Bonus chapter thanks to @Shampun from Kofi!
People Who Don't Know Their Limits (1)
Since receiving the exclusive rights to securities trading from the Black Label chancellor, Rockefeller began building a stock exchange under his family's name.
The Rothsmedici Stock Exchange.
As a place where securities could be easily traded emerged, people watched it with curiosity.
And before the stock exchange was built,
Rockefeller began to encourage lending for the expansion of the guild's business, offering loans to many people at much lower interest rates than before, as long as their credit was solid.
Then one day,
Bob, the owner of a shoe store who was anxious about his trade ship investments, was astonished when his friend Bel, the owner of a clothing store, showed up with a new carriage.
'What is that?'
He had arrived in a luxurious carriage, which only nobles would ride.
"Hey, what's that carriage? Whose is it?"
Bel, who tried to get off the carriage as elegantly as possible, had a proud look on his face.
It was quite difficult for ordinary people to afford such a carriage.
The intricate patterns and luxurious interior of the handcrafted carriage alone looked quite expensive.
'Just as I expected. I knew you'd react like that. That's why I got this.'
"Hmm! I made up my mind and bought one this time."
Bob, who was already struggling with money, began to admire the inside of the carriage Bel had brought.
"Wow... look at this interior. This is so nice, isn't it?"
But then, an obvious question came to his mind.
"Wait, is this yours?"
"Of course, it's mine. Who else would you think it is?"
Bob couldn't understand.
"How on earth could you afford this?"
"With money?"
In fact, it wasn't easy for Bel, the owner of the clothing store, to afford such a carriage.
He might be able to manage it if he put everything he had into it, but then what about the aftermath?
"Well, I used a loan."
"A loan? You got a loan now?"
"Yeah, Banco is offering carriage loans."
"Really?"
Bel informed Bob about the loan program that Banco was offering.
"Ah, well, they say if you buy a carriage, they'll lend you money at a low-interest rate. Of course, they only offer that kind of loan to people with solid credit, but since the general store owner next door changed his carriage, I decided to change mine too."
"I had no idea there was such a loan. I didn't know at all."
"You're busy with trade ship investments, so of course, you didn't have any interest in this. You're worried about the trade ships that left every day, how could you pay attention to this?"
"Well, that's true..."
To them, a carriage was a symbol of wealth.
Since the value of a carriage didn't preserve but rather dropped significantly after a few years of use, most people tended to choose a carriage that suited their status.
This led to those who could easily ride expensive carriages being recognized as wealthy, which in turn became a measure of wealth.
"The interior is so extravagant, huh? This must have cost a fortune."
"Well, I did kind of splurge on it."
"Looking at the four horses, I bet the maintenance cost is no joke, right?"
"Of course, it's not a joke. Ordinary people wouldn't even dare."
"Hehe... You don't like gambling, but you do indulge in luxury quite well."
Bel grinned and told Bob about what had happened the night before.
"There was a masquerade ball last night, right? When I went there in this carriage, the attention around me definitely changed."
"You went to the masquerade ball? How did you manage that?"
"When did the times change? Is there a law that only nobles can go to a masquerade ball? People like me can go there too if we have money. After all, money is the best."
"That's true."
"That's why I decided to get this with a big heart, thinking about having fun there. When the masquerade ball was over, the girls were all eager to ride in my carriage. They said they couldn't stand riding in a carriage with only two horses because it was too slow. You should have seen them competing to ride it. It was so funny to watch from the back."
"Of course, it would be! A slow and boring carriage is nothing compared to this. So, did you have fun last night?"
"Of course, I had fun. Ahem! So I'm going to go there and play again today."
"Again today?"
"Of course. What's there in life? Even though I don't like gambling, I do like playing. It's better than wasting all my fortune on trade ship investments. It's better to spend my life enjoying it like this."
"Hehe..."
After pondering for a moment, Bob asked Bel.
"But that carriage loan thing, would they give it to me too?"
"You? Didn't you already get a big loan?"
"Well, I did get a loan, but..."
"I don't know either. Go to Banco and ask. They say carriage loans are different from regular loans."
"Really? Then it might work for me too?"
"You'll have to ask to find out."
So the two went straight to Banco, which Rockefeller was operating.
"I borrowed money from here last time. Can someone like me also get a carriage loan?"
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Car loans 😆
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