Lavaz Town, Dejoka's cottage.

Perhaps it was due to being accustomed to a simple life, or maybe he really enjoyed the harmony with his neighbors, Dejoka never moved to a larger house, despite his wealth.

However, the furniture in the house had been updated; Dejoka got rid of items he had previously been reluctant to discard and turned the cluttered room on the first floor into a cozy study.

It was already past eleven o'clock at night, and Dejoka was still balancing the books in the study.

Recently, business had expanded rapidly; new insurance, shipping services, and the military factory set up in the United States, as well as the expanded factory in the town, kept Dejoka, the nominal owner of the Bernard Group, extremely busy.

Camille came in with a cup of coffee and gently placed it on Dejoka's desk.

Usually, she would quietly leave at this time to avoid interrupting Dejoka's work, but this time, she stood by the desk for a moment.

"What?" Dejoka noticed something was amiss, paused his work, and looked up at Camille.

"Do you have time to talk?" Camille asked cautiously.

"Of course." Dejoka nodded.

"I know Shire wouldn't do something like this, but..." Camille hesitated.

Dejoka instantly understood what Camille wanted to discuss and looked resigned: "He certainly wouldn't do such a thing, Camille."

"I know that," Camille replied, "but you don't know the extent of the current material scarcity, Dejoka. Uncle Anatok told me yesterday that many people can't afford flour anymore. They can only make bread by mixing sawdust and potato peels, and there's almost no sight of milk or other meat. People are eating dogs and cats."

(Note: During World War I, some people kept cats for food because cats could catch mice and almost did not need to be fed. They called them "roof rabbits.")

"This has nothing to do with Shire or the Bernard Group," Dejoka answered, "We have always sold the materials we transport at fair prices; we simply can't control who buys these materials..."

Dejoka also hoped to sell these materials to those who genuinely needed them; he even refused to sell them to capitalists at high prices.

However, the capitalists hired a batch of poor people to rush to buy the goods, no matter where Dejoka placed the supplies.

"Can't we think of a way?" Camille's eyes were full of urgency: "Even though I know about these things, they happened after Shire took control of the shipping. People still believe this is related to Shire."

Dejoka nodded slowly, his face heavy.

People wouldn't listen to Dejoka's explanation; they only knew that Shire had controlled the shipping and life had gotten worse by the day, to the point where they were starving and couldn't survive.

What's worse is that winter had just passed, and they had already used up their stored grain and had no seeds to plant.

While Dejoka was at a loss, the sound of a car engine came from outside, getting closer, and finally a screeching halt.

"It's Shire." Camille was both surprised and delighted and ran outside to greet him.

Dejoka didn't rush out; he walked slowly to the living room, thinking about how to resolve the issue.

Not long after, Shire appeared at the door. As soon as he saw Dejoka's expression, he guessed what was on his mind: "Worried about the material issue, father?"

Dejoka was taken aback and looked at Shire with surprise: "You already know?"

"Yes," Shire nodded and glanced around the living room, "We've got a new sofa?"

"Yes," Dejoka and Shire sat down. He didn't want to waste too much time on the "sofa" issue, so he directly asked, "How do you plan to solve this problem? I mean, the materials."

Initially, Camille intended to go to the kitchen to prepare something to eat, but she sat quietly at the dining table, waiting for Shire's response after hearing this topic.

Shire took off his general's hat and placed it aside, speaking in a relaxed tone: "I just need to clarify something."

"I know," Dejoka nodded, "People will believe you. You can even list the evidence to let people know what the capitalists have done."

For Shire, this was a simple task. He had high prestige among the people and also controlled two media outlets, one of which was an authoritative military newspaper, so no one could silence him.

But...

"This still doesn't solve the issue," Dejoka was dissatisfied, "I mean, the capitalists will continue to do this to oppose your control over the materials. You could say it's a kind of coercion."

Shire understood Dejoka's point.

What the capitalists truly wanted was the "Echo Detector."

Just as they told people that this situation occurred because Shire monopolized the "Echo Detector."

Once Shire sold the "Echo Detector" to others, such as the Toulon Shipyard and Britain, the military could produce a large number of "Echo Detectors" and equip them on warships in a short period of time.

Then, the material situation would improve, and people could receive a large amount of food.

But the capitalists had guessed wrong; Shire would not give in.

This not only wouldn't pose any obstacle to Shire but would also present him with an excellent opportunity.

"It's simple, father," Shire answered, "We can implement a wartime rationing system."

"Wartime rationing system?" Dejoka's eyes lit up.

Camille looked perplexed; she had no concept of a rationing system.

"Yes," Shire replied, "Once approved, France will purchase materials landed at a unified price and distribute them uniformly in the name of the state."

Before this, even though Shire controlled the safety of the shipping routes and the materials' life and death, he still didn't have actual control over these materials.

Because the capitalists only needed to buy Shire's insurance to transport materials that France needed from the United States and control the economy and bribe legislators and officials.

Once the wartime rationing system was implemented, all these underhand dealings by the capitalists would be completely cut off.

"But..." Dejoka still had doubts: "What if the capitalists collude with legislators to embezzle materials by falsifying accounts?"

Shire smiled: "You've forgotten, all materials land under the protection of the French Navy. We can count them in the name of protecting their safety."

Dejoka instantly understood.

The French Navy could tally the transported materials one by one, which meant he had an account book in hand.

If any capitalist secretly embezzles and doesn't enter the materials into the national treasury for uniform distribution, the French Navy would just need to check the accounts, and it would be immediately exposed.

"Great idea!" Dejoka was pleased: "So the rationing system..."

"I've already reported to General Gallieni," Shire said, "Now what we need is the people's outcry."

As long as the people's outcry is strong enough, legislators wouldn't dare to go against the public will and forcefully reject this proposal.