Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste-Chapter 743 - 696 Refusal to Appear

Perfikot truly felt relaxed; after announcing her resignation from all her positions, she disappeared from the public eye, which finally brought her some peace and quiet.

No one came to disturb her, no government affairs bothered her; she could do whatever she wanted.

Money was not a concern for her. As the greatest Alchemist of her time, even if she shared just a bit of her knowledge, it would make others a fortune.

Oliver was perhaps the one who experienced this realization most personally.

Perfikot merely spent some leisure time improving two products as a form of paying her rent. Oliver made a massive amount of money shortly after selling the improved items.

He didn't even advertise using Perfikot's name; he only announced the products' performance. After people tried them, the products won the market with their superior performance and affordable price.

The first batch of goods was sold out in no time.

This prompted Oliver to make the factory work overtime to ramp up production, and he even offered triple overtime pay to make the workers operate at full capacity.

"I didn't expect you to be so generous, offering triple overtime pay. You're much more generous than other factory owners in the Northern Territory." Perfikot was also wandering in Oliver's factory, partially as a post-meal stroll and partly as a technical aftersales support for Oliver.

Seeing Oliver offering triple overtime pay, Perfikot was genuinely surprised and approving of his actions.

After all, from a capitalist's perspective, giving triple wages would imply losing so much profit. Did they really think running a factory was a charitable act?

Of course, Oliver didn't want to pay triple wages, but with Perfikot around, Oliver couldn't ensure that he wouldn't be turned into part of the wall if he withheld workers' wages.

Such things had happened before; one smart-aleck thought they could ignore Perfikot and blatantly violated the labor protection laws set by her, withholding wages while forcing workers to work excessively.

This was reported to Perfikot by the Workers' Federation. Desperate for an example to set at that time, Perfikot, upon investigation, confirmed it was true, dragged that smart-aleck to a public trial, executed justice, and then directly sealed the person into a wall, where he wailed for three days before succumbing.

There's more than one such smart-aleck sealed into that wall, at least a dozen, making that wall infamous in the Northern Territory. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Certainly, that wall also lent unmatched deterrence to the law in the Northern Territory.

After all, no one wanted to become the next smart-aleck to be turned into wall decoration.

Paying high wages indeed would cost some profit, but compared to being turned into part of a wall, Oliver could distinguish which was lighter and which was heavier.

Moreover, after Perfikot improved the product technology, each item's price could drop by 10% over the original, and after excluding additional expenses, he could still earn 1.5 times the previous profit. This was enough to make Oliver willing to pay the overtime wages.

However, for Oliver, having Perfikot, such a divine presence, with him every day was indeed overwhelming.

Though Perfikot would occasionally toss him something that slipped through her fingers, these for Oliver only added joy with a bit of pain.

Perfikot's presence still made him feel uneasy.

"My Lord Count, people outside are almost crazy searching for you; have you considered showing up?" Though Oliver wasn't trying to send the goddess off, his words subtly probed and tested Perfikot on when she would leave him.

"Show up? Why should I show up? I'm now just an ordinary noble of the Empire, without an official post. Why do I need to make a public appearance?" Perfikot didn't care, casually picking up a part from the production line, inspected it in her hand, and put it back only after seeing no issue.

She could see that in Oliver's factory, the workers' spirits were high, not dulled from long hours and overtime work.

At the same time, they appeared rosy and healthy, indicating they had good living conditions.

From these two points, one could tell that Oliver, although employing all means for business, treated his workers better than most others.

At least the workers were well-fed, warmly dressed, and could earn enough pay from him.

Compared to his peers, Oliver had done well enough, as the workers at least received adequate compensation with him.

"My dear Miss, do have mercy on me! Since you've been here, I can't eat well, sleep well, and I've lost weight!" Oliver suddenly started playing the sympathetic card in front of Perfikot: "You have no idea, the Empire is about to issue a bounty notice just to find you! If people find out you've been hiding with me, I won't be able to do business anymore!"

"Don't worry, once I complete my new design, you won't have to worry about this issue in the future." Perfikot patted Oliver's shoulder with a smile, then warned him: "Of course, if news of my presence here leaks, you won't need to worry about this issue either."

Listening to Perfikot's warning, Oliver shivered; he didn't think the latter statement of not needing to worry was pleasant news.

But with a merchant's instinct, he still curiously probed Perfikot: "My Lord Count, are you planning to release a new design?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't; this matter isn't confirmed yet, but if you handle your responsibilities well, you'll be rewarded in due time." Perfikot didn't mind giving Oliver benefits, and she believed Oliver was reliable, as long as there were enough advantages for him.

"I understand, please rest assured, my Lord Count, no one will know you are here." Oliver assured sincerely.

The workers in his factory didn't know Perfikot's background; he claimed she was a newly hired Alchemist solving technical issues in the factory.

This claim held no flaws, given Perfikot's formidable alchemy mastery, and she disguised herself to hide her identity, ensuring no one would link her to the Lord of the Northern Territory.

As for their conversation earlier? If someone could eavesdrop amidst the roaring machines where speaking required shouting, Perfikot thought she might not need to hide her identity anymore.

Because that would only mean her identity was exposed.

"Also, I'll give you a list later, make sure to prepare everything on it for me." Perfikot planned to make a model of the Floating City first, and the required materials naturally meant squeezing Oliver.