Connor stayed in the Ferguson Manor for three days in a row and met with a few people. It could be said that he had a deeper understanding of the Ferguson Family's situation.
Through this understanding, Connor also understood the Ferguson Family's problem!
In the end, the Ferguson Family's problem was still the first — — "Money!"
The Ferguson Family's income was mainly made up of three main industries. The first was the plantation economy. The land that the Ferguson Family owned could be used. According to the family records, the Ferguson Family owned close to five thousand hectares of land in Flosinone and its surrounding areas. These lands were used to grow tobacco, cotton, and other cash crops. Nominally, the Ferguson Family's annual income was close to ten thousand gold guineas.
The second pillar was the rental of the shops in Flosino and other regions. According to the family's records, the Ferguson family owned a total of eighty-seven shops of various sizes. These shops provided the family with an income of five to eight thousand pounds every year, excluding the necessary maintenance fees.
The third pillar of the Ferguson Family's business was the mineral distribution business in the Flosinone region that they obtained from the East Hoy Company through their family connections. This part of the business was the Ferguson Family's cash cow, providing a large amount of income for the Ferguson Family. However, the majority of the money earned was still taken away by the East Hoy Company. The Ferguson Family's annual profit from this business was only about three to five thousand gold guineas.
Under normal circumstances, the Ferguson family's annual income would be around twenty thousand gold guineas. If this income was real, then the Ferguson family's life would definitely be very comfortable. They definitely wouldn't be in the half-dead state they were in right now.
Since the generation of Connor's grandfather, the upper echelons of the Ferguson Family pursued enjoyment and a glamorous aristocratic lifestyle. Therefore, the Family's original savings were mostly used up. However, they still didn't know how to restrain themselves and were still immersed in a life of luxury. In order to maintain such a luxurious lifestyle, the Ferguson Family mortgaged thirty percent of their land income and forty percent of their shop rental income to the bank. This meant that although these assets still belonged to the Ferguson Family in name, the income from these assets belonged to the bank.
Not only that, but it was also because from Connor's grandfather's generation, the Patriarch's power in the family began to weaken and his control began to decline. This gave some family parasites an opportunity to privatize many of the family's businesses. According to Connor's incomplete statistics these days, at least 15% of the family's land and 20% of the shops were illegally occupied and privatized.
Mortgaged to the bank and illegally taken over by the clansmen, these two problems caused the Ferguson Family's two businesses that should've provided fifteen thousand gold guineas to the Ferguson Family only provided around five thousand gold guineas in benefits.
As for the third largest business, the Ferguson Minerals Distribution Company, even though the general manager, Arveloy, had done his best to help the company make profits, the company's management costs had always been high because of the connections of the Ferguson Family's relatives. This directly caused the price of the Ferguson Minerals Distribution Company's products to be very uncompetitive in the market.
In addition to the intensification of external competition, this caused the Ferguson Minerals Distribution Company's market share to be in a state of continuous decline year after year.
With all these factors added together, the Ferguson Family's annual income was around ten thousand gold guineas. However, the Ferguson Family's expenses were always above ten thousand gold guineas. This caused the financial situation of the Ferguson Family to increase year after year. Every year, new land and shops would be mortgaged to the bank, creating a depressing vicious cycle!
Although he had a clearer understanding of the Ferguson Family's situation, Connor still needed to think about the details of how to solve these problems. He currently had around forty thousand gold guineas, which was equivalent to four years of the Ferguson Family's income. If he gave this money to the Ferguson Family, the Ferguson Family's financial situation would be greatly improved. However, Connor was very clear that doing so would only treat the symptoms and not the root of the problem.
As long as the Ferguson family's chronic problems weren't dealt with, not to mention Connor's forty thousand pounds, even four hundred thousand pounds wouldn't be enough for the Ferguson family's revival.
One day, in the Ferguson Manor, Connor was reading the private investigator's report on the Ferguson Family's situation. His eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper. When he read the important parts, even with Connor's tolerance, he couldn't help but be enraged. He really hadn't thought that these vermin would be so bold and so greedy.
If it weren't for the fact that he was wary of the Church and the other light Magi, Connor would have started a massacre long ago and caused a series of accidental deaths, letting these vermin receive the retribution they deserved.
Just as Connor's heart was filled with anger and hatred, a pair of warm and soft hands appeared on Connor's temples, gently massaging Connor.
Connor didn't reject the sudden massage. He closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the chair, enjoying the comfort of the person behind him.
"Connor, since we've appeared in front of others, there are some rules that we still have to abide by!" Sensing that Connor's state of mind was gradually calming down under his comfort, Varga timely advised Connor.
The second day after the armed rebellion in the Ferguson Manor was quelled, Connor brought Varga from the Fati Hotel in downtown Flosinone to the Ferguson Manor, and the two of them went out together in public in front of the Ferguson Family members.
Because of Varga's matter, Butler Martinez specially looked for Connor to talk about it. He told Connor that as the head of the family and Earl Ferguson, Connor had to make some sacrifices for the family! Apart from that, he also specially mentioned the old Ferguson and his mother, Catherine Francis, to Connor.
Although the old butler didn't say anything explicitly to Connor, there was no doubt that the meaning behind his words was very obvious. He was telling Connor that his marriage wasn't something that he had absolute control over. If necessary, Connor had to be like his father and marry a woman that he didn't love at all, but who could help the Ferguson Family.
Connor didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Butler Martinez's attitude. As an official Apothecary, if Varga wanted to get married, who knew how many people would go crazy over him? He didn't expect that Butler Martinez would reject him.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
