Imperial Crown.

Chapter 62 Fiona (Part )
People burp when they are full. There is nothing strange about this.

But for a woman to burp in front of a man is extremely disrespectful, especially when this man is the head of the Griffith family and the Baron of Eagle Territory.

Fiona's face suddenly turned red with shame, she shrank her head, her heart beat faster, her eyes were scattered and unfocused because of nervousness, and she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Old Gordon's face turned the color of liver. He was shocked and angry. Just as he was about to scold Fiona, he heard Raven cough: "Looks like you've eaten enough."

In fact, Old Gordon didn't eat much, but now he really didn't have much appetite.

"Okay, now that we're full, let's get down to business." Raven untied his napkin, and a maid naturally brought the tableware away and thoughtfully poured him some after-dinner red wine.

Old Gordon continued with his report.

Fiona sat up straight, quietly took off her glasses and began to wipe them.

Old Gordon was compiling the accounts of the recent construction of Eagle Town, specifically how much materials had been used, how much cost had been incurred, how much money had been spent, and how much food had been consumed.

"All told, the average amount of couscous consumed in Eagle Township is 2.0922 kilograms per month."

"Hmm..." Raven nodded slowly. "The average monthly consumption before was, as I recall, 2.3890 kilograms. So, all together, that's..."

Old Gordon began to calculate, and at this moment Fiona's voice rang out: "It's 4.4182 kilograms!"

Raven was stunned and looked at Fiona with a little surprise, who immediately lowered her head nervously.

"Sir, that's right, it's 4.4182 kilograms!" Old Gordon calculated the number and said quickly, "Please don't be offended. Fiona is quite sensitive to numbers, so she will be more natural when she says these."

"Well, that's all right." Raven thought for a moment and asked, "How much couscous do we have now?"

Old Gordon immediately looked up the accounts: "Including these two batches, the total is 66.3300 kilograms. If all of them are shipped, then it will be 136.3300 kilograms."

Fiona was secretly shocked by this number.

Such a large amount of food is enough to feed the city of Hovi with a population of 300,000 for four or five days.

But Eagle Territory is just a small place with a population of no more than 5,000 people!

Now Fiona began to understand why her grandfather admired the Baron so much.

Raven's voice sounded: "Then at the current consumption rate, how long can the food last?"

Fiona calculated the numbers almost reflexively and blurted out, "30.86 months!"

This question was meant to be a test, and Fiona's quick reaction and precise calculations really gave Raven a big surprise.

It seems that this socially anxious female student is indeed as old Gordon said, very sensitive to numbers, but I don't know how capable she is in specific economic development.

Thinking of this, Raven tapped the table with his fingers. "30.86, that is two years and seven months. It can indeed last for a long time, but grain is not durable. We still have to sell some of it when the next spring comes."

He looked at Fiona and asked, "If the food we have can only sustain the current consumption for half a year, and the next batch of food will not arrive until a year later, and the overall number of people remains the same or may even increase, what should we do to sustain it?"

Facing Raven's gaze, Fiona panicked and said stammeringly: "Male, male..."

"No need to use honorifics," Raven said. "Just state your plan."

At the same time, old Gordon looked at his granddaughter with encouragement.

Fiona tried to calm her heartbeat, and her mind soon immersed in the numbers: "If it can only last for half a year, that's 24.2712 kilograms of couscous."

"We can provide them with supplementary food!" said Fiona.

Raven shook his head in slight disappointment: "No supplementary food."

As if choked, Fiona thought for a moment and asked, "Can I ask how many people consume food every month?"

Raven thought for a moment and answered, "There are 546 people in total, 189 of whom will receive 50 kilograms of food as a subsidy every month."

"In this case, excluding subsidies, the monthly food consumption per person is..." Fiona answered without pausing, "About 64 kilograms, or about 2.1 kilograms per day."

Fiona's thoughts seemed to be getting smoother and smoother. Her eyes moved quickly: "Since food is in short supply, the subsidized food can be cancelled. This way, 0.9450 kilograms can be saved every month."

"As long as we can save 0.756 kg of coarse wheat flour from each person's daily ration, that is, reduce the daily food consumption of each person to 1.344 kg, we can increase the coarse wheat flour that can only last for half a year to a year!"

Raven smiled with satisfaction: "Very good, then how do we do it?"

Maybe it was because of Raven's encouragement, but Fiona spoke more fluently: "We can change the composition of the food! For example, if we only have two meals a day, we can only provide oatmeal in the morning and add loess to increase the viscosity."

"For dinner, you can mix sawdust and bran into the bread. This way, you can reduce the amount of food consumed without making them feel that they are eating too little."

As Raven listened, his brows furrowed and he looked at Fiona strangely.

This girl looks weak and delicate, but when cut open she is black. This idea will surely make the soldiers and workers curse!
Well done!
Being not only sensitive to numbers but also having insights into specific governance aspects is a goal worth cultivating.

Thinking of this, Raven said with praise: "Fiona, your answer is very good. If you are just a staff member or an accountant, you are quite qualified."

Fiona was very happy at first, but when she heard the second half of the sentence, she felt a little uncomfortable and her face suddenly became a little gloomy.

Staff, accountant, that's not what I would do!
Seeing her dissatisfaction, Raven asked with a smile: "You think I underestimate you, don't you?"

Fiona still kept her head down and said nothing.

Raven was not angry about this. It was normal for a young girl who had just graduated from school to have her own pride and confidence.

He said slowly, "If you don't agree, how about I give you a test?"

Fiona nodded heavily.

Raven thought for a moment and said slowly, "Your grandfather's next major task is to build Eagle Town and make it prosperous again. As his assistant, you must provide help and advice."

"So, the question is: if you were asked to oversee the construction of Eagle Town, what building would you want to build first?"

Fiona said without even thinking, "School!"

"Oh?" Raven smiled as expected. "Why?"

"Because talent is the foundation of territory development." Fiona said confidently: "The reason why Eagle Town is poor is because the people lack sufficient education and knowledge, and don't know how to change the current situation." "It's too late for this generation, but their children may still be able to change. Building schools can improve the cultural quality of the people, broaden their horizons and wisdom, and grow them into excellent people. With them, Eagle Town will certainly become prosperous."

Fiona said these words with full confidence, but received no response at all. She gradually began to get anxious. She raised her eyelids slightly to look at Raven, but her eyes met Raven's. Seeing the teasing look, she quickly retracted her head.

"Fiona, you can't do this." Raven chuckled and said, "If you can't face your mistakes, you will never grow up."

Fiona heard this and felt both unconvinced and fearful, but in the end the former triumphed over the latter and she raised her head and looked directly into Raven's eyes.

But it immediately shifted to the cheek.

Raven did not force him to do so, but said: "The only and fundamental mistake you made is that you are too confident. You only understand theory but not pragmatism."

Fiona pursed her lips slightly.

Raven knew that one sentence would not convince her: "You said you want to build a school. This is a great idea, but I have two questions that I need you to answer."

"First, since it's a school, there must be teachers. Where are you going to find them? How many teachers are you going to find?"

"I know you graduated from Nord National Academy of Arts, but with your personality, I'm afraid you don't have many friends. Even if you do, who would be willing to teach in a remote place like Eagle Town? How much salary do you need to offer to impress them?"

"Secondly, schools are for students. Where do the students come from?"

"Don't forget that the people of Xiongying Town are all extremely poor. Every child is an important labor force. Why would they send their children to school? Even if they do, you know how expensive a book is. How can they pay for the textbooks?"

When Raven asked the first question, Fiona was still a little dissatisfied, but when the second question came out, she was suddenly stunned.

She could think of many answers to Raven's question, but she rejected each one.

This was the first time she had encountered such a situation, and it was completely different from the exams she had experienced before.

"It's good that you have a clear goal." Seeing her uneasiness, Raven advised: "You have learned a lot from school, but the most important thing is how to apply this knowledge to practice."

"Knowledge is indeed important, but that needs to wait until they are full."

“Only when you are not overwhelmed by life can you have time to look up at the stars.”

Fiona lowered her head again: "...I'm sorry."

This scene shocked old Gordon. This was not a transactional conversation, but part of daily communication!
My granddaughter finally dares to confide in others!
"One last question." Raven tasted a mouthful of Angel's Tears. "If you were given a brand new industry that produced products that had never existed in the world, the raw materials were very cheap, almost free, and the craftsmanship was difficult to replicate, how would you run it?"

"You can speak freely, there is no standard answer to this question."

"What is the purpose of the finished product? What is the output?" Fiona asked.

"...You can think of it as a kind of furniture for women." Raven said, "The production is sufficient, and we can produce hundreds of pieces every month. The larger the volume, the more practical it is."

Fiona thought carefully, pursed her lips, and gave an answer after a while: "Since the cost is very low and it is furniture, the target customers can be the urban middle class. If we ship in large quantities, we can sell one piece for... well, about 30 silver coins! It's about the price of a solid wooden wardrobe."

"In this way, if we ignore the labor costs and count 300 pieces per month, that's a profit of 90 gold coins!"

"Very good." Raven nodded slowly: "This is indeed a good idea, but do you want to hear my thoughts?"

Fiona nodded.

Raven said slowly: "If I were to run this business, my target customers would not be commoners, but nobles, and great nobles at that!"

"The price of each piece is not 30 silver coins, not 90 gold coins, but starts at 3000 gold coins!"

"Why?" Fiona showed a very puzzled expression on her face.

"Because it's unique." Raven began to persuade: "Only I can master this process. Even if the raw material is just a pile of mud, I have the final say on its price."

"Who on the continent has the most money? The nobles! And who is most willing to spend money on useless luxury goods? Still the nobles! And they are female nobles!"

"3000 gold coins is just the beginning." Raven's voice became deeper and deeper. "Think about it, the one who is willing to spend 3000 gold coins on such useless things must be at least a lady or a lady of the Earl's family. When they show off these things, what will other nobles think? What will the ladies and ladies of the Marquis' family think? Will they want something bigger and more gorgeous?"

Fiona's eyes widened, and she nodded vigorously, completely convinced by Raven.

"That's easy. If the Earl family bought it for 3000 gold coins, then the Marquis family can't offer a lower price. If it's even a little bit better, they might spend 5000, 8000, or even 10000 gold coins to buy it!"

"I understand!" Fiona's eyes sparkled with surprise. Raven brought her to a whole new world: "Above the Marquis there is the Duke, and above the Duke there is the King!"

"As long as we control the quantity of products, the price of this kind of thing will get higher and higher, and it will become synonymous with luxury goods! At that time, the money we can make will be simply... just..."

She was completely caught up in the scene described by Raven. If such a thing really existed, then the amount of gold coins that could be earned from it would be beyond her imagination!

For the first time in her life, she felt an admiration for a man that was not based on status or wealth, but on wisdom and brains.

Now she finally understood why her grandfather respected Baron Raven so much!
Old Gordon looked at this scene and smiled like an auntie, his old face looking like a blooming chrysanthemum.

His biggest worry was that Fiona wouldn't be able to integrate into the Griffith family, but now, Lord Raven had clearly shown his appreciation for her and even spent time teaching her personally.

It's like a teacher teaching students.

Fiona was obviously shocked by the Baron's conversation. This was the first time that old Gordon saw her look at him with respect and admiration.

"Then... male..." Fiona swallowed: "Does that kind of product really exist?"

"Who knows?" Raven smiled mysteriously and sat up straight. "You are very capable and eager to learn. This is very good. Next, you should follow old Gordon and learn from him, help him and accumulate more experience."

Fiona nodded vigorously.

"Mr. Gordon!"

"Yes, Baron." Old Gordon quickly stood up straight.

Raven drank the last bit of wine in the glass:
"Go get Eric."

……

(End of this chapter)