Questionably Ethical Business [Solo]
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 3:37 pm
14th of Ash 2622
((Set in early Ash, before the Fall of Dahlia plot))
After a fruitless attempt to join an expedition, Hugo returned back home to Daravin faced with a conundrum. The medical goods he had planned to sell to desperate soldiers had only just sold enough to repay the costs he had made buying them. This however left Hugo with a minor conundrum. If he wished to not dip into his monetary reserves he would need to find some other sources of profit and most of the pending contracts or other deals he had made were at least 3 weeks in the future. This meant that if Hugo did not wish to just bleed money he would need to find some other way to make a profit and pay the expense of the warehouse that he leased. Thus contemplating this current dilemma, Hugo was pacing around the warehouse, trying to keep a certain amount of dignity but mostly feeling frustrated he tried to come up with some kind of idea which could bring him some success.
Watching this sight with some small amount of amusement was the familiar shape of Bertrand. The broody figure was leaning against one of the walls of the warehouse and had a small twist of his lips as Hugo walked and talked. "Perhaps we can make some deals with some minor merchants. Use the warehouse to buy some of their stocks and then in return sell it to some of the guilds." Hearing this Bertrand rolled his eyes. "First you would have to make contact and find these people who are unfamiliar and foreign to the city. Something which is quite unlikely. Then you have to do the even harder task of convincing them. You don't have the reputation of a big-time local player so they will just sell to someone else, or to the guilds directly." There was a beat of silence. "Also the idea you are proposing means dealing with foreign merchants. Foreign merchants who might not even speak any language you know."
Hugo sent a short glare of displeasure at Bertrand before his face fell and he continued having a thoughtful look. "Indeed you are correct. Ideally, I would be negotiating and dealing with countryside estates with surplus stock of lumber or food but right now they would be hoarding any remaining surplus so they can sell it during Frost. Which means making any deals with the Devoirs, Monra's and Durand's is not a possibility for the time being. Nor are there any noticeable immediate market trends that we can benefit from right now. No sudden demand for goods we can fulfil the desire for or........ no we couldn't that would... no" Bertrand's eyebrows turned upwards and a look of curiosity appeared on his face. "Can't do what ?" Hugo shook his head. "It would be best if it was forgotten. The idea is unlikely to work, not to mention that I am not sure whether it is legal or not. Probably not but it feels like it is against the spirit of the law. So just forget it."
Bernard's curious expression now turned into one of contempt. "Won't work ? Not sure whether it is legal ? Are you even hearing yourself talk. You dream about restoring wealth and fame to your family, and take great personal risks, yet now you are afraid of getting your hands dirty? If you wish to ever accomplish anything sometimes you have to push the boundaries. So get your idea out with. " It looked like Hugo would spit something out in response, but he gritted his teeth and considered the idea further. Then after about 10 seconds of further consideration, he let out a sigh. "Well there is no excessive demand for any particular product at the moment. However, that does not mean we may not be able to create some form of demand. We could buy up most of the local stock of say.... mint leaves. Then spread a rumour that it gives certain properties, or how it is a delicatessen in some exotic land. Something to create an artificial demand for the product and then profit from it." As Hugo spoke Bernard kept nodding steadily. "Honestly sounds like a pretty good idea to me. If you get some good enough rumours flying around it sounds like the kind of stuff people would buy. You can even sell it a bit above market price and get a good bit of profit. Yeh, that is honestly a pretty good idea." Letting out another deep sigh Hugo nodded.
"Speaking from a purely utilitarian view, perhaps it is. Alright, let's try it out. We can buy a large supply of mint, spread some rumours and then sell it at a larger price. At worst I can sell it as refreshments to some innkeepers to use in water to make it taste like it is of a higher quality. So might as well try it out and see how it turns out. " With this final admission Hugo and Bertrand continued to sound out potential rumours that could be spread in order to increase the desirability of mint leaves. The suggestions were vast, from the wild to the mild. Some examples were: It would improve sexual performance in bed, it would help someone's health recover more quickly, it would reduce a person's stress level and enhance mental performance, it had magical properties and the Entente were selling all the supply up before more people could get it. Eventually, Hugo and Bertrand settled on the primary rumour of saying that it functioned as a way to reduce stress and that it was a popular trend to drink water with mint in the Grisic Empire. Little was known of the aforementioned empire but rumours of its wealth were known as were its overall prestige and power. Thus rumours that something was popular in that state could work out quite well.
Now the conundrum became how the two of them could spread this rumour and make sure that people would follow up on it. Some options were to spread rumours in the tavern, on the market or during one of Hugo's aristocratic soirees. However, none of those options was chosen in the end. The eventual choice was that Bertrand and Hugo would spread rumours of mint, its desirability and quality at Sunday service. Or at least just after the service. It served as the most common way for people to get together after a long week of work and it was the paradise of rumour mongers and gossip wives. As such, they would be a prime audience in order to spread some rumour and gather some interest. They would swallow up the rumour and thinking it an interesting fact might share it around and before you know it some merchants or Valran would get a word of it. That was the idea at least.
Eventually, the Sunday service came and after Hugo got invited by the local preacher to say a short sermon (due to his status as an entente) Hugo and Bertrand got to work. Hugo spoke to the local preacher and some of the landowners of the area who rented housing or land to the local populace. Meanwhile, Bertrand made an effort of speaking to some of the working men, though whilst doing this he deviated from the original rumours that Hugo had intended to spread. Instead of speaking about how it was 'a local trend in Grisic' Bertrand eventually decided to claim it made a person more active in bed and gave someone greater stamina. Evidently, it seemed that the latter rumour was more popular as Hugo could hear rumours of such things going around as he left the church. Knowing the most probable cause of these rumours Hugo gave a glare at Bertrand but didn't verbally berate him for diverting from the original plan. Immediately following the initial spreading of the rumour Hugo would buy up all the stock of the merchants he knew that sold mint in the general area over the period of 1-2 days.
After he had bought most of the local mint supply, it didn't seem like Hugo's plan had worked out. For the first few days after spreading the rumour, one or two people came to inquire about buying some mint but other than that there seemed to be no interest in getting some slightly fresh-tasting leaves. Then on the 4th day something changed. Neither Hugo nor Bertrand knew what it was or what had caused it. Either the right people had reached out about it or the rumour had hit a critical mass and then rapidly began to grow more popular. The source of the popularity did not matter, what mattered, in the end, was the fact that people were willing to pay 30% above market price for simple mint leaves. Hugo actively went to work appealing to his customers and after another two days of hard work, he managed to sell out the last of his supply of mint. In the end, it turned out that Hugo had made a 15% profit from his initial investment and all of that in less than a week. Overall it was a pretty good effort.
Things were looking up for Hugo, and soon he hoped things would go even better.
