New Gods of North America.

Chapter 568 Dinner Party
Back at the restaurant, Wayne happened to run into Lina in the lobby and actually asked her what was wrong.
Lina looked puzzled. "There are so many face creams to choose from, why do we need to use lead white powder? And when we were installing water pipes at base camp, didn't you say that lead is toxic? I even discussed with Inessa how much lead sugar we would need to quietly poison someone to death."

Okay, I really don't know much about these things...

At the same time, Wayne's curiosity was piqued. "So, have you come up with any results? How much should we put in?"

Lina looked disgusted: "Lead sugar is edible, and boiling glucose syrup in a lead container is a kind of 'lead sugar.' I had Parker use it to raise rats and it was fine. It's too concentrated and the taste is too strong. Under normal circumstances, it's almost impossible for it to directly poison a person. Inessa also said that it can probably only cause chronic poisoning through long-term use, and the effect is probably uncontrollable."

hiss……

Wayne felt inexplicably guilty. "The dosage for research doesn't matter, but could you please not let the chef do this kind of thing in the future? After hearing this, I'm even a little hesitant to eat Parker's food..."

"That guy who puts holy water in food all day long has the nerve to criticize others." Lina raised an eyebrow, then said with a sly look, "Do you even know what Puck was originally meant to be used for?"

"Could it be used to make poison?"

"No, not at all. According to Master William's original idea, its function was to taste the potion to find the most suitable way to use the poison and to help to formulate the most undetectable potion—mainly because living people may not have time to express their specific feelings, and their mentality is easily influenced, so they may not tell the truth."

Goodness, Lina using Parker as a chef is actually a form of "reformation"...

After chatting about unrelated topics, they found Inessa, who was attentively listening to Emma explain the problem, and the three of them finally got down to business:

“I’ve visited the mill that the Beeton family lent me. It comes with a considerable amount of land and a matching cabin. I plan to set up the detective agency’s base in Richmond there, which will also serve as a centralized production ‘workshop.’ The restaurant will gradually revert to being a normal ‘restaurant,’ remaining relatively independent from the detective agency.”

"How's the situation over there? Is the environment safe?"

"The exact location is roughly around here on the map, on the edge of the plantation, near the steam train line, so transportation is fairly convenient... Safety is a bit hard to say, but I've already asked Miss Mary's brother to help contact carpenters and workers. A wooden fence can be built around it, so it shouldn't be easy to disturb us. The mill also has its own high ground."

"Huh? But what about Parker? Can a restaurant really function without a chef?"

“We plan to open more than one restaurant, and it’s impossible for the head chef to oversee everything. Rather than risk a decline in reputation later on, it would be better to keep Parker out of the picture from the start. It might be more valuable to put the head chef in the ‘workshop’ and let him control the production of sauces, reconstituted cheese, ham products, and luncheon meat.”

"According to the original plan, wasn't the mill only supposed to produce luncheon meat and then try to promote it in the dock area? How come there are suddenly so many other things?"

"It's because the area is spacious enough... and if the restaurant can open, the demand for these things will probably be quite large. We can't spend time every day cooking reconstituted cheese and mincing meat. It's more convenient to just grind it with a windmill and then send it over."

"I feel like the business you've expanded has suddenly become huge... it doesn't even look like you're opening a restaurant anymore."

"Don't you understand? Business is always complicated. Even if you want to open a big hotel, it's the same. You need to plan ahead for the daily supply of food and supplies, as well as the supporting leisure facilities. It's not enough to just provide accommodation."

A simple consensus was quickly reached: after all, the restaurant's space was limited, and it was still under renovation; accommodating so many people would indeed be inconvenient.

As the "housekeeper," Doug was first informed of the partners' requirements and appointed as the person in charge of overseeing the on-site work. Some things are better done sooner rather than later; Inessa wanted to observe firsthand, and Lina brought Emma along to join in the fun. So Wayne quickly decided to take his men back to the mill.
Besides helping their own people "find the way," it was also to help the plantation managers "find the people," so that if anything happened in the future, they would know which people in the detective agency to consult, instead of waiting for their approval before anything could be resolved.

Surprisingly, several agents, including Liam, volunteered to assist Doug after hearing the news.
Wayne suspected that this guy hadn't been hung up lately, and was probably itching for a beating again.

A little inquiry revealed that although Connor was now running errands and delivering messages, many of his agents had still inherited his "troublemaking tendencies":
“If the area is large enough and there are walls, could we set up an ‘arena’ near the ‘workshop’? While Connor is away, we must familiarize ourselves with the environment in advance, and it would be best to include the river terrain within the area as well, so we can see if we can take the opportunity to teach him a lesson.”

It's not that it's impossible... but ultimately, "Arena Ranking" is just a form of "leisure entertainment" and "one of the performance indicators" for the agents. Is it really necessary to be so enthusiastic about it...?

It seems there are still too few entertainment options these days. Wayne is considering whether the detective agency should open a "talent show arena" in the future.
Organizing artistic competitions such as opera, dance, and instrumental music, and even putting together a gala during holidays... at least it sounds healthier than "fighting all the time."

So "one carload of people" became "several carloads of people"—some agents were too embarrassed to volunteer, but were equally interested—and all headed towards the Beeton family's plantation.
When they arrived at the plantation, the manager was initially taken aback by the entourage the agents had set up. He wondered if he had unintentionally offended Wayne and that the agents had come to "get back at him" as soon as they turned around.

Fortunately, although the plantation foremen and supervisors had guns, they dared not easily pull them out at the white-skinned free people.
The misunderstanding was quickly cleared up, and the manager became even more respectful to Wayne and the other "leaders" of the detective agency. He also had a pleasant conversation with Doug, and it was estimated that they would be able to work well together in the future.

The group explored the area around the mill. Aside from not being entirely satisfied with the smell of the existing cabins, this group of people, who were comfortable with outdoor camping, weren't particularly picky about their surroundings.
The partners discussed the overall layout for the next phase. Doug quickly picked a corner to raise birds. Emma, ​​as long as you don't interfere too much, she can play by herself. The agents studied which areas were not needed and were suitable for opening an arena. Some even started fishing.

As it got dark and they prepared to head back, some agents requested to stay and camp—since they'd be sleeping on the floor anyway, sleeping in the mill would be more spacious.

Doug, on the other hand, was determined to stay here, because the first group of craftsmen who had come to "scout out" the site had also arrived and had negotiated a price with Wayne. With "money not an issue," they could arrange for people to haul the timber and start construction tomorrow.

So Wayne bought some food from the managers, and they decided to have a bonfire party and a simple barbecue.

A pigeon that had been traveling with the vehicle was also released, with a route map tied to its leg. Any interested agents in the restaurant could come over—for example, Ryan, who was too busy chasing girls to join in the fun.

Meanwhile, in Richmond, other people were also alarmed by this:

"Those people from the Wayne Detective Agency all left the city this afternoon?! What are they planning to do?!"

"Could it just be a coincidence? Corleone's funeral is tomorrow; no one should cause trouble at this time."

"Have you forgotten what happened that night when the newspapers announced Corleone's death? Can you guarantee everything will be alright today?! After Corleone's funeral, there will be the 'secret election' for the new bishop, and those northerners probably don't want us to attend!"

"That……"

"Quickly send people to search! We must strike before they do! They left the city as a group; there must have been witnesses along the way! Bishop Jonathan Krantz has already stated he won't interfere, and Tyrell is now on their side. If Wayne and Corleone's men seize the opportunity to strike again, any of us could die like Bazzini and the others, without knowing why!"

(End of this chapter)