Published at 7th of November 2020 03:33:11 PM
Chapter 227.2
I ate with Zeff-san and Camil-san for lunch, then we went our way to meet someone . The place we headed to was a lawless area where even more miserable shacks and temporary housing could be seen .
“This place sure is a lot worse off than the others . ” [Zeff]
“I heard we need to meet someone influential in order to build the garbage processing plant . What kind of person will we be meeting?” [Camil]
“Popularly known as ‘Trash Hag’… She’s been making a living for the past few decades picking trash in Gimuru, so if you need to talk about garbage, then she’s the person you’re looking for . She’s also well acquainted with the children and the garbage collectors . She’s quite prideful about garbage collection, however, so she can be a bit moody . I met her recently too, and…” [Ryouma]
“If it isn’t the rich boy . ” [Trash Hag]
We turned to the voice that suddenly called out, and speak of the devil, the garbage grandmother was right there, carrying a jute bag over her bent back .
“Ah, good afternoon, Garbage Grandmother . Are you on the way back home from work?” [Ryouma]
“There was still some time until our appointment, so I was taking a walk . I can’t believe you’d actually go all the way out here just to meet an eccentric old grandma like me . ” [Trash Hag]
“As I’ve mentioned last time, it’s a huge help to have the advice of a specialist when entering a new industry . ” [Ryouma]
“Are those two behind you related to your business as well?” [Trash Hag]
Right, I should introduce them .
“They’re Camil-san and Zeff-san . They’re helping me with my work . ” [Ryouma]
“It’s a pleasure to meet you . ” [Camil]
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“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma’am . ” [Zeff]
“A pleasure indeed . Feel free to call me Trash Hag . Everyone around here calls me that . ” [Trash Hag]
When she told them that, they visibly became troubled .
For normal people with some degree of propriety, calling an elderly person they are meeting for the first time ‘Trash Hag’ would certainly make them hesitate . I understand exactly how they feel, unfortunately…
“She refuses to say her name no matter how much I asked . As such, I’ve taken to calling her Garbage Grandmother・・ instead . ” [Ryouma]
“I see . In that case, we’ll refer to you as Garbage Grandmother too then . ” [Zeff]
Like that we concluded our conversation there and moved to her house .
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In order to build a garbage processing plant, we would be needing the help of garbage collectors . What point was there in having a garbage processing plant if there was no one to bring the garbage to it? Hence, another problem was negotiating with the people currently working as garbage collectors . After all, we will essentially end up becoming enemies with them since we will be contesting their livelihood .
I’ve considered hiring them, but I doubt all of them would respond positively, and sudden changes do make it more likely for sparks to flare up . Because of that I’ve decided that my garbage processing plant and garbage collectors will only target the places that the slum people find difficult to reach .
In the future, I do intend for my garbage processing plant to cover the whole town, but for now, it would be best not to get in each other’s way and slowly build trust .
As such…
“What kind of places would allow us to avoid the current garbage collectors?” [Ryouma]
“Hmm… For starters, the western side of town, the Craftsman District, is definitely out of reach for us . Amateurs have no business fiddling with the work of craftsmen, and some knowledge is needed in order to properly handle the chemicals they use . Because of that the craftsmen take responsibility for their own garbage and have arrangements already made to deal with them . ” [Trash Hag]
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In other words, industrial waste . It’s probably fine, but I better make sure beforehand that we can dispose of them properly and have a safe way to transport them .
“The adults also don’t frequent the eastern side of town, the residential district . Those parts are under the jurisdiction of their association, and matters regarding garbage are handled by them . It’s a rule of ours not to poke our nose there . People don’t like seeing poor people like us as is . If we start causing trouble just to gather garbage, our standing will get even worse . If it’s just enduring some bad looks, the small children can go, but at most, all they can get are the small garbage on the wayside . They’re not allowed to get the garbage gathered by the association . That’s a taboo . ” [Trash Hag]
I see…
“The people here often frequent the Business District to the south . That district has plenty of inns and restaurants, so garbage is easy to come by . The store people would throw their garbage at one of the designated places, and we would come to pick those up . Lately, there have been people who would go to the store directly and wait with their cart at the back . It’s quite a hassle, really . If they’d just asked like you, I would have happily told them, but because of them even we’re getting caught in their mess . ” [Trash Hag]
The slum people follow their rules to avoid being a nuisance to the town people as much as possible . They didn’t ask for it, but I might as well do them some good and leak word of that through the merchant guild .
After getting some information from the expert, Garbage Grandmother, I promised to drop by again, and then went back to my store to deal with some documents . There wasn’t much work to do at the store since I’m at Gimuru, so there’s no room for them to pile up, and on top of that, Carm-san is also working hard . Because of that most of my job at the store is merely to drop by, check the documents, and sign them . Frankly, it’s so easy it might as well be break time for me .
In my spare time, I got some secondhand clothes for the kids, as well as some clothes that might fit the goblins . I also spoke with the employees who were in their break time . After some rest, evening came, and it was time for me to do my last job for the day .