Ripping Off the Familiar

"Your tea isn't good enough." Captain Van der Sar first picked up a small pinch of tea leaves, smelled them, then chewed a little, and shook his head. "Clearly, it's not Darjeeling at all, or to put it bluntly, it's not any tea grown at high altitudes. It tastes astringent, and the aroma isn't pure; it lacks the grape flavor of Darjeeling black tea. This is the lowest grade of tea. Your price is too high."

"Ah, you're an expert. This tea is indeed from Darjeeling, but as you know, Darjeeling's production is limited. Where could I possibly get a whole shipload of Darjeeling tea? But it is indeed tea from the foothills of the Himalayas, though at a lower altitude than Darjeeling, so the quality isn't quite as good. However, it's still quite good for making milk tea. And as you know, because of the war, tea prices have risen considerably. At the price I'm offering you now, you can make a lot of money sending these to Europe."

"You're right. But you also need to consider that this situation arises because of transportation difficulties. Currently, a large number of transport ships are being used for war-related matters, and coupled with blockades and inspections, this naturally leads to price increases for these goods. However, you should also understand that getting your goods back to Europe will be more expensive than before. Strictly speaking, except for a few items like gunpowder, most goods from India, including tea, are contraband. They can't be sold directly on the market. There are many connections involved, and it costs a lot of money."

To put it simply, if I buy tea from you and then sell it in Europe, at least 70% of the profits will go towards bribes, and the remaining 30% will have to be split with the sailors before I can get anything. So, at your price, I won't make any profit. No, brother, the price of this tea needs to be lowered."

What the France said wasn't entirely untrue; indeed, most Europe markets were now closed to products from Britain and Britain colonies. Luxury goods like tea were even more strictly restricted. However, legally speaking, there were ways to sell tea in Europe. One such way was to claim that the tea was spoils of war.

After the war began, the Britain announced that civilian ships were permitted to attack ships of nations at war with Britain and profit from the spoils. In response, France also announced that civilian ships were permitted to attack Britain ships and profit from the spoils. Essentially, this was a revival of the privateering system that had existed for many years.

Of course, there's a lot of room for maneuver in determining whether something is smuggled or war booty. This requires special connections and a considerable amount of money. So, what the France said wasn't entirely unreasonable. However, it wasn't just the France who needed money to pull strings; the Britain themselves did too.

"But Captain, you must have connections to be able to do this business, right? Compared to those guys who have absolutely no connections, you should be able to save a lot of money, so you've already made a considerable profit."

"Yes, I can still make a profit. If I couldn't, who would do this? I do have connections, because they're old relationships. When I use these connections, it's true that I save time, money, and effort compared to newcomers. But these savings are earned through my own abilities, and the resulting higher profits are rightfully mine. Now you're asking me to give you a discount just because I can get higher profits than others. Don't you think that's inappropriate?"

The two men then argued about the price of tea, but the France ultimately prevailed. After all, the Britain, especially Britain still in India, needed the money more. Besides, even if they earned less from the France, they could recoup some of it on the ship tickets. The captains had already inquired about their ticket prices from the France.

"Damn it, absolutely damn rip-off!" This was the unanimous exclamation of the Britain captains regarding the France ticket prices. They couldn't help but think, "That's what real men do!" However, considering the reality, while they felt a price increase was inevitable, they found it difficult to actually charge the same fares as the France. Many of the passengers were influential figures; they couldn't do anything about the France and had no choice but to let them rip them off. But, if they couldn't deal with the French, they could certainly deal with the France.

However, as Napoleon once said, "Where there's a will, there's a way." A captain came up with such a solution.

"We can use different cabins to separate people of high status from those of low status, and then we can keep the price of first-class tickets relatively reasonable, mainly ripping off the lower-class people. Although they may have less meat on their bones, they are still meat."

"Besides that, I suggest we should also work with passengers who truly have influence," another captain said. "The lower-class passengers aren't stupid; they certainly won't want to be ripped off like this. They might even want to cause trouble, especially if we offer first-class discounts while only raising their prices."

"How do you propose we cooperate?" someone asked.

"We can't let first-class prices be too cheap. On the contrary, if third-class prices increase by a certain percentage, first-class prices must also increase by the same amount, or even more. Only in this way can we create panic and sell tickets. Then, once we have the money from the tickets..."

"Once we get the ticket money, we'll refund the first-class passengers in full, and then split the revenue from the lower-class passengers with the first-class passengers. It's fast and stable, a good method. I just don't know if those 'high-class' people will be too demanding. If they're like those big shots in India, offering us a 30/70 split, or even a 20/80 split, then it's no fun."

"They probably won't. They know exactly what they're capable of to get to that position. The reason the bigwigs in India can split the profits with us like that is because they can do things for us that we can't, or prevent us from doing things that we could otherwise do. But the bigwigs who are now flying first class with us no longer have real power, although they still have some influence and connections with the India upper class. So now they can only be seen as high-status brokers. If we split the profits with them, I think it's possible that it'll be 20/80, or even 10/90, and we'll probably get 80 or 90%."

With the plan settled, the captains assigned tasks, and everyone set to work.

Soon, rumors began to circulate in the port that the France had sent new troops to South Africa, and this time, they were warships specifically designed for the situation in the East—the predecessor to the Free Market, which had been sold to the Britain and had given the British Navy a sound thrashing during that whaling expedition.

"Oh dear, don't you all know? This France warship is a hybrid steam-powered sailing vessel. The France had originally put it in a museum, but now they've modified it, removing the original broadside guns and replacing them with turrets, and then sent it here. Normally, this ship is no slower than a typical sailing cruiser when sailing, and with steam power, it's faster than any of our ships in the East. Add to that its new cannons and shells, and no ship in the East can match it. If it attacks, we'll all be prisoners."

"Didn't the France send us here? Why would they?"

"The France sent us here to swindle our money. Don't you know what kind of people the France are? The contract they signed to send us here has already been fulfilled. And the France know very well how much valuable stuff we brought with us. Do you think they won't come back to rob us again?"

"Don't we already have a boat here? Let us get on board and leave quickly! How long are we going to wait like this? Isn't that too dangerous?"

"I heard that the goods on the ships that have just arrived haven't all been sold yet. If they try to sell them at the market, they might not make any money. If they don't make any money, they might have to raise ticket prices."

Upon hearing the words "ticket price increase," everyone's expression changed.

"No way, we're one of our own people, we shouldn't be as dark-skinned as the France, right?"

"Probably not, although... to be honest... some Britain and France people are at least the same color, and the closer someone is to us by blood, the more they want to drink our blood."

"I heard that there isn't enough room on our ships, and we can't possibly take all of us this time. Many, if not most, people will be left here to wait for later batches."

"Huh? We have to wait for several more batches, wouldn't that mean until next year?"

"Putting everything else aside, staying here costs a lot of money every day. Sigh, if this continues, I'll have to find a job carrying bags at the docks."

"Yes, yes, we must go to India as soon as possible, the sooner the better."

"I heard that many of the people in this group are wealthy and influential, and they will likely buy the tickets first."

"I heard that tickets will be available for sale soon. Apparently, first class tickets will go on sale first, followed by second and third class."

"What are the prices for second and third class?" someone asked.

"Who knows now? Let's just wait and see, it should be in the next few days," someone said.

So everyone sighed anxiously.

Two days later, news finally started circulating about first-class ticket prices. Many people were thinking that if they were going to stay here until next year, they might as well spend a little more money and buy a ship ticket to leave as soon as possible.

However, first-class tickets are very expensive. Although they have become more affordable after being ripped off by the France, the current first-class prices still deter most people.

However, first-class tickets sold out very quickly, in less than half an hour. As for second-class tickets, they were said to go on sale after lunch.

The Britain stranded in the port then took this opportunity to start discussing the matter.

"The first-class tickets are really expensive. But even so, they sold out in no time. I wonder what the second and third-class fares are?" someone said.

"Tom, even if first class is expensive, rich people can afford it," another person said.

"It's not that simple, Jim," another man said. "Those rich people can certainly afford it. But the fact that they're willing to spend so much money says something. You know, most rich people, the richer they are, the less they're willing to let go of any scruples; the less they let go of any scruples, the richer they become. The fact that they're willing to spend money so readily probably means that staying here for a long time is really not safe."

"We're on neutral soil, France ... surely they won't trample on the neutrality of a neutral country?" someone said. But from his weak tone, it was clear that he didn't really have much confidence in his statement.

"The France? Even if the France send troops in to arrest people, would the Portugal dare to turn against them? They might even try to cover for the France," another person said.

Everyone fell silent again, and finally Jim sighed and said, "It all depends on the price of second and third class. Let's try our best to buy the tickets, otherwise, if the France hybrid warships really come, we're doomed!"

"It's still less expensive than staying here for a few more months, so let's buy as much as possible. Otherwise, who knows what it will be like in a few months?"

This view gained more support. So everyone ate while anxiously waiting for second-class tickets to be sold.

There were far more second-class tickets than first-class tickets, which was normal, as second-class passengers often shared rooms. Therefore, the ticket sales process naturally took longer. And the crucial price – of course – wasn't cheap. Although it was considerably cheaper than first class, it was several times more expensive than peacetime prices, even double or triple the price of a first-class ticket. However, compared to the price paid by the France, it wasn't too expensive. Considering the losses incurred while stranded, coupled with various frightening rumors, ticket purchases remained very enthusiastic. By the afternoon, all the second-class tickets had been sold.

What remained were the third-class cabins, which were essentially the cargo holds that had just been emptied. Everyone there could only sleep on the floor—there weren't even beds. Apart from being able to go up to the deck for fresh air at any time, the conditions weren't much different from those on a slave ship. But even with these conditions, and even though the third-class tickets were still very expensive, they sold out quickly.