( Tommy's POV )
Tommy was the regional manager appointed by the White Tiger Merchant Group, to be the person who was their main point of contact in Crest-Hill Barony, to overlook their very important regional operations.
Having already been briefed about the importance of this project and the necessity of starting production as soon as possible, Tommy traveled to Crest-Hill Barony with a heavy chip of expectations placed on his shoulders.
He was a relatively young executive within the White Tiger Group, one that was not considered a member of the 'Senior' board that sat alongside Shane in his office everyday, however, this very important job was still entrusted to him because the upper management seemed hesitant to accept it.
The Crest-Hill Barony was a place known for its poor quality of life and lack of basic facilities, hence although being a regional manager working with the Mount Faulkner Trading Company was an opportunity of a lifetime, there were not many within the White Tiger Group who were eager to pounce on it.
Alongside Tommy, traveled a crew of several dozen private mercenaries that were deployed to ensure the safety of White Tiger Group operations within the crime-filled area, and thousands of specialized construction workers that were under contracts to quickly set-up the factories necessary to start production.
"I hope nobody foolishly tries to rob our procession as we make way through DustBrook town….. reports suggest that bandit activity is especially bad within that region" Tommy muttered to himself, as his group passed the tunnel of ambush and got incredibly close to reaching DustBrook Village.
For Tommy, expectations of Crest-Hill Barony had been set to extremely low, as during his mission brief, he had been especially made aware of the challenges that he might need to face during his deployment in the region, which was why Tommy felt shocked at the sight that unfolded before his eyes when he actually arrived at DustBrook Village.
Although the infrastructure and road quality was just as bad as rumors suggested it to be, there was no crime in sight and no bandit group that seemed to actively terrorize the citizens on the streets.
Everytime that he made eye contact with a common citizen from his carriage, they seemed to smile brightly towards him and wave their hands in joy, which was in stark contrast to what he expected to see.
"Yuck! This is gross… I can't believe we had been living in such filth for so long …. This pile of household waste definitely needs to be moved to the landfill site … it cannot be left in the open"
"I do not like living in such filth, however, I never thought about actually cleaning this area with my own hands.
However, knowing how our new Baron is especially strict about cleanliness, I suddenly felt like cleaning this pile of garbage today, just for his sake, however, I could never have thought that so many of you feel the same way".
"Of course I'm doing this for the new Baron too!
He gave us all money and new jobs and even paid off our region's debts with his own money.
He is our savior and if he doesn't like the garbage piles, then the least that we can do is clean our own village for his sake"
"It's not just for his sake, it's for our own sake too!
He rounded up all the criminals and rid our streets of all the crime. The least we can do is clean the stationary filth"
Tommy felt shocked as he witnessed common citizens voluntarily cleaning massive garbage dumps from the side of the streets that looked like they had been collecting dust there for decades now.
This mass-wave of public galvanisation was unlike anything that he had expected, as the public spirit seemed to be at an all time high at the time of his arrival.
'The new Baron seems to have become the Messiah of the common people although he has only arrived at this Barony a couple days ago.
The report that I received regarding the new Baron during my mission briefing was that although he is a great warrior, he is a fool when it comes to matters of politics and economy, however, the reports seems to be hastily compiled.
The man is clearly a genius if he can change public sentiment this heavily in such a short time' Tommy thought, as he felt certain that the reports that he had received regarding 'TheBoss' were most likely wrong.
********
( About 90 minutes later )
About 90 minutes later, Tommy finally reached the Town's Square within Berkshire Town, where he got to meet the enigmatic merchant 'Leo Skyshard' who had been expecting his arrival.
"Hello, Mr. Leo, I'm Tommy Oakland. The regional manager deployed by the White Tiger Group to be your point of contact in this region.
If you have any requests or any problems regarding procurement of raw materials or any other issue, you can contact me regarding it" Tommy said, as he introduced himself to Leo.
"Hello, Mr.Tommy, it's so great to meet you!
I'm glad you are here, because today itself we completed the recruitment drive for new workers thanks to the support of the local baron Mr.Boss.
In total we seem to have recruited a total of 14,500 workers, which should be enough for our current production targets" Leo said, as he impressed Tommy with his efficiency to have recruited workers even before Tommy arrived in the region.
"That's most wonderful news…. I have brought some of the best factory workers from StrongHaven alongside me here, and according to our estimates we will be able to set-up the four main factories within a week, if the land allocation by the Baron is completed smoothly" Tommy said, as prompted by his words Leo handed him a letter of local land allocation to Tommy.
"The Baron has already agreed to lease the land to Mount Faulkner Trading Company for 99 years at a 99% discount rate.
Here is the document for it.
I hope with this there will be no further delays and that your crew will begin construction from tomorrow itself" Leo said, as Tommy read the letter of allocation with great focus, before nodding his head in understanding.
"The locations for the four factories seem perfect.
It seems like you are more efficient than we believed, Sir Leo" Tommy said, as Leo patted him on the shoulders and smiled back in response.
"Time is money my friend…. And money is time" Leo quoted, as he absolutely bamboozled Tommy with a money quote from Earth.