Chapter 149: Royal Capital Merchant (Part 2)

"Are you mainly engaged in saltpeter in the capital?" Roland cut to the point.

"No, Your Highness," Margaery no longer smiled formulaically at this moment, and her words became more cordial, "I run a lot of things, from gems to cloth, from hotels to taverns. In fact, I I don’t do saltpeter business yet. It’s just that the original owner of the nitrate factory lost all his trouser pockets in my casino, so he had to mortgage the entire place to me.”

Not only does he sell all kinds of goods, but he also does service business... What is the background of this businessman? You must know that opening a casino in Wangdu is not only something that can be done with money. He knocked on the table, but Nightingale pinched the middle. This meant that the other party was carrying the God's Stone of Retaliation, so it was impossible to tell whether he was lying.

Wait... Since it was impossible to observe, why did she pinch her right side so hard before?

Roland coughed twice, resisting the urge to turn around and ask.

He had heard that some merchants from the Fjords expanded their business after they settled in the Four Kingdoms, and the wealth they accumulated in the end was unimaginable. After all, Haimin is a born businessman, full of adventurous spirit and also has a keen sense of smell, good at capturing business opportunities. Many people were sheared as wool after they made a fortune, and some of them successfully gained a foothold, bought local relationships, and formed a relatively stable alliance of interests. Could it be that Margaery is also one of the big dog owners?

That being the case, Roland decided to ask straightforwardly, "I need a lot of saltpeter, the more the better."

"But the western region of the kingdom is not considered a hot place, especially a small town near the impenetrable mountains. Your Highness, do you really need so much saltpeter?" She asked curiously, "I own three saltpetres on the outskirts of the capital. The field is enough to supply the nobles of a medium-sized city with ice."

Three nitrate plants! Roland was immediately overjoyed, but the expression on his face didn't change. "I plan to build a cold storage in the basement of the castle to store some perishable food. If the price you give is right, I'll take all the saltpeter."

"Since you have said so," she nodded, "I can transport all the saltpeter to Border Town, and only charge 90% of your market price. But..."

"But what?"

"I don't really want golden dragons, they are filling up my warehouse. I heard that you have some very exotic products here. If possible, can you use these instead of golden dragons? I will be happy to enter into a transaction agreement with you of."

"A strange product?" Roland was taken aback. This was the first time he heard that someone didn't want a golden dragon.

"That's right, it's like a black iron creation that can run on its own," Margaery leaned forward slightly, "Your servant said that this thing has amazing power just by lighting a fire and boiling water. In fact, I just heard about this It was only after this that I decided to come to Border Town in person, otherwise, it would be more in my interest to sell the saltpeter directly to the nobles of the royal capital, the longer the transportation distance, the greater the loss I will suffer."

What a surprise, Roland thought. Although I don't know how Barov's apprentice got on this line and how he talked about the steam engine, it is clear that the merchant of the royal capital is full of interest in it.

He is very clear about how amazing the profits of industrialized products are, especially this kind of mechanical products that only he can manufacture. He was originally worried that after Border Town stopped selling ores, the coins brought from the Duke's Mansion would run out one day, but he didn't expect that an excellent opportunity was in front of him now.

"I see." The prince smiled slightly. "The thing you mentioned is called a steam engine. It can convert the steam generated by boiling water into power. The principle is very simple, but only Border Town can produce it."

"Such a thing really exists?"

"Of course," Roland spread his hands, "but it is very complicated to manufacture and quite expensive. If you are interested, you can follow me to see the real thing."

"Very happy," she said excitedly, standing up.

...

In the North Slope Mine, when Margaery saw the ear-piercing roaring steel monster pulling the minecart full of rocks out of the mine, her eyes almost fell off.

"Your Highness, this, this...is unbelievable." She tremblingly said, "I thought your envoy was exaggerating, but I didn't expect that what he said was far less than... I'm afraid dozens of people together are more powerful than you. Not on this... steam engine."

The businesswoman wanted to take a closer look, but was stopped by Roland, "The working steam engine is very dangerous, don't get too close to it. Have you seen the white gas coming out of it? Just a little bit of it will kill your body." The skin is scalded."

"Do you only use it to transport ore?" She had to raise her head and asked loudly because of the noise.

"There are two steam engines in total in the mine. The No. 1 machine is responsible for pulling the mine carts, and the No. 2 machine is responsible for pumping water from the mine." Roland replied, "In fact, from the successful development to today, Border Town has only produced three steam engines. I must Use them where you need them most. But it is very versatile, besides what you see, it can replace windmills and waterwheels to grind wheat, and is not affected by rivers and winds. Anything that requires a lot of human or animal power It can be used anywhere, even on a sailboat, to drive the oars, and the boat can sail fast without sail!"

He knows how much a ship that ignores the strength and direction of the wind means to the people of the fjords. Sure enough, Margaery looked at Roland, her eyes were about to shine, "Please make an offer, I want to buy it!"

"This one won't work. The mine still needs to rely on it to maintain production. You can order a few new steam engines first, and then settle the settlement when the saltpeter arrives."

"Its price is...?"

Roland led her to a position farther away from the entrance of the mine, and the noise of the machine working was finally not so harsh. "Five hundred golden dragons," he said. This price is a bit exaggerated, almost equivalent to the annual income of a knight's territory. The ore cost of the steam engine is about 20 gold dragons, plus the cost of smelting, labor, and installation, it is only 50 gold dragons. But buying and selling is a matter of bargaining.

"Then it's a deal! I want to buy ten steam engines!"

"..." Roland was stunned, ten sets equaled five thousand gold coins! It is almost equivalent to the savings of Duke Ryan for five or six years. There is no bargaining, is this how big dogs do business? He cleared his throat, "Are you sure? This is not a small fee. Moreover, the machine cannot be used forever after you buy it, and you have to keep investing money to maintain it."

"I know, just like sea ships go to the dock every year to clean the keel parasites and algae, and replace the sails and cables." Margery said indifferently, "Whatever needs to be changed and added, I will pay for it from you Just buy it. If it’s not possible, you can make another price and sell me the craftsmen who maintain and operate the machine.”

Roland shut his mouth, he only had one thought in his mind, it's nice to have money. (To be continued.)