Chapter 120 The idea of building a factory
The well-fed and well-drinking traveling merchants were easy to talk to and would agree to whatever Jiangyou said.
Of course, this also had something to do with Jianyou thoroughly proving her strength. The aristocratic power standing beside her was not to be ignored, and what made Pixie Anxie even more impressed was Jianyou's cooking skills. Pixie had been to Dream Garden Restaurant several times, but the dishes he was served today were something even a well-traveled merchant like him had never tasted before.
——The key is, it’s delicious!
After learning that these new dishes were launched by Jiangyou in cooperation with Mengyuan Restaurant under the "employment" of the Dresden family, Pixi felt more confident and immediately agreed to Jiangyou's suggestion of finding an accompanying chef who would be responsible for promoting delicious ingredients.
When Pixi thought about the many more novel delicacies he would bring to all parts of the country, he couldn't help but feel excited: this is the ultimate achievement that a traveling merchant pursues throughout his life!
The issues were quickly resolved, and while both the host and the guests were enjoying themselves, Andrei casually asked the traveling merchants for information about the Drodana Chamber of Commerce. However, the information they could provide was not very much.
"That Chamber of Commerce is a bit strange," Pixie said. "At first, I thought its policies were very favorable to traveling merchants... All I had to do was become a member, and I could ship my goods to them to sell. Sounds great, right? In my mind, theoretically, all I had to do was become a member, and then I could ship my goods to the Drodara Chamber of Commerce in a certain city, hand them over to them to sell, and then I could quickly set off and continue on my journey, right?"
"But in reality, once you hand over your merchandise to the Chamber of Commerce, they won't immediately settle your bill. They'll simply sell it on your behalf. This means if you leave for the next city right away, you'll have to pay a tax upfront. Because you've already stored the goods at the Chamber of Commerce, the city lord will consider you to have already sold them.
"But when you return to this city, you often find that you haven't sold many of your goods... The people at the Droda Chamber of Commerce will tell you that your products aren't selling well, and their efforts to sell them have been fruitless. If you're selling fresh produce, you might even be charged a rotten goods disposal fee. But who can actually tell whether the goods were actually sold or simply rotted or spoiled in the store?"
Pixie shrugged. "Anyway, I tried the services of the Drodana Chamber of Commerce once. That was the first time in all my years of traveling as a trader that I nearly lost everything. I'm pretty sure it's a shady business!"
When the dwarf said this, he almost spat on the ground as usual to show his contempt for the shady shop, but Pixie immediately realized that he was still in a high-end restaurant and forced himself to hold back this indecent gesture.
"Baron Neumann seemed to have had some dealings with this Chamber of Commerce before," Pixie said. "I suspect he and the Drodana Chamber of Commerce were colluding and collecting a lot of taxes."
The traveling merchants could not provide any more information, and soon everyone finished their business and returned home with a full meal and drink.
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Three days later.
After closing for a day, Dream Garden Restaurant suddenly became the most popular restaurant in the capital. Not only was it packed with guests, but reservations were already booked three months into the future. Many nobles and aristocrats resorted to using all their connections just to cut in line and secure a reservation.
The chefs worked on an assembly line, their spatulas dancing with abandon. The store manager, counting gold coins, grinned widely, his smile reaching deep into his eyes as he entertained customers. The nobles hadn't seen such genuine smiles in a long time, and their favorable impression of this "internet-famous" restaurant had inexplicably increased.
Truckloads of spices arrived, only to be consumed again. Fish sauce, a crucial ingredient in Tom Yum Goong, also needed to be restocked several times. Takumi was forced to urgently order a large number of glass jars. The Crucible of Time ran around the clock, churning out hundreds of bottles of fish sauce. The salty fish flavor was practically ingrained into his bones.
——No, at this rate, the Crucible of Time will not be enough. She will have to open a fish sauce factory by the sea to cope with the Southeast Asian cuisine craze in the capital.
However, setting up a factory requires manpower and land. Jiangyou's family used to make sauces, and she knew the general process, but she became lazy when she thought about making it herself.
"If you can't lead a team, you'll have to work yourself to death... I'd better get some help." Jiang You muttered, and then he went to discuss it with Annina. Annina laughed and said, "It's easy. Andre is the lord of a place now. Just ask him to allocate a piece of land to you and arrange for a group of hired workers to work."
"Wow! Is it that easy?!" Jiang You said in shock.
She almost forgot that this was the feudal magical Middle Ages, where the world was big and the lord was the biggest!
Annina smiled again, then shared the good news with Jiangyou: Holly had arrived at the Dresden family's territory and had begun research in the lava valley. The young botanist had initially determined that the area was rich in fire elements, and that both the temperature and soil conditions were ideal for growing tropical plants. Whether it was sugarcane, glutinous rice, olives, or some tropical fruits, there was a chance of success.
Near the Lava Valley lies a long-dormant volcano, currently in a remarkably stable state. As the high priestess, Annina returns to the territory annually to use the church's secrets to restore the volcano's dormancy, so they don't have to worry about an eruption disrupting their planting experiments.
However, growing tropical crops in the high-altitude heartland of the Huntington Principality required not only the natural variation of the environment but also some artificial adjustments. Holly needed to establish a specialized planting experimental park in that valley, requiring a significant investment of money, manpower, and material resources.
It's easy to tell which is more cost-effective, overseas imported goods or local production. Once this business is successful, they can easily make a fortune. Therefore, Holly worked hard, Annina provided funds and manpower, and they have already created the prototype of the plantation in recent days.
It was nearing the end of summer, and even tropical plants would have matured and borne fruit by this time. To begin cultivation now rather than wait another year, a different approach was needed. Holly was currently using his connections among teachers to transport suitable Southeast Asian crops to Dresden territory.
"It's just that I've invested most of our family's money in this project." Annina sighed slightly. "As a result, I won't be able to support you until the planting project bears fruit. The new territory has unlimited potential, but it also requires a lot of investment and management from the lord. You have to weigh it carefully."
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