I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 112: The Perfect Script

(A house that aligns with Shire’s imagination)

When Francis sent Valtan out, Dejoka and Shire happened to arrive by car. They hurriedly jumped out without caring about the light rain outside.

"Mr. Valtan!" Dejoka’s tone was almost pleading: "Let’s talk again, we can offer you a better price..."

Shire remained silent. He noticed the smug look on Francis’s face and seemed to understand that the contract had been signed. He sighed slightly and stopped in his tracks.

Valtan ignored the two of them, boarded his carriage, and shouted "Paris" to the driver. The carriage sped away, splashing mud onto Dejoka’s trousers.

Francis laughed joyfully: "Hey Dejoka, Shire, long time no see!"

He turned his gaze to Shire and asked mockingly: "Are you on vacation today, Shire? You must have been delayed by something! You should’ve come earlier. Perhaps your eloquence could have convinced Mr. Valtan, but unfortunately..."

Francis shrugged and then said consolingly: "It’s okay, there will be another chance. It’s just 1800 tractors anyway!"

He laughed again.

Dejoka and Shire stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

Suddenly, Francis’s expression changed to stern and cold: "I’ve been in this business for decades; I won’t be easily defeated, young men! Mind your own business!"

With that, he ignored them and, escorted by his butler, walked back to the villa under an umbrella.

Dejoka wiped the rainwater off his face and somewhat embarrassed, pulled Shire back to the car.

"Let’s go!" Dejoka said. "There’s nothing we can do now!"

They both felt quite dejected. Even the car seemed to move listlessly, shaking as it drove away on the highway.

Francis stood at the door, looking back coldly at their retreating figures. A smile again played on his lips. He felt he had won a brilliant victory. Although Shire had seized the initiative in many aspects, he still had better luck, managing to sell all the unsold tractors that had been sitting in the warehouse.

"Master!" Simon asked: "Now that we’ve sold all our stock, shouldn’t we call back the workers to continue production?"

"No!" Francis didn’t hesitate: "Such customers are rare. The ’Holt 60’ cannot compete with the ’Holt 75’. So, we should cease tractor production entirely and focus all our efforts on tanks!"

"Yes, Master!" Simon responded.

Dejoka drove for a while on the highway, then glanced back at the villa. Under the thin curtain of rain, it had become a blurry shadow.

The two of them exchanged a glance and unconsciously relaxed, returning to normal.

"Francis has been fooled!" Dejoka nodded to Shire, exclaiming: "No one has ever tricked him before, except you!"

Valtan wasn’t an Algerian noble at all; he was just a stage actor Dejoka found in Paris, along with other servants and the carriage props, costing 100 francs a day.

"This is different, Father!" Shire responded calmly: "If we wanted to cheat money from Francis, it might be as hard as climbing the sky. But this time, we’re stuffing money into his hands!"

"No!" Dejoka laughed and shook his head: "You handled the details very well. Algerian coffee, farmers, and the French conscription from Algeria... My God, your script was perfect! You captured Francis’s habits and psychology!"

"We still can’t relax!" Shire reminded: "We only paid the deposit. If Francis realizes something is wrong, he might still breach the contract. Even if he pays the penalty, he can still make a huge profit!"

Dejoka nodded. Typically, the price a capitalist sells to the military is two to three times the cost price. Francis could originally have made a pure profit of four to five million francs. But now, he sold the tractors at a loss of 900 francs each, totaling only 1.62 million, while he remained blissfully unaware.

Thinking of Francis’s earlier triumphant look, the last bit of guilt Dejoka had was quickly discarded.

"What we’re doing is right!" Dejoka reaffirmed himself: "Whether it’s for ourselves or for France!"

Shire responded with a "hmm," leaving no doubt.

For themselves: they made money from it.

For France: the military could obtain urgently needed strategic resources at a fraction of the price, directly affecting the battlefield’s outcome and casualties.

What Shire didn’t realize was that Dejoka’s "for ourselves" didn’t mean making money, but rather targeting Francis.

Dejoka continued to take charge, hiring the stage actors to perform the entire play. They even hinted at backing out to urge Francis to deliver quickly.

Francis didn’t suspect anything at all. After all, the money delivered was real, and he was worried about losing the deal. So, he immediately arranged for the tractors to be delivered batch by batch to Valtan in Paris overnight.

In less than a day, all 1800 tractors were parked on the empty lot Dejoka rented, covered tightly with tarpaulins, waiting to be sold to the military.

Dejoka told Shire: "We’ve spent all our money now, with only less than ten thousand francs left. It might not even be enough to pay the pilots’ salaries next month. If your estimate is wrong, we’ll be bankrupt!"

Shire only smiled and didn’t answer. As someone "from the future," how could his estimate be wrong?

Moreover, Shire’s business acumen wouldn’t let anyone, including Gallieni, take advantage of him.

...

The next day, the headquarters was busier than usual. This was evidently related to the two armies’ stalemate during the "Race to the Sea". The 300-plus kilometer frontline stretching from Switzerland to the La Manche Strait was taking shape, posing a significant burden on any country.

Shire didn’t think too much about it. He walked straight to Gallieni, who was busy, and stood tall to report: "Regrettably, General! I couldn’t complete the task you assigned me!"

"Task?" Gallieni frowned. He didn’t recall assigning Shire any task.

Shire explained seriously: "I couldn’t convince Shire. He insists that the loan interest must be 10% and paid monthly, otherwise he will withdraw the funds from the flying club and the pilots or sell them all!"

Gallieni was stunned, not expecting Shire to use such a trick.

Hearing this, everyone around paused slightly and looked curiously in their direction, followed by chuckles.

They actually thought Shire’s demands were reasonable.

No one would willingly put in effort and money. Major Fernan even secretly gave Shire a thumbs-up!