I just returned to Konoha and found that all my clan members were gone.

"They are wishful thinking!"

In the Hokage's office, Mito Kado En lost his temper before Utane Koharu, and after listening to Shikamaru's report, he directly rejected the workers' request without even any intention of negotiation.

"But the progress is really fast now, and the workers are not lazy."

Shikamaru didn't expect the consultant to react so strongly. Before coming, he specifically asked about the wages. An ordinary worker's day's wages were not enough to buy two ninja kunai, and this amount of money didn't seem like much to him.

"Shikamaru, when the construction started, the Hokage had already taken into consideration the construction period difficulties and specially raised the workers' wages before. It was already 20% more than before. It is really unreasonable for them to make such a request not long after."

Shikaku looked at his son and explained.

Baiyun Yeshan, who was born a commoner, wanted to open his mouth to say something, but was stopped by a warning look from Utatane Koharu, and in the end he was unable to utter a word.

Hinata Hiashi seemed to have nothing to do with it and had no intention of expressing any opinion.

"Okay, Counselor Mitomon, don't get so excited. The construction period is indeed shorter this time, and those workers are part of Konoha. We have to consider them too."

It was Tsunade who spoke up and resolved Shikamaru's embarrassment, otherwise he wouldn't have known how to explain himself.

"How about this? The workers' salaries will be raised by another 5%, and they must be asked to complete the project as soon as possible."

Tsunade, who was a little soft-hearted, decided to provide the workers with some more wages. It would not be a big deal if the workers really went on strike.

"Tsunade, you are too weak. I don't agree with your approach. This will only make them worse!"

Mizutomon En had no intention of backing down on this matter, as this was taking money out of his pocket.

"And we also need to pay some compensation to the technicians from Yuyin. Although there are not many of them, each of them is paid several times more than an ordinary worker. If the workers' wages increase, what will they do?"

Koharu Utatane also raised a question. This is something that can happen. What if the technicians feel unbalanced and don't teach with all their heart?

"In fact, the people of Yugyakure shouldn't care about this. Their salaries in Yugyakure weren't high to begin with, but they were given a raise when they came to Konoha. It was also stated in the agreement at the beginning."

Shikaku decided to help his son after all, allaying Tsunade's concerns.

"Anyway, I don't agree to raise the workers' wages any further. The current wages are already enough."

Mitomon En and Utane Koharu are the beneficiaries of the factory, and they are unwilling to open this loophole no matter what.

"How old are you two? Can't you think about the village?"

Tsunade scolded, saying that she always said she would consider the overall situation, so why was it wrong for her to make some sacrifices on her part?

The two consultants blushed, but they refused to speak out to agree with this matter.

"Alright! Shikamaru, go talk to the foremen. This is the last time you can raise the wages by 3%. No more than that."

Tsunade finally lowered the price. It was not glorious in any way to force money out of the consultants, but she still had to consider their feelings.

Hearing that they had to pay a little less money, they both breathed a sigh of relief. They were cunning and knew that they would be required to pay money at the beginning, but they had not decided how much.

From beginning to end, Shikamaru had no right to interrupt, and bargaining was out of the question. What he thought was a simple matter at the beginning turned out to be like this.

What can you do with 3% of the wages? Go home and buy two more buns? Shikamaru didn’t know how to face Honda Ryosuke.

Shikamaru still wanted to put up a good fight and spoke.

"Hokage-sama, just..."

"Shikamaru, put this matter aside for now and go to the hospital to see those exchange students from Amegakure."

Shikaku, who knew his son well, immediately realized how the son could do such an offensive job. How could his usually smart son become so stupid in this matter? He immediately asked him to do other things.

Shikamaru now understood his father's intention, sighed and said goodbye.

...

Just as Shikaku said, Shikamaru went straight to the hospital after leaving the office building, but what he didn't expect was that he met Honda Ryosuke here again.

"Oh, Master Shikamaru, I just wanted to look for you! Just now, a few workers fainted from exhaustion, and I rushed them to the hospital. Sigh! The wages I earned are not enough to pay for their medical treatment. What do you think I should do?"

Honda Ryosuke never mentioned the previous wage increase, but every sentence he said was about how the wage issue was going.

Moreover, he had already found out that the supervisor in charge of the factory construction was none other than Nara Shikamaru, the eldest son of the Nara clan.

"You're talking about this matter. I've already reported it to Lady Tsunade, and I think they're discussing it now."

Shikamaru has come back to his senses. It was too coincidental that this person appeared here. It was very likely that he was waiting for him. After asking around, he found out that he was not only responsible for the construction of the factory, but also had to receive the exchange students from Yugakure.

"Is that so? Then I'll have to trouble Lord Shikamaru to worry about it."

Honda Ryosuke's smile paused, but his expression remained respectful, but it was unclear how much truth there was in it.

Shikamaru frowned. He hated the other party's way of addressing him, but at the moment he was too lazy to correct the other party. He didn't know what would come up if he continued the conversation.

"Mr. Ryosuke, the workers are already well. They were all old injuries. The sudden high-intensity work caused them to faint. They have been given medicine. Hey, Shikamaru?"

The person who treated the workers was Sakura. She was very talented in learning medical ninjutsu, and in order to make better progress, she took the initiative to come to the hospital to help.

"Are you well so soon? Do you want to rest a little longer?"

Ryosuke Honda didn't expect the workers to be so useless that they couldn't even pretend to sleep. It only took a short time for the patient to be carried to the hospital. When the girl in front of him said that it was an old injury, how could he shirk his responsibility?

"Sakura, you have to check carefully. The work in the hands of these workers is very important to Konoha. If they haven't been cured yet and delay things, it will be troublesome."

Shikamaru didn't explain the reason for his visit. He glanced at Ryosuke and asked Sakura.

"I'm sure everything is fine. Go to bed early tonight and there will be no problem working normally tomorrow!"

Although Sakura was not clear about the situation, she was quite confident in her medical skills and gave a direct conclusion.

The smile on Ryosuke's face suddenly disappeared, and he wished he could find a crack to crawl into.

"Since there's nothing else to do, I won't bother you anymore. You should go check on the workers."

Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief and didn't make things difficult for Ryosuke, so he found a way out for him.

Ryosuke said sorry embarrassedly and ran straight to the ward.

Sakura was still there, so Shikamaru asked directly, "Some exchange students from Amegakure have come to Konoha in the past two days. They should all be in the hospital now. Do you know where they are?"

"You are here for this matter, I will take you with me."

Sakura's last conversation with Shikamaru ended on a somewhat unpleasant note, but later she thought about it and realized that what Shikamaru said was indeed true. She and Sasuke had already embarked on two different paths and there was no way to save the relationship.

Perhaps feeling a little apologetic, Sakura thought for a moment and said, "I haven't congratulated you on becoming a jonin yet, and it looks like you can't slack off now."

Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and said listlessly.

"That's right. I didn't expect to receive such a troublesome mission right after becoming a Jonin."