A medium transport Magic Car was quickly driving through the Black Rice Wasteland.
The road under the tires was the new road that New Flyer had invested in using the new technology of the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce. Not only was the road ten meters wide, it was enough for four large transport Magic Cars to drive side by side and it was much smoother than the previous road.
Even if one drove on it at close to fifty kilometers an hour, they would only feel a slight bump and wouldn't feel any discomfort at all.
Actually, this speed had already surpassed the speed that New Flyer had set for the medium transport Magic Car, but for an old driver like old man Sarkozy, exceeding the speed limit was normal.
If it wasn't for the fact that this medium transport Magic Car's speed was only fifty kilometers an hour, he definitely would have gone even faster.
Old man Sarkozy had one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand grabbed a bottle of fresh fruit juice, drinking it down in a single gulp.
It was already early winter and this bottle of fresh fruit juice had been there for a while, so naturally it was a bit cold. Drinking it down, old man Sarkozy couldn't help shivering.
It was easy to get tired after driving for too long, so drinking a mouthful of fresh fruit juice not only stimulated one's mind, it could also replenish one's nutrients. This was what old man Sarkozy often did when he was transporting goods.
When the jug of fresh fruit juice was put down, old man Baltro who was lying in the back woke up. He gave a yawn and looked outside before asking old man Sarkozy, "Where are we?"
"We just arrived at the Black Rice Wasteland." Old man Sarkozy casually replied.
Baltro looked around the car before nodding, "Un, it's alright.
Alright, I'll take over, you've already been driving for several hours. "
"It's fine." Old man Sarkozy denied.
Old man Sarkozy said without any hesitation, "We'll be at the base of the Black Rice Wasteland in a bit, we'll take over when we come out. Wake up first."
Baltro's father thought for a while and didn't insist on staying at home. He crawled from the back seat to the front passenger seat and sat down.
After looking outside for a while, old man Baltro suddenly asked, "Hey, Sarkozy, are you really planning on moving?"
Old man Sarkozy didn't expect him to ask this question as soon as he woke up. After being stunned for a bit, he nodded and gave an un sound.
"This time, I will take a good look at the environment of the Principality of Constantine, and then decide whether to move there or not.
However, according to the villagers who had lived in the Principality of Constantine for more than a year, the environment in the Principality of Constantine was really good. The climate was good, and they all lived very comfortably.
So I think … they will most likely choose to move. "
Baltro slightly knit his brows. He turned to look at old man Sarkozy's expression and confirmed that he wasn't joking at all.
"This … your family has lived in Mexilan Village for over a hundred years, right?
Were they really going to move?
How can you bear to do that? "
Old man Sarkozy said with an uncaring laugh, "What is there to be reluctant about?
Didn't it matter where he lived?
At the end of the day, he would naturally choose to live a good life wherever he could.
Now that Banta City has been turned into a mess by those companies, there definitely wouldn't be any good staying there. "
"It's not that bad ….." Baltro refuted, "Although those companies can't do things as well as the New Flyer, they are only a few companies in the end. Could they turn Banta City upside down?"
"You don't believe me?"
Baltro gave a cold snort, "Those fellows can even chase away the New Flyer, what can't they do?
Even if we don't talk about this, let's just talk about our family.
Now that my three brats have lost their jobs, if they want to find work in Banta City, they can only go to those companies.
But do you know how much they are paying?
Six gold coins a month!
It isn't even half of their previous monthly wage! "
Baltro said in a muffled voice, "It's not like we can't live on six gold coins, didn't we live without earning that much before?"
"The past is the past. Anyway, if you want me to live a life where I can't even eat my fill, I definitely won't do it."
Old man Sarkozy said with a cold snort, "My three brats aren't willing, so after discussing it, we've decided to move.
As long as we work for the New Flyer, we can earn close to twenty gold coins a month with any job. It isn't much better than staying in Banta City. "
"It's like this, but Sarkozy, have you thought of a problem?" Baltro then asked.
Baltro asked again, "According to the new rules of the City Lord Manor, if you move out of Banta City without permission, you will be considered a citizen of Banta City.
This means that it's easy for you to move out, but it's hard to move back.
Moreover, I'm worried ….. that the kingdom's parliament might make a similar rule in the future.
If you move out and aren't recognized as a citizen of the kingdom, what will you do? "
"It's fine if they don't recognize it." Old man Sarkozy still looked like he didn't care, clearly already considering this problem.
"I just said it, we'll go wherever we can live. It's not related to Banta City or the Lampari Kingdom."
"But we are people of the Lampari Kingdom, if we leave like this ….. are you really willing?"
"Why wouldn't I be willing?
Now that this damn king is messing around and doesn't treat us commoners as people, why would we be unwilling?
For commoners like us, we don't need to consider the matters of the country. Anyway, those important people never put us in their eyes. "Old man Sarkozy said with a look of disdain.
Baltro was silent for a bit before he couldn't help revealing a bitter smile.
Although he felt that old man Sarkozy's attitude wasn't right, he couldn't find a reason to refute him.
Because old man Sarkozy was speaking the truth.
After the new king Eric took the throne, the entire Lampari Kingdom and Banta City had changed.
The prosperous Banta City that had been filled with prosperity had now become the plaything of the ten companies of the magic machine industry management department.
Other than driving out the Frestech Chamber of Commerce and squeezing out the other companies that produced magic machines, taking over the magic machine industry of Banta City, those ten companies had already reached their hands into other areas, gradually eroding the market of the old companies of Banta City.
Although those old companies were desperately resisting with their foundations, it was becoming more and more strenuous, gradually showing signs of collapse.
It was fine if it was just normal business competition, it wasn't directly related to normal citizens like old man Sarkozy and old man Baltro. Perhaps there would be some benefits from the competition between the companies.
But the problem was that after the ten companies controlled these areas, they also deeply affected the lives of the citizens.
For example, like what old man Sarkozy said just now, those ten companies controlled the magic machine industry in Banta City, but they had lowered the wages of the industry that created the most jobs to a very low standard. This was something that the citizens of Banta City who worked in this industry couldn't accept.
Then for example, when they transported goods from Banta City to Anvilmar City, it would cost them thirty gold coins for a round trip. Taking away the consumption on the way, they could earn around ten gold coins.
In a month, they could even make more than ten trips and earn close to two hundred gold coins.
Dividing it evenly, each person would receive close to a hundred gold coins. Even in the previous Banta City, this was considered a high income.
However, now that these ten companies controlled Banta City's transport, suppressing the cost of transport, if they transported goods to Anvilmar City, they would only have to pay fifteen gold coins for a round trip, which was only half of what it was before!
With this low cost of transportation, if they took away the consumption on the way, they could only earn a few gold coins.
If there was a problem on the way, they might lose everything and even lose money.
So after making these two trips, old man Sarkozy decided not to take the transport business of the ten companies. He contacted the New Flyer again and helped the New Flyer transport goods between the Black Rice Wasteland, the Principality of Constantine, and Banta City.
Although it was much more tiring because of the long journey, the New Flyer had always been generous with their transportation fees. Their profit was only a bit lower than before, but it wasn't that much lower.
There were many private transport companies like them in Banta City and other than a few that stopped, most of them chose to continue working with the New Flyer.
Moreover, because of the suppression of the ten companies, the Fersen Carriage Company that took most of the transport business in Banta City was having a hard time and it was said that they couldn't hold on any longer.
Last time when old man Baltro accidentally met chairman Pompeii in Banta City, he saw that his face was filled with worry and even his incomparably fat body had become much thinner.
Thinking of chairman Pompeii's depressed expression, old man Baltro suddenly felt that Sarkozy's words were very reasonable.
Since they couldn't live in Banta City anymore, why did they need to defend it to the death?
To the bigwigs of the kingdom, the lives of these lowly commoners were nothing to them.
Since they didn't care about them, why should they care about them?
After thinking this through, old man Baltro felt like his eyes had cleared up and he felt much more refreshed.
After thinking about it, he said to old man Sarkozy, "Alright, I'll take this chance to observe the environment of the Principality of Constantine, I hope that it is as good as those people say."
Seeing that old man Baltro had finally changed his mind, old man Sarkozy broke out in laughter.
"Relax, that place is definitely better than you think."
Baltro gave a slight nod as he couldn't help feeling a bit of anticipation for this trip.