I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 389: Ponzi scheme (3)
Marseille, the largest trading port in the Kingdom of Lyon.
Here, Orsini set up a fairly large merchant house.
The merchant house was named after the South Sea Company, a company that had committed a great fraud against the government and the people before the British Empire became great, and had shaken the foundations of the British Empire.
Orsini did not know the origin of the name, but he was twisting his whole body and working hard to commit the greatest fraud.
He put aside his modest pride, and even the conscience and morality that a human being should naturally have.
“Oh, sir. How could it not work?”
“I said it couldn’t work, that’s right. You gave me a lot of gifts. I admit that. But how can I believe that cochineal, tobacco, and cacao came from a new land and not from the Masai Union? If you are a fraud, what can I do?”
“No, how can I be a fraud? Have you ever seen a fraud who looks so good?” “Can’t you judge a person by his appearance?”
Orsini begged the Montblanc manager, who was the most powerful figure in charge of Marseille’s commerce, especially trade.
For a merchant, pride is something that can be thrown away whenever necessary.
He was a man fit for the Rothschild firm, who didn’t hesitate to roll around in the mud when the time came.
“Please just go through the registration process so that I can trade stocks. Do you know how much money I’ve given you so far?”
“Oh, if someone were to hear that, it would sound like you were asking me for something in return?”
“This is a business that I prepared by emptying out every last bit of my family’s assets. Please help me just once, just once.”
If he hadn’t given a lot of money, Montblanc would have kicked Orsini out a long time ago.
But Orsini paid him a lump sum of 300 gold coins.
He received a large sum of money that could buy a decent house for a family in Marseille and then washed his mouth clean?
If he did something bad like that, Montblanc's political life could be in danger.
"Ha, you really. It's not easy for an outsider, a foreigner at that, to be qualified to issue stocks that guarantee trust in our city hall. Even if I push for it, it won't be easy."
"That's why I'm asking you, the fair and upright manager."
"Even if you guarantee trust, the investor is entirely responsible for investment failure. However, if you're a fraud, my reputation will be tarnished."
"Then what about this? Why don't you come to our company building in person and check whether I really brought the goods from the New World or not?"
Montblanc was dumbfounded.
Cochineal and other rare items are rare, but how can you prove that they came from the New World just by looking at the warehouses that are full of them?
You have to say something reasonable.
‘Are you some crazy guy with a lot of money?’
“Just think about it. Even the big merchants of the Kingdom of Lyon are having a hard time obtaining things like cochineal and tobacco. Even if the royal family nagged them, they could only offer about 20kg of tobacco, right?”
“That’s true.”
“I’m not a big merchant, I’m just the owner of a small shop. If I had about 40kg of tobacco leaves... wouldn’t that be enough to prove that there was a separate route to buy them without going through the Tuscan Empire?”
Before hearing this, Mont Blanc thought he was crazy.
But when he found out, the story was plausible.
Besides, if you go once and find that there is a real shortage of stock, you can kick them out using that as an excuse, but what if there are lots of valuables like cigarettes piled up...?
'I should empty my entire fortune and invest.'
In this kind of business, you have to invest as much money as possible in the beginning to make a lot of money.
"That doesn't seem like an unreasonable story."
"Just come and see our warehouse once. And if you decide, there won't be any big problems, right? Just come and I'll take care of everything."
"I'll come and visit after work today."
Until Mont Blanc arrived at the warehouse of Namhae Trading Company, he had no particular expectations.
Not just any other items, but cochineal, which is literally as valuable as silver, and other items that are said to come from the hidden lands of the Masai Federation, which are worthless...
How could they be piled up in a small store run by such a young man?
If you think about it logically, it just doesn't make sense.
But common sense often breaks down, and Mont Blanc's common sense judgment was revealed to be all wrong.
"Is this box full of cochineal? That's a lot... This should be worth 1,000 gold coins."
"Haha, is this all there is? There are four more identical boxes."
Mont Blanc felt his neck stiffen.
Usually, this feeling happens when you're so angry that your head is spinning, but right now, his heart was beating so fast that blood was rapidly flowing to his brain.
"That's ridiculous. There are five more boxes of this precious cochineal? Even the kings of the kingdom wouldn't have been able to get their hands on this much?"
Instead of answering, Orsini snickered.
"Deus, my goodness. Do you really know where these guys come from?" “I know. Is that all? We also have a network of dealers who can buy this from locals.”
The Rothschild Company is currently receiving 20 gold coins worth of cochineal in exchange for one cheap iron sword.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Since one silver coin is worth 20 gold coins, it is a crazy business that makes a profit of more than 200 times.
Of course, I couldn’t guess that the Mont Blanc in front of me would make a profit of more than 200 times, but...
What looks attractive to me looks attractive to others.
Even though I couldn’t tell how much profit I could make by selling cochineal, I had a strong feeling that it would be huge.
‘There will definitely be a profit.’
Mont Blanc’s heart was beating like a beast’s right now.
In terms of bravery, he was on a par with the Baron Florin of the neighboring country who invested in stocks using land as collateral.
“There are also about 100kg of cigarettes. Look here.”
When he showed the cigarette box, Mont Blanc’s eyes rolled back.
Seeing that there were even precious cigarettes, it was obvious that he wasn’t lying.
He cursed his past self for hesitating to make this investment for several days.
If he had invested a few days ago, he would have received the dividends a few days earlier.
‘Idiot.’
However, he soon forgave himself.
Since he had seized the opportunity even now, it was good.
People naturally became more generous when they were about to make money.
He thought that he would be able to have a very enjoyable defensive battle with his wife today.
“You must have cocoa and other precious things, right?” “Yes, of course. They are so rare that they are impossible to sell in the Kingdom of Lyon, but they are everywhere in the places I deal with. I can’t tell you the cost price because I have to make a living, but...”
Orsini gestured to Montblanc.
Montblanc quickly listened, forgetting all about his own dignity.
As a nobleman, he was a man who lived and died for dignity in normal times, but...
Money, or more precisely, a lot of money, was more important than life.
‘Pride is something that you need to have money to protect.’
“Right now, I want to triple the size of my business. But I don’t have enough money, and if I continue like this, I will soon go bankrupt.”
“Why, a great merchant like you going bankrupt? This is a loss for the entire Marseilles!”
“But what can I do if I don’t have money? If stock investments don’t work out...”
Montblanc held Orsini’s hand tightly.
“If we don’t have enough money, I’ll pull out the pillars of our family to make up for it.”
Orsini smiled at the thought that everything was going according to plan.
‘The first button was sewn very well.’
“Can you allow me to issue stocks?”
“That would be different. I want to ask you! Won’t you issue stocks? I’ll personally grab the mayor by the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ collar and persuade him.”
“Thank you, thank you, manager.”
“In return, I’ll really pull out the pillars of our family, so you can convert all of them into stocks.”
“Of course, I have to take special care of you, manager.”
Manager Montblanc wrote down that promise in writing.
Then he ran as fast as he could, rushing into the mayor’s office.
“Mayor! Right now, right now! You have to issue stocks!”
“What are you talking about?” “I think the Namhae Trading Company knows the origin of things that are said to be produced only in the hidden lands of the Masai Union, including cochineal and tobacco.”
“...... Really?”
The mayor repeated his question like a parrot after a while.
“What are you talking about?”
“Would I lie about something like this?”
The market immediately approved the stock issuance after hearing those words.
As rumors breed rumors, countless investors rushed in like moths to a flame.
Orsini just laughed at that.
