Chapter 38 Suppliers (Part 1)
Andre turned his gaze away from the heartless, transparent, and cheerful skeleton and looked at Holly. He said casually, "Now that Pertmin has been arrested, the Axe family will have to rely on you from now on, right? You have to deal with those difficult business matters while also guarding against the 'Evil Eye Moon'. I'm afraid life won't be easy."
The curly-haired little Pangolin scowled, "That's right! Actually, I just want to take good care of the botanical garden, cultivating magical plants, medicinal plants, food ingredients, and rare flowers... I don't want to get involved in the intrigues of the business world..."
He looked up at Aunt Wolf and said, "Nanny, come back and help me!"
"Hey?" Aunt Wolf's eyes widened. "Hey! Me?"
"Right! You're experienced at bargaining, and you have connections. There's nothing in Eston West City that you don't know about!" Holly's blue eyes lit up as he spoke. "Besides, you're the person I trust the most! That's more important than anything else!"
Aunt Wolf Talia was slightly tempted: "... Well, it's not impossible. I'm just sitting around at home with nothing to do. Why don't I come and help you..."
"Leave the botanical garden's affairs to me. I can control the variety, quantity, and quality of the supplies." Holly thought seriously. "The housekeeper has all the contracts signed by Pertmin. I know all the merchants we've worked with for many years. I'll go visit them with you tomorrow..."
"The output quality of our botanical garden has always been very stable, so there shouldn't be any problems with our old customers."
Jiang You scratched his jaw. Andre released Holly, investigated the case, and arrested people all in one go. Potmin was probably still feeling smug about the success of her plan to frame her husband's nephew, but the next moment everything turned around and she was arrested. She probably didn't have time to dig any big holes for Holly and the Axe family.
"Your magical vegetable and fruit plants shouldn't have any trouble selling, right?" she asked.
"That's not true," Holly said. "Although we can use magic to control temperature, moisture, light, and other things, most fruits and vegetables are seasonal and difficult to preserve. Once they're put on the market in large quantities and aren't sold in time, their value will plummet."
"Sometimes in bad years, supply can't keep up with demand, while bumper harvests are even more frustrating." Auntie Wolf is experienced in this. "Like I told you before, unsold oranges end up being made into unpalatable marmalade."
Jiang You had already remembered the taste of the orange jam and couldn't help losing her appetite. She raised her bony claws to stop Aunt Wolf from continuing her speech about the orange jam that everyone hated: "Okay, you don't have to say it anymore, I understand."
But then again, if there really were so much low-priced, high-quality fruit, she would have a better way to deal with it.
She thought for a moment and extended an invitation: "I do know some ways to make delicious wine or sauces from fruits, as well as pickle vegetables. If you really encounter a situation where a large amount of fruits and vegetables cannot be sold, I can use up a lot of them here."
"Really?!" Holly excitedly said, "That's great!"
"Hey, don't get too excited just yet." The skeleton's eyes flickered guiltily. "There's one big problem I must clarify up front... Until I sell the sauces, drinks, pickles, and sauerkraut I make, I won't have the money to pay for them!"
Yes, Jiang You did not forget that she was still a bankrupt skeleton, penniless and could only find three silver coins and twelve copper coins!
——If a few more coins are missing, she won’t even be able to make the “jingle jingle” sound!
"Ah?!" Holly's smile froze on his face. "This is indeed... not easy to deal with..."
It wasn't that he was stingy or that the Axe family couldn't afford the money. It was just that every time there was a harvest of this magnitude, the Axe family had to hire a large number of temporary workers from outside the family to help.
In just a few days, these employees would work overtime to harvest all the ripe fruits and vegetables, pack them into boxes, and store them in the warehouse rented by the employer for subsequent sale and transportation. Then they would happily take the money and leave, waiting for the next job.
This labor cost cannot be saved nor delayed, otherwise the reputation of the Axe family will be damaged... Not only will they not be able to recruit people next time, but they may also be besieged by these strong and powerful Hafu people to seek justice.
Even if the Axe family could ignore the expenses of land, seeds, water, fertilizer and labor for an entire planting cycle, they still had to grit their teeth and come up with the cash for the harvesting labor and warehouse rental.
Therefore, once fruits and vegetables have been stored in a warehouse for a period of time, even if they are kept fresh and sweet by magic or other preservation methods, their prices will continue to drop until they can be sold quickly and smoothly. This not only saves on warehouse rent, but also allows for quick recovery of previously spent money.
For a large family like Axe, maintaining the normal operation of family businesses such as the botanical garden requires the vast majority of funds to be invested. This money is like the water that drives a waterwheel: as the old money flows away, new money must be added, otherwise the huge waterwheel will not be able to operate smoothly.
Years of disaster are painful, and years of plenty are also painful. Low grain prices hurt farmers. This is the reason.
Although one or two failures may not cause serious damage to the Axe family, if they are not managed carefully, they will lose everything.
In this situation, even if the Axes family wanted to make an investment, they would have to carefully evaluate it and ensure a tangible return on investment before making a move. Holly would rather trust the old merchants he had worked with for many years than rely on empty promises.
It’s true that those jam makers only make bad jams, but the people of Huntington are not picky!
For an old family like theirs, the biggest taboo is to make major changes after changing generals at the last minute. They may make a fortune by taking a gamble, but the greater possibility is that they will be doomed... On the contrary, if they become descendants who maintain the status quo, their lives will not be too bad.
Honestly, if Jiangyou had said she wanted to open a restaurant, Holly would probably have been more willing to invest... But a brewery? Making sauces? What was that? Alcohol was a profitable business, but it was profitable because most people these days couldn't make real alcohol. Even the veteran brewers were merely copying recipes passed down through the ages, and even then, there was a failure rate of over 70%.
Either it becomes rotten, smelly, or sour, or the bottle explodes during the brewing process, and occasionally even "poisonous" wine is brewed... This business is not something that ordinary people can do.
Jiang You coughed lightly. She knew her request was a bit excessive. "...There's no need to put up a large inventory right from the start. I only need a few raw materials to get my brewing workshop started, and I can earn money for the subsequent raw materials... Consider the initial raw materials an investment, and we can discuss how to split the profits ~ 50-50?"
"Twenty-eight, I'll take eight and you'll take two."
"No, no, I still need to save some money for future raw materials! Four or six?"
"become."
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