Chapter 292 - Tied Interests

"For this batch of black wine, I’ll trade half with the Monastery of the Hammer of Justice. I don’t want Gold Coins, I want an equivalent in grain—wheat, rye, barley, soybeans, corn, all are acceptable," Gaven began to show his cunning fox’s tail.When he went to Battle Valley to pioneer new lands, he also had an important task, which was to stockpile grain—massively, madly stockpile grain.

I was worrying about not having a good way to do it when Mr. Darnell delivered himself to my doorstep.

All monasteries and churches are often the actual owners of the surrounding land and the biggest granaries.

In terms of security, monasteries often have their own military protection. Without the support of an Evil God, ordinary evil forces would not dare attack a monastery and risk blasphemous repercussions.

Grain is an excellent way to control and recruit more followers. Some devout followers often convert from refugees who come seeking grain.

Beyond the monastery’s own farmed land, some peasants will cultivate fields near the monastery for protection.

These tenant farmers are often followers of the monastery; to express gratitude for their faith and protection, they donate a portion of their grain to the monastery each year.

Among them, the monasteries of Mother Earth Shontia set a fine example in this aspect.

The Monastery of the Hammer of Justice, being a monastery of Tyr, is certainly strong enough to be considered the biggest granary near the Dun Hills and Rocklands of Taser Valley.

Mr. Darnell’s reaction confirmed this; upon hearing that Gaven wanted grain worth a hundred thousand Gold Coins, he didn’t even furrow his brow. Instead, he wondered about Gaven’s purpose, "What do you need so much grain for? Could it be that you’re thinking of expanding the manor’s new business? Distilling grain alcohol?

If that’s the case, I would advise you to give up. Though both are types of alcohol, the processes for wine and grain alcohol are completely different.

Besides, you don’t have the advantage, at least not against us, the Monastery of the Hammer of Justice, with our craft passed down through hundreds of years. Without a decade, you can’t catch up, let alone the fact that relying on purchased grain for brewing would immediately raise your costs," he said.

Mr. Darnell instinctively associated the business with the manor’s distillery.

After all, grain worth a hundred thousand Gold Coins is not a small sum; it’s enough to feed an army of ten thousand for three months.

The Weizemay Manor presently is only a few people strong, and even if Gaven madly recruited soldiers and horses, in a year there would only be a hundred or so people. With so much grain, if it’s not used for brewing, it would just sit here, depreciating and rotting.

Gaven revealed a mysterious smile and said, "What I do with it is none of your concern, Mr. Darnell. You just consider whether you want to do this deal or not. As for the black wine and grain transportation, you won’t have to worry; I’ll take care of that."

His frantic stockpiling of grain was certainly not just for the needs of the Rocklands.

He was also preparing for the war that was to come at the end of the year.

As the saying goes, before the troops move, the fodder goes first.

Especially when the army assembles, the fodder will play a crucial role.

Before the Tukan Army arrives, the grain prices throughout the Valley are very low.

But once the Tukan’s tens of thousands arrive, particularly when Yasan III’s expeditionary conscription is issued, the price of grain will skyrocket, saying it changes thrice daily is no exaggeration. In just a few short months, they can increase by seven or eight times.

Stockpiling grain is definitely a sure-win deal.

Gaven was thinking bigger; he not only wanted to stockpile a lot of grain but also to transport this grain to the front lines at the most tense, critical moments. That way, he could maximize his profits. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

Hearing Gaven speak like this, Mr. Darnell’s eyes involuntarily narrowed and he couldn’t help but reassess the young man before him. Although Gaven had not spelled it out, the implication was very clear: he was not a lone Adventurer with no background, but someone with significant status. Otherwise, he wouldn’t dare boast about transporting such a tremendous quantity of grain.

Such a large quantity of grain on the road would have to worry about much more than just transport capacity; security would also be a big concern.

Many evil forces would be interested in such a large shipment of grain.

As Gaven didn’t address the issue directly, it was obviously not something to be further pursued.

Mr. Darnell weighed his options and said, "If Mr. Gaven has the capability, then naturally I have no reason to object. Even if you want to exchange all your stock for grain, there’s no problem."

"I’ve just said, if you were to take all the inventory, it would be a loss for you," Gaven said with a smile, throwing out the second part of the deal. "If the Monastery of the Hammer of Justice still needs black wine in future, you just have to place an order each year. The trade can all be done with grain at an equivalent value."

Mr. Darnell sprang to his feet, his eyes sparkling as he stared at Gaven, "Do you mean to say that Weizemay Manor will be able to produce black wine in bulk in the future?"

A product that formed spontaneously and cannot be replicated is one thing.

Being able to produce it in bulk annually is quite another.

The difference in meaning and price is as vast as heaven and earth.

If that were indeed the case, it wouldn’t make sense to buy out this batch of black wine completely. Rather, it should not be hoarded but sold immediately as individual pieces. Otherwise, when the new stock hits the market, the price will greatly diminish.

Gaven nodded, "I may not dare guarantee a quality that surpasses or equals this batch, but producing black wine should not be too big a problem."

This black wine simply took a trip through the Shadow Plane, absorbing pure negative energy.

For other distilleries, this might present a considerable challenge, since not everyone can enter or exit the Shadow Plane at will.

But for Weizemay Manor, it was a piece of cake as they had the capability to freely enter and exit the Shadow Plane.

If the finished wine could absorb negative energy and undergo such a transformation...

Gaven was curious, if the entire wine fermentation process took place in the Shadow Plane, what kind of marvelous chemical reactions would occur?

But before officially testing it out, he dared not make any definitive claims.

Gaven added, "I’d like to ask you all to keep this matter confidential, at least until the new batch is on the market."

The emphasis is to fear that the three Holy Warriors are too honest and won’t be able to maximize the value of this batch of black wine.

"Keeping it a secret is no problem," said Regina, not Darnell, her face twinkling with cunning. She smiled and said, "However, compared to Mr. Gaven, I have a better proposal."

Just by the smile on her face, Gaven knew what she wanted to do.

She certainly wanted a slice of the black wine trade.

Gaven had no intention of refusing; he believed more in binding interests rather than empty promises, and showing an interested expression, he said, "Miss Regina has a good proposal, let’s hear it."

"This batch of black wine will have a base price of two hundred thousand, divided into three parts, Mr. Gaven, myself, and Mr. Darnell, each taking a share. Of course, I won’t take advantage of Mr. Gaven for nothing—I’ll be responsible for advertising and promoting the black wine, making its fame echo through the Valley, throughout Sambia, and even throughout the entire Giant Dragon Coast. What do you think?" Regina laid out her plan.

She was very clear about her advantage and entered the partnership based on that.

"This is good, this proposal is excellent," said Gaven with twinkling eyes, unable to refrain from repeating himself: "This proposal truly represents a win-win cooperation. I wonder what Mr. Darnell thinks?"

Regina’s proposal was essentially the most basic form of advertising marketing.

Put simply, it was about creating hype.

Pricing for this unique black wine, especially as a new product on the market, is a very fluid issue.

If you set the price at twenty Gold Coins a bottle and no one acknowledges it or buys it, it’s useless.

If the price is set at one hundred Gold Coins a bottle and buyers are clamoring for it, then you’ve got real talent.

Good wine needs no bush.

That’s true for old brands that require time to mature.

They needed to offload this batch of black wine before the new release, turning it into actual profit.

That called for professional flattery.

Among the three parties, Regina was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.

Her professional abilities matched, her influence was sufficient, and most importantly, she was resourceful.

Coming up with such an innovative method of collaboration in such a short time, she had an exceptional business mind.

You have to remember, she didn’t have the experience of another world to draw on, and this method was pioneering in Felen.

Compared to her, Gaven was not just a little bit behind in this area, even with the advantage of hindsight, he only realized the benefits after she proposed them.

Entrusting the marketing to her was definitely reassuring.

Darnell almost didn’t even think about it and immediately nodded, saying, "I have no objections."

Not to mention comparing to Regina, even compared to Gaven, he was clearly not as adept in business.

His initial suggestion to take all the black wine himself was not because he had an extraordinary business vision but simply because he thought that the black wine was very useful for the cultivation of Holy Warriors, hence his idea of buying it all for their own use.

But with Weizemay Manor now able to produce black wine, the nature of the matter had changed.

It became a sale, a transaction, and continuing to let him handle it would be asking too much of him.

It was better to part with some of the profits and follow Regina and Gaven for an easy win.

Enthusiastic, Gaven said, "If you two are interested, our cooperation need not be limited to just this batch of black wine. In the future, all the wines produced by Weizemay Manor can adopt this model of cooperation, with shares unchanged."

This approach might seem like a loss at first, generously giving away most of one’s profit, but Gaven, with his successful experience in the Rocklands, knew that the potential benefits were immense.

Their vested interests would prompt them to treat this venture as their own; that was one reason.

Another was the web of interest and influence behind them, which he could use for his own purposes.

There’s no need to say much about Regina—not to mention her influence in Battle Valley, but simply the talent she had shown in advertising marketing was worth the price.

The Monastery of Just Hammer, which Darnell represented, was a symbol of fairness and justice. If they endorsed the wine, it would immediately be branded with labels of fairness and justice, and these attributes were naturally more attractive to people seeking refuge.

Collaborating with such paladin organizations meant that as long as you didn’t irredeemably race down a path of evil, they were unlikely to scheme against you from behind.

Most importantly, the distance between the two parties was close enough that there would be many occasions to leverage their relationship in the future.

"Then it’s settled," Regina said without hesitation; even justice work required financial support.

With this steady income, she would be more confident and persuasive in getting more elves, half-elves, and good-hearted people to join her cause.

Darnell didn’t have such a thick skin and was a bit embarrassed to say, "It doesn’t seem right for us to take a third of the profits for doing nothing."

"Whether it’s appropriate is not for you to say, but for me to decide. We will have many more occasions to rely on you in the future," Gaven said with a smile. "One thing to agree on in advance: I don’t care whether the share of the black wine that we give you is sold or used for yourselves, but I hope both parties will pay the principal with food, whether it’s old grain or new grain."

Anyhow, Gaven planned to carry on with his grain stockpiling endeavor.

Even without the war this year, he would need more grain in the future, and even if he tirelessly cleared new lands, the deficit would still be significant.

This was another reason he valued the Monastery of the Hammer of Justice: to secure a stable supply of food for himself first.