Mystery: The Stars Returner

Hillston District.

Hasta specially spent two days here to inspect the projects and companies he was interested in, mainly to see what kind of person the person in charge of the project and company was.

If the person in charge is not good, no matter how good the project is, it will be difficult to succeed. If you meet those greedy guys, it is estimated that how much money you invest will be how much money he dares to embezzle.

Hasta has always had zero tolerance for such corrupt elements.

So in the end, out of the six projects and eight companies he inspected, only two projects and two companies remained, and their main directions were industrial research.

In order to make himself legally defensible in the future, Hasta hired a more capable lawyer from his own law firm and asked him to be responsible for signing a series of investment agreements.

He himself also took this opportunity to become addicted to being a lawyer again.

After all this work and finally having time, Hastur accepted Grek's invitation.

When he was busy in the Hillston area these past two days, Greco had always wanted to invite him out for a meal, but he didn't have time until now.

In a private room of a Feneport-style restaurant, Hasta and Greco were chatting about some business matters while tasting delicious food.

Greco was interested in imparting some business experience to Hasta. He told Hasta many business cases and secrets, and also told him some unspoken rules in the business world.

Hastur listened silently. He was really not good at this aspect, and Greco's appearance just helped him make up for this shortcoming.

"Grek, I am more optimistic about the grain industry in the future, what do you think?"

Hastur, who had received a favor for nothing, deliberately began to guide Grek to pay attention to food issues.

Greco frowned slightly and said: "We are in the reform period now, and the land of the nobles is not valuable. With the abolition of the Corn Laws, grain prices are generally low and weak, and there is no possibility of recovery in a short time. This is not a good investment. direction."

"Precisely because noble land is worthless right now, it is a great opportunity for us to acquire land. If there is a large-scale war in the future, won't food prices rise with the tide?"

Greco was satisfied that Hastur had his own ideas and opinions, but he still rejected Hastur's judgment.

"Some time ago, before the Corn Laws were implemented, our Negan family had sold a lot of land in advance. My father and uncle would not agree with our family going back to the old path of land. Industry and banking are It is the focus of our future layout.”

"You are right about one thing. This is indeed the best time to acquire land at this stage. But there is one thing you did not consider. A large amount of land means that you need to hire a large number of farmers to manage it."

"Nowadays, wages for working in factories are generally two to three times that of farmers. Generally, farmers who can work hard will choose to work in factories as much as possible. If you want to retain people, you need to spend more wages."

"There may indeed be wars in the future, and food prices will inevitably rise accordingly, but the future is too far away and unpredictable. The money wasted during this period may already exceed your possible future profits."

Greco paused for a moment and then smiled: "One more thing, even if food prices rise in the future, our profits from industry and banking will still be far greater than from agriculture."

"So no matter which aspect you consider, buying land to grow food is not the best choice for our Negan family."

Hasta listened silently. He had to admit that what Greco said was very reasonable. The benefits of arranging industry and banks were far greater than agriculture.

This is the inevitability of the progress of the times.

But there was one thing that Greco didn't know.

The future of war between nations is not far away, and the financial industry is a rootless creature in troubled times, not as substantial as a bag of white grain.

It will only be more than ten years before the doomsday comes, and the current industrial development is extremely limited.

And the most important point is that the Negan family really doesn’t need much food, but they need it themselves.

There is a saying that goes like this: Build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and become king slowly.

With the upcoming war between the nations and the participation of various ancient powers from the outside gods, the world in the future will definitely be in chaos.

For Hastur, having enough food is his true foundation in troubled times.

When war brings famine, a mouthful of food can make people work for him.

Hastur nodded, and did not try to persuade Grek any more, but said: "You are right, Grek, but I still need to purchase a large amount of land, preferably land in South Wales County."

Greco thought for a while and said with a smile on his face: "I remember that the territory of your Campbell family is in South Wales, right?"

"Yes, if there is a chance, I would also like to redeem the territory that originally belonged to our Campbell family. It would be best to acquire the lands of other nearby nobles as well." Hastur did not hide this matter.

"Well, now is indeed a good time, and you do need a lot of territory. I can help with this matter."

Facing Hasta's slightly lit eyes, Greco smiled and explained a few words.

Currently, many nobles are on the verge of bankruptcy. They have long wanted to sell the land they own, but almost no nobles will take it over at this time unless the price they offer is very low.

The Negan family is at the top of the great nobility and has a lot of information about the nobles. Naturally, the nobles of South Wales are also included in that information.

It is not difficult for Greco to help Hasta find sellers and lower the price.

Hastur sighed: "Grek, I am so lucky to know you."

"Oh, what a pity, Hastur, why are you a boy?" Greco sighed pretending to be regretful.

"It's a pity indeed, Greg, why aren't you a girl?"

Hasta dropped the topic again, and then picked up a piece of fragrant beef with a knife and fork.

"Hasta, you really don't want to suffer at all."

"Grek, I always think you are more generous than me, so I will wrong you again."

"..."

Greg shook his head and laughed, and began to taste the food.

After dinner and the main conversation, Greco asked curiously: "I heard from Hibbert that Earl Hall asked Audrey to invite you to his home?"

"Well, just tomorrow night."

"Hastur, do you think this will be the beginning of something good for you or a beginning of misfortune for you?"

"I don't think Earl Hall will embarrass a junior like me. After all, he has always been very aristocratic."

Greco smiled and said, "It's hard to tell. In addition to being a graceful nobleman, he is also a father who loves his daughter."

"Grek, did you misunderstand something?"

"Hasta, do you think there is really a misunderstanding here?"

"..."

Hastur had difficulty answering this question for a moment, his brows furrowed slightly, and then relaxed.

It must be that Earl Hall misunderstood that he and Audrey were just normal friends.

Or perhaps Greg had misunderstood, and Earl Hall's invitation was just for a meal. After all, as a parent, he always wanted to see what kind of person his daughter's recent friends were.

……

Sunday night at 6pm.

Hastur got on the carriage heading to Earl Hall's house with Butler Neil's ardent expectations.

On the carriage, Hastur remembered Butler Neil’s encouraging eyes and proud expression. Butler Neil seemed to be proud that his pig would finally eat other people’s cabbage.

This sense of déjà vu is too strong.

Hastur opened his mouth to explain that there was nothing between him and Audrey, but Butler Neil just listened with a smile on his face and regarded his explanation as a shy expression of embarrassment.

"Everyone of you thinks about the relationship between men and women. Can't you be more open-minded? Can't you and Audrey just be ordinary friends?"

Hastur sighed and stopped thinking about these troublesome questions.

Let's think about how to bribe Earl Hall later, well, I should say to please him.

Hastur closed his eyes slightly and began to recall the information about Earl Hall that Greco had given him before.

For example, what does Earl Hall like, what is he good at talking about, what abilities does he value most in his juniors, and what are the minefields that need to be paid attention to when getting along with him.

The more he thought about it, the more awkward Hastur felt.

Why does this feel like a son-in-law coming to meet his father-in-law?

Hastur's mood became more complicated

The carriage rumbled forward and arrived outside Earl Hall's villa.

Hastur got off the carriage, and the person who came out to greet him was Hibbert, the eldest son of Earl Hall.

After greeting him cordially and friendly, Hibbert whispered, "Earl Hall is not in a good mood tonight. You have to be careful."

"...Isn't that the case?"

"This is your first time visiting my house. Shouldn't you leave a good impression on the elders?"

Hastur understood immediately, and Hibbert also misunderstood.

He could only say: "I will try my best to deal with it carefully. I also believe that Earl Hall is a very elegant nobleman."

Hibbert patted Hastur's shoulder and said, "If you feel you can't hold on, you can ask Countess Hall for help."

"..."

Hasta opened his mouth, really wanting to explain himself.

I'm just here to be an ordinary guest, why would everyone be so imaginative?

But he still had no explanation in the end. No matter how much he explained to Hibbert, he would only regard it as an excuse for his shyness.

Hastur remained silent and followed Hibbert on the winding path through the fountain area, arriving in front of a large and luxurious house that had opened its door.

"Don't feel so heavy. Just relax. Our Earl Hall doesn't like a young man who is too restrained."

Faced with Hibbert's careful reminder, Hastur could only face it with a polite yet awkward smile.

You can't say that the reason why you were silent along the way was because you didn't want to talk to him.