Chapter 176 Build high walls, store up food, and slowly claim the throne?

Chapter 176 Build high walls, store up food, and slowly claim the throne?

Hillston District.

Hasta spent two days here to inspect the projects and companies he was interested in, mainly to see what kind of people the project and company leaders were.

If the person in charge was not good, no matter how good the project was, it would be difficult to succeed. If he met those greedy guys, he would dare to embezzle as much money as he invested.

Hasta has always been zero-tolerance for such corrupt elements.

So in the end, of the six projects and eight companies he inspected, only two projects and two companies were left, and the main direction was industrial research.

In order to make himself legally tenable in the future, Hasta found a more shrewd and capable lawyer from his law firm and asked him to be responsible for signing a series of investment agreements.

He also took this opportunity to become a lawyer again.

After finishing all this and finally having time, Hasta accepted Greg's invitation.

When he was busy in Hillston District these two days, Greg had always wanted to invite him out for dinner, but he didn't have time until now.

In a private room of a Feynaport restaurant, Hasta and Greg were enjoying delicious food while chatting about business matters.

Greg wanted to teach Hasta some business experience, and told Hasta a lot of business cases and secrets, and also told him some unspoken rules in the business world.

Hasta listened silently. He was really not good at this aspect, and Greg's appearance just helped him make up for this shortcoming.

"Greg, I am more optimistic about the grain industry in the future, what do you think?"

Hasta, who got a favor for nothing, deliberately began to guide Greg to pay attention to grain issues.

Greg frowned slightly and said: "Now is the reform period, the land of the nobles is not valuable. With the abolition of the Corn Law, the price of grain is generally sluggish and weak, and there is no possibility of recovery in a short time. This is not a good investment direction."

"It is precisely because the land of the nobles is not valuable at the moment that it is a great opportunity for us to acquire land. If there is a large-scale war in the future, won't the price of grain rise with the tide?"

Greg was very satisfied that Hasta had his own ideas and insights, but he still rejected Hasta's judgment.

"Some time ago, before the implementation of the Corn Law, our Negan family had already sold a lot of land in advance. My father and uncle would not agree that our family would go back to the old path of land. Industry and banking are the focus of our future layout."

"You are right about one thing. Now is indeed the best time to acquire land, but there is one thing you did not consider. A large amount of land means that you have to hire a large number of farmers to manage it."

"Now the salary of working in a factory is generally two or three times that of a farmer. Generally, farmers who can work hard will choose to work in a factory as much as possible. If you want to retain people, you need to pay more wages. "

"There may indeed be a war in the future, and the price of food will inevitably rise with it, but the future is too far away and unpredictable. The money wasted during this period may have exceeded your possible future profits."

Greck paused for a moment and smiled again: "Another point, even if the price of food rises in the future, our income from industry and banking will still be much greater than agriculture."

"So no matter which aspect you consider, buying land to grow food is not the best choice for our Negan family."

Hasta listened silently. He had to admit that what Greck said made sense. The income from the layout of industry and banks was much greater than agriculture.

This is the inevitability of the advancement of the times.

But there is one thing that Greck is not clear about.

The future of the war between the countries is not far away. The financial industry is rootless in the troubled times and is not as real as a bag of white food.

The doomsday will come in just over a decade, and no matter how the industry develops, it is extremely limited.

And the most important point is that the Negan family does not need too much food, but they need it.

There is a saying that goes like this: Build high walls, store up food, and slowly become king.

With the upcoming war among nations and the participation of various Outer Gods' old powers, the future world will surely be a chaotic world.

For Hasta, having enough food is the real foundation for his survival in the chaotic world.

When war brings famine, a mouthful of food can make people work hard for him.

Hasta nodded, and did not persuade Greg any more, but said: "Greg, you are right, but I still need to buy a lot of land, preferably in South Wales."

Greg thought for a while, smiled and said: "I remember that your Campbell family's territory is in South Wales, right?"

"Yes, if there is a chance, I would like to redeem the territory that originally belonged to our Campbell family, and it would be best to acquire the land of other nobles nearby." Hasta did not hide this.

"Well, now is indeed a good time, and you do need a lot of territory. I can help a little with this matter."

Facing Hasta's slightly lit eyes, Greg smiled and explained a few words.

At present, many nobles are on the verge of bankruptcy. They have long wanted to sell their land, but basically no nobles will take over at this time unless they offer a very low price.

The Negan family is at the top of the noble family and has a lot of information about nobles. The nobles of South Wales are naturally included in that information.

It was not difficult for Greg to help Hasta find a seller and lower the price.

Hasta said with emotion: "Greg, I am so lucky to know you."

"Alas, it's a pity, Hasta, why are you a boy?" Greg sighed with pity.

"It's really a pity, Greg, why are you not a girl?"

Hasta threw the topic back and picked up a piece of fragrant beef with a knife and fork.

"Hasta, you really don't want to suffer at all."

"Greg, I always think you are more generous than me, so I will let you down a little bit."

"..."

Greg shook his head and laughed, and began to taste the food.

After dinner and business, Greg asked curiously, "I heard from Hibbert that Earl Hall asked Audrey to invite you to his home?"

"Yes, tomorrow night."

"Hasta, do you think this will be the beginning of good things for you or the beginning of your misfortune?"

"I think Earl Hall will not embarrass me, a junior, after all, he has always been very aristocratic."

Greg smiled and said, "It's hard to say. In addition to being a noble with grace, he is also a father who loves his daughter."

"Greg, did you misunderstand something?"

"Hasta, do you think there is really a misunderstanding here?"

"..."

Hasta found it difficult to answer this question for a while, frowned slightly, and then relaxed.

It should be that Earl Hall misunderstood, and he and Audrey were just normal friends.

Or maybe Greg misunderstood, Earl Hall's invitation was just a very ordinary meal, after all, as a parent, he always wants to see what kind of person his daughter's recent friend is.

...

Sunday night at six o'clock.

Hasta got on the carriage to Earl Hall's house under the eager anticipation of Butler Neil.

On the carriage, Hasta recalled Butler Neil's encouraging eyes and proud expression. Butler Neil seemed to be proud that his pigs could finally dig up other people's cabbages.

This sense of déjà vu was too strong.

Hasta explained that there was nothing between him and Audrey, but Butler Neil just listened with a smile, treating his explanation as an embarrassed and shy performance.

"All of them, they always think about things as a relationship between men and women. Can't they be more open? Can't Audrey and I be just ordinary friends?"

Hasta sighed and stopped thinking about these annoying problems.

Let's think about how to bribe Earl Hall later, well, it should be said to please him.

Hasta closed his eyes slightly and began to recall the information about Earl Hall that Greg had given him before.

For example, what Earl Hall likes, what he is good at talking about, what aspects of his juniors' abilities he values ​​most, and what minefields he needs to pay attention to when getting along with him.

The more he thought about it, the more awkward Hasta felt.

How could this give him the feeling of a son-in-law meeting his father-in-law?

Hasta's mood became even more complicated.

The carriage rumbled forward and arrived outside Earl Hall's villa.

Hasta got off the carriage, and the person who came out to greet him was Earl Hall's eldest son Hibbert.

After a friendly greeting, Hibbert whispered a reminder, "Earl Hall is not in a good mood tonight, you have to be careful."

"... Not really?"

"This is your first visit to my house, shouldn't you leave a good impression on the elders?"

Hasta immediately understood, Hibbert also misunderstood.

He had no choice but to say, "I will try my best to deal with it carefully, and I also believe that Earl Hall is a very elegant nobleman."

Hibbert patted Hasta's shoulder and said, "If you feel you can't hold on, you can ask Countess Hall for help."

"..."

Hasta opened his mouth and really wanted to explain himself.

He was just an ordinary guest here, so why did he have such wild thoughts?

But he didn't explain in the end. No matter how much he explained to Hibbert, he would only think it was an excuse for his shyness.

Hasta remained silent and followed Hibbert through the winding path through the fountain area and came to a large and luxurious house with the door already opened.

"Don't be so depressed, relax. Our Earl Hall doesn't like a young man who is too restrained."

Faced with Hibbert's careful reminder, Hasta could only face it with a polite but awkward smile.

I can't say that I was silent all the way because I didn't want to talk to him.