Chapter 633

Products for Sale in Rural Areas (2)
As a new product line for the Saltas Company, my durable clothing has officially been approved by Alizée herself.
However, to avoid crushing the local textile industry, the price will be set a bit higher.
That can’t be helped, since it’s enchanted gear, after all.
Still, I’d like to make sure some of the money flows back into those rural areas.

“Circulating money back into rural areas… that may be rather difficult.”

Leticia right away.
It seemed that Alba agreed with her.

“Even if we want to spend money locally, there aren’t many goods worth purchasing in rural regions. Furs and hides from beasts or monsters can be procured through the Adventurers’ Guild, and as for vegetables, we already have an abundant supply. Buying local goods for the sake of profit redistribution isn’t an issue in itself, but the total quantity would remain small.”

“Hmm, so it’s difficult after all?”

“Yes. Above all, in those rural villages, they desire not only basic necessities but especially salt. They cannot live without salt.”

Salt, huh…
Our company has permission to sell it, and it does sell quite well.
It’s one of those products with a legally regulated price ceiling—only licensed merchants or trading houses are allowed to handle it.
Even so, there’s a limit to how much can be transported, and since it tends to sell out in the nearer villages before reaching the ones deep in the mountains, the later ones often don’t get enough.
That shortage is exactly what illegal merchants exploit…

“Should we increase our supply of salt? As long as it’s stored properly, there shouldn’t be any issues.”

Well, salt doesn’t really rot.
It just hardens if it absorbs moisture, but that’s about it.
If I’m wrong, I’m sure someone will point it out.

“More salt would be good. Even the salt we transport tends to run short in the mountain regions. However, increasing our salt loads would require either stronger horses or magic-powered vehicles. To be frank, the magic-powered ones are too costly, and obtaining stronger horses—or switching to larger carriages and adding more horses to pull them—would also be difficult.”

Using magic-powered vehicles isn’t easy either, since the roads are often narrow or in poor condition.
I’m on good terms with the Lumite Company, so I know about their excellent vehicles, but they’re far too expensive for use in itinerant trade.
I trust Lumite’s craftsmanship, but even then, I’d worry about getting stuck in the mud.

And making the horse carriages any larger would be tough.
Increasing the number of horses would reduce maneuverability, and apparently, the carriages themselves might not withstand the strain.

Which means, the most promising option would be…

“The Parfe wagon, huh…”

“Yes. If we could use Parfe wagons for trading expeditions, that would solve our transportation issue.”

Parfe wagons have incredible power even with just two pulling beasts.
We could easily modify the chassis into an off-road model with reinforced axles and mud-resistant features.

The problem is, we just don’t have enough Parfes.
The ones we currently have can’t be moved from Vardmoi, and any new ones that arrive are already requested for agricultural assistance in various regions.
Parfes are valuable labor assets, after all.
If we prioritize one use, the other suffers… it’s a real dilemma.

What do you think about this chapter?