"Why are you giving all of these to them? This is too much?" his father roared.
Raze gave him a pitying look as he slowly shook his head. He took out a gold coin and a silver coin, placed them on the table, and looked at his father.
"I want you to go make me a cup of tea," he said. His words immediately confused his father and pissed him off slightly.
"What?" his father asked, but Raze didn't stop. He picked up the silver coin and handed it to his father. "Make me a cup of tea," he said, in a slightly more commanding tone.
His father looked at the coin, a little confused as to what was happening, but he didn't take the coin. Then finally Raze picked up the final coin, the gold, and tossed it to his father. "A cup of tea, quick."
He looked at his father, still visibly confused, so he decided to explain.
"When I asked you to make me a cup of tea, you got enraged, ready to beat your son into a bloody pulp, but when I handed a silver, you became curious; you wanted to know where this would lead.
You saw that what I was saying was tied to some sort of benefit and your subconscious mind made you stay. Then when I finally threw the gold coin, you grabbed it, completely invested in what I had to say.
If I had said 'go make me tea' three times without this coin, you would have gotten mad at my disrespect. But the silver coin opened the door for me to be listened to, and the gold coin made a level playing ground, where for a moment, we were equals in negotiations.
If I had taken the gold coins and handed them to you, you would have taken it and made me tea. So you see, imagine how this worked for you who was higher than me, and think of what it will do when giving to someone lower than me," Raze explained. His father finally started understanding what he was saying.
"Incentives motivate. There exists a fine line between too much and just right, and what I crafted there is just right," Raze said.
He walked to the door, and then turned back to look at his father. "When ruling, we aren't looking for too good, or too bad; we are looking for just right, because when you use just right, it gives people a certain level of independence, but makes them truly dependent on you to have that independent lifestyle.
At the end of the day, you remain in control while everyone else is happy and living their best life."
After saying that he left. His father sat there, thinking about the words that his son had said; it all made sense. What pissed him off was the fact that he had never known this.
He looked at the coins on the table. He picked the silver and placed it above the gold. "I guess this is what it is now," he muttered, looking at the coins.
Raze, on the other hand, left the manor and headed into town. After a while of walking, he finally arrived at the site, and he had to say, work wasn't just moving, it was moving fast.
With Ella and Elaine there, they had directed every worker to the places that he marked, and work was moving fast that way.
Even when everyone saw him, they bowed their heads as he passed as a sign of respect. The rocks were broken into large chunks and gathered together at one point first.
They did that while waiting for him to arrive; he was the one that would give further instructions.
"Young master, how did it go with your father?" Elaine asked.
"Pretty fine," he responded. He walked past her and found a pickaxe lying on the ground, so he grabbed it.
"If you already have all these workers, why either you still want to work?" Ella asked.
"Because then they have no excuse to stop working. I'll make sure I drive them till the bone; I'm extracting my money's worth from their bodies," he responded with a grin.
"I wonder, is he the good guy or not?" Ella asked.
"I'm not sure either," Elaine said.
Raze walked through all the people working. He used God's eyes and picked a spot to start.
"Now to show off," he muttered. He then channeled his Qi, swinging down at full force; the pickaxe hit the rock and it exploded boom.
Rock debris was sent flying everywhere. Everyone was stunned. They all turned to look at Raze, who was now swinging away at full speed, each strike cracking the rocks easily.
Seeing his speed and productivity, the workers couldn't take that; their egos couldn't allow a fourteen year old to outdo them, never.
So in only a few seconds, it turned into a contest, but they worked well even though they were fast. Raze's plan worked, and by the time it was noon, they had done a lot, creating a massive heap of rocks.
It was time for them to get some food, but while that was getting prepared, cooked by the women that didn't work on breaking the rocks, Raze stood at a table, surrounded by a few of the town's men, Elaine, and Ella. He recalled the man that had led the people during the last job, so he asked for his name.
"What's your name?"
"I am Robert, Young master."
"Good, Robert, you are in charge from now," Raze said. He then picked out a massive sheet of paper, spreading it on the table; it showcased several rock sizes.
"This is the next phase, the rock sizes that we need. I need you guys to work with Robert and create teams that can make each size.
Once that is done, we can start the road, and we must start it today. If not, no pay for you, so get to it," he said. The men nodded eagerly and left.
"Isn't that against their contract?" Ella asked.
"Hmmm, maybe, but the threat was needed motivation," he said with a cheeky smile.