“May the peace of God be with you. Alchini, how have you been?”
As soon as Alchini saw , he clasped his hands together and responded.
“Thanks to you, sir, no, Lord Baron, I’ve been doing quite well. The coffee sales have been quite profitable.”
“I’m glad to hear that business is going well.”
“You, Lord Baron, were just a young mber of the dici family two years ago, and now look at you, you’ve achieved so much. It’s truly surprising how things unfold. Though, as we know, the world is shaped by the actions of the unique few, and us re humans cannot predict it…”
While this might be hard to grasp in the context of the Middle Ages, what I’ve done is akin to a fresh graduate in university winning a seat in parliant and building a major corporation in just two years.
No, it’s probably even harder than that.
It would be more bizarre if I weren’t surprised.
Honestly, even I think this was more about luck than anything else.
‘My effort was important, but the timing made it perfect for to strike.’
“Thank you for your complints, Alchini. By the way, I’d like to buy so beautiful flowers, do you have any recomndations?”
When he heard the word “flowers,” Alchini tilted his head in confusion.
After all, flowers aren’t typically a profitable business.
It’s common to see flowers everywhere on the Albanian continent, and they carry the image of being sold by poor won trying to make a living, especially in Sultanates or on the Albanian continent.
‘Flowers are the domain of gardeners in the horticulture guild.’
But that’s the common perception.
“You’ve co all the way here, so I assu you’ve found a way to make money by selling flowers?”
“Well, according to the information I’ve gathered, in the Holy Empire, there’s a trend among noblewon to grow flowers.”
In so countries, there are high-ranking individuals who dress up in character costus for events or promote gas, and it might get a good response among young n, but...
In an era without the concept of democracy, if a noble were to visit a common inn, their political life would be cut short for losing their dignity.
Let alone growing flowers, a hobby like that would harm their reputation.
But noblewon are now watering flowers together?
‘The nobles in the Holy Empire are clearly obsessed with flowers.’
Alchini grinned as if intrigued.
“If the noblewon in the Holy Empire really love flowers, wouldn’t it be a huge deal if you brought them rare foreign flowers?”
When the tulip craze swept through the Netherlands, the price of a rare tulip skyrocketed to the cost of an apartnt in Gangnam.
Nobles probably had dozens, even hundreds of those.
The middle class also stretched themselves financially to buy tulips, just to avoid being looked down upon.
I plan to create a similar trend.
“You’re absolutely right.”
Alchini signaled to his servant with a gesture.
Before long, the servant brought a vase with tulips.
“What do you think of this flower? It’s brightly colored and has a graceful shape. It’s a popular flower in our Sultanate. I’m sure you don’t have anything like this in the Albanian continent?”
The way Alchini spoke made it clear that he wanted to show off, as if to say, “We have this, don’t you envy us?”
But I’m not the kind of person who will only react based on superficial things.
On the contrary, I’m thankful that he brought us such a rare flower, especially one that shows his pride in it.
“This is certainly not sothing we have here. This flower could easily capture the hearts of the noblewon and aristocrats in the Holy Empire. What’s its na?”
“It’s called a tulip.”
How is it that the na is exactly what I expected?
“It’s truly beautiful. I think it would be perfect for noblewon.”
Beautiful won and flowers always go hand in hand, just like how needles and thread follow each other.
It’s very simple.
When you combine sothing delicious with sothing delicious, it makes for an even more delicious dish. Likewise, when you place sothing beautiful with sothing beautiful, it makes it even more stunning.
That’s the relationship between beautiful won and flowers.
‘And that’s why it makes money.’
“There are also tulips with more vibrant colors, like those with stripes on the petals or multi-colored varieties.”
If tulips are not only beautiful but also rare, the nobles will go wild, trying to buy them like boars in heat.
When soone else has sothing rare, and you don’t, your reputation plumts.
A drop in reputation is essentially being distanced from power, so it makes sense why they’d go crazy over it.
“Can you supply with those too?”
“As long as you pay well.”
“For the plain tulips, 20 stems for one silver coin. For the rare tulips, one stem for one gold coin. Depending on how beautiful they are, I might even raise the price.”
Alchini looked at as though I were crazy.
“Are you really going to buy them at those prices? They’re just tulips, aren’t they?”
“Just tulips. But to , they’re worth that much. And I won’t be buying them at that price forever.”
If I continued buying tulips at that price, I’d go bankrupt.
I need to make a profit and pull out at the right ti.
Selling sothing cheap for an absurd price is a rchant’s skill.
And that’s why I respect the legend of Bongi Kim Seon-dal.
Look at his ability to sell the dirty water of the Daedong River for an exorbitant price, it’s truly impressive.
He’d be the perfect candidate for recruitnt in the British East India Company’s multicultural program.
“I see. Then, please wait for a week, no, ten days. I’ll fill the ship with the finest tulips and deliver them to you.”
After concluding the deal with Alchini, I called Sebastian, who had been following .
"Sebastian, there’s sothing I need you to do."
"Yes, my lord."
"I need you to imdiately return to our holand and find a beautiful woman, as pretty as Chloe."
Sebastian tilted his head in confusion.
Well, to be honest, asking a high-ranking person to find a beautiful woman could only be interpreted as asking for soone to take a mistress.
But I’m fine with the three won I have now.
Actually, three is even too much. Once Erica turns 20, I’m really going to be in trouble.
I was thinking of sending her to Hong Kong, but then I’d end up flying to Arica instead.
Chloe, after having a child, keeps looking at saying her child needs a sibling.
Sotis it feels so creepy, it’s almost like a weight pressing down on .
When I return ho, should I ask my father-in-law for military-style physical training?
"And take the tulips with you, create jewelry using them, and have the beautiful woman wear it. Set up a place in Café dici, and put so tulips around the area."
Honestly, I’d like to spread the tulips to the Holy Empire right away.
Imagine an unknown person in the Holy Empire suddenly selling "tulips."
Would that suddenly catch the attention of the nobles?
‘Why is this exotic flower here?’
They might just think that and ignore it.
But if I tell them there’s a beautiful flower trending in the Tuscan Empire and they should see it, they’ll all want to take a look at least once.
"Actually, now that I think about it, that alone might not be enough."
When I was just a young mber of the dici family, I created Café dici.
I’d like to rena it Café Rothschild, but the reason I didn’t is...
This na has already beco a symbol of setting trends.
But to only use one beautiful woman as a promotional model and call it a day?
That doesn’t feel right to .
After thinking about it, it seems too small-scale.
"We can keep just one beautiful woman, but fill the café in Florence with tulips."
Café dici is still the symbol of setting trends in high society today.
If a foreign flower, undeniably beautiful, is placed there?
There’s no doubt the tulips will begin to trend among the nobility.
Sebastian, after hearing my words, clapped his chest.
"Understood, I will do my best to find the most suitable woman to represent the Rothschild family."
A representative of the Rothschild family? Well, we’re famous for having many beautiful won...
I guess I don’t really need to find one for that.
‘But Chloe or Kris could wear the tulip jewelry as promotional models...’
In modern society, having your wife as a celebrity in comrcials is a sure way to boost a man’s chest with pride. But here, doing such things would be seen as sothing only a courtesan would do.
So, if I want to promote beautiful clothes or jewelry, it’s better to find a pretty girl from a nearby rural village, give her so makeup, and have her model it.
If I used an ambiguous woman, it could harm our family’s reputation.
Why does that sound a bit unsettling to ?
"Alright then. I’ll return in 10 days with the tulips. Sebastian, you go back imdiately and prepare a ship."
"Yes, my lord."
A week later, after finishing the deal with Alchini, I returned ho safely.
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