For the first time in a while, I didn't need to hurry.
Now that I've set the ball rolling, things would progress even while I wasn't looking.
This was the power of developing the company over the business formula.
Why should I waste away making soap, if I could spend a week to get everything set up before simply throwing manpower at it?
Sooner or later, people would find out how I make soap anyway.
I only had a short window of opportunity to make money out of this business. Because before long, there would be too much competition to rake in any real profit.
Rather than workshops, I needed a fancy shopfront. Huge number of employees over a huge number in the ledgers.
All of that, basked in the afterglow of my instant, massive success, would set the foundation for how I actually planned to make money.
'It's time to teach the locals about the late-stage capitalism at its finest.'
I sighed my worries, plans and slowly buidling-up exhaustion away.
"Are you okay, young master?"
Standing dutifully just behind my side, Shen asked.
I nearly forgot she was there.
Somehow, this damned woman managed to step into the role of my assistant as if it was her second nature!
Was it her acting talent? Dedication to the role? Or maybe something else?
"Oh right, speaking off, do you have a place you would prefer to stay at, or would you like for me to arrange for some quarters?" I asked.
This deal I made with her brothel was… quite uncommon. And while I could argue I had all the rights to her for the next week… and then a few more of those, rarely anyone would hire an escort for a full day. And to hire one for a week?
This was an uncharted territory.
And I could bet Shen thought this was all just one hell of a build-up to a kink I would reveal soon.
"Excuse me?"
As expected, Shen gave me a weird look.
"Listen, don't think of this whole thing as me paying your rate. Instead, consider this an opportunity at a different job."
With how quickly the money was coming in from the system, as long as I obediently followed its missions and instructions, then the amounts of money I would regularly move were bound to grow into some astronomical figures.
And with that kind of wealth?
It would be no longer a question if I could fully buy Shen's contract from her brothel, but for much much.
All I had to do, was just make the best use of the next few weeks, to scale my company and investments up before money could ever become an issue!
'This really starts to feel like a life on unfair cheats…'
I shook my head, dazed by the golden future I was now freely offered for just a few days of hard work.
"If possible…" Shen finally spoke out, her voice innocently fragile, as if she was ashamed to even talk about the idea of her lodging, like a shy virgin already projecting distant developments that were never going to happen to begin with.
Still, a sudden, distant echo of a pain appeared in my chest.
'That woman…!'
Shen really worked her magic.
Maybe it was her voice? An element that elevated her entire presentation beyond just some mortal levels? Was it because she used to be a songstress?
'Well, that's assuming she spoke truthfully, back then,' I chuckled in my head.
"Then," seeing how Shen continued to hesitate. "How about getting a small room at the shop?"
Shen's eyes twitched a little, her personality cracking at its seams.
"Of course, once I get everything going, I will happily set up some housing around the shop, but it's going to be quite some time before it happens."
I took a look at her before sighing and slowing down to a stop.
"But before all of that, there's one question I need to ask."
Strangely enough, I found it quite damn difficult to even breach the topic.
"Are you good enough to be my guard, or would it be better if I hired someone else for this specific task?"
Everything that I was setting up and actively doing was aimed at just one outcome - an unceasing inflow of gold. And the thicker my coffers became, the more dangerous every street in the town would become.
Even now, the five hundred gold coins I had made me a prime target for a planned robery!
Shen squinted her eyes a bit.
Then, she dropped her act altogether.
"Why did you hire me?" Shen asked bluntly while crossing her arms over her chest.
Her innocent, naive facade vanished, giving way to someone perfectly confident in themselves.
"To help me organize and sell stuff," I replied without a second of hesitation.
I already had the right words for it. An assistant and marketer… or, in this scenario, a promotor.
A role perfectly well-defined in the corporation I used to work for.
Sadly, I couldn't use those words for in this world, there concept they referred to simply didn't exist!
"For twenty gold coins a week?" Shen snapped, her bratty, real self coming out. "Don't joke with me!"
She stomped her elegant leg down on the stones on the road.
"Yes, for twenty gold coins a week," I nodded my head as I confirmed what Shen already knew. "And you are already proving your worth, every step on the way," I allowed a small smile to appear on my face. "Even by voicing those doubts of yours, you prove your mantle."
I didn't allow the cute, bratty look on Shen's face to dismay me.
"I need an assistant. Someone that will actively help me with whatever I'm doing. Effectively, someone to take the load off my back and manage stuff when I'm not around, allowing me to project my will and expectations through them."
I looked straight into the young woman's eyes.
Shen backed down a step.
She clearly wasn't used to men looking up to her eyes so boldly, so defiantly.
"And a promotor. To explain this part… Tell me, if I'm selling hot food, would I want my potential customers to be full or hungry?"
I gave the girl a moment to process the question before the obvious answer to it made her give me a weirded out look.
She was looking for a trap, a gap in her thought process…
But no, the obvious answer had to be true!
"Yes, I want them hungry. And just like I want them hungry, I also want them to be happy, because they will then spend more, and excited, because once again…"
I lowered my eyes, locking them against Shen's startled gaze.
Then…
"Then, they will spend more."
I smiled and nodded my head.
"Which is exactly, who better to ask to invite people to visit my shop than a woman who literally makes a living out of charming people?" I grinned before taking two steps back and raising my hands in a pretend-defense. "And hell, just speaking for myself here but ever since we left that brothel?"
I shook my head.
"You've been killing it, girl."