Lin Yide's face was stern, like an unmelting piece of ancient ice, his deep eyes revealing his insight into Abel's inner calculations.
This guy simply wanted to take the opportunity of settling the shipowners and crew to make a fortune.
The West Factory had limited personnel and could not personally negotiate compensation with each household.
Ultimately, the compensation issue would inevitably be coordinated and resolved through the Ship Guild, which was the root of Abel's confidence.
"Guild Master Abel, just state your conditions directly," Lin Yide said in an unfriendly tone.
A trace of embarrassment and cunning flashed across Abel's face.
He rubbed his hands uncomfortably, as if preparing for the upcoming exorbitant demand.
After a brief hesitation, he finally spoke, his tone filled with undisguised greed: "Well, to properly settle all the shipowners and crew, conservatively speaking, at least 5 billion Mora would be needed for settlement expenses."
After hearing this answer, Lin Yide was not angry. He stared at Abel with the eyes of a dead man and slowly said, "Guild Master Abel, your appetite is indeed not small, but we in the West Factory like people with 'ambition' like you."
Abel was frightened by Lin Yide's gaze, and a chill ran straight up his spine, his heart trembling.
He originally thought that Lin Yide would be furious, but he did not expect the other party to be so calm, which made him even more unsure.
But when he thought of the huge amount of Mora that he might never spend in his lifetime, Abel forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart.
He straightened his back, trying to use righteous words to cover up his guilty conscience: "Baron Yide, it's useless even if you threaten me. The shipowners and crew are also people, and they need to live."
Lin Yide snorted coldly, and then suddenly shouted loudly: "Preposterous! Abel, you dare to blackmail me and Furina for 5 billion Mora, we will never accept it!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed Furina's hand without hesitation, turned around and left, not giving Abel any chance to refute.
Abel was stunned in place, not knowing how to respond for a moment.
After he came back to his senses, he immediately got up to chase Lin Yide and Furina.
But when he rushed out of the room, he found that the corridor was empty, and Lin Yide and Furina were nowhere to be seen.
…
Lin Yide ran with Furina a mile away from the Ship Guild before stopping.
They found a bench under the shade of a tree and sat down to rest.
Furina's appearance at the moment was very different from her usual dignified and elegant goddess image.
Her petite body trembled slightly from the intense running, and crystal beads of sweat slid from her forehead, wetting her temples.
Her small face was red from exercise and excitement, as bright as the morning glow, and she was panting heavily, her chest heaving violently.
She glared at Lin Yide and asked breathlessly, "Huff… huff… you, what are you planning? Why did you suddenly pull me out of the meeting room?"
In comparison, Lin Yide seemed much calmer. He only had a little sweat on his forehead. "Abel's asking price is too high, there's no need to continue talking to him.
So, we must use some means to get rid of him."
"Is the asking price of 5 billion Mora really that high? Didn't we raise 10 billion Mora from the nobles?" Furina asked uncertainly.
Lin Yide never had any expectations for her math skills, so he patiently explained: "5 billion Mora divided equally among these thousand shipowners and crew members will give each person 5 million Mora.
Our purpose is to provide reasonable compensation, not to create millionaires.
More importantly, if we really compensate like this this time, then all the large-scale projects in Fontaine in the future will not be able to be carried out."
Furina suddenly understood that the amount of compensation could not be too much or too little, and a balance needed to be found.
"So, what should we do now?" she asked.
A trace of determination flashed in Lin Yide's eyes, and he replied: "First of all, we need to get rid of this greedy Ship Guild and break their blackmail.
Then let the West Factory, the Court of Justice, and the Spina di Rosula negotiate with the shipowners and crew together."
Furina fell into deep thought, repeatedly pondering Lin Yide's plan, and felt that it was more and more ingenious, thorough, and impeccable.
She stared at Lin Yide, her clear eyes flashing with sincere admiration.
Lin Yide felt Furina's gaze, he raised his head and met her eyes.
He smiled slightly, and said with a bit of teasing: "Do you think I'm very powerful?"
A faint blush appeared on Furina's cheeks, and she said stubbornly: "No! Don't be narcissistic."
Lin Yide looked at her childish appearance and found it extremely cute.
He stopped talking and began to think about how to improve the plan to settle the shipowners and crew.
Monetary compensation cannot solve all the problems. The key is the subsequent settlement, otherwise these people who have lost their livelihoods will become unstable factors in Fontaine society.
But how can the employment of thousands of people be so simple and easy?
In the original plot, Clementine was exhausted because of this and died young. It was her death that silenced the voices of opposition.
Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration and turned to look at Furina. He was really a fool.
Why not enjoy Furina's advantages?