"You little brat, sooner or later I'll pin you beneath me!"
If Daemon had once been drawn to his cousin Danyla's looks, he was now growing ever fonder of his adopted niece's personality, and the crude remark slipped out before he could stop himself.
The entire gathering fell silent.
Prince Viserys Targaryen's face darkened at once, and he hurled the silver cup in his hand straight into Daemon's face.
"Watch your tongue! If you dare speak so recklessly again, I'll cut it out myself!"
Daemon wiped away the remaining wine and apologized sheepishly.
"Oh, sorry. That was a slip of the tongue! But I only said it because I truly admire Danyla!"
Danyla remained calm, as though nothing had happened.
"Then thank you for the compliment, 'Uncle'!"
"I hope you enjoy your stay here! If you run short of Gold Dragons, I can lend you some. Don't worry, the interest won't be high!"
Seeing how composed Danyla was, her adoptive mother Aemma swallowed the words of comfort she had been about to offer.
Rhaenyra stole admiring glances at Daemon, finding her wild, uninhibited uncle terribly charming.
The little incident was soon eclipsed by the nobles' discussion of Dragon Porcelain. After all, as some of the highest-ranking nobles in the Seven Kingdoms, they naturally understood the potential profits behind it.
In this world, only the Dynasty of Yi Ti possessed the techniques for firing porcelain. All the porcelain in Westeros and Essos was imported from there. Sea travel was dangerous, and the distances were vast, making it extremely expensive. Only the highest nobles and the wealthiest merchants could afford it.
Even the Nine Great Houses mostly owned only a few vases and plates. Most of the time, those plates were displayed as ornaments.
And because conflict frequently broke out in the Dynasty of Yi Ti, high-quality porcelain on the market often became very scarce.
The fine white porcelain fired in White Sheep Town ranked among the best on the market, so its profit margins were easy to imagine.
Danyla was now the darling of the Targaryen royal family, so they naturally dared not scheme against her lightly. But if an opportunity arose to get a share of the business, they certainly would not let it slip away.
For families with ocean-going fleets, particularly those of Lord Corlys the Sea Snake and Earl Redwyne, buying Dragon Porcelain at favorable prices would undoubtedly add a highly profitable product to their merchant fleets.
Together with Dragonfire Wine and Goat Town's distinctive barbecue seasonings, these three products were competitive even in Essos.
Thus, to win Samwell's goodwill, they all made substantial concessions when discussing their partnership in the Firekiss Garden.
They hoped to establish a friendly working relationship with Samwell this way.
Samwell and Danyla had already anticipated everyone's reactions and settled on a strategy to handle them.
So he accepted the olive branches they offered, but that was all he did.
Everyone understood the profits to be made from Dragon Porcelain, and King Jaehaerys naturally understood them too. But White Sheep Town was Danyla's fief, and Dragon Porcelain was something his great-granddaughter had devised. He was quite capable of protecting House Targaryen's interests.
Because of Dragon Porcelain, everyone quickly finished eating and headed together to the porcelain shop in White Sheep Town.
Although they had already seen the quality of Dragon Porcelain, the porcelain pieces inside the shop, with their varied shapes and exquisite painted patterns, still astonished them.
Several of the great nobles reacted quickly and immediately offered to buy all the porcelain.
Samwell, however, replied apologetically.
"I'm sorry, my lords. The pieces displayed here are samples only and are not for sale."
"Besides, our porcelain-firing techniques are not yet perfected, so our monthly output is limited. We can produce one hundred of these complete dinnerware sets."
"As for the other fifteen individual products, we can produce only three hundred pieces of each."
The nobles all looked disappointed at this.
Seeing their reactions, Samwell thought to himself.
Just as the princess said, these lords certainly have enormous appetites!
He immediately raised his voice again.
"But we're already expanding production and training more apprentices. I believe our output will gradually increase."
"By the end of this year, I expect we'll be able to double it!"
"So few?"
Lord Corlys the Sea Snake frowned.
"Yes. The process of making Dragon Porcelain is extremely complex, and we must ensure the quality of every piece. All of that takes a great deal of time."
Samwell explained with a glib tongue.
"And the price?"
Earl Redwyne asked.
"The price will depend on the size, shape, and pattern of the porcelain."
Samwell answered.
"For instance, this Dragon Porcelain dinnerware set takes a great deal of time and effort to make because every piece must match, but it costs only one thousand Gold Dragons!"
"One thousand Gold Dragons?!"
Everyone felt this was a very good price, since porcelain of such quality imported from Yi Ti might cost more than ten thousand Gold Dragons.
They all began voicing their desire to place orders.
Samwell spoke according to the plan he and Danyla had agreed upon beforehand.
"My lords! I hardly need to tell you how precious porcelain is. You all know that already!"
"The Dragon Porcelain of White Sheep Town is fired with the power of dragonfire, making it all the more precious. Naturally, something so valuable can never be produced in great quantities."
"In the Seven Kingdoms, only the lords gathered here can afford it!"
"So White Sheep Town does not intend to sell it to anyone else. Instead, we plan to use a somewhat novel method of sale!"
"Our Dragon Porcelain will be sold through a subscription quota system!"
"Take these complete dinnerware sets, for example. Only one hundred sets will be sold each month. But if you wish to buy one set every month, you must first pay an annual subscription fee of ten thousand Gold Dragons."
Samwell's words immediately caught everyone's interest.
Lord Corlys the Sea Snake could not help praising the idea.
"Interesting! Very interesting indeed. Then House Velaryon will start by purchasing two million Gold Dragons' worth of subscription rights!"
Samwell replied sheepishly.
"I'm sorry, Lord Corlys. Except for members of the Targaryen royal family, each house may purchase no more than one hundred thousand Gold Dragons' worth of subscription rights for any single product!"
"Then one hundred thousand Gold Dragons for each product!"
King Jaehaerys spoke up then.
"And do I, as king, receive any special privileges?"
Samwell immediately answered respectfully.
"Of course. Princess Danyla has already instructed us to reserve thirty percent of each product's quota for the royal family!"
King Jaehaerys nodded in satisfaction.
"Mm! Very good. Lord Lyman, I'll leave you to handle the arrangements from here!"
With His Majesty the King and the Sea Snake taking the lead, everyone immediately scrambled to purchase subscriptions. But the quotas were limited, and a fierce war of words ensued before the final allocation was settled.
They also bought up all the stock the shop brought out.
In that single day, Danyla took in nearly two million Gold Dragons.
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