New Gods of North America.

Chapter 661 Foresight
Suddenly, I have to whip up an elaborate breakfast befitting my upper-class status early in the morning.

It wasn't too difficult for Parker.

On the one hand, it's because the chef's basic skills are indeed solid. Even with ordinary boiled potatoes, he can quickly mash them, add various ingredients, simmer, and then sieve them to quickly create a mashed potato with an exceptionally smooth and delicate texture.

With a little plating, garnished with small green leaves and granules, and sauce swirls in the empty spaces of the plate to create attractive shapes, it's just as good as the dishes prepared by chefs in high-end restaurants.

On the other hand, it's because Miss Olivia usually brings her own maid squad. These women, having become familiar with the detective agency, are quite unceremonious; they complained that the wooden tables and chairs weren't clean enough and placed new tablecloths on them before Miss Olivia even sat down.
Several of them went straight to the kitchen as soon as they entered, without even telling Wayne what gifts they had brought. The men carried in buckets and boxes of food. It seemed that if Chef Parker hadn't been so skilled, they might have had to replace the head chef.

Wayne opened the letter Ian Fisk had written to him and couldn't help but think that the old saying "seeing the letter is like seeing the person" was indeed true.

That guy's calligraphy was clearly practiced; it was a beautiful, ornate script on the paper, with strokes of just the right thickness, connected, and the semi-slanted letters either circled or had tails.
However, the content is all plain language, with grammar so casual it's almost like spoken language, as if it's just whatever comes to mind, and the topics jump around faster than a toad.

That's definitely his style.

Wayne read the letter from beginning to end, then from end to beginning, before putting it down: "So Ian is just eyeing the pigeons we keep at our detective agency? And he's thinking of buying them all?"

Damn, he's still thinking about this?
Not for sale!

Unless he offers a gold mine in exchange.

Miss Olivia, in a very unladylike but relaxed manner, held the spoon in her mouth and slowly swallowed the mashed potatoes.
Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but smile. "Ian guessed that your detective agency's staff might not be able to leave Virginia easily. He was probably joking with you in the letter. Important matters are still best discussed in person by family members—I've heard many of these things from others."

That's pretty much it...

Wayne's hope was rekindled: "If there is a suitable case, our detective agency would be happy to serve you."

"Well……"

Miss Olivia hesitated for a moment, “The case I want to discuss really has little to do with the ‘detective agency’... California’s agriculture and animal husbandry are still relatively underdeveloped. After the news of the gold mine discovery spread, our family believed that local food and basic necessities would experience a period of soaring prices for at least the next few years, until local supply and demand reached equilibrium.”

"I came to Richmond to discuss this matter. Southern plantations are now mainly cotton-growing, while Virginia grows more tobacco. The South has a surplus of wheat and meat from local supplies, but its additional production is not as good as that of the Northern and Western states of the Union, so we need to find additional sources of supply."

Good guy,
The Fisk family seems to want to both mine for gold and collect "tolls."

Incidentally, geographically speaking, California is actually the "west of the west" in the United States.
However, due to the development of the Age of Exploration, some cities on the west coast were established very early, with histories that can even be traced back to the colonial period of the New World, before the "Continental Parliament," the predecessor of the Federation, even existed.

Therefore, in the American mindset, although California is indeed in the "West," many areas of the West Coast do not fall into the category of the "Wild West"—they have long been part of the "civilized world."
It's a bit convoluted, but just like the saying "there's no wife in wife cake" or "there's neither a husband and wife nor lung slices in husband and wife lung slices," it's a generally accepted concept.

Miss Olivia then got to the point: "You mentioned earlier that you wanted to hire me as the spokesperson for luncheon meat, so the first thing that came to mind was that it could be a cheap alternative to 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 bulk."

Luncheon meat...

Wayne thought for a moment, "How much exactly do you mean by 'a lot'?"

Miss Olivia blinked: “Unless there’s a significant change in the price trends in California, it should be ‘all’? We’ll buy as much as the workshops can produce, as long as the regularly arriving fleets can carry it all. Of course, the premise is that it doesn’t spoil too quickly, otherwise it’s worthless.”

"That's outrageous?" Wayne sat up straight. Miss Olivia's explanation was simple: "This isn't just a family business; there are quite a few influential people with shares. As long as the local supply is properly controlled, luncheon meat, as a cheap alternative to meat, shouldn't have any sales problems."

Sure, I love the extravagance of these rich people who have "full phone credit."

These days, traveling from the east coast to the west coast of the United States, since the "west" in between is still largely undeveloped, normally relies solely on sea freight.

There are two main routes. One is for seagoing ships to sail south around the entire southern New World, making a large detour. The other is to transfer to land transport at the narrow point connecting the northern and southern New Worlds, and then transfer to ships to sail north.

Due to the influence of ocean currents and monsoons, the former takes an average of four to five months, though traveling at full speed can certainly speed it up. The latter takes about half the time, but involves facing jungles and potential bandits.
Considering the subsequent transportation and sales time, canning is necessary; otherwise, the shelf life will not meet the requirements.

Wayne quickly estimated: "If it's canned, the shelf life of luncheon meat should be at least close to a year. As for the price... if you invest in this business with an advance payment, our workshop can initially reduce the price to about two-thirds of the market price of pork of the same weight, and later it's estimated to be half or less. If beef is used, the price should be even lower."

Supplying in bulk saves a lot of costs. Although the profit margin isn't as high as selling to restaurants, volume is king, and it's still more profitable than selling to the dock area.

As for the hope that the Fisk family would invest in canning production, Wayne only wanted to make the lion's share through technology and distribution channels, and didn't want to spend cash. Moreover, if he could get them on board, then the subsequent orders would be truly secure.

Currently, the two main types of canned goods are glass jars and tin cans, both of which Richmond can produce. Tin cans are more complicated to manufacture, requiring pressing and welding after filling. This part needs to be outsourced or acquired from workshops. Furthermore, a certain percentage of spoilage occurs during production due to impurities.

But Wayne still only considered it.

The reason is simple: glass jars are more expensive and easily break during transportation, making it unreliable to ship large quantities of them.

Miss Olivia is a very competent spokesperson; she could make decisions almost on the spot. However, the specific details still need to be drafted and reviewed by a professional team.

Wayne also took the opportunity to promote Blackrock's wheat and the more profitable recycled cheese from the workshop, initially reaching an agreement with them through price advantages, and without having to worry about being squeezed out of the local market.

As for Wayne's original plan of a "California office"...

Miss Olivia frankly stated, "Our family has partnerships with the local military and church, so our security needs aren't too great—in fact, we haven't completely denied them their freedom. Some of the pie will definitely be taken away; the only difference is who takes it."

“However, if it’s just a small team, then your detective agency probably won’t face any competition. This is not something I can decide, but I can pass on your message to Ian; he should be able to help you secure a suitable case.”

It's a bit of a pity.

Without a high premium, sending people that far away wouldn't be very attractive, and it would be troublesome to manage. We'll see about that later.

However, as long as the transportation goes smoothly, both the detective agency and the workshop will experience an "over-order" situation, with the latter's reliance on the Virginia local market decreasing significantly.

With no financial worries, the detective agency can focus on its work with greater peace of mind.

Thinking about it this way, Wayne's foresight in keeping an eye on the dock area beforehand actually makes him seem quite prescient. With the detective agency located there, anyone who dares to cause trouble in shipping will be seen more clearly.

If more wild extraordinary beings from the Old World were to come, some of them would likely pass through the docklands—and might even have a chance to intercept them before the Church.

(End of this chapter)