Chapter 9 : Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Perfume Goes on Sale, Customers Pour In Without End
An hour later,
the assistant Mark had brought finished drafting the cooperation contract.
Mark and Kaya went together to the notary office of the Kingdom of Mia in Lute Town.
For an ordinary contract, it was enough as long as both parties agreed.
But when it came to the perfume partnership contract, Mark unanimously insisted on going to the Kingdom’s notary office.
Because only a contract notarized there would be safe from the covetous eyes of others.
Once the contract was notarized,
Ryan let out a sigh of relief.
This way, even if he did absolutely nothing from now on,
he could spend the rest of his life lying flat and still have more money than he could ever use.
Ryan firmly believed that perfume had that much appeal.
Right afterward, Ryan handed the perfume formula and production process to Mark.
At the same time, he also gave Mark the three special perfumes he had developed through testing.
That also gave Mark a whole new line of thinking.
Perfume could come in many different scents, which meant it could satisfy the needs of different customers.
Naturally, this mattered.
After all, perfume was tied directly to his business performance. How could he not take it seriously?
However, after looking through the formula once, he felt even more strongly that reaching this partnership had been a wonderful stroke of fortune.
The reason was simple: the material cost of making perfume was extremely low.
Especially for the basic perfume. With just 1 Silver Coin, one could buy enough materials for ten batches.
That meant each batch of raw materials cost only 10 Copper Coins.
And that was only the raw material cost.
After processing, one batch could produce about three bottles of finished perfume.
Mark asked Ryan how much the basic perfume should be sold for.
Ryan suggested 1 Silver Coin per bottle. There was no need to be too black-hearted. Earning ninety-nine Copper Coins in profit was enough.
Hearing that, Mark gave Ryan a strange look.
Yes, not black-hearted at all.
He would be weeping tears of joy while making a blood-soaked profit of ninety-nine Copper Coins.
And 20% of that would belong to Ryan.
That was only the price of the basic version.
The special versions would cost even more.
After all, they used special materials, so was it not perfectly normal for them to be more expensive?
Besides, this world was just like Blue Star in Ryan’s previous life. People of high status cared deeply about appearances.
When those nobles bought things, they did not buy what was good, nor what was durable. They bought only what was most expensive.
Ryan felt that if he did not fleece them properly, his conscience would be troubled.
As Kaya stood to the side and watched Ryan and Mark converse with such ease, a faint smile appeared on her face.
But when she heard the two of them set the price of the basic perfume at 1 Silver Coin, her cheeks twitched slightly.
The hearts of those two were simply too dark.
A product with a cost of 1 Copper Coin was going to be sold for 1 Silver Coin—a hundredfold increase in price.
Still, Kaya said nothing.
Because 10% of the profits would go to her, she simply turned her head away. Out of sight, out of mind.
Ryan did not notice Kaya’s look. He was focused entirely on explaining the production process to Mark.
“First, you need to distinguish between the commoner version and the noble version.”
“The commoner version is the basic version. It should sell for 1 Silver Coin, and each bottle should contain a bit more, about enough to last for a month.”
“As for the noble version, follow the formula and adjust the proportions of the ingredients, then add materials with special fragrances. For the packaging, make it as luxurious and dazzling as possible. In that case, selling one bottle of the noble version for 50 Silver Coins to 1 Gold Coin would not be a problem.”
“W-wait a moment. Let me write that down.”
Mark visibly panicked.
Right afterward, he hurriedly took out a notebook and pen.
As he tried his best to understand Ryan’s words, he recorded everything, intending to study it carefully when he returned later.
He realized that Ryan had already surpassed him in the art of business.
It was just a pity that Ryan’s ambitions were not focused on commerce.
Before long,
Mark had written down everything Ryan said.
Only now did he truly understand how fortunate he was to have reached a partnership with Ryan.
“Ryan, I will count this cooperation as a favor I owe you. In the future, if you ever need anything, I will definitely help you.”
Mark spoke solemnly.
“Alright, Mr. Mark.”
Ryan nodded.
Although he did not particularly care about Mark’s favor,
he would not refuse when someone voluntarily owed him one. Who knew whether he might need it someday?
Who could say what the future would bring?
“Good. Then today’s matters are fully settled. Next, I need to move quickly and make perfume sell like wildfire.”
“Then everything depends on you, Mr. Mark.”
“Do not worry. Leave it to me.”
After that, Mark waved his hand and turned to leave.
Now that the contract had been signed, he had countless things to take care of.
Cultivating raw materials, constructing workshops, training workers, keeping the formula secret, and so on.
There were too many tasks to count.
But he was more than willing to take them on.
In truth, this was also the reason Ryan had handed everything over to Mark.
If one wanted perfume to become a best-selling product in this world, there was no telling how much work would be required.
Ryan had no desire to return to that kind of life again.
He had finally arrived in another world—an isekai world with beast-eared girls, no less.
How could he possibly stay rooted in one place?
Still, if he wanted a higher quality of life, money was absolutely essential.
Work hard, Mark!
You can do it!
Whether Ryan could achieve financial freedom depended entirely on Mark’s ability.
…
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and a month went by.
Mark had already completed all the preliminary preparations.
A perfume counter had been added to the shop in Lute Town.
He had also found suitable land for cultivating the raw materials. Once the next batch matured, the cost of perfume would fall even further.
Very soon, the first day of perfume sales arrived.
Because Mark had advertised it throughout the town in advance,
a huge crowd had gathered outside the shop that day.
“Welcome, everyone! Please line up properly and purchase in order. Thank you for your cooperation!”
A shop assistant shouted at the entrance with all his strength.
But no matter how hard he shouted, he could not dampen the customers’ enthusiasm.
Of these customers, 90% were women. They were the main buyers of perfume. The remaining 10% had come purely because they saw such a large crowd and wanted to join the excitement.
One had to admit, even in a different world,
the habit of watching a spectacle had not changed at all.
The shop’s oak door had not closed once since morning. Repeatedly pushed open, the hinges had grown hot and creaked in protest.
The line of waiting customers stretched from the entrance, wound along the cobblestone street, turned two corners, and nearly reached the blacksmith shop at the street corner.
Commoners in rough linen clothes and noblewomen in skirts that brushed the ground were all packed into the same line, and no one had the leisure to preserve their dignity.
At the very front of the line stood the baker’s wife, still wearing her apron. It was obvious she had rushed straight from the bakery.
“There’s still Emerald Jasmine left, right?”
She shouted at the shop assistant, though her voice was swallowed up halfway by the surrounding clamor.
“Yes, yes, don’t worry. Today is the first day of sales, so there will definitely be something you like.”
The shop assistant replied with a smile.
“Good, good, good. I’ll take five bottles.”
“Certainly.”
After paying, the woman left happily with her perfume.
Then the next woman in line stepped forward to buy.
Not long after, a commotion rose from farther back in the queue.
A man shoved his way forward two steps and tossed the money pouch at his waist onto the counter in front of the assistant.
“Move aside. I’m in a hurry.”
As he spoke, he tried to push his way to the front, but one of the guards Mark had hired immediately reached out and blocked him.
“Do you understand the rules? Get in line!” The guard’s voice was as rough as ground stone. “Can’t you see everyone else is lining up?”
The man clicked his tongue and pulled out some money from his pouch. “I’ll pay extra. I want two bottles of Blazing Rose.”
“You don’t need to pay extra. Go stand properly at the back. If you refuse to line up, then your right to buy will be canceled.”
The guard spoke coldly.
The man glared at him.
But realizing that this was still the other party’s territory, he cursed under his breath, then turned around and went to the end of the line, where he obediently began to wait.
Before coming here today, his wife had already given him strict orders.
If he failed to bring perfume home, he would know no peace.
This was only a small interlude.
But as time passed, some people pushed forward, others shouted curses from behind, and several guards squeezed into the crowd to maintain order, their spears carving narrow gaps through the packed bodies.
“I want one bottle of Morning Mist Orchard and one bottle of Mossy Hidden Forest.”
“Certainly, here you are.”
“Hello, shopkeeper, I want two bottles of Moonlight Mint.”
“Certainly, here you are.”
People came and went. Customers arrived in an endless stream.
Over the course of that month, Mark had also developed several additional basic perfumes.
Ordinary commoners or those without much money would usually buy the basic versions.
After all, the basic version cost only 1 Silver Coin. If one gritted one’s teeth, it was still affordable.
The wives of nobles all bought the special versions instead.
Each of those special versions had special plants added to them, making the fragrance even more pleasant.
Naturally, their prices were also far more beautiful, ranging from 50 Silver Coins to 1 Gold Coin.
These were made specifically to slaughter those willing fools.
In the middle section of the line outside, two girls dressed as maids were whispering to each other.
“Do you think we should buy Honey Clover or Lavender Field?”
The shorter one asked, her fingers twisting nervously around the ties of her apron.
“Madam said she wants Lavender Field. She says it helps with sleep.”
The taller maid answered, her eyes fixed on the shop the entire time. “But I want to buy a bottle of Citrus Sunshine for myself. It smells refreshing.”
Inside the shop, the manager’s voice had already gone hoarse from shouting.
“Next.”
He waved his hand, and sweat dripped from his forehead onto the ledger, blurring a small patch of ink.
The guards at the entrance had no choice but to raise their voices again. “Slow down! Don’t shove! One at a time!”
But their shouts were quickly drowned out by the next wave of noise swelling from the crowd.
The line kept growing longer. The blacksmith at the street corner leaned out, took one look, shook his head, and went back inside to continue hammering iron.
The clanging of metal mixed with the uproar from the perfume shop, carrying far into the afternoon sunlight.
From a distance, Kaya stood with Ryan, watching the store.
When she saw the endless crowd at the entrance, she was dumbfounded.
Even though she had long known that perfume would be popular, she had never imagined it would create a scene like this.
Without exaggeration, as long as the shop did not close, customers would continue coming to buy perfume.
It was practically a miracle.
Ryan, on the other hand, was not nearly as shocked as Kaya.
He had long known that perfume was a product of an entirely new era. A spectacle like this was nothing unusual.
Watching the manager inside the shop work himself into a sweat, Ryan felt delighted.
Busy was good. The busier, the better.
The busier things became, the more money they would make.
And the more dividends he would receive.
At this moment, Ryan finally understood the joy of the capitalists from Blue Star in his previous life.
As long as the people under him kept working hard, money would continue flowing endlessly into his hands.
Work hard. You can do it!
Afterward, Kaya brought Ryan back to the orphanage.
Kaya was also in an excellent mood.
Ten percent of the perfume’s profits belonged to her. Looking at the grand scene today, that amount would definitely not be small.
From now on, the treatment of the children in the orphanage could improve, and the food they ate could become better as well.
At that thought, even Kaya’s steps became lighter.