Volume 3: Fellow villagers, let’s farm together~ Chapter 89 Business is more than just business
The female elf wizard is named Evelyn, the eldest disciple of Elder Gwendolyn and a candidate for the Council of Elders in Ananas City.
Elves over 300 years old can leave the tribe to travel only with the approval of their teacher. Evelyn, who is less than 200 years old and still young, has not yet obtained this permission. In other words, Evelyn has not seen many foreigners.
But this did not affect Evelyn's responsibility to sign a magic contract with the Snow Wolf Tribe, because her teacher was Gwendolyn after all... Among the elves, Evelyn was already considered a "qualified" new generation.
Even Ms. Evelyn felt embarrassed when she handed the magic contract to the Snow Wolf Cub... Her face flushed, her brows knitted, and her eyes wandered. After handing over the magic contract, she couldn't look anyone in the eye, because - this was extremely embarrassing!
The elders praised the spices and condiments, bought from the Snow Wolf Tribe at a price that was almost free, and in order to prevent the Snow Wolf Tribe from coming to their senses and changing their minds, they forced them to sign the magic contract - and the object was a cub! The Forest Goddess came up again... This kind of thing is really too embarrassing !
"Teacher Gwendolyn, doing something against my will for the benefit of the tribe... Even though it's difficult, I will try my best!"
Ms. Evelyn took several deep breaths, forced herself to turn around, and faced the cruel life bravely...
The cub held the contract in both hands and looked at her eagerly.
"Hmm...how should I sign on it?" Xiao Yun asked carefully.
“…Ouch!” Evelyn almost couldn’t control herself and turned away again. The lady who was targeting Elder Gwendolyn clenched her fists, fixed her eyes on the face of the Snow Wolf Cub, and said through gritted teeth, “Please drop a drop of your blood on the paper.”
"..." Xiao Yun stared with dead fish eyes, silently pierced his finger with his nails, and pressed it on the leather scroll.
The leather scroll made of unknown leather suddenly glowed with a magnificent brilliance, and then, as if it was decomposed by some force, it disappeared bit by bit from the corners.
"?!" Xiao Yun's hands trembled and he quickly threw the scroll away.
The scroll did not fall to the ground, but remained floating in the same place, dissipating piece by piece from the four sides inwards. Within a few seconds, it disappeared without a trace.
Xiao Yun: “…” Damn!
"Once a magic contract is signed, it becomes part of the 'rules'. It ceases to exist when no one violates the contract." Evelyn stared at him intently, explaining in a gentle tone.
"...I understand." Xiao Yun swallowed his saliva. What's wrong with this woman? "Uh...what should I do next?"
Evelyn clenched her fists and said in a hard tone, as if she was swearing an oath before going to the battlefield: "If your tribe doesn't mind, we hope to trade as soon as possible."
"...Of course I don't mind." Xiao Yun couldn't help but lean his upper body back.
Evelin stood up and spread her hands elegantly: "Please."
"Now?" Xiao Yun didn't react immediately.
Evelin stared at him with bloodshot eyes, her pretty face a little distorted: "I brought gold coins for trading, and... a space bracelet to store goods."
Xiao Yun: “…” Aren’t you being too hasty, buddy?
Evelyn turned to look at Kleist: "General, please arrange an escort for me."
Crest, who had been pretending to be offline, reacted now. He raised his head with a righteous look on his face... but he didn't look at Xiao Yun. His eyes only fell on Evelin: "That's right, Ms. Evelin, I'll arrange some people right away."
After saying that, he immediately stood up and strode out of the room... Xiao Yun's eyes widened, this guy is really not a good person!
Evelin clasped her hands on her abdomen and nodded slightly to Xiao Yun in a dignified manner: "Snow Wolf Man Ayu, is it convenient for you to leave immediately?"
"..." Xiao Yun swallowed his saliva. He instinctively felt that if he said no, this nervous and pretentious female elf would probably go berserk...
It should have been a good thing that the business was concluded and the cooperation was immediately on track, but Xiao Yun felt that something was wrong because someone was urging him to leave so eagerly and the other party's attitude seemed dangerous. He hastily called Mu Mu to escort him and set off with the elven warriors. While walking on the road, Xiao Yun once again silently figured out what was wrong with this business.
Needless to say, the production of honey garlic sauce is limited by honey, so it is just a bonus when traded; the production of bean paste is higher than that of garlic sauce, but this thing... has a stronger taste, and there is a process of cultivating the market, so it is just a bonus at present.
We cannot guarantee the supply of raw materials for canned fruits, so we have to borrow eggs from the forest elves' hens... ahem, so we have to give concessions to the forest elves.
The biggest profit comes from vinegar and soy sauce. These two are daily necessities and are suitable for the elves who have relatively light tastes. They are easy to promote and very suitable for selling in large quantities. The forest elves have a population of more than one million, which is equivalent to an eighteen-tier city. If there is only one non-staple food factory supplying soy sauce and vinegar for such a city with a population of one million, then this factory will definitely make a lot of money...
The most profitable thing is vinegar. The raw materials of this thing can be made of soybeans, wheat bran, and rice bran. One hundred kilograms of raw materials can produce three hundred kilograms of vinegar, which is similar to soy sauce. Xiao Yun's "research" found that people in this world prefer sweet and sour tastes, so Xiao Yun secretly set the price at one gram of gold per hundred kilograms - the purchasing power of the currency in this world is solid. One gram of gold can be exchanged for at least five hundred two-gram copper coins with the smallest face value. One copper coin can buy a piece of black bread or a kilogram of soybeans in the Human Kingdom. If it is in the Orc Empire, because the Orc Empire is relatively vast and sparsely populated, it can buy two kilograms...
In other words, selling vinegar can bring in 15 times the gross profit. As a manufacturer that does not provide transportation, this is really a huge profit. If Xiao Yun still complains about not making enough money, he will feel guilty...
The cost of the raw materials for soy sauce is higher than that of vinegar. Three hundred kilograms of soy sauce requires 100 kilograms of raw soybeans and about 20 kilograms of salt. Logically, Xiao Yun should set the price of soy sauce higher than that of vinegar, but why did Xiao Yun lower the price of soy sauce?
This involves an ulterior motive... Xiao Yun wants to cheat the Lamia Merchant Group.
Soy sauce cannot replace salt, but it can reduce salt consumption.
In the Bloomfield continent, the largest salt merchant is the Lamia Cartel.
Xiao Yun only earned a little money from the soy sauce and sold it to the elves at a very low price. When the elf market was saturated, a problem arose... Would the forest elves, who could buy a large amount of soy sauce at a very low price, resell the soy sauce to other regions?
The elves can make three times the profit in the process of reselling it, and the price of bulk soy sauce will not exceed five copper coins per pound, which is much cheaper than the salt sold by the unscrupulous Lamia merchant group. In this way, will the large amount of soy sauce entering the daily necessities market impact the sales of the Lamia merchant group's main commodity salt?
The Snow Wolf Tribe kept their mouths shut. The forest elves who act as middlemen would certainly not be so mean as to advertise where the soy sauce they sell comes from. The Lamia Merchant Group wanted to suppress their peers, but they were facing the behemoth that is the elves... Xiao Yun hoped that they would hurry up and take revenge before it was too late!
hehe……
Hehehehe…
How can Xiao Yun see how Chinese leaders dig pits for competitors in advance, and use five, ten, or even twenty years to make a bottomless pit and fill the opponent in it! How can we be worthy of the Communist Party if we don't learn from them!
After thinking it over, Xiao Yun couldn't figure out what kind of magical tricks the Snow Wolf Tribe had to use to make a loss in this business, because it was clearly a matter of making as much profit as possible based on sales... It was even more impossible for them to fail in defrauding the Lamia Caravan. In order to urge the elves to "get their senses" quickly, Xiao Yun even calculated how many times the profit they could make by reselling the goods as middlemen - wait!
Xiao Yun, who was riding on Mumu's back and galloping forward with the elven warriors, suddenly showed a strange expression. He tilted his head and looked at the female elf Evelyn riding a big bird in the air.
Could it be that... they also saw the profit from the resale of soy sauce, and felt that the Snow Wolf Tribe was actively giving them money, so they felt embarrassed?
Xiao Yun shuddered immediately, this thought really shocked him... Not possible, not right, shouldn't be possible, no matter how silly the forest elves are, they can't be so silly, feeling that they have taken advantage and are at a loss, this is too funny, even if they have high moral integrity, they can't be so high - the elder's moral integrity is high enough, making a fortune from the rich dog owner is just a slight tremor in his hands.
I have only heard of races that have declined accidentally, but I have never heard of races that have become strong accidentally. After all, the forest elves have a queen who is second only to the Elf King, and they are a large tribe with a population . Their comprehensive strength is enough to face N human kingdoms head-on. Xiao Yun thinks that he should not treat such a behemoth as an idiot, otherwise he will easily become an idiot...
"Or maybe the Ananas tribe sent by the Elf Queen to build the port is a bit silly and has a sick mind." Xiao Yun's eyes swept over the female elf riding the big bird in the sky again, and he touched his chin and agreed. "That's good. People with a higher standard are always easier to deal with. They are silly so be it."
In the city of Ananas, Elder Gwendolyn, who was reading a book in the Elder Council, sneezed violently.
The Fire Tribe was still busy. The elves' visit again did not attract much attention. The engineering team was still working hard to dig the river. The recent heavy rains had kept the work team busy draining the fields. Qingyan's second-level labor team was also busy taking care of the livestock about to give birth. Balk had to hide from the forest elves and did not go out, so the Grassroots chief put down his work and hurried over to greet them. After greeting them, the Grassroots chief left the reception of the guests to Xiao Yun and went about his own business. The earthworms farmed in the open air were affected by the increase in rainfall, and the Grassroots were in a state of panic, so they had no time to talk nonsense with others.
The female elf Evelyn and four elf warriors looked in amazement at the empty Snow Wolf Tribe in broad daylight, where not a single person was idle. They realized why this tribe was so different from the Snow Wolf Tribe they had in mind... Everyone was working so hard that it would be strange if they didn't perform well.
Xiao Yun brought the five elves to the brewing warehouse and moved the door open: "The warehouse over here is full of soy sauce, and the warehouse next door is full of vinegar."
"Oh..." The five elves exclaimed in unison. There were so many large stoneware jars over one meter high that they had to be stacked up for storage. It really looked spectacular.
"How many pounds of soy sauce are there in a jar like this?" Evelyn asked.
"We made this vat thicker, so it can only hold one ton, um, two thousand kilograms of vinegar." Xiao Yun said honestly, "Our tribe has a small population now, and the labor force is tight. Last year, we only brewed about 600,000 kilograms of soy sauce from the soybeans we planted in winter. Our tribe doesn't have a suitable weighing device, so we calculate the total amount based on the number of vats. I calculated that the error for each vat is about a few kilograms. Shouldn't that be a problem?"
Evelyn & the four elf warriors: "..."
“Uh…it’s okay, a few pounds of error doesn’t matter.” Evelin swallowed.
"It will only be more, not less." Xiao Yun smiled innocently, "The vinegar in the warehouse over there is a little less than the soy sauce, because brewing is more troublesome. There are only 300,000 kilograms, 150 jars, plus 300 jars of soy sauce. Can you take it away?"
“No problem, I brought my teacher Gwendolyn’s space bracelet, which can hold an entire lake.” Evelyn nodded quickly.
"Well...that..." Xiao Yun pretended to be embarrassed, "It's very troublesome for us to make the jars, because our tribe is short of manpower...so after you transport the things back, can you return the jars to us?" Burning 500 large jars made Xiao Yun almost vomit blood, so he definitely can't give them away for free... Originally, I had considered providing bottling services by weight, but since you are so anxious, then you can do it yourselves.
"No problem." Evelyn nodded again and agreed very readily - pottery can be fired at a temperature above 900 degrees, the process is simple, and the forest elves have no shortage of pottery.
Xiao Yun, the client, had to give some feedback as he was so considerate. He immediately said with a smile: "We package the honey garlic sauce and bean paste in smaller ceramic jars. You can take the ceramic jars away." Since the products are expensive, it is reasonable to give away the packaging.
"Okay." Evelin had no other choice but to nod.
Business will be easy to do if both parties are straightforward. There is no such rule in this world that you have to pay half and owe half. Evelyn was afraid that the Snow Wolf Tribe would go back on their word, so she wanted to stuff the gold she brought into Xiao Yun's pocket immediately. Naturally, the transaction process was smooth.
Three hundred thousand kilograms of soybean-brewed vinegar and soy sauce were exchanged for five kilograms of gold. The forest elves' metallurgical technology made the gold as pure as 999, and the gold was pressed into ten-gram gold coins. With the addition of honey garlic sauce and bean paste, Xiao Yun got 5.5 kilograms of gold at one time. This deal was simply amazing - if it were changed to modern times, the seller would be grinning if the transaction price was cut to one-third.
Why do I say that? Because most of the money we spend on soy sauce and vinegar for a few dollars a bottle is actually used to buy brand quality. Unbranded and inferior soy sauce and vinegar cost more than ten or even dozens of dollars a ton... Of course, these are all blended and their safety is not guaranteed.
The money was exchanged for the goods, and the deal was done with both parties grinning from ear to ear. Xiao Yun struck while the iron was hot and took them to see canned fruit - a can weighed three pounds, with no less than 50% of the contents. Each can was exchanged for ten pounds of fruit, any type, regardless of appearance, and the elves would take care of the transportation. When this condition was put forward, both Xiao Yun and Evelyn were happy, and both parties felt that they had gotten a great deal.
Xiao Yun was happy that he had borrowed this hen, and the extra canned food he made was pure profit. Evelyn was happy that the forest elves had an abundance of fruits in spring, summer, and autumn, and exchanging them for sweet and sour canned fruits that were easy to store was like exchanging one's own garbage for someone else's goods...
Since the forest elves were such excellent party A, Xiao Yun was definitely hoping to get some more benefits from them, so he took Evelyn to see the sauerkraut produced by the Snow Wolf Tribe, which also had a long shelf life, as well as the wool produced by the wool mill.
Unfortunately, the female elf was not so gracious this time... The forest elves who had the sun cloth looked down on woolen textiles, and pickles were not really to the elves' taste. But they were willing to give face to sauerkraut, and set a transaction price of one gram of gold for two hundred kilograms. They took away twenty large jars of sauerkraut, and promised to increase the purchase volume if the Council of Elders was interested in sauerkraut.
Xiao Yun counted the twenty gold coins he got in exchange for sauerkraut, and suddenly realized that this business was also very profitable - the raw materials for sauerkraut were green vegetables and vinegar. Since everyone liked sour and sweet tastes, he could just sell them on the ship. After all, the tribe could increase its vegetable production at any time.
After sending away these forest elves, the God of Wealth, Xiao Yun asked the warriors who were transporting goods back and forth to send the remaining jars of vinegar, a dozen jars of sauerkraut, and pickles that the elves looked down upon to the port to see if the market in St. Bridget would accept these goods.
"We are still short of manpower. We must get a few tribes here this winter!"
After the Snow Wolf warriors made four trips back and forth, transporting a large number of sorted furs, monster parts, nine hundred cattle and sheep, canned fruits, wool yarn, vinegar jars, and pickle jars to the port, the merchant ship of St. Bridget finally returned.
"Teacher Ayun!" When Prince Carlisle saw the living Xiao Yun, he was so excited that he jumped down from the deck several meters high, rushed forward, and hugged Xiao Yun.
"Carlisle... Ugh! Hey, hey, hey!" Xiao Yun was knocked back to his chest in one breath, and had to use his hands to tear Carlisle off. "Okay, okay, but we haven't seen each other for more than a year. Don't get so excited. Be calm."
"I'm sorry, I'm too excited." Prince Carlisle suppressed his excitement and said, "Teacher Ayun, I have a lot to say to you."
"There's a chance. Don't worry. Come here and I'll show you a treasure..."
Xiao Yun winked at the innocent Prince Carlisle and pulled him to his room...
Uh... the evil scene will not appear. At this moment, there are two big men sitting in Xiao Yun's room... one is the greatsword warrior Darren, and the other is the alchemist Tim.
These two people were not left in the Elf Port by Prince Carlisle for fun. During this period, they stayed in Ananas City most of the time in the name of matchmaking between the Elves and the Adventurer's Association. They came back with the research officer of the Adventurer's Association two days before the fleet returned. Then they were called by Xiao Yun to brainwash... No, they were taking an economics class.
"Carlisle!"
Darren and Tim went forward to hug His Royal Highness the Prince and patted each other's shoulders and arms. The three friends were excited for a while before they calmed down and listened to Teacher Ayun's class.
Xiao Yun placed the prepared samples on the table and said seriously, "Carlisle, the last sea trade proved that you have the ability to open up new trade routes for Saint Bridge. With common interests, some nobles are willing to board your ship to support you. Next, you have to think about yourself."
Carlisle's expression froze and he quickly straightened his posture.
"The stability of the six southern countries is better than that of some inland countries in the southern continent. Part of the reason is that you have chosen a centralized policy. The territory of Saint Bridge belongs to the country. The royal city will collect half of the tax on the land allocated to the nobles. This concentration of land ownership and taxation power is Saint Bridge's advantage over inland countries because the royal city can afford it. Wars cost money, and if you have money, you can get an army. Local nobles dare not act recklessly because their economic conditions cannot compare with those of the royal city."
"But Saint Bridge has been established for many years. Now, the taxes received by the royal city from various fiefs can no longer be compared with before... Local bureaucrats and powerful nobles have no reason to guard the warehouses and not embezzle. The royal power's credibility has declined because of the territories of some powerful nobles. The royal city can only receive taxes far lower than before. The reputation of the royal city is only supported by land ownership."
Prince Carlisle couldn't help but nod, his eyes shining. Although Teacher Ayun had never been to St. Bridget, just through his description, Teacher Ayun could see the problems and crises in St. Bridget so thoroughly.
Well...it's not that Xiao Yun is particularly talented. There have been too many dynasty changes in Chinese history from the Xia Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. There is nothing new under the sun. If you have any questions, you can always find the answers by flipping through history books.
"If you want to make St. Bridges strong, then as a symbol of the royal family, you, Prince Carlisle, must have money in your hands. You must be richer than the local nobles and be able to support an army that only obeys you. With money, food, and fists, your voice will be the loudest and your words will count. Do you agree with this, Carlisle?"
"Of course, Teacher Ayun." Prince Carlisle's heart was pounding. It was because of this understanding that he took off his prince's formal dress, walked out of the royal city, and ventured out to sea!
Xiao Yun smiled slightly: "In addition to money, you also need people's hearts. I believe you know how reliable the nobles are. As the heir of the kingdom, when the vast majority of the lower-class citizens stand on your side, no one can shake your position... The people are weak because they are a pile of scattered sand. When the people firmly support you, Carlisle, imagine, let's not talk about other things, just say how many nobles are there in the royal city, and how many ordinary citizens are there?"
"The people themselves cannot unite because they are short-sighted, stupid, and have not received a decent education. They do not know or understand what they should do to be right, so they cannot unite and have strength by themselves. When you, as a prince, become the core of uniting the people, how much power can the 99% of the people in the crowd burst out, Carlisle, have you ever imagined it?"
Carlisle's eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and goose bumps appeared on the back of his neck and northern part of his neck... In fact, he had already vaguely realized it over the years, so he selected young people who he thought were reliable and worthy of training from the lowest level of knight families in the kingdom. He thought that he was broad-minded enough; but compared with Teacher Ayun, he felt that he was so short-sighted - compared with the number of ordinary citizens, the nobles in the royal city were nothing!
Darren and Tim were even more excited. They themselves were born in the lower class. If the royal family was willing to shift their gaze away from the aristocratic group and look at the lower class, then... the ceiling above their heads would no longer exist.
"Teacher Ayun, what should I do?" Prince Carlisle quickly came to his senses and asked anxiously.
Xiao Yun smiled mysteriously: "As your teacher, I can't help you too much. I can only do my best to provide you with some feasible methods... so that you can slowly accumulate people's hearts and reputation while accumulating economic strength."
"This is wool. This is a sweater and trousers hand-knitted with wool. An ordinary housewife can knit it. It is warmer than cotton cloth and much cheaper than sun cloth and magic pattern cloth."
"The winter in St. Bridge is not too cold. Most of the time, citizens only need to wear a set of long-sleeved white cotton clothes to keep warm. But the temperature drops in winter after all. There may be a few snowfalls during the coldest period... I heard from Tim and Darren that during the days when it snows every year, citizens in the royal city who only have thin clothes cannot go out, and homeless people may even freeze to death on the streets, right?"
"Yes, teacher." Carlisle looked at the wool, sweaters and trousers on the table, and his voice became excited.
"I will sell you the wool produced by our tribe at the lowest price, only five copper coins for one kilogram of wool. For the wool shipped back, I suggest you set up a special department to operate it. Instead of selling the wool to the outside world, you should organize the women from the lower classes in the city who are in financial difficulties to weave it. The processing fee for each sweater is two to three copper coins. A sweater made of one kilogram of wool is thick enough to withstand the cold wind in St. Bridget in winter. You set the price of a set of ready-made clothes at forty to fifty copper coins, so that even families in financial difficulties can afford it—"
In a society with low productivity, clothing is also an important symbol of wealth. If we go back thirty years on Earth, many backward areas were so poor that a family had only one pair of pants. If we go back a hundred years, hungry people had to take their relatively intact torn clothes to pawnshops in exchange for a few coins or food... The era when clothes were so abundant that many people had to throw away a large number of old clothes to make space in their wardrobes only lasted for two or three decades on Earth!
The Kingdom of St. Bridget produced white cotton cloth, but many lower-class people could not even afford a set of long-sleeved white cotton clothes... The ancient Chinese poem "Yesterday I went to the city, and came back with tears on my handkerchief. Those who are dressed in silk and satin are not silkworm farmers." Song Dynasty poetry is common in any feudal society with low productivity.
The wool yarn was purchased at five copper coins. After taking into account the cost of transportation and the cost of hiring poor women to weave it, it could be sold for twenty copper coins to make at least double the profit. While making money, such cheap warm clothing would benefit not only the civilians who didn't have thick clothes, but also the families of those women. Prince Carlisle thought about it and knew that this was simply the best thing that could bring him both fame and fortune. He stood up in an instant, stretched out his arms to hug Xiao Yun's neck across the table, and was so excited that he lost his voice: "Teacher! I, I--"
"Fuck you little bastard, can you please talk properly?"
