Roland pondered for a moment before recalling that the United Merchants Association was a collaborative supply and marketing organization he had spearheaded, its main members being wealthy merchants from several large islands in the Fjords.

Although a basic consensus had been reached during the negotiations last autumn, Evelyn's Chaos Drinks production at that time was far from reaching a share that could be sold in bulk. Therefore, each merchant association only brought back a few samples and had not yet begun formal sales. This time, they were likely here for that matter.

Due to the Winter Offensive and the Desert Operation Plan, as well as the entire Western Region preparing for the unification of the kingdom, he had temporarily put the United Merchants Association out of his mind. Now that the other party had taken the initiative to come, it saved him a lot of effort.

"Lead them to the drawing room, I'll be there shortly," Roland instructed. After Barov acknowledged and left, he turned to Nightingale, "Go and inform Tilly and Wendy, and have them come to the castle as well. After all, this is the first business implemented in cooperation between the Witch Union and Sleeping Island."

Walking into the drawing room, the merchants immediately stood up and bowed to him.

Besides old acquaintances Margie, Gamorre of Crescent Bay Merchant Guild, and Mullan, Roland recalled the names of the other few after a moment of thought: Nibelon of Shallow Water Town Merchant Guild and Etiye of Sunset Island Merchant Guild.

As soon as he sat down, Nibelon couldn't wait to say, "Your Majesty, the samples we brought back last time caused a great sensation among the island merchants. Anyone who has tasted it has praised its novel taste. I dare to bet that as long as it starts selling, Chaos Drinks will become the most successful product in the history of the Fjords!"

"And it's not just a drink," Etiye echoed. "For example, that bottle of fiery red spicy juice, although it doesn't quench thirst much when drunk, it's exceptionally delicious when poured on steamed fish or roasted meat; it can also be used to dispel cold and refresh the mind, and its effect is even more effective than your white wine – at least the latter is easy to make you dizzy when you drink too much, making it impossible to enjoy while sailing, while the former has no such problem at all!"

"Indeed," Margie smiled and nodded. "Not only merchants, but many explorers have also noticed Chaos Drinks. After all, a drink that can dispel cold and keep warm without side effects might save their lives in the event of a shipwreck."

"Therefore, I suggest dividing different Chaos Drinks into different prices," Etiye continued. "For products with special effects like this, with a little publicity, they can be sold at higher prices – especially since they are one bottle less after drinking one."

This was obviously using it as a functional drink. Roland looked at him with approval. Sure enough, merchants who can do well in the Fjords have a good marketing sense. Through a small number of samples, they realized that this is actually a variety of commodity categories with distinct differences. For such commodities, pricing separately according to characteristics is the best way to squeeze their value.

"Since the response is so good, then we can proceed with the next step of sales according to the contract we signed earlier," Roland clapped his hands. "Whether it's the order amount or the regional sales ratio, you should all have no objections. However, a 30% deposit is required for delivery, you should have brought enough Gold Royals, right?"

Since the main terms of the United Merchants Association had been negotiated before the New Year, there were not many details that needed to be discussed in detail. The purpose of his inviting Tilly here was mainly to witness this result, so as to show that he did not tamper with the divided amount. After all, the other party not only agreed to stay in Neverwinter City in the future, but also promised to relocate the witches of Sleeping Island to the Western Region in batches, and he also had to show his sincerity.

According to the "win-win bet" during the Evil Moon, 30% of both the advance payment and the final sales amount will belong to the reward fund, which is shared by the City Hall, the Witch Union, and Sleeping Spell.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Nibelon grinned, "This time my ship didn't even load a box of goods. Besides the craftsmen and sailors, the rest are golden coins."

"Then let's check the goods now," Roland said with a smile.

……

The beverage factory specially built for Evelyn is located opposite the alcohol factory. However, it is more like a heavily guarded warehouse than a factory building.

It doesn't occupy a large area, the first floor is only more than one hundred square meters. It is a brick-concrete structure with no windows on all sides. The only entrance is a thick iron gate, and there are First Army recruits guarding outside the gate, looking like a military stronghold.

Roland led the merchants through the courtyard gate and into this flat house, stepped down the stairs into the basement, and the vision of everyone instantly widened a lot. The underground area is three or four times larger, and rows of wooden shelves are neatly arranged, like a manor cellar. In order to avoid irreparable losses caused by fire, open flames are not allowed here, nor are electric wires connected. Instead, daylight is used to provide lighting, so it still looks a bit dim.

Each row of wooden shelves is fully filled with two layers of round wooden barrels. Of course, not every barrel contains Chaos Drinks. Evelyn can only transform one barrel's worth every day, and so far there are only a hundred barrels or so – in addition, those that Roland swallowed alone and the share distributed to the Witch Union members every month have to be deducted.

Roland knocked on the barrel, and a dull sound came from inside, "Here, twenty barrels of Chaos Drinks can be provided a month, which averages to five barrels per merchant. No matter how long you sell them, as long as the output doesn't change, it's the same number, so it's the same whether you come once every three months or once every six months. A total of one hundred barrels of beverages can be picked up this time, all on the first row of wooden shelves. If there is no problem with the inspection, I will send someone to transport them to the dock area."

"Aren't you going to let us try the taste?" Gamorre asked in surprise.

"This is not wine, the longer it is stored, the more mellow it becomes." Roland shrugged, "Some Chaos Drinks can indeed be stored for a long time, but that doesn't mean every kind is like this. Therefore, after brewing, the first thing to do is sterilization and preservation."

"Ster...sterilization?"

"They will spoil like food, and the hotter the weather, the faster they will spoil. Sterilization can inhibit this process. As for how it is done, you don't need to know. Just know that once the wooden barrel is opened, the beverage inside cannot always maintain its best taste." He spread his hands, "You can choose to sell it as soon as possible, or save it again – as long as it is placed in a cool and dark place, there is still no problem within a month or two."

"But...as Etiye said, each batch of Chaos Drinks is different, and some will always sell better than other flavors, so how do we choose?" Gamorre said hesitantly, "Can you order someone to divide each barrel into four equal parts and then seal them? In this way, everyone won't have to worry about which barrel to choose."

That would multiply the tasks of Soroya and Lily several times, Roland thought. For this kind of thing that occupies industrial production resources and has no obvious benefits for him, the simpler the better. "Aseptic preservation is not an easy thing, and after being equally divided into four parts, the small and complicated stock in each merchant's hand is also not conducive to sales. As for the taste..." He paused, "In Graycastle alone, the demand for liquor in the Northern Region and the Western Region is completely different. A taste that is not popular here may be very popular in another city. You should be very clear about this for those who often transport goods."

"Uh, this..." Gamorre was speechless for a moment.

It is impossible for you to taste the flavors first, otherwise it would be troublesome enough to allocate and coordinate the supply of goods. Moreover, the contract is priced by the barrel, and there is no mandatory requirement for the amount of goods to be purchased. If no one is interested in the flavors that lack a market temporarily, wouldn't Neverwinter City be at a loss? Roland secretly curled his lips, after all, the magic power spent for each barrel is the same for Evelyn.

"In short, the taste is not the point, but the way of selling – fully developing each taste and finding the right buyers is what you should do." Roland patted the wine barrel, "Come on, pick out the Chaos Drinks you like."