Chapter 73 - The Governor's Vision

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the evening, Sofia arrived at the tavern when it was about to close.

At the entrance of the tavern, she could see that the street, which used to turn dim when the sky was dark, was now lit up by the white street lights at the entrance of the tavern.

Sofia was very shocked by this change because she had not come here for a long time. She felt that she had missed a lot of things. When she thought of this, she became even more dejected.

Sofia stopped herself from thinking too much and walked straight into the tavern. She got another shock when she entered the tavern.

The tavern was usually empty at this time of the day. But now, not only was the interior brightly lit, there were also many people who were still around.

Seeing that Alan was still standing at his usual spot, she smiled. However, there was also a Loli, a dog and a cat around him…

From afar, Sofia could also detect that the three of them had the scent of the Abyss. However, Alan did not seem to sense anything and was huddling with them without the slightest animosity.

Just as Alan was pulling Ai Xiaohei down from the table, Sofia came over to the bar counter.

Wayne had seen Sofia arriving at the tavern earlier than Alan. He said, “Hey, it’s Sofia! You were not in the city after the harvest season? Haven’t seen you for quite some time.”

Sofia didn’t answer his question. She simply nodded in return.

Wayne shrugged, expressing his helplessness. If he wasn’t careful enough, he would have been frozen to death by this ice beauty.

“Sofia, come and sit here.”

Alan beckoned her to sit at the bar counter to chat with her for a while.

At the same time, he got Abraham and Wayne to look after Ai Xiaohei and Lolita, and prevent them from drinking anymore.

After they had sat down, he poured some wine for Sofia. The new wine was too strong for women, so he did not let her try it.

“What are those people doing over there?”

Sofia raised her wine glass and pointed at a small group of people in the corner.

“There’s a new game over there. Those people are playing it.”

Alan looked in the direction of her finger. The people in the corner were watching other people playing mahjong.

When Sophia heard that it was a game, she frowned slightly.

“Why are you not doing your job anymore?”

“The most important thing in a tavern is wine. You should be researching on new wine types instead of doing things uncalled for.”

Sophia started to get long-winded and was preaching about various issues.

Alan was oblivious to what she was saying.

“Well…”

He found the right time to interrupt her.

“Sofia, what do you think about the plan I told you about changing the light source and converting the energy source?”

Alan asked and then looked at her expectantly.

She thought for a while and said, “In principle, I agree with you, but are you sure that the electric pole is reliable?”

Regarding this, Alan had to go to the governor’s mansion to discuss with him.

“As long as you agree to this matter, you can leave the rest to me. I will discuss it with the governor.”

Alan said with confidence.

After discussing it with Sofia, the two of them chatted for a while just like before and after a while, Sofia left. Because of the mahjong game in the shop, its closing time became much later.

It was not until Uncle Wayne left that Alan finally closed his shop.

Everyone went to rest. Since Sofia has consented, he will go and talk to the governor directly tomorrow morning.

The next morning.

Alan struggled to wake up before going straight to the governor’s mansion.

This was his first time going to the governor’s mansion.

The governor’s butler, Morad, recognised Alan and when Alan arrived at the gate to meet him, Morad quickly invited him in.

“Morad, long time no see!”

Alan greeted him excitedly. He had an affinity for this person whose personality takes a drastic change after drinking.

“Mr. Alan, please don’t make fun of me.”

Morad said to him helplessly. He was aware of Alan’s weird taste.

The two of them were walked and chatted. Soon, they arrived at the conference room.

This was the office of the governor, and also the place where the administrative officer, Severino, worked.

It was a very simple and crude room. Alan was surprised when he entered.

“Little Alan, it’s really rare that you would come to the governor’s mansion to look for me.”

Kramer excitedly invited Alan to sit down and converse with him. Morad pushed the door open for Alan and left.

Alan bowed respectfully to the governor.

“It’s okay to drop the formalities, it’s such a rare scene to see you here.”

The governor said to Alan kindly.

“There is indeed something I need to discuss with you.”

Alan directly told him about his proposal. When the governor heard that it was an imperative matter, he returned to his seat and sat behind his desk with an austere expression.

“If you have any proposal, feel free to speak.”

Alan saw the governor’s way of doing things and knew that business meant business.

“Dear governor, the thing is, my tavern has recently changed our lighting system with electric lamps…”

Thus, Alan started telling him about the electric lamps, the generators, and the electricity poles on the streets, as well as the plan to connect the entire city with electricity.

“As of now, I have already discussed with the owners of the Elf Tavern on Main Street. Once you have approved my proposal, my team will immediately set up the electricity poles along the back street to the Main Street. After connecting the wires, we can let the taverns on Main Street use the electric lamps as well. We can then use the connection between the two taverns as a pilot to continue pushing the plan forward.”

Alan saw that the governor was deep in thought. At this time, the administrative officer also came by. The governor signaled to him to start work and did not let him say anything.

“What is your purpose for doing this?” Kramer asked.

His face full of magnanimity, Alan said, “There is no special reason. Of course, I have tried it and felt that it was very useful, so I wanted to let Elf Tavern try it as well.”

After which he started a new round of presentation with stakes involved.

“What did you say were the two modes of collaboration with the governor!?”

After listening for some time, the administrative officer finally understood that Alan was here to do business with the governor. He and the governor were at a level where they understood each other completely with no exchange of words. The governor was obviously interested in the new energy source that Alan was talking about, as well as the modes of collaboration.

“The first mode is that I will rent the completed generator to the governor’s mansion. The governor’s mansion will pay the rental fee to me. In return, you get to collect the electricity fees from the residents as part of your income.”

“The second mode is that I will sell the blueprint of the generator to you. You only need to pay me a large sum of money one-time off.”

Alan finished speaking and then stood aside and waited while the governor and the administrative officer discussed with each other.

After some time, the two of them finally had an answer.

“Alan, if we choose the second mode, how many gold coins do we need to pay?” the administrative officer asked.

“Just give me 5,000 gold coins. I will definitely not produce generators in private.”

When the administrative officer heard Alan’s words, he instantly felt a pinch. After all, this amount of gold coins was almost a year’s worth of tax revenue.

However, from a long-term perspective, the second mode was the most reliable. The two of them reached an agreement and paid 5,000 gold coins to Alan.

“Oh right, I have another idea. This thing must be handled by the officials.”

“The governor’s mansion can have a patent system. Under this system, anyone who registers a patent with the governor will be under protection. If other people want to use this patent, they will have to pay a fee.”

A patent not only protects a new technology, it can also generate income for the governor’s mansion.

After explaining the concept of the patent clearly, the governor and the administrative officer were full of admiration for Alan.

The two men repeatedly praised Alan..