Yarra’s Adventure Notes -
Chapter 966 - 83 Snape’s Investment
Chapter 966: Chapter 83 Snape’s Investment
The massive Floating Ship floated above the Beastmen Prairie, cutting through the wind blowing from the side and rapidly advancing towards true north. On the nearly unobstructed plain of the Beastmen Prairie, the end of May marked the season of winds, with the sea breeze blowing in from the Sea Country to the west. Laden with a rich concentration of Water Elementals, it swept across the entire prairie. The cold and moist sea wind would collide with the hot and humid air shifting above the northern forests. Not only would this disperse the gradually rising heat above the prairie, but it would also bring a considerable amount of rainfall to the prairie’s near future. When the rainy season follows the season of winds, it would allow all the vegetation to grow even more robustly.
Gazing down from the Floating Ship, the plants that had turned yellow from the dry winter were regaining their greenness. The low wild grass, too, was growing wildly with the arrival of the wind season, absorbing the increasing rain and already reaching nearly the height of a person’s entire body from its knee-high presence in early spring. From their vantage point, over four hundred meters high, one could overlook the prairie, where swathes of wild grass were bent to one side by the strong wind, revealing dense white and black spots hidden in the grass. They were the livestock of the Beastman herdsmen, feasting to their hearts’ content in this optimal season to gain strength.
"The Sea Country not only has the best seafood, the most beautiful and expensive pearls and corals, but also the spoils of war brought back by various mercenary groups from the islands in the foggy waters," said Marquis Snape, standing shoulder to shoulder with Catherine by the ship’s railing, looking down at the prairie below. "The Mountain Country has the finest spirits and ores, the Elven Forest grows the densest medicinal herbs and magic-casting materials in the Yarran World, and the handcrafted artifacts that can drive all nobility mad. The furs, dairy products, and meat from the Beastmen Prairie are needed by every race, and although the Country of Sand might seem devoid of any special resources, beneath its surface lies an abundance of Mithril and Fire-attribute Crystals. These resources may be deeply buried under the sand and difficult to extract, but for the Sand People, mining them is as simple as daily life. Butte Plateau’s magic goods are the best in the whole world. Your Neutral Land exports mercenaries, adventurers, and thieves, while the Falar Empire—over sixty percent of all the Magicsteel mines in the Yarran World are within Falar territory. When you count all the powers of the Yarran World currently, only the Federation has no specialty products of its own. Yet, the Federation is somehow the wealthiest country in the entire world. Do you know why that is?"
"The location of Neville itself is relatively close to the center of the Yarran Continent and is not overly blocked by mountain ranges, which ensures convenient transportation," Catherine, smelling the aroma of the wine in her cup, replied indifferently: "Thus, products unique to all regions, when choosing overland trade routes, often select Neville as the final trading spot. Although Neutral Land also takes on some of the trading venue function, it’s still far from Neville. The convenient conditions have led to the commercial prosperity of Neville, which is why the Neville Federation can become the wealthiest country without any specialty products, relying solely on commerce."
"Most people think that way, but in reality, it’s not that simple," Snape shook his head. "Indeed, the Federation’s geographic factors create basic conditions for commercial prosperity, but what truly makes the country wealthy are the business skills and talents of every citizen. These skills and talents have led to countless successful merchants in the country. It can be said that the wealth of the merchants who have left the Federation amounts to more than half the wealth of the entire world. In terms of achievements in trade, perhaps in the whole Yarran World only the goblins could compare with the people of Neville, and even then, despite the goblins’ tens of thousands of years of commercial experience, they manage only to maintain a balance with the people of Neville, unable to genuinely suppress the other."
"Skills and talents?" Catherine murmured, as if to herself: "So, are you saying that innate talent and learned skills together have created Neville’s rich state now?"
"Exactly, skills and talents. Many people think being a merchant is simply about buying low and selling high—the simplest thing. But if you let those who think that way do business, they would probably lose all their capital in the first year," snorted Snape. "To be a successful merchant, one needs extremely proficient commercial skills, such as how to arrange channels, how to avoid risks, how to interact with clients, how to expand one’s network, how to cooperate with others, how to compete, and so on. Only by mastering these skills does one become qualified to be a successful merchant. But having these skills alone is not enough, and it’s unlikely to achieve much success, because a truly successful merchant must have sufficient talent, and so-called talent is actually right here."
"Vision?" Catherine turned with a smile to look at the old man pointing at his own eyes, though not understanding why he suddenly told her all this, she still nodded earnestly: "Indeed, vision is very important."
"Knowing where to transport which goods to earn more is the most basic vision. Predicting where and when certain goods will be scarce is just starting out. Being aware of what methods to use to provoke a significant price change in a region with minimal cost, therefore gaining higher profits, that is basic competence. Only once you can predict where to invest in a field to get the highest return, and have the courage to make a substantial investment, can you become a successful merchant," explained Marquis Snape patiently and in detail. "But, to rise from a common small business noble to my position today, just these aren’t enough. To achieve real success, to reach the very top, what one truly needs to invest in is people."
"To recognize the potential in a person and then invest in them when they’re down, helping them step by step towards success. Even if one cannot do that, they should at least form the best relationships with them before they succeed," whispered Snape. "Only by doing so can one obtain rewards beyond what others can imagine and be considered a true merchant."
"Investing in people?" Catherine finally understood the purpose of Snape sharing all this with her and sighed lightly: "I see. Like my grandfather, for example?"
"Yes, he was my first investment," Snape’s smile was full of nostalgia: "He was so young back then."(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets or monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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