The silent thermostatic magic circle shielded the castle from the cold wind. The decorative shields on the walls were polished until they shone brightly. The gorgeous classical tapestries were depicting symbols of heroes, monsters, and gods. The precious incense from the hands of the fairies quietly exuded a pleasant and elegant fragrance in the copper incense box. The light of the magic stone lamps shone down from the ceiling and into the gold-rimmed teacups. The bright red liquid glowed warmly in the teacups.
Wenna, the gray elf, held the teacup in front of her and gently swirled the clear liquid. Her light-colored eyes reflected the light spots. "Goods from the Empire of Typhon? This … is really novel. What is it? "
"Textiles, mainly textiles, dyes, and white crystals," Bai Dewen said with a smile. "High quality and abundant supply. My friends from the Western Plains tribe should like it."
"Let's not talk about other things. I'm interested in the textiles." Wenna looked up. "Can I see the sample?"
Bai Dewen stood up with a smile and nodded to the attendant beside him. "Of course, here it is. Open it."
The servant opened the wooden box that contained the sample, and the guests from the Augulay Tribal Nation looked at it curiously. Duke Bodwin stepped forward and took out a piece of white cloth from the wooden box. He handed it to the gray elf Wenna and said, "Madam, please take a look."
Wenna reached out and took the cloth. She looked at it with anticipation and curiosity. However, within a few seconds, her expression turned into one of shock and disappointment. After a short silence, the chief of the gray elf tribe frowned and shook her head. "My friend, I was just praising the creativity of the human craftsmen in the field of art … Now I'm a little confused."
As she said, she looked up at Duke Bai Dewen curiously. "With all due respect, is the faraway Empire of Typhon not good at craftsmanship? You should be able to see that although the cloth is strong, the weave and pattern are tasteless. If an apprentice who just learned how to weave can weave such a thing, it … "
"Sixteen silver shield coins," Bai Dewen suddenly said.
"What?" Wenna did not understand for a moment.
"Sixteen silver shield coins," Bai Dewen smiled and patted the wooden box beside him. "A total of one hundred and sixty silver shield coins."
Gray Elf Wenna's ears twitched. "Are you kidding me?"
"Last time when I reported the price of the alchemy potion to you, you had the same expression and words." Bai Dewen shook his head and sat back on the high-back chair. His expression became serious. "This is the real price. As you can see, the weaving and patterns of these fabrics are indeed tasteless. This is because they are woven by machines. With the current technology of machines, they can only weave such fabrics. They are indeed not attractive to the upper nobles, but in terms of price … they will definitely be popular among the middle class citizens and civilians."
"Machine … This is not the first time I've heard of this word." Wenna's stunned and disappointed expression had disappeared, replaced by contemplation. "If it's made by machine, then I can understand the price. But I have a question. Even if it's made by machine, you have to transport these fabrics from the distant Typhon to the western border. After such a long journey, is the price of these things still so low? As far as I know, just transporting a stone from the east to the west of your country would cost a lot of money. "
"We're building new roads and brand-new transportation technology to achieve the rapid transportation of large quantities of goods. Of course, even so, the transportation cost is still there. The profit margin of these fabrics is very, very thin. But the Franklin Family has always been looking for long-term business partners. Small profits but quick turnover is our principle. You should know this."
Duke Bai Dewen spoke frankly with a sincere and gentle smile on his face.
Gray Elf Wenna looked at the smile on Bai Dewen's face. After two seconds of silence, she said, "You're really sincere when you talk about business. So, you're just transporting the cheap fabrics from Typhon to the west and selling them to us. This is different from the alchemy potion."
"The essence of trade is to convert the journey into profit, and transportation also has costs." Bai Dewen nodded. "But no matter what, these fabrics will still be of great value in your hands. After all … putting aside the taste, their quality is still excellent, and they are completely worth the price."
The gray elf narrowed her eyes slightly. This was her habitual action when she was thinking.
"Elves love art. We value beauty and taste very much." After a few seconds of thinking, she slowly opened her eyes. There was a glimmer in her light-colored eyes. "My friend, there is no doubt that gold coins are the most tasteful thing in the world."
"It suits your personal style very well, and it suits mine." Bai Dewen's smile bloomed. "So, if everything goes well, we can officially start accepting textile orders next spring. The specific amount will be discussed later. The alchemy potion will be supplied according to the previously agreed time, and will not be affected by the textile orders. As for the settlement … "
"Half of the gold coins, half of the food and herbs," Wenna said. "Our king has agreed to your request. And we know that the An … Cecil Empire is in trouble. As an old friend, we're happy to help. The first order of food will arrive at the border before winter."
"Send my gratitude to the King of the Gray Elves," Bai Dewen stood up and said sincerely. "We won't forget our friend's help every time."
Wenna stood up and returned the salute. She then looked at the other boxes. "So, these should be the other samples?"
"Yes, let me show you …"
…
The light of the giant sun gradually sank to the west, and the increasingly brilliant rays began to cover the earth along with the clouds. Nameless birds chirped in the background of the clouds and the sky, hurriedly returning to their nests. Wenna, who left the castle, raised her hand and brushed the hair in front of her forehead. She looked back at the classical and gorgeous castle of the Franklin Family.
"What a big deal …" the gray elf whispered to herself.
The Redvale people walking beside her could not help but frown. "They must have earned more."
Wenna shook her head. "Don't focus on how much others earn when doing business. No one will do business with you to lose money."
The gentle human said, "But anyway, the price of the cloth is still amazing. After a long period of transportation, the price is still so low … It's hard to imagine how cheap the Typhon Empire was when they exported these things to Cecil."
"Yes … It's really hard to imagine …" Wenna looked back again and glanced at the castle that had hundreds of years of history.
Some craftsmen were busy on a platform on one side of the castle, installing a strange magic device of unknown use on the platform. The magic device had a metal base and a huge crystal.
It was truly an ancient castle. It gave off the feeling that it was as ancient as the land itself.
However, she could faintly feel that something young was growing in this land.
Goods from the far east and the other side of the continent … It was a long journey.
…
Bodwin Franklin stood in front of the window of the parlor and watched the guests from the Augulay tribe get into their own carriages and disappear into the distance. Only then did he look away.
A young man wearing a royal blue coat with a golden brooch on his chest walked into the room and stood behind Bodwin. He greeted respectfully, "Father."
"Erawen." Bodwin turned around and smiled gently at his eldest son. "You should have heard it clearly from the next room. From your expression, you seem to have a lot of questions."
The young man named Erawen stood straight. He had just come of age and was used to listening to his father's every word. But he already had many thoughts and questions of his own. "Yes, father. Why did you confess that the cloth came from Typhon?"
Bai Dewen looked at his eldest son quietly. "Why don't you confess?"
"… You taught me that in a situation where you can monopolize the supply, keeping the supply channel a secret is one of the important methods to maintain the monopoly and ensure profits. We import the cloth from Typhon and sell it to the Augulay tribe. But if we don't say it, the Augulay tribe won't know about it. We can also raise the price. But now, the gray elves already know the source of the cloth. They will also confirm the approximate price of the cloth exported from the Typhon Empire sooner or later. Transparency is the biggest taboo in doing business …"
Bodwin patiently waited for the young man to finish. He shook his head and said, "You can think of this, which means that you are seriously learning what I taught you. But you can only think of this, which means that you have only learned the surface.
"First, we are doing a long-term business, and it is a business between countries. This kind of business needs stability, not temporary profits. The gray elves are not a closed race. They will know the source of the cloth one day. Although from a business point of view, our act of keeping the supply channel a secret is not considered cheating, but if we play too much tricks on the price, we will hurt the relationship of our trading partners sooner or later, which will also hurt the future business.
"Second, even if I disclose the source of the cloth, we don't have to worry about this business because Cecil is the only channel that maintains the trade between east and west in the northern part of the continent. To our south is the Gondor wastelands, and to our north is the wastelands, mountains, and cold winter. If the trade goods of the Typhon Empire want to be transported to the Augulay tribe, they can only go through our route. Unless the gray elves or the Eldar find a way to break through the blockade of the sea and restart the northern route around the continent.
"Third, and the most important point. Do you think that our emperor asked me to sell those things to the Augulay tribe at a price of almost zero profit, just to sell the cloth?"
The young Duke's son was at a loss for a moment, and then he showed a thoughtful expression.
Bodwin Franklin laughed and shook his head. "What we really want to sell is the railway."
Erawen's eyes widened.
Bodwin's gaze moved away from his First Born and fell on the shelf not far away. On the shelf, there was a gift that Emperor Gwen Cecil gave him before he left Saint Sunil City.
It was the model of the first freight magic train.
Exquisite, ingenious, and lifelike. It was the 'hand' of the empire's chief craftsman, Saint Nicholas Egg.
However, the model was just too strange. She could not tell what it was used for, nor could she see any 'artistic value'. As a result, Wenna's attention was completely attracted by the flashy magic pendulum. She did not notice the item that truly represented the era of the Empire.
However, he believed that it would not be long before the kings of the Augulay tribe noticed it.
"Erawen, perhaps I've been too obsessed with nurturing you into someone like me. I've neglected your true expertise and interests."
"Father?" The young Duke's son was a little surprised, and then he was a little scared. "Father, I'm not …"
"Don't be nervous, child." Bodwin shook his head. "You still make me proud, but now you need to work harder to keep up with the era that His Majesty has created. Magicite technology, trains, magic network broadcasting, alchemy industry … there are too many new things in the new era, and these things, the teachers in the castle and the scholars in the territory do not understand, let alone teach you.
"The Western Region is too far from the center of the empire, far away from new technology and knowledge, and far away from a real 'civilized society.'
"We can't wait at home for the arrival of civilized society. We have to take the initiative to contact it.
"His Majesty is building more educational facilities in Cecil City and building a new Imperial College. I have ordered to select 500 smart young people from all over the Western Region regardless of background to study there. You should go as well — as the leader of the group, we will go to the south together. The era of the old nobles is over, and the Franklins are no longer the direct rulers of this land, but you still have the responsibility of fighting for the interests of this land and its people.
"I believe that the Ice Duchess in the north is doing the same thing — we will never fall behind others."
Erawen quietly met the gaze of the Duke of the Western Region, and after a long time, he lowered his head deeply. "Yes, father."
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