"So you're suggesting we create a new publicani run by you and me."
Crassus's eyes narrowed—then gleamed with interest.
"That is correct."
I nodded in response.
In Rome, deals like this weren't unheard of. The publicani were private companies that bid on state contracts—taxes, roads, supplies.
They raised money by selling shares.
But what I was offering Crassus wasn't a one-off contract.
It was something Rome didn't have yet—something permanent.
"I purchase one-third of your business's shares for two million sestertii," Crassus said, tasting the numbers. "And I receive a proportional share of future profits. An interesting publicani indeed."
"It is something that has never existed before."
I nodded.
What I proposed to Crassus was an early form of a limited partnership company.
Publicani usually dissolved after a project ended—so I was proposing a structure that wouldn't.
"To keep the books honest, I can send a representative once a month to check the financial statements. And after six months, I can sell my shares to others. Up to here, it makes sense."
Crassus snapped his fingers once. He was weighing profit and loss in his head.
"But you're retaining management rights. Doesn't that mean I'm the one taking the loss? If your business loses money, I won't be able to recover my investment either."
"I don't think so."
I replied firmly.
The most important thing in this tug-of-war was management rights.
If I did something like joint management with Crassus, it was highly likely that I would be eaten alive.
"I started the insurance business first. Roman citizens think so too."
I raised my tone slightly.
"If I give management rights to you, sir Crassus, Roman citizens will think you forcibly took my business."
In fact, that was proven yesterday.
When it became known that Crassus visited me, hundreds of protesters flocked to Crassus's home.
"Of course, I know you are not someone who would do that. But people jump to conclusions, don't they?"
"I have no choice but to agree with that. But the fact remains that the conditions are too unfavorable for me."
"Then how about this? Support my business with your fire brigade. You will receive the additional profits from that."
"My fire brigade?"
"Yes, we add your fire brigade as part of my insurance product."
As the insurance business succeeded, I was considering establishing a fire brigade.
Providing fire brigade support to insurance subscribers.
Through this, customers could protect their buildings from fire as well as receive fire compensation.
In the 21st century, most countries provided such services through taxes.
But in this era, there was no such concept.
If I provide a fire brigade through insurance, I can make even more money than now.
And citizens will praise the name of Caesar even more.
"People who haven't signed up for insurance can also be charged a reasonable amount later after the fire is extinguished."
"Fine, let's do as you say. Instead, I have two conditions."
Crassus said, snapping his fingers.
"First, citizens must be able to know that the fire brigade belongs to me."
"Agreed. We'll have them wear outfits embroidered with both the Caesar and Crassus crests."
"And this is the final condition."
At Crassus's words, I gulped.
Even though the concept of stocks was unfamiliar in this era, Crassus was a genius at business.
His insight regarding contracts could not be ignored.
"Even if you have management rights, as an investor, I need safeguards."
"Safeguards?"
"If you continue to incur losses due to poor management choices, wouldn't that be a huge loss for me too? If your business incurs a loss instead of a profit for three consecutive years in the annual accounts, hand over the management rights to me then."
He continued in a calm tone.
"At that time, it would be mutually beneficial for me to take over management and for you to receive dividends."
"...."
I immediately recognized the true intention hidden behind Crassus's words.
Simply put, if I slipped up even for a moment, he would swallow the business whole.
"Fine, let's do that."
I responded with a smile.
Even if it was Crassus, there was one thing he didn't know.
That I possessed thousands of years of future knowledge.
Unless the sky falls, I can continue to make a profit.
"In return, I also have one point I would like to add."
"Feel free to speak, my friend"
"I want it specifically stated in the contract that as long as I maintain a profit, you leave management in my hands, sir Crassus."
"Hmm, meaning you want me to help your management as enthusiastically as possible. I can certainly promise that much."
Hearing his answer, I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
Crassus considered publicani and stocks to be the same thing.
The proposal I just made was essentially restricting Crassus's voting rights forever under certain conditions.
Crassus, who essentially only knew publicani as a one-time investment, couldn't notice my intention.
Now, as long as I make a profit, I don't have to hand over management rights to him no matter what happens.
Before long, Crassus will surely beat his chest in regret.
Negotiations continued on minor details after that, but the general framework was already complete.
After what felt like an eternity, Crassus finally stood up and offered me a handshake.
"Lucius, personally, I think you and I can be good friends."
"I feel the same way, sir Crassus."
I grasped his extended hand.
We looked at each other and smiled.
For now, each of us had obtained what we wanted.
Crassus gained not only revenue from my company but also reputation among citizens through the fire brigade, and I gained Crassus's investment funds and his voluntary cooperation.
Watching him leave, I sighed inwardly.
I had managed to cross one big mountain for now.
I'd kill for a cigarette right now. I guess nicotine addiction carries over to the next life.
I'll have to soothe myself with wine for now.
Slumping into the chair, I sighed.
Tobacco was still only in the Americas, so I could only enjoy nicotine in my imagination.
***
"I really don't understand, Pollio."
"Are you talking about the stocks Lucius proposed, Master?"
"Yes, it's amazing that such a young kid came up with such an idea."
Crassus replied, leaning back in his litter.
Just a few days ago, he had tried to threaten Lucius into buying the insurance business.
But instead, he was won over by the boy's eloquence.
Lucius proposed a joint-stock publicani, something he hadn't expected at all.
But there was nothing strange in the contract.
Crassus thought to himself.
There was no loss for Crassus in this contract.
Rather, most of the contract terms seemed favorable to him, not Lucius.
Lucius held management rights for now, but if he failed to make a profit for just a few years, management rights would naturally pass to Crassus.
Even a soaring eagle must fall to the ground at least once.
In a way, Crassus had obtained the insurance business at a much cheaper price than he initially thought.
Moreover, the clauses Lucius requested were mostly moral obligations.
"The fruit isn't ripe yet."
Crassus muttered with a smirk.
"Anyway, the bastard and I are in the same boat now."
Crassus said, looking at Pollio.
It was like a deer clinging to a lion's back that came to eat it.
Now the lion and the deer had to cooperate for survival, whether they liked it or not.
For now, it seemed to be going according to Lucius's will.
But he was the one with experience, capital, and influence.
The bigger the business grew, the higher the chance Lucius would make a wrong choice.
"By the way, how is the elder Caesar doing in Hispania?"
"Are you talking about Lucius's father?"
"Yes. The friend who gave birth to that wolf."
"I heard he recruited legions locally to pacify the outskirts of Hispania. News of victory or defeat should arrive soon."
Hearing that, Crassus sighed deeply.
"The father is an Imperator, a military commander, and the son is a genius businessman. The Caesar family must be blessed by the gods."
He spoke again with a rather serious expression.
"I should put more effort into educating my children from now on. Tell Publius to come to me as soon as we get home."
"Understood, Master."
Pollio replied, bowing his head.
Mixed into the bustling crowd, they gradually disappeared into the streets of Rome.
***
After the issue with Crassus was resolved, the insurance business was on a solid path.
But as always, problems soon revealed themselves.
"We are desperately short of people who can handle numbers, sir."
Babu scratched his head and sighed.
"Since adding the fire brigade to the insurance benefits, subscribers are increasing like a tidal wave. Every time we receive a new insurance subscriber, we have to add a new address."
"It's not an easy task."
It would make less sense if it were easy.
In this era of Rome, the concept of an address did not yet exist.
Thanks to that, we had to create addresses ourselves every time we accepted a new insurance subscriber.
With thousands of registered households, we had effectively created addresses for all of Rome.
"We have no choice but to increase overtime until the new employee training is finished."
Hearing my words, Babu's face turned pale in an instant.
He waved his arms and shouted.
"Sir! I beg you on my knees! Please, no more overtime!"
Babu pleaded with a look of exhaustion.
"It took me three whole days and nights just to study the double-entry bookkeeping you taught me last time!"
"Alright, alright."
Employees feared listening to my 'special education' more than working overtime.
Many people don't know, but double-entry bookkeeping was a concept akin to a revolution in accounting history.
The household ledgers generally used were single-entry bookkeeping, recording only cash inflows and outflows.
Double-entry bookkeeping was a method of recording even the causes of cash transactions in detail using two sides, debit and credit.
The biggest advantage of double-entry bookkeeping was that forgery or errors in the ledger could be quickly detected by comparing debits and credits.
After teaching the basics of Arabic numerals, I immediately applied this double-entry bookkeeping to practical work.
However, the number of employees motivated to learn the new numbers was woefully insufficient.
In the first place, there weren't many talents in this era who could handle both writing and numbers.
It's at the level where we might need to kidnap people from Greece...Wait, Greece.
Maybe we could benefit from the wisdom of the Greeks.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Babu, if the number of employees increases, your workload will decrease too, right?"
"Yes, I suppose so. But there are no talents available right now."
"Then shouldn't we just kidnap, no, recruit more?"
Saying it like this makes me sound like a villain.
A boss telling an employee to find other slave employees if he doesn't want to work more.
"Recruit? How exactly?"
"By using the most appetizing bait we have."
Saying that, I held up a papyrus.
A papyrus filled with Arabic numerals.
"Do you mean the numbers you created, sir?"
"Writing and numbers are like a merchant's weapons. As someone who worked in Egyptian merchant groups, you should know that better than anyone, right?"
An efficient number system.
There's a reason why merchants were the first to adopt Arabic numerals in Europe.
"And right now, we are the only ones with this weapon."
Saying that, I stood up from my seat.
"Let's use this then."