Chapter 680: The Joint Chamber of Commerce
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
"What's it? A new fruit wine?" Margaret curiously asked.
"If it's just a fruit wine, it won't be as easily sold as the perfumes," Nibelung shook his head and said.
"That may not be the case," Gammon said while looking at the glass bottle with interest, "Not to mention the contents of the bottle, simply the unique container is worth several gold royals."
"Is this a new product of Alchemist Workshop of the king's city?" Marleen added, "I've never seen such a big crystal glass bottle before."
"The appearance isn't important, and the key lies within the product itself." Roland did not know whether to laugh or cry for a moment as he did not expect these businessmen to be interested in the glass bottles first. The total cost of the colorless glass vessels was low as all it needed was to master the formula. However, he did not sell only the glass vessels as all the glasses produced in the city of Neverwinter was to supply for the chemical laboratory, perfume plant, and beverage plant.
"It's called Chaos Drinks as it's chaotic and unpredictable just like the name. Each of them is a unique treat." He cleared his throat and pretended to be mysterious. "I bet you've never tasted the same taste. You may try it if you don't believe it."
All three bottles of drinks were carefully selected by Roland from Evelyn's beverages warehouse. They not only had their own characteristics, but two of the bottles had also been specially processed. One of the bottles was iced, which was freezing cold and pleasantly cooling. The other bottle was added with dry ice, which could be described as the world's first carbonate beverages.
All the five merchants looked astonishing after taking a sip of it as Roland expected.
"How exactly was it brewed?" Atiyer smacked his lips. "Those fruit wine has an indescribable taste as compared to the others."
"Looking at this cup of green apple juice, it's still gushing air... Oh God, is it breathing?"
"Apple? Even honey isn't so sweet!"
The businessmen were each expressing their views while the toasting did not stop. They were continuously drinking until the three bottles were empty.
"Lap..." Gammon licked his lips as if he could not get enough of it. "Your Majesty, your... Chaos Drinks... are fantastic!"
"Do you think it'll have a market if it was sold as a merchandise?"
"Of course!" The businessman from Crescent Moon Bay said without thinking, "There may be a slight difference in the popularity of the three drinks, considering the difference of personal tastes, but they definitely are all rare wines! I bet no one will be interested in the top-grade fruit wine from the Kingdom of Dawn anymore after tasting these wines."
"You're pretty honest." Roland could not help but smile. Most businessmen would pick the flaws to keep their prices down if they wanted to buy the goods. Such straightforward praise was very rare.
"I don't dare to deceive Your Majesty, and I don't want to lie to my tongue," Gammon paused for a moment and said, "but I don't quite understand one thing."
"Tell me about it."
"Why would you give it such a weird name?" He picked up the iced empty bottle which had a thin hoar on it. "For example, this... can be called 'deep-sea icing'. I can assure you that it'll appear on every banquet in the summer."
"I think that bottle of numbing, green-colored drink can be called 'roe manna'. The feeling of numerous fish eggs hatching on the tongue is really memorable," Marleen added.
"I think so, too." Margaret laughed. "Although the word 'chaos' sounds very novel, it can't highlight their distinct characteristics. It'll sell better if you name it separately."
Roland pretended to be regretful and said, "Unfortunately, these drinks are a unique enjoyment. In fact, these three bottles are the last stock."
"Do you mean... they're no longer brewed?"
"Yes, I can't tell you the process of brewing chaotic drinks. However, the end result is always changing and their only common point is that they're all very tasty. That's why I named it 'Chaos' and the quantity reduced with every mouth taken."
The crowd took a deep breath at the same time and everyone showed an unbelievable look. The scarcity was valuable and these items had an excellent quality of uniqueness... It could definitely bring the Fjords... and even the four kingdoms a trend.
Gammon was the first to speak. "Your Majesty, please let me be your agent for this. The Crescent Moon Bay fleet is spread across the coast of the four kingdoms and only we can bring you the most generous returns."
"Crescent Moon Bay's maritime trading center has always been in the Kingdom of Dawn, when was the Everwinter trade route expanded?" The representative of Shallow Water Town Chamber of Commerce interrupted.
Atiyer quickly added, "The merchant ships that head to the Kingdom of Wolfheart and the Kingdom of Everwinter are mostly from Sunset Island. You're deceiving His Majesty."
Roland stretched his arms out and interrupted the arguments of the three. "In this case, let's set up a Joint Chamber of Commerce."
"Joint... Chamber of Commerce?"
"Yes, participants need to sit down and negotiate the area they're responsible for, and the city of Neverwinter is solely responsible for delivering the goods in order to avoid malicious competition to bring down the price." He described the concept of regional agency as clearly as possible. "You can plan for the division according to your own strength as all of you have a long-established business and your own familiar selling towns. In this case, you can quickly sell the goods and won't have to compete with the peers. The final income of sales will be divided according to the proportion of the contract. As a result, everyone involves will be protected."
The businessmen quickly understood the simple principle. "Sounds good, but how to determine the specific area and division ratio? The beverages sent to the Kingdom of Everwinter and the beverages sold in the Fjords would have a huge costs difference."
"The cost of transportation is definitely something to consider, and there are also manpower costs, selling prices, product output, etc. In general, agents with the highest costs will receive an extra credit due to the limited supply. The details of the provisions will definitely need to be gradually discussed to all parties' satisfaction."
It looked like it was decreasing the total income at the first glance. However, without malign competition, their profits would be much higher with the strengths of the three chambers of commerce.
A lot of the products from the city of Neverwinter had so far only been consumed internally by the Convenience Market due to the lack of sales channels. The businessmen from the Fjords who built their fortunes by selling merchandises were the best channels for Roland. It was undoubtedly the most economical way for him to provide them the merchandises to be sold to every corner of the mainland in the future.
"I'm willing to join." Margaret was the first to show her support.
The others also wanted to give it a try after seeing her declaration.
Roland smiled and said, "Rest assured, cooperating is always more powerful than standing alone. This will be a win-win situation for everyone as long as we work together."