Chapter 513 Price War
Vio Shipping Company is a private enterprise engaged in water transportation business between the Newin Town Pier in Innadri and the Moses Port Pier.
Local enterprises like this, which are small in scale but have successfully established themselves in a certain field, are mostly private property of aristocrats or have close ties with aristocrats; Vio Shipping is no exception... The big boss of this company is Baron Vio, a nobleman from the town of Newin.
When the Innader County was vigorously reviewing old cases and purging the entire county of lawless criminals, the Baron and Baronette of the Viot family survived this ordeal thanks to their excellent character (among the local nobles) and their good reputation for doing business in Newing. The crew and employees of Viot Shipping were all local people from Newing, and they treated the workers and sailors relatively generously. In view of their contribution to the employment of local people, the City Hall showed them some favoritism.
Although some of the Vio family's land was involved in lawsuits and some of their property was confiscated by the city hall because their origins could not be clearly explained, at least the important shipping company and several properties in the family were saved.
In view of their cooperation with the city hall's decrees and their active clearance of land and property of unknown origin, the city hall recognized this private shipping company, issued relevant operating certificates, and gave the green light to Vio Shipping for some of its business - except for the Skeleton Fleet of the Transport Department, only their ships could legally transport affordable Inadli products to the Port of Moses.
During the two months when the territory of Odysseus was in turmoil due to the change of its lord, Vio Shipping diligently brought dozens of ships of supplies to Moses Port, which to a certain extent helped to stabilize local prices - otherwise the price of shelled wheat would have increased by more than twenty times.
The day before the Skeleton Fleet arrived at Moses Port, the Vio Shipping Company's fleet brought in four ships of Westham flour, Everlook Town corn, Kane Town potatoes, and fresh lotus roots provided by the Orange Cat Knights as usual; they were sold publicly in the port area and West City district of Moses Port, two areas where civilians were concentrated.
After just over twenty hours, the four ships of cargo brought by Vio Shipping had been sold out.
Business is doing so well... But the owner of the fleet, the big boss of Vio Shipping, Baron and Lady Vio, who had sensed some unrest and came to Moses Port to take charge last month, are not happy at all.
On Jili Street in the west district of the port area, at the Moses Port branch with the Vio Shipping sign hanging on it, Baron and wife Vio and three capable deacons were looking through the account books in a room on the second floor, each with a more solemn expression than the last.
"We've thought of so many ways, but the lion's share is still monopolized by others..." The Baroness put down the account book, and cold sweat covered her plump forehead. "Marts, even the single-person purchase restriction doesn't work?"
"Yes, ma'am." Deacon Maltz said solemnly, "Those who hoard goods just need to have their people line up. They are so numerous that they can stop ordinary citizens from entering our stores and prohibit them from approaching the streets where our stores are located. But our people... you know, we have too few people. Even if all the sailors on the ship come down to help, they can't control those people."
The baron and his wife looked unhappy. Baron Vio, who was also chubby, asked, "What if we don't sell our goods in the store?"
"This morning, I asked our people to pull a few trucks of goods to the civilian neighborhoods in Xicheng District before dawn and sell them quietly on the streets. This batch of goods was delivered to the citizens. But when the second batch of goods was pulled over, those guys who smelled the smell came over..." Deacon Maltz sighed, "Those guys would give some small tips to the civilians who provided the sales points for affordable goods. There will always be people who want to take advantage of this."
Baron Vio rubbed his forehead with his chubby hands because of a headache.
"We can't refuse to sell to them, otherwise it would just give them an excuse to spread the word to the citizens that Innadri has no more extra food to ship to Moses Port. The citizens believed their lies, and the price of food will rise again." Deacon Maltz said heavily, "But even if we maintain the status quo... the situation is not much better. When our fleet entered the port yesterday, the price of wheat in the market dropped to 160 coppers per kilogram. By this morning, our goods were sold out, and the price of wheat rebounded again."
"Oh, damn it..." The Baroness couldn't help but said madly, "Those damn Moses Port idiots - don't they know that something bad will happen if they continue like this?! Just to squeeze a few more silver coins from the pockets of those poor people, they are willing to be hung on the gallows? "
"It would be better if the price of our goods also went up. After all the hard work, we only end up giving money to those guys." Baron Vio said angrily.
"If you want to do something stupid and get yourself killed, don't drag me into it, you fat pig!" the Baroness yelled angrily.
This baron and his wife certainly did not take the initiative to do this kind deed to stabilize prices out of compassion...it was actually just a task entrusted to them by the Logistics Department of the City Hall.
Having witnessed with their own eyes how the Undead regime brutally dealt with the Innadri nobles, the Viols did not dare to neglect the orders of the City Hall. During this period of time, they tried their best to find a way to deliver as much affordable food as possible to the citizens - but obviously, under the "encirclement and suppression" of more than a dozen local nobles, their task was not going smoothly.
"Damn it, we have to think of a way. If the city hall mistakenly thinks that we didn't do our job well, who knows how those guys will deal with us?"
The baroness bit her nails anxiously. After trying for a long time, she couldn't come up with a reliable idea. She was so angry that she slapped her husband on the head: "Don't just stand there, think about it!"
"You shrew! Don't hit me at every turn!" Baron Vio said angrily.
"What?! How dare you call me a shrew??"
"What's wrong with me scolding you, you fat bitch!"
"Okay, you fat pig, you dare to call me a fat woman!"
Deacon Maltz quietly exited the room so as not to disturb the couple's quarrel.
Just as I was about to go downstairs, a sailor from a shipping company ran up the stairs.
"Deacon, someone wants to borrow some food from us." The sailor said awkwardly, "He's in the store downstairs, you see..."
"Borrow it, borrow it." Deacon Maltz waved his hand helplessly, "Come with me to the warehouse and see how much is left."
The town of Newin has close ties with Port Moses. Many people from Newin have worked here all year round, and after making money, they brought their families to Port Moses to settle down. Some women in the town also married in Port Moses. The workers and sailors of Vio Shipping are all local people from Newin, and they have more or less some kind of kinship with these "fellow villagers".
Deacon Maltz took the sailors to the warehouse and found half a bag of flour, a bag of cornmeal, and a basket of potatoes reserved for the employees of the Moses Port branch as rations. They worked together to carry them to the store on the first floor, and a group of "fellow villagers" surrounded them.
"There are only so many left. Share it with everyone and eat it sparingly."
Deacon Maltz personally distributed food to these "fellow villagers" and did not remember who took how much. If it were not for the special circumstances, these people who were able to settle in Moses Port would never bow their heads and borrow such a small amount of money.
When Deacon Maltz put a handful of potatoes in the basket brought by a skinny young man, he was startled and called out the young man's name: "Sapir? Why are you here too?"
Sapir Rachel, the bartender at the Sailor's, had a married brother named Joey; their mother was a Newin who had married and moved to Port Moses, and was somewhat related to Deacon Maltz.
"Good day, Uncle Maltz." Sapir nodded and greeted him with a wry smile: "I... the bar where I worked closed down two weeks ago, and my eldest brother was in poor health and was also fired last month..."
Butler Maltz knew that Joey Rachel had unfortunately offended a vampire more than a year ago. He didn't say anything when he heard it. He just pulled Sapir aside and asked him to wait a moment.
After distributing flour and potatoes to the "fellow villagers" who came to borrow food and sending off these compatriots who thanked him repeatedly, Martz sternly questioned his nephew: "Didn't the Leo family lose a lot of money? Did you squander that money?"
Sapir Rachel fell silent.
When Deacon Maltz urged again, the bartender who had dared to run to another place for help without telling his eldest brother said awkwardly: "We brothers didn't spend money recklessly, Uncle Maltz... Sister-in-law Lisa's family ran out of food last month and had to come to us for help. There was actually a lot of money left after the compensation from Leo's family for my eldest brother's medical treatment, but..."
Maltz sighed after hearing this: "You brothers are too stupid. Why do you have to buy such expensive food locally? Even if the ship fare back to Newin Town is too expensive, it is still more cost-effective than buying it locally."
"You really don't know, Uncle Maltz." Sapir said angrily, "Last month, one of our neighbors had the same idea. That family called a group of friends, pooled their money and took a boat to Newin Town to buy some wheat flour. Before they could share it, they were arrested by the city police on charges of illegally reselling grain, and they haven't been released yet."
"What?!" Maltz was shocked. "Is there such a thing?"
"Besides the carriages and cargo ships of respectable people, the only one that can carry food in and out of Moses Port is Vio Shipping." Sapir gritted his teeth and said, "You are a very busy man. You may not have noticed that there are many city police and private soldiers patrolling the docks and around several city gates every day. All goods entering and leaving the city are checked. If you bring a little more food, you have to pay a large amount of tax... Last month, the merchant who was drinking in our store complained about this."
Deacon Maltz slowly raised his hand and pressed hard on his forehead.
This deacon, who is over 40 years old, was called into the Viot family as a servant when he was a teenager, and has served from the previous generation of Baron Viot to the current generation of Baron and Baronette.
Only one in ten nobles in the Nader region are left alive, so although Maltz did not dare to criticize the harsh measures taken by the City Hall on the surface, he was secretly resentful of it.
In Maltz's opinion, even if there are indeed some respectable families who do not pay much attention to rules and do things that are not "respectable" at all, it is really inappropriate to treat all nobles so harshly - at least the Vio family he serves has done a lot for the people of Newing Town, and many people in Newing Town rely on the Vio family to ensure food and clothing.
But now... Having accompanied the Baron and his wife in the Moses Port branch for the past two months, and having seen the ugly behavior of the local nobles, and having heard Sapir mention these despicable tactics that even he didn't know about, Martz couldn't help but feel that... these gentlemen in Moses Port should really be dragged out and hung on the city wall like those unfortunate nobles in Innadri.
If it weren't for the inappropriate status, Maltz would have wanted to roar like the Baroness - what's wrong with these nobles in Moses Port? ? Are they so eager to make enough money for a lifetime in just a few months and then be hanged? !
Obviously, they only divided up the land, real estate, apartments and factories that the nobles who moved away could not take away, which was enough to increase their wealth several times... How could they be so unsatisfied? !
You want so much money, are you going to take it to hell to make a golden coffin? !
No one could answer Maltz's question, and the calm deacon did not roar out his doubts...his upbringing did not allow him to do so.
Maltz raised his hand and patted his nephew's thin shoulders, then took out a small bag of coins from his inner pocket and stuffed it into Sapir's hand: "When your elder brother Joey recovers, come to work in our shipping company. I remember he has a certificate. You can also come and work for a while. Get through this period, and you will be fine."
Sapir couldn't help but lower his head and wipe away his tears: "Thank you, Uncle Maltz... In fact, my brothers and I have been regretting for a while. If we had known earlier, we should have stayed in Innaderi..."
Maltz sighed: "There's no need to talk about the past. Believe me, Moses Port will get better."
Maltz was about to send his nephew out when he suddenly heard a noisy voice coming from outside.
The uncle and nephew walked to the door curiously and looked out, and they saw... several men in uniform blue overalls (actually crew members of the Skeleton Ship) riding fully loaded tricycles, slowly driving along the side of Jili Street and shouting loudly through horns.
"Cheap and filling Westram noodles! Noodles that double in size after being cooked! Only three copper coins per pound!"
“Buy some noodles and get a free sweet tomato sauce!”
"Ever Hope Town sweet-stuffed corn cakes cost five copper coins a bag, and one bag weighs two kilograms! No butter is needed, and they can be baked, steamed, or boiled! Sweet and delicious!"
"A can of Kane Town mashed potatoes costs two copper coins! There are sweet, tomato, and fish flavors!"
The people of Moshi Port had not heard of such low food prices for a long time. Countless residents of Jili Street rushed out of their homes and enthusiastically flocked to the rows of tricycles along the street...
The boatswain who was maintaining order beside the convoy saw the street-side store with the Vio Shipping sign hanging on it and strode over to it: "Good day, are you from Vio Shipping?"
"Yes, it is me." Deacon Maltz was stunned for a moment before he reacted and hurried forward.
"I'm the boatswain on the transport company's ship. Our fleet has just docked and the cargo has not been completely unloaded. Can I borrow some manpower from Vio Shipping?" the visitor asked politely.
"Yes, of course. Our employees are just sitting around." Deacon Maltz got excited when he heard the "fleet docked". He turned around and shouted to his store, "Come out, guys! There's work to do!"
A group of sailors in Vio Shipping uniforms quickly ran out of the store...
The boatswain called the Vio Shipping people away without saying a word. Deacon Maltz shouted a few words to the young man to listen carefully to the instructions of the Shipping Department. Seeing that Sapir was still standing there stupidly, he had an idea and pushed his nephew forward: "What are you standing there for? Come over and help!"
"Uncle?" Sapir was unable to react for a moment.
Martz winked at him , silently lip-synced "behave well", and slapped Sapir's back again, shouting to the boatswain who was walking away: "Sir, let my nephew do something too, he's very capable!"
The boatswain looked back at Sapir and waved, "Hey, man, keep up!"
Sapir was overjoyed and quickly chased after him.
