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Chapter 290: Business
Chapter 290: Business
Liam rushed back to Meereen because the Trade Fair was about to begin. After all, the existence of these four city-states had become questionable since the abolition of the slave trade. In the TV show, Daenerys abolished the slave trade but failed to find a suitable replacement, leading to widespread rebellion. Liam was now eager to introduce new products to replace the slave export.
Fortunately, with the support of industry and Supernatural Power, new products were quickly produced. When Liam returned to Meereen, he saw the former slave manor, now transformed into a collective farm, where countless freed slaves worked diligently, cultivating various Mystic Plants from the Plants vs. Zombies World.
In the Meereen City Hall, the officials' reports painted a picture of prosperity. The freed slaves had found new jobs, and the magical plants provided ample food, vegetables, and textile materials. This situation had led to a flourishing city-state. However, the officials also informed Liam that most of the warehouses were filled with goods produced by the freshmen, and there was an urgent need to sell them.
The most popular product in the regions under Liam's control was coinage. With the help of various metal-absorbing plants, Liam obtained sufficient gold and copper from the nearby copper mines and silver from the eastern mountains.
Thus, Liam established a mint in Meereen, using a steam engine to power a mechanical press to produce currency. This industrial production ensured a stable precious metal content, with each coin being of the same size, shape, and with clear engravings. These coins were far superior to those produced by hand using molds and were quickly favored by merchants.
After the currency was produced, Liam established a bank for currency exchange and financial services. Every day, countless people visited the bank to exchange their old currency for the new machine-made coins.
To avoid provoking animosity, Liam invited representatives from the Iron Bank to take a stake. As long as there was profit to be made, the Iron Bank did not object to Liam setting up a bank. This opportunity allowed the local mechanical coinage to gain popularity worldwide.
Of course, this was only due to his current lack of power. In the future, when he was stronger, the nature of business might change.
However, while everyone loved gold coins, other goods required some promotion. So, the morning after his return to Meereen, Liam woke up Rose Crystal and sent her to the Temple for work. After washing up, he rode his broom to the top of the tallest Pyramid to prepare for the Noon Trade Exhibition and the Lunch Banquet.
Liam disliked living in the Pyramid because it lacked elevators, plumbing, and electricity. As a person from the modern world, living in a high place provided him no joy. Therefore, after occupying the city, the large Pyramids were repurposed as exhibition halls and inns for business promotion.
After setting up the exhibits, the merchants he had summoned began to arrive, panting as they climbed the numerous stairs to reach the top of the Pyramid. Liam genuinely admired those who climbed over 50 stories of a skyscraper on foot. However, they did not seem to mind; many merchants were grateful to Liam for inviting them to meet in this magnificent building.
As they ascended, they had already seen the goods Liam intended to exhibit on the lower floors. Now, they hoped to secure the rights to sell these items.
To avoid competition, Liam introduced products that were not available in other regions. For example, soap, matches, copperware, mirrors, refined salt, various spices, canned seafood, and exquisite jewelry produced by the four city-states in the eastern Slaver's Bay. Additionally, there were candles, lamp oil, clocks, lighters, porcelain, various ironware, spirits, and sugar transported down the Skahazadhan River from the Lazareen region.
The only regret was that due to the high demand for livestock products in both worlds, the region of Lazareen could no longer produce enough to export.
These dazzling goods quickly won over the Merchants who had originally come to purchase slaves. Tempted by the potential profits, they didn't mind what filled their ships. Previously, they had complained about the end of the slave trade, but now, each of them praised Liam's slave liberation efforts.
Under Liam's supervision, the Merchants soon began to bid on the goods. Naturally, many of them didn't have enough money. This is when the Meereenbank stepped in, offering them loans.
Although Liam found the 10% monthly interest rate exorbitant, equivalent to an annual rate of 120%, all the Merchants were happy to borrow from him. It turned out that these Merchants usually didn't qualify to borrow from the Iron Bank, and the high-interest loans from others were even more expensive.
After all the business was settled, the midday banquet began. With cooking methods from several worlds and a plethora of spices available, the food on the table was so delicious that the Merchants almost swallowed their tongues.
During the banquet, there was a small interruption. Just a few minutes into the meal, Rose Crystal skipped out of the Temple and appeared at the banquet. After yanking Liam's hair and complaining about not being invited to the feast, she sat down at the table next to him and joined in the meal. Soon, plates from various tables flew toward Rose Crystal, and after a hearty meal, she wiped her hands and mouth with Liam's napkin, hummed a tune, and left happily.
It wasn't until Rose Crystal had been gone for a while that the Merchants, who had been kneeling on the ground, pale-faced and trembling under the divine presence, managed to crawl back up. They had only heard that Lazareen, after gaining a new deity, had launched the War of Vengeance and annexed four Slave Cities, but they never imagined a deity would actually appear.
Now, most of the Merchants were brimming with confidence. With the deity's blessing, Lazareen was sure to rule this land for a long time, and Merchants loved a stable society. A few who had entertained the idea of not repaying their debts quickly abandoned it. After all, they had seen the close relationship between Lazareen's new king and the deity, and a divine debt collector was far more terrifying than the Faceless Men.
The day after the trade fair, the officials reported a piece of good news to Liam: the flow of goods, which had been halted by the war for several months, had finally resumed. They expected even more merchant ships in the next quarter.
Additionally, under Rose Crystal's intimidation, these Merchants were willing to lead local trade caravans to other cities. This would not only help set up trading posts to boost sales but also aid in gathering more extraordinary information. At least after capturing the Slave Cities, Liam had obtained a significant amount of information on Blood Magic and Shadow Magic.
After handling the government affairs for a few days, the calendar turned to the 9th month of the 297th year of Aegon's Calendar. It was a time of clear skies and lush pastures, traditionally when the Dothraki began their annual southern raids. According to custom, a large force would certainly come to the Lazaran Wilds for plunder. Liam planned to return and take advantage of this concentration of Dothraki to eliminate several major forces.
After giving detailed instructions to the government officials and the Commander of the Guard, Liam, with Rose Crystal perched on his shoulder, was bid farewell by a group of people as he boarded the steamship to return to the Lazareen region.
(End of Chapter)
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