Chapter 421

Chapter 421: Return to Hope Lane Again

The sea ebbed and flowed, and the ships swayed gently with the waves. By the coast under the flowing clouds and blue sky, this city embraced the sea like a crescent moon. Ships with sails were docked inside, their long masts standing like a forest.

From the harbor to the main street within the city, carriages were constantly coming and going, transporting various goods and raw materials, much like the main arteries of the human body.

Hope Lane, this commercial city was more prosperous than ever before. Free from internal strife and no longer under Yubaire’s control, it gradually became the absolute center of New Vergha. Here, goods from all over the Snow Flower Seven Kingdoms’ inland regions were received and then sent south to the archipelago or eastward, offering many choices, more free than ever before.

Nowadays, the busiest areas in the city were vaguely divided into three circles: one was the Carites Chamber of Commerce headquarters at the city center, another was the new New Vergha Business Federation on the eastern side of the city, and the third was the Helis family’s long-established large chamber of commerce on the western side of the city.

Following the gray-white stone brick street in the center, a cluster of buildings surrounded by white walls appeared before the eyes. The tiles and tops of the halls and towers here were purple, and the walls were painted with clean white lime, giving an elegant and bright appearance.

Beyond the somewhat bustling courtyard and main building, on the third floor of a hall in the back courtyard of the chamber of commerce.

In the large dining hall, there was a long table, but now only one girl sat beside it.

“Chelsea sister, there’s no need to be so extravagant, is there?”

Lacy looked at the various delicacies laid out on the white cloth-covered table, feeling she definitely couldn’t finish them all. Chelsea had never been this wasteful before.

“The young lady should eat what she likes. You rarely come back, who knows when you’ll leave again. How can we let you suffer by eating something you don’t like?” Chelsea stood next to the girl, saying seriously.

“Alright, but I really can’t eat much. Let the maids cover the rest, I won’t touch them.”

The girl picked out three items she liked and had the maids take the rest away. In the vast dining hall, only the young lady and the maids remained.

“How have you been, Chelsea sister?” The girl looked up at the head maid.

“Thank you for your concern, Miss. I’m doing well for now.” Chelsea pushed her glasses up, standing upright with a neat and tidy demeanor.

Lacy looked at the head maid in front of her, thinking somewhat impolitely about how old she was.

She should be around the same age as Angus and Jerlink, reportedly they met at a bar that Angus frequented when he was younger. At that time, she was a server, probably around 20 years old. After several more years, that would make the head maid around 40 years old.

However, she looked like she was in her early 30s, likely due to good care and some extraordinary abilities.

For now, putting aside these extraneous matters, after Lacy finished lunch, Chelsea had the other maids clean the table and brought a teapot and cups, serving tea to the young lady. Thus, the two slowly discussed the current state and development of the chamber of commerce.

“Thanks to the defeat and absorption of three major chambers of commerce before, the assets of Carites have increased nearly twofold compared to before.”

“Of course, this is also inseparable from the establishment of New Vergha. Since the Carites Chamber of Commerce currently holds a dominant position in the alliance, many things are handled more smoothly, with less resistance, allowing us to seize many opportunities.”

Chelsea introduced the current prosperity and development process of the chamber of commerce.

Previously, the Nisos family’s liquor market was jointly divided by Carites and Helis families. The markets for perfumes, flowers, and jewelry previously held by the Anemyi family were taken over by several new chambers of commerce, each specializing in different fields, with competition not yet being too intense.

As for the arms industry of the Tisiphone family, it is now managed by the Business Federation, with everyone overseeing it together. Its output and income will be used to maintain stability within the alliance and defend against external enemies.

“Currently, what are our main sources of income for Carites?” Lacy picked up the tea which was no longer scalding and took a small sip.

“It is still shipbuilding, followed closely by liquor and textile businesses. Then there is the super market proposed by the young lady before.”

“According to your previous instructions, we only handle the venue and storefronts, while the goods and merchandise are handled by other chambers of commerce. Therefore, our share of the revenue is not large.”

“Mmm, that’s how it is now, but our goal is to build this platform, rather than just a specific product,” Lacy nodded.

“Later on, we must continue to develop logistics and stations across the regions, ensuring that the super markets in various branches can offer affordable and comprehensive products, with a consistent style.”

“So that when people need to buy something, they think of coming to our store first.”

Seeing Chelsea’s puzzled look, the girl added, “Although this industry currently has small profits, it is very stable. Moreover, the expanded transportation and logistics are the most crucial part.”

“After this system matures, we can transport raw materials from anywhere and send goods to every place. At the same time, we will also have the capital to negotiate prices with other suppliers.”

“What if other chambers of commerce want to imitate us?” Chelsea asked. In this era, there were no patents.

“It’s not easy to learn from us,” Lacy said playfully.

“Firstly, the variety of goods. It’s not easy to unite many chambers of commerce, and we have countermeasures. Secondly, the initial large investment. If the market was blank, it would be fine, but with us as a precedent, anyone trying to seize the market from us would need to invest more, change existing consumption habits, ensure sufficient profits to recoup costs, and guard against our continued competition.”

Perhaps it was the experience of illness that made one a doctor; the more one suffered, the more they researched it, understanding it deeply. The girl couldn’t help but think this way.

Even if it wasn’t her, any young person from a new century would probably think of these points. There was no other reason; it was simply due to having experienced too much. The history of development was the story of giants making money.

Monopolizing platforms and channels was always the most powerful and profitable method. This had nothing to do with good or evil; it was merely a law of development.

The true distinction between good and bad lies in whether you truly provide trustworthy and valuable products. Meanwhile, the ultimate question is where such massive wealth ultimately ends up.

At the beginning of industrialization, the launch of each project was like a giant mouth swallowing gold. The girl also had to plan ahead, accumulating more capital to weather various storms.

(End of Chapter)