What did Nyle think of?
Of course, he thought of something that would be very suitable for this county and this era, something that might seem unfamiliar to many people today but had basically disappeared from production in later years.
Ginger Beer!
In just a few days, the terrifying Great Depression would arrive. By then, many businesses would go bankrupt, and countless workers would lose their jobs. The industrial enterprises around the Great Lakes would inevitably stop production or collapse, which would greatly affect the coal sales in Brook County.
Workers would either be laid off or have their wages slashed and delayed. This could be foreseen. So what does this mean? It means that fake alcohol, which should cost at least thirty or forty cents a bottle, would suffer a decline in sales, or even a drastic drop, due to its high price.
What was the saying? During the Great Depression, people would spend the least amount of money on the most necessary things. There's an example: lipstick. Ordinary women no longer had money for fancy cosmetics. But to maintain a certain level of decency, they would try to buy a tube of lipstick.
This way, when they went out, they had something to enhance their appearance, and it didn't cost too much. In a market that was shrinking on a large scale, lipstick actually saw an increase in sales.
Similarly, for the miners in Brook County, many of them had no families, earned their own money, and spent it on themselves. As long as they had a roof over their heads in the dorms and a stove to warm themselves during winter, they were content.
The rest was for special service workers in the local inns, and of course, alcohol!
The prices for special service workers generally wouldn't change much, as they weren't expensive. The women working at Frederick's inn earned quick money. It was that kind of business where they didn't even lie down, just lifted their skirts as they worked, served quickly, and earned a coin for each customer.
For those wanting an overnight service, it was another matter—those were rare, and the miners couldn't afford that. Only passing merchants or a few who really needed it and could make their money back after one night would go for that.
Since these services were mostly fixed expenses, the miners would look for even cheaper fake alcohol to meet their basic needs. They didn't care what kind of alcohol it was, as long as it could stimulate their senses and give them that sharp, pungent taste.
What alcohol didn't matter to them—cheap and strong was all that mattered!
And there actually was a drink in the world that met these basic requirements—cheap and strong—and even more importantly, it wasn't illegal. It could be sold publicly, even produced openly.
That drink was Ginger Beer! The current Prohibition laws stipulated that beverages containing more than 0.5% alcohol were completely banned from production. This law struck the beer industry, which used to produce over 300 million gallons annually, down to just 85 million gallons.
The remaining 85 million gallons were considered "light beer," with an alcohol content precisely controlled at 0.5%, and were legally sold. In fact, these light beers would often come with a guide explaining how to process the beer at home to increase its alcohol content.
So what was Ginger Beer? In theory, it should be brewed with fresh ginger and barley, going through multiple processes to produce a kind of alcohol. But in this era, what was called Ginger Beer was actually a very simple concoction. You bought a cheap, diluted beer by the barrel, then poured a large bottle of ginger powder into it, mixed it up, and voilà, you had a spicy, alcohol-flavored beverage.
Nyle vaguely remembered that in those days, several long-established breweries survived the Great Depression by producing this extremely cheap Ginger Beer, and some even went on to merge with bankrupt breweries, further expanding their business.
Perhaps this was a good opportunity for Nyle.
He silently made a note of it. The Great Depression hadn't arrived yet, and America was still in an unprecedented period of prosperity. Even fake alcohol, which couldn't be bought for even a coin, was thriving and selling well. People might not yet need a cheap alternative like Ginger Beer.
Oh, right!
Aside from that, his cheap old dad's $1,500 was still in the bank!
When he got home today, he had to quickly tell Aunt Gingi about this. Nyle didn't remember how many banks collapsed during the Great Depression, but the number was definitely in the thousands. Many small local banks went bankrupt in devastating, group-style failures, and countless people saw their life savings vanish into thin air.
The compensation money he had gotten from the mine owner shouldn't just disappear like that. Nyle remembered that Aunt Gingi also had some money in a local bank. It was the war compensation money given by the American government after her husband, Uncle, died in World War I.
If that money disappeared, which had been paid for with two lives, Nyle couldn't even imagine the consequences. Aunt Gingi might completely break down, and that was certain.
The carriage swayed gently as it approached a small road near Nyle's house. He thanked Affer and quickly jumped off, walking toward home.
Speaking of which, Aunt Gingi was a very down-to-earth Irish-American woman who ran a small farm with a two-story brick-and-wood house. Beside the house was a barn, which had two levels—on the lower level were a few cows, sheep, pigs, and a flock of hens. The upper level stored hay and some feed.
There were no hired workers at the farm. Previously, it had been just Aunt Gingi, Nyle, and his cousin doing the work. But farming income was too low, and the ways to convert it into cash were few. His cousin could no longer bear it, so he and Aunt Gingi discussed the possibility of going to Detroit or Chicago to find factory work to save up a couple hundred dollars, so he could get married.
In truth, they didn't need a house, but at least a big bed would be necessary!
There was also a cousin who had already married someone from the neighboring town. Now, only Aunt Gingi, Nyle, and his sixteen-year-old cousin Debbie remained at home.
The sun was setting, and the small farm appeared peaceful. The occasional cries of livestock didn't disturb anyone. Of course, the smell wasn't pleasant either, but Nyle's body had long gotten used to it and didn't mind at all.
He opened the door to find that the dinner porridge was already prepared...