Chapter 214: Drawing A Wide Net

“You are not concerned for nothing. There are regulations and laws against the acquisition of grain on a large scale.”

Luthais briefly explained the concern about a rebel uprising or noble revolt, as well as the exception granted to nobles at the Duke level.

“I can only speculate why the other parties involved in the grain trade are unwilling or unaware towards a possible great windfall of profit.

For example, we are currently preparing our estate for the upcoming crisis and the associated resources and precautions needed to let the Dharnas house make it safely through.

Food, while certainly important, did not strike me yet as a critically important supply that will run out soon.

Perhaps the cost of grain will rise or the amount of wild game available on the market might go down, but every employee and member of the family won’t have to go hungry in any case.

The estate does not consume so much produce that the financial strain will make us go under, and I estimate that it is the same for other noble houses as well.

Once the news about the [Blackroot Plague] becomes more widely known, there will be a higher demand for everything, which means an increase of prices across the board.

So, the food prices are only going to affect two groups in the coming moons.

First are the food traders, who are going to worry about infected stock and the safety of their assets and families, and the others are those in charge of feeding a large group of people.

Paying two or four copper for a loaf of bread is annoying, but manageable for any commoner living in the capital or in a small village.

Having to feed thousands of employees with a budget that can only afford half as much ingredients or even less than before, is a problem that is going to affect all large organizations, such as the knight orders, Merchant houses and the royal army.”

Pulling up a rations list, one of the aspects of his work as the highest commander of the City Guard, Marshall Luthais Dharnas pointed out the prices for rations, grain and similar sundries to the trio of girls as evidence of his words.

“The more affluent groups will be fine, more or less. Backed by the treasury of the kingdom, the guards and the army can submit their expenses and eat a loss when supplying themselves, so they are not worried either.

I think that covers most of the groups that meddle with trading food, it’s still too early to conclude if they will change their strategy once they learn of the coming crisis.

With that out of the way, there might be merit to the venture you thought up.

I am by no means an expert in mercantile undertakings, so you have to work out a detailed plan by yourself.

Nonetheless, I can offer you my connections as the Head of the House at least.

You said that the task you were entrusted with amounted to about five hundred gold, correct?

I can also offer the same amount on behalf of the Dharnas house as a sign of support for your newly founded Merchant House, there is a prospect for profit indeed.

And even if the price does not rise or there are other complications, trading food is a rather stable avenue, even if it does not yield the greatest riches overnight.”

Picking a wrought iron key from his keychain, the half elf opened one of the armored chests stacked next to the wall and picked up five pouches full of jingling coins.

After confirming the correct amount and neatly resealing the chest, Luthais placed the investment on top of the table.

“That’s too much! We cannot ask you to invest in a risky endeavor after you already helped us so much and arranged a merchant to teach us the ropes.

Our only intent when turning to you for advice was just that, a piece of wisdom.

Please, take the gold back.”

Lydia curtsied and hurriedly tried to reject the pouches, the young woman felt that they owed Nisha and the Dharnas family too much already.

She did not attempt to gain material gains. Asking for even more would make them ungrateful, at least.

“Nonsense, this is purely an investment, with small risk and big potential for a return.

The greater the initial investment, the bigger the eventual return will be.

When it’s convenient for me to lend a hand, why not do it then?”

Firmly insisting on the deposit, Luthais pushed the pouches into Annabelle’s hands, who stood there in a daze at the sight of so much money in one place.

Lydia hemmed and hawed, but accepted in the end. Refusing a duke right into his face was never a smart thing to do.

“It’s just a small gesture, don’t take it to heart.

Money that rests is money wasted, if it’s not invested with you, I have to seek another opportunity with a Merchant House that I know far less than the two of you.

At least with you, I can be sure that you actually invest the money and not run off with it.”

Mixing in a small joke, the Duke expressed his earnest intent to support their business, he had already heard that Nisha had obtained a stake in their aspiring Merchant House.

He wished to see them succeed as well.

“I can arrange a contact with a noble under the Dharnas influence too, perhaps it’s a good idea to buy grain from their villages, so their stored produce does not spoil from the plague.

It’s a win for both sides then.”

As they got into the topic, the Duke and Lydia got ready to work out the details and set up a preliminary plan to get things in motion, Annabelle made an innocent remark.

“Why are we buying from the people we know? Isn’t it better to buy from other places first, to take advantage of the rising prices?”

After her remark, silence dropped over the study.

Luthais Dharnas turned pensive while he imagined the implications behind that statement and their feasibility.

Nisha and Lydia on the other hand quickly got excited and could barely hold back the urge to disturb the Duke from his pondering and start planning afresh.

Anna is right! Why should we limit the scope of our venture to the villages and cities under Dharnas influence? This is a great opportunity.

The Duke pensively relaxed his shoulders and nodded to himself before addressing the three young ladies before him.

“I reckon that Miss Annabelle guessed correctly, there is no strong interest in the food supply yet, so many places should be willing to part with their harvest or agree to contracts selling the next one early.

The first spring harvest is over and the summer harvest is close at hand too, according to the reports I received.

Although their price might be higher if you want to convince those farmers to sell to you instead of their regular contacts, the increase is still worth it as long as the prices rise during the coming [Blackroot Plague].”

Seeing that the Duke himself agreed that their plan was feasible, Annabelle clapped her hands with delight while Lydia allowed herself a cautious smile.

Nisha, on the other hand, only felt glad that her friends found a way going forward with their dream of a Merchant House.

Making a profit was fine if it helped them establish a presence in the circle of merchants, but the dragon did not insist on getting a return for her money either way.

“We can try to buy up as much produce as possible that’s still unsold and make contracts for the next harvest right now, the less grain there is on the market, the sharper the price will rise.

And it would be convenient to act as fast as possible as well, once word of a coming disaster spreads, the common farmers will refrain from selling easily anymore.”

Refining the plan and sharing her thoughts, Lydia exchanged several ideas with the Duke.

Annabelle was happy enough to have contributed an idea and listened more than she talked, whereas the elf did not know enough about the territory under the Dharnas name or merchant matters to intercede.

Still, participating in the exchange allowed her to learn more about Leandar’s geography and distribution of power among the nobles.

If they were talking about a more popular good like iron, or other metals used to craft quality weapons, several other Dukes would intervene without doubt to maintain the balance of power.

Cultivation materials, which could speed up the pace of cultivation or assist with gathering more energy, would elicit the attention of the local Counts, who usually held a tight control over the sources in their area of influence.

Once enough Counts gathered together and combined their influence, they had enough power to resist the acquisition through a Merchant House under the protection of Duke Dharnas.

Food was not a rare resource, it was produced in all parts of Leandar, hence leading to the moniker Granary of the Continent.

Not even Barons bothered generally to regulate the amount of food going through their lands, and that turned into a great opportunity now.

“If nothing goes wrong, we might be able to swipe most of the food in circulation right before a major price spike due to the plague.

It’s impossible to tell how high the increase will end up being, even if some of the harvest is going to get infected and therefore wasted.”

Lydia’s cheeks flushed at the thought of the sky high profits, earning her odd looks from her twin sister and the elf next to her.

Duke Dharnas had a more sobering perspective on the matter.

“It’s important to plan early against the interference of other parties and ward against mishaps.

Once knowledge of the [Blackroot Plague] spreads, panic will ensue and agreements might not get honored unless they are set in stone.

Furthermore, opportunists might wish to sell to the highest bidder instead when the price goes above the agreed sum for the next harvest.”

His warning shocked the money loving young woman out of her stupor and invited furios agreement from her side.

“Indeed, disagreements on purchases or sales often end up in front of a local judge, but it’s not feasible to expect a just resolution when the goods are gone and the money is hidden somewhere.

Master Kaufmann took me with him when he had to attend court for a lost wagon, where everyone involved lost some money one way or another.

It would be wise to work out a contract we can use for the second harvest, to make sure the farmers will agree to sell a certain amount of foodstuff on the agreed date in exchange for a price per unit we settle on the date of signing, to prevent them from taking advantage of us later on.

In case of failure to pay, we reserve the right to seize the party breaking the contract, their family and land in return according to the value of product we lost, calculated at the day when the contract should have been fulfilled.

That way, the Merchant House can prevent opportunists from running away with the grain, while we can also choose to let those that genuinely lost their harvest to the plague off the hook.

Furthermore, the grain and meat that is already harvested and prepared will need to be transported to the cities under Dharnas control for storage.

We will need to rely on Ser Duke for this matter, my sister and I lack the network of contacts and manpower yet to act as quickly as needed for this venture.”

With a clear path and some assistance from the experienced noble, a lawyer was shortly called into the mansion and helped to draw up a contract according to the specifications needed by the venture.

After they copied enough contracts for the first wave of buying up food in the Blackstone, Whitehall and Silverwood areas, a long train of carrier birds left the capital, carrying bundles of documents and pouches of gold to the nobles under Luthais Dharnas influence.

Nisha secretly handed Annabelle a pouch with a thousand gold as well, stocking up their total investment amount to two thousand.

It took the greater half of her stockpiled wealth, but the dragon knew when she had to part with her shiny baubles.