...
Soon.
Pockmark Wang hurriedly followed Wang Kui to the warehouse. "Station Master, you called me over?"
"Mm."
"After the rainy season ends, we can hardly earn Eerie Stones from killing Eerie Creatures like tonight anymore. We must establish our own Chamber of Commerce. You have been a traveling merchant; I am going to assign the Chamber of Commerce to you."
"But I know little about the business. Tell me everything you know."
"Alright."
Pockmark Wang's eyes lit up, as if seeing a bright future. He loved wandering around since childhood. Becoming the owner of a Chamber of Commerce would be a big step up for him, from being a village traveling merchant. He took a deep breath and gave a few coughs, while choosing words carefully, then began,
"Let's start with treasures."
"Since the Perpetual Night descended, there have been three types of treasures."
"Extraordinary Treasures, Natural Treasures, and Spirit Treasures."
"Dead Eerie Creatures drop Extraordinary Treasures; they can't be man-made. Natural Treasures are born from heaven and earth. Artificers craft Spirit Treasures."
"Chambers of Commerce are divided into four tiers: large, medium, small, and unranked."
"Those unranked deal in ordinary items like rice, flour, clothes, and farm tools. Run by ordinary folks, they don't earn much, with no escorts."
"And they usually don't travel far, but instead commute between a city and the nearby villages."
"A Chamber of Commerce has at least a dozen people. Staying one night at a station costs quite a few Eerie Stones, outnumbering the profit from a business trip."
"So, those profitable are the 'large, medium, and small' ones."
"First—"
"A white-grade Extraordinary Treasure sells for around '500' Eerie Stones at the Rivernorth marketplace."
"Not because it is only worth 500 Eerie Stones, but because that's the limit of what buyers would pay; priced higher, it wouldn't sell."
"But if those Extraordinary Treasures have been shipped to Riversouth, or even richer places,"
"Its price may soar to 1,000, even 2,000 Eerie Stones."
"Several times the price."
"But transporting them there is a problem. The journey is long; lodging fees add up. There's also the risk of bandits. It requires strong escorts and sufficient clout; otherwise, passing through unfamiliar territories, it might be robbed outright. Even the strongest escort can't withstand Cannon Tower fire..."
"One shot, and anyone would be dead."
"Small ones do not have what it takes to transport, nor can they afford it. If a transport fails, not only are the Eerie Stones lost, but people die too."
Pockmark Wang paused, cleared his throat, then continued,
"So in Rivernorth, small Chambers of Commerce often scrounge for Extraordinary Treasures and Natural Treasures from marketplaces, and sell them with a markup to medium ones like the 'Sky-Flattening Chamber of Commerce.'"
"A medium one typically dominates a city."
"For example, those small in Rivernorth City only sell to the Sky-Flattening Chamber of Commerce. Then Sky-Flattening sells these treasures with a markup to the Rivernorth Chamber of Commerce, the dominant player in Rivernorth."
"Finally, the Rivernorth Chamber of Commerce escorts them to Riversouth, making huge profits."
"If we want a Chamber of Commerce of our own, after the rainy season, we can set up a small one in Rivernorth City. Qi Chong and A'le previously worked under the Sky-Flattening Chamber of Commerce. Using their connections, perhaps we can find a contact."
"..."
Chen Fan frowned and pondered for a while. "If I buy a white Extraordinary Treasure for 500 Eerie Stones, how many can I get selling it to Sky-Flattening?"
"600."
"Only 600?"
"Yes, 100 profit."
"600 even if this white Extraordinary Treasure is powerful?"
"That depends."
Pockmark Wang took a breath. "Extraordinary Treasures dropped are unappraised; no one knows their specific effects. At this point, they're called 'unopened,' uniformly priced at 500 Eerie Stones."
"Those appraised, or 'opened' Extraordinary Treasures, can have their effect identified."
"If you buy it, spend money to have it appraised yourself; profit or loss is on you."
"You can also spend 30 Eerie Stones to have it appraised before selling. If it's a powerful white Extraordinary Treasure, Sky-Flattening might pay a bit more. But if the effect is poor, the price drops lower."
"Generally, people sell unopened Extraordinary Treasures because with white ones, the chance of a poor effect is fairly high."
"..."
Chen Fan made a light nod. "I see. You mean, I go to the trouble of establishing a Chamber of Commerce, and can only earn 100 Eerie Stones per Extraordinary Treasure, and might even lose money after it's appraised, right?"
"Well... yes."
Pockmark Wang hesitated, then said softly. "Actually, earning 100 Eerie Stones isn't a little. Wang Kui, as a Station Master for the Wang Clan, brought home only 10 Eerie Stones a month. It took him a year to earn 100 Eerie Stones."
"Talk about the matter, why bring me up?" From nearby, Wang Kui retorted unhappily.
"How strong is the Sky-Flattening Chamber of Commerce?"
"No match for us."
Wang Kui concluded decisively, "Although unclear about Sky-Flattening 's specific defenses, definitely falls short of ours. Even the Rivernorth City's major Clans can't compare to us."
"Why not take out Sky-Flattening outright and start as a medium Chamber of Commerce ?"
"Not easy to take out..."
Pockmark Wang shrank back a little, whispering, "Um, Station Master, to destroy a force calls for slow and long arrangements. After all, it's a matter of charging their territory head-on and fighting on their turf."
"Practically a dead end..."
"But we can proceed gradually. For example, first reach out to the Rivernorth Chamber of Commerce, then establish a supply channel with them. Then bribe small Chambers of Commerce in Rivernorth City to prioritize supplying goods to us."
"Slowly cut off Sky-Flattening's supply sources."
"That's how we can eat away at them with time."