Disclaimer:

I don't guarantee a 100% perfect translation. Feel free to correct me in the comments..

Im back, i got power back yesterday afternoon but i couldnt finish the chapter since i had to wake up early to go visit an aunt who had surgery.

Thanks to everyone who recommended a book, i will check them out later

Enjoy the chapter.

"Straight&h.e.l.lip; from the western region?" Margaret said with curiosity, "I didn't know there was a harbor leading to the sea."

"Not yet, but we will build one."

Her eyes widened, "Your Highness, are you serious?"

"Of course, we should start the construction by spring next year." Roland smiled.

In this age, all harbors were without exception natural, a man-made harbor would be a huge project that would need to transform the landscape, so it would be nearly impossible to achieve.

But now he had the full support of Tilly, so after the construction of Sleeping Island's housing was complete, Lotus would return to the western region. By that time the demonic beasts will retreat, so it would be a suitable time to start opening the port.

He got up and pointed to a map hanging behind him, "There is a shoal directly south of Border Town, the water depth is ideal so the area is very suitable to accommodate all the facilities required for a port. With just a little transformation, and flattening out the coastal mountains, I would be able to s.h.i.+p goods from the inland western region."

"Transform the shoal&h.e.l.lip; flatten out the mountains? Why do you say these astonis.h.i.+ng things so easily? I'll be under the illusion that they are not all that difficult," Margaret said with a little interest, "But, do you have a merchant fleet? You should know that the sailing of river boats and sea s.h.i.+ps can be very different."

"Not at the moment," Roland said as he spread his arms, "that's why I was hoping you could partic.i.p.ate in it."

"By providing the s.h.i.+ps?"

"Also by being responsible for transportation and sale," he added, "the western region will only provide the goods."

This was the equivalent to having the exclusive distribution rights to the Fjords, and with Margaret's experience, she could naturally see the profit in this.

By organizing caravans to sell in the Fjords, you could earn even more, but Roland did not want to place too much effort and manpower into this. The only thing he wanted was to get his money back as soon as possible, in order to maintain the rapid development of his territory. At least until the acc.u.mulative economic state was completed, the matter regarding the introduction of a credit currency was what would happen eventually anyways.

Sure enough, the merchant woman blinked and asked excitedly, "Will you entrust everything to me?"

"As long as the price is reasonable," Roland nodded, "If you are willing to represent the western region in the overseas trade, we can talk in detail about this. The scope of the sales should be limited to the Fjords, and it shall not be less than the selling price offered to the Crescent Moon Bay merchant caravan."

"That is a given, a steam boat that can sail uninterrupted without the need for wind, it is worth the price those caravans are willing to pay," her voice was full of confidence, "If sold directly to the Fjord islands, I am confident they will even pay twice the price."

"However much profits come out, we can share it." Roland smiled, "In addition, the main products aside the steam engine are these." He clapped his hands, and afterwards a guard waiting outside the hall immediately came in holding a plate, on top of it were four or five gla.s.s bottles, each one only the size of a thumb.

"These are&h.e.l.lip;"

"Open it and smell it."

Margaret took the bottle and curiously opened up the wooden cork, then she put it in front of her nose to sniff it, her eyes suddenly lit up as she exclaimed, "My goodness, you made perfume!"

"I wonder how these are, compared to the ones produced by King's City's Alchemy a.s.sociation?"

"The fragrance seems to be richer," she held the bottle and looked at it left and right, seemingly unable to put it down, "Is this a product made by Border Town's Alchemic Workshop?"

"Something like that," Roland also picked up a bottle and placed it in his palm—according to his own requirements, the perfume bottles were to be made from crystal gla.s.s, which had extremely good transparency, and the shape was the standard six-sided prism. Slightly turning the bottle in the light, the perfume inside reflected different color shades, making it very visually pleasing.

According to modern sales' philosophy, an exquisite packaging would greatly improve the product itself, and as a way to open the Fjord's markets, he naturally had to treat this attentively. Compared to the steam engine, the perfumes were a low-cost commodity.

When Evelyn finally accepted that "the most pungent white liquor" was also a drink, she continuously delivered highly concentrated alcohol, allowing to omit even the last step of distillation. As for the rose and other flowers' unique fragrances, they had been made into oil concentrates by Leaf. Just by mas.h.i.+ng a few flowers, she could make a rich fragrance fill a jar of alcohol.

"Seems you like it, I'll give these bottles to you." He put the perfume bottle back on the plate.

"Are you sure?" Margaret smiled, "Then I'll gladly take them."

"I heard these can fetch a good price in the Fjords."

"You should already be aware, but the perfume made by King's City's Alchemy a.s.sociation is very limited in quant.i.ty every year, the supply of a thousand bottles falls too short of the demand, especially to those big merchants who pay close attention to the fish-like smell you get while traveling the seas, so perfume is a standard item for them. And since at King's City they are sold at a price of five gold royals, at the Fjords, you can in turn sell them from 15 to 20 gold royals.

"In fact, from the perfume sold to other regions, the majority of it would be taken and resold by the sea merchants." Margaret then said after a pause, "I don't know about your Alchemy Workshop, how many bottles of perfume can it produce in a year?"

"If the supply of raw materials is adequate, it should be around ten times the amount that King's City's Alchemy a.s.sociation produces," Roland deliberately lowered the numbers—he did not want to turn such a profitable product into something as cheap as lettuce, and neither did he only want to make four or five thousand gold royals in a year. As a product tied with the steam engine, he wanted perfume to bring back the same amount of profit.

"&h.e.l.lip; &h.e.l.lip;" the merchant woman was stunned for a moment before sighing, "Your territory is really unbelievable."

"So, are you willing to sell these goods for me?"

"Of course, Your Highness," she stood up and while placing a hand on her chest she bowed while saying, "for me, this is also a rare opportunity."

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After achieving his goal, and having Barov continue with the specific details and terms of the contract, Roland returned to his office, and proceeded to write a letter for Theo who was currently hiding in King's City.

Whether it was taking the initiative to overthrow Timothy, or to work on opening a new trade route, both were things he had to do. He did not want to place all his eggs in one basket, so that in the case the offensive suffered defeat, he could still continue to obtain saltpeter.

This was to walk the path of self-sustainment.

In the letter, in addition to mentioning his intention to attack, another point was to let Theo establish contact with the nitrate field workers around King's City, in hopes of recruiting a group to send to the western region.

This year, the saltpeter merchants must not feel very comfortable. While Timothy forbids exports, and forces them to sell to the Alchemy a.s.sociation at low prices, the profits of the saltpeter fields will continue to drop. Roland believed that as long as the rewards are generous enough, recruiting a group of saltpeter workers is not a difficult issue.

The principle of producing saltpeter was not complicated either, now that the population of Border Town was growing, it could easily meet the large amount of manure required by the saltpeter site, fully meeting the conditions for their self-production.

Before defeating Timothy, it would undoubtedly be a safeguard point.