The Founder of the Great Financial Family

“It’s fine for me, but from your point of view – do you really need to go that far?”

That was when Rockefeller began reciting the answers he had prepared like he had been waiting for the question, 

“Sir, as the head of my family, I have four younger siblings that I have to take responsibility for. Doesn’t it take a lot of money to feed all those kids? I can’t guarantee how long I’ll be able to do what I’m doing right now, and if I can find a job here, I would very much welcome it,” 

Carter didn’t even try to question that because the reason for wanting to work, even with that big risk, was understandable. 

But there was something else to worry about.

“Still, the thing here is that it’s not a work that simply anyone can do. You have to be able to read texts and books – and especially being able to calculate is important. It’s a work with gold coins, so there’s a lot of calculations involved,” 

Even the lord of the territory had blackened eyes. Not everyone was literate, even if they had the status of a commoner.

But Rockefeller was different. He was someone who had already prepared for this.

“If that’s the case, then don’t worry too much. My father was a tax collector, right? What else would his son learn?”

“My God, do you even know how to count?” 

“I can solve simple calculations with mental arithmetics, and complex calculations can also be solved without any problems – or, would you like to test me?”

Carter agreed and posed a few simple questions to test whether Rockefeller really knew arithmetics.

Although they weren’t the most complex questions, they could not be solved without some level of education, but Rockefeller solved all the problems he posed effortlessly – and that too with mental arithmetics. 

“Haa… how surprising. I didn’t know you were such a genius,” 

“I’m not a genius. I just learned a lot,” 

“Can it be to this level after simply learning? Where did you learn it?” 

“I told you, from my father,”

“Was that person this well educated…? Well… I did hear that his background was in the Academy,” 

Contrary to what Carter had initially worried about, Rockefeller was well on his way to becoming his assistant. In fact, he had no real shortcomings. 

‘I don’t think there will be any problems if I use him as an assistant,’

“Are you confident that you can take responsibility if there is a real problem?” 

Rockefeller smiled easily. He looked as confident as he felt. 

“I assure you, nothing that you are worried about will happen. Didn’t you say so earlier, sir? Until now, customers have never come to visit all at once to retrieve the gold coins they have entrusted to you – so will I have any issues?” 

“Well, it should be so…” 

“You don’t have to worry about taking responsibility for that matter – if you have any problems, you can leave it all to me,” 

In Banco’s work, where numerous gold coins were exchanged, the honesty and trust with the workers came first, so Carter was a bit reluctant to have someone he didn’t know very well be his assistant because he wanted to avoid any bad situations…

But his greed was never small enough to throw away Rockefeller for just that reason.

“Alright, your situation is pitiful, and it’s not like I don’t have any greed towards money, so let’s try to form a mutually supportive position. In return, if I run into any problems while doing what you suggested, I will claim ignorance since I hired you despite not needing help for that very reason.” 

When Rockefeller was inwardly excited about securing a job, Carter began to look at him more seriously. He began to warn him in a tone different from any other time he had spoken to him.

“And there is something you should keep in mind. You shouldn’t try anything unsavoury while working here. I am someone who, at the end of each day, counts all the gold coins that I have traded and one-by-one makes a record of them in my ledger. I’m so meticulous that I will always notice if something is wrong – and there’s never going to be any money leaking. And if there is such a thing, then I can reasonably suspect you as the culprit,” 

So Rockefeller then decided to tell him about the trust and reputation that the Rothmedici family had built up over the years to show Carter that he could trust him. 

“Sir, my grandfather was a doctor who healed the sick, and my father was also a sincere tax collector who never caused trouble while working for the lord. With such an upstanding grandfather and father, would I dare to fool around here?” 

Like the very same goldsmith who deceived customers on the basis of trust and reputation, Rockefeller also gave him confidence by citing that very same trust and prestige that the Rothmedici family had built up. 

“Of course, I have been involved in smuggling for now to make a living, but if it had not been for the risk of starvation, I wouldn’t have touched such a thing,” 

Hearing Rockefeller’s words, Carter thought for a moment, then smiled and extended a hand out to him. 

“Then, let’s do well together in the future.”