Living room.
Stella had no idea that Davey had just been upstairs on the phone with Catherine.
Davey had been a little uneasy at first, but seeing Stella calmly report everything as usual, he finally relaxed.
"Mrs. Berry arranged for three hundred women to come in for interviews. The factory was already short on staff, and I checked with HR—most of them are suitable, so I accepted them all."
"Mrs. Berry is very pleased. This is a major breakthrough for the Women's Rights Association."
"However, there's a chance we may face pushback from other factories. That's something I think you should be prepared for, Davey."
The garment factories Davey had purchased already had all their equipment in place, so it was only natural to get production running as soon as possible.
Everything he had previously discussed with Mrs. Berry had now reached the implementation stage.
Stella was the one handling all of these matters.
Although she was officially a consultant for Davey Security, in reality, aside from security-related affairs, almost everything else was being managed by Stella.
After all, a competent lawyer usually had a solid grasp of finances as well.
Davey's people looked impressive on the surface, but finding someone who could truly stand on their own and handle management was almost impossible.
They could fight, sure—but when it came to management, they were hopeless.
It wasn't that Saint Denis lacked capable talent. The problem was that loyalty couldn't be guaranteed.
Loyalty was a line that couldn't be crossed.
In a place as chaotic as Saint Denis, loyalty was both cheap and incredibly expensive.
"I have to remind you, Davey, workers' wages aren't a small expense," Stella said.
"The garment factories' accounts are already empty."
The two garment factories employed a total of eight hundred workers.
Wages in garment manufacturing were relatively low, but the average monthly pay was still around twenty-five dollars.
That meant Davey had to pay out twenty thousand dollars every month.
"Don't worry, Stella. That amount of money is nothing to me," Davey said calmly.
"I'll transfer fifty thousand dollars to the garment factories for operations and to purchase raw materials."
In reality, Davey didn't have much cash left—less than seventy thousand dollars in total.
But that wasn't a problem.
Moonshine had already begun selling in Saint Denis, and daily production was expected to reach thirty thousand bottles.
Since it was an agent-based business, Davey settled accounts as soon as the moonshine reached the distributors.
That allowed the distillery to recover costs quickly—at a rate of eighteen thousand dollars per day.
Of that eighteen thousand, fifteen thousand went straight into Davey's pocket.
Moonshine sales in other regions of the West brought in another two thousand dollars or so each day.
Most of that income, however, went toward paying employees' wages—especially since Davey was about to recruit another two hundred workers.
With the existing staff included, Land Security would soon have three hundred eighty employees, and wages alone would cost forty thousand dollars per month.
Then there were other expenses—the Veterans' Club, the mansion, horses, and countless other costs.
The bigger the operation, the bigger the spending.
Up to now, moonshine remained Davey's largest and most important source of income.
And the Saint Denis moonshine business would continue to support even larger investments.
"Fifty thousand dollars? That's more than necessary. Looks like your funds are plentiful again," Stella remarked.
She understood Davey's general situation, but she wasn't deeply involved in the moonshine business.
The Saint Denis moonshine operation didn't pass through her hands at all.
"That's right, Stella. And next, I'll need to invest in even more factories."
Money sitting still had no meaning. Only when it was spent did it truly become money.
In the current West, just a few thousand dollars was enough to open a small factory.
And for Davey, a few thousand dollars was only a matter of days.
Since that was the case, why not open many factories?
"So, what kind of factories are you planning to open?" Stella asked.
"First things first—if I'm helping you with all this, you'll need to hire me as legal counsel for these factories."
Even though she and Davey were already involved romantically, in the new United States, women valued independence and their own careers.
That was very different from more traditional societies.
If you worked, you deserved to be paid.
"Of course, Stella. You'll be the legal counsel for every factory under my name," Davey replied.
"I plan to open quite a few factories, so you may be busy for a while—but I trust you can handle it."
"First, a canned food factory. You know how vast the West is—preserving and transporting fresh food is a real challenge. Canned goods extend shelf life, make storage and transport easier, and meet people's need for long-term food supplies."
"As the West continues to develop and the population grows, demand for convenient food will only increase."
"Vegetables from my farm can be shipped directly there."
"Next, a leather factory. A leather factory in the West won't have trouble finding buyers, will it?"
"Of course, we'll also need a lumber mill. We could even make our own furniture. I've built quite a few houses in Valentine, and buying furniture is far too expensive."
"With our own lumber mill, we'd be selling to ourselves."
"Oh, and I almost forgot—a textile mill. Since we already have garment factories, why not open our own textile mill as well?"
As he spoke, what Davey truly wanted to build was something else entirely—his own arsenal.
In the West, firearms were essential tools of life and work, used for hunting, self-defense, and law enforcement.
Davey's Land Security Company also required vast quantities of guns and ammunition.
Buying firearms and ammunition was an enormous expense. If he had his own arsenal, he could achieve complete self-sufficiency.
Moreover, the West currently had no arsenals at all. Every gun and bullet was shipped in from the East.
If an arsenal existed in the West, there would be no shortage of buyers.
But building an arsenal wasn't as simple as setting up other factories.
It required the proper production licenses. Technology itself wasn't the issue—offer high enough wages, and plenty of Eastern arms-industry experts would be willing to move west.
The real difficulty lay in obtaining approval.
Establishing an arsenal required passing through multiple departments and layers of approval.
First was the state government. For Davey, that wasn't much of a problem.
Whether it was the current Mayor Lemieux or the future Mayor Jean Marc, both would likely approve and support it.
The real obstacle was the Weapons Manufacturers Association.
Although it wasn't an official government body, it held considerable influence in the United States.
The Association reviewed applicants on technical capability and industry standards, evaluating whether their production methods met requirements and whether the weapons produced were reliable and safe.
Only with the Association's approval could a company even hope to obtain the qualifications to build an arsenal.
After that came approval from the federal Department of War—the most critical step.
The Department of War oversaw national military affairs and defense construction, and it conducted extremely strict reviews of any enterprise involved in weapons production.
They examined the applicant's background, production capacity, factory security, and the type and intended use of the weapons, ensuring everything aligned with national military strategy and security needs.
Finally came the Treasury Department, which reviewed matters from the standpoint of taxation and economic regulation.
So if Davey wanted to build an arsenal, he first had to demonstrate that he could contribute sufficient tax revenue to the United States—proof that he had the financial strength to operate such a facility and pay taxes on time.
At present, moonshine wasn't taxed at all. With his current status, there was no way he could pass the normal approval process.
In this case, no amount of money would help.
In the East, money mattered—but meeting the conditions mattered just as much.
"Well, it looks like I really will be busy," Stella said, sounding both pleased and a little overwhelmed. "With so many factories, Davey, do you still want the same thing as before—the best equipment?"
"Of course, Stella. Every factory must be equipped with the best and most advanced machinery, all purchased from the East."
"Money isn't a problem," Davey said generously.
"Davey, you may not realize it, but when you say things like that, you're actually very handsome," Stella said with a smile.
Davey replied, "Then may I invite the beautiful Miss Stella to have dinner with me?"
Stella shook her head. "As much as I'd like to, I already have plans."
Davey put on a wounded expression. "You just said I was handsome, and now you're going on a date with someone else?"
"I'm heartbroken, Stella."
Stella was speechless. "Davey, it's Mrs. Berry. She introduced me to the Women's Rights Association. Tonight, she's inviting several other prominent ladies. Do you really want me to turn that down?"
Davey immediately recovered. "Of course not, Stella. I respect your decision."
Watching Stella leave, Davey let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Lately, whenever he faced her, he couldn't help feeling a bit guilty.
That evening, after enjoying a hearty dinner, Davey cleaned up and dressed properly.
Tonight, he was heading to the casino to attend a banquet.
...
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