The Rising Sun Merchant Guild was directly owned and operated by the Rising Sun Empire's Imperial Family and was the largest, wealthiest, most powerful chamber of commerce on the Blue Sky Continent. How large their assets were and how many Masters it had in its employ was unclear, but there was no doubt that this single merchant's guild was far stronger and much more influential than any Small or Mid-Sized Kingdom.
While the shops run by the Rising Sun Merchant Guild were generally massive and opulent establishments, the trade caravans which traveled through the various cities and towns of the continent were generally quite plain and simple. Only when high ranking personnel from the Guild were present, or when especially precious cargo was being transported, did the trade convoys become more ostentatious.
As one would expect, there was no Rising Sun Merchant Guild shop in Redwood Town. In fact, there wasn't even such a full shop in the nearby Harold City. Only the biggest, more prosperous cities in the South-West Province had real stores belonging to the guild.
That being said, every city in the South-Western Province at least had a trade-post belonging to the Rising Sun Guild, and caravans would be sent out from these posts at least once a month. Most towns would see such a convoy about once a season. As for the villages, unless there was some local specialty or unique product available, the Rising Sun Merchant Guild wouldn't bother visiting such small places.
It was now the early afternoon a couple of days after Lucas had finished his lych tree sap harvesting for the year, and the regular Rising Sun Merchant Guild caravan was just pulling into Redwood Town's Central Square.
Every time the caravan came to town, it was like a miniature bazaar would appear, with many more people coming to trade their wares and also purchase things which were difficult to obtain locally.
No less than 1,000 people now filled the Town Square, more than double the normal number. Shopkeepers, craftsmen, village heads, large farm owners; people from all walks of life had come together to sell their products and hunt for bargains.
Today, amongst the crowd, there was a young boy, accompanied by two older kids, a gruff looking woman, and a noble lady. Naturally, it was Lucas, a pair of his new employees, Farah, and Sasha.
Looking back over his shoulder at his small handcart, Lucas couldn't help feeling a little nervous and asking, "Are you sure this will go smoothly?"
Up until now, Lucas had only sold his goods to the locals in Redwood Town, and even then, he had mostly done so amongst those he or his parents personally knew, making all the transactions very simple and easy to complete. This was his first time trying to sell to real outsiders, so it was only normal that he was a bit worried.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Sasha replied with some exasperation, clearly having gotten tired of reassuring Lucas over the past few days. Quite frankly, given how outstanding his products were, she felt the young boy's concerns were completely unnecessary, but she just chalked it up to him being inexperienced in these matters.
Once he's done this a few times, I'm sure he'll get used to it, Sasha thought to herself; after all, Lucas had shown a remarkable ability to adapt to new situations over the past year or so.
Pursing his lips, the young boy had no choice but to nod and try to calm his nerves.
A minute or two later, the 12 wagons and carriages of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild caravan came to a halt and began unloading. At the same time, a short and skinny middle-aged man dressed, wearing a distinctive dark-blue robe with a half-risen sun on it, got off from one of the central carriages and made his way over towards Lucas' group.
With a big smile on his face, this middle-aged man bowed politely, "Greetings, Lady Sasha."
Sasha also smiled politely and returned the gesture, "Steward Warren, a pleasure, as always."
This steward named Warren was a familiar figure in Redwood Town as he had been the Rising Sun Merchant Guild's representative in the Harold City area for the past 6 years. Over that period of time, many useful and cordial relationships had been built up by this astute businessman.
Sasha, as the Town Lady and the one controlling the Newton Family finances, had made many big purchases from Steward Warren. The total profit Warren had earned from doing business with Sasha might not compare to the wealthy nobles in Harold City, but it was still enough for him to consider her an important client.
As the Rising Sun merchants began peddling their wares to the locals and buying up the goods that the townsfolk and villagers had to sell, Sasha and Warren exchanged a few more pleasantries and settled some small administrative matters, but neither of them made any mentioning the cart of goods which was sitting nearby.
Obviously, Sasha and her small group had something to sell, and Warren was naturally curious, but both of them knew that whoever brought up the subject first would lose the initiative in the following negotiations; or at least, that is what it seemed like on the surface.
In truth, the reason Sasha hadn't tried to push for the sale of Lucas' sugar and soap so far was because she felt there was no need to. She understood Steward Warren well enough to know he would snatch up these products the moment he learned about their details.
Finally, after about 10 minutes of casual back-and-forth conversation, Warren couldn't help himself anymore and asked, "So, Lady Sasha, what exactly have you brought for me to see today?"
Flashing a business-like smile, Sasha began weaving the pre-prepared story she and Lucas had come up over the past few days, "I'm glad you asked. Recently, a few new products have appeared in my little town, two of which are particularly well suited to sell. I think you'll be quite interested in them."
"Oh?" Warren raised his brow slightly, "That's a bold claim to make, Lady Sasha."
Even if he was just a Low-Rank Steward, Warren was still a real member of the largest chamber of commerce on the continent, so his vision was much broader and higher than your run-of-the-mill merchant. Given this, it really was bold for someone to say he would be 'quite interested' in their wares.
Still, given how frequently he had made sales to Sasha, Warren knew she was not someone who spoke without confidence or purpose, so his interest was indeed piqued.
Not seeing any need to keep Warren in suspense, Sasha patted Lucas on the back, prompting him to trot over and pull out the prepared samples.
Lifting the lid of the large box inside his cart, Lucas grabbed a small piece of soap and a clean cloth before bringing them over to his aunt.
For this negotiation, it was agreed between the two of them that Sasha would take the lead, both because Steward Warren would take her words more seriously, and also because the value of the things Lucas was going to sell was too high. If such a young boy were to try to sell such expensive goods, it would inevitably draw a lot of unwanted attention to him.
In short, it was better for Sasha to be the face of this business for now, while Lucas managed the actual production process behind the scenes. Seeing how Sasha was also the biggest investor in Lucas' business, it also made sense for her to take a personal interest in selling and promoting soap and sugar.
As Lucas was fetching the first of his products, Sasha began setting up her sales' pitch, "I wonder if you recall me purchasing a Freezing Tool from you last year?"
"Of course, of course," Warren smiled widely and nodded. Sasha' purchase of a Freezing Tool had been his single biggest sale in Redwood Town that year and netted him a hefty profit, so of course he remembered it.
"At that time, I also asked you for a few bottles of Bathing Cream from the capital," Sasha continued, putting on a wistful expression as she mused, "Being able to properly clean up after a hard day of work was such a refreshing experience."
Sensing an opportunity, Warren smoothly offered, "If you feel that way, Lady Sasha, I would be happy to bring a few bottles with me from now on whenever I visit Redwood Town. The nobles in Harold City also appreciate Bathing Cream very much and have been regularly importing it, so adding a bottle or two for you won't be an issue."
"Oh? How very thoughtful of you, but that won't be necessary," Sasha smiled confidently as Lucas handed her a cream-white, thumb-sized piece of soap and a fresh cloth while Gabe, one of the workers Lucas had hired last month, brought over a bucket of clean water.
"After experiencing Bathing Cream, we began experimenting here in Redwood Town and eventually, we came up with this," Sasha said while dipping the washcloth into the bucket of water and then lathering it with the piece of soap.
As a rich foam began to develop on the cloth, Sasha explained further, "We call this product 'soap', and it is similar to Bathing Cream, but in solid form, making it much easier to store and transport."
Handing the lathered cloth to Steward Warren, Sasha rinsed her own hands off with a ladle-full of water that Gabe quickly offered with a clearly nervous look on his face.
Warren accepted the cloth with an intrigued look on his face, quickly scrubbing his hands before also asking for a ladle of water to wash the suds off with.
Drying his hands with an offered towel, Warren immediately felt that his skin was much cleaner. There was even a faint floral scent which lingered after the soap had been rinsed off.
As a merchant with vast experience and a discerning eye, Warren immediately knew that this soap was a good thing. Perhaps it was still a bit inferior to Bathing Cream, but the difference was so slight that it could basically be ignored.
Of course, as a qualified merchant, Warren still had to ask a few questions, "How long can this piece of soap be used for?"
"This piece is just for demonstration purposes," Sasha explained promptly yet calmly, "However, the bars we make here, if used by one person to wash themselves once a day, can be used for about 20 days. If you use it sparingly, lasting a whole month is possible."
"20 to 30 uses per bar. That's slightly more than a small jar of Bathing Cream," Warren muttered, nodding in approval before continuing, "What about shelf life and storage conditions?"
"We've only been making soap in Redwood Town for a few months, but so far, as long as it's kept in a dry place away from extreme heat, it doesn't seem to degrade at all," Sasha said, offering her best guess next, "It shouldn't be a problem storing it for 6 months at minimum."
Nodding along, Warren didn't bother to hide his approval or interest. This soap was truly a marvelous product and he was more than willing to purchase it, as long as the price was right.
Thinking so, Warren asked that all-important question, "How much are you planning to sell this for?"
"2 Silvers a bar," Sasha said casually.
Wrinkling his brow, Warren muttered as he examined a fresh bar of soap that Lucas had handed to him, "Even if it is easier to transport and store, and lasts a bit longer than Bathing Cream, 2 Gold is a bit expens… wait."
Stunned, the Rising Sun Merchant Guild Steward abruptly lifted his head, his eyes bulging as he stared at Sasha in shock and asked, "You said 2 Silvers, right? Not 2 Gold, but 2 Silver?"
Seeing Sasha confirm he hadn't heard her wrong, Warren truly felt surprised. Bathing Cream was priced at 1 Gold per small jar in the capital, and after shipping it to the far side of the South-Western Province, the price went up to around 1 Gold and 2 Silvers, making it quite an expensive luxury good. Given this, when Sasha first quoted her price, the merchant had naturally assumed that this soap would be roughly the same price.
Now, however, Sasha was saying she was willing to sell soap to him at just 2 Silvers, which was less than a quarter the price of Bathing Cream! Quickly doing some calculations in his head, Warren felt his pulse quicken as he asked, "How many bars of soap do you have to sell?"
"100 bars."
This figure brought a wrinkle to Warren's brow as 100 bars wasn't a lot. Even if he re-sold each bar for 4 or 5 Silvers, that would mean a profit of around 20 or 30 Gold in total. 30 Gold might be a lot for a commoner in Redwood Town, but for someone like him, it was just some small change.
Noticing the look on Warren's face, Sasha knew she had him right where she wanted and went for the kill, "The market in Redwood Town is too small, so we haven't been producing much, but if we could secure a good deal to export soap to bigger markets, producing a few thousand bars a month wouldn't be a problem."