Lord of Industrialization

"Wesson's army entered Keburg yesterday afternoon..."

The news on the radio rang in the dining room of a luxurious mansion in the city of Amstel in the Lowlands. At the dining table, Mrs. Franken was eating a "breakfast wesson bun", which was two slices of bread sandwiched between two slices of bread. With just a slice of cheese, vegetables or meat, it's just the right amount for breakfast.

People in the lowlands probably don't know the meaning behind this news. Mrs. Franken naturally knows that Castle is the northernmost castle in the Principality of Franconia and is also an important transportation route to the forest and ocean areas. Its occupation means that Wesson's army controlled all the lands of the Franconian Duchy.

Under Richard Nall's friendly persuasion, Mrs. Franken realized that her family's partner was going to die, so she agreed to leave in a dignified manner with her two children under ten years old and the servants.

She was born into a noble family in Bohemia, and she still had a barony in her hometown that she planned to inherit to her second daughter. But now that she no longer had the Archduke of Franken as her backer, she needed to raise an army to protect it, and building an army cost money.

To the north of the Principality of Franconia is the forest and ocean area. Over the years, Mrs. Franconia relied on the resources and markets there to arrange people to open a chamber of commerce. Therefore, she did not go back to her hometown directly. Instead, she came to Amstel City to cash in the chamber of commerce and then recruit employees. The soldiers went back to kill them.

The morning news ended with the Flying Tulip docking at the port. Mrs. Franken's butler reported today's work arrangements: "Madam, Baron Shylock from Venice has asked for an audience again."

Mrs. Franken waved her hand as if to shoo away flies without saying a word.

After the news that she wanted to sell the Chamber of Commerce came out, a lot of interested businessmen came, and the price was very low. It was normal for the price to be paid all over the place.

But Baron Sherlock is different. He not only seeks wealth, but also sex. To be precise, he wants an experience of "sleeping with the Grand Duchess" as a gimmick for himself to increase his worth.

The steward continued: "As of yesterday, the highest bidder was the Sea Flame Chamber of Commerce."

Mrs. Franken recalled that the Sea Flame Chamber of Commerce was also an outsider. It was said that they came from the north. In recent years, half of the top ten tulips sold every year were owned by them, and they made a lot of money.

Tulip bulbs can generally be stored for two to three months after being dug out and wrapped in boiled hay and placed in a cool place.

It is rumored that someone has developed a way to preserve it for two to three years, but the technology has not been made public, and it is the Sea Flame Chamber of Commerce that masters this technology.

Mrs. Franken thought for a while and then said: "The most valuable things in the Chamber of Commerce are those tulips. This year's new bulbs will be on the market in these two days. Those people are trying to buy them from me at a lower price. Then they can make a fortune out of thin air." .”

The housekeeper reminded her: "Madam, our tulip bulbs have been dug out, sorted and packaged. If we don't find a chamber of commerce to sell them in a short time, they will rot on our hands."

Large quantities of tulips are usually purchased by local business associations with connections. The goods stay on hand for a short time. If there is no way, they will be sold slowly. Maybe a new crop of tulips will be planted in the fields and they will not be sold out, so they will be lost.

This is the problem that Mrs. Franken is facing now. She is a migrant and has no way out. In previous years, she only sold to other chambers of commerce.

"Ignore those chambers of commerce!" She gritted her teeth. "If we can't reach an agreement in the next two days, let our chamber of commerce set up a stall at the door for retail sales. The price...is based on the wholesale price."

"We don't have that much time. The sooner we sell the goods, the sooner we can get the money and hire troops to go back."

The housekeeper said he would do it right away.

But no businessmen came to negotiate this day.

There were a lot of carriages outside the largest bank in Amstel today. In the lounge next to the VIP negotiation room, many famous businessmen stared at each other, wanting to go over and knock each other to death.

The bank staff came to the door and said: "Please invite VIP No. 8 to the VIP room to discuss business."

Baron Sherlock from Venice jumped up, straightened his appearance as he walked, coughed twice to clear his throat, and walked out of the lounge with confidence.

There are two spring sofas in the VIP negotiation room, with a coffee table in the middle. The vice president of the bank and two staff members are sitting behind the desk next to the door.

Baron Shylock walked to the sofa and stretched out his hand to shake hands with today's partner: "Shylock, plenipotentiary of the Venetian Merchant Federation."

For people like them, they talk about people and ghosts. The other person does not have a title, but he may be a member of the royal family behind the scenes. He wants something from him, so he does not mention his title.

A thin man with an expressionless face like a wooden sculpture stood up on the sofa. He also stretched out his hand: "Chief Commercial Officer of the Sea Flame Chamber of Commerce, Jace."

After the two sat down, Jess asked: "Do you understand our transaction requirements?"

Sherlock nodded and replied, "Cash only."

Jess picked up a form on the coffee table and handed it over, saying in a calm tone: "This is the goods and prices that our chamber of commerce can provide, and the delivery will be on June 25."

Sherlock took over the tulip variety and price list sold by the Sea Flame Chamber of Commerce and found that the top few numbers said limited sales. The most expensive one was limited to one and had three zeros after it. The cheapest one was limited to fifty and there were two. 0.

It is the most expensive variety of tulips, and shipping it back to the Kingdom of Sardinia is at least ten times more profitable.

The following varieties are relatively cheaper and the quantities are larger.

Sherlock discovered that the wholesale price of non-limited quantity tulips on the list was only more than twice as high as the same period last year, which was a huge discount compared to the retail price which was at least six times higher.

He quickly calculated that this was definitely not all the products from the Sea Flame Merchant Guild. The price was much cheaper than he expected, so he could bite the bullet and eat them all.

So the two parties entered the bargaining stage. After some back and forth, Sherlock found that the other party did not make too many concessions, but after eating them all, the total amount exceeded the amount of cash he could use.

Fortunately, the Venetian Merchant's reputation was also quite resounding along the North Sea coast. Sherlock went through the loan procedures with the bank's vice president on the spot, then signed a contract with Jess, and finally handled the transfer on the spot.

Sherlock had a bright smile on his face when he walked out of the negotiation room. The next step was to eat and drink at public expense. After ten days, he would pick up the goods and load them on the ship. He would then take the waterway upstream along the Rhine River through Weisen and then down the Danube River to enter After the inland sea return to Venice.

On average, the profit for this trip was six times. He calculated his commission and asked for the most expensive tulip bulbs. When he returned, each of them could be exchanged for a mansion with a garden and a carriage house. He thought Suddenly I found that the northwest wind that keeps blowing all day is so lovely.

What's even cuter is the short-haired girl passing by. Her hair shines like gold and her eyes are like emeralds. The most attractive thing is the confident temperament she exudes.

Baron Sherlock, who felt good about himself, arranged his remains, asked his entourage to stay, and strode up to the girl.

He said to the girl affectionately as if he were on the streets of Venice: "Ah, as beautiful as the most delicate flowers in the garden...ah!!!"

A girl with long red hair rushed out from behind the short-haired girl, kicked Baron Sherlock away, and then punched and kicked him.

Baron Sherlock's entourage rushed over when they saw the boss being beaten. A large group of people who looked like sailors by their skin color rushed out from behind the short-haired girl. Sen's foul language was flying.

Some of the entourage from Venice were very skilled in martial arts, but their attacks were too insidious, and the local shoes were carved out of a piece of wood with pointed toes. The Venetians quickly fell down holding their crotches.

The city defense troops who arrived saw that the person being beaten was an outsider, Miss Lilu, a well-known local landowner, and the Duke of Wesson behind her had a good reputation in the city, so they dragged the person away after the beating.