Framing 

After all the materials were transferred from the wagons to the compartments they were supposed to, Tenur called the slaves involved with the service and Shui, who had observed the whole process.

He then asked in front of Amir and the leader of the servants who came with this shipment of resources. "What were the counts?"

Shui then reported each of the numbers he and the slaves counted, unsurprisingly giving numbers below what had been sent by Mero.

"It looks like the road here got part of the items we picked up in the capital." The leader of the delivery group said, looking at Amir.

"Yes, that must be the case..."

Shui added. "That is not strange. From the capital, some changes are made in the type of transportation, from wagon to boat and then from boat to wagon... There's also the uneven route that the wagons ride, so it's normal for something to be lost on the way."

"Yes, it's normal to happen." The people there agreed while Tenur looked at Shui as if nothing was happening.

He looked at the scroll in his hand and then back at Shui, unconcerned. But he was not merely accepting that man's corrupt acts out of incompetence.

'Do what you want and take me to those resources... When that happens, you will meet your end.' Tenur smiled as he heard some customers begin to speak loudly.

The other servants dispersed after the conversation, with Amir giving those men some tips.

They would stay until the next day in this city since they had just made a big trip to bring those resources to Cusca.

They had more than enough time to get to their new destination, so they would stop for a day to eat, drink, and, if they were lucky, have fun.

Every city had 'kind' women who would work to bring joy to men of all kinds, exchanging coins for the momentary happiness of many of them...

For people who had traveled for weeks without seeing a single 'flower,' being in a city where they had options was the joy that gave meaning to many men's lives!

Amir knew of some exciting places in Cusca and had quickly advised the delivery men of the turn.

The same men making deliveries from the Touma family around Noskain were not always the same. Sometimes these different people made deliveries to this store, and sometimes individuals like those four would go months without visiting the same store.

Months were enough for people in some services in a city like Cusca to change, as occasional deaths from illness or violent acts happened.

Hence, one needed to inform oneself after months away!

Meanwhile, Shui continued his plans, trying to buy some resources for himself.

"So you are buying items from lord Mero's store?" Tenur asked Shui, pretending not to know anything. "Does that happen normally?"

"Yes, I am building my family's residence..." That man said dryly, not wanting to talk to Tenur much because of his grudge and fear of being found out.

"Really? With these quantities, will it take long for this to happen?" Tenur asked, considering the number of items Shui was trying to buy.

He would see no problem in this servant building his own family locally.

After all, in this society, servants had rights and the possibility to get their own resources, even to develop stores independent of their masters.

They obviously could not stand in the way of their master's actions with these possibilities at their disposal, but their freedoms were not small.

Tenur knew this and would not question Shui for it.

"I hope not..." Shui replied without giving details.

"Hmm, too bad then, because I have to get in your way."

"What? Why?" Shui said in a louder tone, not understanding what was going on, afraid of some kind of frame-up against him.

Tenur had already shown himself capable of doing too many things for him to be considered harmless!

This slave smiled. "I cannot sell you the items I need to produce paint, plaster, and bread. Then you will have to buy them elsewhere."

Shui sighed internally, realizing that Tenur hadn't discovered anything. He was just preoccupied with his own operations.

But still, he shouted angrily. "That can't be. How can I not buy an item available for sale in the store? Are you doing this because we don't get along, slave?"

Tenur looked at Shui and said. "Not at all. No other customer will be able to buy those resources. I'm just keeping them stored in this furniture temporarily. But look at that. There is no sign indicating the price or the item on hand on those pieces of furniture." He pointed.

"That..."

Shui realized this was the case and turned to look for Amir and make a complaint.

Tenur stood watching him but said nothing, letting Shui dig his grave.

In the meantime, he continued to order the slaves around, keeping track of the production of paint, plaster, and bread.

But not only that, he still attended to several customers in the morning, individuals who, even after the increase in prices, or rather the return to normal prices, continued to buy there.

Before Tenur's arrival, this store made an average of 50 silver coins daily. But even after bringing the prices of the standard products back to normal after that promotion, this slave had already collected more than 200 silver coins in the morning from the sale of common items alone.

With that result, he finally saw the results of all the changes he had recently made in that store!

'Ah, today will be a good day...' He smiled as he thought about what he had planned for later.

...

Hours later, Shui had not been able to convince Amir nor any other servant to go against Tenur's orders regarding the materials currently offered in that store.

In the meantime, the delivery of plaster continued, along with the sale of bread and paint.

In mid-afternoon, the purchases made by Tenur earlier in the Amari family store arrived, making it possible to start the production of alcoholic beverages.

Because of this, before the local sunset, while that establishment was still open, Tenur and some slaves he trusted began to make preparations for the production of beer and wine.

But they merely put some ingredients into Tenur's improvised machines without doing much since there was not much time left before the day's closing.

That had been a good day, and everyone wished to get some rest, including Tenur, who had his own plans for that evening.

'Today, the store managed 54,540 bronze coins, cutting the loss a bit more... That's good. At this rate, I'll be able to close my first month here close to a profit!' He celebrated in his mind before ordering the slaves to close the windows and doors.

At this moment, the servants who had delivered the goods earlier and the slaves of this group were also standing there, as all 18 individuals of this store stood in front of it.

Beside Shui were some men from Khaa's family, there to carry their items to her residence.

But when most of the people there thought they would proceed to the slave resting place, Tenur suddenly raised one of his hands in the air and said. "Just a moment, Senior Shui."

"Uh? What do you want?" That man asked in surprise as Amir and the group's servants sent by Mero continued standing on the outskirts in a circle.

Tenur smiled and said. "Senior Shui, would you mind if we looked at the bags your family members carry?"

The people in Shui's group frowned, not liking this at all.

"Of course, I would mind! What do you want with my items, slave? You've forbidden me to buy what I needed, and now you want to search for me? Are you crazy?" He asked angrily.

"I suspect Senior Shui has things that don't belong to him in those bags... Things that belong to lord Mero and shouldn't be with you." Tenur said, but without surprising any of those servants, with whom Amir had already planned everything in the previous days.

To Shui's misfortune, before these men left the ship at a port near Cusca, they had counted every item to be delivered. So there could not possibly be a difference as significant as the one reported by Shui earlier for just losses on the journey!

They would have to be blind not to notice such a loss on such a short journey!

Shui had fallen into Tenur's trap!

...