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Chapter 54 – Tomorrow.

[Mike]: Halim’s attendant hired me.

[Me]: Name?

[Mike]: Ashod. He is Halim’s right hand man. Arranges dirty jobs and looks after his private business.

Halim having private business was a news to me. This world really corrupted to the core.

[Me]: How much has he paid to you?

[Mike]: 100 golds. I was planning to pay the mercenaries 20 golds each and keep 40 to myself.

[Me]: 20 should be enough to go to Land of Tat’s... Give me the rest.

I got 80 gold coins from Mike. Made sure that he departed to Land of Tat’s by ship next morning over lake Kasp. By this time, young me has already flied with balloon to Mehn.

I sat in a restaurant near the port to make sure that the boat that Mike got on didn’t come back.

As Ulfberht had told me before, I could not inform my young self about my existence at all. Because he could do change the flow of time by doing things such as avoiding going to Luna’s world with Gorn. In that case, rationally my existence would be impossible as I can not be here if he does not travel to that world. I would fade away as if I have never existed from the beginning.  

It was a good time to drink coffee and make plans about future. My future. How could I save my family? Should I become vizier or king? What I could do to pave a new path for myself while trying not to destruct it? Many questions arised as the possible answers to them in my mind. I asked for a pen and paper to write on while drinking coffee. King Dar hasn’t died yet, has he?

I bought a ticket to fly to Mehn that afternoon and flew there next morning. It took a day’s flight to reach Mehn. Business was on my mind and I knew exactly what I have to do.

There were some stupid laws such as if you had a bakery inside Mehn city, as owner of the bakery you had to pay lots of taxes. You had to pay for each worker that you had employed, there was land tax on bakery building, additionally sales taxes and so on. But if your bakery was just outside the Mehn you didn’t pay none of those taxes to city officials. Extra cost would be transportation of bread and sweets to city.

As soon as I reached air port in Mehn, I went out of city to village named Nanwei. It was few kilometers away from Mehn but was closest village to it. I bought a small 2 store house in Nanwei for 60 gold coins. Same day arranged a big oven to be build in it. It was going to take a week to properly install an oven in the house and I used that time to my advantage. For the first three days, I found 6 women from the village who could work for me to make bread and traditional sweets. I was going to pay 1 gold coin a month to each of them for their hard work. I talked with village elder so that I do not pay any kind of tax to them in return I will employ 6 women whether I make any profit and I will buy flour and yeast from locals at a market price.

Later on I went back to Mehn to talk with shops who could sell my bread. I had made my calculations and by using one horse to carry load of breads to Mehn was going to cost me 2 copper coins a bread. In Mehn shops were buying breads for 5 copper coins and selling them for 6. I was going to sell for 3 copper coins.

Three shops had order 1100 breads for first delivery. By the afternoon, three messenger’s from those shops came with money for delivery and additional money for next day’s order. On second day of trade we were already baking more than 5000 breads a day. Business was booming, and I hired another 6 women. In less than a week after beginning sales I ordered another two ovens to be installed in the house.

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Once in a while I was checking out my young self. He was doing fine which meant I had to do better.

Bread and sweets that we were making was of the best quality and in Mehn shop’s were already advertising that their products were from “Luna’s bakery”. Rain, snow, cloud or sunny the weather I was wearing long robe with a hoodie. I had fake beard on my face all the time and was going by the name Bartholomew in Nanwei.

I was going after more opportunities in Mehn city. Bakery business had accumulated not that much of money but it was going to help me out in the long run. I rented a small restaurant in Mehn’s boulevard. By using the income from bakery I invested in it and used Marquis Lucchi’s methods to increased my income.

Restaurant had a view to Kasp sea. I had a high payed chef who could cook lots of different styles of meals and good looking girls as waitresses to serve the customers. There were 2 bodyguards at the entrance at all times.  I had hired 4 of them. They were working in half an hour shifts. A customer who wanted to enter the restaurant had to pay 1 gold coin at the entrance. It was a high class restaurant, not for everyone to enter. Sometimes a rich man would pay almost few hundred gold coins a day just to reserve it only for its family on a special occasions such as birthdays.

“The Chevalier” was restaurants name. As you entered the restaurant, you had to pay 1 gold coin to the man sitting at the beginning of the hall. Waitress would come to you and ask for your coat or hats to be put on stand’s for customers while giving you a number plate to keep. While giving your coat to the waitress, doorman would ring the bell and another waitress would come from inside to show you to your table according to number of people you have come up with. Same would be around your table all night long until you left, taking your orders, serving you meal and drinks. All the meals and drinks would be served by waitress to your glass or plate. Most of your needs would be taken care of as much as you dined with us. Live music was played all of the working hours.

“The Chevalier” project was my ticket to enter elite of Mehn. Important merchants, traders, courtesans, minister’s were regulars of my restaurant. They knew me personally. Others were trying to imitate my style but couldn’t. You can wear my shoes but can not walk the way I do. It was 2 months that I had opened baker and a month that I was running “The Chevalier” that a messenger came to see me.

[-]: I am Aaron. Ricat’s nephew.

[Me]: Who’s Ricat?

[Aaron]: He is an influential merchant. Uncle has been to your restaurant quite a few times.

[Me]: I was told that you have a message for me?!

[Aaron]: Yes, uncle Ricat wants to talk business with you in private. Mr. Bartholomew would you mind coming over to Ricat’s mansion tomorrow afternoon?

[Me]: Alright, pick me up at 11, tomorrow.

Next: Chapter 55 - Proposal