British hegemon

Chapter 121 Entering the Glasgow Market

The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, the business guild leaders, who had spent the night with waitresses, enjoyed a special and sumptuous breakfast at the Moulin Rouge. Then, at Roger's invitation, they visited the Campbell Textile Factory and the Campbell First Saltworks.

Textile workshops are nothing new in Glasgow, and the group only took a quick look around, expressing their admiration for Roger's ability to revive the declining textile industry on Arran Island in such a short time.

For years they have suffered from the monopoly and exploitation of English cloth merchants, so it would be a good thing for them if more Scottish cloth could enter the market.

The group boarded the ship and landed on Holly Island. After visiting Campbell's First Saltworks, they developed a great interest in the island.

The food served at the Moulin Rouge banquet last night used fine salt from Holly Island, and the heads of state praised it highly after tasting it.

Roger led everyone on a tour of the Campbell Saltworks. Of course, to keep it a secret, Roger had the young horseman Igor stop work for half a day and hide many of the processes and tools.

Upon learning of the high price of refined salt, the leaders praised it highly but showed little interest. From a business perspective, they knew that the market for it in Scotland would not be very large.

But several leaders were particularly interested in the fine salt from the saltworks.

In the past, fine salt from Holly Island would occasionally find its way into the Glasgow market, but in very small quantities.

The fine salt from Campbell Saltworks is, strictly speaking, only slightly better quality coarse salt, but its production volume has increased several grades and reached mass production scale.

Roger was originally the business heir designated by Baron John before his death. In the past two days, the heads of state have been warmly received by Roger and immediately promised to open up market channels for his textiles and salt products after returning to Glasgow.

Of course, the leaders also made it clear to Roger that almost all of Scotland's commerce was now controlled by the English elites, and Glasgow was naturally controlled by the pro-British faction. Therefore, the taxes paid to Glasgow City Council were in full, and the market entry fee that had to be paid to the Chamber of Commerce was also required.

Roger immediately agreed and hinted that he would pay the "entry fee" to the residences of the heads of state on time, but hoped that both fine and refined salt would be taxed as coarse salt.

Roger also hopes to open a shop in Glasgow specializing in textiles and salt.

After some whispered conversation among themselves, the leaders nodded in agreement. On their return journey, the ship carried an extra hundred pounds of refined salt from Holly Island, a gift that would be considered a luxury in Scotland.

After seeing off the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce leaders, Roger seized the opportunity and got to work.

Last time, I recruited two down-on-their-luck merchants in Ireland. When they first arrived in Scotland, they were not very comfortable. The old steward assigned them to do odd jobs such as bookkeeping at the milk house estate and the textile mill, respectively.

But Roger went to great lengths and risks to bring the two back to Arron Island, not just to have them do odd jobs. He had the two in mind when he marched into Glasgow.

The farm implement and livestock dealer was honest and taciturn. Although he had rich business experience, he was not good at socializing. In addition, his sick leg and lame appearance made him unsuitable for doing business that required a lot of social interaction.

Mann, a wool collector nicknamed "Goatbeard," was eloquent and adept at reading people, having honed his ability to read between the lines through his constant travels.

More importantly, Mann has already told Roger that he will bring his wife and daughter to Arron Island when the Seawolf sails south to Ireland again, which means he is determined to join them.

So Roger planned to send him to Glasgow to open a shop and expand the market.

But Mann was Irish and had only recently arrived in Scotland. At that time, Glasgow was just a non-autonomous town, but it was a major city in western Scotland with various forces intertwined. Mann, who knew nothing about Glasgow, would find it difficult to establish himself in a short period of time.

Just as Roger was struggling with his plans to enter the Glasgow business community, the squire Kader from Mahri village came to him.

Wrapped in a black sheepskin coat, Kader looked just like a fat black bear. The snowflakes on his broad shoulders made his breath seem even colder, while the fox fur felt hat on his head was quite fitting for the role of a landlord and gentry.

Coupled with his fawning smile that could be felt even from a hundred paces away, he was undoubtedly a shrewd businessman in the gentry style.

This was the first time Kader had taken the initiative to visit Milk House Manor. Small merchants like him, who were somewhat overweight, would not normally want to be guests at the homes of lords who were ruthless and greedy.

Kader was being dragged along by a big boy who looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old. He was very thin and obviously malnourished. As they entered the manor, the boy kept looking around and had a clever look in his eyes.

Following the servant, who bowed and kowtowed as they walked through the hall into the side study, Kader placed a brand-new black cloak on the wooden table in front of Roger with both hands. He forced a respectful smile on his plump face. "Lord Roger, this is a new sable fur from this year. It's a waste to have it here. It should belong to a noble lord like yourself."

The north is bitterly cold, especially in winter when it is icy and biting. Anyone with a little wealth owns a fur cloak to keep warm.

There's no shortage of cloaks at Milk House Manor; there are several wool ones, some wolf skin ones, and even a valuable bear skin cloak left by Roger's father. But a pure black mink cloak like this is quite rare.

One shouldn't hit someone who brings a gift, especially since this unscrupulous merchant and gentry has always been overly flattering to me, and he was the first to speak up at the last banquet.

Roger glanced at the cloak, smiled, and slowly rose to his feet. He handed Kader a glass of wine that had just been filled to the brim. Kader accepted it with an air of flattery, holding it carefully in his hands as if it were a tremendous gift.

He turned and stepped aside, revealing the thin little boy behind him. He looked up at Roger, who had stood up, and said, "Master Roger, this is my nephew. He just turned twelve this year and will be an adult in two or three years. He heard about your heroic deeds and begged me to bring him here to be your servant."

After saying that, she took out one hand and secretly pinched the back of the skinny boy's hand.

The boy frowned slightly, knelt down somewhat reluctantly, and said aggrievedly, "Master Roger, I want to be your servant."

Kader looked up at Roger with satisfaction and gave him a big grin.

Roger tapped the corner of the table lightly, watching the clumsy performance of the fat and thin uncle and nephew with great interest.

Arran Island is a tiny place, and with the gossipy chatter of Bald Neil, Ponytail Earl, and Black Dog Sigurd, Roger had heard of this country gentleman from Mahri Village.

Kader is hardly a benevolent businessman. He buys low and sells high, sells inferior goods as superior ones, and shortchanges customers. Over the years, the reputation of Arun Island has been repeatedly damaged by his business disputes.

However, his shady business dealings usually only took place outside the island, because Baron John had ordered that anyone who dared to cause trouble on the island should have their hands chopped off.