Ch 57: Increasing Income And Reducing Expenses

At the appointed Time, Bal and Phia arrived at the lobby of Gu’er’s Inn.

“You’re here.”

“Did we arrive late?”

Seeing everyone still seated in the lobby, Bal and Phia found a Bench to sit on. Gu’er, seeing everyone had arrived, and the Guests had finished eating and left the lobby, closed the Inn’s Gate.

“Alright, before we discuss anything, we need to know your purpose in gathering us.”

Gu’er, arms akimbo, stood behind the counter, directly voicing everyone’s question.

“You’re right, I didn’t explain beforehand. I’m planning to run for the Guild Master election at the Adventurer’s Guild. I want to become the Guild Master here.”

“Really? If Mr. Buck could become the Guild Master, this Guild will definitely grow stronger.”

Anda, hearing Bal’s purpose, wholeheartedly agreed.

“I heard that there are many capable people in this election. In terms of Martial Prowess, I think Mr. Buck has no problem, but there’s also an interview, and I think Mr. Buck might encounter difficulties.”

Randall expressed his opinion. He was also happy to see Bal become the Guild Master. Since the Ranch Commission last time, Bal had been both a mentor and a friend to him. He trusted this Man who could pull him up when he was lost, and he felt that this Man might also lend a hand when this Guild faced difficulties.

“Yes, Randall is right. I gathered everyone here to learn from your experiences, taking the essence and discarding the dross. I want to do my best on the day of the interview. If I succeed, I will fulfill the promises I made during the election, bringing Reform to the Guild and Guangyue Town. Everyone, please help me.”

Bal stood up, looked around at everyone, and bowed deeply. Phia accompanied her Husband, this being the first time she had bowed so sincerely to others since becoming the Demon King.

Seeing Bal and Phia’s sincerity, everyone helped them up and expressed their willingness to help.

“Mr. Buck, Miss Fei’er, you have helped us before, and we are not ungrateful. We are willing to help you. If you just want to learn about management, it’s nothing major for us.”

At this time, Gu’er was the first to speak.

“Regarding Shop management, what knowledge do you have?”

“To make a Shop profitable, Income must exceed Expenditure. To do this, you must first calculate your costs and set reasonable prices for your goods. Then you must publicize your goods. Even if they are unique in the market, if no one knows about them, no matter how unique they are, no one will buy them.”

“Hmm, you know these basics, that’s simple. Anda, tell us about the Guild’s management model.”

“Okay. The Guild’s management model is divided into five points. First is selling the Monsters hunted by Adventurers. Because the Materials of some Monsters are high-grade Materials or consumables, sales are generally not a problem. The problem is that after Adventurers exterminate Monsters, recovering the Monsters requires adding extra Recovery Fees to the Adventurers’ Commission Fees. This makes this Business barely profitable. Second is cooperation with other organizations, such as the Alchemist Guild, Clinics, and Self-Defense Force. Herb Gathering Commissions are issued by Clinics in need. The Self-Defense Force also issues some investigations or Clean Up Commissions for low-level Monsters. The Alchemist Guild is unique; they don’t directly issue general Commissions but appoint a specific Adventurer with a good cooperative relationship to issue Commissions. Because Adventurers are all under the Adventurer’s Guild, the Alchemist Guild’s Commissions are also considered cooperative Commissions. Third are personal Commissions, which everyone here should be familiar with. The Adventurer’s Guild will receive personal Commissions, issue them after collecting the Contract Fee. After Adventurers complete the Commissions, the Commission Fee is paid by the Guild first, then the Guild collects the Commission Fee from the commissioner, with the Contract Fee as profit. Fourth is collecting Registration Fees. Finally, there’s the Rent for renting out the Guild Venue.”

After explaining the Guild’s profit model, Anda took a sip of water and looked at everyone.

“So, there are several problems. First, if the Monster Materials recovered by the Guild cannot be sold, it will lead to Material backlog and extra Storage Fees. Second, for personal Commissions, if someone goes bankrupt or is unable to pay the Commission Fee for some reason, how should this money be calculated? Or, how to deal with someone who maliciously underreports the Commission content to lower the Commission Fee? Finally, what should we do if someone only registers as an Adventurer but does not engage in any Adventurer activities?”

Latina, after listening to Anda’s explanation, quickly summarized the existing problems.

“The Storage problem is not difficult; I can solve it, but the backlog needs to be addressed.”

Phia stated that she could solve the Storage problem; she could use Storage Magic to store the accumulated Monster Materials.

“The issue of malicious underreporting of Commissions has been considered since the Guild’s inception. The current solution is for the Guild to recalculate the Commission Fee and impose an additional Fine. However, bankruptcy or inability to pay the Commission Fee due to force majeure is a bit difficult to handle.”

“How about this? Collect the Commission Fee in advance, which should reduce the occurrence of such incidents.”

Miss Shelly sitting aside offered her suggestion. Anda shook her head after listening.

“We’ve tried your method, but unfortunately, to implement it, we need to hire extra Personnel. Our current Income barely sustains the Guild’s operation and cannot afford to add more Personnel.”

Everyone was momentarily stumped. After a long silence, Randall shared his thoughts.

“Perhaps we can cooperate with the Council Hall. The Council Hall is the administrative Core of Guangyue Town, and they surely have abundant resources. We can leverage the Council Hall’s power to establish an organization affiliated with the Council Hall but cooperating with the Adventurer’s Guild. They could possess some Power granted by the Council Hall. When a personal commissioner goes bankrupt, conduct a Property Inventory and prioritize settlement of the Guild’s Commission Fee. And if there are malicious commissioners, this organization can handle the punishment. At the same time, as this organization is affiliated with the Council Hall, Personnel Wages will not be borne by the Guild.”

Bal’s eyes lit up upon hearing Randall’s idea. Yes, he could approach the Council Hall. Although the Council Member Masters were reluctant to spend money, this kind of work certainly had some benefits. At the same time, they only possessed a small part of the enforcement Power, which would prevent abuse of Power and Oppression. And with Grey as his backing, he could find a few Council Members with bad character, give them an offer they couldn’t refuse, and get them to accept this proposal. He immediately agreed with Randall’s idea.

“I think it’s feasible. I’ll take charge of persuading those Council Members from the Council Hall.”

“Since Mr. Buck has connections, let’s tentatively approve this proposal. But from the beginning, we’ve been discussing how to increase Income from our existing Income model. Why don’t we consider how to develop other Income models?”

Rea, as the largest Ranch operator in town, was known for finding ways to expand his Income channels, and now he offered his experience to help Bal.

“First, we can offer Adventurer training services. I remember that currently, Adventurers in town learn from experienced Adventurers. If they encounter problems that even the experienced Adventurers can’t solve, they’ll be stuck. I remember Mr. Buck is from the Ferenti Kingdom, which has specialized schools and institutions for training Adventurers. We can also establish such a program in the Guild and have Mr. Bal teach new Adventurers Combat Skills and Magic Knowledge, etc., using this channel to increase the Guild’s Income.”

“That’s a good idea!”

Anda immediately agreed with this idea. Randall also nodded repeatedly; he had been in that situation, and without Bal’s instruction, he might have died at the hands of the Earth Dragon.

Latina, after listening to Rea’s idea, also had a flash of inspiration.

“I remember the Kingdom’s Adventurer’s Guild also provides sales of Equipment and Items, right? I once made Wizard’s Robes for the Adventurer’s Guild, and I know this. Perhaps we can offer Equipment and Item sales in the Guild.”

Anda shook her head after listening.

“Miss Latina’s idea is good. Indeed, Adventurers in town generally bring their own Equipment and Items; Randall and the others are like that. But good Equipment requires significant Funds, which most Adventurers cannot afford.”

“Old Man has a way. Boy, show them the Weapons I forge.”

Kofit asked Bal to put his Short Sword on the table.

“Old Man can provide Equipment for the Guild to sell. Since taking over Buck’s forging, I’ve been itching to work. I can provide Equipment at a low price, provided that Buck boy gives me the Materials.”

“No problem, that’s easy.”

Bal patted his chest; he could have Phia take him to the Kingdom and Demon Race Ore production areas to purchase high-quality Ore at a low price to meet Kofit’s requirements.

Time passed during their discussion. After summarizing everyone’s proposals, Bal and his wife bowed again to thank everyone.

“We’re rooting for you, good luck!”

Everyone encouraged Bal, and then they left the Inn one by one. Bal and Phia walked out confidently, the Sunlight warming them.