In the end, they did not reach Mount Vesu. It was not that they could not reach the destination within the time limit, but because the driver had changed, everyone was too happy driving and went the wrong way …
A certain someone had a navigation mini-map in his eyes, but the others did not.
So they randomly found a hill with a wide view, took out the food they had prepared, and continued the unfinished discussion as they ate.
Although it was not finished, in fact, with one more powerful partner, everyone had a new understanding of cars, so most of the results that Ruan Wenyue and Lin had discussed before had to be redone.
Ruan Wenyue did not have much of an opinion about this. Because they had joined Duke Carvey and understood the military value of cars, everyone had a bigger plan in mind. Except for a certain heartless person.
But Lin still emphasized in the discussion that the performance of the car they were riding in now was not the performance of the car that could be made in the future. Changing to using ordinary materials to make cars, under the circumstances where the strength of the materials was far inferior, there was bound to be a serious decline in all parameters.
But no matter how severe the decline was, even if there was only a tenth of the performance left, it was still much better than the mode of transportation that ordinary people could use. Simply put, it was still profitable. Although there were still people in the Duke's Guard who could catch up to the speed of a car in second gear, the knights and warhorses of the Duke's Guard were still elite soldiers, even if they were not one in ten thousand. They were not something that ordinary people could come into contact with.
And the reason why a certain someone did not show the same attitude of always wanting to stay away from the nobles when doing business, as he did in the past, after Wizard Saint Babak Abnahan suggested to pull a Grand Duke into their business. This was because in addition to the fixed purchase cost of a car, there were also subsequent consumption costs.
In this regard, using the power of magic stones was not as good as mining for oil and refining. After all, the former had many uses in the mysterious land, and there were many places where magic stones were in short supply, but oil was not the case. If people who wanted to be relatively at the bottom of the social ladder could also afford a car, then the continuous consumption costs could not be too high.
A certain someone had calculated that according to the current price of magic stones and oil, the consumption of a car for every kilometer was a world of difference. Magic stones were much more precious, and several times more expensive. The cost of oil was almost entirely in terms of transportation. In the known oil producing areas of the Guevana Empire, the Goblin Autonomous Castle Lebap would be despised even if it was given away for free.
Secondly, refining oil can produce many useful products, which may find their uses in the Lost Lands in the future. It was not a bad idea to research it first and prepare some technical reserves.
In order to refine oil and set up gas stations in the future, these things needed the help of some people with real power. Regarding these matters, Ruan Wenyue of the Auspicious Chamber of Commerce, who was in Holy City, was far inferior to Duke Kavi.
However, Duke Carvey seemed to be a little dissatisfied with these beautiful prospects. While they were chatting, he would come to the side of the car from time to time, looking left and right. This happened a few times, but no one thought much of it.
Suddenly, he took out his long sword and released a shockwave that caught everyone off guard. The car that was hit by the shockwave shook a few times before returning to normal. There was an obvious dent where the sword had struck, but that was all. The entire structure of the car was still intact.
Everyone was startled by the Grand Duke's sudden outburst. They just didn't know what this long-established Great Swordsman's original thoughts were. When he saw that he couldn't cut through the car, he seemed to be more energetic, accumulating power and preparing to use an even more powerful move.
Lin hurriedly ran in front of the Grand Duke and waved his hand. "Have mercy, have mercy, Grand Duke. If you want to test the defensive power, at least wait until we get back. If you break the car now, we'll have to walk home. "
… Well, it was a very realistic problem. So Duke Carvey put away his weapon.
Lin continued, "And in the future, after we switch to using ordinary materials, the car can withstand the power of your sword today, but that doesn't mean it can in the future."
After a moment of silence, Duke Carvey said, "What if I say I want this car?"
Frightened by this noble who had suddenly gone crazy, Lin said helplessly with a wry smile, "This is just a test car. Many parts haven't been finalized yet, and it hasn't been enchanted with any magic, what's the use of it? " Suddenly remembering the nature of rich people, Lin asked tentatively, "Could it be that the Grand Duke wants a custom-made car with the same level of defensive power at all costs?"
"Yes, yes, yes! That's it! What you guys discussed before was how to use ordinary materials instead and find ways to lower the cost, so that the price will be lower and more people can afford it. But if the performance is compared to this car and is too inferior, why would people who can afford it buy those lame goods? "
… This was the difference between the world in the eyes of the rich and the world in the eyes of the poor.
For some reason, a certain someone felt very frustrated.
But the rich didn't care about the psychological activities of the poor. Duke Carvey asked very naturally, "How about it, the kind of custom-made car you talked about, you can make it, right?"
Suppressing the sourness and the urge to cry in his heart, Lin pretended to be strong and said, "Make it, of course it can be made, as long as there is money and materials. But I want to set some rules. "
"Rules? What rules? "Duke Carvey asked.
"My time and those silver-bearded dwarves' time is also time. We have our own things to do, so we can't just be busy making cars all day. I estimate that in the future, this kind of custom-made car from my hands will be made at most one per year, of course, it's also possible that it won't be made at all. But I will also teach the relevant technology to the mages you send. Then, the ratio of the number of custom-made cars and mass-produced cars will be decided by you. I won't ask, as long as I get my benefits. "
"Oh, you won't consider increasing the number? Why not sell if you have the money? "Duke Carvey was a little dissatisfied with such a request.
But Lin shook his head and said, "Duke, as far as I know, you are someone who likes weapons and equipment. And those master craftsmen who are good at making powerful weapons, are the fruits of their labor something that can be casually bought with money, and something that can be bought at any time? "
Stroking his white beard, Duke Carvey had to admit, "That is indeed the case. But their production isn't high, and the bigger reason is the problem of materials. "
"Exactly, this is also the second request I want to make. I will set the requirements for the materials, and of course, I will also provide a list of substitutes, and the buyer will provide the materials themselves. In order to buy the materials for the test car, I used almost all of my income during this period of time. If I had to collect the materials myself and make it, who knows how much higher the cost would be. "
A certain someone's words were half true and half false. Because at the same time, there was another big money-grubber, and that was the spinning jacquard machine. But this purchase of materials also made a certain someone realize something that he hadn't noticed before, and that was that the price of rare and expensive items like magic materials wasn't fixed, but would fluctuate with the supply and the length of the transportation journey.
In the past, whether it was the era of the Tower of the Great Sage, the era of Five Union City, or the time when he was wandering, the magic materials he bought were almost always bought in a place to see which one had the most in stock at that time, and the price was worth it, and treated it as making friends with the managers of the Chamber of Commerce. Because it was all a one-time purchase, he rarely cared about the price fluctuations.
And when he needed to use it later, he would look at what materials he had at hand and make plans accordingly. Sometimes, when he couldn't use something that was too good, and because there were no other substitutes because of its characteristics, he could only bite the bullet and use it. Just like when he repaired the airship Sid, the strength of many materials was above the requirements of the parts. Strictly speaking, it was a waste.
But the Silver Bearded Dwarves were a bit persistent in doing things, and the level of materials had to be used according to the requirements of the parts. They were so persistent that they didn't know how to be flexible. And this kind of persistence would make them stare at a certain magic material in the market to buy.
When they finished buying in the Holy City, they would entrust the Chamber of Commerce to transport it from other places. When other Chambers of Commerce finished buying, they would stare at the raw materials that had not been used in the inventory of some people, and the managers of the Chamber of Commerce would come forward to coordinate and ask the other party to share some. In this case, of course, they would have to spend an extra sum of money to make the other party give up their treasures.
Sometimes, people from other Chambers of Commerce knew that there was a large demand for the materials in their hands, so they raised the price to earn more profits.
In short, this kind of behavior in the business world was almost the same as others saying, "I'm a fat sheep." So if one wanted to help a customer make a custom-made car, and the cost of the materials was estimated in the price, there was a high chance that one would lose money in the end. Among other things, a certain someone had thought of the method of colluding between the buyer and the Chamber of Commerce, and it was easy to cheat the manufacturer in the sale of the materials.
So this kind of troublesome matter was left to those who wanted to make a custom-made car. Anyway, these people were either rich or noble. If they were not rich, they would not be able to buy the materials for the custom-made car, and of course, there was no possibility of credit or overstocking. It was better to just collect the money themselves, and it was easier to save trouble.
And the people present had ways to come into contact with people at this level, so of course, they knew what a certain someone's concerns were. Just like those master craftsmen who made weapons, sometimes they were willing to help, not necessarily because of friendship, or because the person who wanted to buy the weapon had enough money. It was simply because of a piece of rare material that made their hands itch.
So in order to make a custom-made car, the materials should be provided by the buyer, and it was not an unacceptable request in the land of mystery.
"Second, I will choose the customers. Because these custom-made cars can be said to be a demonstration of my best skills, if there are people who want to copy, the best choice is of course these custom-made cars, and not the ordinary cars that we will make in the future. I don't want to spend the effort to create future competitors. "
With such a rule, everyone nodded in agreement. In a certain someone's calculations, there was no way anyone who wanted to tie him down and monopolize the business. But they also did not want too many competitors to join this new industry and share the profits.
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