Pay first, deliver later, and not until three months later?

By Saint Sis above…

Captain Kaidesen was willing to swear by the mast of the Traveler that he had never heard of such a foolish idea in his life.

However—

He had ultimately underestimated people's greed and recklessness.

When he announced the decision of the Governor's Mansion, the rioting crowd and the Empire's soldiers who were just there to watch the excitement immediately dispersed.

What dropped his jaw even more happened the next morning.

The sky over Withered Wood Port was just beginning to brighten, yet the entrance of the Governor's Mansion was already crowded with bustling people.

Seeing the entrance of the Governor's Mansion completely blocked, Captain Kaidesen's assistant Ai Wen hurriedly shouted.

"Everyone! Please line up! Don't all squeeze together! It doesn't matter if you arrived early or late, the price is the same! The merciful and great Prince Colin assures you, everyone will have their share! Whether it's the Imperial Army or the citizens of the Empire, he will treat everyone equally!"

This statement won applause and whistles from countless people, even though just last night these people were cursing that supreme name in the tavern.

They could accept flour at six silver coins a bag, after all, the windmills had been blown away by a great storm, a temporary hardship they could understand.

What they could not accept was discrimination.

Why sell food to others first and let the citizens of the Empire go hungry?

Fairness!

This was all they asked for.

Under Ai Wen's loud appeal, the crowd quickly formed a long queue in order.

The crooked line stretched along the dusty street, like a centipede, almost reaching from the entrance of the Governor's Mansion to the under-construction pier.

Restless merchants, nervous captains, and anxious sailors all tiptoed to look towards the front of the queue, afraid of missing this massive, unprecedented buying frenzy even for a moment.

And not just captains, merchants, and sailors, some Imperial soldiers, upon hearing the news, also joined in the fun.

The salary of the Imperial Soldiers wasn't very high, but unlike the sailors who live for the present, they hardly had opportunities to spend money and had extra allowances when traveling.

Although most of them didn't know the market situation for corn in other ports, the sailors, captains, and merchants engaged in long-distance trade were the ones who understood it.

As they were all queuing here, clearly the price of thirty silver coins was profitable.

They didn't expect to get rich from this, just earning some drinking money would be satisfying.

Due to the sheer number of people, the office location had to be temporarily changed to the entrance of the Governor's Mansion.

Several sailors from the Traveler brought over a sturdy long table, Ai Wen sat behind it, his quill pen busily working non-stop.

He quickly jotted down numbers and names with his head down, then pulled a piece of thick printed paper from a stack beside him, carefully filled in the information, and stamped it with a seal.

Each voucher had a corresponding number, recorded in a register along with the initial purchaser's transaction information and handprint, thus minimizing forgery to the greatest extent.

Even if forgery occurred, the initial purchaser's information could be traced to track the entire transaction chain, thereby identifying the source of the counterfeit.

This was almost the same strategy as the Colin Group when issuing stocks in the primary market.

"Next!"

Kaidesen personally commanded at the door, sweat beading on his forehead, his voice exceptionally loud today.

He couldn't care less if these people were crazy, after all, even if they were, the silver coins on the table were real!

"Hold onto your money tight, fill out the information on the form in advance, and act quickly when it's your turn!"

"Prince Colin's seal... corn transaction voucher?" A fat captain stared wide-eyed, repeatedly inspecting the paper Ai Wen handed over, "Delivered in three months? But... but we've paid so much money, can we really get the grain?"

"Of course!" Ai Wen sternly tapped the table and glanced up at him, "This is the promise of Prince Colin and the Governor's Mansion! If you don't believe it, you need not buy."

"No, I believe!" The fat captain hurriedly shook his head, carefully placing the heavy bag of silver coins on the table, as if afraid the clerk would change his mind, "I'll definitely come in three months! I hope I'll see my goods in the port's warehouse!"

Ai Wen did not respond, merely mechanically handing over the voucher to him, then the staff of the Governor's Mansion — actually the sailors from the Traveler — took the money bag and sent it to the warehouse behind.

As he received the voucher, a hint of joy flashed across the fat captain's face, carefully folding it up and placing it solemnly in his chest, protecting it like a treasure as he carefully left the queue.

The onlooking crowd displayed envy in their eyes, whispering among themselves.

"Look at old Henry, that's five hundred silver coins without batting an eye!"

"Ha, that's thirty silver coins per ton of corn, such a good deal, I wouldn't bat an eye either... just too bad I don't have that much money."

"What's so good about it, three months! What if the corn doesn't come by then, wouldn't you lose everything?"

"What are you afraid of? With the Prince's seal, this thing is as good as money! If worst comes to worst, you can still sell it to someone else by then!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion, and the queue was stirring.

Those who had just received their transaction vouchers were ecstatic, while those still in line grew even more anxious, constantly craning their necks to look ahead, fearing that by the time it was their turn, it would all be sold out.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.