?"80,000 Ryn!! That was damn expensive!" Riz was taken aback. No wonder so few people were interested. Most of the food companies originated from farmer backgrounds. These companies are still growing and have no excess money to fork out that much. Even if they pay in instalments, the operating and maintenance cost of the traction engine is still there. "Why is it so expensive?"
"Well, there's a lot of parts varied in size that needs to be made. So, the cost naturally spikes up."
"Why not let other companies make parts for us in masses? We'll then assemble and sell it to the market. That way the cost will go down." Riz asked.
Arnold slumped his shoulder, indicating the bad news he was about to report. "I do send people to form an agreement contract with smithies but most of them rejected the offer. To them, the risk is too high for them to bear. They want to stick to old ways."
Business risk, the fear of uncertainties and losing profit. The business owner considered anything that hindered the business from gaining profit as risky.
Arnold's offer can be categorized as an uncertain factor. No one has a gut to abandon their sure-gain method of making money and invest in something new. If every business person has that kind of gut, it would take too long to adopt new technology.
"How many smithies are agreeing with us?" Riz continues his question.
Arnold hurriedly searches for a piece of paper he put inside his clothes. He writes all important points on that crumpled paper. An old man like him sometimes tends to forget crucial information. Not wanting the king to wait any longer, his eyes swiftly scanned the paper.
"There are three smithies, your majesty. One in Portsbury and two in Rafoldrod. These smithies have been operating for more than a hundred years, providing various metalworks to the people. All of their male family members are successful blacksmiths. Their reputation in the smithing industry is not low and very respectable as well. Honestly, their agreement to our offer surprised me."
Riz tapped his finger on the table, thinking about the odd behaviour of these smiths. "Why do they agree when they're clearly racking profit left and right? I'm sure people keep pouring them for commission as we speak right now."
"Because they see the sale of their primary product has declined."
"Primary product?"
"Weapons to be exact. It took up more than half of their total revenue. According to them, fewer and fewer people ordered weapons from them. These three smithies have taken a severe hit thanks to the rise of firearms."
The argument does not match up, "But that doesn't explain the relationship between the two. Firearms are only available for soldiers, not citizens. There are still dangers when travelling."
"None."
"I'm sorry. Repeat it again." His ears couldn't catch it.
"There's no danger except for the beasts lurking around. That too if someone uses the route aside from the main one. Due to the subjugation of nobles conducted by your majesty, all the provinces that were previously disconnected have finally united in terms of governance, taxes and policies. Before, each region was decided by nobles in charge of a particular land. Commoners' life differs depending on this. Those who do not prosper opt to become bandits out of desperation. Now, no highway robbery happens in Ryntum. At least, as far as I know. Also, firearms deter people from committing such acts. No matter how skilful their swordsmanship is, a single bullet shot by a soldier is sufficient to end everything."
Riz was satisfied with Arnold's clear explanation. He never thought the effect he brought to society would be this huge when he solely operated for his own interest.
Anyway, since it worked in his favour, he sees no need to fix it. But, there is one more question yet to be answered.
"Arnold, I understand the reasoning you gave me is quite logical. However, for three profitable smithies to agree at the same time sounds absurd to me. Did these three have some connection between them?"
The old man was thunderstruck, "I was impressed by the sharpness of your mind. Yes, just like your majesty suspected. They're connected by marriage like the political marriage nobles practiced. Do you think it'll pose a problem? Or perhaps they're scheming something?"
Riz shook his head weakly, "I don't know unless I investigate. Nothing wrong with an arranged marriage, it's common among rich people to secure benefits. Love does fade but benefits stay eternal. Since they accepted the offer, you help them retrofit their place to produce parts for us continuously."
"Which parts should we—"
He raised his hands, "I'll leave it to you, Arnold."
"Alright, then. I think that's it from me."
"Not so fast, there's one more question I need to ask." Riz held him from leaving. "Not exactly a question but more of an opinion, I guess."
"What is it, your majesty? I'm all ears."
"In your opinion, how do we make people more willing to engage in business? From the report that I have, citizens are more prone to find a job instead of starting their own businesses. You're a former businessman and know a lot of people.
While rubbing his chin, Arnold lost in his train of thought. "In my opinion, it has to do with knowledge and burden. From what my grandson told me, there seems to be no basic business course offered in high school. This may dampen the ambitious students who are interested."
"Well, I do admit our school leans towards engineering too much. I had no deep knowledge of business stuff. Don't worry, I'll consult business people to draw up the syllabus. What about the burden you're talking about?"
"The burden one person had to bear is too heavy. The most important thing to start a business is money. For a rich family, they have no problem gathering with this. However, that's not the case for others. If they can't pass this first hurdle, then forget about doing business." Arnold expresses his thoughts.
"Hmm...I think I get what you want to say, Arnold. Leave it to me. Thank you for your opinion."
"You're welcome, your majesty. I am always happy to help."
After Arnold left, Riz pushed aside the matter of mana crystal. He starts to write The Patents Act and Licensing Regulation of 301 which he has a rough idea in his mind.
The content is far from perfect and needs to be improved here and there during discussions with his ministers later.
As for the risk stuff he discussed, he decided to draw up a Business Entities Regulations of 301. It introduces a type of business ownership like a sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company and corporation.
He doesn't forget to include their legal status and taxes. Again, the rough drafts are to be improvised later.
Then, he got another new idea. He called it Business Starter Initiative. The idea is that the government will set a certain amount of money to give as a loan for anyone who wish to start a business. Depending on their business model, the amount they get would be differ.
To not turn this initiative into a burden for the government, Riz plans to limit and fluctuate the number of recipients every year.
Let say, there were one hundred recipients in the year 301. If the first batch one hundred business has a good performance and pays back a portion of loan on time, the total number of recipients for next year would increase. Otherwise, it would decrease.
He was occupied by these two legislations and one initiative plan for several days.
It is not preposterous to say he lost several sleeping hours.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l