Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Yami had been rather troubled recently.

The Literacy Class was about to end, yet he still had not decided what to do in the future.

It was said that above the Literacy Class there was an Advanced Class, a realm far beyond what he could reach for now. He once went to ask Miss Zoe about it, but was kicked out. Zoe impatiently warned him: “Don’t cause trouble.”

To be honest, Yami felt somewhat wronged. Wasn’t this just a normal question? How did it count as causing trouble?

After all, he hadn’t really followed the Literacy Class properly for more than a few days before being called away by Lord—ah no, not the Lord of Blood Harbor—by Lord Hughes himself, to read some leisure books like 《Linear Algebra》, 《Complex Functions》, 《Probability Theory》.

Interesting as those books were, they could not fill his stomach.

Therefore, Yami could not make up his mind on what to do in the future.

He had originally planned to join the Expeditionary Army, but recently Castel’s strategy seemed to have shifted. The Expeditionary Army was no longer recruiting in such haste. It was said that the situation at the frontlines had changed, and perhaps rapid reinforcements were no longer necessary.

Of course, Yami understood what that meant. He prayed in his heart for those pitiful people of the Northlands.

But this truly disrupted his plans.

For now, it seemed he could only enter a factory. Castel had not suspended the Grand Expedition’s plan. Instead, they had increased investment. They just were not rushing to send troops to the Northlands anymore, but instead kept building basic infrastructure in Blood Harbor. It was said that the rails for the Grand Expedition in the future would be produced in Blood Harbor itself.

This troubled Yami a little. Going around to get some food, moving books for Miss Zoe and arranging the classroom was not a big problem, but if he was told to forge railway tracks in the steel factory…

Yami looked at his thin arms and legs, and the belly grown round from freeloading meals at the Literacy Class, and felt no confidence at all.

The future looked utterly dark.

Since he couldn’t think of a good way today either, Yami turned over in bed. Now that things were like this, better to sleep first.

嗒嗒嗒.

A knocking at the door interrupted Yami’s thoughts. He got down from bed and carefully removed the door board.

“.Beatrice?”

Standing at the door was a frail little girl, about twelve or thirteen years old. Her complexion was not bad. She had also been freeloading meals at the Literacy Class recently, and in fact, it was Yami who had enrolled her.

She and Granny Penny lived together, just nearby in the same alley as Yami.

Yami scratched his head. He didn’t really have experience dealing with children and didn’t know what he should do in such a moment.

“Brother Yami, do you think fries and fried fish are tasty?”

Yami froze. Why was she asking this?

But before he could even think, his head was already nodding involuntarily.

“That’s absolutely delicious!”

Fries and fried fish.

In recent times, the Literacy Class occasionally supplied these two foods. They had successfully conquered everyone. Every person who went to attend—or rather, to freeload—praised them endlessly.

Yami couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. That slightly charred crispy taste was unforgettable after just one bite.

“Why are you asking about this?”

Beatrice stepped closer, whispering mysteriously: “Brother Yami, Granny Penny and I want to open a little stall selling fried fish and fries!”

Ah, this—

“Where are you going to get oil? And besides, can others even afford it?”

Oil had always been an expensive commodity. If not for freeloading in the Literacy Class canteen, Yami could not afford fries and fried fish every day either.

“I heard quite a few Castel people are coming to aid Blood Harbor’s construction. The new factories will also begin operations. They should be able to afford it, right?”

Yami froze.

It was said that the newly opened factories gave even the lowest trainee workers a wage of twenty Leo per week. That averaged to 2.85714 Leo a day. If 30% was spent on food, each meal would have a budget of 0.2875 Leo. And that was no small sum—it could buy 1.71428 pounds of bread!

And most people surely wouldn’t mind spending a bit more to improve their lives.

Moreover, after the internship period, the workers’ wages would double again.

With a quick calculation, Yami’s eyes lit up. This business could work!

Blood Harbor was a port. Fish and potatoes were cheap ingredients. As long as oil prices weren’t too high, there was no problem at all!

Oil prices—

“But oil is still too expensive.”

“It’s fine! Brother Yami, I heard Castel is opening shops here to sell goods, and any Castel citizen can buy with coupons!”

Dumping goods into surrounding areas was the inevitable path of Castel’s outward expansion. If industrial products couldn’t be converted into Leo, piling them up in warehouses was worthless. And the Prince had no objections at all.

Hughes planned to open a few shops in Blood Harbor first as a trial. If all went well, they would expand outward from Blood Harbor to the entire Principality of Tis. Wherever the Expeditionary Army’s railway extended, Castel’s products could naturally be sold there too.

As for whether local lords agreed—

Well, wasn’t the Expeditionary Army going to the Northlands to “ask” for their opinion? Dragon’s Breath Cannon or free trade, one had to be chosen.

As for Earl Bazel, Hughes had already made that choice for him.

Among the exported goods was olive oil.

This was not something Hughes intended to profit from. As a product of early industry, it was simply part of the workers’ welfare, available via ration coupons.

The key issue was, Yami and Beatrice’s family were not Castel citizens. They could not get oil coupons.

Yami instinctively began backing out of the idea, but before he could speak, Beatrice stepped aside and pulled another little girl forward.

“Ta-da! This is my new friend. She can get olive oil! Then we can make big money together!”

Yami looked in surprise. It was a white-haired girl, about the same age as Beatrice. Her appearance clearly marked her as a Northlander from the White Raven side. She looked over timidly with anxious eyes.

“Br-Brother Yami, hello, my name is Gwen, I’m Beatrice’s friend!”

Oh no. Another little girl. Dealing with little girls was his weakest skill.

Yami reached out to shake hands, then realized it wasn’t right, hurriedly pulled back and pretended to scratch his head. His words stuttered: “Uh, y-you, hello, I, I’m Mia—ah no, Yami.”

Gwen took a wary step back, looking with troubled eyes at Beatrice beside her.

“It’s fine, he’s always been weird like this.”

“No I haven’t! Cough, no, let’s not talk about that… are you a Castel citizen? Can you get oil coupons?”

Gwen stepped back again before standing firm: “I don’t really count as a Castel citizen, but High Priest Josh took me in. He is a Castel citizen. Asking him for some oil shouldn’t be a problem.”

Yami was shocked—High Priest Josh!

That was a thunderous name in Blood Harbor! The Cult of the Hidden he founded had great prestige among the lower classes of Blood Harbor. Just speaking his name could make children cry!

Yami began trembling.