173. Import
"Mitsuhsan, I received a request to contact Mitsuhsan from the Royal Palace via my father" (Rephilia)
"Uwaah…" (Mitsuha)
When I went to the warehouse to replenish the stocks, there was a note for me from Rephilia, and when I came to the office, I was told such a thing.
Well, it"s not like I"m nervous or afraid to meet the royal family. …I"m already used to it.
Worse, I picked a quarrel with a king of other country face to face.
I can just escape using transfer if I feel threatened outside my home country after all.
As might be expected, It"s unlikely that I would be silently a.s.sa.s.sinated, since there"s nothing to gain from killing me. They know that they can make money precisely because I"m alive, on that point, I"m safe.
So, they probably reached out to Rephilia, who is my sole trade partner and responsible for Rephilia trade, because she"s the only one who"s most likely to be able to contact me. And they asked the one who can"t refuse the request from the royal palace, and whom Rephilia can"t oppose, in other words, via Rephilia"s Father.
"I haven"t replied anything yet. So it"s fine if you don"t want to go, I can say that [I can"t contact her either]… " (Rephilia)
"Yeah, pa.s.s! Because I supposed to leave this country in anger and travel the surrounding countries for a while, so Rephilia shouldn"t be able to contact me, right? Let"s go with that!" (Mitsuha)
"Ahaha, as expected… and would you really go to other countries?" (Rephilia)
Of course she"s worried about that, as a [Merchant]….
"Yeah, if I only have sales base in this country, I wouldn"t be able to leave when something happens such as coup or war that would cause difficulties. Ah, you can rest a.s.sured because I won"t put Rephilia Trade in a disadvantaged position" (Mitsuha)
"I"m counting on you, really…" (Rephilia)
If I were to abandon them at this point, the new Rephilia Trade would be destroyed. Now that she has risen in the world by using the products I provided as a weapon, next she has to work hard so that she can stand on her own without the products I provided as soon as possible. Do your best!
At any rate, it doesn"t make any sense for the royal palace, that is, the king to try to summon a n.o.bleman from another country, and a little girl at that.
"But for what purpose they called me…" (Mitsuha)
As I"m pondering a little, Rephilia let out an exasperated voice.
"What are you saying! I heard too, the rumors! Pearl necklace, Ruby, Emerald… And now, as a supplier of alcohol, spices, and high-grade ingredients, taking over the rumors between n.o.bles and merchants throughout the royal capital, no, nationwide! I"m amazed you still saying something like that…." (Rephilia)
No, you don"t have to be mad…
"But there are only a few people know that my name is related to trade matters, right? Most of the rumors are about the beautiful merchant who appeared like a comet in the commercial industry who exclusively sells those products, aren"t they?" (Mitsuha)
"Ugh…" (Rephilia)
Of course it is.
Well, I chose Rephilia because I wanted someone to take the role of a smoke screen so that I can avoid the bullets that storming towards me, of course. Now, it"s Rephilia who will be the target of those bullets. Fuhahaha!!
"Well I"m fine with that though…" (Mitsuha)
"You"re fine with that!?" (Rephilia)
I ignored Rephilia who seems to have said something, and proceed to the next business…
"Can you export something?" (Mitsuha)
"Huh?" (Rephilia)
I properly explained to Rephilia who leaked a strange voice.
As a trading company, they have no choice but to exchange goods. If one side is just buying with gold coins, it might not be a good relationship…
"That"s why, I think my side should buy something this time. Besides, If the return ship is empty, it"s a disgrace of a merchant!!" (Mitsuha)
"Oooh!! Excatly, as expected of Mitsuha!!" (Rephilia)
Alright, she hooked on it!!
"So, there are something that would likely to sell at a good price at my homeland…" (Mitsuha)
Thus, I asked Rephilia to obtain the export goods, which are import goods for us.
To see if this is the case, I went to various stores and checked the level of industrial products, items that could be purchased at general stores, items that could be purchased at special stores such as wholesalers and workshops, and items that were not available to amateurs.
…Of course, I"m going to buy general goods cheaply by buying large quant.i.ties at wholesalers rather than at retail stores. For that reason, I permitted to use whiskey and brandy as gifts. This should make the talk easier to proceed.
Weapons must be used.
With this, all I have to do is build a warehouse at Yamano Port (Named by the villagers, copying the [Bozes Port] in count-sama territory…), and then pretend to have the goods carried by boat at night and transfer the goods there.
Then, I transferred to my home in j.a.pan, changed into j.a.panese clothes, and went out.
The destination is the familiar [Otome Dressmaker] that run by the fujoshi… no, no, by the [Kifujin] Tenchou. [Note: Ref. Footnote of , Tenchou = Store Manager]
"Tenchou-san, would you like to open a branch store abroad?" (Mitsuha)
"What did you saayy!?" (Tenchou-san)
Right, the dress that Tenchou-san made does sell well.
Although silk is regularly imported in small quant.i.ty into the country where I live, it"s stupidly expensive.
And although we plan to raise sericulture in the territory, it will take G.o.d knows how many years, starting from planting the mulberry trees until the sericulture is successful. Even in the UK, it has been a long-term failure to grow silkworms…
So, at first, I"m going to import silk from the earth at a cheap price, process in our territory, and sell as our product.
If I bring the completed ones it"ll only be a resale, and if I stop carrying it from the earth, it"ll be end there and then.
That"s why, we"re going to make clothes, bags, wallets, parasols, and other small items, from silk imported from the earth.
It"ll definitely sell. And at a high price at that.
Compet.i.tion with the existing ones is, well, unavoidable, it can"t be helped.
But it"s imported from other countries and only in small amount. The Importers don"t do business solely by handling silk, and for the exporters, our country is just one of many destinations.
Besides, a small village can only make so much products for worldwide demands. The products that we"re going to make in our territory is going to be an ultrluxury product that will only be available on a very small portion, so it has nothing much to do with the general market.
And if they know that [silk is equal to gold], the villagers will work hard to plant mulberry and sericulture. Growing mulberry and taking care of worms for years without earning a single copper coin or showing whether they can actually earn something out of it will only reduce they morale.
Right, you have to show the carrots to make human work seriously.
First, import silk and make products.
Then, import raw silk and make the fabric.
And after that, if the sericulture that we plan to do in parallel starting to take a shape somehow…
Is the order completely reversed, you say? It"s fine, don"t worry about such a small detail.
If we successfully raised sericulture in the village, we would stop importing silk and raw sik from other countries and switch to completely territorial production. Then, no matter when I"m gone, this territory is going to be okay. Unless an evil lord comes to exploit the people.
However, when that time comes, there will be no problem because the folks would"ve been properly trained on how to crush the unreasonable lord. I would"ve been properly trained the folks on how to crush an unreasonable lord, by me.
No, I won"t teach them to do something like a revolt. But rather, how to spread the lord"s wrongdoing to His Majesty the King and other territories, peacefully crush the lord"s family, and welcome the new lord…
…eh? Crushing a family isn"t a [Peaceful way], you say? Is that so…
Anyway.
"It"s a country where there"s no electricity, and in the countryside at that, we"re going to make dresses for n.o.ble ladies, by hand sewing, and open a shop to make various silk products. Also, nurturing human resources, making it the main industry of the territory and become the source of national income… For that, I would like to ask for advice, technical guidance, and arrangements for the purchase of silk and raw silk… If the name of the shop spreads, you"ll be invited to n.o.ble parties as a brilliant foreign designer who supported the shop…. And if you earn a lot of money for the country and get credited for it, there is a possibility that you could receive the first rank or honorary rank…" (Mitsuha)
"Gi…" (Tenchou-san)
"Gi?" (Mitsuha)
"Gyaaaaaaa~~~!!" (Tenchou-san)
Ah, she fainted…