This chapter is a bonus chapter awarded to "Xuanzong" for his generous donation.
"My lord, the response to the Flower Soap is overwhelming; many nobles have already expressed their desire to purchase Flower Soap."
Shylock frequently travels between North Valley City and Flower Town. As a merchant under Liszt, his status rose with the birth of the Thorn Sprite, making him a heavyweight figure in North Valley City's business world.
Upon receiving feedback, he immediately reported it to Liszt.
Merchants are adept at reading people, Shylock knew that this young lord might not be particularly interested in power and worldly affairs. However, he loved having all the information he needed and disliked anyone deceiving him. Therefore, he always looked for opportunities to report to Liszt.
"It seems that the Flower Soap business has gotten off to a good start, so let's go for it. I look forward to seeing Flower Soap dominate the Coral Island soap market."
"As you wish, my lord!" Shylock answered loudly, " Shylock is willing to dedicate all his strength to fulfilling your wish, my lord!"
Liszt, looking at Shylock who seemed intent on sycophancy, was in a good mood. "Don't disappoint me, Mr. Shylock."
Hearing the title "Sir," Shylock became even more excited. "Please rest assured, my lord!"
After leaving the castle, he was full of ambition.
Knowing that he was about to gain a position in the lord's heart no less than Harpagon's, and perhaps even on par with Old Grandet, thanks to his Flower Soap, he realized that...
"I need people to spread the word! Spread the word about my Flower Soap throughout the six cities on Coral Island, and every small town below... First, I need to make sure the soap-selling caravans understand that Flower Soap is cheaper but of better quality. They'll make more profit with every Flower Soap sold."
Flower Soap obviously can't be given away for free in large quantities, Shylock, eager to spread word-of-mouth and dominate the market, decided to lower the price.
No advertising is as effective as helping retailers earn more money.
"What?! Flower Soap, even better than regular soap, for only one silver coin plus fifty Copper Coin?" a traveling merchant exclaimed in surprise.
"That's right. You bought the soap from Baron Henderson for one silver coin plus eighty Copper Coin, and only received twenty Copper Coin in return. But selling the Flower Soap would bring in fifty Copper Coin, which is equivalent to selling two and a half bars of soap. You can do the math yourself."
"But is Flower Soap really that good?"
"The nobles of North Valley City have already used it, and everyone praises it. You can inquire about it with confidence. Also, I have a used Flower Soap here; I can let you try it."
The traveling merchant, of course, wouldn't blindly believe Shylock's words, so he fetched some water and tried the Flower Soap.
The abundant lather, smooth texture, effective cleansing, and firming effect after use all convinced the traveling merchant that Flower Soap truly surpasses ordinary soap.
Replacing scented Flower Soap will undoubtedly be a success.
Shylock, confident of victory, added, "If you intend to order, you'd better make a decision quickly. The soap workshop in Flower Town has limited production. When all the nobles are scrambling for Flower Soap, we might raise its price."
The price increase shattered the traveling merchants' last hesitation.
He gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "Then, Captain Shylock, I want to order five... no, I want to order ten bars of Flower Soap!"
With a snap of his fingers, Shylock jotted down the traveling merchant's order on Parchment: "A wise decision." He then collected the merchant's deposit and agreed to deliver the goods three days later.
He got up and left.
He clutched Parchment tightly in his hand, on which were recorded seven orders belonging to seven traveling merchants from North Valley City who mainly operated trade routes between the towns surrounding North Valley City.
These seven traveling merchants ordered a total of fifty-eight bars of Flower Soap.
Many nobles bypassed traveling merchants and ordered Flower Soap directly. For example, Baron Galta's butler ordered a full eight bars of Flower Soap from him.
"Captain Shylock, we've got off to a perfect start! Flower Soap Flower Soap will become a luxury item sought after by the nobility! They'll be inseparable from it from now on!" the lieutenant said excitedly.
Shylock smiled reservedly, "Based on usage, North Valley City sells about three hundred bars of soap a month. Snake Spear City, Gravel City, Elm Forest City, and Birch City sell about the same, totaling about fifteen hundred bars. Coral City, with its high number of nobles, Baronet Knight, and quasi-knights, along with wealthy free citizens, uses at least two thousand bars of soap a month."
In other words, Flower Soap dominates the soap market.
On Coral Island, 3,500 bars of soap can be sold in a month. Adding to that, at least 300 bars can be sold on Beer Island, plus the soap used by the people in Flower Town, the monthly sales volume is close to 4,000 bars.
"Four thousand Flower Soap!" Shylock, unable to contain himself at the thought, grinned broadly. "One Flower Soap, one silver coin, plus fifty Copper Coin —that's a whopping..."
He couldn't do the mental calculations.
They simply counted on their fingers and concluded that monthly sales amounted to six thousand silver coins. The cost of the Flower Soap was only forty Copper Coin, meaning that they could earn four thousand four hundred silver coins a month.
With the market for Flower Soap unified, the price could be raised to one silver coin plus eighty Copper Coin, which is the original wholesale price of soap.
As for costs, they can be further reduced by squeezing out Baron Henderson and driving down the price of soap powder.
He roughly estimated that it could be compressed down to thirty Copper Coin.
The net profit of one Flower Soap is equivalent to one silver coin plus fifty Copper Coin, and the total profit for one month reaches sixty gold coins.
You can earn two gold coins a day.
"Compared to the peak of the seafood business, when the net profit was close to four gold coins a day, the Flower Soap business is slightly less profitable, but the labor and material costs are lower... Moreover, the Flower Soap business is led by me! Both the Thorn Caravan and the Flower Caravan must cooperate with me!"
With this confidence, Shylock met with Harpagon, who had come from Coral City, and discussed with him how to unify the Coral Island market.
But Shylock never expected that Harpagon had also come prepared.
The fellow islander from Little Papa Island glanced at him sideways. " Shylock, your vision is too narrow. Unifying the Coral Island market isn't anything special. With the advantage of Flower Soap, ordinary soap can be gradually phased out without much effort. I think we should turn our attention to the outer islands and the common people!"
"Outer islands? Commoners?" Shylock was taken aback.
" Flower Soap can definitely be marketed as a specialty of Coral Island, and sold to other islands through the channels of Tulip Castle and Beer Castle. At the same time, I asked Bunir, and he said that Flower Soap uses plenty of ingredients. But by reducing the amount of ingredients, a regular soap with slightly inferior quality can be made, which can be supplied to the general public at a lower cost."
Harpagon grinned smugly and gave Shylock a defiant look. "I've already reported to the lord, and the lord supports my ideas and plans!"
A critical hit!
Shylock was a little confused.
Ahhh! It's painful yet pleasurable. Thank you to the leader of the "Big Ears Attract Wind" alliance for the 120,000 Qidian coins reward. I owe you another 12 chapters!
The show will continue tomorrow, giving everyone a great viewing experience!