Chapter 157 It Seems Craftman Guild Is Necessary After All
Sara and Rebecca, who had left the women's settlement, headed towards Cindy's glass workshop, which was nearby. Although they called it "Cindy's," the owner of the workshop was actually her father, Matt, and the workshop's name was "Tim's Workshop," named after Cindy's grandfather.
"Excuse me!"
Sara's loud voice echoed in the hot workshop, and a man who looked similar to Cindy turned around. He was probably Matt. It seemed he was in the middle of blowing glass, and Matt signaled to Sara and Rebecca to wait for a bit with a gesture.
After waiting for a while, Matt walked over to Sara and the others.
"What brings a noble lady to a place like this?"
"I'm Sophia, and I'd like to meet Ms. Cindy. I'm not a noble, but this is Lady Rebecca of the Orson Viscount family."
"I'm Rebecca Orson."
"Whoa, I... uh, nice to meet you, I suppose."
Sara and Rebecca greeted Matt lightly, trying not to be too formal, but even that seemed to have shocked Matt, a craftsman.
"Did you hear something from Ms. Cindy? I placed a large order for bottles."
"Perhaps you're the one who urgently ordered 100 thick bottles?"
"That's correct. I apologize for the sudden request."
Just then, Cindy rushed in, looking flustered. It seemed she had been out.
"I'm sorry I'm late."
"It's okay, don't worry about it. We're the ones who suddenly showed up."
Rebecca smiled at Cindy.
"I'm Sophia. Nice to meet you, Ms. Cindy."
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Cindy. You're the guildmaster of the merchant guild that sells Elma Brandy, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. Although our merchant guild is still like a newborn baby, just registered recently."
"And yet, you resemble Miss Sara so much, it's surprising."
"I've been told that before."
Sara didn't panic when pointed out, as she had expected it beforehand. She calmly nodded.
"To be honest, I've been visiting some acquaintances' glass workshops since this morning."
"Is that to place an order for decorative bottles, Ms. Cindy?"
"That's part of it, but...I prioritized warning them that they might be accused of a crime if they take the silica sand without permission."
"This is a matter of life and death for the glass workshops, so there's no other choice."
'Haha, Ms. Cindy is doing a great job. If they can't get silica sand for free, they'll inevitably have to raise the prices of their glass products. Now, how will the merchant houses that deal with the glass workshops react?'
If the merchant houses keep the purchase price of glass products the same, the glass workshops will suffer significant losses. They might reconsider their transactions with the merchant houses. What if Sara's merchant guild orders a large quantity of glass products then?
Moreover, the payment for the bottles of Elma Brandy and Elma liquor comes from the Marquis's private funds, so there's no need to worry about running out of money.
Of course, not all workshops have high technical skills. However, having high technical skills isn't everything. It's not like they want every workshop to make decorative bottles. As long as they have the minimum technical skills to produce standard products, they should be able to make simple wine bottles.
"Well, in that case..."
Cindy let out a hesitant voice.
"What's wrong?"
"I, alone, lack persuasive power, they say..."
"Ah, I see."
Indeed, if a random craftsman who isn't even the workshop owner suddenly comes and says, "You'll be punished for taking away the silica sand" or "There's a merchant guild that wants to place a massive order for glass products," it's not like they'll easily nod in agreement.
However, as a first attempt, it's not a bad method. It's just a matter of making it known that it's the truth.
"Let's hold a meeting for glassworkers at Grandchester Castle. If necessary, we can also invite merchants or merchant guild members who are involved in the trade."
"Eh, a meeting at the castle?"
"If a bureaucrat participates, it'll have persuasive power."
"That may be true, but..."
'I get it. You're saying the craftsmen will all be intimidated, right? But that's the goal!'
Sara planned to take advantage of the meeting to formally place orders with multiple glass workshops from her merchant guild. As a merchant guild with the power to influence the bureaucrats of the territory, she intended to make a strong impression and demonstrate her financial power with a massive order.
Originally, the authority of Grandchester territory and the Marquis's private wealth didn't belong to Sara's merchant guild. It just so happened that the bureaucrat needed to convey the information about the silica sand to the craftsmen, and the Marquis happened to be paying the penalty for the theft.
However, Sara wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of this timing at all. Many glassworkers and merchant guilds affiliated with the Commerce Guild would have to acknowledge the power of her own merchant guild.
She would probably be asked to pay an advance payment from the workshop. And the promissory note used for payment would likely be taken to the merchant guild and cashed in immediately. Of course, Sara had prepared a large amount of cash in the merchant guild's treasury, ready to welcome such customers.
Unless she made a strong impact, Sara thought that she wouldn't be able to smoothly sell the exclusive Elma brandy and Elma liquor, as well as many products from the Maiden's Tower, for a while.
'It's not like we could smoothly register with the Commerce Guild, so we can't avoid friction with other merchant guilds and shops. Since we're new to the market, we won't be competing with them, but there'll be plenty of people trying to copy us. Hmm? I forgot to ask about the name of the merchant guild we registered with. I'll have to ask Grandfather later!'
Despite thinking about the dirty tricks of the merchant guild, she seemed to have forgotten the basics.
"Ms. Cindy, could you create a list of glassworkers who need to be contacted? If possible, it would be a great help if you could also include the names of shops and merchant guilds that have exclusive contracts with the workshop."
"Don't worry, I'll have it ready by tomorrow."
"Please send it to Mr. Castor in the Grandchester estate's office."
"Understood."
At this point, Cindy realized something serious. It was the fact that important people, possibly nobles and their relatives, were having a "standing conversation" near the entrance of the workshop.
"I'm sorry to keep you standing for so long in a place like this! It's not a beautiful place, but please come inside."
Cindy guided Sara and Rebecca to a 2-story building next to the workshop, which seemed to be the residential area. Unlike the sturdy workshop, this place had a soft, gentle atmosphere with many soft-colored fabrics.
"I apologize, but this is not a place fit for noble guests, please take a seat."
As Sara and Rebecca sat down, a middle-aged woman emerged from the inner room, bowed lightly, and placed tea on the table. Judging by her face, she was probably Cindy's mother.
"Lady Sophia, may I show you some sample bottles we're making?"
Cindy left the room and came back with 4 bottles. There were glass bottles lined up, similar in shape to the wine bottles from the Sarasa era.
'Is this design also popularized by someone from my past life?'
Sara thought to herself, and indeed, it was just an ordinary wine bottle.
"Is there a bottle in here that matches the shape Miss Sara mentioned?"
"This shape looks good, but could you make the indentation at the bottom a bit deeper and increase the thickness of the glass?"
"Are the size and color okay?"
"Yes, no problem."
Sara pointed to a green bottle with a gentle gesture.
"Would it be okay to make it like this?"
Cindy skillfully drew a picture of a bottle on the table using a charcoal-like writing tool. She drew a cross-section to show the thickness of the glass and included 4 different image diagrams on the bottom.
"That's right. The thickness should be around this much. For the bottom, let's go with the one on the far right."
"Got it. With this, we can probably use an existing mold."
And so, Sara and Cindy decided on the bottle design and settled on the deadline and price. Amazingly, they could make 100 of them in just 7 days. Incidentally, each bottle would cost around 800 Dalas, but they decided to add a 50-Dala express fee.
'When you think about it, handmade glass bottles are really inexpensive, but Elma liquor's cider isn't going to be priced for commoners. If we can recycle them effectively, that'd be great.'
By the way, this price assumes that silica sand will be available for free, so if they can get it for cheap, it might be even lower.
"Ms. Cindy, you've already decided on the price assuming silica sand will be free, but we haven't even had a meeting yet and the price of silica sand hasn't been decided, right?"
"Well, it turns out that there are merchants who sell silica sand."
Apparently, there's already a distribution network for silica sand.
"The silica sand being sold is made by crushing quartz with earth-attribute magic, so the quality is good, but the price is high."
"I see. So, if we use high-quality silica sand, the price will be this much. At the very least, we need to sell the silica sand we can collect near the river at a lower price than the ones made by crushing quartz. That's a good indicator."
Sara jotted down notes on her paper, such as "high-quality silica sand is made by crushing quartz" and "need to confirm the distribution network," as she continued her conversation with Cindy.
"But, there are also some concerning things, Ms. Cindy."
"And what might those be?"
"If the silica sand becomes expensive, we can't help but raise the product's price. However, will the trading partners' stores agree to it?"
"I think it depends on the merchant, but it might be tough."
"If the cost of raw materials increases, we'll inevitably have to raise the product's value. And if the store offers the same buying price as before, workshops that want to cancel their exclusive contracts might appear. But, when canceling the contract with the merchant, wouldn't some kind of disadvantage arise for the workshop side?"
Cindy placed her hand on her chin and thought deeply.
"I think the conditions vary by contract, but if there's a contract period, a penalty for breach of contract might be incurred. Moreover, if the workshop cancels the contract on their own terms, there's a possibility that they won't be able to sell their products at that store."
'After all, the craftsmen's guild is necessary! If craftsmen and workshops cooperate, they won't be at a disadvantage due to the merchants' or merchant guild's convenience!'
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