Father, is this a good time to talk with you?"
Frederick lifts his head to see Gian standing on the door while holding a thick document in his hands. He quietly nods his head and Gian enters his office. Gian gives the documents he is holding to Frederick before he sits on the chair in front of his table.
"This is the follow-up documents for the hibiscus and lavender tea."
Frederick quickly scans the documents and checks the important points such as the expenditures, raw materials and profits. The Marquis looks at Gian after reading the list of raw materials they need to make the tea.
"Silk and cheesecloth?" Frederick asked. "Why do we need such materials?"
Gian gets something from his pocket and shows it to his father. There are two small cloth sewn like a miniature sacks. The other one is made of silk and the other one is made of cheesecloth. Frederick looks at Gian and waits for him to explain it.
"This is the tea bags we will use for our tea. We will sell the tea bags made of silk mostly to the nobles while the tea bags made of cheesecloths are for the commoners." Gian explained.
"You wanted to sell two different sets of tea?" Frederick asked as he read the other documents in his hands. It is a full detailed report of Gian about the process and procedures on how to make their new tea.
"That is correct."
"And you are confident that it will work?" Frederick asked Gian in a serious tone.
"Of course. You already tasted it yourself. The hibiscus tea and lavender tea are new to your taste, yet you praised the tea for its refreshing taste. Even the servants prefer the tangy flavor of our new product."
Earlier, Gian finished making the tea bags. The teabags are made of cheesecloth. With Russel's instructions, Gian cut the cloth in smaller sizes and let Aaron sew the sides of it. After making a small bag, Gian put the dried lavender and herbs in the tea bag and sew the top of it to close it.
After that, Gian ordered Aaron to boil a hot water. Russel told Gian to put the teabag in the hot water and let it soak for three minutes. Then Gian served the freshly made tea to his father. He even let the servants to taste it to gather more opinions and feedbacks from them.
Just like what Russel expected, the taste of it is new to their taste buds. It is different from the strong flavor of their usual tea. It is because of Russel's instructions to Gian to soak the tea bags in the hot water for only three minutes. If they only left the tea bags soaked in the hot water until it became cold, then the flavor of their tea will become strong. Although it is still drinkable, the strong flavor of their tea will not be suitable to be served as refreshments at tea parties.
"Why do we have to use silk for making this tea? Why can't we use tea bags made of cheesecloth only?" Frederick asked. He already knew the answer, but still, ask this question to test his youngest son. This is also a good opportunity to teach Gian the ways on how to do business.
"Do you need my help to answer it?" Russel asked Gian, who is now placed in Gian's chest pocket. "Nevermind. You can't give me an answer even if you wanted to. Why don't we have any special power or magic? Like telepathy or something."
Gian only glances at Russel who is now complaining before ignoring him. Then he looks at his father again, who is waiting for his answer.
"We will use silk tea bags to sell to the nobles because this will suit their taste and preference. Some nobles are sensitive and picky. If we sell the tea bags made of cheesecloth to them, they will criticize it as a low-grade product and ignore it. But if we used silk tea bags, aside from its good appearance and delicious taste, they will not criticize it and praise the tea for its high-grade quality."
"Then how much do you plan to sell it?"
"The prices we will offer for these two types of tea and honey will be different. We will sell the silk tea bags for two big silver coins. It is much cheaper than the usual tea we drink, which we sell for four big silver coins. As for the honey, we will sell a big jar of it for three big silver coins." Gian said. He takes a quick glance at the pen in his pocket before he continues. "Also, we will sell the tea bags made of cheesecloth for two big bronze coins and one big silver coin for a medium-sized jar of honey."
Russel can't help but admire this ancient guy. He casually explains these details to Gian. Russel was thinking of making some changes after they finish the final outcome of their product. But who would have thought that Gian can explain these things with ease? And he even added some important details on his report.
'Even though he's ignorant and clueless sometimes, I can't deny that Gian is indeed an intelligent person.' Russel thought. 'Really worthy to become my friend. Heh. I should help this ancient guy a lot in the future.'
"What will be the difference between the tea bags made of silk and cheesecloth?" Frederick asked again.
"The tea bags made of silk have more medicinal herb inside of it than the tea bags made of cheesecloth. We will also lessen the main ingredients of our tea in the cheesecloth tea bags."
"Hmm... So you are saying that if they want to drink a tea that has more flavor and benefits, they have to buy the silk tea bags?"
"That's correct. Though they can still have a good cup of tea, they still need to buy our silk tea bags if they want to have a tea with a strong and concentrated flavor. Same with our honey. The medium-sized jar has a liquified honey. If they want to have a much sweeter and thicker honey, they have to buy the biggest jar of honey." Gian said with confidence.
As a businessman, Frederick thinks that their new products are actually good. It can be used as a daily product and not just a temporary substitution. The quality of each product is so good and it can be used to expand their business. If this will become very successful in the future, maybe he can also offer it to their neighboring kingdom to sell and earn more money.
Frederick looks at Gian and observes him. A year ago, this son of his was apathetic and aloof. He never involved himself with types of discussion. But now, Gian is now sitting in front of him while discussing the pros and cons of their new business. He is also brimming with energy as he explains the details of their product. Though there are still some details that needs to be improved, it is alright. Gian already contributed a lot to this plan.
As a father, he can't help but to be proud of his son.
"Though there are some things that needs to be improved, it will not affect the original plan. Alright, I'm satisfied with your report today."
"Thank you, father." Gian said.
"No. Thank you for your hard work, Gian." Frederick said with a soft smile. "You can now rest for today. I will just call you if I need anything."
"Alright. I will go to my room now."
Gian stands up and leaves his office. After a minute of silence, Frederick let out a sigh and lean his back on his chair. He stares at the ceiling while remembering a distant memory. And then, he murmurs something that no one can hear aside from himself.
"It's already been sixteen years. Gian, that child, has already grown up. Sooner or later, he will..."
Letting out a loud sigh, Frederick massages his temple before continuing his work again.