Before today, Padrick had never thought that an alchemy potion could be packaged in a "box".
How would alchemy potions be packaged and sold? Ordinary merchants would not even think about this at all, because alchemy items were all products of extraordinary power. The so-called magic items in the carriages of the lowest level traveling merchants were, at most, a few pieces of iron with runes engraved on them and dried sheepskin. The main purpose of this kind of thing was psychological comfort, and the advertising slogan was, "My grandma said this is useful." Real alchemy potions were a business only the merchants of the middle and upper class could afford.
Even the merchants of the middle and upper class could only get a dozen bottles of alchemy potions at one time. They would be packed in exquisite crystal bottles, filled with velvet and high-grade silk, and placed in exquisite wooden boxes. They were almost the same price as the most expensive red wine.
It was said that there was once a famous mercenary master who was ordered to eliminate a mutated magical beast that was endangering the border. This mercenary master relied on his extraordinary skills and a dozen bottles of alchemy potions to kill the enemy who was three times stronger than him. In the end, after he won, he looked back at the potion bottles he had thrown on the ground and died on the spot with a "Ga" sound.
Of course, this story was exaggerated. Merchants used overly gorgeous packaging to store alchemy potions in order to raise the price of the potions in front of nobles and rookie mercenaries who did not know the trade. However, the value of alchemy potions was still evident. Now, Gwen asked people to bring in several large boxes. When the boxes were opened, they were full of alchemy potions. The small crystal bottles were neatly packed and were surrounded by wood shavings used to prevent collisions.
"Each box has three layers, and each layer has 233 bottles. This box contains Weakening Mana Potions, this box contains Dispelling Potions, and the rest of the boxes contain Rejuvenation Potions." Gwen pointed at the big boxes and introduced them to Padrick. He then took out a piece of paper and said, "The specific price and distribution are here. Take a look. My initial price for the Rejuvenation Potion is 60 Cecil copper coins, or one Ansu shield-shaped silver coin. The Mana Potion is two shield-shaped silver coins, and the Dispelling Potion is the same price as the Rejuvenation Potion. "
Padrick took the price list, a little confused. After hearing the figures reported by Gwen, he blinked, as if he did not understand the connection between the price and the potions in front of him.
It wasn't until half a minute later that he hesitantly asked, "Your Excellency Duke … You … Are these potions real?"
"Do you think I'm a seller of fake potions?" Gwen raised his eyebrows. "Of course they are real! It's just that I have a special method that can produce potions at a very low cost. "
"Your Excellency, of course I don't doubt your character!" Padrick immediately said nervously. He had a huge doubt in his heart. To be honest, no one could remain calm in front of such a low price and the fact that Gwen could casually produce a lot of alchemy potions. This implied an incredible amount of wealth. However, Padrick was a smart man. Although he was bold when it came to money, he was very cautious when it came to life. Therefore, he did not ask for any in-depth secrets. Instead, he analyzed the potions taken out by Gwen as an established fact. "Since you can really provide such a large amount of potions... I actually have some ideas."
Gwen nodded. "Say it. You have experience in business."
Padrick went straight to the point. "Your Excellency, I hope you can add water to these Rejuvenation Potions."
As soon as he said this, not only Gwen was stunned, but even Amber, who had mixed in as a background, was startled. After a moment, the half-elf lady looked at Padrick with admiration. "Sir, you are a talent..."
"Don't make trouble." Gwen glared at Amber and then stared into Padrick's eyes. "You should know that this suggestion is not made by an honest businessman. You should have something else to say."
"Yes, Your Excellency. Add water to the Rejuvenation Potions and rename them as' Secondary Healing Potions' or 'Inferior Healing Potions'. The Disease-Curing Mixture can also be renamed as' Secondary Disease-Curing Potions' and so on. If you think this is not in line with the spirit of Knight, then you can lower the price a little. You can lower the price and say that the effects of these potions are not as good as real alchemy potions. This is not a lie. For most of the injuries and injuries that civilians encounter on a daily basis, even such inferior healing potions are enough to save their lives. No matter how much water is added to the alchemy potion, it is still better than the stinky ointment mixed with mud and rotten grass roots that they buy from the village herbalist. "
Padrick carefully looked at the changes in Gwen's expression, but the latter just nodded. "Go on, I'm listening."
"Rashly selling alchemy potions like the Rejuvenation Potions at a very low price is bound to impact the existing market and the groups that profit from it. Of course, with the support of a Duke like you, the 'New Chamber of Commerce' can look down on those small merchants and small alchemists. But even if a rat in the gutter can't bite people to death, it will still be disgusting. Besides, for civilians, being able to buy alchemy potions at a low price is not necessarily a good thing. At least, it is not a good thing at the beginning. Those who are affected by the New Chamber of Commerce may not be able to do anything to you, but they can turn their hatred to the poor people who 'crossed the line'. They can threaten those who want to buy the potions, attack those who have already bought the potions, or even simply mix poison into the market and spread rumors. For most ignorant and foolish people, they can't even tell who is the one who harmed them."
At this point, Padrick slightly lowered his head and carefully added, "Your Excellency, you are very powerful, but even a brave lion has to be careful of poisonous insects."
Gawain's expression didn't change much, but there was a hint of surprise in his eyes when he looked at Padrick. A few seconds later, he nodded slightly. "You're right. In order to avoid such a situation, we have to put on some disguises."
"Yes, disguises are not very clever. As long as we declare that the potions are inferior, or even the by-products of failed alchemy potions, there will be less eyes on them. You can also sell the real Rejuvenation Potions and Disease-Curing Potions at the same time, but the price will be slightly higher. It can still be cheaper than the potions in the market, but not to the point of dozens of copper coins. In this way, the traditional merchants will be temporarily paralyzed. They will only think that you want to temporarily lower the price to grab a bit of the market, or that you have found a cheap source of herbs, and by the time they realize … they will be powerless.
"In this way, you have successfully established a trade route, and you have also avoided attracting the attention of those with bad intentions. Even the civilians who buy the diluted potions will be able to buy the effective potions at a price they can afford, which is much better than the mud and rotten grass they usually use. They will be deeply grateful to you."
Gwen did not respond. Instead, he whispered to himself, "Is it a sin for the poor to even buy a bottle of good potions …"
He thought of the famine in the Eastern Region that happened in the year 476 of the Ansu. He thought of the famine in the Eastern Region that happened in the year 476 of the Ansu. He thought of the disaster that caused starvation everywhere. In that year, a serious insect infestation affected several earls, leading to a large-scale food shortage. A few pitiful nobles organized relief food, but more than half of the food went into the stomachs of the Knight, the Treasurer, and the village bullies and bandits who supervised the matter. Even the disaster victims who were given food could barely keep the life-saving food in their hands. In the end, the problem was solved by a volunteer grain merchant. His solution was beyond everyone's imagination.
He mixed sand, sawdust, and even maggots in the food.
This kind of food could finally be safely distributed to the disaster victims, and it was this kind of food that saved tens of thousands of people.
The grain merchant was known as the "Merciful Miser." In the year 477 of the Ansu, he was hanged on the highest tower of the Tamas Earls in the Eastern Region for the crime of "embezzling food and poisoning the people."
"I accept your suggestion." After taking a deep breath, Gwen looked into Padrick's eyes and said slowly, "But I hope you can understand that this is temporary. If someone uses this method as a way to make money, then the law of Cecil Earls will kill."
Padrick stood up and bowed to Gwen with one hand on his chest. "Just as I will faithfully treat every copper coin left by Viscount Kant, I will faithfully carry out every order of yours."
Gwen smiled. "In addition, I want to remind you of one thing in advance: the new commercial organization I set up is not just to sell medicine. Although in the initial stage, alchemy potions will be its main product, Cecil Earls will have new products in the future. I still have many things to sell."
Padrick nodded. "Of course, a commercial group set up by a duke can't only have one product."
"You should have already understood the organizational structure of this new commercial organization. I hope you can first choose sincere and astute people from the merchants you are familiar with to be the basic-level distributors. They can set up their own regional sales points, but the decoration, pricing, import and export process of the sales points must follow my rules. Those who can't accept this should withdraw as soon as possible. As for the higher-level regional agents and the overall person in charge... you will be the overall person in charge of setting up everything, but I will also send my clerks and contacts at each level to supervise and help. I hope you can understand."
"Of course. You provide all the funds and supplies, so this organization must be under your control."
Gwen stood up with a smile and raised the teacup in his hand. "Then let's toast to the establishment of the 'Cecil Chamber of Commerce'. Mr. Padrick, do you mind using tea as a substitute for wine?"
Padrick also stood up and raised the teacup. He actually wanted to say that he didn't care about using tea as a substitute for wine. Now he was very concerned about anything that needed to go down his stomach. But in the end, he braced himself and accepted the duke's invitation. He raised the teacup and said, "I... Burp..."
After the meeting, Padrick went straight to the toilet, and Gwen returned to his room.
A piece of paper was lying quietly on his desk.
It was a machine with a symmetrical structure that gave people a sense of advanced technology. It had a rotating structure with a fan blade and a ring of magical devices around the fan blade. Beside the blueprint, there was an unfolded runic diagram.
"My dear lord, I have completed the design of the runic array of the rotor-type magic engine and found that it can adjust the speed by increasing or decreasing the number of runic arrays activated at the same time or by fine-tuning the contact area of the runic trigger. See below for the relevant information.
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