Chapter 144: Aiming for 20,000 Sales a Day

"Hello, is this Mr. Black? This is Laura. The state consumption tax reduction that the Mayor applied for on your behalf has been approved. Could you come to the Mayor's office now? The Mayor would like to see you."

"Alright, I'll be right there!"

Just as Carter was fretting over the employment issue in Pearson, he received a call from the Mayor's office. The approval of the tax reduction meant that the commercial district was ready to truly take off!

The good news somewhat eased the frown lines on Carter's forehead. When Carter arrived at Benjamin's office, he was immediately engulfed in a hug…

"Well done, kid! Well done! Douglas is fortunate to have you!"

There was no pleasant fragrance, only a faint whiff of body odor. Feeling the slaps on his back, Carter's expression turned a bit grim... Being hugged by a man was one thing, but the smell was overpowering!

"You flatter me, Uncle Rob. What can I do for you?"

Quietly extricating himself from Robert's embrace, Carter asked knowingly. In these tough times, the mass recruitment led by Black Bank was enough to cause a stir in Douglas!

On his way to the Mayor's office, Carter saw a rare sight of bustling crowds in the small town of Douglas for the first time. Benjamin couldn't have missed this rare scene…

"Nothing, nothing! There's nothing now! Employment has been our biggest headache, and now that it's been solved, I can't think of a better word than relieved to describe how I feel."

Though there was no hearty laughter, the fading wrinkles on Robert's forehead in the still smoky office were proof enough of his sincerity.

"This year's Honorary Citizen Award has to go to you! You've helped us so much, more than I can repay… Are you free tonight? How about I treat you to dinner at Ferrero's Restaurant? We can have a drink and celebrate. Consider it my way of expressing gratitude on behalf of the people of Douglas."

Ferrero's Restaurant was the most expensive restaurant in Douglas. It served French cuisine, and though Carter wasn't sure how authentic it was, he remembered the tedious dining process from his previous visit, which made him lose interest.

However, since Benjamin mentioned dinner, Carter suddenly had an idea:

"Hahaha, I'd make time even if I didn't have any, given your invitation, Rob. But rather than keeping the joy to ourselves, how about we go to Pearson for dinner? Let's invite Mayor Raberdine as well."

"Pearson? Why do you suddenly want to go there?"

Benjamin felt a bit distressed for his wallet. Pearson, despite its single-industry economy, was like those Middle Eastern oil sheikhs—blessed by nature! Making a lot of money just by selling timber.

Though not comparable to oil-rich sheikhs, it was still better off than Douglas with its peanut farmers. Thus, Pearson was larger in scale than Douglas and had a higher per capita consumption.

"Well, I bought the Forest Bank in Pearson. Just thought of checking it out, and if we can help with their employment issues, we should. Otherwise, if they find out about the low unemployment rate in Douglas, they might flock here, causing trouble, don't you think?"

Ignoring Carter's news about buying a bank, Benjamin shivered at Carter's latter point. Indeed, they were practically neighbors. If Pearson's residents found out how well off Douglas was, they'd definitely come over, ruining the current good situation…

"Hmm, you're right. I'll call him right away! We need to make sure he keeps his people in check…"

···

···

That evening, in a lavishly decorated private room of a restaurant in Pearson, Carter, Benjamin, Raberdine, and a nervous Trafalli sat around a round table.

"Trafalli, what are you nervous about? Tell Mayor Raberdine how many people your restaurant can employ! Why are you looking at me?"

The highway commercial district couldn't be replicated, but the restaurant and burrito business could. When Carter thought of this, Trafalli became the unlucky one.

Just this afternoon, Trafalli was happily making burritos while singing, when suddenly, Carter dragged him out, shoved him into a car, and drove off without a word. If he hadn't been spared the black hood and duct tape, Trafalli would've thought he was being kidnapped…

So here he was, still wearing an apron with some yellow mustard stains, looking out of place compared to the other three, who were at least dressed decently.

More importantly, he found himself at a table with two mayors?!

"Mr. Trafalli! Mr. Black is right. We are very grateful that you're willing to help Pearson at this time. There's no need to be nervous. Even if the initial number of employees is small, as long as the business is good…as long as it's as good as Robert says, we can always hire more later…"

Trafalli was nervous, but no one was more anxious than Raberdine. Receiving a call from his old friend Robert that afternoon, Raberdine was ecstatic!

In normal times, aside from timber-related businessmen, he never saw any investors in Pearson. Now, with the economic downturn, Pearson felt abandoned by the world…

Seeing an outsider willing to invest in Pearson was a rare and invaluable opportunity…

"Thank you, Mayor Raberdine. Mr. Black is right. For a place like this, at least one hundred employees would be necessary. Your shop in Pearson will be located in the city center, and with the higher population base, a larger staff is essential."

"Wait! Carter, are you sure? This shop space is big, but having so many employees is too much. With this many, we could make over twenty thousand burritos a day!"

"That's right! My goal is to sell twenty thousand burritos daily!"