Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

January 1st, 1658

Akhand Bhartiya Empire, Special Economic Zone-Thiruvananthapuram, Department of Trade Regional Office Building

Looking at the expectant expression on John Brown’s face, Abhimanyu Gaurav felt like he might have met a big customer. "Of course, sir! Let’s discuss what your requirements are and what you would like to mortgage."

John Brown was very excited in his heart. "My requirements are not fixed; I will take as much as the bank can give. As for the mortgage, I would like to inquire, instead of the equity, if I can mortgage the properties of the company I own?"

Gaurav was a little let down; his excitement was immediately reduced by half since John might not be as big a customer as he had hoped. Otherwise, why would he mortgage the property of the company instead of the equity itself?

However, despite being a tad bit disappointed, he still kept the same smile on his face as he did not want to appear too opportunistic. "It is indeed possible, sir, but I would like to remind you that mortgaging only a few carriages cannot get you too much money unless you own more than several dozen carriages."

John Brown noticed Gaurav’s change of mood, but he was not disappointed, as he realized Gaurav might have misunderstood. "Mr. Gaurav, even though I told you that I own a logistics company, I am not actually involved in the road transportation logistics business. Instead, my complete focus is on transportation services through the naval route.

So the property I asked about whether or not could be mortgaged was actually my fleet of four-grain transportation ships."

Abhimanyu Gaurav immediately felt a little embarrassed in his heart, as he did not expect his judgment to be wrong, but then he got excited again since he knew that companies in the naval sector were richer. "It might be a big deal after all," he said to himself in his heart.

" I’m sorry for my assumptions, Mr. John, but to answer your question, yes, you can mortgage your naval vessels in order to get a loan, especially since merchant ships are now in high demand and low supply."

Gaurav further proceeded to explain the normal procedures of the loan.

"Generally, the price our bank is supposed to offer is 60% of the market valuation of the mortgaged asset on the condition that the asset is reliable and can hold its value long-term.

fortunately, since merchant ships are assets that are continuously appreciating in value and are very likely to further appreciate in the future, I can make a decision on my part and offer you a loan of 70% of the market value of your ships."

John Brown, getting the reply he wanted was very satisfied. He knew that his crazy plan was very likely to succeed. "Alright, sir, I would like to mortgage my 4 Khaki class grain transporters for a loan. When can we get the procedures over with? I am in quite a hurry."

"Jackpot!" Gaurav exclaimed in his heart, knowing that he had really snagged himself a big customer. His facial expression was unnatural as he was holding back the best he could in order to not show his joy.

"If you are sure about your decision, I can go back to the bank and prepare the paperwork right away. All the processes could be done within the day," Gaurav replied with a professional smile.

The small merchant owners who had been watching the conversation between John Brown and Abhimanyu Gaurav were dumbfounded, as not in their wildest dreams had they expected a deal to be sealed in the waiting room, which is one of the most random places for such occasions.

Anyway, they looked impressed by the bravery of John Brown, as they understood that Mr. Brown was fully putting his company on the line for expansion.

John Brown, upon whom three different gazes of admiration had fallen, looked like he was oblivious to all that. On the contrary, he was thinking a lot of things in his mind.

’By mortgaging the four ships, I will be able to get 135,581 Varaha.’

’Adding my own money of 200,000 Varaha and the profits I made from transporting the 36,000 tonnes of grain, I will have a cash flow of 393,981.’

John Brown’s eyes widened. ’Then if I’m not mistaken, I will be able to order nine more khaki-class grain transporters from the shipyard if I consider 43,000 Varaha per unit.’

’Then wouldn’t it mean that I would suddenly have 13 ships in my fleet?’ His heart raced with excitement. He was so eager to finalize the deal that he wanted to rush over to the shipyards and order nine new ships.

However, before he could voice his agreement, another idea struck him, making him immediately calm down. It wasn’t that it was a bad idea; on the contrary, the prospect of his new idea was so good that if he succeeded, by the time the Philippines became self-sufficient, he and his company could become the largest logistics company in Southeast Asian waters.

But the worrying thing was that if there were any deviations in the government’s plans and focus toward the South, John Brown was 100% sure he would go bankrupt and might even end up in jail due to substantial debt.

Still, John Brown was a courageous man; otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to the Bharatiya Empire to start a new life. Summoning his courage, he inquired, "Mr. Gaurav, let’s say I purchase five new khaki-class grain transporters and I have paid the money in full to build the ships. In that case, if I mortgage these ships which are being built, will I still be able to apply for a loan?"

"Ah!"

The small businessmen exclaimed once again as they looked at each other in astonishment. Just a few moments ago, they felt like they knew everything there was to know about the loan provided by the Raya Royal Bank, and they had thought that Mr. Hariharan had already reached a pinnacle in loan operations.

But who could have imagined they would witness a person who actually used the option of a loan to such an extent? They could even conclude that the level at which John Brown utilized loans was perverse; otherwise, who would actually mortgage something they actively didn’t have? Who would even think of such ideas?

"It looks like we are still narrow-minded," the small merchant muttered in a low voice, audible only to the person sitting beside him, who then nodded in agreement.

Abhimanyu Gaurav did not know how to react, as he had no answer to give. He had never come across such a request before. He had seen people come to mortgage houses to get money, but this was the first time he had seen someone actually mortgage a house that was not even built in order to secure funds.

Abhimanyu Gaurav was going to refuse the inquiry right away, but the words that came to his throat could not be voiced out. No matter how much he thought this was wrong, logically, he couldn’t find any fault in John Brown’s argument.

John Brown had paid in full for the five Khaki ships he mentioned, and he also had a contract with a big shipyard, so the legitimacy should be very high. By the time the repayment date came, the ships would have already been manufactured and put into service.

Realistically speaking, the mortgage of the prebuilt ships should be more profitable for the bank since, when the time came to repossess the assets after failing to pay back the loan, the bank would actually be in profit. The prebuilt mortgaged ships would be newer and have fewer hours of travel, retaining their value much better for the bank to auction off at a good price.

"Mr. Brown, logically your request should be possible, but not to mention our bank, no one in our empire has encountered something similar. So please give me some time to talk with the headquarters. I will give you a reply as soon as possible."

"For now, if you would like, we can finalize the contract to mortgage the Khaki Class Green Transporters."

John Brown nodded, understanding the trouble.

---

*Ding!*

"Mr. John Brown, the director will meet you now," the secretary promptly informed, as it had unknowingly become 10:45.

John Brown got up, nodded in acknowledgement at Gaurav, and entered the office.

"Hello, Director, how are you?" John Brown immediately greeted.

"I am fine, thank you for asking, Mr. Brown. Please take a seat."

John Brown pulled back a chair and sat down with confidence.

Venkatishu was a little surprised by the confident expression on Brown’s face since the negotiation and the deal had not yet been concluded. Venkateshu wondered where John Brown’s confidence came from.

However, the thought only lasted for a moment as he quickly got to the main topic.

"Mr. Brown, I received rave reviews about the quality of the service your company provides in grain transportation."

"I read the reports. You were able to transport 36,000 tonnes of grain without any water damage, without spoilage, and with perfect packaging. That was not all; you also delivered the goods on time." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"According to what I read, you have done a single trip of 500 tonnes for one ship 18 times in the span of the last four and a half months, and you have been consistent in meeting the deadline of transporting 2,000 tonnes of grain per week using all your four ships."

Venkateshu looked up with curiosity. "If you don’t mind me asking, how do you accomplish this, Mr. Brown? Your track record, honestly speaking, is far ahead of any of your competition."

John Brown hesitated for a moment, then answered, "It’s not a big secret. I don’t utilize all four of my ships at the same time. I have divided them into two units. One unit transports goods from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the Sulawesi Confederation, while the other unit transports the grain from the Sulawesi Confederation to the Philippines.

In this way, not only do I avoid long travel distances, which are bound to be high risk, but I am also regularly in contact with the receivers of the goods, giving them peace of mind."

"Oh, no wonder!" Venkatishu exclaimed, He was very impressed, even though what John did was very simple, it required a lot of experience and ingenuity.

Unknown to Venkateshu, there was a sly glint in Brown’s eyes, as he did not fully explain the matter. In all fairness, what he said previously was indeed the truth, but not most of it. The main reason for his success was the rudimentary intelligence he had managed to build up.

The biggest advantage he had was knowing in advance when there would be military friction in any part of the Southeast Asian waters. He could use this knowledge to change the location of grain transfers between the first and second units, avoiding conflict as much as possible.

Additionally, being a European gave him a huge advantage, as he was able to easily obtain intelligence from the Dutch colony of Indonesia, which provided him with quite an edge over his competitors.

Venkatishu, not knowing what was in John Brown’s mind continued,

"I’m very impressed by your company, Mr. Brown. So, what do you think? Are you intrested of taking over a contract to transport 68,000 tonnes of ragi? This consignment came to our department only a few days ago. I am a little hesitant to hand over the contract to any unreputable trading company since ragi is very sensitive to moisture."

"But the way you operate your company fully satisfies my requirements. So if you are confident you can take over this contract, however..." Venkateshu’s face suddenly became serious. "This ragi is for a diplomatic mission of cultural exchange between the state of Vijayanagar in our Empire and the state of Luzon in the United States of the Philippines.

So, putting aside unforeseen circumstances like war or weather, if you fail to fulfil the contract, the penalty will be huge—enough to directly bankrupt your company. I suggest you think about the matter seriously."

If it were anyone else, they would have hesitated. But not John Brown; he didn’t even pay proper attention to the warning. All he heard was that he would be transporting items used in diplomatic exchanges. John Brown knew what this meant: it meant that his company would be on the preferred companies list for all the governments of different states. Compared to that, what is a little risk?

To be honest, the risk wasn’t even big to begin with, since until now, even if he lost one deal, the repercussions were enough to cripple his company for a few months.

"Don’t worry, Your Excellency. I will take over this contract. The quality will not be lacking, and I am purchasing more ships from the shipyard, so you can expect the delivery to be done quicker than the deadline." John Brown’s face was firm.

Venkateshu, although taken aback, did not look too surprised. He knew what kind of money John Brown had made in his last deal; if anything, he was only a little envious, as even he was not making so much money from his job. "Then congratulations, Mr. Brown! I wish you much more success in your career."

"Now for the final step, what price range are you looking at?" Venkateshu inquired.

"For the sixty-eight thousand tonnes, it will be 91,000 Varaha, Your Excellency." John Brown did not hesitate for a moment as he replied.

Venkatishu was taken aback, not because the price was too much, but because it was too little. The cost of 91,000 might seem high, but in reality, John Brown was following the same pricing model he used for the 36,000-tonne grain he transported.

Inherently, there was nothing wrong with the price, but generally, it is acceptable to price 20% higher due to the importance of the trade happening this time. Venkateshu was doubtful whether John Brown understood this.

John Brown noticed the unbelievable expression in Director Venkateshu’s eyes, even though it was well hidden. But, He did not mind as he explained, "Director, the reason I did not change the pricing for this contract is due to two reasons.

Number one, I am confident in completing this contract within the deadline, and number two, the second reason is more of a condition for me to take over this contract."

"What is it? If it’s a personal favour, then please forget about it and never bring it up," Venkateshu said, visibly panicked as he looked around the office in fear.

John Brown did not understand the reason for the director’s panic, but he explained his request anyway, "No, Director, I do not need any favours from the department. All I need is a recommendation from your side after the contract is completed to the governments of different states. I hope this is not too much to ask."

Venkateshu was immediately relieved, as he had been scared for a moment. "It’s only this much; you don’t need to worry. Our department keeps a record of all the contracts we have done with different companies so far." Venkateshu leaned closer to John Brown and whispered, "So between you and me, we actually keep a merit list for all you private companies taking over the government contracts.

Hence, if you complete this mission and you do well, you don’t even need me to do anything; you will already be visible to all the governments of the states throughout the empire. Instead of worrying about having no orders, you should worry about having too many orders."

"But since you have maintained the cost, I will do my best to write a detailed report for your company so that different governments will have a better understanding of your business and you will have a slight edge over your competitors."

John Brown was surprised to learn that things were like this, but nonetheless, he did not regret anything. "Thank you for your help, Director."

John Brown signed the contract and immediately left for the nearest Raya Royal Bank to confirm the mortgage and loan.