Chapter 65

After Grand Duke Orville and the envoys from the Anas Empire departed, it was Boris's turn to handle the matter.

Cyrus understood that Boris's sudden arrival in the Desinia Territory was definitely not just to give him a surprise.

As expected.

A day after Orville left, Boris sought him out alone.

"Little Zuoyi, let's discuss cooperation matters with the Chamber of Commerce."

Cyrus nodded and led Boris into the study.

Besides the initial collaboration on herbal medicines, the Thorn Merchant Guild and the Nagabi Merchant Guild have since expanded their cooperation to include herbal ointments and Watermarked Paper.

The Nagabi Merchant Guild paved the way for the establishment of the Thorn Merchant Guild in the Anas Empire, enabling the Thorn Merchant Guild to successfully enter the imperial market and amass wealth through the large-scale sale of herbal potions and ointments.

The two most profitable items sold by the Thorn Merchant Guild are Rose Salt and medicines for treating injuries and illnesses.

This is also the fundamental reason why the Thorn Merchant Guild has been able to establish itself.

It's something that people need to use every day.

They are also life-saving items in critical moments; even fanatical believers say that the Thorn Merchant Guild's herbal potions and ointments are more effective than the holy water bestowed by the Creator God.

The sale of these two items brought a steady stream of money to the Thorn Merchant Guild.

It was precisely because of this that Cyrus's plan to rebuild the two cities was able to be successfully implemented.

The Nagabi Merchant Guild provided him with ample convenience and assistance over the past three years.

Boris played a crucial role in enabling the Thorn Merchant Guild to establish itself within the Anas Empire.

However, the reason why the Thorn Merchant Guild has not been suppressed by other merchant guilds is also due to the reputation of the alchemist Cyrus Zuoyi.

Drug preparation is by no means an easy task.

While alchemy is related to medicine to some extent, it is also different from medicine.

Alchemy was a bold idea, dedicated to developing the creation of "Philosopher's Stone," which inevitably involved metallic substances.

Most metals are toxic.

Medicine, on the other hand, is rigorous.

Moreover, how could someone who doesn't understand the properties, pharmacology, usage, and dosage of herbs possibly successfully prepare a medicine that can treat patients?

Cyrus's greatest asset is his unique "alchemy skills".

He was a genius alchemist, as evidenced by the other alchemists who flocked to him and the Alchemy Tower built within Visas.

But those are precisely the two issues that Boris wants to discuss with him today.

The original salt sales channels were controlled by the Nagabi Merchant Guild. Later, with the emergence of the more convenient and higher-quality Seawater Solar Salt-Making Method, the sales channels were broadened.

The Nagabi Merchant Guild is no longer the dominant force and is gradually relaxing its control over the sale of salt.

After three years of development, many chambers of commerce have started selling salt.

These salts were cheaper and quickly gained market share after their introduction. Although they did not completely squeeze out Rose Salt and Nagabi Salt from the market, they did cause the prices of those two types of salt to drop further.

In Boris's view, this is a vicious cycle of competition.

But in Cyrus's view, this was the normal course of events.

After all, the method of evaporating salt from seawater is readily available, and anyone with the will can learn it. Furthermore, the price of salt will only continue to decrease until it reaches a certain level.

Regarding herbal remedies and ointments, Boris brought some news to Cyrus.

"Do you know Chipman Norton?" Boris asked.

Cyrus nodded. "I know, a very famous alchemist master who also minored in medicine."

This alchemist was already famous and highly respected by everyone in the Alchemy Association.

Since Cyrus has chosen to become an alchemist, she naturally needs to learn about things related to it.

After successfully obtaining the title of alchemist, he conducted a great deal of investigation.

Chipman Norton's name frequently appeared in the survey.

He has many achievements and is undoubtedly a very famous and highly respected person.

What happened to Chipman Norton?

"I suppose Boris must have mentioned herbal remedies and ointments at this point," Cyrus asked.

He was right after all.

Boris said that after several years of dedicated research, Chipman has finally developed an effective treatment for cough, fever, abdominal pain, and other related ailments.

Furthermore, he developed a special ointment for treating anal sphincter problems.

Cyrus almost choked on her saliva.

Is "anal" a medication for treating hemorrhoids?

He asked, filled with doubt.

Boris didn't find it difficult to talk about it, and explained in detail the symptoms the ointment treated: rectal bleeding, pain, restlessness...

That's definitely a reaction to having hemorrhoids.

Cyrus couldn't help but exclaim, "Chipman truly deserves to be called a master alchemist."

As a lord, he couldn't often research potions and other such things. He had too many other matters to attend to, so his progress in potions and ointments was inevitably slow.

Boris leaned back in his chair, tapping the table with one hand, and scoffed, "It's undeniable that Chipman is indeed very talented."

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"But look at the kinds of medicines and ointments he's researched. Apart from this ointment for treating anal problems, all the other medicines clash with what you've developed. I don't believe there's nothing going on here."

"If he truly has the ability to develop drugs, why didn't he achieve anything in this area before you?"

"Little Zuoyi, you have to understand that he's an old man in his fifties or sixties now. He hasn't been able to figure it out in decades, so why should he be able to make it now?"

"Moreover, I sent people to investigate, and before this, Chipman had ordered people to purchase large quantities of medicines and ointments from the Chamber of Commerce..."

Chipman's achievements were entirely due to Cyrus's research, and the reason for them is self-evident.

Boris said, "Little Zuoyi, don't be too optimistic."

"You don't know, Chipman Norton has been recruited by the Ed Merchant Guild Ed Merchant Guild, and they're now selling the same herbal potions and ointments on a large scale, at even lower prices than ours..."

The Ed Merchant Guild is a major merchant guild in the Saint Airo Empire.

Although its status cannot compare with the Nagabi Merchant Guild, its ability to establish itself and grow in an empire must be considerable.

Most importantly, the Ed Merchant Guild is backed by members of the Saint Airo Empire's royal family, just as the Nagabi Merchant Guild is secretly supported by the Anas Empire's royal family. They cannot be easily touched.

Once the same but cheaper drugs appear on the market, neither the Nagabi Merchant Guild nor the Thorn Merchant Guild will have any advantage.

Unless they also start lowering the prices of herbal remedies and ointments.

Even so, the large amount of lost gold coins cannot be recovered, and subsequent sales will inevitably decline.

Unlike Boris, Cyrus was not annoyed; the popularization and research of necessities was a normal trend.

Because this is an enormous market, even capturing just a tiny share can yield substantial profits.

As a businessman driven by profit, he was not surprised by this outcome.

Furthermore, he would not deny Chipman Norton's abilities.

After all, countless alchemists must have tried to research the herbal potions and ointments sold in the merchant guild over the past three years.

However, to this day, only Chipman Norton has truly mastered and recreated it.

Not only that, he also created a medicated ointment for treating hemorrhoids.

Chipman Norton's abilities are beyond question.

Thinking of this, Cyrus said to Boris, "I remember that Chipman's status is not low; he is also a nobleman. Moreover, since he has the Ed Merchant Guild behind him, and the Ed Merchant Guild is backed by the Saint Airo Empire..."

"The Chipman didn't choose to release the medicine after developing one, but instead chose to develop all of them at once and sell them through the Ed Merchant Guild, shows that they had already made complete preparations for this."

"We can't touch him right now, there's no need to dwell on this matter."

"I will continue my research on herbal medicines and ointments, as well as surgical procedures for treating external injuries. Besides, it's time to add other projects to increase my income."

Boris looked up at the question, a flicker of interest in his deep, lake-green eyes. "What are you planning to do now?"

Cyrus: "Do you think the riding outfits I had the tailor make for you look good?"

"Nice."

Boris nodded, quickly understanding the implication. "You want to sell this riding gear?"

Before Cyrus could answer, Boris frowned and said, "Little Zuoyi, I think you should reconsider. Selling riding gear isn't a viable option."

"Only nobles can wear riding attire, and any skilled tailor can recreate this style once it's bought and disassembled..."

He shook his head; this kind of deal was extremely unprofitable.

Boris clearly disagreed.

Cyrus said, "Boris, it's not just riding attire; how could I possibly only have one type of clothing to offer?"

"I plan to take two approaches: one is high-end customization, and the other is affordable and accessible."

"Haute couture is mainly for the nobility, while affordable and accessible clothing is aimed at small plantation owners, and is available to all commoners and slaves..."

Boris knew that Cyrus must have her own ideas, so he listened quietly to what she had to say.

"Haute couture focuses on design, and the price is definitely not cheap, but let's leave that aside for now."

"Let's start by talking about affordable and accessible clothing, focusing specifically on women's wear..."

In this era, nobles had the means to dress themselves in lavish attire, but the styles and designs of their clothes were quite monotonous, even to the point of being unattractive.

Take, for example, the riding outfit that Cyrus particularly disliked; otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of improving it.

Small landowners, poor commoners, or slaves who lacked extra money could not afford to choose luxurious clothes.

Especially for commoners and slaves, they just needed to have enough to eat and wear, and enough to live on. They were content with having clothes to wear, food to eat, and a place to live, so they didn't even think about dressing up.

Their clothes were mostly black, gray, and white, without any decoration or distinctive features.

Some garments were simply robes with three extra holes for the head and arms to pass through.

The market for women's clothing is unimaginably huge.

Women are naturally drawn to beauty. If a novel, beautiful, and inexpensive garment appears, which woman could resist its temptation?

Since I've already redeemed so many fashion design books, I can't let my reputation points go to waste.

These books are professional learning materials for designers. Many trendsetting styles from the past are illustrated and broken down in them, which can help designers learn and inspire their creativity.

Cyrus is not a designer.

However, he has a normal understanding of beauty, and he has also watched fashion shows in modern times, so his aesthetic sense has always been on point. He can still improve the backward clothing design on the Western Continent, and maybe many designers will emerge in the future.

--Designers are all tailors.

He felt that this statement was absolutely correct.

Cyrus shared her thoughts with Boris.

As the leader of the Nagabi Merchant Guild, Boris naturally possessed keen business acumen. He was able to perceive the enormous business opportunities involved and thus inquired about the cooperation.

Cyrus: "First, I need the dyeing techniques of the Anas Empire. Boris, you must give me this technique free of charge."