Chapter 284- Subcontracting (Patreon)

Subcontracting

Merchant Quin twisted his face on seeing the bluish fruit placed on the table. Even in a darkened setting, he would recognize the useless item. Reigning in the displeasure from his voice, he raised his eyes to the brunette girl sitting behind the crowded table.

"Indigo melon. Pardon my lack of vision, but I fail to connect this useless fruit to the profitable venture you mentioned earlier about."

The girl smiled at his response as if she expected it as the norm. She then tapped the prickly fruit with her quill.

"Indeed, this is an Indigo melon. I take it Merchant Quin owns lands in the north?"

"The young miss is correct, I like most merchants living in Frost City own a few plots not far from the city. We usually lend them out to farmers for a yearly fee or have a few servants toil the fields. The grains are sold in the city."

Merchant Quin replied while silently cursing in his heart. During the signing of the contract, these people had already inquired and found out about his major holdings. He felt slighted in thinking the girl asked the question so as to belittle him. He soon understood, however, she never strayed on this narrow-minded thinking.

"Everyone in the north near the mountains has seen an Indigo melon. To farmers, the vine is worse than a weed. It covers the ground quickly and bears these fruits year-round in abundance. Merchant Quin is correct in that not only is this fruit inedible but even livestock refuses it. The sourness of the fruit is well known."

Sakura confirmed.

"The venture we offer is very simple. We ask that apart from your normal trade, you either plant or encourage some of the farmers you interact with to do so. When the fruit is ripe, we ask that you follow this procedure. For each barrel of the fermented liquid, the payment starts at ten silvers."

"Ten silvers? You don't mean ten coppers right?"

"Ten silvers per barrel."

Merchant Quin straightened his back on the chair on hearing the girl confirm the price. The wholesale price for a bag of grain hovered around thirty to fifty coppers. Given the nature of the Indigo melon vine, reaping enough produce to fill a barrel required little effort on the grower. The wrinkles on his forehead compressed as he delved in thought.

"Lady Boss, may I have a glimpse as to the procedure for harvesting and delivery?"

"Sure, here you go."

Merchant Quin waited for one of the men to hand over the parchment. Browsing across it, he frowned some more. Not because of the complexity of the preparation but as to how relatively easy the process seemed.

"Pardon my bluntness, but why is the price so high for a barrel? The Indigo melons grow like weeds and this preparation process is relevantly simple."

"So you want to know why this offer sounds too good to be true?"

Merchant Quin nodded while shaking himself alert. He had come here expecting the worse but somehow stumbled onto a stellar deal of a lifetime. As an experienced merchant, he undoubtedly caught the hint in the words of the girl. The price quoted for a barrel was ten silvers. Even if he convinced farmers to grow and prepare this product for more than the price of a bag of grain, the profit would be staggering.

Of course, as an experienced merchant, he would never do so. Beating down prices for a better deal remained ingrained in his nature.

Not only did the Indigo weed require little to no effort to grow but it also needed no maintenance. Farmers had long cursed the tenacity of this weed to spread over the stony soil near the mountains. The bald man waited to hear the reasoning behind this unbelievable venture.

The girl tapped the fruit and then pointed at the strange lamp which had captivated him since entering.

"This lamp is a recent invention called an alcohol lamp. The fermented and strained liquid from the Indigo fruit is the raw material required to process the strong alcohol liquid which burns. The liquid alcohol not only is used for this lamp but can be used to treat cuts and wash hands clean. Has Merchant Quin heard the rumor about the invention called glass from Limerock?"

"Yes, there has been word of such a wonderful product soon to appear in the market. The merchant quarters have been buzzing with talk about its many uses. They say it can keep out the cold wind while allowing the sun to enter into the home. Some also say it can be molded into sparkling cups and bottles."

"What you have heard is true. Soon lamps like these will be found in abundance, not only in the Tower and Alchemist quarters but across all the homes of the Empire. I believe Merchant Quin understands the meaning behind my words."

Merchant Quin stiffened while holding in his breath. His eyes couldn't help themselves but open wide as his jaw loosened slowly. Unconsciously, he smacked his dry lips.

Only a fool wouldn't understand the words spoken.

The market the girl visioned encompassed the entire Empire. Blinking he cast a glance at the little brunette smiling before him. His merchant mind tinkered with thoughts of undermining and shrewdly overthrowing her when he once again became wealthy and powerful. The wealth she spoke would incite any man's greed.

The girl, however, captured his glance as if she expected it from experience.

"Merchant Quin will be responsible for purchasing the barrels of the finished product from the sellers in the north. This Indigo melon thrives in the rocky plains under the mountains and even up to the north of Frost City. We hope to have most of the farmers around Frost City who have troubles in growing grain convert to this crop."

Sakura flicked her hair behind her oval face before continuing.

"The barrels will be delivered to the Tower Mage quarters for inspection and payment. Purchasing will begin from the end of this summer since the Tower has to construct the facilities to handle the processing. The person overseeing this project also has to arrive from the academy in Limerock City."

Hearing the involvement of the Tower halted the greedy thoughts manifesting in his mind. Merchant Quin scrunched his forehead in puzzlement. The revelation had him wondering as to how this little gang boss held relations with the Tower. Thinking back to the sheer scope of this trading venture, he wondered how could the merchant quarter not be aware of the start of such a lucrative deal with the Tower.

Shooting a glance at the girl again, this time his eyes froze. Merchant Quin's eyes locked not with the smiling eyes of a girl but with the conniving ones of a high ranking merchant. Inside those inky pupils, his status descended to a little rabbit comparing claws with a Jaga.

The smile on the fair face checked the greed festering within his mind. What came next, however, nearly seized his heart. From the sleeves of her robe, this insignificant girl within a derelict shack in the slums pulled out three tokens.

"In trading, I believe we should all understand our position so as to avoid stepping over our bounds. We should all know exactly where we stand in the corporate, I mean trading ladder."

Sakura said.

The words reached Merchant Quin before his eyes opened in terror on identifying each token. His breathing rasped as each knock of the token on the table seemed to take his life.

Alchemist Guild Token

Tower Mage Token

Governor of Frost City Token

The intricacies of the tokens warned him that these were not simple ones held by scribes and servants but the ones commanding true authority.

Merchant Quin rose while stumbling backward in a panic. Ignoring the toppled chair his eyes switched between the tokens on the table and the face of the calm girl behind it. Anyone of these tokens could spell disaster for his entire family within the Empire, yet this young devil causally extracted three of them from her sleeve.

"Who, who, who are you, people?"

***

Merchant Quin reached out his shaking hand to hold the reins the young boy handed over to him. His eyes, however, kept glancing towards the crooked shack he emerged from recently. In the darkness, surprisingly no ray of warm bluish light escaped from within. Before he arrived, he secretly believed his experience as a shrewd merchant could have helped him strike a more favorable deal and even nullify the signed contract.

As a resident and tradesman of Frost City, he had a proficient understanding of how gangs in the city operated. By paying a little tithe, both parties would usually be contented. Scrambling while climbing onto the wagon, thoughts of negotiation fled from his terrified head. Sweating, he rubbed his trembling legs to calm his nerves.

Recalling the large ledger and what looked like names and numbers within, he realized this was no normal gang. Then again, never in his life did he hear rumors of any street gang possessing any one of those three powerful tokens. Did the girl think those tokens were sold like rock bread on the streets?

Patting his yet thumping heart, he inhaled deeply. Whatever the consequences, at least he left with an opportunity that would catapult him into riches beyond his dreams. Armed with a copy of the process to make the barrels of unprocessed alcohol from the Indigo fruit, he had these few months to stock up his goods.

Maybe this night advanced like a strange dream but he would never doubt the words of a person entitled to hold those three tokens. For better or worse, the end of summer would open the door as to whether tonight was real. He clutched the robe on his breast and breathed a sigh of relief on feeling the parchment underneath. On it, in excellent calligraphy lay an address in the slums. This group and company would serve as his liaison between the Tower.

Bai Corporation.

***

"Ohhh, my shoulders feel as if I slept on the board floor of the barn. How long again before the next merchant arrives?"

"Little Jake said the next wagon is on its way inside the slums already. We already began guiding Merchant Quin down the different exit path. Do you want me to fetch one of the girls to help rub your shoulders?"

Green replied while watching the little girl stretch and massage her shoulders. Sakura shook her head and then rested her left hand on the table. Her fingers tapped a rhythm on the wooden surface as her lips formed into a little twist. Frowning, she sat in thought.

Since arriving at Frost City, Governor Hails spent his free time in inviting her over to his mansion. No one would figure this young girl spent her time in discussion with the leader and his closest advisors in discussing trade. These elders knew very well from their contacts and friends in Limerock City that this girl had established and planned the venture to introduce glass to the Empire.

None of them, including Governor Hails took this young girl lightly. A genius blessed by the heavens who could raise the income of an entire city for the foreseeable future would never be underestimated. Bombarded by requests and questions, Sakura had no choice but to mention this to Chu in her last letter.

She sighed.

"Chu is really amazing. Who knew he would introduce a business which tied into the alcohol making he demonstrated. Poor Tye, now he will have to travel to Frost City to supervise the construction of this large scale distillery."

"Boss always has a keen eye for business. When you mentioned a fruit sour and easy to grow, my mind fell at once on the Indigo fruit. Governor Hails must be laughing like a madman since the fruit is native to the north by the mountains. Now he has an industry rivaling the glass making one in Limerock. Who knew the merchants we bankrupted would come in so handy."

Sakura smiled at the words of Doug who stood acting as a footman at the door. She had always wondered why Chu never pushed for a cut in the massive glass making business. Now, she understood that he shared this with the Empire because he already thought one step ahead.

"The Bai Corporation will become the sole supplier for the Tower Mage's alcohol distillery. The City gains a boost in wealth from taxes. Within five years, I don't think anyone will rival us in wealth within the Empire..."

She shuddered. When Chu decided to claim his cut from the inventions he shared with the great houses, their wealth might become uncountable.

"And with all this, he still wants to adventure around? I blame Ming..."

****

Stay safe everyone and don't forget to use that good old fashioned soap. :)