Reincarnation of a Hunter Chapter 28.2 - Canada Bombing Operation (3)

 

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Soon, the Canada syrup auction began and, unsurprisingly, fetched a high bid.

Using that bid as leverage, Diego even secured forward contracts for Canada syrup. With nearly a year’s worth of Canada syrup contracted, the merchants’ money swiftly flowed out to Diego.

This, in turn, affected the subsequent sugar auction.

Complaints arose among the merchants who had imported sugar.

“What’s up with today’s sugar prices?”

“I heard some cheap sugar-like product flooded the market.”

“No, how much was even released?”

“Not just the actual goods, but forward contracts must’ve drained a lot of money. They probably spent all their funds, leaving nothing to buy sugar.”

A merchant, dumbfounded, cursed and stomped his foot.

“Those idiots! Sugar is white gold! They’ve got no vision.”

“Hey, white gold refers to salt.”

“Whatever!”

“Anyway, sugar prices are going to keep dropping for days now.”

Just as the sugar merchant predicted, as spice merchants invested in Canada syrup, money dried up in the market, and sugar prices began to plummet.

A report even surfaced claiming Canada syrup would reduce sugar’s market share, further fueling the downward trend.

Of course, the person who wrote that report was none other than the chief auctioneer, who had also taken a bribe from Diego.

 

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A few days later.

Raul and Diego arrived at the spice auction house.

 

“Diego, is the sugar price really cheap here?”

“Yeah. Just trust me.”

 

However, the sugar auction at the venue had been canceled. The price had plummeted so severely that even the starting bid couldn’t be determined.

 

“Diego, doesn’t this mean we can’t buy sugar?”

“Don’t worry. I already called the sugar import merchants in advance.”

 

After a short wait, the sugar import merchants swarmed around Diego. Their eyes were sunken, brimming with tears.

 

“Oh, please save us. We’re on the verge of ruin.”

 

Almost no one runs a trading company solely with their own capital.

Most merchants had bought sugar using borrowed money, and now that sugar prices had crashed, they were all in despair.

 

The repayment deadlines for their high-interest loans were approaching, and the penalty interest was steep. Every day, they were bleeding dry. They’d have to carve out their own flesh just to pay the interest.

 

Diego tried his best to put on a sly and despicable expression.

“Heheh. I can’t just buy it outright. I’ll only take it if you agree to forward contracts too.”

 

The merchants’ under-eyes darkened.

“But with Alexandria’s sugar prices as they are, how can we sell it cheaply?”

 

“Sell your current stock at a loss, and the forward contracts at cost price. I’m no devil—I won’t force you to sell futures below cost.”

 

This was Eric’s instruction. There was no need to stir up unnecessary resentment.

In this world, many people got stabbed in their sleep and died.

 

At any rate, the merchants’ faces brightened at Diego’s words.

“Sir, shall we sign the contract right away?”

“Sure. Bring the paperwork.”

 

Diego had come prepared with the money from selling Canada syrup, plus a credit loan from the bank—thanks to a letter of introduction from Chairman Vonmati.

 

After snapping up all the dirt-cheap physical sugar and premium-free futures, Diego gave Raul a thumbs-up.

 

Now, all that was left was to wait for sugar prices to normalize and resell for profit.

 

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Chairwoman Vonmati listens to a report from her aide.

“The secretary from the territory of Marseille has pulled off quite the feat.”

“What do you mean? Did he commit fraud or something?”

“Not fraud, but he released a large amount of Canadian sugar, causing prices to plummet. Then, that secretary bought up all the cheap sugar.”

 

Chairwoman Vonmati’s eyes widen in surprise.

With her extensive experience as a merchant, she immediately grasped the essence of Canada sugar. 

 

Upon hearing what Diego had done, she instinctively sensed that the spice market would be thrown into chaos.

“Oh no! The merchants must have suffered huge losses.”

 

“The losses weren’t that severe. Sugar import merchants took minor losses in physical trades, and spice merchants overbought Canadian sugar, causing some liquidity issues for the time being.”

“Why is that? Couldn’t they have gone completely bankrupt?”

“After sending an attendant to investigate, it turns out it was on the orders of Count Eric Marseille. He told them not to bankrupt the merchants.”

 

Hearing this, Chairwoman Vonmati bursts into laughter.

“Hahaha! That’s Count Eric Marseille for you! He makes money but still cares for the people.”

In truth, it was because he didn’t want to get stabbed in his sleep, but either way, it left another good impression on the chairwoman.

Being a merchant at heart, she held no resentment toward Eric’s aggressive business tactics.

 

“What do you think of him?”

“Count Eric Marseille is extraordinary and truly special. He’s intelligent, of excellent character, and deeply devout—how could he not be special?”

Misconception piled upon misconception, but what did it matter?

Once an impression is set, it’s hard to change. In Lisbon, Eric is now a ‘good man.’

 

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Meanwhile, sugar prices quickly stabilized.

There were various reasons, but the biggest was the inherent high value of sugar itself.

Additionally, wholesalers who had bought excessive amounts of Canada sugar, unwilling to take losses, resold forward contracts or quickly moved physical stock overseas.

 

Since Canada sugar was particularly popular in the heavily populated southern continent, most of the physical stock had already been depleted.

 

Upon hearing the news, Diego felt his motivation soar.

 

‘If I bypass intermediaries and directly transport Canada goods to the southern continent instead of selling them through pre-ordered contracts, I’ll make a huge profit!’

 

In any case, it was now time to return to the territory of Marseille.

 

Diego resold all his sugar contracts and repaid his loans. He converted all his profits into Iberian silver coins (since Marseille traded most frequently with Catalonia, Iberian silver coins were widely used) and loaded the chests of silver onto the Benedicta.

 

Captain Adrienne welcomed Diego and Raul.

“Well done! The whole port is buzzing about you two. Heard you struck it big?”

Raul puffed out his chest, shrugged his shoulders, and replied, “We swept up all the money in Lisbon. Haha!”

“Wow! Impressive. No wonder the lord handpicked you.”

Diego, listening from behind, gave a faint smile.

To him, it was Lord Eric Marseille, who had devised this entire plan, who truly seemed remarkable.

And as Diego thought about being honored by Eric with a surname, his heart swelled with emotion.