Ak Simin just stared at Namgung Il silently for a while.
'Selling alcohol?'
Ak Simin was repeating the words Namgung Il had just uttered in his mind.
If it was alcohol, was it the alcohol he knew?
Ak Simin asked Namgung Il as if he were unsure.
"If it's alcohol... it's the alcohol I know, right?"
"Then is there any other alcohol besides that?"
"...No. No, there isn't. But you want to sell that alcohol at the Clear Bright Festival?"
"Yes."
Namgung Il answered with a firm voice.
Seeing that, Ak Simin once again realized that Namgung Il had not spoken in jest.
"...Okay, fine. That's all good."
"..."
"But how are you going to sell the alcohol?"
Ak Simin asked Namgung Il a fundantal question.
In order to sell alcohol, you had to have a product to sell.
In the alcohol business, the product was of course alcohol, and Ak Simin was asking Namgung Il how on earth he was going to get that alcohol.
"I've never done business before, but I know that the basics of business are to leave as much profit as possible."
"..."
"It would be the sa for the alcohol business. We have to get the alcohol at a cheap price and sell it for more, but can we find a supplier who will give us alcohol in just a few days?"
Ak Simin already knew that that was realistically impossible.
Of course, if they tried to get it, they could get it sohow, but unless they had connections in this industry, they would only be able to get cheap makgeolli at best.
"We can get it."
Just then, Namgung Il answered with a tone that did not feel a single bit of hesitation.
On what basis could he answer so confidently?
Ak Simin asked Namgung Il with a suspicious look.
"We can get it. If you go to an inn with no custors, there will be unsold makgeolli piled up."
"What are you talking about?"
"...?"
"In the first place, how can we sell sothing that doesn't sell?"
Did that an he was going to get good quality alcohol, not cheap makgeolli?
Ak Simin beca even more curious about where Namgung Il's confidence ca from.
"We will sell at least dium-grade cheongju."
"..."
"That should be enough to have value as a product."
"Just in case, what price are you going to set?"
"We'll have to decide that after seeing the unit price when we buy the alcohol."
Hearing those words, Ak Simin let out a slight sigh as if he had expected it.
"I'll just say one thing. You can't sell such expensive items at the Clear Bright Festival."
"Why not?"
"Because the custors who co to the Clear Bright Festival basically don't use a lot of money."
The Clear Bright Festival is a festival, not a business.
Although the Flying Dragon Coin might have played a major role in revitalizing the economy of Luoyang in the past, it was true that its value had fallen a lot compared to then.
Because the current economy of Luoyang was doing well on its own even if left alone.
Accordingly, people did not try to spend money at the Clear Bright Festival.
"Usually, they just buy a few more Flying Dragon Coins and enjoy the festival."
"..."
"But if we're selling expensive alcohol, will people want to drink it? If it were , I'd rather go to a tavern outside with that money."
The custors who visit the Clear Bright Festival do not co to buy the products sold by the students.
The main purpose is to enjoy the festival itself. Using the Flying Dragon Coin is just an additional fun.
But who would pay so much money for a currency that is used just for fun?
Of course, they might pay if it was a little expensive, calling it cute, but if the price of the item being sold beca unimaginably high, it would no longer be seen as cute.
"Sothing like this happened once in the past."
"...?"
"Among our class seniors, there was soone who made clothes and sold them at the Clear Bright Festival."
That was a story from a few years ago.
Since it was one of the rather famous anecdotes in the Vermilion Bird Class, Ak Simin had also heard it from a senior when he was a first-year.
"The idea itself was pretty good. If we make clothes that symbolize the Vermilion Bird Class, won't people buy them as souvenirs? That's what they thought and proceeded with it."
"..."
"But only one piece was actually sold. Can you guess why?"
Namgung Il silently shook his head.
Seeing that, Ak Simin continued to speak.
"The clothes were too expensive."
"..."
"But in fact, if you consider the materials used to make the clothes, they weren't that expensive. In the first place, the seniors had sold the clothes with the thought of just covering the cost of the materials."
The problem was that the materials used to make the clothes were too high-grade.
If it was to be a piece of clothing that symbolized the Vermilion Bird Class, the fabric had to be good. And if they made clothes with good fabric, people would like them and willingly buy the clothes.
Of course, since the students at that ti had never done business before, they had thought so and had made the clothes carelessly.
"At that ti, the price of the clothes was probably five silver nyang?"
"..."
"Of course no one bought them. And it wasn't like the clothes were particularly well-made either."
How well could students who had only learned martial arts their whole lives make clothes?
Compared to the clothes sold outside, they had no competitiveness in terms of price, and the quality was even lower.
There were few people who would pay five silver nyang for a piece of clothing, and there were even fewer people who would pay that much for a low-quality piece of clothing.
They would rather buy better clothes outside for the sa price.
It was a similar context to what Ak Simin had said to Namgung Il earlier.
"Do you understand what I an now?"
"..."
"dium-grade cheongju? Fine. But it's aningless if it's expensive."
In particular, Luoyang was a place where taverns flourished.
To drink dium-grade cheongju there, it would cost at least thirty copper coins, even at the cheapest.
If there was no advantage over drinking at a tavern, people would never buy the sa alcohol at the Clear Bright Festival.
"The price has to be cheaper than a tavern, or if not, the atmosphere has to be better than drinking at a tavern for people to drink the alcohol we sell."
"..."
"I'm sorry for giving my opinion."
As he spoke, Ak Simin realized that he had only been criticizing Namgung Il's opinion.
He was the one who had asked for an opinion first.
As the situation beca like this, it looked as if he had asked for an opinion to criticize Namgung Il.
'Did I expect too much from Namgung Il?'
He might have spoken more harshly because of that expectation.
That Namgung Il would say so brilliant alternative.
On the other hand, since he had no expectations at all for Ma Dong-pal and Gwangcheon, he had not even criticized them like now.
"..."
It didn't seem like a better alternative would co out even if he dragged on the ti here.
Satisfied with having heard Namgung Il's opinion for now, Ak Simin was about to end the conversation at this point.
"Still, it was a pretty good idea. You too, think about the parts I ntioned earlier until tomorrow..."
"I was wondering what you were talking about. It was a simple problem."
"...?"
"So the point is, if it's cheaper than the market price, and there's an atmosphere for drinking, then everything is solved, right?"
"Uh... well, that's right."
If they could satisfy all the conditions Namgung Il had just ntioned, there would be no problem with selling alcohol at the Clear Bright Festival.
However, the biggest problem would be that they couldn't realistically solve those conditions.
But for so reason, Namgung Il had a confident expression, just like at the beginning.
"I think I can solve them. The things you just ntioned."
"...What?"
"Co with sowhere tomorrow."
Where on earth was he telling him to go with him?
Namgung Il did not tell him the destination until the day of.
***
The next evening.
Originally, they should have been in the middle of a eting, continuing from yesterday, but Ak Simin was out of the Flying Dragon Academy with Namgung Il.
"..."
Ak Simin still did not know where Namgung Il was trying to take him.
It seed they were heading towards the downtown area... but where on earth were they going?
The destination was one thing, but Ak Simin was also quite curious about the answer Namgung Il had given him yesterday.
"I think I can solve them. The things you just ntioned."
Namgung Il had clearly answered him.
Did that an he could buy alcohol cheaper than the market price?
Putting other things aside, if only that could be solved, the plan to sell alcohol itself could be carried out sohow.
'But how...'
There was one way to buy alcohol cheaper than the market price.
That was to go directly to the brewery and buy the alcohol, not the tavern.
Although he didn't know the exact market price, if he could buy it at cost, he would be able to buy the alcohol much cheaper than the price sold at the tavern.
'The problem is that that's impossible.'
The downtown area of Luoyang is quite famous throughout the martial arts world.
As such, there were so many taverns in Luoyang that it was hard to count, and each of those taverns had a contract with a brewery that supplied them with alcohol.
'Luoyang is a place where they can't sell because they don't have alcohol.'
In other words, it ant that the demand was much greater than the supply.
Because of that, the alcohol from the breweries was often sold out before it was even made, and the taverns were desperate to sign contracts with breweries that consistently produced high-quality alcohol.
Because if they just received the alcohol, they could sell it all at a higher price.
This was the reason why they couldn't go to the brewery and buy alcohol at cost.
"Namgung..."
Ak Simin was about to call Namgung Il but swallowed his words in the middle.
For a mont, he had thought that Namgung Il might not know about this market situation in Luoyang, but he imdiately corrected his thought that that was not the case.
'If that were the case, he wouldn't have brought up the idea of selling alcohol in the first place.'
Ak Simin decided to just watch what Namgung Il did for now.
If he saw sothing that was really not right, it would be okay to say sothing then.
But if they ca up empty-handed today as well, they would really run out of ti.
'Namgung Il... I believe in you.'
Ak Simin was muttering so in his heart and sending an ardent gaze, but whether he didn't notice, Namgung Il didn't react at all and just continued to walk down the road.
Thud—.
A little later, Namgung Il stopped walking.
"It's here."
It seed they had arrived at their destination.
Ak Simin slowly raised his head and looked at what was in front of him.
"...?"
What he saw in front of him was a tavern.
However, it was a place that boasted such a magnificent scale that it imdiately caught the eye even when compared to the other taverns in the entertainnt district.
"Yongmun... Tavern?"
Ak Simin read the na written on the sign with a dazed expression.
A grand na for a shop, befitting its magnificent scale.
Ak Simin looked at Namgung Il with a look that said he didn't know why he had brought him to a place like this.
"Let's go up and have a light drink first."
"...?"
"Follow ."
Namgung Il said and moved his steps towards the main gate as if it were his own house.
Ak Simin, who was staring blankly at him.
To have a drink at such an expensive-looking tavern... Ak Simin couldn't bring himself to take a step.
"Senior Ak."
"...?"
"I won't ask you to pay, so co quickly."
Just then, Namgung Il said with a smirk.
Only then did Ak Simin get angry and chase after Namgung Il.
"Who do you think is scared because of money?"
"Am I wrong?"
"Yes! I have my pride as a senior. I also have enough money to buy this much for a junior!"
"Really? Then I'll eat well."
He shouldn't have said that.
It didn't take long for Ak Simin to have that regret.
(End of Chapter)
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