Dead Tired - Volume Four - Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The meeting with Bao and Mao was going to take place in one of the nicer tea rooms of the building that people were starting to refer to as the palace instead of just another sect compound. 

It was a nice room, with twin sliding doors opened up onto a large garden and with a low table with comfortable cushions around it for seating.

Fenfang entered the room, Alex and Rem just a step behind her, and Fang Fang followed just behind those two, tail wagging. She was dressed as an empress... well, an empress who didn’t much care for too much frippery and fancy clothes. Her dress was quite nice, but still loose enough that she could move about in it without looking like a two-legged pavilion, and while she had makeup on and her hair was done up, Alex had been light on both.

A glance at herself, caught in one of the mirrors in the halls, revealed that she looked the part of a rich cultivator woman trying to appear modest. It was a tight line to walk, but Alex was good with that kind of thing.

In contrast, the two men sitting in the room were dressed in their best. Nice robes of fine silk, with patterns dyed onto them. They wore strange, conical hats with wooden rods poking through them, and a bit of modest golden jewelry. 

Both men stood as she entered. “Misters Bao and Mao,” she said as she gave them a smile that she didn’t feel like sharing. “A pleasure to meet you both. Please, sit, we don’t need to make this too formal of a meeting.”

Bao bowed at the waist while Mao slumped back into his seat.

Of the two, Bao was the cleaner, shaven, more presentable man, though he was a few years older then Mao. He was also quite a bit more rotund, but his smile seemed genuine and his mood light.

Mao looked like a grumpy dog. 

Fenfang sat on one of the cushions on the far side of the table, after which the still-standing Bao finally sank down onto his own seat. “Forgive me for setting both of your appointments at the same time,” she said. “I thought that it might be a more efficient way of handling some... delicate matters.”

“Oh, that’s well and good,” Bao said. “I imagine you’re quite busy. I’ve heard of your grand tournament.”

“A big event for a brand new nation to start up so suddenly,” Mao said. “I imagine it’s a lot of work. Are you able to handle it?”

Fenfang wanted to glare the man down... but he was kind of right, even if he was coaching it in a rather insulting way. “It is. I’m actually glad that I have both of you here today. You might be able to assist.”

“Assist?” Bao asked. “How can the Gain Consortium provide?”

“I can’t see you needing much rock,” Mao said.

Fenfang shook her head. “Not rock, no, for that matter not ore either. We’re looking for... assistance in other ways. The tournament is mostly being funded by the state, of course, with ticket sales and the sale of vendor positions and the like fueling the venture, but it’s still taxing on our coffers.”

Both men nodded. They were businessmen, they’d understand this angle. 

That’s what Alex had suggested, at least, and she trusted the maid. Alex had suggested that Bao Gain and Mao Nopolies were both men with goals. They hadn’t risen to prominence by sitting on their rears and gazing up at the clouds. They’d fought, cheated, bargained, and dealed their way up the ladder. 

As far as she knew, neither man was particularly fond of the other, but they weren’t exactly enemies either. Their fields of business didn’t overlap very much, so they hadn’t had too many reasons to butt heads. 

Alex had basically told her that her best bet to get these two to help would be to give them something they wanted now, and promise something they wanted for later.

“Let me be entirely honest with you, gentlemen,” Fenfang said. She paused, then looked at Rem. “Oh, could I bother you for some tea and snacks?”

Rem scoffed, then walked off. Fenfang didn’t fail to notice the way both men eyed the large mantis woman warily. 

People might have been getting used to the undead around the city, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t still fear them. And a monster like Rem? As... somewhat civilized as Rem was very, very slowly becoming, there was no hiding that she was just a step away from wanting to cut someone’s head off and eat them at any given moment.

“Ah, as I was saying,” Fenfang continued. “I wish to be honest with you, gentleman. The tournament is a large gamble. It’s an expensive event to run, but I’m hoping that it’ll help solidify the image of our new empire. It’s certainly a massive bit of spending, but the infrastructure that comes from it might well serve us for a long time, and I want the common citizen to be excited to be part of something new. Including the more... fiscally-inclined of our citizens.”

“That’s an interesting idea,” Beo said. “And how do you plan on doing that?”

“Well, as you no doubt noticed, the number of citizens hasn’t grown, exactly, but the number of people has. The undead are quite a bit more numerous, and their loyalty is unshakable. They are also quite easy to please, all things considered, and their military genius is significant.”

Mao nodded severely. “We all saw the remains of the Jade Empire army sent to our gates. You don’t need to fear monger with us.”

“That wasn’t my intent,” Fenfang lied. “Ah, but I did have an intent, yes. The undead, as impressive as they are, don’t have quite as much of a sense for economics as the more... living members of our empire. That’s where I’d like your assistance, gentlemen. You are two of the most impressive businessmen around, and I need a Minister of Finance.”

Both men sat up a little straighter. “Minister of Finance?” Bao asked. “What would that entail?”

“I need someone trustworthy to manage the national budget and spending. Not military, of course. Though a proper Minister of Finance would also have a say in the allocation and collection of taxes, issuing loans to businesses to help the growth of the nation, and have some degree of oversight on the various financial institutions within our domain.”

“That’s a great deal of responsibility,” Bao said.

“It is. And it’s a position that should only go to someone deserving,” she replied. “To be clear, this is an Empire. Our finances are only going to grow, and with them the level of complication. We’re instituting a system of portals for faster travel to and from the tournament. I imagine that clever businessmen can see the implications for that on the national scale.”

“Near-instant transportation across cities will change the way mercantilism works,” Mao said. “Just in terms of transporting mere stone and ore, a large part of the cost on sale comes from the transportation. Our part of the Jade Emp-- of our empire isn’t friendly to long travel.”

“We have plans for that as well,” she said. “Have you seen the road between Yu Xiang and the tournament city?”

Bao nodded. “I have! Stepped out onto it just yesterday. It’s sturdy.”

“Hmm. I'll have to take a look. I know my stonework,” Mao said. “What of it, though? That road is hardly travelling across the nation.”

“That one, no, but it may be the start of a road that does,” Fenfang said. “My plan for my fledgling empire is to kickstart its growth through massive spending on infrastructure and great works.”

“And you want one of us to be the Minister of Finance in charge of untangling the costs of that?” Bao asked. “Seems like a difficult prospect.”

Fenfang shrugged. “If you believe yourself unable to take the roll, let me know now. There are other businessmen in the empire, and some of the undead aren’t bad at math or the like. They could take on the roll given some time to adjust to the position.”

Bao shook his head quickly. Next to him, Mao seemed a little more reserved.

But she had the impression that she had them. 

“Ah, but enough of my troubles and plans, I’m certain you both had your own worries to address, yes?”

Both men glanced at each other. Bao was the first to speak. “As a matter of fact, yes. I wanted to talk to you with regards to some of my business ventures being sidelined during this grand event, and I suspect Mao here had a similar interest with his own affairs.”

“Not that my matter is all that pressing,” Mao said, rather grumpily.

Fenfang smiled. “No no, I’d love to hear all about it. Tell me, how can the empire help you help it?”

***