Yes, Lady Funina!

"?" Finina slowly typed a question mark, feeling that there was something wrong with Richard's thinking.

When did even saving become a bad thing?

"Of course I'm not against you saving money. I just think that if you cut welfare spending, will it dampen the work enthusiasm of civil servants?" Richard chose his words carefully.

"Pfft." Clorinde couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Furninna and Richard were attracted by the laughter. Clorinde coughed lightly and said seriously, "You are kidding again. There is no such thing as enthusiasm among civil servants."

"Really? Then Clorinde, tell me, are you active in your work?" Richard asked back.

Clorinde's body froze. Faced with Richard's question about death, she was obviously in a dilemma.

"I...I should be considered positive, right?"

"Well, positive Lady Clorinde, do you think that making a fuss about afternoon tea will dampen your enthusiasm?"

"I, I don't like tea."

"Do you think this will dampen the enthusiasm of others?"

"I don't know, but it should be...right?" Clorinde hesitated, then noticed that Fernina was also looking at her and quickly changed her words: "Maybe, maybe...no?"

Fortunately, Clorinde suddenly had an idea and said, "But compared to saving money, Lady Funina, I think opening up new sources of income might be a good option."

"Increase income? I understand. What you mean is that instead of saving money, it is better to find new profit points to obtain greater economic benefits." said Funina.

"Yes..." Clorinde saw that Funina spoke so fluently, and the lines that came out of her mouth were really unfamiliar, which gave her a very bad premonition.

"It seems that we both think alike, Clorinde." Fernina clapped her hands in celebration.

After hearing what Furninna said, Clorinde was not happy that her ideas were in line with her boss's. The only thought in her mind at the moment was: "Oh no, I'm going to be in trouble again."

“I also have a few immature ideas about how to open source.”

Clorinde put on a mask of pain. At this moment, she wished she could shut Fernina's mouth and stop her from talking.

Just wait until you have mature ideas before you think of them.

"The temporary resettlement site for Mond refugees last time should be a commercial street that has been completed but has not yet been opened for business, right?"

"If I remember correctly, that street was built with government funding, so it should be considered a government asset, right?"

Richard nodded. "It is a government asset, but one thing I have to say is that the commercial street has now started to be put out to bid."

"I do not know how?"

“Of course, because you’re not the target demographic.”

"But shouldn't this kind of bidding project be open to the public? All citizens should have the right to know."

"Similarly, they also have the right not to be informed. Moreover, the vast majority of Fontaine citizens do not have the ability to run a good commercial street. Instead of spending a lot of manpower and resources to publicize this matter, it would be better to directly target the chambers of commerce and large companies that are capable of taking over the operation of the commercial street. This is obviously more efficient." Richard paused and said.

“And we actually made an announcement about this matter.”

"where is it?"

"It's on the notice board downstairs, the one in the lower left corner. It should still be there." Clorinde said that she had seen the notice during her spare time at work.

"The sign at Mo Mang Palace...will anyone really go and see it?" Funina was speechless.

Clorinde shrugged and said, "Perhaps some of the civil servants who have too much free time will read it."

As soon as these words came out, Clorinde felt the gazes of the two again, and hurriedly added: "And those civil servants who have a positive attitude towards work and care about national affairs."

After Clorinde finished speaking, she added in her mind: "If there is."

"What were the results of the bidding? How much Mora did you earn?" asked Funina.

"Lady Fu Nina, I need to correct you. We are a government agency, not a profit-making organization like a chamber of commerce or a company. For the Mo Mang Palace, earning Mora has never been the top priority."

“So what comes first?”

"Of course it is the interests of the citizens of Fontaine." Richard replied immediately.

In response to Richard's answer, Funina decided to ask in a different way: "Then my Mr. Richard, can you tell me how much Mora the citizens of Fontaine received from the commercial street project?"

"The total is ninety-one thousand five hundred Mora, Lady Furninna."

"Master Duo?" Funina said in disbelief.

She couldn't believe her ears. It was such a big commercial street, but she was told that she only earned 91,500 Mora. Even if you work illegally, you can earn more than that, right?

"I'm going to find Villette and ask him to investigate the hidden agenda of this project!" Finina stood up and prepared to go to Villette's office to ask him what was going on.

"Lady Funina, this project is normal and there is nothing fishy about it."

"Is this how little you earn without any trick?" Furniture stared into Richard's eyes. It was as if she was asking Richard, do you think I'm a fool?

That's the commercial street near the Oprykle Opera House. Although it's not very close, it's not too far either. The flow of people attracted by the Oprykle Opera House can radiate over there.

But it was such a prime location and such a big project, but when I told Funina that she only made 91,500 maras, wasn't that inappropriate?

"In fact, Lady Funina, this commercial street is not intended to make money. Being able to make money is already a pleasant surprise, because according to the original estimate, our city hall may have to invest some money in it..."

"You need more?" Looking at Richard's face that said 'this is totally normal', Funina felt that either Richard had a problem or she had a problem.

"Yes, Lady Finina, this project was not intended to earn Mora from the beginning, but to serve as the cornerstone of a stable society."

"cornerstone?"

"Employment, economy, consumption... The hidden benefits that Mora can bring are more important to Fontaine than what is on paper." Richard simply explained the function of this commercial street to Funina. He was afraid that Funina didn't understand so he tried to use words that were as close to life as possible.

He even used Funina's favorite dessert as an example, telling Funina that Fontaine's economy was a piece of cake, and this commercial street was not a part of the cake, but the plate that carried the cake.

Only if the plate is big enough can it hold a big enough cake.

After listening to this, Furninna was still a little confused, but Richard's example made her a little greedy. Considering the time, they had been chatting for so long, it was time to have afternoon tea.

Just as Fernina was about to take the small cake made with high-quality cream from Clorinde, Richard coughed and said, "Lady Fernina, didn't you say you wanted to cut the budget for afternoon tea?"

"Ah... ah yes, indeed, I... I..." Looking at the high-end cake that was within reach, Furniture swallowed and finally overcame her desire with her will. She closed her eyes and waved to Clorinde.

"You take it down."

Clorinde couldn't help shaking her head as she looked at Funina, who clearly wanted to eat but had to set an example and reluctantly refused.

Why bother doing this?

Lady Funina, don't you understand now? You can't beat Richard at all. You are really a novice and a playful person.

"No need to take it down, just give it to me." Richard said, "By the way, please go to the dessert shop on the side of the road and buy a mousse cake for Lady Funina's afternoon tea today."

"Oh, just tell Linnet on the way and prepare some tea for you and me. As for Funina..."

"I don't need it! I just need to drink boiled water!" Funina said word by word, gritting her teeth.

"Okay, let's do as she says." Richard nodded, indicating that Clorinde could set off.

After Clorinde left, Funina suddenly realized what was happening and said to Richard angrily, "No, why is the quality of my afternoon tea the only one that has been downgraded? What about yours? Shouldn't yours be the same as mine?"

"That's because it takes a certain amount of time for a policy to be implemented from the beginning, Lady Funina. Moreover, this proposal is still in its infancy and there is not even a detailed report. Naturally, it does not have to be implemented immediately."

"Then I..." Furninna wanted to say, isn't it the same for me? Why can't I eat my favorite little cake? !

"Since Lady Finina wants to promote her own ideas, shouldn't she set an example herself?"

"Should we start saving with 'me'?" Funina continued.

Richard looked at the clock on the wall behind Fernina. "You have to practice it yourself to be convincing, right?"

It was hard to refute with solid evidence. Furninna frowned and put on a mask of pain. Seeing Richards slowly cutting the high-end cake that should have belonged to her with a fork, she swallowed and said:

"I don't think you can save much by doing this, right?"

"Of course it won't save much, Lady Funina, but it will set an example for the entire government department. It's an invisible and hidden impact, just like that commercial street."

"Okay, okay, then could you please take it farther away before eating it, at least don't let me see it." Funina closed her eyes, but the faint aroma of milk lingered in her nose.

"What's wrong? Lady Funina, didn't everyone sit together to eat dessert before? There's no such thing as having separate tables for afternoon tea."

Richard looked at Funina with an innocent face, then changed to a teasing tone and said, "Or are you tired of me annoying Funina? Never mind, I won't be an eyesore here anymore."

Funina couldn't stand hearing this, especially when Richard said it, so even though she knew he said it on purpose, she still said, "Forget it, just sit down."

She would feel much better when her mousse cake came back, Funina thought.

However, what Funina didn't expect was that her mousse cake also had an accident as expected.

"The mousse is sold out?!" Funina looked at Clorinde in disbelief.

Clorinde replied affirmatively, "I have bought it. Today is Thursday and the cake shop happened to be having a sale. They do have some high-end cakes left, but they obviously don't meet your requirements... But the cake shop is already remaking them, but you will have to wait for more than an hour if you want to buy them."

"Afternoon tea would have been over by then, right?" Funina couldn't help but ask.

If that's the case, doesn't it mean that I can only hold a cup of tasteless plain water and watch Richard and the others eat high-end cakes and drink top-quality black tea?

What kind of torture is this? !

Linnet didn't know what Richard and Fernina were up to, but when she was eating the cake, she noticed that Fernina was looking at her eagerly. The kind-hearted Linnet couldn't help but said, "Lady Fernina, how about... I give you some?"

"Is it possible?!" Funina said in surprise, with little stars in her eyes.

"Ahem." Richard coughed lightly.

Furninna noticed this troublesome guy and immediately changed her tone: "Forget it, I don't have a good appetite today, you, you can eat it by yourself."

Linnett felt that Furninna must be crying when she said this.

But since she said so, Linnett finally did not share the cake with Funina.

Volume 98: Chapter Lady Funina, you don’t want to…

In this way, Furninna watched Richard, Linnet and Clorinde quickly finish the cakes and drink a sip of red tea comfortably.

Funina couldn't help but hold the teacup with both hands and took a sip, but there was no taste at all because the cup was not filled with black tea, but boiled water.

But watching Richard and the others gently blow away the steam rising from the cup, the rich and mellow aroma penetrated Furninna's nose. She could imagine how delicious this black tea would taste just by relying on her taste buds, and paired with the silky smooth cream cake...

Funina couldn't even imagine how delicious it would be!

However, precisely because of Furninna's eager gaze, this afternoon tea time was unexpectedly short. Linnet drank the tea in the cup first, then glanced at Richard. She did not stay to clean up the tea set as usual, but went straight back to her work.

After seeing how Linnet handled the situation, Clorinde followed suit, found an excuse to go downstairs to look at the bulletin board, packed her bags and left the battlefield.

Soon, Richard and Funina were the only ones left in the room. Richard seemed to be fine, not affected at all. He continued to eat at his usual pace, savoring the high-quality cake and black tea on the plate.

When Furninna saw that Linette and Clorinde had left and she and Richard were the only ones left in the office, she suddenly became active.

"Well, Richard."

"What's wrong, Lady Funina?" Richard asked knowingly.

"How about today's cake?" Finina's eyes fell on the cake that Richard had already eaten most of, and she continued to hint with her eyes.

"It tastes good, with the dense cake and rich cream blending perfectly, with a silky and delicate texture, sweet but not greasy. Paired with the fragrant black tea, this classic combination is really something you will never get tired of. It just so happens that there is an extra portion today, and I plan to have some more after I finish mine." Richard stuffed the remaining cake on his plate into his mouth with a fork, and then took the remaining cake from the afternoon tea cart.

In fact, the afternoon tea in Momang Palace is distributed in a fixed quota every day, and there is no such thing as excess, so the one in Richard's hand should have belonged to Funina.

However, since Lady Funina had lofty ambitions and needed to lead by example and practice the ideas she advocated, this afternoon tea was naturally left over.

Adhering to the principle of not wasting, Secretary General Richard had to work harder and suffer a little loss to fill his stomach with the remaining afternoon tea.

Furninna watched as Richard took out the small cake that was originally hers from the dining cart, and then refilled the cup that was almost empty with black tea.

Richard noticed that Fernina had been looking at him, and happened to see that the water in her cup was almost empty, so he smiled and said, "Lady Fernina, do you need me to add some water for you?"

"Is it okay?" Funina said in surprise, with her two little hands clasped in front of her chest with anticipation. Even if she couldn't eat the sweet cake, it would be great to have a sip of black tea.

At least there is taste in my mouth!

"Of course, it's a piece of cake." Richard put the teapot of black tea back on the dining table. At the same time, he picked up the kettle of purified water and filled Funina's cup with purified water.

Funina: (ΩДΩ)!

Wasn't it black tea or boiled water that was poured for her?

"Please enjoy your meal, Lady Funina." Richard put the cup full of boiled water back in front of Funina like a professional waiter.

"Thanks...thanks for nothing!" Funina was completely overwhelmed. Besides, there were only herself and Richard in the office, so there was no need to worry about the Water God character issue.

Finna glared at Richard with her almond-shaped eyes, looking at him fiercely, but perhaps because she was too delicate and pretty, she didn't look vicious at all, but rather a little too cute.

"Hmm? What's wrong with Lady Funina? Why are you suddenly angry? Did I do something that didn't satisfy you?"

"Do you really not understand, or do you already understand but are pretending not to understand?"

"Do you understand? What is Lady Funina talking about? If you don't tell me, how can I know whether the understanding you say is the understanding I think?" Richard said "understand" several times in a row as if he was rapping.