The Villainess Builds a Department Store - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Villainess Establishes a Department Store

Chapter 34

Finally, the dawn of ‘that day’ broke.

We woke up at the crack of dawn and headed to Port Nantes.

Above the quiet sky characteristic of early morning, a longed-for and welcome flag was waving at us.

It was the flag of the Loire Eastern Trade Merchant Guild.

The person who deserved to enjoy the joy of reunion first and foremost was naturally Felix.

Felix, who had been scratching the dirt with his toes like a puppy that needed to go while waiting, ran out at full speed as soon as he saw Guillaume.

“Felix!”

“Father!”

And then came the tearful father-son reunion that couldn’t be watched without tears.

There was nothing more to say. Everyone’s eyes welled up with tears, and sniffling sounds could be heard from everywhere.

I was no exception.

The waves patted their backs and burst into thick white tears on their behalf, crashing down.

Even the seabirds folded their wings and sat on the mast, bowing their beaks and crying “caw caw.”

Whether it was because of the sea breeze, or because the tears I had been holding back finally burst out.

The water droplets on my lips tasted particularly bitter and salty.

Now that the touching father-son reunion that couldn’t be watched without tears was over, it was my turn.

“How was it?”

“It was fantastic.”

Guillaume closed his swollen eyes and recalled the reaction from that time.

“Wow! Even thinking about it now gives me chills. We had safely departed, passed through all the dangerous waters, and now there was nothing to worry about. It was the peaceful final stretch of the voyage where we could leisurely sleep twenty-three hours a day. It sounds nice to call it peaceful, but actually it’s the moment when people go crazy from boredom. Chess gets old after a day or two, and gambling cleans out your business capital in three days, leaving you eating nothing but hardtack.”

Gulp. Guillaume, who had spoken without taking a breath, moistened his throat with wine.

“Anyway, in that situation, when I laid out a cloth on the table and prepared for tea time, those guys treated me like a madman. As expected of sailors, they had no sense of ‘refinement’ whatsoever. Anyway, I laid out the cloth, took out the porcelain teapot, brought out the brick-like biscuits I had been saving, and finally—pop!—I took out the Preserved Meat. Then our first mate, the guy who can tell which direction land is by the smell of earth even in the middle of the ocean…”

“Guillaume, would you like some more wine? We have cheese too.”

“Oh! Great. How long has it been since I’ve eaten moldy cheese that ‘won’t kill you when you eat it’!”

Finally, some quiet.

To summarize, Guillaume’s plan was a huge success.

The water and food supplies they had brought were running low, and instead of fresh fruit, they were thinking things like ‘Maybe mold is green because it’s a plant?’ at the end of the voyage.

In that situation, one golden glass bottle appeared.

The moment the lid was opened, the sailors and fellow merchants swarmed like bees, and amid their longing and envy, Guillaume began his dessert time mukbang with fresh apricots.

‘Mmm! Très bien! The syrup made with pure sugar without any additives soaks perfectly into the hard biscuits, crumbling and dancing on my tongue like crumble!’

‘Now let me try the fruit flesh… Whoa! This chewiness! This softness! This freshness! My tongue feels numb from the primal sweetness! Wow! The pleasantly moderate sourness clears my mind!’

‘Ahh… to be able to eat such fresh fruit without worrying about stomach problems… I’m glad I lived so long…’

Actually, weren’t the fellow merchants more desperate to stop Guillaume’s exaggerated reactions than to eat fresh fruit?

Anyway, Guillaume’s mukbang ended successfully, and as proof, he was able to bring me a fairly thick stack of contracts.

“Well, I never thought you’d stay quiet, but I never imagined you’d get involved in market redevelopment projects too. I heard everything from Damien. You said they should be given opportunities too?”

I was contentedly looking at the signatures written on the contracts when Guillaume clicked his tongue.

Rather than displeasure, his tone suggested he was so amused he didn’t know what to do.

“Same with the patent rights—if you had monopolized instead of sharing, you would have gained much greater profits, wouldn’t you?”

“That wouldn’t be fun.”

“Fun?”

Guillaume raised an eyebrow. His face showed he wondered what he had just heard.

Monopoly. That wasn’t something I hadn’t considered either.

But I’m not the president of a food company, and even if I had food preservation technology, what would I use it for?

“I’m already rich enough. Besides the inheritance I’ll receive from Father someday, the patent fees from Preserved Meat are still accumulating in the Reeves Bank vault.”

I’m probably the richest among people my age, aren’t I?

“So I don’t have any desperation.”

“Desperation…”

Desire comes from lack.

But right now, I’m literally living a life without want. So my desires are also minimal.

Since there’s nothing I particularly want, I have no will to achieve it. Much less desperation.

“I don’t need to earn higher profits, I don’t need to survive competition in similar industries, and I don’t even have employees to feed.”

Pausing briefly, I pulled up the corners of my mouth and smiled.

“Maybe that’s why I don’t feel like researching or developing Preserved Meat further. How long will the Preserved Meat I’ve made last?”

Guillaume pondered thoughtfully, then asked me again.

“Don’t you want to build a factory? As you said, you’re rich enough to build a factory or whatever you want?”

“That’s bothersome.”

“What?”

Guillaume’s expression immediately frowned.

A factory. Employees I’d have to support. What a bothersome… no, what a heavy responsibility just thinking about it.

I never had that kind of talent to begin with. I know my limits well.

“I made Preserved Meat because I wanted to let you and Father eat fresh fruit, not because I particularly wanted to make big money from it.”

“Then other people who bought the patent rights will make big money with your technology?”

“Instead, that many more varieties of Preserved Meat will come out. Or they might discover even better preservation techniques.”

Because those people will be desperate. Because they’ll want to make more money than others who bought patent usage fees.

“And during that time, patent fees will keep accumulating?”

“Probably?”

“In other words, others will do the hard work while you just collect money from behind.”

“Oh my. If you put it that way, it makes me sound like such a bad child.”

Well… I was a villainess in the original story, so it’s not entirely wrong.

When I opened my eyes wide and blinked rapidly while fluttering my eyelashes, Guillaume let out a series of bewildered chuckles.

More importantly, Guillaume, isn’t there something you’re forgetting?

“Ahem. So, did you obtain ‘the item’?”

There was a more important main topic than Preserved Meat.

I pulled myself forward on the sofa and rubbed my palms together. My bottom kept fidgeting with anticipation.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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