Chapter 661: Foresight

Whipping up a delicate breakfast befitting high society on such short notice in the early morning wasn't too difficult for Chef Parker.

On one hand, it was because the Chef's basic skills were truly solid. Even with plain boiled potatoes, he could quickly mash them, add various ingredients, simmer them, and then strain them to create incredibly smooth and delicate mashed potatoes.

With a little plating, a few green leaves and tiny garnishes, and some sauce artfully swirled on the plate, his creations were no less impressive than those from a head chef at a high-end restaurant.

On the other hand, Olivia always brought her retinue of maids. Once these chattering women became familiar with the Detective Agency, they stopped being so polite. They found the wooden tables and chairs not clean enough, so they laid down fresh tablecloths before Olivia sat down.

Several of them headed straight for the kitchen as soon as they entered, without even telling Wayne what gifts they had brought. Men were already carrying in barrels and boxes, making it feel like if Chef Parker hadn't been so capable, they might have even had to temporarily replace the head chef.

Wayne opened the letter Ian Fisk had written to him and couldn't help but marvel at the ancient saying, “Seeing the writing is like seeing the person.”

That guy’s calligraphy was clearly practiced; the paper displayed beautiful script, with strokes of appropriate thickness. The connected, semi-slanted letters were either circled or had tails.

However, the content was entirely plain language, with grammar as casual as spoken conversation, as if he wrote whatever came to mind, jumping topics faster than a toad.

It was indeed his style.

Wayne read the letter from beginning to end, then from end to beginning, before finally putting it down: “So Ian is just thinking about the pigeons we keep at the Detective Agency? And he wants to buy all of them?”

Damn it, he's still thinking about that?

Not for sale!

Unless he trades a gold mine for them.

Olivia, in a rather unladylike but relaxed manner, held her spoon in her mouth, slowly swallowing mashed potatoes.

Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but smile, “Ian suspects that your Detective Agency's personnel might not be able to easily leave Virginia. He's probably joking with you in the letter; important matters are still something the Fisk Family members prefer to discuss in person—many things I've also heard directly from others.”

That's more like it…

Hope reignited in Wayne's heart: “If there’s a suitable commission, our Detective Agency would certainly be happy to help.”

“Hmm…”

Olivia hesitated slightly, “The commission I want to discuss doesn't really have much to do with a ‘Detective Agency’… California's agriculture and animal husbandry are still relatively underdeveloped. After news of the gold discovery spread, our Fisk Family believes that local food and basic necessities will experience a period of soaring prices and high profits for at least the next few years, until local supply and demand reach equilibrium.

“My trip to Richmond this time is to negotiate these matters. The Plantations in the South are now primarily focused on cotton, while Virginia grows more tobacco. There's still a surplus of wheat and meat in the South's local supply, but the additional output isn't as much as in the Northern and Western states of the Federation, so we need to find additional sources of supply.”

Well, well,

The Fisk Family is going to mine for gold and collect “tolls.”

Incidentally, purely in terms of geographical location, California is actually the “West of the West” in America.

However, due to the development process during the Age of Discovery, some cities on the West Coast were established very early, with histories even dating back to the colonial period of the New World, before the “Continental Congress,” the precursor to the Federation, even existed.

Therefore, in the minds of Americans, although California is indeed in the “West,” many areas on the West Coast are not considered part of the “Wild West”—they have long been part of the “civilized world.”

It’s a bit convoluted, but it’s like “wife cakes don’t have wives” or “husband and wife lung slices have neither husbands, wives, nor lung slices”—it’s a commonly accepted notion.

Olivia then got to the point: “You previously said you wanted to hire me as an endorser for luncheon meat, so I immediately thought it could serve as a cheap substitute for meat. Its flavor is different from fresh meat, its shelf life isn't short, and its cost is lower than meat products like bacon, making it an ideal choice. If you can supply it and the price is right, we will buy it in large quantities.”

Luncheon meat, huh…

Wayne thought for a moment, “When you say ‘large quantities,’ how much exactly?”

Olivia blinked: “Unless California's price trends change significantly, it should be ‘all of it’? As long as the regular shipping fleets can carry it, we'll buy as much as the workshop can produce. Of course, the premise is that they can't spoil too quickly, otherwise they'll be worthless.”

“That exaggerated?” Wayne sat up straight immediately.

Olivia's explanation was simple: “This isn't just our Fisk Family's business; there are quite a few big figures with shares. As long as the local supply is moderately controlled, luncheon meat, as a cheap substitute for meat, should not be a problem to sell.”

Alright, I like the “fully charged” ambition of these wealthy people.

In those days, to get from the East Coast to the West Coast of America, since the “West” in between was still wilderness, under normal circumstances, one could only rely on sea transport.

There were two main routes: one was for ships to sail south around the entire South New Continent, making a large detour; the other was to switch to land transport at the isthmus connecting the North and South New Continents, then change ships again and head north.

Due to ocean currents and monsoons, the former typically took four to five months, though it could be faster if one pushed hard. The latter took roughly half the time but required facing jungles and potential bandits.

Considering the subsequent transport and sales time, canning was essential, otherwise the shelf life wouldn't meet the requirements.

Wayne quickly estimated: “If made into cans, the shelf life of luncheon meat should be at least close to a year. As for the price… if you prepay and invest in this part of the business, our workshop can probably press the price down to two-thirds of the market price for the same weight of pork initially, and later possibly to half or less. If beef is used, the price should be even lower proportionately.”

With large-volume supply, many costs could be saved. Although not as profitable as selling to restaurants, quantity was king, and it was still more lucrative than selling to the Dock Area.

As for hoping the Fisk Family would invest in canned food production, Wayne simply wanted to earn the bulk of the profit through technology and channels, not pay cash. Moreover, if they were tied in, subsequent orders would truly be stable.

The mainstream canned goods now included glass jars and tin cans, both of which could be produced in Richmond. Tin cans were more troublesome, requiring pressing and welding after filling, which would need to be outsourced or a workshop acquired. A certain percentage of spoilage due to impurities mixing in would also occur during production.

But Wayne only considered it.

The reason was simple: glass jars were more expensive and shattered easily during transport, making large-scale shipping unreliable.

Olivia, as an endorser, was truly competent and could make decisions almost on the spot, although the specific details still required a professional team to draft and review.

Wayne also took the opportunity to promote Blackstone Town's wheat and the workshop's more profitable recycled cheese, also reaching an initial agreement based on price advantage, and without worrying about being squeezed out by the local existing market.

As for Wayne's original idea of a “California office”…

Olivia frankly said: “Our Fisk Family cooperates with the local military and the Church, so our need for security isn't too great—in fact, we haven't completely denied their freedom; some of the pie will certainly be taken, the only difference being who takes it.

“However, if it's just a small team, then your Detective Agency probably won't face competition. This part is not within my decision-making authority, but I can convey it to Ian, and he should be able to help you secure a suitable commission.”

A bit of a pity,

If there wasn't a high premium, sending people that far wouldn't be very attractive, and managing it would be troublesome. We'll see about it later.

But as long as the transportation went smoothly, both the Detective Agency and the workshop would enter an “overloaded order” state, and the latter's reliance on the local Virginia market would be greatly reduced.

With no worries about the economy, the Detective Agency could then feel more confident in stirring up trouble.

Thinking about it this way, targeting the Dock Area in advance made Wayne seem very prescient. With the Detective Agency located there, anyone who dared to cause trouble with shipping would be more clearly seen.

If any wild Extraordinary Persons from the Old Continent came over, some of them would likely pass through the Dock Area—perhaps there would even be a chance to intercept them before the Church did.