Chapter 49:
The hot sale of essential oils exceeded everyone's expectations. Sardinson County, which few people knew about in the past, became a hot topic in the capital. Many people were thinking that they might be able to talk about cooperation with the young Earl.
How can such a good thing be sold only in the royal capital? In other big cities and the territories of nobles, you can also go to open a store.
If Earl Williams is not available, they can also do it for them. The price is negotiable.
So before the second batch of essential oils was delivered, many people found Zachary, but Zachary was just a store manager, so naturally, he had no way to answer this question, so they could only respectfully go to Sardinson by themselves. Ask the Count.
When everyone heard that this was true, some nobles began to write letters to Felix again, and the low-status merchants naturally organised their caravans to go to Sardinson County.
And these people who are used to doing business will naturally not go there empty-handed. They bring their goods and plan to take them to Sardinson for sale. Although I heard that Sardinson is a poor place, they can still sell more or less. Some things, of course, would be better if the goods could be exchanged for essential oils.
However, because Sardinson County is from the capital, merchants can't just leave when they travel. With this delay, it was already mid-September when the first batch of merchants entered the land of Sardinson County.Before they came, the first group of knights who delivered the goods had already returned with gold coins and news, and even letters from the nobles had arrived in Felix's hands one after another. Although they were very confident about the sales of essential oils, Felix and Wei Wei was still shocked when they heard about the hot sales scene from the knights. Afterwards, the letters requesting cooperation from the nobles of the royal capital also gave Felix a headache. Naturally, it is impossible to cooperate in the essential oil business. In fact, because of the raw materials, when the flowering period is over, their own business in the capital will have to take a winter break. Where there is excess to supply other areas, so don't think about cooperation.
To politely reject them, Felix spent a lot of time writing letters, using all his writing skills for more than 20 years, and then he finished replying to the batch of invitations.
As for the delivery of the letter, the nobles who received the letter knew that the essential oil would soon be out of stock, and they would start a new round of panic buying, which was not his concern.
Sardinson County is Felix's territory. Although there is no big city here, there are foreign populations, and the news of the caravan was sent to him immediately.
This is the caravan that Felix has been waiting for for a long time, and now it has finally arrived. Felix almost didn't send someone directly to invite them to Sardinson Castle as a guest.
But in the end, he held back and told himself that these people had come to him in the first place and were not in a hurry.
After the caravan arrived in Sardinson, they found that it was indeed poorer than they thought. Fortunately, a lot of the goods they brought have been sold on the road. When they arrive in Sardinson, the rest should be able to be consumed.
The owners of the caravan who came this time do a lot of business, mainly spice business, but of course, they will not bring too many expensive spices to Sardinson, but prepare after inquiring about the situation in Sardinson. A batch of salt and a pinch of sugar.
Salt and sugar are popular commodities, the former being supplemented by everyone regularly, and the latter being even used on-the-spot drugs in this day and age, and are expensive.
The salt brought by the caravan has been sold on the road. Although the price of salt at this time is lower than before because of the discovery and mining of salt mines in Eastern Europe, it is still difficult for the lower classes to eat salt, especially for everyone. All need to use salt to preserve meat for the winter, which leads to a relatively large expenditure on salt, so the salt has always been a very popular commodity.
When the caravan arrived in Dingle, after knowing that they were a salt caravan, everyone who heard the news came to buy salt with salt jars, and the quantity was more than the caravan expected.
No way, there are too few foreign merchants here. Although there are salt sellers in the town, the price is much more expensive than the merchant's goods this time, and the quality is poor.
And recently everyone got their first month's salary, and they had some money in their hands. When they saw cheap salt for sale, they couldn't help buying more.
Therefore, the salt brought by the caravan was quickly divided up, and even a lot of sugar was sold.
And the one who bought the most is naturally the lord of Sardinson County, the Earl of Felix.
And through this business, the caravan owner also successfully handed over a letter of the visit to Fort Sardinson.
This was the result Felix wanted, so he agreed to the other party's visit.
The owner of the caravan, Claude Galt, was also born into a noble family, but as the fourth son who did not inherit the family title, he only had the status of a knight, which was not hereditary and was not considered a true noble. His family has a lot of background, and he is quite good in the aristocratic circle, so when facing Felix, he is neither arrogant nor inferior, and it is easy to gain the favour of others.
Claude didn't talk about essential oils as soon as he came up, but instead mentioned the pasta he saw in Dingle.
Dingle Town is so big, the only hotel can't even accommodate caravans, so some people can only use ordinary houses, which makes them well-informed. Even if they don't enquire about it, Claude also knows about the fee. Felix recruits people in town for pasta.
The pasta is to be dried, and the location is not covered. It is right next to the mill and can be seen from a distance. Claude's keen businessman's intuition made him notice this kind of food he has never seen before, just those pasta It is not currently sold, and even the women who make it don't know how it tastes, so Claude can only judge that they should be suitable for long-distance transportation.
Now that he has the opportunity to meet Felix himself, he naturally wants to enquire.
Felix was worried that no one was interested in pasta. Seeing him asking, he happily invited him to have lunch with him.
"This is a new type of food I'm going to sell. As for the taste, you'll know when you taste it."
This time, Felix didn't let other people come over to have it together but served Claude alone. The dishes were also very simple. In addition to pasta, there were meal packs, fried pork chops, fruit salad, and vegetable soup. And pea cakes as an after-dinner snack.
The pasta is Wei Wei's favourite pasta with tomato meat sauce. After the tomatoes are ripe, she boils the tomatoes into tomato sauce. The tomato sauce with enough salt can be stored for a long time. The meat sauce is also cooked by herself. , Now the chefs want to make pasta as long as they cook the noodles, then mix the two sauces with the fried onions, and the simple and delicious pasta is ready. And these two sauces are also very popular. Chef Bob is trying to develop their usage. Whether it is coating bread or cooking, he likes to add them. The people in the castle also like the taste of ketchup and meat sauce very much. No tired thoughts. For those who need to work overtime in private, Felix has used this with bread as a late-night snack for himself. If he hadn't found time to exercise every day, the recent increase was not muscle weight, but fat. Although this meal is simple, it is the most comfortable meal Claude has eaten. Every dish is very simple, and there are not too many spices added, but the taste is good. He wants to swallow his tongue. He dared to swear that even before his father died, he was still the favoured third son of the Earl's family, and he had never eaten such delicious food when he was taken to the palace by his mother for a dinner party! He couldn't stop eating, and he couldn't talk to Felix until he ate all the food that belonged to him, not even a bit of soup was left, and his stomach was like a woman who was about to give birth. Unable to move, he leaned on the chair contentedly. When Felix's gaze came over from the side, he remembered where he was, and quickly sat upright with difficulty, showing an apologetic smile: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry to let you see such a rude scene." Felix, who was also suffering because of the food Wei Wei made, understood him very well, but now he just held his head high and said he didn't mind. Claude breathed a sigh of relief. It was very impolite to put down the tableware earlier than the master. Fortunately, the other party did not show bad emotions about it.
After lunch, Claude became more interested in pasta, but he did not forget his purpose in coming to Sardinson and finally turned the topic to the essential oils that have recently swept the entire royal capital circle.
And then naturally put forward the intention of wanting to cooperate.
"I understand what you mean. A lot of people have written to me recently asking for cooperation." Felix raised his hand to stop his speech: "But the production of essential oils cannot be improved."
Claude listened intently to gestures, waiting for him to continue.
"I think there are many people who have studied the composition of essential oils and want to know their secrets."
This is indeed true. Many people do this. Before seeking cooperation, they prefer to crack the essential oil. secret, and then make a fortune on your own.
The shrewd businessman Claude is no exception.
But everyone only found that the oil in the essential oil should be the best olive oil, and its fragrance should come from flowers.
Everyone thinks that essential oils are too complicated. No one thinks that these kinds of beauty and skincare products, and even products with certain medicinal effects, are only flowers and oils. They feel that they have not found that their research is not thorough enough.
"The production of essential oils requires a lot of flowers as one of the raw materials, and Sardinson is not a place rich in flowers, so the production of essential oils cannot be increased, and even after the winter, the production of essential oils will stop, which is impossible."
He put the facts in front of him to dissuade the other party from cooperating.
Unexpectedly, Claude asked him: "Do you have to have fresh flowers? Is it okay to dry flowers?"
Felix knew that he had seen Wei Wei dry the flowers in the shade before soaking the essential oil, so that they did not leave a trace of moisture, see also After she used the dried lavender flowers directly, she nodded and said yes.
Claude smiled confidently: "Then if I can provide you with enough dried flowers, I wonder if the business of this essential oil can be discussed?"
Felix was a little surprised but soon came to his senses.
Of course, Felix knew about Claude.
This businessman is also quite well-known in the capital. His business is very complicated, mainly focusing on spices, but he also sells gems, fabrics and cosmetics, which are related to women. He has a wide network of contacts and a good reputation. Pursuing interests, but not a black-hearted businessman.
If he didn't know him, Felix wouldn't want to talk to him about the pasta business so easily, but he was unexpectedly happy.
With Claude's contacts and business scope, he does have the strength to collect enough dried flowers.
"If you can do it, I can consider it, but I have to remind you that not all flowers can be used as raw materials."
"Then please make a list for me, and I will collect it for you according to the above requirements. Flowers."
Felix smiled: "Of course, but before that, I think we can talk about the price."
Claude: "Of course."
Felix is not yet a qualified businessman Before Lauder said it, although he thought about growing flowers by himself, he never thought about buying raw materials from other places. After all, flowers are not difficult to store for so long, and dried flowers were completely ignored by him (obviously, there are more than people who ignore this point.).
So he didn't know the market price of dried flowers.
But he doesn't know, but it doesn't mean that he will be fooled. He even believes that if Claude, who is seeking cooperation, is smart enough, he will not fool him at this time.
Claude really won't. The price he gave is 30% lower than the market price. Although this price is not the lowest, Claude doesn't make much money here.
And at this price, Felix thinks it is acceptable.
As a shrewd businessman, Claude also said that he could provide him with olive oil.
"The guarantee is of the highest quality, and the price is also negotiable."
Felix didn't accept it this time. He just regretted that he already had a supplier of olive oil, and the other party was her mother's family.
"But we can talk about the pasta business. I think you will be interested in this."
Claude was interested. He not only asked about the preservation time of pasta but also specifically asked about the use of pasta when making pasta. Are those ingredients in the deal also?
He was talking about ketchup and meat sauce in pasta.
"If this sauce can be stored for a long time, I think they can be sold together."
Felix himself loves tomato sauce and meat sauce with bread for breakfast and supper and naturally knows that they can be stored for a long time. Yes, but the amount of tomatoes is very small, I can't eat enough for myself, and exporting is impossible,
but the operability of the meat sauce is much greater.
"I need to think about this."
He needed to ask Wei Wei's opinion before answering.
So he invited Claude to stay in the castle temporarily, and the latter stayed happily while looking forward to the evening meal.
At the end of the conversation, don't ask anyone, Felix knows where Wei Wei will be at this time.
In Dolores' classroom, ten maids surrounded the two mistresses, sitting together while knitting sweaters and talking.
Their craftsmanship has been practised. After their proficiency has risen, the speed of knitting sweaters is much faster. Although it is not like Wei Wei can knit a sweater without looking at the whole process, it is no problem to do two things.
A month is enough for them to learn and have to use a sweater, and even the fast people have even knitted sweater pants.
Wei Wei is the type of person with super-fast hands, so although she doesn't sit here everyday knitting wool, she knits two sweaters faster than others, one is from Felix and the other is from Felix. It was something she was going to wear herself, and she was knitting wool pants, and by the way, discussed with Dolores what she wanted.
Penny has been working with the gardener's children to make paper these days. Wei Wei is behind to give advice. They made the straw paper a long time ago, and recently they have made paper similar to rice paper, although the colour is still relatively yellow. It is white, and the paper is too thin to write with a quill pen, but you can draw and write on it with a charcoal strip wrapped in cloth. Wei Wei rewarded Penny with two silver coins for this, and the children also received one silver coin each, so recently they are actively challenged to make paper that can be written with a quill pen in good colour. The paper that was successfully produced was taken away by Wei Wei for her use. With them, Wei Wei cut out a picture book, equipped with a charcoal pen cut with a charcoal strip, and took it out to write and draw when needed. Much more convenient than before.What she shows Dolores now is all kinds of simple and good-looking woollen hats, including the most common knitted hats without any decoration, as well as those with fur ball decorations, as well as berets, fisherman hats, and newsboy hats. Similar styles, in short, she drew all the styles she knew and could probably make. There are so many dazzling varieties. At this time, women can't show their hair when they go out, so it is necessary to wrap a headscarf. Although there is no need to comply with this when attending a banquet, some people are also used to wearing a round cake-style headgear, which is also a kind of hat style. But compared to Wei Wei's paintings, the round cake hat is weak. Dolores took a long time to choose a style with hairballs on the top of her head and two braids on both sides of the ears with hairballs hanging under them. She even asked coquettishly if it could be made of pink."I like pink."Of course."
This hat is not difficult to make, and it is much simpler than knitting a sweater, because most of the yarn can be made with a much thicker thread than ordinary yarn, and to keep the hat loose, it uses a different needle. Like Wei Wei's way of being lazy, she uses thread thicker than her fingers to knit the hat. Because the thread is thick, the number of laps that need to be knitted is much less, the speed is fast, and it can even be done in one or two hours.
Of course, this kind of thick wool is specially processed, and the tools used are also two small round wooden sticks with a length of ten centimetres about the same thickness as the thread, with a thick middle and sharp ends like a spinning cone. One end of the wooden stick is drilled. , with a ring needle made of copper wire fixed in the middle.
When Felix came over, Wei Wei had already knitted the outline of the pink woollen hat in less than half an hour, and only a part was left to finish.
Seeing Felix coming, she put down her hat and stepped out of the crowd.
"What's the matter?" Didn't it mean that this person was discussing business with a businessman from the capital?
Leaving the room, Felix told Wei Wei that Claude also wanted to do the sauce business.
Wei Wei was a little happy: "This can also be made into a special product."
Because the meat sauce she made before had no soy sauce for colouring, and no cooking wine to use, she used beer instead. The taste and color were still lacking, but the shelf life was still there. It's very long, and it's really no problem to sell it with pasta.
Moreover, there is a lot of livestock in Sardinson, whether it is lamb, beef, pork or even horse meat, which can be used to make meat sauce, which is much more profitable than selling livestock alone.
That is, if a lot of production is required, it is necessary to recruit people and build suitable workshops.
And these are not things that can be done in a day or two.
Felix is also very aware of this. He recently recruited people to build a suitable site for pasta, and he has been able to figure out the approximate construction period: "I'm afraid it will take half a month to prepare at the earliest, I mean when there are sufficient staff Down."
But he worries about the sauce recipe leaking.
This is not the same as pasta. Pasta was originally intended to let people in Sardinson know how to make it. A market is so big that even if others learn it, they don't have to worry that their output will not be sold.
But the meat sauce is different. The meat sauce has a short shelf life. Because a lot of seasonings are needed to make it, ordinary people must not be able to buy it, so only nobles and wealthy merchants can buy it. , the market in this segment is relatively small. If the recipe is learned, and someone develops a better meat sauce, maybe the business will not continue.
"Then split the production process into production lines, and let some people be responsible for cutting the meat, some for seasoning, and some for cooking, as finely divided as possible. The recipe of the seasoning is the key, and it can be done in advance. After you have prepared it, you can hand it over to the cook. How much ingredients you add and when you add them are all very important. The taste is almost different. You can let your confidant take charge of this piece, as long as the recipe of the seasoning is not cracked. , then the possibility of other people trying to make the exact same meat sauce is still very small."
After that, she thought that she could also make seasonings such as soy sauce cooking wine, if she could make it, then just sell it These are also very profitable.
——Why do you seem to have more and more things to do?
Felix nodded and talked about the dried flowers again.
Wei Wei patted his forehead: "Why didn't I remember, you wait, I'll make a list for you now."
"It's not urgent, I invited Claude to stay in the castle temporarily, you can first I'llwrite when I'm busy with other things."
"I don't have anything else to do right now." She seemed to be doing nothing but teaching people how to knit sweaters.
"Really no more? Think again?" Felix prompted him.
what else?Wei Wei couldn't think of it.
Seeing that she really didn't remember it, Felix's face showed a trace of sorrow: "Didn't you say you want to knit me a sweater?"
Dolores is knitting hats now, why hasn't his sweater been seen yet?
Wei Wei froze for a while before laughing: "It's already knitted, but I originally wanted to give it to you when the sweater pants are ready, but the weather hasn't gotten cold yet, I'll wait until I'm finished knitting. I'm not in a hurry for you."
Felix's dissatisfaction disappeared immediately when he heard that there were not only clothes but also pants, but he was still a little concerned: "Then you wouldn't knit for Dolores, would you?"
"Of course, She can make it herself, so I'll just make her a hat."
Felix immediately said, "Then I want a hat too."
Wei Wei jokingly said, "A lady's hat?"
Felix: ...