After a period of construction, the island's first rum distillery was finally completed. From the moment the distillery's technical team left the country, I had to pay for all their food, drink, and sleep, plus the cost of equipment purchase and transportation, etc., and the little money I borrowed from Duke Jackson was about to bottom out.

To be honest, I don't even know how much each specific expense is, nominally the owner of my distillery, but in fact the workers and technicians in the early stage, including the financial staff, were all assigned by the Duke of Jackson, so the various expenses in the financial ledger are actually a series of meaningless numbers for me.

After Long Xin'er knew my predicament, she was very generous and said that she was willing to take out money to support, but Long Xin'er's so-called wealth is all hard currency such as gold bars and silver ingots, and we can't directly use them to trade, although theoretically speaking, we can also use gold and silver in exchange for pounds, but after all, there are no local tyrants on the island, and we can't exchange much even if we sell gold and silver, but Long Xin'er's several guards are quite good free labor.

In the current market, the price of a bottle of rum is about fifty pence, according to Uncle Song's income level, his daily salary is only enough to buy two bottles, if this is calculated, plus the production and transportation cycle and other factors, if you can sell 3,000 bottles a month, then the distillery can have a gross profit of 1,500 pounds a month, and 18,000 pounds a year, but this is only a gross profit, and it is estimated on the premise that there can be stable orders every month.

I took a pen and calculated back and forth on the paper, turning all the math I had learned in my life out of the cabinet, and in the end I didn't know what I was drawing on the paper.

Finally, after a period of dazzle, I threw away the pencil in my hand and walked outside, the sun in the distance dyed half of the sky, the warm sea breeze stirred my hair and hair to blow away my troubles, and the tired body and mind gradually relaxed, this is how life should be.

At this time, a winemaker from the winery walked up to me, and I glanced at him, this guy was named Lofik, he was not very old, and he had curly blond hair. Because Lofik's blonde hair is too prominent, and he has a very cute smile, I have a deep impression of him, and he is the only one of the winemakers at the distillery who makes me remember his name.

Rockefeller stood beside me, followed my line of sight into the distance, and said, "Has Manager Han ever been to a place other than the island?" ”

I looked at Lofik, thought for a moment and said, "You can say that you have been there, or you can say that you have not been, the world is changing too fast." ”

Rockefeller smiled and raised the corners of his mouth: "Interesting, Manager Han is a bit like a philosopher speaking." ”

I have always been unfazed by this untechnical hype, and I said, "Where am I a philosopher, I just know that soon I will be bankrupt." ”

"Then it depends on how the manager runs the winery," Lofik said. ”

I looked at Rockefeller in disbelief, thinking that this guy had something to say, and I put on a very humble posture and said, "I want to hear about it." ”

Rockefeller looked around, and after making sure that no one noticed us, he whispered: "If our distillery starts operating, under the condition of sufficient raw materials, the production capacity is not a big problem, but if the produced wine is to be transported back to the empire mainland or other overseas territories to be sold, then the transportation cost and cycle in the middle are too high, our wine is not yet famous, and the price should not be too high, so if the cost remains high, the distillery will definitely not be able to sustain it." ”

I nodded, this is also the most troublesome place for me, in this extremely backward transportation industry, the cost of transportation of goods accounts for a considerable proportion, and the geographical location of Paradise Island is relatively special, whether it is from the mainland of the British Empire or from the nearest overseas territories are relatively far away, our wine transportation time is far beyond the production and processing time.

I once asked if I could trade with the islands closer to us, but the reply was that according to the laws of the Empire, foreign trade in overseas territories must first be reported to the Imperial Cabinet, which will review and then submit it to the Imperial Parliament for approval, and after the Imperial Parliament approves it, the target country will go through the application process again before finally obtaining the trade license jointly approved and stamped by the two countries.

Such a cumbersome process, just going through it all takes a long time, and there will be a lot of uncontrollable factors involved, Duke Jackson has been helping the island to fight for the first trade route, but so far there is no news. So from a legal point of view, we can only do domestic trade now.

I asked Rockefell, "Is there a way for you to get a trade license quickly?" ”

Rockefeller shook his head: "What Duke Jackson hasn't done yet, I can't do it." But," he looked around again, then lowered his voice and said, "We don't necessarily have to get a trade license. ”

"What do you mean?" I was puzzled and asked, "If we can't get a trade license, our ship can't even enter other people's ports, how can we break in?" ”

"Of course not," Rockefeller said, shaking his finger, "as far as I know, there is an archipelago to the south of Paradise Island, where there is no state power, and where many pirates gather. Those people make a living by robbing merchant ships, they are addicted to alcohol and money, and if we can establish trade with them, the distillery will be able to solve its financial crisis. ”

Making a deal with pirates? I looked at Rockefeller, a clean-looking young man, and suddenly felt a little unable to see through him, and I said, "But isn't this also very risky?" If the freight passes, and the island does not pay, or even kills people, won't it be a big loss? ”

Rockefeller said, "Of course, but there are opportunities and risks, and what better way can you think of otherwise?" You must know that the place known as the Golden Islands is from us, and it is nearly half the voyage less than the mainland of the empire, and there is no need to declare any formalities to make a transaction with them, and you can pay the money and deliver the goods in one hand. ”

I couldn't accept this crazy idea for a while, so I told Rockefeller to go to work first, and then I would find him when I thought it through.

The area known as the Golden Isles is actually a scarcity of resources and barren land, and the word gold is more of a travesty. There are hundreds of pirate groups in that archipelago, usually drunk too much can be called brothers, and when they don't like their eyes, they beat each other together, in short, it is very chaotic, in addition to the pirates, there are also a lot of refugees from various countries, each with its own reasons, but in the end they all become the slaves and servants of the pirates, and they are oppressed and stealing their lives. It is also because of the mixed nature of the Golden Islands that although its overall area is not small, various empires have avoided it.

Doing business with such a person, will it be playing with fire and self-immolation? Money is important, but if you lose your life, no matter how much money you have, it's just a pile of waste paper, and although the laws of the British Empire don't explicitly prohibit trade with pirates, from a moral point of view, it's shameful to be in the company of blood-stained pirates.