Volume One: The Forest Knight Chapter 50: Two Businessmen

Thank you for the recommendation and monthly votes from World-Famous, and for your support! Thank you to Garin's little fan for the coin reward and monthly votes; your support is the driving force behind my continued efforts, and I am grateful to all of you!

Berion rubbed the rim of his cup with his fingers and looked at Gamgee, saying, "You've come so early—what brings you here?"

Gamgee saw that Berion was no longer making small talk but heading straight to the point, so he could not continue to evade. He placed the chest he carried onto the table and opened it in front of Berion.

Inside was half a chest of silver coins, topped with a ruby necklace and a pair of turquoise earrings. Gamgee pushed this chest full of valuables toward Berion and asked tentatively, "Sir, are these items to your satisfaction?"

Berion laughed heartily, "Gamgee, are you giving these to me? If so, I am very satisfied."

Hearing Berion's words, Gamgee exhaled in relief, his expression relaxing. He smiled, "Sir, there are five hundred denars in silver coins, this ruby necklace, and this pair of turquoise earrings together are worth over six hundred denars. All of these are my gratitude for your rescue yesterday."

"You are too courteous, Gamgee. It was my duty, so there's no need for such thanks. Besides, I invited you to Nolanburg not for your wealth, but to do business." Berion spoke frankly; at this point, there was no need for further pretense, and openness was best.

"Sir wishes to do business with me?" Gamgee was puzzled, "What kind of business? Do you want to sell autumn grain, or something else? Sir, you know that most profitable businesses in the direct county are dominated by the Amondine Chamber of Commerce. If you wish to enter, it might be difficult, as many lords are involved..." At this, Gamgee became wary.

"I'm not trying to muscle in and take your business, so you needn't worry. Right now, Nolanburg doesn't produce enough food for ourselves, so I still need to buy in bulk—I'm not selling autumn grain," Berion quickly explained, seeing Gamgee had misunderstood.

"Oh, if that's the case, there's no problem. Whatever business you want, I can handle goods for you. If you want to buy or sell slaves, I can introduce you—prices will definitely be below market," Gamgee returned to his smiling demeanor, relieved that Berion was not here to compete.

"I want to use your channels to sell some of Nolanburg's products, and you and your friends are welcome to bring goods to trade here. Everything here is new, and merchants rarely visit," Berion said.

Gamgee, seeing Berion's request was so simple, immediately patted his chest, "Sir, that's no problem. Our caravan can come monthly to purchase, and we'll bring other goods to trade. When I return, I'll tell our chamber—everyone is eager for a new place to do business. I'm one of the executive vice presidents of Amondine Chamber, so you can count on me."

Berion was pleased by Gamgee's sincere attitude and quickly raised his cup, offering him a toast with milk in place of wine. Gamgee hurriedly responded in kind.

After setting down his cup, Gamgee asked curiously, "Sir, what specialties are there in your territory? Can you show me some?" As he spoke, he stood.

Seeing Gamgee's eagerness for business, Berion waved him back to his seat, "Finish your breakfast first, then I'll show you. Honestly, there isn't much at the moment."

This was the truth. Many of the tools for wealth that other transmigrators would invent—like glass and porcelain—Berion knew how to make, but dared not introduce yet. Nolanburg's military strength was still weak; bringing out such things would be like a child flaunting gold in a crowded market, only inviting jealousy and attack. When his power was strong enough to stand above the rest, then he could release these money-making inventions to further his growth.

After breakfast, Berion took Gamgee to Greenhill Village; aside from the carpenter's workshop, almost all workshops were now located there, until the castle atop Stormpeak was completed and operations could move inside.

On the way, Berion showed Gamgee the castle under construction atop Stormpeak, and they walked along the cement roads. Gamgee's impression of Nolanburg changed dramatically. Yesterday, they arrived near dusk and hadn't had a chance to explore; he thought the place was just a wooden fortress and a few timber houses.

But after witnessing the nearly finished castle and walking on the wide, smooth cement roads, Gamgee was convinced Berion was a knight with great prospects, and Nolanburg was no longer a barren, desolate place.

With prior arrangements made, Berion and Gamgee were met by Mark and Hama at the door. After exchanging greetings, Hama led them into a courtyard.

A long table was set in the yard, displaying several products from Nolanburg: colored pottery, scented soap, wickerwork, wooden ware, and animal pelts—each arranged in its section. Colored pottery and scented soap were Berion's main offerings.

Pottery and colored pottery have a long history, dating back to the dawn of civilization. In this world, porcelain has yet to appear, and pottery is commonly used; painted pottery is also widespread.

However, Nolanburg's colored pottery stands out from others, thanks to Berion's prior experience—he had taken a semester of pottery at the university's art department in his previous life, bringing advanced techniques to this world.

First was the wheel-throwing technique. In all the potteries of the Brick Kingdom, this did not exist. Craftsmen would form vessels by hand, joining clay strips, then smoothing them with wooden blades; this primitive method led to low efficiency and a high rate of defective items.

Berion, having built a livestock-driven wheel from wood planks, enabled his craftsmen—recruited from among the refugees—to shape clay much faster and with a higher yield.

Secondly, the shapes of the pottery: upon arriving in this world, Berion saw only cups, bowls, bottles, and pots—very monotonous. He drew many shapes from memory and had the workers replicate them. The people were amazed to discover pottery could be made in such beautiful forms.

Lastly, the painted designs. Limited by the era, the aesthetics here were lacking, and religious constraints stifled artistic beauty.

Berion selected nimble young men and women, gave them flower and bird sketches he drew, and taught them painting techniques. After two weeks of training, they could decorate pottery with lovely patterns. Their abilities grew quickly, and they soon invented new motifs, making Nolanburg's colored pottery far more attractive than others.

As expected, Gamgee's eyes lit up upon seeing the exquisite colored pottery; he picked up one item after another, admiring and touching them.

Gamgee played with the pieces, exclaiming, "I never imagined pottery could be made like this. These patterns are so delicate and beautiful—it's incredible!"

He picked up a set of wine vessels on a wooden tray—a wine jug and six cups. The cup bases were shaped like adorable rabbits and painted with vibrant colors.

Gamgee held up a wine cup and said to Berion, "Sir, I bet many noble ladies would love this cup. And not just the ladies—young misses too. By the way, what price are you setting for these?"

Berion, instead of answering, introduced the scented soap.

In this world, although scented soap did not exist, ordinary soap was already made—people knew how to use animal and vegetable fats to produce cleaning soap. But most soaps were unattractive: gray-brown, rough, with black flecks, resembling bricks wrapped in straw, hardly appealing to nobles.

Berion’s innovation was to blend distilled flower essence with soap, thoroughly filter and clarify it, then pour it into wooden molds for attractive shapes, arranging them by scent.

That was not all. Berion took advantage of Nolanburg's abundant vines and skilled weavers, commissioning many small wicker boxes. Each soap was wrapped in Golanin leaves—a specialty from Berion's world. After drying and brushing with plant oil, the leaves became as soft as paper, though not suitable for writing. Here, lords and wealthy people used them to wrap food.

Berion had a basin of water brought over and handed Gamgee a soap box. Gamgee opened it, somewhat puzzled, and as soon as he unwrapped the Golanin leaf, a refreshing fragrance filled the air.

He exclaimed, "It's so fragrant! Sir, is this your scented soap?"

"Yes, Gamgee. You may try washing your face with it," Berion led him to the basin, encouraging him to experience it firsthand.

Gamgee eagerly wet his face, applied the soap, and wiped away the redness from the summer sun. After drying off with a linen towel, he happily touched his cheeks, his manner a bit effeminate—Berion wondered if Gamgee might be inclined that way.

While Berion pondered Gamgee's preferences, Gamgee gestured excitedly, "This soap is wonderful! Not only does its scent linger, but my skin feels so much smoother. This is exactly what nobles and wealthy merchants want! Sir, you must let me sell this soap—such an excellent product will surely make us rich!"

Seeing Gamgee intent on monopolizing the soap sales, Berion naturally would not agree. He simply led him to view the remaining items. Wickerwork and woodenware were common and held little interest for Gamgee, but he was keen to purchase pelts long-term—thanks to the abundant game in Stag Forest, Nolanburg's furs were plentiful.

After viewing the products, it was nearly noon. Mark arranged for several farmwomen to prepare roasted meats in the courtyard, as well as fish freshly caught from the Carl River, made into fried fillets and tofu fish soup.

There was also chilled beer from the well, making for a delicious meal. The cold beer was especially refreshing in the summer midday, but Gamgee, the guest of honor, was far more interested in the prices and distribution rights for colored pottery and scented soap than the food.

Berion reported the prices he had discussed with Mark and Hama. Colored pottery prices varied by size and whether it was a set; he provided Gamgee with a list. For example, the painted wine set Gamgee had admired was priced at ten denars, while the raw materials, labor, and firing costs were less than one denar. The profit margin was tenfold—a respectable return.

As for market sales, Gamgee would likely price them no lower than fifteen denars, so he could earn a profit. Such prices were out of reach for ordinary folk, but Berion had positioned colored pottery for the nobility and wealthy merchants.

Scented soap required a more costly process and ingredients, and prices varied by fragrance. The cheapest cornflower soap was two denars, while the rose-scented soap was five denars—since Nolanburg did not grow roses, the flower essence was purchased at high cost.

Gamgee found both pottery and soap prices acceptable—these were high-quality goods, and the prices were not unreasonable. With a markup, the retail price would still be attractive to buyers.

For nobles, a dozen denars was not a significant sum, especially for daily items like scented soap. After trying it once, they would throw away the rough old soap and use Nolanburg's scented soap daily. This was sure to provide steady customers and a reliable cash flow.

With no disagreements over price, both sides reached a pleasant agreement. But when it came to distribution rights, Gamgee’s ambition became clear: he wanted exclusive agency for Nolanburg’s colored pottery and scented soap.

Berion would never agree to that—handing over all sales channels and remaining only as a producer was out of the question.

In a few years, as these not-so-advanced techniques spread or appeared elsewhere, Gamgee would surely try to suppress Berion’s prices to maintain his own profit margins. Berion had heard too many such stories in his previous life—brewers relying on a single distributor, only to be manipulated painfully in the end.