Chapter 823: Chapter 821: The World of the Rich Is Beyond Imagination
“They’ve all been flattened?” Waltz was a bit surprised and puzzled after hearing Richard’s words, and asked, “Why have they all been flattened?”
Richard didn’t explain, he simply said, “Mr. Waltz, you don’t need to know the specific reason, just agree with me, and I’ll give you a large sum of money to buy your mine, which could completely solve your current predicament.”
“This…” Waltz’s expression changed, showing hesitation.
But after hesitating for just a dozen seconds, he agreed, “Alright, I agree.”
After all, his attachment to the No. 13 Mine was very shallow; he saw it merely as a tool for making money. After the massacre, in his eyes, the No. 13 Mine had become a place of ill omen, and he was eager to sell it.
“By the way,” after getting Waltz’s agreement, Richard added, “Mr. Waltz, before buying your mine, I have one request.”
“That is, after I buy your mine, I don’t want others to know, and hope that legally, the mine’s owner remains as you. If possible, I also hope you can help manage the mine and handle some affairs. Of course, I will pay you accordingly,” Richard said.
Waltz looked at Richard, frowned, and replied, “So, Master Wizard, you’re planning to hire me?”
“You could say that.”
“But hiring me doesn’t come cheap,” Waltz said seriously. “You’ve seen the situation in Shambhala Town; I want to take the money and leave as soon as possible. If you insist on keeping me, then I demand double the pay for this position.”
“I’ll give you triple,” Richard said coolly, not taking it seriously at all. “If you meet my requirements, five times the pay is possible. And once things are settled, I’ll hand back the control of the mine to you. By then, maybe there won’t be any minerals left to mine, but the land can still fetch some money.”
Hearing Richard’s words, Waltz’s mouth couldn’t help but gape, his expression became complex. After a while, he looked at Richard and asked softly, “Are all the rumors true? Are wizards like you really not short on money?”
“In fact, there are both poor and rich wizards,” Richard replied, thinking about Bobbobovic, and spoke slowly, “Most wizards are poor, maybe better off than ordinary people, but just slightly better. Only a few are rich. Fortunately, I happen to belong to the rich category.”
“Alright then,” Waltz had nothing more to say, unable to discern if Richard was simply stating facts or indirectly flaunting his wealth.
Receiving the salary, fulfilling the duty; after thinking for a while in place, Waltz entered the employed mindset, looked at Richard, and expressed his view: “Master Wizard, if you really want to hire me to manage the mine and flatten the entire mountain, then there’s one thing I must clarify for you.”
“What is it? Please speak,” Richard asked.
Waltz solemnly replied, “That is, it might be very difficult to hire enough miners locally in Shambhala. After the massacre, all the miners fled and refused to return, seeing this place as a den of devils in their eyes.
Even though I personally went into the mine and confirmed there’s no danger inside, persuading the miners is too difficult. Moreover, mysterious attacks keep happening, causing more miners to lose their lives. Recently, it’s been a bit quieter, but fear still looms over many, making them unfit to work. Therefore, hiring qualified miners will require looking outside Shambhala Town.”
After hearing these words, Richard thought for a few seconds and shook his head saying to Waltz, “Mr. Waltz, it’s actually not that complicated. First, I need to tell you, the attacks won’t happen again, as the culprit behind them has been dealt with by my companions—the other wizards.”
“Dealt with?” Waltz was initially stunned, then blinked in excitement, breathing rapidly as he asked, “It’s really dealt with? What was the culprit continuously attacking people and killing Hua Nuo? Was it really a demon?”
“No, not a demon; just some beasts with extraordinary abilities, which we call Demonized Creatures. They are indeed very dangerous and ferocious to ordinary people like you, but to us, they’re not strong enough—once they catch our attention, there’s no escape but death,” Richard said.
“I see…” Waltz’s lips moved, his eyes darted around, unsure what he was thinking.
“So!” Richard took a deep breath and said to Waltz, “I believe, barring any surprises, in a few days, when the people in Shambhala Town realize the attacks have ceased, their fear should hopefully ease, making hiring miners less difficult. Of course, if it’s still difficult and the miners resist and fear coming here to work, the solution is simple.
I have always believed money is the simplest means to resolve matters in any world. Money might not solve every problem, but it resolves most. If miners are unwilling to come, then raise the wages. Start with a 50% increase; if that’s not enough, double it. Still not enough? Double, triple!
I once heard a saying: If there’s a 10% profit, it’s guaranteed to be employed everywhere; with 20%, it becomes active; with 50%, it becomes adventurous; for 100%, it dares to trample all human laws; with 300%, it dares to commit any crime, even risking capital punishment.
Now, I’m offering 300% profits. Even if the miners aren’t tempted, I believe intermediary merchants will be. They’ll voluntarily help us hire external miners and hand them over for our use, while you, Mr. Waltz, just need to follow some of my plans to manage everything at the mine well.”
“I—” Waltz looked at Richard, his mouth gaping wide, and after a while, asked Richard seriously, “Master Wizard, you’re not just an ordinary wealthy wizard, are you?”
“You should be among the wealthiest of the wealthy, the richest among wizards,” Waltz said earnestly.
“Heh, in some sense, you could say that,” Richard didn’t deny it, thought for a moment, and said, “Actually, for me, money is just a tool. It has never let me down when I wanted to use it, which is very nice.”
“Uh…” Waltz responded, looking at Richard, with a somewhat complex expression.
He couldn’t help but recall that at his wealthiest, he only had a few thousand silver coins. And in Richard’s eyes, those silver coins might just be a rounding error, or perhaps… not even that.
The world of wealthy wizards, he truly couldn’t imagine…