"Yes, we get a lot of rain here in winter and summer, especially in winter," Dorothy said.
Princess Margaret was observing the street scene with great interest, while Dorothy was observing Princess Margaret: "Miss Mary, is Weilandale's winter different from here?"
Princess Margaret still remembered that her companion was a Writer, so she tried to make her answer more elegant: "Weilandale's winter is completely different from Tobesk's.
It's not a difference between cold and cold, it's more like..."
Xia De, who was walking ahead, listened to the two ladies' conversation, wanting to laugh but somewhat daring not to.
The two literary young women continued to discuss Tobesk's winter scenery, and Dorothy would occasionally mention the Detective stories of Xia De that she had recorded.
As they approached their destination, the Cameron Wool Mill, Xia De also joined the conversation, mentioning that not all of the commissions he participated in were related to mysterious events.
"At least this time I think it's just an ordinary case.
I don't know which swindler dared to pull such a stunt in Delarion's capital."
Xia De said this, and the three of them watched carriages hurrying past at the intersection.
Opposite this T-junction was the wool mill, enclosed by a wall.
Heavy steam pipes passed through holes at the bottom of the wall into the factory yard, and chimneys inside the wall spewed black smoke into the gray-shrouded sky.
The acrid smell in the air became even more severe.
From the factory's fence gate, one could see porters in unseasonable short clothes laboriously pushing wheelbarrows to transport goods, and further inside the factory, who knew how many female workers were still diligently working.
"Only when I see a steam factory do I feel that Tobesk and Weilandale are actually not that different," Princess Margaret whispered, then her attention was drawn to two children running by on the street.
They were not children from the slums near the factory, but a pair of twins escorted by three male servants, wearing decent coats and with impeccably styled hair, passing in front of the steam factory.
A beggar huddled by the wall merely glanced at them before lowering his head and remaining motionless.
"After all, it's the same era," Dorothy said, then glanced at Xia De.
The Outsider's gaze was fixed on the black smoke, looking out at the sky shrouded in gray mist.
Every time he saw a similar scene, he felt how real this world was.
Their luck was good; Mr. Jimmy Cameron was indeed at the factory.
Under normal circumstances, private factories like this were not allowed to be entered, but Xia De had some reputation in the city.
After he handed over his business card, someone quickly led the three of them into the white building on the east side of the factory.
When they met Mr. Jimmy Cameron, he was sitting at a table in a sunlit room, seemingly balancing accounts.
But upon closer inspection, the book he had put down was clearly the knight's "Lady with the Long Boots."
"Are you Hamilton Detective?"
After the four of them were seated, Mr. Cameron instructed his servant to prepare tea.
He seemed uninterested in the two ladies accompanying Xia De, and instead eagerly extended his hand to shake Xia De's: "I've heard your name for a long time.
What brings you here? Is one of the female workers in my factory involved in the case you're investigating?"
He, like his brother, seemed to be a Detective enthusiast: "Let me guess, there's a serial murder case in the city, and a female worker here unfortunately became a victim?
Or did Leedweich Field commission you to assist in investigating the recent widely discussed theft case, and you ended up finding me here?"
This plump gentleman wore a dark brown coat, and compared to his well-maintained brother, Mr. Jimmy Cameron's hair volume was really worrying.
Since the two were brothers, the difference in hair volume must be related to their daily routines.
"As long as a girl stays overnight at home, your routine isn't normal either."
"I'm not an ordinary person, and Witches all have hair-growing spells," Xia De replied in his mind, letting go of Mr. Cameron's hand and shaking his head with a smile: "No, no, it's not that important."
The servant pushed open the door and served tea to the four of them.
Although this was a steam factory, Mr. Jimmy Cameron and the manager sometimes had to meet business partners in this small white building, so there was specially prepared tea.
"This lady is Miss Dorothy Louisa, and this lady is her assistant, Mary.
They want to investigate something with me today, and may record our conversation later.
This matter concerns you."
"No problem, you can record it.
But what matter concerns me?" Mr. Cameron grabbed his dangerously thin hair, then showed an embarrassed expression: "I must state beforehand that I'm not evading taxes.
The lawyer my brother introduced said that it's a legal tax avoidance method, not an illegal act."
Dorothy took out paper and pen, but did not write down this part.
Princess Margaret sat beside the Golden-haired girl, a faint smile on her face.
She listened while surveying the room; although the walls were a bit yellowed, the wooden floor was very clean.
This Mr. Jimmy Cameron seemed to have good taste; although the furniture was all second-hand, the brown leather sofa and dark brown wooden coffee table matched very well.
"No, no, although only taxes and death are unavoidable, I'm not responsible for tax investigations," Xia De immediately shook his head: "It's like this, I've recently been investigating a magical box."
He looked at Mr. Cameron, who showed a look of sudden understanding: "Victor's box?"
Xia De didn't know this name; Sir Cameron had only referred to it as "the box" this morning: "Do you really believe it can replicate coins and banknotes?"
To prevent them from talking about different things, Xia De directly asked the question, and Mr. Jimmy Cameron pursed his lips, leaned back on the sofa, and clasped his hands together: "Although my brother, Baron Cameron, often says I'm uneducated, I still have basic common sense, otherwise this factory would have gone bankrupt long ago."
He hesitated and said, "When I first heard about the victor box, I didn't believe it either."
Dorothy subconsciously picked up her pen to record, but remembering that Princess Margaret was her assistant, she didn't do it herself.
And Princess Margaret only realized her job after the conversation began.
"But later I believed it; it really can print banknotes, I tried it myself.
I experimented with both coins and paper money, and both could be replicated, and I had someone verify them, and those currencies were all real."
Jimmy Cameron looked a bit uneasy, but this was not because he realized he might have been deceived: "This shouldn't count as privately printing Kingdom currency, should it?"
"It doesn't," Xia De shook his head: "My client was also deceived.
He wants me to find out who is making and selling this box.
I can basically confirm that this is a scam, so it's not private printing of currency.
May I ask how many pounds you paid for that so-called magical box?"
Mr. Cameron thought for a moment: "100 pounds."
"How much money has been 'replicated' so far?"
"21 pounds."
"Aside from the banknotes replicated for the first time, are the serial numbers of subsequent replicated banknotes still consistent with the replica itself?"
"Inconsistent," Mr. Cameron said, his expression indicating that he didn't realize there was any problem with this.
This made Xia De frown slightly, because this factory owner didn't seem like a simple intellectually challenged person: "Then have you ever thought that if that box is just a complex and ingenious mechanism box, the coins and banknotes you take out are just pre-stored in a hidden compartment?
Once all the banknotes in the hidden compartment fall out, it's just an ordinary box."
Mr. Cameron shook his head: "No, the gentleman who sold me the box guaranteed that if the box stopped working, I could always go find him."
"May I ask, the other party is...?"
"No, no, I can't reveal that gentleman's identity.
He told me that this kind of business can only be done by a few people, and cannot be told to more people."
Because Xia De was conducting the investigation, neither Dorothy nor Princess Margaret interrupted.
But upon hearing this, the girls basically confirmed that this was a fraud case.
"Why can't too many people do it?" Xia De asked persistently.
Mr. Cameron clasped his hands together, trying hard to recall: "He said that if too many boxes were sold, it would lead to a large amount of banknotes being replicated in a short period.
With the total amount of goods on the market remaining unchanged, the appearance of too much currency not pegged to the Kingdom's gold reserves would lead to more currency being pegged to the same total amount of goods, thereby causing abnormal price increases, and in severe cases, even an economic crisis."
He nodded very seriously: "So we cannot casually let others know about this wonderful mechanism.
For Delarion's financial stability, we must absolutely keep this secret.
Yes, everything for Delarion!"
Xia De felt that Dorothy next to him seemed about to lose control of her expression, while Princess Margaret lowered her head to write, making her expression unclear.
"At least the financial and economic Knowledge is correct," Xia De briefly commented, then suggested: "I wonder if I have the honor of seeing the victor box in your hand?"
"Of course, but it's not time for that box to be used yet, Detective, I'm afraid you won't be able to solve its mystery."
Mr. Cameron said, getting up himself to retrieve the box.
The box was in a safe in the corner of the room.
The gear safe with a built-in small steam engine required two rotations of the gear password, one push of the piston password, and most importantly, a circular key to be opened.
And the so-called "victor box" kept in such an exquisite safe was actually made of wood.
The box was generally rectangular, about the size of two ordinary hands.
The outside of the mahogany box was not decorated much, only with some wood grain carvings of strange, meaningless patterns.
Although the box had a latch, Mr. Cameron did not lock it with a padlock.
After placing the box on the table, Xia De and the two ladies were all drawn to it.
After Mr. Cameron's permission, they each inspected the box.
The inside of the box was polished very smoothly, and it was easy to compare that the internal volume of the box was much smaller than the box's own volume.
Even the most foolish person could guess that there must be a hidden compartment inside.
