Chương 77: Chapter 2.14: Market Equilibria

Marcus studied him across the table, then nodded.

"You ought to be more careful about ensuring you have sufficient leverage when you try things like that. I ought to punish you to make this lesson sink in. Nonetheless..." Marcus nodded.

"It would be rather hypocritical, given the sparring we have engaged in so far, would it not?" He glanced first at Brutus, then at Serran, and both of them nodded.

"Very well, I agree. I, Marcus Ovinius Loran, Senator-Cindrathi of the Ovinius Loran branch, hereby swear to enter into this venture with both my elder children." Favius pumped his fist under the table. Yes. Soon both he and Caliga swore their oaths in turn. As soon as the last word left Caliga's mouth, Urania clapped her hands together.

"Well, now that we are done with that, it's my turn, isn't it?" Her eyes glinted, and Marcus laughed.

"Your turn, indeed. I believe you do want the same kind of contract?" He briefly glanced at Urania before looking at Favius. Favius gave his Father a gentle nod. But Urania cleared her throat.

"Well, I like the distribution, but I would prefer a more strategic role as well." She looked at Favius.

"A strategic role?" Marcus echoed.

"Well, all that daily management of workers and taking care of all the issues in a workshop. I don't think that suits me. No, it definitely won't suit me," she repeated. Favius took a long breath.

"Urania, we talked about this. You cannot just play with numbers and philosophy and cultivation. You need to work with people. All kinds of people." He emphasized the last sentence. Urania glared at him.

"But that's just a waste of my time and abilities. After all, you say I have a talent for numbers. Surely I should develop it more. Specialization is important. Isn't that what you like to say?" The adults around the table observed their exchange with patient expressions, but Caliga sniffed.

"Sister, you cannot avoid dealing with people forever. You have to do it." Urania's shoulders sank.

"I don't want to avoid dealing with all people, but just interacting with some people should be fine, right?" Marcus cleared his throat and shook his head.

"No, Daughter, your brother is quite correct. Not having you learn the basics of management at a small scale would be a waste of an amazing opportunity."

"But—""No but." Marcus made a cutting gesture.

"In the future, you may indeed work on more valuable tasks. Yet if those who lead fail to understand the basics, they are doomed to make poor decisions. Don't you agree with that sentiment, Ovinius Kestrelo?" Brutus's good-natured expression instantly sank as he swallowed hard. Though Favius knew that it wasn't directed at them. He's dwelling on old memories. I guess he has seen what poor military leadership does to soldiers. Favius held his breath.

"Yes," Brutus ground out, his glare resolute.

"You need to learn the fundamentals, Urania. No matter what you are suited to in the end. It shall build your character. And for a cultivator to reach for the heavens, a sturdy character is certainly required. After all, is that not your goal?" Urania sighed and let her head fall into her hands.

"I guess." She pouted. Serran cleared his throat, trying to wash away the awkward moment.

"Well, Young Master, do you intend to have the soap company also engage in franchising, like our beekeeping endeavor?"

"No." Favius waved the suggestion off with two hands.

"I argued for franchising and allowing replication because a single stolen hive would give away a large part of the secret knowledge that allows us to make money. But the making of soap?" He shrugged.

"Even if one of the workers in the workshop talks, they don't fully understand the processes. They don't know everything."

"Or maybe, to use the previous terms," Caliga grinned.

"We have dug a very deep moat around the soap, yes?" Favius nodded with a smile. Marcus nodded in turn.

"Indeed. The idea is good, but the ability to produce soap... I'm sure people will attempt to copy it. But the name of our branch must become synonymous with the best soap that all nobles shall prefer." Favius nodded in agreement.

"Well, Father, you received the letter I sent along with the delivery of soap. Did you consult merchants on how much we might sell it for?" A chagrined expression ran over Marcus's face.

"Well, Son, I must admit that I used most of the winter batch to trade for favors and promises in the wake of the party." Favius's expression soured, yet he remained silent. No, he wouldn't have given everything away without— Before the thought could even finish, Marcus smiled.

"Yet I did consult several trusted traders. I believe we might command two to five copper senati per bar. And with your improvements in quality..." A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Two to five copper?" Favius spat out, his eyes wide with shock.

"That... that..." He murmured, his thoughts racing. Even if my estimates of the currencies' relative value are imperfect, that's several hundred bucks per bar of soap. How?

"That's an absurd price," he finished lamely. Well, now everyone is staring at me. Well done. Marcus shrugged with both hands.

"It is a limited luxury article that was presented in a prestigious setting. I must tell you, Son. At the moment, there's almost no soap bar that can be bought with anything but favors in the city of Cindrath, never mind whatever of our soap made it to Lirene." Favius chuckled and exchanged looks with his siblings. Caliga was amused while Urania still pouted. Favius sighed.

"Father, you know that we've only provided you with less than two hundred stoneweights of soap, but that's because of how we made it." Favius gestured to the food.

"We repurposed kitchen equipment. An actual workshop, even in the beginning, might produce ten thousand stoneweights of soap during each cycle of seasons." Marcus swallowed and pursed his lips.

"I did not quite think it was possible to produce that much." Favius waved his hands.

"The soap itself..." Favius grinned, and Serran cleared his throat.

"Dominus, the feedstocks are merely caustic ashes, oil, fat, and salt. None of them is particularly expensive, especially if we buy in bulk." Caliga nodded eagerly, touching her Father's arm.

"Indeed. We ran the numbers and we did some estimates, and the most expensive part will likely be the firewood. Yes?" Favius tapped a nail on the table.

"Luxury soap ought to be sold for copper wedges, and ordinary soap, if not lead wedges, a few lead senati." An expression of disappointment settled on Marcus's face.

"Son, you might have received brilliant inspiration in the matters of making things, yet your thinking as an aristocrat clearly still lacks refinement. Always remember that while money is a necessity, there are things that money cannot buy that are more important in life." He raised one finger after the other.

"Power, status, and prestige." He held up his wine cup, holding the elegant ivory carvings on its rim so that the firelight was reflected on them.

"Any man of good breeding forced to choose between revenue and reputation must always choose reputation." Before Favius could even reply, Brutus snorted.

"Spoken like a man whose revenues have kept exceeding his needs for a long, long time." Marcus made a dismissive gesture.

"Brother, you know as well as I do that what makes nobility is not the blood. It is the favor of the Divine." Brutus took a long breath.

"Yes, yes. And as the Lirenii are so fond of saying, what else but success in your ventures would indicate the favor of the Divine?" They stared at each other across the table for a moment that grew ever longer until it became painful. Favius pressed his eyes shut. Well, this entire discussion devolved rather quickly. Time to take a different angle. If Marcus thinks reputation always beats revenue, I really should test if enough revenue can overcome reputation. Favius tapped at one of the wax tablets.

"Father," he said, but paused. He focused on his mental insight, formulating several questions and visualizing relationships, before nodding.

"At that price, I believe there may only be a hundred, at most two hundred thousand potential customers in the Republic. With trade, we would struggle to reach a million, if we are extraordinarily lucky." Marcus held out an open hand, acknowledging the argument, and Favius picked up the carafe of wine, refilling his cup. The red stream kept flowing, and ever more of the cinnamon-spiced, warm red liquid kept accumulating.

"At a certain price, the world, the market, has only so much capacity to absorb the product." He tilted the carafe, stopping the stream right at the moment when the wine reached the lip of the cup. Then he raised the carafe.

"If the product is sold at a lower price, then there might be a much larger available volume for it to fill. And while the value of the wine in this fine cup might be seen as larger, in the end it is the quantity of wine that matters, not its presentation." Urania nodded eagerly.

"Indeed, Father. If we sell the soap cheaply, there are over ten million potential buyers in the Republic alone." She briefly looked at Favius, who nodded in encouragement.

"That is to say nothing of how the merchants of the East and South might receive such a..." Marcus smiled, but shook his head.

"Listen, children," he began. Half an hour of tedious arguing ensued. Favius grew more frustrated with each exchange, but neither his Father nor the Majordomo would budge. He sniffed and sighed. He grabbed some bread with cabbage preserved in vinegar and chewed on it. Well, this argument is clearly not working, so I need a new angle of attack. Hm... He smiled after finishing his snack. One particular kind of argument has mostly worked so far.

While I haven't studied the local theology, a lot of stuff has been similar to Earth's religions, so... Favius raised two fingers, cutting into the current exchange between Caliga and Marcus.

"Father, you mentioned the value of reputation. And it is in fact for the sake of our reputation that I believe exclusivity would be a mistake."

"Oh, is that so?" Marcus challenged. Favius nodded.

"I have read in a scripture that as far as virtues go, cleanliness is only second to godliness," Favius proclaimed, desperately trying to suppress a grin. That statement is entirely true. I'm just omitting that the scripture was not from this world. Silence fell over the room, and Favius turned his head, observing all three adults stroking their chins in eerie unison.

"Indeed," said Brutus. Serran absentmindedly rubbed his hand through his silky, soap-washed hair. Favius nodded to himself. Well, I might be fighting with modern methods, but I cannot forget that this world doesn't have capitalism. It still worships nature and the gods instead of efficiency and profit. Suddenly Caliga gasped and looked at Favius.

"You mean to say you want us to use soap to sponsor public baths?"

"What?" Favius and Marcus said in unison, before Favius saw the widening of his own eyes mirrored in his Father's.

"That's... that's brilliant," he said. Marcus nodded.

"Indeed," Serran added.

"If we were to provide it for free, even the cheaper soap—" Favius shook his head.

"No, we shouldn't provide it for free."

"Why not?" asked the Majordomo. Favius paused for a moment. Well, how do I explain behavioral psychology to these people? I mean, it sounds ridiculous. I had to read the papers myself.

"There is an oddness in the thinking of men," he began.

"If you take the same medicine, but give it to a man for five copper senati, his belief that it is valuable will aid his recovery more strongly than if the medicine had been provided to him for a mere five lead senati. Never mind the loss of efficacy if it was handed out freely."

"Truly?" Marcus studied him with narrowed eyes. Damn it, that's not landing. Well, maybe if I turn it into a saying.

"Consider this, Father. Would you not mistrust that which is free? After all, if it was given away freely, how valuable could such a gift be?"

"There is sense in that, Son," Marcus said.

"So if we follow your pricing suggestions," Marcus murmured, "and sponsor the soap at the baths..." He scribbled several notes onto his wax tablet, and Caliga touched his arm while giggling.

"Well, Father, you already have some ideas on how to make this politically useful, don't you?" Marcus smiled, and this time Favius felt it, the presence of the golden authority that was above him. It flashed only briefly, but Brutus's reaction confirmed it. Damn, that really got him excited.

"Well, if that is settled, are we in agreement that half of the workshop's capacity will be devoted to high-quality soap, whereas the other half will go to low-quality soap?" Favius glanced at his notes while waiting for the answer. There are advantages to focusing on luxury soap only early on, but laying the groundwork for selling cheap soap... With a breath of pneuma, he steeled his resolve. Yes, there's a reason why I decided to do this.

"Indeed, let us consider this settled. So, as for the contract..." Serran Vale cleared his throat.

"If I may, Dominus." The politician turned his head to the middle-aged man, and Serran smiled apologetically.

"The Young Master speaks of producing ten thousand stoneweights of soap, yet copper cauldrons have so far been vital in the making of the substance. And considering the necessary numbers and the damage they would sustain from constant exposure to heat, I fear this entire endeavor might not prove practical after all."