Chapter 1213: The Beginning of an Enterprise
Over the past six months, although Victor Lothar had stayed in the Southern Territory, he had paid close attention to Neverwinter, for he believed that this city would undoubtedly become the central city of the world in the future. The impact of this future capital would extend to not only Graycastle but also the other three kingdoms and the Fjords. Therefore, Victor asked his men to purchase Graycastle Weekly and send a copy to the Port of Clearwater every day.
He returned to Neverwinter because of two major events that had caught his attention. One was the sale of the Miracle Building and the other was the release of a new magic movie, "The Dust of History".
Victor did not understand why the King of Graycastle insisted that Neverwinter people had to show their identification cards to purchase the apartment. As a Neverwinter resident, he could still travel to the Port of Clearwater and the City of Glow. Victor did not know what the point of having a Neverwinter Identification Card. He was a merchant and basically traveled the world all the year around.
Nevertheless, n.o.body would miss the opportunity to become a resident of the tallest apartment building on this continent situated at the center of the new king"s city. It was a perfect marketing strategy to further promote his brand, "Rainbow Stone".
However, even if Victor failed to obtain a room in the Miracle Building, he would not feel too regretted about it. As the designated distributor of the new cotton seeds appointed by King Roland, Victor was confident that he could outperform all other merchants. For him, he was interested more in the magic movie than the real estate transaction.
He would never forget the first magic movie he had seen.
It was mind-blowing.
The moment the curtains had been pulled back, Victor had felt his physical body melt into nothingness, his soul wandering in the darkness. He had watched "The Wolf Princess" many times, and would have watched over and over again had he not decided to grow cotton in the Southern Territory.
Victor had the faintest clue as to the content of the new magic movie "The Dust of History". However, he was particularly intrigued by the movie because of two reasons. One was that all the actors in the movie were from the Star Flower Troupe, and the other was that the screenwriter this time was famous Kajen Fels.
According to the introduction of the movie, it was based on a true story, and King Roland had even provided a.s.sistance with the background research. It was rumored that the king had disclosed a book that had been kept as a secret by the royal family for generations. Victor knew he should not take these rumors circulated among the public too seriously. The best way to confirm the validity of the information was to watch the magic movie himself. How could he miss it?
This was actually the main reason Victor came back to Neverwinter.
As soon as Victor reached the Administrative Office, Tinkle went to line up to purchase the tickets. Each ticket cost 50 gold royals, which was 10 gold royals more than the ticket for "The Wolf Princess". However, Victor immediately gave Tinkle 100 gold royals and asked her to buy two tickets.
Tinkle felt a surge of pride. Many people eyed her as she bought two tickets at a time. The price for the premiere was so daunting that even foreign merchants would hesitate for a while before making the decision. In fact, the ticket would be a lot cheaper the next day, and the price would further drop to 10 silver royals for civilians a week later.
The transaction of the apartment was much more complicated. After Victor submitted the application, he and Tinkle were led into a small cabin.
"I can"t believe that you have a Neverwinter Identification Card!" Tinkle said in a hushed voice. "But you aren"t a Graycastle man, and certainly aren"t a resident of Border Town either."
Victor said, shrugging, "You"ve forgotten that one could become a Neverwinter resident as soon as he purchases a property here."
"Of course I know!" Tinkle defended herself. "But you always live in the tavern..."
"That doesn"t prevent me from having a real estate property here," Victor said airily. "I prefer a tavern to a residential area, but I can still buy a property just in case."
"..." Tinkle was speechless, her eyes wide open.
Victor thought that was the beauty of a country girl. If Tinkle were a lady, she would have probably viewed him as an idiot.
Just then, a young lady in a uniform came in. "h.e.l.lo, thanks for waiting. My name is Betty. I"m a clerk at the Administrative Office, and I"ll be responsible for registration."
"I"m..."
"Victor Lothar. I reviewed your application, and you"re eligible to make a purchase." Betty said quickly, "I have to admit that you have a really good taste. Out of all the residential buildings, you picked the Miracle Building. This is the landmark of Neverwinter. You can have a birdview of the whole city. Although the price is a little high, it"s definitely worth it!"
Mildly taken aback, Victor suddenly had a strange feeling that not many people were buying. He thus cleared his throat and asked, "So, how much is it?"
"Here it is, Mr. Victor," Betty said as she handed him a piece of paper.
Victor spread it open, a muscle twitching around his lips. The prices of all the floors of the Miracle Building were listed. The first five floors were under 100 gold royals. From the fifth floor onward, the price doubled by each floor. The 14th Floor was listed as 2,000 gold royals.
Tinkle clapped his hand over his mouth.
"The 15th floor is not for sale?" Victor asked as he noticed the floor was not priced.
"The Astrology a.s.sociation and the Alchemist Workshop have jointly bought the 15th floor. I"ve heard they"re planning to found a Society of Sage and make it as the headquarters — "
"I"ll take the 14th floor!" Victor cut across Betty, who looked as aghasted as Tinkle. He then added, "I"ll take two."
4,000 gold royals was a large sum of money even for Victor. He had been hesitating at first, but after hearing the news of the Society of Sage, he immediately made up his mind.
If Neverwinter was the central city of the future, then this so-called headquarters would definitely influence the entire kingdom. If he could a.s.sociate his business to these two eminent organizations, it would be very helpful to further promote his products, even though what he did was simply sharing the same building with the two societies.
"A wise choice, Mr. Victor!" Betty said while holding Victor"s hand in excitement. "I"ll bring the contract right away. Once you sign, the two rooms will be yours."
Watching Betty rush out of the room, Victor heaved a deep sigh and said, "I somehow feel that she is the buyer not me..."
"It probably has something to do with her sales target," Twinkle mumbled.
"What"s that?"
"I heard about it from customers coming to the tavern. It appears that every official and clerk in the Administrative Office is subject to periodical evaluations. I don"t know about the details, but the evaluation determines whether they could get a raise or get promoted."
"I see... Now I see why everyone here works so hard," Victor muttered. This was something new he could learn from.
Perhaps, he could also implement a similar system in his textile mill.
"By the way..." Tinkle said hesitantly. "You aren"t leaving the rooms vacant, are you? You spent so much money on them. So, are you still living in the tavern?"
"I"ll continue to live there," Victor said smilingly. "But the rooms I bought with 4,000 gold royals won"t be vacant either."
"But you can"t live in two places at the same time."
"It doesn"t mean I"m going to use it as a residence. I"m planning to make it as the new headquarters of Lorthar Corporation, the headquarters for "Rainbow Stone"." In the beginning, Victor had only planned to purchase one room and hang a banner outside to advertise "Rainbow Stone", but Betty"s words inspired him. He could use the room for something else.