8: Chapter 8 Turning the Tide into Rain

In the heavy, stifling atmosphere of the room, Robert looked at Loren cautiously, his face twisted in a bitter expression as he said:

"I have never met Lord Loren before. The Jasmine Chamber of Commerce is a small and humble operation, and our revenue has been in a deficit for the past few years. I do not know what instructions a great personage like yourself, who is like a god, might have for us..."

Loren looked at the fawning Robert with a playful glint in his eyes.

The essence of business is the exchange of resources, and the objects of trade can be goods, labor, influence, or even—power.

He had no goods, no labor, and no influence in his hands, but he did possess the identity of a descendant of the Bauhinia Family.

This was the most expensive commodity of all.

Exchanging power for benefits is an eternal rule that has existed since ancient times.

There has never been an exception.

Loren did not respond to him directly, but instead changed the topic: "Robert, do you know about the Frontier Lord?"

Robert's eyes narrowed, and he asked with a hint of shock and suspicion:

"Lord Loren, have you become a Frontier Lord?"

As a descendant of the Bauhinia Family, wouldn't inheriting even a small amount of wealth be better than becoming a lord on the Endless Wasteland, who has to face the siege of The Bloody Corruptor every single month?

That is a life where one could lose their life at any moment...

Loren smiled: "My ancestors achieved monumental merits. What face would I have to hide in the royal capital and live a stolen life relying on my ancestors' glory?"

These words were spoken with conviction, which actually caused Fiana, who had been quiet the whole time, to flicker her eyes. However, once she thought about his actions during this period, she couldn't be bothered to think about it anymore.

"You are truly worthy of being a descendant of the Bauhinia Family; this magnanimity is admirable." Regardless of what Robert was thinking inside, the expression on his face was incredibly earnest, as if he truly believed it.

After speaking, his tone shifted.

"Lord Loren, I admire nobles like you the most—those who have endless wealth and honor but are still willing to strike out on their own.

Although the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce has been losing money for years and doesn't have many resources, if you have anything you need us to do, as long as we are capable of doing it, we will certainly give it our all..."

Compared to the first probe, Robert's second attempt was much more direct.

Loren found it amusing, but his gaze remained serious.

He tilted his head slightly, and with a standard aristocratic posture, he looked down at Robert from a position of superiority.

"There is no need to probe me like this, Robert. How much is the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce even worth? It isn't qualified to catch my eye yet."

These words were blunt, but they made Robert feel slightly more at ease. A descendant of the Bauhinia Family was so noble that it was true he wouldn't have designs on the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce.

Then, what was his purpose in coming here?

Robert became increasingly puzzled.

Loren looked directly at this old hand who appeared harmless but had clearly been through many storms.

"I have come today with the intention of bestowing a massive opportunity upon you."

Robert's mouth twitched. Would such a good thing ever fall to me? But it wouldn't be good to offend Loren, so he laughed dryly and said:

"Lord Loren, I fear we cannot bear the weight of your attention. The Jasmine Chamber of Commerce has been losing money for three consecutive years; we truly have no spare capacity..."

Loren ignored the old hand's complaints. Any chamber of commerce that could survive in a major border city like Decker City was run by cunning old foxes; fools would have been eliminated long ago.

With deep eyes fixed on Robert, his tone was calm, but the content held endless temptation.

"Robert, I intend to establish a Chamber of Commerce Alliance in Decker City, managed by the Bauhinia Family."

"All chambers of commerce that join the alliance will gain the privilege of operating under the name of the Bauhinia Family."

"I do not want shares in the member chambers of commerce; I only require members to pay an annual membership fee of 5 million currency..."

"You should know that the trade income tax for a Grand Duke's rank only requires paying 10% of the normal rate, and once you are under the protection of the Bauhinia Family, you will no longer need to pay protection money to any other nobles!"

Boom~

This was a shocking statement.

Everyone in the room widened their eyes, looking at Loren in disbelief.

What, what did he say?!!

Establishing a Chamber of Commerce Alliance, and we can put our chambers under the name of the Bauhinia Family?!!

The Silver Moon Kingdom stipulates that nobles can reduce commercial taxes according to their rank. Among dukes, marquesses, counts, viscounts, and barons, the highest rank of Duke only needs to pay 10% of the normal commercial tax, a Marquess pays 30%, a Count pays 50%, and Viscounts and Barons pay 70%.

And the commercial taxes in the Silver Moon Kingdom are very heavy; ordinary goods are taxed as high as 20%, and some profiteering industries—such as the slave trade—have tax rates as high as 60%.

If one could put their chamber of commerce under the name of the Bauhinia Family, then normal goods would only require a 2% tax, and profiteering industries would only need to pay 6%... Who could resist such a temptation?

It was nonsense for Robert to claim that the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce was losing money, but it was true that they had to pay heavy taxes every year.

Furthermore, besides taxes, he also had to pay a large sum of money to nobles to seek protection, so while they earned quite a bit, there wasn't much left over.

Once they were truly under the protection of the Bauhinia Family, wouldn't they be able to immediately turn things around and become masters?

As long as he wasn't being exploited and paid less tax, Robert had absolute confidence that he could expand the scale of the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce tenfold in just three years!!

In his inner excitement, his eyes were almost turning red.

He looked at Loren nervously and said:

"Lord Loren, are you not joking with us? We only need to pay a membership fee of 5 million currency per year? And we can put our chamber of commerce under the name of the Bauhinia Family without giving you our shares?"

Although 5 million currency was not a small amount, in the past, even if they had 50 million or even 500 million, nobles like the Bauhinia Family wouldn't have paid them any attention.

Although high-ranking nobles had certain tax exemption rights, the King had also enacted laws to limit the scale, making it impossible for nobles to expand without limit.

Therefore, most nobles had their own chambers of commerce; wouldn't it be better to keep the profits for themselves? Why would they share it with outsiders?

Usually, even ordinary barons and viscounts had a large number of chambers of commerce fighting to register under them, let alone under the name of a Grand Duke's family; this was completely on a different level.

Loren nodded indifferently.

"That's right."

"Lord Loren, why, why don't you seek out those large chambers of commerce to cooperate with?"

Although Loren was asking for 5 million, Robert knew that this price was completely worth it, and if Loren sold the spots to large chambers of commerce, he would get even more.

For a moment, he still couldn't believe that such a pie had fallen into his lap.