Futures Contracts and the Muria Civilization

Lowland Republic, Antwerp City.

Bang!

The tavern's wooden door was flung open, and a disheveled figure rushed in, wildly waving an order form in his hand.

Before his eyes could adjust to the dim interior, he urgently shouted:

"Mr. James, quick! Quick! Do you still have any tulip bulbs? The Sark Empire has placed a huge order!"

The middle-aged merchant, who had been drinking with several companions in a corner of the tavern, hurriedly set down his cup when he saw the newcomer.

"Mr. Feiqi, I still have four hundred kilograms of ordinary varieties from the September harvest, and ten premium bulbs. As for the price—"

There were currently two main types of tulips traded on the market: ordinary varieties and premium bulbs.

Ordinary varieties were priced by weight, while premium bulbs were priced individually. The difference in price between them was even greater than that between Copper Ful and Gold Lion.

Yet Mr. Feiqi, who had burst in, did not even wait to hear the price before sweeping a hand through the air.

"I'll take all of it! Where are the goods? Settle the delivery immediately!"

With business at the door, there was naturally no time left for drinking. The tulip merchant named James promptly tossed aside his cup and rushed out after him.

The remaining merchants from the Tulip Guild continued drinking and chatting.

"Another deal. What a pity! Tulip prices have kept rising lately, but we've already sold nearly all the stock we had.

"And the cultivation cycles for both premium bulbs and ordinary varieties are simply too long. No matter how high the market price rises, there is a limit to how much we can supply in the short term."

"If only I'd known what the market was going to do. I should've bought more back