Chapter 49

49 Capital of the Richest Man

Charle Department Store headquarters… that’s twenty-two kilometers away, right?

Seeing such a big fare, the steam carriage driver instantly perked up, tossed his cigarette aside, and flicked the reins lightly against the horses’ flanks.

“Giddy-up!”

“Neigh~”

As the two short-legged horses brayed in unison, a thin wisp of smoke rose from the small boiler at the rear of the carriage, tracing upward through the chimney along the hull, while a splashing sound of water echoed from the tank beneath the chassis.

Then, with the creaking of the engine and the clacking of rotating axles, the entire carriage lifted slightly off the ground from the rushing air beneath it; by the time the clopping of hooves on asphalt began, the noisy steam carriage had already shot forward eight meters.

“Sir! There are crowds over at Charle Department Store!”

It seemed that no matter which world you were in, anyone who drove this line was bound to be a chatterbox—even

“Did you hear about the promotion over there and come to do some big shopping? Or did someone in your family get sick from drinking the public water pipes, and you’re here to register for compensation?”

Promotion? Register for compensation?

Li Ang, who had no interest in chatting, suddenly stiffened at the coachman’s question, instinctively clutching his folder tighter, his face filled with confusion:

“Has Charle Department Store already started paying compensation to the victims? And what’s this about a promotion?”

“Ahahaha, these two are actually the same thing!”

Seeing Li Ang take the bait, the cheerful coachman laughed loudly in reply:

“A while back, the public water pipes broke down! The water company that contracted the pipes was co-owned by Charle Department Store and others, but their business was terrible—they still haven’t broken even, and now Charle doesn’t even have money to pay compensation. Their boss lady nearly died from a stroke of sheer panic.”

The boss of Charle Department Store was at his wit’s end, so he hung up signs saying ‘Sell Goods, Lose Money’—dumped everything in the store onto the streets, marked prices, and sold everything at a loss. The prices were so absurdly low, half the capital must’ve rushed out to snatch up the goods!”

Feeling words alone couldn’t capture the spectacle, the coachman let go of one rein, raised his hand, and mimed “drums beating, firecrackers exploding, red flags waving, crowds thronging,” then continued to Li Ang, who stared in stunned silence:

“Then he had a giant box with openings on both sides brought out—money from sales went in one side, and people waiting in line for compensation could walk right up and take the money out. Except for a few clerks counting cash and verifying patient identities, not a single copper coin passed through their company’s hands!”

“The best part? The box was completely transparent. Everyone could see exactly how much money was inside—guaranteed, one copper coin in, one copper coin out. The water company would take full responsibility—pay compensation until the department store went bankrupt!”

“Ahahaha! Sir, you really must say this—the old man’s company may be a mess, always losing money, but he’s handling this thing with real openness! Now many people are terrified they’ll go bankrupt too fast, before they get their share, and they’re racing over there like mad!”

“…”

He’s losing money like crazy! If you keep buying like this, he’s gonna end up the richest man on earth!

After hearing about Charle Department Store’s antics, Li Ang was utterly awed by the unseen ‘Old Charle.’

…

As someone who’d endured countless commercial scams, he knew exactly how much room there was for manipulation here.

The prices in department stores were always absurdly inflated; the production cost of industrial-era goods was so low,

it was unimaginable to anyone who hadn’t lived through it. If the production cost of Gao Te, sold at three silver wheels per pack, even reached five copper coins, he’d gladly twist his own head off and kick it around for them!

So this so-called massive discount? It’s definitely still profitable—maybe even wildly profitable!

Besides, the buyers are already brainless from the frenzy, but the sellers aren’t. Who decides what gets discounted? That’s entirely up to the department store.

The items with inflated original prices, the old stock gathering dust in warehouses, the goods they could negotiate rock-bottom prices for from factories—just pile them all out! Even if they sell three-silver-wheel cigarettes at half price, they still make a profit—and they sell out instantly. Why wouldn’t they go all out?

As for the money going straight from sales to compensation… you think I’m a fool?

Buyers hand over cash and walk away; those claiming compensation must have their identities verified. The speed difference between inflow and outflow? Even the biggest box would fill up—and wouldn’t the department store staff just slip away the overflow?

For those seeking compensation, the worst fears are no payment and no action. Charle Department Store has been faithfully paying, constantly promising to pay until bankruptcy, and with that giant, overflowing cash box right there—even if some voice of doubt arises, the claimants won’t dare make a fuss.

After scooping up this ‘tiny bit’ of extra cash, Charle Department Store will immediately rush orders to every factory, or even, leveraging their massive shipment volume, force suppliers into credit deals—demanding delivery first, payment later, while squeezing even lower prices.

In the commercial age, the one who sells the goods is the father!

If this ‘loss-leading promotion’ runs for a week, it’ll drain half the capital’s purchasing power for six months. Every other department store will suffer massive losses on paper; the weaker ones will be crushed by cash flow and warehouse costs.

But if Charle Department Store survives, it will seize over ninety percent of the retail market, and use its dominance to bind nearly all related factories—no one will be able to challenge it in department retail for the next ten to twenty years.

As for whether the kingdom’s authorities will come after them for such ruthless tactics… what nonsense! Am I making money? I’m losing money! Losing it badly!

Listen, everyone waiting for compensation: we truly want to pay you! We’ve even started selling goods at a loss to raise funds—haven’t you seen our boss lady collapse from the strain?

But then the kingdom’s XXX department, alongside noble XXX lawmaker, will step forward and declare: ‘This is malicious dumping disrupting the market! We forbid you from selling like this! Go home for now. We’ll pay you once we’ve raised money through normal sales.’ And when will that be…?

Heh. That’ll depend on when you flush those XXXX into oblivion!