Chapter 660: Early Morning

The next day, Wayne woke up early, emerging from his cabin before dawn.

Due to his personal preferences, all facilities that the Detective Agency had extensively renovated had remarkably convenient running water for that era.

Pipes connected to several elevated water tanks were buried throughout the workshop, not only directly supplying key areas like the kitchen, mill, and workshop, but also covering the partners' cabins, Agent dormitories, and washrooms. There were even several outdoor faucets for daily use.

Although the water pressure wasn't entirely sufficient, and some of the system used rubber hoses, which had unstable and short lifespans in those days,

even the Brook Factory engineers who helped renovate the mill remarked that all the cabins in the workshop combined weren't as valuable as this entire water supply system. Alex Brook had even arranged for people to observe the workshop's hot water system, considering developing it into a more refined set of complementary products for sale.

At this hour, the workshop's early morning production hadn't officially begun. After the night-shift Agents had conducted their checks, the slaughterhouse's delivery wagon had already unloaded barrels of fresh meat under the shed next to the mill.

Meanwhile, the Plantation slaves, who were not officially but also not too secretly moonlighting, were gradually gathering.

Doug, the 'Butler,' was currently in charge of this section's management. With his help, Wayne felt there shouldn't be any major problems.

So, at this moment, he was munching on bread he'd snuck from the kitchen, chatting with the new member, Hope, who had also woken up surprisingly early.

Hope, his hands still busy, continued to answer Wayne's questions honestly:

"The army didn't actually have a mandatory requirement to polish boots, but many commanders came from prominent families and were quite particular about soldiers' appearance. Therefore, despite no explicit regulations, many garrisons had similar daily routines. I'm just used to it."

Even during the War of Independence, leather boots in the strict sense were considered quite respectable and valuable everyday items. Even the soles had to be leather-wrapped wooden linings. Poor families, even if they owned a pair, wouldn't wear them out every day for no reason.

After the invention of vulcanized rubber, there were cheaper options for waterproof and mud-resistant materials, but some concepts persisted. In fact, even though machine-made shoe lasts and stitching machines existed, leather shoes still required manual assembly. Most families would generally wait until the soles were nearly worn through before replacing them.

Wayne casually listened to the Popular Science while subtly peeking at Little Black Girl and her little black brother, who were having a private meeting between the cabins a short distance away.

He casually asked a question that was equally unimportant yet curious, "By your aesthetic standards, do you consider that slave handsome?"

The two figures over there also seemed to be talking, their hands already clasped face-to-face. It looked like as they chatted, they would soon lean into each other.

His voice here inadvertently lowered, making him a little worried if the scene would become indecent, yet also slightly anticipating it.

Hope's voice beside him sounded very innocent: "I can distinguish the slaves' appearances, but as for handsomeness… I might not be able to judge very well…"

"If you disregard the influence of skin color, I think he's not bad. Compared to 'Soften,' they both seem to have their own unique characteristics, but I'm also very curious if they have particular aesthetic preferences."

Inessa's voice naturally joined the discussion, and then she asked, "What do you think?"

I didn't expect that,

you also got up this early specifically to gossip?

Just as Wayne was about to answer, Lina's voice was already whispering beside him: "Compared to aesthetics, financial issues might be a bigger problem. I roughly chatted with Alicia yesterday. According to her current salary, if the two of them still want to have some living expenses, it will probably take many years to pay off their debt.

"'Soften' doesn't have personal contract issues. And even if that Isaiah chooses to join the workshop, his future income should be difficult to surpass 'Soften's'—Alicia's contract price is high, which is a considerable debt burden for a slave."

Oh, this...

Wayne didn't really care about that money; he could even directly waive it for them. After all, Little Black Girl, that beautiful mixed-race slave, was essentially given away by the Beaton Family.

However, considering the issues of manpower and work enthusiasm, he felt this precedent shouldn't be set casually. At the very least, Little Black Girl would need to maintain good performance or have some commendable contribution.

...Damn it, the Exorcist Association must have viewed Inessa in the same way, right?

In this regard, he was truly a bit of "opposing the church," "understanding the church," and "becoming the church"...

Seeing that the two figures over there had already pressed close together and it seemed no overly intimate interactions would occur, Wayne, not intending to focus his gaze and carefully observe, withdrew his attention.

As he was relaxed and thinking, he turned his head and was suddenly taken aback, a little exasperated, "Why are all of you gathered around?"

Besides the neatly dressed Inessa and the messy-haired Lina, there were also Doug and several Agents preparing for their shift change.

Even Connal, who was responsible for taking the new members on a tour today, and Sanders, who was to drive Wayne, were there. Parrot, that ground-dwelling chicken, was even perched on the eaves, looking down at everyone.

Connal now had some of Liam's essence: "So the person 'Soften' fancies is actually Miss Lina's slave maid. I think I know how to provoke him in the Arena next time."

Hmm...

Then be careful not to get ambushed by the intelligence team, bagged, and clubbed later...

If that really happened, Wayne felt it would fall under the category of "understandable circumstances." He would probably only symbolically give "Soften" an internal reprimand, with the focus being on publicizing Connal's misfortune.

Afterward, Doug asked if they should slightly postpone the start of work. Wayne's capitalist conscience made him reject the proposal.

Soon, the usual whistle sounded next to the mill, and the large crossbeam used for the windmill's brake was released from the ground again.

Everyone went about their business, and Wayne also went to the dining hall to wait for breakfast.

The meat delivery cart workers, as usual, earned some extra money by running an errand, bringing the latest newspaper to the workshop. Wayne's eyes were immediately drawn to a large headline on the front page:

"Gold flakes found in multiple locations along the Coloma River in California! Geologists speculate that a large gold mine may exist there, with a total value potentially exceeding 100 million US dollars!"

Upon closer inspection, the Fisk Family had already purchased almost an entire river valley's worth of land in that area.

Although the exact reserves were unknown, and the estimated extraction period was quite long, it was expected to make their already wealthy family even more overflowing with riches...

Holy cow,

although he knew that discovering a gold mine actually required considerable investment—those things were often scattered, and theoretically, lucky people could get rich overnight, but in reality, most people might not pan for many grams of gold even after digging for a year or two within a mine's boundaries. In those days, it was actually a slow, labor-intensive, long-term endeavor.

Moreover, purchasing land, especially preventing prospectors from illegally mining, also required large expenses. Holding onto land was not just about money; ordinary families might have to sacrifice their lives.

But it was truly hard not to be envious.

Just as Wayne was eating his freshly fried steak and liberally sprinkling it with holy water—unfortunately, Lina was either taking a bath or going back to sleep, otherwise, he would have someone to share his anti-rich sentiments with—Doug walked over at this moment:

"Sir, Miss Olivia has come to visit, and with her is Mr. Luke Matthew from the academy."

Combining this with the newspaper news just now, their early visit today...

Wayne grabbed a napkin and started wiping his mouth, "Please escort them to the reception room immediately. I'll be right there."

Before he finished speaking, Miss Olivia's face peeked out from behind the doorframe, tilted.

Compared to the familiarity and warmth in her expression, Miss Olivia's already high beauty after dressing up was, in Wayne's eyes, almost negligible at this moment:

"Ian's letter that came with the ship reached me too late. I haven't even had breakfast yet."

If you're willing, I'll have the slaughterhouse butcher a cow right now and send it over!

Good thing I wasn't in a hurry to leave today, otherwise, I'd probably be slapping my thigh in regret later.

That mere Sailor Gang almost ruined my important business.