Chapter 180
Chapter 180
The Celestial Commerce Guild was the second-largest merchant organization in the world. The secret chamber beneath the Count of Xuanwu's estate was immense, over two or three hundred square meters, and remarkably comfortable. It even housed a collection of several thousand books, and hundreds of candles illuminated the space as brightly as day. Two men from the Celestial Commerce Guild had arrived: one was an Easterner, the other a Westerner. The Easterner wore linen robes, while the Westerner was dressed in silk. The Westerner was seated, while the Easterner stood beside him.
“Rumor has it that the Count of Xuanwu's finances are on the brink of collapse and that he is drowning in debt, yet Young Master Shen Lang continues to live a life of unparalleled luxury... It seems the rumors were not unfounded.”
The Westerner from the Celestial Commerce Guild spoke with an accent clearer and smoother than even Shen Lang's. His words were not without reason. Shen Lang was wearing yet another new set of clothes, the cost of which alone exceeded two hundred and seventy gold taels. The high price was due to his discovery of a new, expensive material—a special kind of meteoric iron. This meteoric iron could be drawn into incredibly fine threads of exceptional strength and toughness. Shen Lang had these fine meteor threads embroidered onto his silk robes, creating a garment that was not only magnificent but also offered protection. His mother had done the embroidery herself.
“Of course, debts must be paid, but a man must still live, mustn't he? Please, have a seat. Bring tea!”
Shen Lang smiled and took the host's seat. The two envoys from the Celestial Commerce Guild sat down, and Jin Hui brought them tea. The envoys glanced around and asked.
“Where is the Count of Xuanwu?”
“I will be the one speaking with you.”
One of the envoys said in surprise.
“Young Master Shen, you must be joking. We can only discuss matters of this magnitude with the master of this house.”
Their meaning was clear: how could a live-in son-in-law like him possibly have any decision-making power?
“Rest assured, I have the authority to decide on all matters concerning the Count of Xuanwu's estate.”
“Even the matter of selling the estate's fortress?”
Shen Lang asked, startled.
“When did I ever say I was selling the fortress?”
“The letter from the Count himself stated that he wished to conduct business with us worth several hundred thousand gold taels. Since the Jin Clan is about to lose Anguish Isle, the only things of value left would be this fortress and your thirty thousand acres of fertile land, would they not?”
Shen Lang laughed inwardly. Their imaginations were certainly running wild. Losing a single Anguish Isle had everyone convinced the Jin Clan was finished. If they were to sell off the family fortress and tens of thousands of acres of land for cash... that would truly be the end for the Count of Xuanwu's estate—no, its utter ruin.
The envoy from the Celestial Commerce Guild said.
“For the Jin Clan's thirty thousand acres of fertile land, we will offer ninety thousand gold taels. As for the family fortress, we are willing to pay two hundred thousand gold taels. The total comes to two hundred and ninety thousand gold taels. While it's not enough to cover your debts, it would at least allow the Jin Clan to continue living in wealth and splendor should you choose to leave for another country.”
The fortress of the Count of Xuanwu's estate had been expanded over several generations, covering hundreds of acres and becoming an impregnable stronghold with ironclad defenses. Over hundreds of years, the Jin Clan had poured immense manpower and resources into its construction. Its historical and military value aside, its worth as a residence alone exceeded two hundred thousand gold taels.
Only fools sell their property at the first sign of a financial crisis, and my family is not foolish. If they sold the family fortress, the Jin Clan would become homeless dogs with no hope left. They would be better off finding a rope and hanging themselves.
“My family is not selling the fortress, nor the land.”
“Then why did you summon us? Our time is very precious.”
“What we intend to sell is this.”
Shen Lang clapped his hands, and Jin Hui stepped forward, presenting a box to the envoy from the Celestial Commerce Guild. The envoy took the box and examined it. He had seen every rare treasure the world had to offer. Pearls, agate, gems, and even meteoric iron held little value in his eyes. And yet, they were proposing a deal worth hundreds of thousands of gold taels for a single item.
But when the envoy opened the box, he was first mesmerized, then so startled that he nearly dropped it. Inside was a mirror, similar to those used on modern Earth. In truth, a mirror itself was not rare. There were plenty of them in this world. The cheap ones were made of bronze, the slightly more expensive ones of silver, and the most expensive were crafted from crystal.
However, bronze mirrors rusted easily, silver mirrors quickly tarnished and grew dim, and no amount of polishing could restore their brightness. Moreover, their reflections were blurry and dark. Crystal mirrors offered a clearer image, but the irregular shape of natural crystals made them difficult to craft into large pieces. Crucially, they were incredibly expensive.
The merchants of the Celestial Commerce Guild had always considered crystal mirrors to be the clearest in the world. But compared to the mirror before them now, a crystal mirror was nothing.
The reflection was so clear, so precise. It was astonishing. It was so vivid that even the finest wrinkles were visible, as if a person had been captured within the mirror itself. What kind of mirror was this? It captured one's very soul! Not only that, but the mirror was light and easy to carry. The envoy from the Celestial Commerce Guild had never seen his own reflection with such clarity. In that moment, he was certain. This mirror would usher in a new era, instantly rendering all other mirrors obsolete.
‘What an extraordinary mirror. This will be a gold mine!’
The two merchants from the Celestial Commerce Guild believed that once this mirror was introduced to the world, it would effortlessly sweep up all the money like a great wave washing over everything. This was an item that would completely upend the market. In fact, the two merchants were underestimating the mirror's value.
In the past, the King of Venice had monopolized the art of glass mirror making, transforming the small city-state of Venice into the wealthiest nation in all of Europe. The Venetian king even enacted a law specifically for mirrors: anyone who leaked the glass mirror manufacturing technique to another country would be executed immediately.
In the 17th century, a few Venetian artisans fled to France, leaking the manufacturing secrets. France then established its first mirror factory in Normandy. When a French queen married, the King of Venice sent her a mirror as a gift, and its value exceeded one hundred thousand francs. Of course, modern people could never understand the thrill that ancient people felt upon seeing a glass mirror for the first time.
“The mirror in your hands is about a foot long. How much do you think you should pay for it?”
“Are we talking auction price? Or retail price?”
If the item was rare, the auction price would skyrocket. But selling it at retail implied mass production, which meant enormous profits could be made. Rolls-Royce cars sold for exorbitant prices, but their low sales volume made them far from profitable. They were even bankrupt for a time before being sold to BMW. Eventually, even Bentley shifted its strategy to target the mass market.
“The retail price.”
A bronze mirror a foot long cost about half a gold tael. A silver mirror was slightly more expensive, at two gold taels. A crystal mirror? They didn't come in foot-long sizes. Natural crystals, once mined and cut, could not yield such a large, flat surface. A four-inch crystal mirror sold for about twenty gold taels.
“This mirror could initially be sold for one hundred gold taels. The price would then drop to fifty, and even when it eventually stabilizes, it won't fall below twenty gold taels.”
This meant selling the mirror as a luxury item. The strategy was to first profit from the powerful families and nobility, then from the great merchants, and finally, sell to the wealthy households.
“What is the cost to produce one of these?”
As he asked, the envoy from the Celestial Commerce Guild assumed Shen Lang wouldn't tell him the truth. After all, Shen Lang was selling the mirrors to the guild, who would then retail them to the world.
“The cost to make a one-foot mirror is one silver tael.”
“What did you say?”
The merchant from the Celestial Commerce Guild was momentarily stunned. He thought it would be normal for a mirror clear enough to reflect one's soul to cost well over ten gold taels to produce. But the cost was only one silver tael?
“With mass production, the cost can be cut in half.”
The merchant was utterly thrilled, lost in a grand fantasy. A cost of just one silver tael, selling for one hundred gold taels—how much profit could they make? That was a profit margin of two thousand times the cost. Was there any business in this world more astonishing than this?
“Young Master Shen Lang, how many of these mirrors do you have now? We are willing to pay ten gold taels per mirror.”
This was an incredibly generous price. Given the Count of Xuanwu's current predicament, they couldn't sell the mirrors themselves. For the Celestial Commerce Guild to offer ten gold taels for each mirror they had on hand was as good as paying the highest possible price. This was equivalent to tens of thousands of yuan. But considering that Chanel and Louis Vuitton bags on modern Earth also cost tens of thousands of yuan apiece... Setting the price at one hundred gold taels was a strategy to maximize profits through mass sales. Otherwise, the price could have been set even higher. After all, for a luxury item, a high price tag was hardly an issue.
“I only have a thousand mirrors.”
The artisans under Shen Lang's command were few, so they had only managed to produce a thousand mirrors in several months. The key to making the mirrors was producing high-purity glass. The mirror-making process itself was simple: a layer of liquid silver was coated onto the glass. This was a technique superior to that of the Venetian king. They had used mercury, but mercury was toxic.
“After inspection, if all one thousand mirrors are as bright and clear as this one, we will buy them all. At ten gold taels each, that comes to a total of ten thousand gold taels.
Ten thousand gold taels was undoubtedly a large sum, but for the Count of Xuanwu's estate, it was far from enough. They needed seven hundred thousand gold taels just to repay their debt to the Hidden Yuan Society. Shen Lang shook his head at the offer.
“No. I will sell them for one million gold taels.”
Hearing this, the envoy from the Celestial Commerce Guild was completely dumbfounded, unable to believe his ears.
‘A million gold taels for a thousand mirrors? Has he gone mad with greed? You yourself said the cost is only one silver tael per mirror. Our offer of ten gold taels is already a show of great magnanimity.’
“I’m not just selling the mirrors; I’m selling the manufacturing technique as well. And I will sell it exclusively to you. In other words, I am selling you the entire mirror business. In that light, one million gold taels is not expensive.
This will be an exclusive business for the Celestial Commerce Guild, one that can last for over a hundred years. The profits you stand to make will far exceed several million gold taels. My selling this business to you for one million gold taels is, in itself, an act of great conscience. My only condition is that you must purchase the glass required for the mirrors from my family.
This business is not just an opportunity for you to make money; it is a chance to surpass the Hidden Yuan Society and become the number one merchant guild in the world. If you refuse to buy, I will take this technology to the Hidden Yuan Society. I imagine they would be delighted to accept, and then won't you be suppressed by them for several more decades?”