Chapter 28 – Canada Bombing Operation (3)
Lisboa Spice Auction House.
The chief auctioneer picked up a jar of Canada syrup, smelled it, and tasted a little.
“So this is Canada syrup? Just as I heard, it has a very unique aroma and flavor. I think it’ll sell quite well.”
Thanks to pressure from Chairman Bonmati, the Canada syrup had reached the chief auctioneer without going through any of the usual procedures.
Normally, it would have taken more than a week.
Hearing the chief auctioneer’s favorable opinion, Diego immediately started selling the product hard.
“It has a sweetness similar to sugar, but it’s much cheaper. It should be more than enough to serve as a substitute for sugar.”
Maple syrup could never truly replace sugar.
Sugar came in powdered form, making it easy to store and transport. Its distinct aroma was weak, so it could be added to almost any dish without causing problems. On top of that, it could be stored for such a long time that it practically had no expiration date.
Maple syrup, on the other hand, was a liquid, making it inconvenient to store and transport. Its distinctive caramel scent, dark color, and faint woody aroma also limited the kinds of dishes it could be used in.
Most importantly, if stored for too long, mold could grow on it.
Of course, there was no way the chief auctioneer, a veteran who had spent years working at this auction house, would fail to notice those problems.
But after Chairman Bonmati had personally told him to make things as convenient as possible, he could hardly ruin everything by saying, Stop trying such an obvious trick.
“Of course. I’ll make sure to properly explain it to the spice wholesalers participating in the auction.”
Diego held up several small jars filled with Canada syrup and spoke to the auctioneer.
“I’d like these samples distributed among those wholesalers.”
“Oh, you came well prepared. I’ll take care of that for you.”
“And I’d also like you to prepare a ‘Product Outlook Report.’”
The chief auctioneer’s eyebrow twitched.
A Product Outlook Report was something like an economic newspaper article that explained whether a product was worth investing in and what price range would be appropriate.
In other words, Diego had just asked him to manipulate the report.
“Ahem. Even if Lord Bonmati asked me to assist you, going that far would be—”
“Why don’t you take your family on a nice trip with this?”
Diego casually held out a pouch of money.
The auctioneer picked it up, weighed it in his hand, and showed signs of refusing.
“Ahem! Even if Chairman Bonmati specifically told me to make things convenient for you—”
“One moment.”
Diego rummaged around the waist of his trousers and pulled out another pouch.
The chief auctioneer immediately snatched it.
With his years of experience, he could roughly estimate how much money was inside both pouches just by feeling their weight.
His expression changed completely.
“Hahaha! Don’t worry. I’ll write the report immediately.”
Diego grinned, showing his teeth.
As expected, my lord was right! If money can’t solve a problem, it just means you didn’t use enough money!
For some reason, Eric seemed even greater to him today.
Just before the Canada auction began.
The chief auctioneer gathered the spice wholesalers.
“Here, try this. It’s a new product. A syrup called ‘Canada.’”
“Syrup? Someone actually submitted something that expensive for auction?”
Normal syrup was made from sugar, so naturally, it was expensive.
“No. This one is extremely cheap. You’ll be shocked when you hear the price.”
After saying that, the auctioneer handed them the Product Outlook Report.
“Read this.”
The wholesalers’ faces became expressions of pure shock as they read it.
“Impossible! A substitute for sugar?!”
“Good heavens. It’s incredibly cheap. You can’t even compare it to sugar.”
Then the wholesalers began watching one another carefully.
Eventually, one merchant who lacked any sense of caution made the mistake of speaking first.
“Wouldn’t this make sugar prices collapse? We should secure as much Canada as possible, even if we have to buy it at a high price.”
“Ahem! Ahem! If the price rises too much, won’t that cause trouble for all of us?”
In other words, he was suggesting that they avoid competing too aggressively at the auction.
The chief auctioneer, who had been listening, immediately shouted.
“You people! This auction will be conducted fairly! If I see even the first sign of collusion, every last one of you will be thrown into prison! Remember that!”
“Oh, come on, Auctioneer! That wasn’t what we meant—”
“Hmph! I’ll be watching you!”
Now the wholesalers would have no choice but to compete against one another under the auctioneer’s watchful eyes.
However, they had silently reached an agreement regarding sugar.
None of them intended to trade sugar for the time being.
This was exactly the situation Eric Marcel had intended to create.
Of course, Chairman Bonmati had helped get Canada into the auction.
But even without Bonmati, something similar probably would have happened eventually.
Merchants who knew little about Canada’s true characteristics would naturally be blinded by greed and jump at the opportunity.
Now, all that remained was to get a high price at auction and let the greedy merchants rush to buy as much as possible.
A crowd of wholesalers rushed toward Diego.
Before the auction began, they wanted to find out how much stock they could secure.
“You said you came from Marcel? How much of this Canada did you bring?”
Diego pointed at one of the large standard water barrels commonly used aboard merchant ships.
“We brought around five hundred barrels of this size, and we can produce more than six hundred and thirty barrels every month.”
The wholesalers were shocked.
That was an enormous amount.
It was far more than Lisboa alone could consume.
But momentary greed blinded the wholesalers, and every one of them wanted to buy Canada syrup.
Sugar was currently far too expensive, while Canada syrup was incredibly cheap in comparison.
“We’ll buy all of it for now.”
“Would you also like to sign a contract for next month’s supply?”
“What are you talking about? How can we sign a contract for goods that don’t even exist yet?”
Diego proposed a forward contract and explained how it worked.
“Ah, I see. It’s similar to buying the harvest of an entire field in advance.”
“Exactly. We’ll determine the forward price of Canada based on today’s auction price. Next month, the month after that, three months from now—however far ahead you want, contracts can be made.”
Then Diego showed them Marcel’s official seal and certificate of guarantee, as well as Chairman Bonmati’s letter of introduction.
“This should be enough proof of our creditworthiness. You can trade with us without worry.”
“Oh! So you’re a major figure after all. Hahaha!”
Either way, the final auction price today would definitely not be cheap.
Because of expectations that Canada could replace sugar, it would be sold for much more than its actual value.
Even so, the wholesalers couldn’t refuse Diego’s proposal.
Their minds were already filled with a simple formula.
Canada can replace sugar.
Canada is cheap.
Sugar is expensive.
Soon, the auction for Canada began.
Naturally, it sold at a high price.
