The Lisbon sun today shone particularly brightly in Lilu Agate's eyes, even more dazzling than the gold coins in the Amsterdam treasury. Her "Serenade" lay quietly moored in the harbor, the ship's hold no longer filled with North Sea wool, but... well, it was still full, just with entirely different contents.
It was heavy, clinking, and intoxicatingly delightful money chests!
"We... we really did it? Lilu?" Camille watched as the sailors carried chest after chest of gold and silver coins off the ship, his hands still trembling slightly, unsure if it was from lingering fear or sheer excitement. His "dowry savings" were not only safe but also expanding at an astonishing rate.
"Of course!" Lilu patted a money chest, eliciting a pleasing dull thud, her face lit with an undisguised, dazzling smile. "Three hundred percent profit! Camille, I told you, follow me, and there will be bread, and there will be herring! And the kind with butter, enough to fill your belly!"
(Internal thought: Those fools at the Hanseatic League must still be waiting in the North Sea to laugh at me! Too bad, this young lady has already bypassed your blockade and is counting money under the Lisbon sun!)
This successful "reverse operation" and extreme short-term trade brought more than just money. More importantly, it brought "credibility" and "fame." The merchants of Lisbon had personally witnessed how this small ship from Holland brought in scarce wool, cleared its cargo in a short period, and prepared to return with a huge sum of capital.
For the first time, the name "Agate Merchant Guild" made an unignorable impression on the business circles of the Iberian Peninsula.
But Lilu's ambition was far from being just a single successful speculation.
After a brief rest in Lisbon, during which the "Serenade" underwent maintenance and upgrades that could be described as a "luxury spa" (including, but not limited to, hull repairs, replacement of more robust sailcloth, and even a more comfortable hammock for Camille), Lilu did not revel in the joy of success. Instead, she immediately pulled Camille along to launch a new round of "commercial offensive."
"Camille, look!" On a brand-new North Sea-Atlantic Sea Chart, she drew a thick line with a red charcoal pencil, connecting Amsterdam and London. "Our next target is here!"
Camille looked at the line and swallowed. "Lilu, this... this is one of the Hanseatic League's core routes! We just offended them, and now we're going to steal their livelihood?"
"Steal?" Lilu frowned displeasedly. "This is called 'optimizing resource allocation'! The Hanseatic League has monopolized this route for too long, their freight charges are outrageously high, and their service attitude is poor! Why can't we offer a better, cheaper option?"
(Internal thought: Besides, their livelihood isn't named after them, who says only they can have it? I'm going to take it, and I'll eat with a golden spoon!)
She used the first pot of gold earned in Lisbon to do something that stunned all traditional merchants—instead of hoarding it like a miser, she immediately reinvested it.
She first leased prime locations (albeit expensive) warehouses and dock berths in both Amsterdam and London. Then, utilizing the rapidly established credibility, she procured goods on a large scale from Amsterdam's cheese merchants, fishery owners, and London's wool merchants, handicraft manufacturers, at prices slightly below market value but with guaranteed prompt payment.
"Miss Lilu, do you really need this much?" An Amsterdam cheese merchant's hands trembled as he looked at Lilu's procurement list.
"Of course!" Lilu replied with a charming smile. "Furthermore, if you can guarantee long-term stable supply, we can discuss the price further. What I need is efficiency and scale."
(Internal thought: Low profit margins, high volume sales, seize the market! By the time I fully open up the channels, costs can be further reduced! At that point, the Hanseatic League will only be able to eat dust behind my tail!)
Concurrently, she began recruiting experienced and reputable sailors and captains with high salaries (compared to the Hanseatic League). Her recruitment advertisement was extremely inflammatory: "Tired of the Hanseatic League's exploitation? Want compensation that matches your efforts? Join the Agate Merchant Guild, where wealth and freedom are within reach!"
This move was like a stab to the heart of the Hanseatic League. Suddenly, many sailors and low-level merchants dissatisfied with the Hanseatic League secretly pledged their allegiance.
Soon, the "Serenade" was no longer alone. Two medium-sized merchant ships acquired by Lilu (still through mortgage loans, but with much more confidence this time) joined her fleet, named "Profit" and "Opportunity."
This small but remarkably efficient fleet began to regularly travel between Amsterdam and London. Lilu adopted standardized management: unified schedules, fixed routes, clear cargo manifests, and... freight charges that were considered "conscientious" compared to the Hanseatic League.
She also innovatively introduced a "cargo insurance" service—though still in its nascent stage, promising partial compensation from the Agate Merchant Guild if goods were lost during transport due to pirates or storms. This initiative greatly attracted small merchants who had been tormented by the Hanseatic League's "goods leave the port, no responsibility" clause.
The effect was immediate.
The Hanseatic League was surprised to find that the cargo volume on their once-monopolized route had significantly declined. Many old clients had been snatched away by some Dutch girl named "Agate!" Her ships were more punctual, their freight charges lower, and their attitude was much better!
"Outrageous! That little brat!" The London representative of the Hanseatic League smashed a cup in anger. "She's breaking the rules! Malicious competition!"
(Internal thought: Rules? Rules are just an excuse for you to make money lying down! I'm going to stand up and make money too!)
Lilu's reputation swept through the business circles like a North Sea storm. Merchants privately gave her a nickname—"Commercial Star of the North Sea," or, with more awe, "Queen of the North Sea."
Of course, this "Queen" was currently lounging unceremoniously in the captain's cabin of the "Serenade," beaming at the account books, with leftover herring bones piled beside her.
"Camille! Look at this month's net profit! We've set a new record!" she exclaimed, shaking the ledger.
Camille looked at the faint dark circles under Lilu's eyes, then at the dizzying string of numbers on the ledger, and couldn't help but remind her, "Lilu, are we... expanding too quickly? The loan interest is also high, what if..."
"There is no 'what if'!" Lilu interrupted him, her eyes flashing with confidence. "The market is like a sponge, squeeze it, and there will always be water! The Hanseatic League is that old sponge, soaked with water but unwilling to squeeze hard! What we need to do now is to wring it dry!"
She walked to the window and looked at the three ships belonging to her in the harbor, her ambition palpable.
"This is just the beginning. Camille, our goal is to plant the flag of the 'Agate Merchant Guild' in every profitable port on the Seven Seas!"
(Internal thought: By then, I'll build a swimming pool with gold coins! Indoors, of course; the weather in the North Sea is truly terrible.)
Camille looked at Lilu's profile, which seemed to glow in the setting sun, and suddenly felt that perhaps, following this "Queen", he might really see... a swimming pool made of gold coins?
Well, just thinking about it made the pickled herring in his hand suddenly lose its appeal.