Chapter 571 — Expansion
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
This was his "Corde Factory," but it was not the first workshop he had built. His first workshop had actually been somewhat farther north, beside his own mansion, but a rune-loss-of-control accident had burned most of it down and spread panic among the nearby residents, and only then had he been forced to move the equipment and the personnel here.
All of this had consumed nearly half his fortune. The wealth he had accumulated since he began trading had been poured out like water onto these machines and workshops. Many people thought he had gone mad, that the dazzling illusions of the magic-net broadcasts had addled his wits, so that at his age he would still undertake such a risky business...
But in the end, his first batch of magic-drive heating plates had sold two thousand sets—the slightly wealthier upper-class townsfolk could not refuse such a convenient thing, not only because it was novel and useful, but because a life free of firewood and smoke was a mark of respectability.
The principles behind Corde's "products" were in fact all very simple. Just like that first clumsy method, he bought complex magic-drive devices and then took them apart to see what simple technologies inside them he could master himself, or else he studied the courses taught in the schools in search of ideas and methods.
Magic-drive technology at this stage was not so very complex; many of its basic principles could be understood and grasped by ordinary people. And the civilian field was so blank that any slightly convenient invention had enormous room to be used—and the first thing Corde had to do was find the "points of demand" among the common folk.
His method was not complicated—it was simply to study the lives of nobles and extraordinary beings, to study the convenient and comfortable parts of their lives, and then to search magic-drive technology for the means to realize them.
The nobles and extraordinary beings of this world had always lived comfortable and convenient lives, convenient to a degree beyond the imagining of commoners.
They had magical lighting, comfortable environments of artificial temperature and humidity, instant communication, artificial-intelligence servants, and could enjoy any delicacy in any season...
As a great merchant born a commoner and enriched through trade, Corde knew both how commoners lived and had seen the lifestyle of high society. By pushing this advantage to its limit, he had in effect found countless business opportunities—
Mages could heat food with magic flame, so he could make a heating plate for civilian use; mages kept a spell fixed in their towers to make the four seasons feel like spring, so he could use rune base plates and ventilation ducts to produce a similar effect; nobles could eat ice in summer and eat fresh meat at any time of year, so he would build a cheap and convenient container that could also make ice and preserve food...
And the success of Corde Household Conveniences had drawn the attention of others. Now, in Carroll and the surrounding region, many merchants had roused themselves; all were preparing companies of their own, and no few acquaintances came to Corde seeking his experience. It was as though people had finally noticed a truth that should have been obvious all along:
Magic brought a convenient life, and whoever could bring a convenient life could seize the business opportunity.
A burst of voices came from the factory gate. Corde raised his head and saw his eldest son, Parr, coming in with several workers pushing a handcart—they were carefully guarding what was on the cart, and what they guarded was a large crate packed with wooden slats and straw rope, on which the mark of the Cecil Rune Foundry could be seen.
The new magic-net unit array had been bought back—laboratory grade.