Chapter 297
“Why do they dare to do this?”
Xia'er asked, a hint of confusion in her voice. “They know you’re from the Russell family.”
“They certainly do,”
Aivina sighed, her tone tinged with resignation. “And they also know that some people in the family would love to see me go bankrupt and return... It’s possible that certain members of the family are behind this.”
When she mentioned “certain members,” Aivina’s tone grew heavier, clearly indicating her frustration.
Logically, if Aivina went to Ansu to argue her case, she might be able to use legal means to nullify this forced acquisition, though it would come at the cost of offending the Minister of Commerce and the Minister of Finance.
Aivina could handle the fallout, but this acquisition couldn’t proceed without the tacit approval of Minister William... His lack of opposition meant he was in agreement.
This indirectly suggested that Aivina had no choice but to accept the acquisition bill; if she made a fuss, it might even attract unwanted attention from her family.
“So, they’re saying that once the railway is built, they can directly mine your quarry and process your gems at your factory before shipping them off to Ansu?”
Xia'er, not well-versed in business operations, could only think of this.
“Pretty much... They’ve left me the processing plant, and I signed a contract guaranteeing a monthly order quantity...”
As Aivina spoke, her voice grew weaker.
At this rate, the profits would be too meager to satisfy Aivina’s desire to save more money.
“How low is the acquisition price?”
Xia'er asked, curiosity piqued.
To her, a small sum shouldn’t be enough to make Aivina this furious.
“Two hundred and twenty pounds per acre.”
Aivina nearly spat the words out through gritted teeth.
“Remote, barren mining areas usually go for around two hundred pounds per acre, while normal coal and iron mines range from five hundred to two thousand pounds. Two hundred and twenty pounds... even farmland goes for a hundred pounds.”
“My three mines are all gem mines—two crystal mines and one fluorite mine. The price they offered is sixty thousand pounds.”
After hearing Aivina’s explanation, Xia'er finally understood why Aivina was so enraged.
The price offered was clearly far below market value.
Yet, that figure still left Xia'er slightly agape... She had never seen such a large sum of money.
Aivina noticed Xia'er’s expression and assumed she was merely dissatisfied with the amount, shaking her head in resignation.
“Most of the mines around Berlun are coal and iron, and there are hardly any resources that could yield high-value gem mines. So, I only have a few low-grade gem mining areas, and even if I fought for it, I couldn’t get much more.”
What troubled Aivina even more wasn’t just this.
It was the funding from the parliament.
Even if she sold these three mining areas at a loss, who knew how long it would take for the funds to be released—this was the real reason Aivina feared bankruptcy.
After sharing all this with Xia'er, Aivina felt a bit of heaviness in her heart.
All her efforts over the past few days were aimed at earning enough to ensure a carefree life for both herself and Xia'er, at least to weather the chain reactions caused by the “uniqueness” of the present world. But now, the plan hadn’t even begun before it was on the verge of falling apart, leaving her feeling quite frustrated.
But Xia'er didn’t seem to share her sentiment.
She simply reached out and ruffled Aivina’s hair, asking, “So, do you have a plan moving forward?”
Xia'er knew that with Aivina’s strong-willed nature, comforting her with phrases like “I’ll take care of you” would only make Aivina feel worse.
“Yeah.”
Aivina nodded, saying, “At least in terms of gem production and processing, my factory is the best in Berlun. I plan to import some high-quality gems specifically to create high-value accessories, which will help me bypass the issue of not having my own mining areas.”
Seeing that Aivina hadn’t been crushed by the setback, Xia'er smiled slightly, realizing there was no need for her to do anything more.
After a moment’s thought, Xia'er shifted the conversation back to business, asking, “Do you know about the lakeside banquet at Manor No. 5 on July 7th?”
“Oh... that? I received an invitation, but I haven’t decided whether to go,”
Aivina replied, looking at Xia'er with some confusion. “Are you interested in going?”
“I want to learn more about it.”
Xia'er nodded, inquiring, “Do you know who’s on the guest list?”
“Not really.”
Aivina shook her head, then pondered for a moment before asking, “Do you want the list? Openly? Or secretly?”
Xia'er replied, “It’s best if no one else knows.”
Aivina took a deep breath, straightened up, and turned to Xia'er, cautiously asking, “Is this... your intelligence network prompting you to ask?”
She seemed to recall the fear she felt when Xia'er first mentioned the “intelligence network.”
“Pretty much,”
Xia'er nodded. “There’s someone at the banquet who needs to be closely monitored, and I have to be there.”
“Is it dangerous?”
Aivina asked directly, voicing her main concern.
“Not at the moment.”
Xia'er shook her head.
A third-tier underling wasn’t really a significant threat.
“I don’t believe you.”
Aivina didn’t buy a word of what Xia'er was saying.
This was something that truly required Aivina’s help. Xia'er took Aivina’s hand and began to write on it with her finger.
“Third-tier,” “Pleasure Society,” “Subverter.”
She wrote these three words in Aivina’s palm.
Aivina took a deep breath.
A third-tier “Subverter” from the Pleasure Society?!
You call that no danger?
That place is filled with a bunch of cunning, antisocial types, and their shadows can be seen behind many major historical events. You call that no danger?
The mere presence of a third-tier “Subverter” from the Pleasure Society in Berlun was already a significant issue.
And...
“Subverters” usually hide very deeply. How did Xia'er find out...
Fine, sigh... it’s the intelligence network again.
Aivina had thought she could remain unfazed, but every time she heard the information Xia'er shared, she couldn’t help but want to distance herself from Berlun.
What exactly does the Pleasure Society want to do...
“If you hadn’t heard this news, would you still choose to attend the banquet?”
Xia'er asked.
This was crucial; they couldn’t let the Pleasure Society notice any unusual behavior from Aivina, their main target.
“I would.”
Aivina nodded, saying, “Basically, if someone personally hands me an invitation, I’ll go.”
“Then just go about your business as usual... but I can’t accompany you.”
After thinking for a moment, Xia'er asked, “Is there any way for me to attend the banquet without going with you?”
Upon hearing Xia'er’s question, Aivina thought for a moment, and an immature plan sprang to her mind.
“I know a way...”
Aivina looked at Xia'er, sizing her up, her dark purple eyes glinting with mischief, as if she was contemplating something devious.
“What’s the plan?”
Xia'er felt a chill run down her back under Aivina’s gaze.
“Generally speaking, for large banquets like this, the manor usually lacks enough staff, so they often borrow male or female servants from familiar nobles to work for a day...”
“You want me to wear a maid outfit again, Xia'er?”
Aivina finally voiced this, revealing her intentions.
It seemed she had been thinking about this for a while.
**P.S.**
Chapter 169: The Plan to Replace the Keyholder.
(A small bug has been fixed; in reality, Aivina has never seen Xia'er in a maid outfit.)
Aivina’s “plan” sounded quite reasonable, and Xia'er naturally agreed.
Now that the issue of how to get in was resolved, Xia'er only wanted to know the guest list for the banquet.
On this point, Aivina reassured Xia'er that she didn’t need to worry too much.
Although noble banquets are highly private and personal affairs, they aren’t completely without traces; after all, aside from some special events, no one goes to great lengths to keep the guest list a secret.
Moreover, the nature of the banquet on July 7th didn’t involve the extraordinary, so it was likely that only a third-tier Opode would receive an invitation.
To obtain the list, Aivina proposed two straightforward methods.
One was through the butler—generally, the preparation and invitations for banquets are managed by the butlers of noble families, and the servants of different noble families often have connections, forming a sort of hidden information network.
Aivina could contact her butler to reach out to the other family’s butler to extract the list information.
The second method was even simpler and more direct.
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