Returning unharmed to the lair of the Eagle Neighborhood and attending a dinner party alone at the nobles, Aldrich Triss was relieved by the return of Aldrich Tris, who is now a scavenger and has gone so smoothly along the way, mostly thanks to the President's patronage of the Night Watchman.

Aldrich returned to the second floor through the staircase, a room that served as a study, a bedroom, and an office space, took off the entire set of dinner dresses paid for by Rufer West, carefully arranged them, and placed them on a homemade coat rack, and changed into the standard leather armor of the Scavengers' Union, and added a moon-white linen smock to the outside.

He walked to the desk, picked up a quill from the pen holder, unscrewed the cap of the inkwell, dipped it gently, opened the palm-sized official note paper, moved gently and slowly, took the opportunity to recall what he saw and heard at the dinner, and then quickly wrote: wine, crystal salt, spices, frosted sugar, glass.

After a slight pause, he put his pen away, pondered again, and wrote on another line: Workshop. Seeing this word, Aldrich laughed to himself and thought, "It's outdated!"

"Whew!" A few black lines crossed out, and another line was raised: "Workshop", and then the quills pulled back a straight line, "Handicraft".

Tris was still thinking: "The workshop handicraft industry is now the mainstream of Eastwood City, the vast western soil, and even the Westland continent. From what I've observed and gathered, the industrial fire of coal burning has already ignited a tiny flame, and it only takes an opportunity for the age of steam to come at any moment. ”

Aldrich's long-term plans were just beginning and before he could figure out a concrete idea, an unexpected visitor arrived at the Whole Wheat Bakery and claimed to have something important to visit President Triss.

Hiding the ink on the sticky note paper, Aldrich hurried downstairs and greeted Anse Claire of the House of Representatives of City Hall at the door.

Mr. Councillor's right hand was on the brimmed hat and nodded slightly, revealing the traces of frost on his sideburns, and his eyes were bloodshot, obviously not having enough time to rest due to his busy work recently, and the faint layer of snow-white stone powder between his eyebrows could not hide his tired look.

After a brief pleasantry, Aldrich stretched out his hand to invite Councillor Claire to the second floor, where he led the way, catching a glimpse of Mr. Councillor's depressed demeanor out of the corner of his eye, swept away in front of the crowd, and his spirits became fierce, like the slave gladiator of the Southern Manor who stepped into the Colosseum.

After the two sat down, Anse Claire did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "I have been having a hard time lately, my biggest supporter Kirk is not doing well, and it is difficult to ensure that the funds for the re-election are in place, so I think of you, the honorable Knight Captain Aldrich Triss, the president of the Scavengers' Union. ”

"I'll inform the members of the warehouse management committee, and mobilize more people to cast a small vote for you, and of course, our Shiying neighborhood, and a few neighborhoods that have a good opinion of me, most of the residents should sell me this face. ”

"Not enough, far from enough, but the support of the residents is not enough, the honorable Mr. Kirk can ask all the employees of the textile mill under his name to vote, and this ...... is needed even more for re-election."

Mr. Clare's earnest count, despite the dignified gesture of counting the money with his thumb, made it no longer ridiculous, but Aldrich Triss was not yet in the groove.

"Now that the scavenger union is getting bigger and bigger, it takes a lot of 'butter' to keep it running, and of course I will donate a sum of money in my own name, and my friends in the warehouse management committee, I can convince them to make a small donation, and the residents of the neighborhood are living in a tight situation, and it may not be easy for them to pay for your re-election, after all, you have a shallow reputation in this part of the docklands. ”

"Come on. What can I do with a small donation of copper fennig and a few silver deletes, I need gold ouma, shiny and yellow gold coins, and perhaps a check from the Cedar Bank in the name of the Earl family is better...... Why are you looking at me like that?"

Aldrich Triss asked curiously, "Why should I help you like this?"

Anse Claire revisited the old story with great vigour: "Because your title of Deputy Chief of the Night Patrol is submitted to the House for deliberation and approval by me. Without this status, it is questionable whether the scavenger union can gain a foothold in the docklands, and you should be grateful. ”

This is blackmail, this is blackmail, this is a despicable villain's act, and it should not come from the mouth of Mr. Councillor whose character and intelligence are beyond ordinary people. ”

Anse Claire was silent for a rare moment, and Aldrich struck while the iron was hot: "Besides, it's just the House of Representatives, you can't do anything on the Senate side, the most important Earl of Eastwood, what do you use to impress him to sign an affirmative intention?"

Councillor Claire stirred his brain, and then let out a long breath: "In short, nothing would have happened without me taking the lead, and of course I will not ignore the personal efforts of the respected Mr. Triss. I can assure you, and I swear, that if Mr. Aldrich Triss gives me my full support for re-election, it will be rewarded. ”

After saying that, the two looked at each other, silent and silent, I don't know how long it was, Anse Claire, who couldn't hide his tiredness, blinked, and President Triss immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay, this is the last time, and the favor owed to you is over." ”

Watching Aldrich Triss take out the cheque book from the locked drawer, the evergreen pine on the cover and the snow hanging down at the top, he not only felt a little emotional: "It didn't take long for you to have your own account at Cedar Bank." ”

"Thirty-six gold oumar, for your career as a member of the House of Representatives of the City Hall, half of my net worth will be entrusted to you, and from then on we will settle the matter. ”

"Don't say it, it's so ruthless. Aldrich, my friend, will soon find out that having a strong friend in the House of Representatives at City Hall will definitely be a great help to your career. ”

Quietly leaving his seat, he walked to his desk to receive the check, and Anse Claire carefully smoothed out any wrinkles that might have been, and his eyes were full of cherished affection, as if he were looking at his lover.

Then he held up a thin cheque, "A good start! This golden ticket will be an important stepping stone for my re-election campaign, and from now on you will be one of my benefactors, respected Mr. Aldrich Triss." ”

With such a cheeky 'friend' who has no opponents, the president of the scavenger union can only shake his head and sigh lightly, the era of great change is coming, and he has to prepare in advance, but now he has to deal with the fly camp and the doggy Councillor Claire.

"Now that the start-up funds are in hand, you can't let go of the small donations from your friends, no matter how thin the mosquito legs are, they still have to encourage the residents of the neighborhood to vote enthusiastically, try to create momentum, and stir up the atmosphere of successful re-election, I guess my rookie opponent will definitely be frightened, let alone the candidate who wants to compete with me for the seat of the council. ”

Aldrich Triss spread his hands: "I am a knight, and my promise will be fulfilled, even if there are only two of us in the room, I will never deceive myself if I can deceive you." ”

"Yes, yes, it is said that you are one of the few knights who adhere to tradition, and you are worthy of the nobility of the idyllic countryside, and the precious virtues and good hearts are now scarce, but they are fully reflected in you. ”

"Overly flattering flatteries are better left to your adversary, and I will not be a subject to knightly virtues and precepts, let alone be moved by your words, and our conversation would be better to be frank and straightforward, for at least I feel better. ”

Anse Claire was unmoved, his face was as usual and he smiled slightly: "Everything is as you wish, my supporter, Mr. Aldrich Triss." ”

"Get out!" the president of the scavengers' union pointed to the door, but he couldn't help but smile.

Councillor Claire was relieved, feeling that he had touched the temper of President Triss, who had always been able to suppress his temper well against the powerful benefactor, and busily stroked his chest and bowed, and left the interior with a brisk pace, leaving the scavengers' union residence and returning to his councillor's carriage.

Thanks to the departure of Mr. Anse Claire from his post in the Engineering and Construction Management Office, the first bill introduced in the House of Deputies was unexpectedly and justifiably unanimously supported, and it became a great success and became the most popular among the new members of the House of Representatives.

He has a wide network of contacts, and he knows exactly how much money he earns from the humble work of the scavengers' union, and he can also inquire about some other hidden items from the pawn shop and flea market management, after all, it is not a secret, but many people ignore it consciously or unconsciously.

Sitting in a semi-enclosed compartment and enjoying the slight jolting of the wheels over the undulating surface of the broken road helped Anse Claire to sort through his chaotic thoughts and plan his own business, thinking: "This cheque written by Aldrich Triss, whose signature means more than the amount, represents a new force in the docklands that has become my supporter." This is certainly not clear to the Knight of Triss from the country estate, and perhaps he will figure it out later, but for the time being, tying him to my carriage will definitely help me survive the difficulties of running for re-election, and even save Mr. Kirk's career. ”

The long-standing relationship has led Mr. Anse Claire to prefer Pam Kirke, who owns a 'large' workshop, as he is a member of the wealthy merchants' association, although not a core player, but also a veteran who has held his position for many years. The two have helped and supported each other for two years.

Aldrich Triss, as soon as he had sent off Councillor Anse Claire, summoned Mr. Gorcaud, the chief butler, to inquire first about the affairs of the union, and when he heard that everything was on track, the conversation turned to the drinks.

"Following behind the bread, sir, are you going to put your hand into this lucrative business? The taverns in the dock area unceremoniously commented that nine out of ten were selling inferior liquor mixed with water, and their liquor licenses should be revoked. Where are we going to start?"

"Buying an ale wine workshop at a reasonable price and combining it into a small workshop, the friends of the warehouse management committee will provide the space cheaply, and the only thing to worry about is the final identity. A dealer who sells wine in large barrels and barrels wholesale, or is it a specialty store for customers?"

Gorcau thought about it for a while, "Wholesalers don't help to change the status quo of water-blended wine in the docklands, it's better to specialize in wine, of course, we have to get a liquor license first, and the liquor management office at the city hall is said to be not easy to follow." ”

Aldrich shook his head slightly: "Our scavengers union has a strong friend in the House of Representatives of City Hall, and he will help for the sake of 'friendship', so don't worry about the liquor license." ”

"Then I'll go out and find out which workshop is on the verge of closure because of the ale factory. ”

Knight Triss gestured to him as the only one in the room, writing and drawing with a quill pen, and continuing to think about the direction of the future.