Chapter 78

Wood, a name so ordinary that if you shouted it in the street, at least four or five men would turn to look.

The young man undercover at William’s side had just such a name, one that seemed to carry the style of a previous age. Simple, crude, with a faint scent of its time.

Of course, the name might look somewhat old-fashioned, but it was far better than names like Dick or Pussy. Far, far better.

After lunch, William left first with the newsboys. Before leaving, he wrote a check to Richard and told Richard to help the men find their rhythm a little.

Wood immediately slipped into his role. “Richard, it seems the boss has something to handle. Do you need our help?” The bright, faintly ingratiating expression on his face made him rather pleasant to look at, and he even deliberately showed off his muscles.

Richard merely glanced at him, then looked back down at the check in his hand. He did not like muscular men. If one wanted muscles, every shirtless worker in the factories had plenty of them.

This was no longer an age when one judged a man’s future potential by his muscles. Only farmers and workers of the past had treated muscle as something remarkable.

In this new age, a mind that could make money, and wealth itself, were the important measures of a man’s value in society, not those stiff muscles.

Though, at times, he did feel a little envy.

“Doing your own work well is far more important than meddling in things that don’t concern you. What’s your name?” Richard put away the check. William had given him a sum of money and told him to take these young fellows to have two sets of uniform clothing made, two short-sleeved shirts with the company name on the chest, two pairs of trousers, thirty genuine leather briefcases, and one thousand belts.

Those belts had great use. Richard had already given up thinking about what use they could possibly have. In his view, a belt was a belt, and cheap belts like these did not sell especially well.

Not everything would have a good market just because it was cheap. The only things that sold that way were necessities of life. Belts were not.

Those who did not care, who were not particular, could solve the problem with a piece of rope. Those who were particular would not buy cheap belts. He did not know what William wanted them for. For his head, it was too difficult.