Chapter 68 Startup Capital

However, just because this thing is not useful for filling beer doesn’t mean it is not useful for filling soy sauce!

Jiangyou carefully inspected the machine and discovered that both the liquid tank and the nozzle had dedicated slots for drawing magic circles, allowing for the application of a spirit-purifying magic circle. Filling and packaging were completed in one go, making it very convenient to use... The only problem was that soy sauce, unlike beer, didn't require a disposable cap; instead, it needed a reusable lid...

"Can the design of this lid be replaced?" asked Jiang You.

"Huh?" Lolisa scratched her head. "I don't know. I'll have to ask the dwarf craftsman who made this machine. Dwarves love beer, and he'll also be attending the carnival. He'll be here around today."

She thought for a moment and added, "Dwarves are very skillful. This simple adjustment should be possible."

Jiangyou picked up another glass bottle and took a look at it. The bottle was very small, and the body was made of brown opaque glass. She used the [Poison Detection Technique] to test it and found that there were no harmful elements in the glass, nor did it contain heavy metals such as lead.

If a magic circle is painted on the bottle, it can sterilize the soy sauce permanently and extend the shelf life of the soy sauce. In addition, the amount of soy sauce in this bottle is not large. If it is used normally for cooking and dipping, it can be eaten up in about ten days to half a month. The magic circle can generally operate for three months... which is enough.

As long as the lid can be made reusable, she is still very satisfied with this machine... huh?

She suddenly felt a little strange. "You ordered the wrong bottle model, and you don't want the filling machine anymore? I see that the filling machine is working fine. It should be able to work if you change the bottle size."

Lolisa smiled sheepishly. "This is the first finished product the dwarves made. We used it a few times and found that with our beer production, this manual filling machine was too tiring to use.

"The witches in charge gave the dwarves a lot of suggestions, and they built us a more powerful filling machine that's powered directly by magic crystals. We're all using the upgraded version now, so this one has been left unused.

"The dwarves won't accept returns or refunds. We're reluctant to throw away the equipment and the bottles; after all, they cost five gold coins! But it's really useless, so it's just sitting in the warehouse."

Since this was the case, Jiang You was somewhat tempted. She said, "We'll discuss it again when the dwarf craftsman arrives."

If she could simply modify the components and make the lid reversible without significantly increasing the cost, she could probably get the machine. She'd tell the witches about setting up a stall in front of the warehouse for tomorrow's carnival, selling soy sauce-based dishes in the front to attract customers, and then bottling and selling soy sauce on the spot in the back... That way, she'd only need to get the ingredients and the cauldron... well, she'd also have to figure out what dishes to serve at the carnival.

Business is like this. While ideals are always beautiful, in reality, there are always little problems of one kind or another. Nothing in the world is smooth sailing. It's just a matter of adapting to the situation and building bridges over rivers.

She had a plan in mind, so she asked Lolisa to help ask the dwarf craftsmen to modify the design, as well as to bargain with the head witch for a lower price and inquire about renting a warehouse for the stall.

"I have to go back to the city," Jiang You said. "I'll be back in a few hours. We can continue our conversation then."

"Okay!" Lorisa locked the warehouse door. "I'll wait for you at the witches' gathering."

Jiang You hurriedly said goodbye to her and went to look for Andre.

Although Andrei had taken on a sinecure, he was still extremely serious about his work. He and the Winchester clerk went to the head witch's office early in the morning to discuss security and patrol arrangements. He also took two apprentice knights on a thorough inspection of the village.

Since there were only four of them, they were divided into two teams. During the day, Winchester Clerk and the apprentice knight Pacha fa Otsu were on duty, and at night Andre and Gorman fa Guerrero kept watch... This arrangement also gave Andre enough time, enough for him to take Jiangyou back to the city to see the high priest.

In this era, the Lunatic Cult, as the state religion of the Principality of Huntington, not only leads its followers in prayer and provides comfort, but also participates in their daily lives. When two believers wish to sign a contract, they can choose to have a Lunatic Cult priest witness it, a feat equal to, or even slightly superior to, that of the Kingdom's Knights.

The Kingdom's Knights represented the King, while the High Priest represented the Gods. The High Priest's testimony was God's testimony, unquestionable by anyone... including, naturally, the lord of this place, Baron Augustin von Neumann.

If Andrei had not gone bankrupt despite Baron Neumann's salary withholding, the Baron would certainly investigate the source of his money. In this case, an investment agreement witnessed by the high priest would be the best response.

When Jiang You came, Andre had just finished his work. He gave the lich a look, and Jiang You understood and headed for the village entrance. A while later, Andre appeared with Diego, the big horse.

"Let's go to the high priest and sign the agreement first." Andre said as he helped Jiangyou onto the horse.

"Okay, then I have to go back to the workshop," Jiang You patted the big black horse under him, "Diego needs a favor and transport my crucible and raw materials over here. I have to open a shop here tomorrow night!"

Everything went smoothly after that.

Andrei was clearly acquainted with the High Priest of the Moon Worship Cult. He led Jiangyou, the Skeleton Lich, straight into the cathedral, without even a single strange look from the surrounding priests. The affable, middle-aged High Priest greeted them cordially, and the knight and lich quickly signed a contract under his witness.

The terms of the agreement were exactly as they had agreed: Andrei would invest ten gold coins in Jiangyou's brewing workshop. He would not participate in the actual operation, but would simply take 40% of the monthly profits as dividends, with the remainder going to Jiangyou. The agreement was valid for three months; if the two still wished to continue their partnership at the end of the period, they would sign a new agreement.

Everything was in accordance with the rules, with risks and rewards commensurate for both parties. Even the most demanding lord couldn't find fault. The agreement was made in triplicate, with Andrei and Jiangyou each holding one, and the final copy placed in the divine box by the high priest for safekeeping.

Andre watched with his own eyes as the high priest stuffed the signed agreement into the divine box, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, High Priest, for bearing witness for us." He shook the High Priest's hand in a friendly manner. The High Priest smiled kindly, patted his wrist, and whispered, "Give my regards to the High Priest for me."

"Yes." Andrei also responded in a low voice.

Jiang You didn't understand what was going on, so she just rolled up her investment agreement and the ten gold coins given by Andrei and stuffed them into her skull - hey, now she has money!

Of course, she still has a lot of valuable 'magic rice' as 'fixed assets'. In theory, even if she doesn't accept Andre's investment, she can make a profit by selling some magic rice.

But anyone who's ever done business knows that raw materials are always expensive to buy, and when they resell, they have to beg for a discount. Magic rice, while a good thing, is so high-end that only potion masters use it in large quantities. These masters, however, have their own fixed supply channels with discounted prices, ensuring quality and quantity. If a raw material problem causes a potion to fail, they can always seek compensation from their suppliers.

If Jiangyou doesn't lower the price low enough, no one will be willing to buy it.

Even Polina of the Witch Forest only consumes one or two hundred grams of magic rice a year. Even if Jiangyou sells it at a bargain price, she may not be able to find enough customers to fill her current financial gap.

Moreover, unlike Mi You and the others, Jiang You does not have channels to buy Magic Rice. Once he sells it at a low price, he has to buy it at a high price next time... It's a huge loss from buying and selling.

By contrast, accepting Andre as an investor and partnering with him would not only allow her to easily obtain ten gold coins in cash, saving Jiangyou the trouble of managing fixed assets, but would also ensure the knight's dedicated assistance. After all, the brewing workshop's profits were directly tied to Andre's actions in West Eston City, and perhaps even gaining access to the royal family!

The current king may be broke, but he's still a king! Sometimes a king's words can be worth more than real money.

Besides, if Takumiu's business really fails, she can use the magic rice as collateral to repay her debts and directly pay it to her "creditors" at the market price. In this case, whether to sell the magic rice at a discount will become a headache for Andre and Holly!

When doing business, you can't be too rigid. There is only investment that cannot be obtained, but there is no reason to rush to push money away.