There was silence at my words. Pepper purses her lips and looks at me and Ilyin in confusion. Ilyin, on the other hand, seemed to have frozen and was looking at me with her eyes wide open.
“Uh…… I mean, it’s been so long since I’ve had a proper salary… that I’m not sure…”
Whether her mind had gone blank or not, Ilyin counted on her fingers one by one. Unable to watch any longer, Pepper gently took Ilyin’s hand and whispered softly.
“Experienced commoners usually get just over 3,000 gautes a year. But we are lower-class citizens… Even as our experience increased, our salary continued to be the same.”
“And how much is that?”
“A-A little less than 1,440 gautes per year.”
Well, that’s a big difference. For a craftsman, that amount was quite a slap in the face.
“So, how much do you want?”
“Y-You can pay us the same as before. Just as l-long as it’s in cash…”
Yeah, there’s no way Pepper would answer any differently from this.
As I shifted my gaze to the side, Ilyin, clearly nervous, took a deep breath. Then, just as I had hoped, she boldly shouted out.
“Oh, what was that again? You’re an aristocrat, wealthy, and noble lady, aren’t you? How about an annual salary of 2,500 gautes?”
“Ilyin!”
Pepper quickly covered Ilyin’s mouth as she screamed loudly. But it was too late—I had already heard everything. Considering the enormous sales that will be generated in the future, this is a contract with no losses for me.
Smiling broadly, I beckoned Juliet with a finger.
“Juliet, the employment contract.”
“Yes, master.”
Juliet quickly cleared the table and brought out the contract. I tapped it lightly and began to speak.
“For the first year, we will assess your skills and set your salary at 3,000 Gautes.”
“… Pardon?”
“You might be bluffing, so I’ll start here. Do you have any complaints?”
Of course, they have none.
Pepper swallowed hard and shook her head as if in disbelief. Ilyin’s eyes sparkled with a mix of astonishment and greed. This is her desire to have the salary I mentioned. I pointed to the door with the tip of my quill.
“Those outside who have over five years of experience get 2,800. 2,300 for those who have 3 years or more. Those below that are considered beginners will receive 2,100 gautes. How does that sound?”
“I-It sounds g-great!!”
Pepper, probably moved by the unexpected offer, exclaimed relatively loudly with tears in her eyes. But that wasn’t the end of it.
“In addition to congratulatory money for pregnancy, a day off during menstruation, and four days of summer vacation, you can meet with me once a year to renegotiate your salary, and that’s your right.”
“… … !”
“Especially, you can take a leave of absence during pregnancy until childbirth. For up to a year, you’ll receive a third of your monthly salary, and after that, it will be unpaid leave. And when you come back, there is absolutely no pressure to get fired or quit your job.”
Actually, I feel like giving more. However, business is not something you can do with just your heart.
Terran has a high birth rate, so there would be many pregnant employees, and I had to consider the possibility of five or six employees being on leave simultaneously. With the exception of Ilyin and Pepper, the salaries were lowered to minimize backlash from the employees who are commoners.
‘With this, no one can raise significant complaints.’
After completing the calculation, I dipped the tip of the quill into the ink and wrote down the annual salaries. Then I asked a question in a passing tone.
“Ah, how many of you don’t have a place to stay?”
“Well, that…””
“Speak comfortably.”
“We usually slept in shifts in a small room attached to the workshop. And then we’d work again… If we weren’t married, we were pretty much homeless.”
Tsk. Certainly, the treatment of workers in this world is extremely poor. It’s tolerable for commoners, but for the lower class, it’s deplorable.
“Alright, then you can live in a dormitory. I will buy an empty building and turn it into a dormitory, so you can live there until you save up the money.”
“What?!”
“The dormitory will be ready by tomorrow, so endure for just one more day in your current place.”
Your work efficiency increases when you are in your best physical condition. Even if employees only worked four days a week, it was better in terms of efficiency if employees were focused and had fun working—rather than working six days and procrastinating or not wanting to do the work at all.
“I-I’m so, uh, overwhelmed. This is too much, sob sob… …!”
“Sister, don’t cry! Why are you crying on a good day? Huh?”
“Heuk, but, Ilyin… … I didn’t expect to be treated like this… … .”
Cough, keug. Pepper burst into tears and buried her face in Ilyin’s chest. I feel pity as I watch her bony shoulders shake. This is natural.
However, I couldn’t employ every lower-class person in the world, just those who caught my eye. I tapped the part that said ‘full-time employee’ and made a slightly arrogant threat.
“There is nothing to be thankful for. I hate lazy people. So as long as you are not overly lazy or careless, you wouldn’t have a probationary position, and this employment contract would be permanent.”
“How could we be lazy! How could we…! With these conditions, how could we….”
Wailing! Pepper finally burst into tears. Ilyin’s nose turned bright red as well.
Well, the basic form of employment in this world is non-regular work. It’s common to set a contract period, work for that duration, and then renew the contract. Since that’s the norm, no one finds it strange.
On the other hand, permanent employment is more convenient for me—having to check who’s been working for how many years, renew their contracts—taking care of all of that… Ugh, I hate it. By sharing a bit of what I have, we both benefit, and they become highly loyal employees, so why not just do that?
“Now, sign. Let the rest come in one by one and sign. Ah, explain it to them all at once outside first.”
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