Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 279
Investors placed brokers all over the provinces. Depending on their experience and level, some remained mere informants, while others became investment advisers or agents.
If it was the latter and the person was famous, their reputation would linger. So, to some extent, the information could be considered reliable.
It was Carolineâs rationalization, as she wanted to stay connected to Christian by any means, but at the very least she wanted to have some excuse to justify herself.
âDan?â
Christian, who had been tapping his chin with his index finger, snapped his fingers.
âOh, you mean that company called D.H. or whatever.â
âYou know it?â
âWell⊠Iâve heard of it, I suppose.â
If you attended social gatherings frequently, youâd naturally pick up all sorts of trivial news and rumors. He had heard talk that a sharp-witted investment broker had appeared in the central region.
But to people from the capital, who looked down on the Central as mere backwater, it was just a bit of gossip for drinking parties.
âIf youâve even heard of him, thatâs enough!â
For Caroline, the fact that Dan was an active broker brought her both relief and confidence.
At this level, it was information worth trusting. She could share it with Christian!
She said,
âChris, actually, I once read a letter that broker sent to my father.â
âReally? About what? Stocks? War? Or trade?â
Caroline smiled.
âIâm sure itâs exactly the information you need.â
***
Christian couldnât fully trust Carolineâs information. He didnât think she had simply made it up to catch his attention. The information was specific, and he didnât expect Caroline to be savvy enough to fabricate details about investments.
But in the end, it was still just baseless talk from some Central drifter.
âSell all the shares in the tea company and the farm? And do it right now?â
The companyâs stock was soaring. After patenting their method, theyâd be guaranteed a long-term monopoly and the price would only rise higher.
And yet she was telling him to sell now.
âThose Central bastards must be trying to manipulate things in a pack.â
It was a time-honored trick among major shareholders to spread rumors and then dump large quantities of stock at once to manipulate prices.
Christian himself didnât hold a small percentage in those shares. But he wasnât the majority shareholder, so in order to gather enough investment funds, he had bought at a fairly high price over time.
Heâd made a decent profit, but⊠it wasnât nearly enough to liquidate as much cash as heâd first hoped. And with that amount, he couldnât even pay off his debts.
âThatâs not the kind of stock you cut and run from, like some cheap speculative buy. It needs to be seen as a long-term investment.â
Caroline, that woman, knows nothing and is just handing out useless tips.
Christian sighed.
âUseless woman, right up to the end.â
He wouldnât see her again. Thinking that, Christian erased all the trivial information from his mind.
***
Cecilia suddenly wondered. What had her father been investing in at this time?
Adam had his hands in so many places that recalling his entire investment portfolio was difficult.
But one thing was certain.
Around this time, Logan had departed for the Gatpolla Expedition. She had lain awake at night, praying every day for his safe return.
Adam had told her then,
âDonât worry about your fiancĂ©, Cecilia. Heâs sailing out with the most expensive warship in the world, so heâs sure to return unharmed.â
That year, Logan really had returned safely. Back then, Cecilia was so glad heâd survived that she didnât notice the hint of complaint in her fatherâs words.
Looking back, that remark was closer to a curse than comfort.
He was frustrated that the shipbuilding company heâd invested in kept running losses due to a flooding accident, and eventually had to clear out its parts and inventory for government bonds, dissolving the business after a chain of contract cancellations.
She had recently checked the name of the ship company through Diana. The company was staggering but still in business.
Her father was the companyâs main shareholder. Thatâs why, knowing it was a sinking ship, he still couldnât sell out and was stuck.
Compared to the entire Lasphilla estate, that investment wasnât a huge sum. But for her father, who was sensitive about profit and loss, it was still a significant amount.
This was probably one of the reasons he hoped for an engagement with Rosencrantz. If he could use that alliance to quietly lower the docking fees for certain trade ships, the companyâs capital could, for a time, be restored to the point of being saleable.
In the market, giving special favors to certain companies from certain regions was clearly illegal. But in practice, it happened all the time behind closed doors.
