Chapter 2797: Golden Maple Manor, Unwritten Rules

After signing the outsourcing agreement, Xia Duo could be considered a member of the Time-Related Magic Research Laboratory, and he was invited to go to Siluwende to participate in the on-site investigation; Xia Duo did not refuse.

"Two days from now, the Northland Alliance will arrange an investigation team. Please, Consultant Xia Duo, make your own schedule arrangements; we will notify you when the time comes."

"No problem."

Afterwards, both parties confirmed some information again, and Xia Duo left the Northland Alliance Headquarters. Next, this avatar of his still had to meet with the architectural designer he had recruited earlier!

……

The meeting place agreed upon by both parties this time was not some bookstore outside, but rather a residence gifted to him by the Golden Maple Family, located at the foot of Yunding Mountain. A little further south, crossing a city garden, was the Meilong Market.

Xia Duo had not even visited that residence in person before; Aoruipusi had accepted it on his behalf. Unlike the previous interview, this one naturally required a formal venue.

After finding the residence by following the address Aoruipusi gave him, Xia Duo discovered that he had still underestimated the sincerity of the Golden Maple Family. He had originally thought that at the foot of Yunding Mountain, it might just be a detached house in a residential area.

He did not expect it to be a manor that occupied quite a large area, and it was built by the water, close to a tributary of the Manda River to the east, surrounded by a large patch of Cloud Maple Trees. If one were not looking down from high altitude, one could not even see a glimpse of the interior while standing on the ground.

Just as he approached the outer perimeter of the manor, Xia Duo discovered the existence of a Detection Barrier, but he did not hide his tracks; instead, he walked over openly and honestly.

Just as he entered the range of the barrier, he received an alert transmitted by the Evereska Mythallar—

This is private territory; please exit the barrier range immediately!

At this moment, Xia Duo did not continue to go deeper directly, but instead took out the ownership certificate he had almost forgotten earlier—or one could call it the manor key; it was a Magic Item that truly looked like a key.

When this key was produced, the Mythallar alert immediately changed to—

Welcome home, Master!

At the same time, there was finally movement inside the manor. Xia Duo walked forward a bit more and was met by two groups of Elves, including guards, servants, and craftsmen. Leading them was a Moon Elf who looked like a butler.

"May I ask if you are Lord Xia Duo?"

"It is I."

Hearing Xia Duo's affirmative reply, the Moon Elf seemed to heave a sigh of relief. "My Lord, I am the temporary butler of this Yunfeng Manor, waiting here for your arrival under the orders of Elder Laruian. I wonder what arrangements you have for us next?"

"Are you all subordinates of the Golden Maple Family?"

"No, we were all temporarily recruited by the Golden Maple Family. Originally, there was a team here, but after Yunfeng Manor was transferred to you, my Lord, the Golden Maple Family recruited us."

"Then who is paying your wages now?"

"The first year's wages are paid by the Golden Maple Family; after that, they will be paid by you, my Lord. If you continue to employ me as the butler, according to custom, I request an additional salary of ten percent of the manor's output."

This butler's request was not unreasonable. Some butlers skilled in management requested even higher percentages, and of course, there were lower ones, but that was just like recruiting managers on Earth; it was generally believed that those who asked for more had greater ability.

In reality, there was no absolute corresponding relationship.

Xia Duo pondered for a moment and decided to let this butler remain in his post. After telling the other party this result, he asked again: "By the way, I still don't know your name."

"Lajieer Kalaimuladas. You can just call me Lajieer, my Lord."

"I didn't expect you to be from the Sun Moon Star Family?!"

Kalaimuladas means "Blue Star" in Elvish, which shows that the family Lajieer came from was once an Upper Family, only now it had fallen on hard times, with members actually having to go to other people's homes to work as butlers.

Generally speaking, members of an Upper Family, even if not of the direct line, could easily secure a position as a butler or steward among their own kin without needing to work for outsiders.

Now that Lajieer did not reject working for Xia Duo, a human, it further highlighted the extent of the Kalaimuladas family's decline. Generally speaking, even if an Upper Family has fallen, its members find it very difficult to adjust their mindset to work for humans in a short time.

It was evident that Lajieer's family might have been in decline for who knows how many generations, having long since lost the dignity of an Upper Family and being no different from Commoners.

However, in Xia Duo's eyes, there was no distinction between Commoners and Nobles, and he would not value or look down upon the other party because of their background. As long as the other party worked hard, he would treat them fairly.

……

"Come, introduce me to the general situation of the manor. Also, there will be a dozen or so architectural designers coming over later to discuss plans; arrange a suitable meeting venue."

"The current state of the manor is good in all aspects, the conference room is available at any time, and I will have the kitchen prepare some food."

Lajieer arranged the preparations for the upcoming meeting offhandedly and began to take Xia Duo on a tour of this Yunfeng Manor, introducing it as they walked:

"My Lord, the history of Yunfeng Manor's construction is not long. It was first built 62 years ago, originally by the Golden Maple Family for investment purposes, but the selling price was generally on the high side. It passed through several owners, and after going around in circles, it finally returned to the hands of the Golden Maple Family."

"You just mentioned the manor's output; can this part of the output not cover the maintenance costs?"

In Xia Duo's view, as long as the output could cover the maintenance costs, one only needed to hoard the manor and wait for a suitable opportunity to sell it. Ever since Evereska became the Northland Alliance Headquarters, property prices had certainly been rising.

Moreover, Elves are generally long-lived; hoarding it for a few decades might even earn enough to buy another manor.

"My Lord, the output of Golden Maple Manor is quite good, and covering costs is no problem at all, but those buyers almost all purchased with loans. Expecting to pay off debts by relying on the output of Golden Maple Manor is unrealistic."

"Is there no one who purchased it in full?"

"The Upper Families have a tacit understanding. There are quite a few existences like Golden Maple Manor among the various families; they are almost designed to extract money from those wealthy Merchants."

Speaking of this, Lajieer seemed to have many feelings, but he quickly restrained his emotions and continued: "Chamber of Commerce operations have their gains and losses; it is impossible to make money all the time. There are always times when capital turnover is difficult, and this is when the Upper Families harvest them."

"Since it is known that buying this manor is not a good business, why are there still constant buyers?"

Xia Duo had actually already guessed the answer. This kind of thing was no longer news on Earth, but he had rarely heard of it in the Elf World.

After all, his understanding of Elves was more concentrated in areas like Magic and culture; he indeed did not know much about social unwritten rules.

This had to do with his human identity, and also with the fact that every time he incarnated as an Elf, he was rarely at the bottom of society.