Chapter 65 Filling Machines and Investors (Part 2)
Whether it was the Western Middle Ages or the feudal dynasties in Jiangyou's previous life, maintaining an army was a very expensive task.
People need food, and horses need fodder. Especially these sturdy soldiers and war horses, they need to keep up with the required carbohydrates, protein, and fat energy. Otherwise, how can they have the strength to gallop thousands of miles, capture criminals... or cast fighting magic in this magical world.
Food wasn't the most expensive part; swords and armor required constant maintenance, polishing, and waxing, and these battle supplies were incredibly expensive. With medieval forging techniques, frequent battles would leave dents on armor and nicks on swords. Without proper maintenance, the next time someone faced danger and needed to fight, they could easily fail.
In addition, there are various horse equipment: saddles, bridles, stirrups, horseshoes...all of which are precious gadgets of this era.
In this medieval country, the most valuable things are magic-related products, metal smelting products, and silk velvet aristocratic clothing... As for food, in the eyes of people here, it is not even important. How can you not survive by just eating it casually?
Logically, the blacksmiths of the Kingdom's Knights were responsible for maintaining the equipment of the knights and their horses, but there were too many opportunities for tampering, and a single mistake could lead to their deaths on the battlefield. Andre had been the victim of numerous backstabbings in this area before, so he naturally wouldn't easily trust blacksmiths who were paid by the baron.
Whenever he wanted to repair something, he had to prepare the materials himself and supervise the craftsmen himself, and he could not be careless at all.
But this will also cause costs to rise rapidly.
Andrei still had some money on hand, part of which was his own savings, and part of which was the operating fund that His Majesty had worked hard to collect before taking office. The two together amounted to only fifteen gold coins. Based on his normal monthly expenses as a master and servant, the horse alone would cost four gold coins. Even if he lived frugally, he had to have one gold coin left over for himself.
This sum was barely enough for them to live frugally for three months, and even with their new salary—assuming it arrived smoothly and on time—it would only last them four months. However, knights' transfers were usually one or two years, so even if he was very capable, he couldn't have taken down the Baron in just four months.
Andrei naturally wouldn't foolishly resort to illegal means to make money, but fortunately, the Duchy of Huntington didn't prohibit lords and knights from making their own investments. As long as they weren't the ones running the business themselves, investing and borrowing were legal and permitted in this era.
"I can invest ten gold coins in you as start-up capital for your workshop," Andre said, "but I need to give you 40% of your brewing workshop's monthly profits."
"Hiss!" Jiang You gasped, "It's a bit high!"
Andrei shrugged. "I've staked my entire fortune on you. Isn't it reasonable to ask for a higher rate? Think about it, I need at least three gold coins in extra income every month... Of course, you could also pay me a steady dividend of three gold coins every month, but I don't think your initial returns would be that high."
Indeed, any business is difficult at first; it requires building a reputation and accumulating a customer base before a stable income can be achieved. Based on Jiangyou's understanding of prices in this era, everyday currency is mostly copper and nickel—a currency Jiangyou doesn't currently have on hand, but it's worth roughly the same as a penny in his previous life—and silver and gold coins are only used for large transactions with suppliers.
This is a bit like what Jiangyou’s elders described in the 1970s and 1980s, when you could buy a candy for one cent, a box of matches for two cents… enough for basic daily life.
Jiangyou wanted to open the business quickly and needed some start-up capital. She also wanted the witches' filling machines and empty bottles. With the help of sterilization magic, she could produce a stable supply of bacteria-free, long-lasting soy sauce.
You have to know that the ancient soy sauces were not completely indestructible and could not be moldy or spoiled. Although people would make the soy sauce as salty as possible to extend its shelf life, it was still common for soy sauce to mold and vinegar to turn white.
To put it bluntly, this is something that has gone bad and moldy, and the total colony count exceeds the standard. In modern times, merchants who dare to sell this kind of thing will be sent to jail, but in ancient times, people would just skim off the white film and continue to eat and use it, relying on their luck.
Some people even go against the grain, claiming that soy sauce that is not fermented for a long time is not good soy sauce.
This is why Takumi Yuu is determined to learn sterilization magic. Although people in this era have no awareness of health, she cannot go against her conscience and sell soy sauce with excessive mold!
At first glance, Andre's investment conditions seemed rather demanding. But then again, it would be difficult for Jiangyou to find other investors who trusted her and were willing to invest so much money all at once. Think about it: Mr. Ma also failed four times in his startup and was rejected by venture capital thirty-seven times. Before success truly materializes, few realize the enormous rewards that can come from taking risks, and more than half of those who do end up losing everything.
Although Andrei's demand for a high return was substantial, without this initial capital, Jiangyou would have to take many detours... Among other things, she wanted to capitalize on the witches' Midsummer Carnival! What a business opportunity! Perhaps in just one night, she could establish a name for herself and attract customers from all over the country to her brewery, saving a fortune on advertising alone!
"Okay." Jiang You compromised. "We'll cooperate for three months first, and then we'll discuss the profits later."
Andre thought about it and decided that three months was his bottom line. If Jiangyou did not meet his profit expectations, he would have to find another way out as soon as possible.
"Alright, when you're free during the day, come back to the city with me to meet the High Priest. We need to sign the investment agreement under his witness," Andre said, looking directly into Jiang You's fiery eyes. "It's not that I don't trust you, but my opponent is the baron who controls the entire Neumann Territory. I have to be careful."
"Okay," Jiangyou nodded, "I also need to use your horse, and I have to go back to the workshop~"
This day will be an extremely busy day with a full schedule. She will learn magic, buy a filling machine and glass bottles, sign an investment contract, and then go back to the workshop to get the crucible to brew the first batch of soy sauce... Hehe, her brewing workshop can finally start trial operation!
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