It was like an explosion had just gone off in Steward Warren's head, causing him to fall into a daze for a moment before he dashed off to his carriage and began rummaging through it. Seconds later, he returned with a palm-sized plate inlaid with a number of crystals.
Taking a scoop out of one of the barrels, Steward Warren poured the spoonful of sugar onto the plate and waited with bated breath.
One of the crystals on the plate immediately lit up and its glow increased in intensity for the next 30 seconds. Shortly after, a second crystal lit up, and it too became brighter and brighter until about 20 seconds later, it stopped.
Seeing this, Steward Warren's eyes became bloodshot as his breathing quickened. At this point, he didn't care if anyone else saw his frantic state, he was too busy marveling at the sight before him.
Peeling his eyes away from the plate, Warren swept his gaze over the 12 barrels of sugar before him several times, then burst into a raucous laughter, his voice so loud it nearly filled the entire Town Square, drawing attention from many, many people.
It took several minutes for Steward Warren to regain his composure, at which point he turned to Sasha and declared, "150 Gold per barrel! And if you are willing to hand over the production method for this sugar, I can represent the Rising Sun Merchant Guild and offer you a price of 100,000 Low-Rank Spirit Crystals!"
This time, it was Sasha's turn to be shocked.
The price per barrel Steward Warren was offering far exceeded what any of them had been expecting, to say nothing of the astronomical buyout offer he had made.
Technically, 100,000 Low-Rank Spirit Crystals was the equivalent of 1 million Gold Coins, but in practice, it was worth at least 1.2 million Gold as Spirit Crystals had far more utility than mere coins, making the exchange rate quite a bit higher.
Such a sum of money quite possibly exceeded the value of Redwood Town itself!
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that with 100,000 Low-Rank Spirit Crystals, one could live a lavish life in the royal capital for a few generations without ever working again.
Faced with such a tempting offer, Sasha nearly agreed on the spot, and it was only the fact that she was not the real owner of this sugar making technique that stopped her from doing so.
Even so, she couldn't help shooting a subtle glance over at Lucas, silently asking him for his opinion.
Lucas was no less shocked than his aunt, never having anticipated being offered such an enormous amount of money all at once; however, he quickly settled down and thought it out carefully before shaking his head stealthily.
While it was true he could earn a huge amount of capital right away, compared to the long-term profits he could make by building up a sugar business on his own, it was actually just a drop in the bucket.
Currently, it cost Lucas about 3 Silver in total to make 1 kg of sugar, and he had packaged 10 kg of sugar into each small barrel.
The barrel itself also cost 5 Silvers, as it was specially made from a type of Mortal Grade Tier 2 wood in order to ensure the sugar didn't lose any of the World Qi which was stored within it, a common practice for higher Tier ingredients. Lucas wasn't certain this was necessary, but he figured that spending a bit more on packaging to be on the safe-side wouldn't hurt.
This meant, in total, the cost of a 10 kg barrel of sugar was 3 Gold, 5 Silver. Steward Warren had just offered up a price of 150 Gold per barrel, meaning the profit margin for Lucas' sugar was over 4,000%!
If Lucas sold the production method now, he would get 100,000 Low-Rank Spirit Crystals up-front, but that would be the end of it. On the other hand, if he continued to hire more workers, harvest from more lych trees, and further streamline his production methods, within just a couple of years, he would be able to make that much money on his own.
Perhaps if he had an immediate need for a large amount of cash, Lucas would have seriously considered making this sale; but right now, there was no project he could think of that would come remotely close to requiring so much money.
The better option here was obvious.
Lucas needed to establish a relationship of mutual interest with the Rising Sun Merchant Guild, but while protecting his own source of income.
When Sasha saw Lucas shaking his head, she didn't understand at first, but after forcing herself to calm down and think it through rationally, she realized she was being impulsive.
Lucas is right, both we and Redwood Town have much more to gain from holding onto this secret rather than selling it outright, Sasha quickly concluded.
She had to admit, Steward Warren was a cunning businessman. Even if he seemed to be overwhelmed and acting on impulse, this merchant had thrown out a large enough bait to tempt her into overlooking the future prospects of this sugar business without the slightest pause.
Taking a deep breath, Sasha flashed a light smile and shook her head, "150 Gold a barrel is a very fair price, Steward Warren. I won't haggle with you over it any further."
Hearing this, Warren couldn't help revealing a look of disappointment and grumbled to himself, thinking he had made too low a buyout offer.
100,000 Low-Rank Spirit Crystals might seem like a lot, and it was, but that paled in comparison to the profits which were possible if he had obtained this new sugar production method. After all, the Rockwell Kingdom imported roughly 1 million Low-Rank Spirit Crystals worth of sugar from the Darr Kingdom each year!
If Warren had brought a new sugar production method back to the Rising Sun Merchant Guild, allowing it to corner the market in the Rockwell Kingdom, being promoted from a Low-Rank Steward directly to a High-Rank Steward was basically guaranteed. A High-Rank Steward was basically in charge of the Guild's operations for an entire Province and was paid over 10 times as much.
Going one step further, if this method could be introduced on a large-scale, allowing the Rockwell Kingdom to become a net sugar exporter, being promoted to a manager's position wasn't impossible.
Managers supervised entire kingdoms and could receive direct support from the Guild in the form of rare cultivation resources and techniques, as well as opportunities to travel to the Main Headquarters in the Empire.
The cultivation environment in the Rising Sun Empire was the best on the Blue Sky Continent, and as long as one's Innate Talent wasn't trash, with enough resources, becoming a Spirit Initiate with a 300 plus year lifespan was completely achievable.
Missing out on such an opportunity naturally irked Warren and caused his mood to sour, but a cool breeze blew past him at that moment, causing him to shiver and school his expression, reverting back to his usual business smile as he nodded, "Good, good! 150 Gold is a small price to pay for such high-quality sugar. I only wish there was more of this wondrous product…"
Understanding what Steward Warren was implying, Sasha wryly shook her head and said, "Unfortunately, we only discovered the method by accident and weren't able to produce much sugar this year."
Warren's disappointment was palpable, but that was also the reaction Sasha was looking for as she continued, "However, now that we understand how to make sugar in Redwood Town, we will definitely expand production going forward. As long as we have enough capital, harvesting 100 times as much sugar over the next year shouldn't be an issue."
"Let's speak directly, Lady Sasha," Warren said, his eyes flashing with a profound light, "What are your conditions for signing an exclusive contract with my Rising Sun Merchant Guild for the purchase and distribution of this sugar."
This time, Sasha didn't have too many requests to make; after all, according to Lucas, sugar production would only begin in the late fall at the soonest. Right now, it was more important to secure a mutually beneficial deal with Steward Warren than to try to press for more advantages.
Of course, there were some issues that couldn't be compromised on, and that had to be spelled out clearly.
"There are only 2 specific conditions which Redwood Town demands," Sasha stated firmly, "Firstly, when re-selling this sugar, you should do so under the label 'Maple Sugar'."
"Maple Sugar?" Warren was immediately confused, never having heard of this name before.
Grinning meaningfully, Sasha didn't try to explain herself and simple continued, "Secondly, you must agree to not disclose the source of Maple Sugar to any of your clients without permission from myself or a representative I designate."
To this condition, Steward Warren nodded without any hesitation. This was a fairly standard request which was made when dealing with expensive products, so he had no issue agreeing to it. As for Sasha brushing off his inquiry about the term 'Maple', it didn't matter much to Warren, so he decided to let it slide.
With everything having been settled, Sasha silently breathed a sigh of relief before she proceeded to exchange the soap and sugar for the agreed payment.
A quarter hour later, Warren, Sasha, Lucas, Gabe, and Rebecca were all smiles.
For the Rising Sun Merchant Guild Steward, he had secured some exquisite goods and 2 extremely lucrative contracts, while the group from Redwood Town had gained just over 1,000 Gold Coins worth of cash and materials.
Now, the items which had been sold today by Lucas and Sasha were worth much more than 1,000 Gold, but instead of just receiving cash, Sasha had put in a lot of orders for other goods which Steward Warren had promised to deliver when the caravan returned next month.
Even so, this was a massive transaction that was very rarely seen in this kind of remote settlement, so it brought great joy to Sasha as the local Town Lady. Once this money began circulating into Redwood Town, it would surely bring about some noticeable improvements to the local economy.
As for Lucas, this amount of Gold was enough to allow him to dramatically expand his production of soap, as well as implement a number of quality-of-life improvements he had been meaning to tackle for some time now. The prospect of installing things like a proper bath and toilet were already causing a goofy grin to appear on the boy's face.
For Gabe and Rebecca, they were simply overwhelmed and overjoyed.
Less than a month ago, they were labourers scraping by on the lowest of wages, just trying to make it through the next day without going hungry. Today, they had taken part in a real business negotiation for unique goods they helped to produce. Not only was this a thrilling experience, their new boss, Lucas, had promised to pay them a generous bonus after each major sale when he hired them!
The only person present in this small gathering who didn't show any change in expression was Farah. In fact, the whole time, the middle-aged butcher aunty had just stood there with her eyes closed, as if she was a statue. It was only after all the goods were exchanged and everything was packed up that Farah opened her eyes, nodded to Sasha and Lucas, then headed back to her shop.
From beginning to end, she never said a word, making many wonder just why she had bothered to appear at all.
Once Farah left, Sasha gave a final polite farewell to Steward Warren before leading led Lucas, Gabe, and Rebecca out of the Central Square and back towards the Town Lord's Manor.
…..
A few hours later, after the initial hustle and bustle of the caravan's arrival had settled, Steward Warren was resting in his room in the best local inn, reviewing a report on this morning's transactions, a satisfied expression filling his face.
Just as the middle-aged merchant was finishing up, one of his young subordinates knocked on his door and entered with a slightly confused look. Clearly, this youth wanted to ask something, but he was hesitating for some reason.
Setting down the papers he was reading, Steward Warren took the initiative to speak, "Let me guess, you want to know why I was so accommodating with the local Town Lady, yes?"