The Flour Plan

Alex stayed in Wood Fort Town that night, Victor arranged for the kitchen to prepare a full-course meal for him: croissants with noodles, steamed buns with fried dough sticks. Alex ate to his heart's content. However, Victor did not approve of Alex's eating habits. He actually ate everything with White Sugar. He hoped that the pancreas of the people in this world was also superhuman.

After the meal, Alex raved about the white flour, considering it a major invention comparable to White Sugar. He said that once he returned to Iron Birch Territory, he would definitely promote this food extensively, so that everyone would know about it and try it. He even proposed that he would directly act as the agent for selling this flour, and the profits would be split 50/50.

Victor originally only wanted to make a quick buck in the flour business, and he had no objection to the specifics of how it was operated. Considering the high losses in flour production and the fact that the territory's grain reserves were still too small, Victor simply proposed that all flour production be located in Iron Birch Territory, and that all the equipment from the Two Rivers Territory be sent there.

Without further ado, Victor took Alex to the Machine Factory in Riverside Village early the next morning and showed Alex the flour mill. Alex was very fond of the machine. When he learned that this small stone mill could produce 3,000 kilograms of flour a day, he was overjoyed. You know, watermills and windmills produce half as much wheat flour.

"This small stone mill flour machine can be powered by animal power. I plan to start selling it after the flour is available in the market. I will set the price according to market demand and I am sure I can make a lot of money."

Alex panicked when he heard that Victor wanted to sell this machine. "We're in the flour business ourselves. If you sell this machine, aren't you going to steal our market?"

"Actually, milling flour is not as difficult as you think. As long as it is milled finely enough, wheat can be easily milled into white flour. It's just that the cost is too high for most people. But after we promote flour, there will definitely be people who imitate us, because one Copper Piece per pound is enough to cover their costs and make a profit."

"But then we have even less reason to sell flour mills."

"Alex, I've already said that milling flour isn't difficult, but if we want to sell flour, we have to sell it in other territories. What if other nobles stipulate that Freemen with purchasing power in their territories can only buy locally produced flour? This is bound to happen."

"Then I understand. So when flour has gained widespread acceptance by this time, and we start selling these flour mills, the noble families will definitely buy them like crazy to compete. At that point, we will have control over the pricing."

"Moreover, we can leverage the promotion of this flour mill to establish a unified price Alliance with various noble families for flour. This will allow us to further dominate the flour market, ensuring our flour remains profitable and avoiding cutthroat competition with friendly noble flour mills."

Victor added.

"Actually, my flour mill is just a first-generation product. I have even better products here."

After saying that, Victor led Alex to another factory. In this factory, there was a piece of equipment that occupied a huge area and used a lot of steel. It was something that could not be produced in this era. But to be honest, it would have been impossible to make this equipment without the help of Number One and the Calculation Module.

Victor explained to Alex, "This is the core competitiveness of the flour project, 'Steel Mill Number One.' This equipment represents the pinnacle of our territory's technology. The most crucial part, the mill head, is made of steel. The material for this steel mill can only be produced in the Two Rivers Territory, let alone the processing of this steel mill itself." Speaking of this steel mill, Victor was moved to tears. Victor had been involved in the design and manufacture of this steel mill from start to finish, working continuously with the territory's master craftsmen for more than ten days before finally figuring out how to make it.

"As for this 'Steel Mill Number One,' there are several other key components, namely grain cleaning equipment, wheat washing equipment, and hulling equipment. The flour produced is whiter and finer than that of a stone mill flour machine, and the output is also greater. The daily output can be equivalent to ten stone mill flour machines, with a daily flour production of up to 30 tons. However, it requires a special water truck to drive it, so we have specially built a waterway to supply it with water."

"This is simply a miracle." The "Steel Mill Number One" weighs more than 50 tons, and all the equipment covers an area of 400 square meters. The main equipment is more than 10 meters high. Anyone who sees such a steel creation for the first time will be shocked, and Alex was no exception.

"Victor, can this device be installed in Iron Birch Territory? I'm willing to pay 5,000 gold coins for it."

"Alex, don't get excited. First of all, this equipment isn't actually worth that much money. Even if the flour it produces sells for a higher price, at two Copper Piece a pound, a ton of flour is only worth 1.6 gold. Even if it produces continuously for 24 hours a day, it would only be worth 50 gold, or 1500 gold a month. It sounds like a lot, but that's impossible. This equipment needs to have its vulnerable parts replaced, and it has a high failure rate. All of these things take time to deal with and require money to repair. The operating cost is not low. According to our estimates, the monthly output will be at most five or six hundred gold. Moreover, the requirements for using it are very high. There must be craftsmen on standby 24 hours a day to deal with various problems at any time. It's simply impossible to move it to another place in a short period of time."

"It's such a pity. It would be so impressive if other people could see this machine."

Victor ignored Alex's words.

"My plan is simple: from the beginning, we need to clearly define the positioning of our flour, establish a brand image, and let everyone know that our flour is the first one we produced. We need to create a special and eye-catching trademark, and I want to incorporate the heraldic elements of the Iron Birch Family and the Golden Sunflower Family into it."

"By using this trademark, we can make a strong impression on people about our flour. Once all the territories have started producing flour, we can release the next generation of flour products, which will be whiter and finer. We can then raise the price to establish a high-end image, control production and avoid competing with other territories. This way, we can have a steady and sustainable business."

"But, Victor, what if they can produce this kind of flour in the future?"

"Don't worry, Alex. Being ahead of the curve means always being ahead. Our technological advantage will always exist, our products will be better, and our costs will be lower. As long as we ensure a certain profit, there's no need to make enemies with other nobles." Putting aside the production equipment, even if other nobles use manual labor to complete the first few steps of cleaning and washing the wheat, Victor can use additives to enhance the taste of the flour, such as adding soy protein. This allows them to continuously create a distinctive high-end flour product, attracting both nobles and Freemen to buy it.