Chapter 16: Discussing Business with My Future Wife

  "Sell at 75-80% of the current market price, expand our market at a low price, and later compromise with the English and Dutch, but for those countries that are willing to continue cooperating with us, we can let them exchange our saltpeter at a low price through treaties and agreements."

  Wendy looked at me uneasily, trying to find an answer on my face, then she smiled, probably because she thought she had hit the real purpose of the Seofano family selling saltpeter. She smiled coquettishly and opened the small folding fan in her hand, fanning back and forth with a gentle breeze.

  The tip of her nose was filled with the fragrance of this beautiful woman everywhere.

  Wendy, she's a pretty smart woman, not fanatical about religion, with a great figure and good looks. Okay, I was initially uneasy and resistant to this marriage, but now I basically don't have any opposing emotions, so it's up to me to see how I can conquer this charming 25-year-old siren with my immature body that's not yet 18.

  It's just that difficulty, sigh...

  "We offered the house of Sefano at half the current market price, and made a deal with the German states..."

  As soon as the words came out, I heard a shrill cry in my ear, and the horse driver was also startled, causing the entire carriage to shake violently before coming to a stop after several seconds.

  The attendants climbing on both sides, although they could see us through the window, asked in a panic: "Madam, are you okay?"

  "It's okay, you guys continue."

  "Sorry, I got a bit out of hand." Wendell turned his head and gave me an apologetic smile.

  "It's okay." I waved my hand and continued to say the decision made by that cheap old man, "For long-term cooperative friends, we can even lower the price a bit more to sell saltpeter to them. As for you, madam, and your Chamber of Commerce, we will give half of the profit to you."

  Wendy laughed bitterly: "Why did I get chosen?"

  "What do you think?"

  The carriage drove through the crowded streets, and after a long silence, Winder spoke up.

  "Wendy looked at him with a pleading expression and asked: 'Can I have a few more days to think about it?'"

  "Must be fun for you to have adventures?" I asked out of nowhere, which left her somewhat taken aback.

  "What?" The woman asked back slightly startled.

  "Compared to quietly staying in the manor, Madam should prefer the vast and boundless sea. Ah, leaning quietly against the wooden railing of the ship, the sea breeze gently blowing, with cargo worth a city's wealth beneath her feet, and white seagulls soaring above her head, every time the sails are raised, it's like a grand expedition. But what awaits Madam on the other side of the ocean? Wealth? Victory? Fame? Of course, there will also be failure, misfortune, setbacks, and even death... But precisely because it's unknown, that's why it's more anticipated, isn't it?

  After speaking in a long-winded and overly artistic manner, I suddenly changed the subject, "Want to play a game?"

  "Oh? What game?"

  Wendy slowly closed the folding fan in her hand, narrowed her eyes, and sank comfortably into the seat, with a gentle wave of her eyelashes, shining brightly. It wasn't until this moment that she revealed some of her usual demeanor, a rather lazy and charming woman.

  "For example, conquering the world..." I said, handing over the right to choose to Wender.

  "Ah?" The beautiful woman's eyes widened in surprise.

  I knew that only a tiny minority of geniuses like Hitler and Napoleon could understand Alexander's dreams, slightly lacking in artistic cells and humor, such as Churchill and Stalin are not good enough, let alone this relatively smart normal person, the big beauty.

  I had to say: "It's a business, yes, I'm very sorry, it's not convenient for me to reveal, but I guarantee with the dignity of the royal family that it is definitely a profitable business!"

  "How much do you need?"

  "Not many, probably around 500,000 to 600,000 Somalis."

  Why did I waste time going to Dionisou Street before today?

  Excluding the temporary impulse caused by personal experiences, it's more due to my strategic deployment that day... However, Lao Ren Sha always refuses to admit this point, he thinks that a small kid's occasional flash of inspiration is just... too lazy to comment on that old man who envies and admires my intelligence, talent, and handsome appearance.

  A force that wants to survive must constantly inject fresh blood, can it be expected that those goods who have been severely distorted by the old man's dregs in their outlook on life and values will go find women to give birth? Just look at how they were scared by a group of noble ladies and you'll know it's impossible, even if it is possible, it's just a handful! They're gone, what if they didn't leave behind an heir for their family? The tragedy can only be our Sefano family! You should know that these people are the elite of the next generation of our Sefano family! If they don't have heirs, doesn't that mean that my and Alexander's descendants will lose a large group of helpers?!

  It's not true that the demolition of Dion Street is the reason why the entire Constantinople noble girls' circle collectively hates us, a group of military otakus who don't understand romance. It's also a lie that if the girls hate us, we won't have to worry about marriage for a while! Of course, my measures to cover up are also a lie! On the surface, I'm helping these people around me escape from marriage, but in reality, I'm doing the opposite! What? People under 18 can't date? Am I leading minors into darkness? Corrupting morals and losing all sense of decency?

  My god, stopping human reproduction, what if humans become extinct? This is a crime against humanity!

  And also, most importantly, wasn't Alexander's legion short of money?

  Maintaining an army of 4,000 infantrymen doesn't cost much, 50,000 sorlii would be enough per month. But forming an army requires guns, uniforms, boots, belts, swords, gunpowder, and bullets, all of which consume a lot of money! And that's not even counting the horses. A nine-year-old warhorse in good condition with no injuries costs 400-500 sorlii, let alone a five or six-year-old high-quality breed! Roughly calculated, if you want to buy cannons, Alexander's army cost 1,487,835 sorlii and 3 dinars to create! Ah, as the smallest denomination of imperial currency, don't even count the 4 dinars that equal 1 sorlius, rounding up is about 1.5 million sorlii!

  Otherwise, how can it be said that war is a game for the wealthy?

  Demolish Dionne Street, the most heartbreaking are those noble ladies, but the ones who suffer the greatest loss are still the merchants nearby who rely on this street for their livelihood. I have no way to increase the value of real estate, so I can only let it depreciate first. Without Dionne Street, we will lose a large group of gold owners among the noble ladies! All properties in the surrounding streets will plummet in value. To make up for their losses, merchants will inevitably sell their properties at prices lower than before. So, when I take over during this depreciation and resell after the storm on Dionne Street has passed, I'm sure I'll make a profit!

  It's really despicable to speculate in real estate, it's like taking money from others by force. Even if the targets are foreign businessmen, I still feel guilty about it. I didn't dare to do too much, and the funds available were just a portion of our original savings and some borrowed from my wife, totaling 5-6 million. Now that my Dionysus demolition scam plan has reached this point, it's roughly halfway through. If I sell the properties next year, I'll have solved not only the future problems of those under me but also the expenses for Alexander's army for the next one or two years.

  Starting point welcomes readers to visit, the latest, fastest and most popular serialized works are all on the starting point of original!