Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1113

Chapter 1113: Export of cars

February 6th 1694

A unique scenery could be seen in the Ports of the eastern coast of the Bharatiya Empire, where all of the ports had gigantic ships ranging from 2000 tons to 3000 tons, standing in a line, waiting for only one kind of goods to be loaded up.

On the docks, the people, composed of the nationals from the Bharatiya Empire and Southeast Asia alike, all looked at the loading of the cars onto the ships using the cranes, with amazement.

Until now, all the cars manufactured in the empire were sold only within its borders. They weren’t exported to the vassal kingdoms, let alone the allied kingdoms. The only exception had been the Raya R1 Imperial, produced by Raya Mobility, His Majesty’s own company, and even then, the car was sold exclusively to the leaders of various countries. But now, for the first time, people were finally seeing normal civilian cars being exported to overseas markets.

The merchants all became excited; the opportunity to become rich was here.

Aboard the ship, Long Po inspected each and every car being loaded with barely contained excitement. He wasn’t seeing cars; he was seeing gold coins. Roughly a week ago, when he heard that Aakarsh Mobility was looking for dealerships overseas, he luckily happened to be in the capital, and he didn’t hesitate. He spent all the money he had brought, funds originally meant for buying spices in bulk, to purchase the dealership license and then opened a dealership back home.

He only came back to pick up the cars.

As the cars were loaded up, he excitedly watched as the ship began to sail toward the southeast. On his way, he came across the Nakkavaram Port, the second largest port of the Bharatiya Empire, second only to Thiruvananthapuram, and looking at all the ships that formed a waiting line stretching toward the horizon, he felt smug. Nakkavaram Port, being the gateway to the Bharatiya Empire, is like a paradise to businessmen.

If they needed to purchase anything from the Bharatiya Empire, they did not actually have to go to the mainland; they could just place an order at the Nakkavaram Port, since the port has each and every shop from each and every major company of the empire, and the same went for the cars as well. But Long Po did not want to take any chances by waiting for several days, so he sailed directly to the mainland. At the time he was left waiting at Nakkavaram Port, what if some other person snatched away units that should belong to him? Wouldn’t that be a loss?

The faster he could procure the cars, the faster he could sell them, and the faster he could make money.

He did stop by and order a coffee at the restaurant while the ship was being restocked, and he couldn’t help but watch with satisfaction as his fellow merchants from the southeast acted like ants on a hot pot, with shrivelled-up expressions, as if they had been holding in their pee for several hours.

As much as he loved to show off, Long Po did not waste too much time at the Nakkavaram Port and left.

Chenla Kingdom

The House of Indraputra was built using traditional Chenla architecture, which itself was influenced by both Chinese and Bharatiya styles. It was made with bricks and cement like a Bharatiya building, but its roof was modelled after a Chinese architectural style.

Harshavarman Indraputra was the owner of the house and also the Deputy Minister of Education in the Chenla Kingdom. He was sitting in the balcony and reading the newspaper while drinking a cup of masala chai, but suddenly a lean middle-aged man rushed into the courtyard house, which caught the attention of Harshavarman.

“What is it, Bhavavarman? Why do you look so excited?” he asked, confused, as he folded the newspaper and set it aside.

“Master, the cars have arrived! I just got word from the port authorities, they’re unloading them right now!” Bhavavarman blurted out, panting.

Harshavarman’s eyes brightened, and even his heartbeat began to rise. Without a second thought, he rushed into the house, dressed up in a sherwani, and quickly set off to the port.

At the port, the place had already turned chaotic. Even before Long Po could move the cars to his showroom, people rushed toward them and started demanding to buy one on the spot. Long Po wasn’t pleased at all. The way they were pushing and shouting made it feel as though, if he refused, they might just break his legs.

Sadly, after realising their identities, he knew he could not retaliate, ‘ My God, what are all the ministers, deputy ministers, and police chiefs doing here?’ In the end, he could only relent and sell them the cars one by one, ‘ Well, at least the profits are quick,’ he thought to himself with comfort in order to disguise his unhappiness that he was not able to sell the car for a much higher price.

Harshavarman’s face darkened when he saw so many colleagues at the port; he couldn’t help but curse at their shamelessness while at the same time forgetting he rushed to the port without a second thought as well.

He felt a little depressed as he watched the crowd of big bosses buying two or three cars at a time. Harshavarman knew that at this rate, nothing would be left for him. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed who the merchant was, and his mood flipped instantly.

“Hey, isn’t that Long Po?”

He recognised him right away. His wife’s family ran a large spice business in the kingdom, and Long Po was one of the main merchants they dealt with. After so many trade meetings, he had become familiar with him.

‘When did this guy start importing cars from the Bharatiya Empire?’ he wondered in amazement.

‘ Well, no matter, let’s call him first and see if I can reserve a car for myself.’

“Long Po!!”

“Long Po!!”

Long Po heard someone calling him and looked around. He was surprised to see a familiar face, Mr Harshavarman. Long Po lifted his chin in acknowledgement, silently asking with a simple gesture, ‘What do you want?’

Harshavarman, relieved that he got Long Po’s attention, pointed at the car, lifted one finger, and made a pleading gesture.

Long Po immediately understood, the man wanted him to reserve a car. Looking at the growing crowd, he felt a bit torn, but he still agreed. After all, Harshavarman’s wife’s family had never owed him money and always paid on time. He was a valuable customer.

Nearly an hour later,

” I am sorry, gentlemen, we’re out of stock,” he said with a smile. Realising that the people were getting angry, he quickly replied, ” But don’t worry, gentlemen, this time when I go to the Bharatiya Empire, I will bring an additional load with me.”

But unfortunately, his words backfired on him, since one of the ministers suddenly asked,

” Wait, how were you able to import these cars?”

Long Po cursed at himself, but in the end, unable to lie in the face of so many high officials, he simply told the truth, ” The car companies in the Bharatiya Empire are selling the dealership rights for the overseas businessmen, I just happened to be in the Bharatiya Empire when it happened, so I purchased the dealership in Chenla of Aakarsh Mobility.”

The eyes of all the ministers lit up. If it is like this, does that mean the dealership rights of other car companies are still not sold? ‘ Oh, I have to hurry up before someone else snatches it.’ Without waiting for anyone, some people directly got on a boat going to the Bharatiya Empire and hitched a ride without any preparations.

Unfortunately, the main ministers could not leave, so they stayed back in regret; however, a deputy director from the Ministry of Industry looked at Long Po with greed, ” Mr Long, could you sell your dealership right to me? I will pay you a satisfactory amount.”

As soon as he uttered these words, the atmosphere became tense, and everyone looked at the deputy minister with a glare.’ Was this guy trying to threaten a businessman?’ The deputy director suddenly woke up and realised what he had just said, sweat oozed out of his forehead, and he quickly tried to soften his tone, ” Of course, if you don’t want to sell it, there’s nothing I can do.”

Five years ago, a businessman had purchased a manufacturing patent for a wheelbarrow from the Bharatiya Empire. After he was successful in manufacturing the wheelbarrow locally, his business became extremely profitable, but this profitable business caught the eye of a local noble who tried to snatch the business from the manufacturer. So, in the end, the manufacturer decisively moved his company to another kingdom in ASEAN and restarted his business there, becoming a millionaire by the end of the year.

When his story became popular, the country where he was originally based became popular, and not in a good way. More businesses began to leave the country and settle in other countries that were more business-friendly.

Although everyone in the upper circles knew that the kings and nobles of other countries were exaggerating the situation and deliberately stirring it up, despite having similar practices in their own lands, there was no point arguing back. The narrative had already spread too far, and the damage was irreversible. The country’s business climate had collapsed, and trust in its stability was shattered.

Since that day, all the kings, nobles, and higher-level ministers realised that one of the disadvantages of being in an alliance where economies are closely integrated is that, if the country underperforms, people are bound to leave, so since then, a lot of policies and laws have been enacted to protect the rights of businessmen and manufacturers. So now, if the businessman is unlawfully offended, it is actually the noble or the minister who will be punished.

The deputy director of industry naturally did not want to lose his job and go to jail for three years on the count of threatening a businessman, so he relented.

The frown of Long Po relaxed as the tone of the other party softened, ” I apologise, sir, but I’m not looking to sell the dealership.”

The deputy director’s fists secretly clenched, but he quickly relaxed them. ” Well, it’s a pity.” He let out a deep breath of regret.

If it were before, he would not hesitate to threaten the guy and take the business by some other means, but after what happened five years ago, he completely erased the idea.

After the farce ended, Harshavarman was finally able to get his car, and he was left grinning ear to ear.

P.S. Sorry, a little ruff