact, they don't have enough money now, and almost all of it has been invested in the workshop.
Maybe we can get some breathing space after the first batch of goods is delivered, but not now.
They even hoped that Herbo would allow them to delay the payment for a while.
Morrel looked embarrassed and said:
"I'm really sorry Mr. Herbo, we are all people who are responsible for others, and I can understand you.
Don't worry, as soon as the first batch of goods is delivered, we will pay you the reward as soon as possible."
"Yes, at the first moment." Labedo echoed.
Viserys stroked his chin and saw Herbo's expression change slightly. He watched him continue his performance with interest:
"Hey, is that so? I've heard some bad rumors recently. It's said that all the skilled workers in the workshop have left. I wonder when this first batch of goods can be delivered?"
The father and son looked at each other and smiled ugly:
"More than one, two months at most..."
"So that's after the celebration? If that's the case, not only will I have to pay interest, but also..." Herbo said seriously:
"I might also need some collateral."
"Mortgage? What do you think is suitable for us to mortgage?"
Herbo picked up the wine glass, looked at the red wine inside and said:
"Candle Workshop, I think only whale oil is valuable?"
"But, but whale oil is the raw material for making candles. Without whale oil..."
When Labedo heard this, he became anxious and wanted to "argue with reason".
But he was quickly stopped by Morel.
"Whale oil is indeed worth some money. I wonder how much you think is a suitable mortgage."
"How many do you have left?"
"About 700 koku."
"Then five hundred stones."
Morel felt something was not good. After mortgaging 500 shi, only 200 shi would be left.
Just producing the first batch of goods seems a bit stretched.
In fact, Herbo's idea was to sell their collateral to another candle workshop.
If it weren't for Faria behind this workshop, he would have taken all of it.
Just when Morel and his son wanted to say something else, a voice like the sound of nature rang out.
"Lord Herpo, that part of me is not anxious.
If I leave my part aside for the moment, I think we should leave 350 stones of whale oil for the workshop."
Labedo looked at Viserys with gratitude. He never expected that this god of death in his heart was actually such a kind person who cared about others.
Three hundred and fifty stones, if this is the case, then the raw materials for the first batch of goods will be relatively abundant.
From the perspective of the more mature Morrel, there might be some grudge or rift between Viserys and Herbor.
He actually turned against his own side at the negotiation table. There might be something fishy going on here.
As for Herbo, he glanced at Viserys with some displeasure, but he retracted his gaze in time.
'What the hell is he doing?! What is this guy trying to do!!'
"But I have two conditions."
Brother Long Er spoke calmly, his tone full of confidence.
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