Chương 925: Chapter 924: Second Bridge

The applause rang out as I cut the long ribbon on the bridge, inaugurating it.

"I give you the second Greltheaven bridge. It will ease the congestion and spur the development not only of the city, but of the whole dominion," I stated. Making even more people applaud. I smiled and waved before walking toward my carriage to make the official ride over it. I stepped inside the carriage, and it moved across the bridge. It is bigger and wider. A lot of carriages pass over it at the same time, and people also walk on the pedestrian path.

"Look at the city; it hadn't been a year, and it had developed so much," said Carla, looking ahead at the eastern ring. The overall population of Greltheaven had crossed seven hundred and fifty thousand. It is increasing rapidly. Well, it wouldn't have been possible without massive funding for infrastructure. Unlike months ago, there are no small patches of buildings anymore; there are districts. Two hundred thousand people live here, and their numbers keep increasing every week.

There would have been a lot more if we had not sent them away to the different cities and baronies. It had been over two months since I began sending people to Nakar, and they are absorbing them like sponges. Every barony is undergoing rapid construction due to an influx of people. They are also converting large tracts of forest into farmland at an explosive pace and hiring experts from the empire and the merchant state to support that.

It made me very happy because the sheer amount of construction material they are using is generating a massive amount of tax revenue. Not to mention the taxes. Though the biggest benefit would be food safety, Nakar forest may be small, but if it is used well, it could provide the dominion with a massive food supply. It could help us tremendously in times of blockage. Even without it, all the food would be useful.

Even now, we buy 80% of the food they grow, and that share is increasing every year as production rises. Since I took over, trade with the merchant state and Navr had also increased. That is earning us more taxes from baronies and Mirador Hold, which has become self-sustaining this month. It had happened a little earlier than expected. All thanks to the nobles of Grimvale. They are making large purchases from the merchant states and Navr. Still, I am spending the money much faster than Dominion is making.

I didn't have a choice; all those things were necessary. I am not making a single unnecessary expense. Still, not everything is good. It's been two months since the legacy closed, and the city is starting to feel its effects. The businesses that depend on tourism are suffering. Things aren't as bad as we had expected, as many people are coming to the city, but it still can't compare to the draw the legacy had. The city is helping those businesses and hopes it will be enough for them to survive until the opening.

Once the legacy opens, their business will boom. Soon, the carriage drove out, entered the eastern ring, and stopped beside its city hall. It's bigger than Greltheaven's main city hall had been. We intentionally made it bigger. So, we will not have to rebuild it. It's too expensive.

"Welcome to Eastern Ring, my lord," greeted Trik as I stepped out of the carriage.

"Thank you, chief," I replied and looked around.

"The city is developing well," I said as I looked around.

"It is thanks to your efforts, my lord," he replied. I wanted to roll my eyes at his naked attempt at flattery.

"It would develop even faster. If you could provide more soldier labour," he requested. I smiled upon hearing that.

"I am providing you with all I can," I replied. There is only a certain number of men from the army I could use as labour, and I could not use them all in Greltheaven. No, I am using them in other cities and in the Nakar Baronies. After meeting with him, I sat in my carriage, but didn't immediately return to the central ring. I looked around the city and the things happening here, including a large military garrison.

Now most of the army has shifted here; it is more spacious, and seeing them gives people more confidence. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Soon, we passed a red-light district. It is bigger, cleaner, and with beautiful buildings and police patrolling at every turn. The red-light district is better than most districts of the city. Even the lowest-grade brothels are cleaner and well-maintained buildings.

Prostitution is one of the things I have focused on most since I took over. I have seen Velvet Garden influencing the city since Darrow was in charge. After I took over, I made a special policy to govern it and enforced it strictly. In most cities, those remained on paper, but here they do not. In the whole dominion, especially in Greltheaven. If one has to open and run a brothel, they will need to meet certain conditions and adhere to strict standards.

They must set up shifts, offer a minimum 15% commission, and not have contracts longer than five years. There is also a standard for the building and for cleanliness inside and outside. One could not see even the slightest sign of filth. Except for the business itself, which many people consider filthy. Prostitution has been a part of civilization as long as war has been. No one could remove them. If it is not legal, people will run it underground. When the legacy is born, it influences their cities.

The classes of people, the culture, and the direction of development. Especially for a small city like Greltheaven. Instead of resisting and letting it get out of control, I embraced it. I brought the laws to regulate and make it flourish. I also invested a lot of money; there are large paved roads, lamps that lit every inch of the district, gardens, and even an artificial lake in the middle. I had also opened schools specifically for them.

That will teach them other skills, help them earn secondary classes, and help them get out of the business if they wish to. There is a large enrollment in those schools, and I am currently building two more. The investment is paying off. Greltheaven is developing a kind of reputation for it. Many sex workers from merchant states, the empire, and even other countries are coming to Greltheaven. I am not ashamed of it; the women here are earning well, and it is helping them and the city.

"The new sex work policy had irked a lot of brothel owners," said Valentina as the carriage entered the red-light district. We haven't finalised the policy yet and sent it for consultation to stakeholders.

"We didn't go far enough," replied Carla. She wanted the proposal to go further than it has. The new proposal will increase the hourly commission. It will be mandatory to pay 20% for small and medium brothels and 25% for high-class brothels. Along with opening up the business to non-empire businesses. The merchant states have been lobbying hard for it. It is not the changes they would like. Well, most of them, about 30% of brothels in Greltheaven are controlled by the girls of Velvet Garden and their fund.

"There is a lot of desire to invest in brothels from the merchant state."

"On my trip, many people from the powerful houses stated their desire. I heard. They said even Ophelia is interested in opening a brothel in the city," said Valentina, looking at me for an answer. I don't know. It's not Ophelia and friends. However, I feel like it's a rumour.

"Are we going to let Ophelia open the brothel in our city?" asked Carla, her expression turning serious.

"Why not? Her brothels are really good. Her opening one here would benefit our city," I replied. I hope it's not a rumor, and she is really interested.

"I don't like it," said Carla.

"I agree. We should not let her enter our city, with the number of our people she poached," added Valentina, while I laughed.

"It is business; we should not take it personally," I replied. I will not stop her or anyone with a good enough reputation to conduct business openly here.

"As for the merchants, there will be strong safeguards. Including, not letting them own more than a fifth of the brothels," I replied. I know, the financial muscle those merchants have. If I let them have their way, it wouldn't take them long to use their financial power to buy out their competition or bankrupt them. I could see relief appearing on their faces upon hearing that.

"Speaking of which, your fund had slowed down the acquisitions recently," I said. The Velvet Fund, or whores' fund, as people call it, had become a major player in the sex business. It had developed into quite something from a fund set up to help the members of Velvet Garden. At first, it was to help their fellow members, then they started helping other prostitutes with it.

Helping them get jobs in the business they own or that is friendly to them, until it transformed into something else, during the time the undead attacked. When they snapped up land and businesses, mostly brothels, but other businesses as well, that were selling dirt cheap. Now, the fund alone owns around 20% of the brothels in the city, with another 10% of brothels owned by the girls individually. They have been aggressively snapping those up until legacy closed.

I didn't think a single remark from me would turn into this. When the undead were coming, she was worried about the money, whether to send it to a foreign account or distribute it among the girls. I told her, why not snap up land and businesses with it. If they survive, then use the profit for the welfare of its members, as the fund originally intended. They are doing this with a share of the businesses' profits, while the rest is merged back into the fund to gain more businesses.

"The contribution to the fund had declined because of the closure of Velvet Garden. While we are still earning a profit from the business, we are being cautious."

"Investing further in the businesses we have rather than acquiring new ones at the same pace we were doing," she replied. It's a healthy strategy. It limits risk but still generates profit by focusing on already profitable assets.

"I am really envious of the fund you guys have created. I want to create something like it when the city becomes fiscally stable," said Valentina, with clear envy in her eyes. Carla smiled while I sighed in hope. That day will come, but it will take time. We are currently in massive debt. We cannot do something like the sovereign fund until the city becomes financially healthy. Soon, we moved out of the red-light district and entered the entertainment one.

It was an hour later when the carriage turned back onto the bridge, which was not filled with carriages and had quite a lot of pedestrians moving through it. Seeing that, a smile couldn't help but appear on my face.

"This will elevate pressure a lot. It will be a while before we have to think about the third bridge," said Valentina. It cost a lot to build this bridge.

"The sooner the better," I replied. To which she rolled her eyes, but I could also see the hope. The third bridge will only happen when there are enough people and commerce, which is a good thing, and I hope it happens as soon as possible. Though I know we have time before we need to think about the third bridge.