Edith, Ruth, and Helen soon returned to the trading post. Jack had just finished explaining the food stall idea to Elias, so he hadn’t expected them back so soon.
“You’ve already made up your minds?”
“We have.” Edith nodded. “We asked Nolan and the others too. They’re all willing to use brick blanks to buy the food we make.”
Jack smiled when he heard that both sides were interested.
“Then there’s no problem. You can start preparing. Just let me know what ingredients you need.”
“There’s still one problem,” Ruth said. “What about the traders who come from outside?”
Jack didn’t immediately understand what she meant. Once Ruth explained, the problem became clear.
“So you’ll have to decide what outside traders can use to buy our food,” Ruth said.
Jack instinctively turned to Elias.
“What do you think?”
“See?” Elias gave him an annoyed look. “This is what happens when you make decisions on the spur of the moment.”
Jack smiled awkwardly.
“I didn’t think that far ahead.”
“The idea itself is good, but next time, could you think things through before making the decision?”
“I will. I definitely will,” Jack promised.
Elias clearly didn’t put much faith in that promise, but he let it go.
“What outside traders should use as payment is certainly a problem,” he said after thinking it over. “But it isn’t the biggest one.”
The others hadn’t expected that.
“That’s not the biggest problem?” Jack asked. “Then what is?”
“Nolan and the others,” Elias replied. “If we use brick blanks for trade, they’ll become the biggest risk in the whole arrangement.”
Ruth still didn’t see the problem.
“Why?”
“Nolan and the others make the brick blanks, and you’re planning to accept those same brick blanks in exchange for food,” Elias explained. “That means nearly every brick blank circulating through these trades will come from them.”
Jack suddenly saw where he was going with this.
“Wouldn’t that be like letting Nolan and the others print their own money?”
Edith, Ruth, and Helen were stunned.
“Exactly,” Elias said. “Brick blanks have practical value, so they aren’t creating money out of nothing. But the item used for trade in a market can’t be controlled entirely by one group. Otherwise, everyone else has to rely on that group to obtain it, while they can produce as much as they want. Sooner or later, that will cause problems.”
Jack had only wanted Edith and the others to prepare some hot food and let Nolan’s group pay with the results of their labor. He hadn’t expected the idea to become so complicated once they tried to put it into practice.
He gave a bitter smile.
“Looks like I made it far too simple in my head.”
Edith, Ruth, and Helen were beginning to realize that running a stall involved more than simply preparing food and putting it up for sale.
“If it’s going to be this complicated, maybe we should forget about it,” Edith suggested hesitantly. “I could still help you run your original stall.”
“Why should we forget about it?” Jack immediately waved the suggestion aside. “If there’s a problem, we solve it. If we give up every time something becomes difficult, how are we ever supposed to accomplish anything?”
Edith fell silent.
Elias turned the question back on Jack.
“If you don’t intend to give up, do you have a solution?”
Jack didn’t answer. He stood there thinking for quite some time before finally speaking.
“I need to get Marlin first. There’s something I want to confirm.”
He quickly left the trading post and soon returned with Marlin. The two had clearly discussed the situation on the way back, because Jack got straight to the point as soon as they arrived.
“Marlin, what do merchants and settlements usually use for trade?”
“Jerky,” Marlin answered without hesitation. “All kinds of jerky are commonly used for trade. It’s hard currency in the wasteland.”
“That’s right,” Edith added. “We used to trade jerky for salt, medicine, and clothing all the time. As long as it hadn’t spoiled, most merchants would accept it.”
“Why jerky in particular?” Jack asked.
“Because it’s one of the easiest things for survivors to obtain,” Elias explained. “Many settlements hunt mutant beasts that aren’t particularly dangerous, then dry or smoke the meat. They can either keep it for food or trade it for other supplies.”
“Jerky also keeps for a long time, and its value is relatively easy to judge,” Marlin added. “As long as it’s still edible, you can weigh it, and both sides will have a general idea of what it’s worth.”
Jack thought it over.
“In that case, we could follow the same basic model, but we shouldn’t copy it exactly.”
That caught Marlin’s interest.
“What do you have in mind?”
Jack took a moment to sort out his thoughts.
“Here’s what I’m thinking. Nolan and the others can currently produce two things: brick blanks and sun-dried bricks. What if we give each of them a different use?”
Everyone waited for him to continue.
“First, the brick blanks. They have to be qualified brick blanks. Whenever Nolan and the others want to exchange with me for food, drinking water, or other daily necessities, that’s what they’ll have to use.”
He paused briefly.
“Then we have the sun-dried bricks. Nolan’s group won’t be able to trade those directly with me. They can only use them within the market.”
Jack turned to Edith, Ruth, and Helen.
“In other words, I’ll only accept sun-dried bricks after they’ve changed hands through you or an outside trader.”
Elias quickly followed his reasoning.
“That would allow outside traders to exchange their supplies, especially jerky, with Nolan’s group for sun-dried bricks. They could then use those bricks to buy the food Edith and the others make.”
“Exactly,” Jack said. “For now, Nolan’s group should only accept jerky from outside traders. That way, people won’t bring them all kinds of random things and expect them to decide what everything is worth.”
“Once outside traders have sun-dried bricks, they can use them to buy food from Edith’s stall. They can also use them to buy potatoes, bread, canned beef, and other supplies from me.”
He turned back to the three women.
“You can use the sun-dried bricks you receive to buy ingredients from me. Eventually, those bricks will still make their way back to me, and I can use them to build the trading post and other facilities.”
Marlin considered the arrangement carefully.
“But what would Nolan and the others do with all that jerky? Would they even agree to collect it?”
“That’s easy enough to solve,” Elias said. “They can sell the jerky to Edith and the others in exchange for sun-dried bricks. Edith’s group and Nolan’s group can negotiate the price themselves. We won’t interfere.”
“What if someone brings something other than jerky, or comes with a large shipment?” Ruth asked.
“Large transactions will still be handled the same way as before,” Jack explained. “Machines, equipment, tools, and large quantities of materials will go through the official trading post, where Elias or I will assess their value. Only smaller amounts of jerky will be exchanged with Nolan’s group for sun-dried bricks.”
“The jerky should still be traded by weight,” Elias added after considering the details. “But to keep things simple, we’ll only use two amounts for now. Five hundred grams of jerky will be worth ten sun-dried bricks, and one kilogram will be worth twenty. Anyone with less than five hundred grams can save it until they have enough.”
“That makes sense,” Marlin said. “Jerky comes in all shapes and sizes. If we accept every possible weight, things will get confusing very quickly. Sooner or later, someone will start arguing over a little more or a little less.”
“Then we’ll weigh it,” Jack said. “Marlin, lend Nolan’s group the scale you normally use. Once we find another one, I’ll replace it for you.”
Marlin stared at him in surprise.
“Now you’re even after my scale?”
“What else am I supposed to do?” Jack replied as if the answer were obvious. “You’re the only one who has one.”
Marlin opened his mouth, then gave up on arguing.
Once they had worked out most of the rules, Elias went through the entire arrangement again to make sure they hadn’t missed anything.
“Jack and I will work out the prices for the supplies we sell separately,” he told Edith, Ruth, and Helen. “We’ll set both wholesale and retail prices and let you know once everything is finalized.”
None of the three women had any objections.
With the basic rules settled, Jack turned to Helen.
“Could you bring Nolan and the others over? I want to explain everything before we start so there won’t be any misunderstandings later.”
Helen left the trading post and soon returned with Nolan, Owen, Simon, Eli, and Lyle. The five men already seemed to know why Jack had called them over and became serious as they approached.
Jack addressed them directly.
“Can the five of you speak for the others? I don’t want you agreeing to the rules now, only for someone else to come to me later and say they refuse to accept them.”
Nolan exchanged a glance with the other four.
“We discussed this from the beginning. Whenever something requires a group decision, the five of us will act as representatives. If anyone has an opinion, they’ll bring it to us first, and we’ll come discuss it with you.”
Owen added, “If all five of us agree to something, it means the group has already discussed it. If anyone objects afterward, we’ll handle it ourselves.”
“Good,” Jack said. “I’ll explain the new trading rules from beginning to end. If you have any questions or requests, bring them up after I’m finished.”
The five men listened attentively.
“First, whenever you want to exchange brick blanks with me for food, drinking water, or other daily necessities, they must meet the required standard. I won’t accept anything that fails inspection.”
“Second, you can continue making sun-dried bricks, but you can’t trade them directly with me. You can use them to buy food from Edith’s group or jerky from outside traders. When dealing with me directly, you can only use qualified brick blanks.”
“Third, outside traders who bring machines, equipment, tools, or large quantities of materials must still conduct those transactions at the official trading post. You’ll only be responsible for buying jerky. Don’t try to assess the value of anything else.”
“Fourth, outside traders who receive sun-dried bricks can use them to buy food from Edith’s stall. They can also use them to buy potatoes, bread, canned beef, and other supplies from me. Edith and the others can use the sun-dried bricks they receive to buy ingredients from me or jerky from you. That way, the jerky you collect won’t become a burden.”
Jack paused before moving on to the exchange rates.
“For now, jerky will be the only thing you buy from outside traders. Five hundred grams will be worth ten sun-dried bricks, and one kilogram will be worth twenty. Smaller amounts can be combined, but no exchange will be made until the total reaches five hundred grams. I’ll provide the scale and containers for weighing.”
“To put it simply, use qualified brick blanks when you exchange for supplies from me. Within the market, use qualified sun-dried bricks to buy food or jerky.”
“One final rule. Both the brick blanks and the sun-dried bricks must meet the required standard. Anyone who deliberately tries to pass off defective bricks will receive a warning the first time. If it happens again, that person will no longer be allowed to trade here.”
After explaining everything, Jack gave Nolan and the others a moment to take it in.
“That’s all for now. Do you have any questions?”
The five men remained silent as they worked through the somewhat complicated arrangement.
Simon was the first to sort it out.
“I understand what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s clear that you genuinely want everyone involved to benefit. At least for now, these rules are fair to all sides. We have no objections.”
Nolan, Owen, and the others glanced at Simon. They had not yet worked out the purpose behind every rule, but they knew Simon was better at thinking through matters like this. Since he believed the arrangement was sound, none of them objected.
“I wouldn’t claim that these rules are perfectly fair,” Jack said. “But as long as the arrangement works for now and benefits everyone involved, we can start with this.”
His tone became more serious.
“I can also promise that these rules won’t stay the same forever. We’ll continue adjusting them as the situation changes.”
“I understand,” Simon said. “You’ve already done a great deal to make this work.”
“Thank you for understanding. Since none of you have any objections, the new rules will take effect today.”
Elias added one final condition.
“The price of jerky between your group and Edith’s group will be up to both sides to negotiate. We won’t interfere. But once you agree on a price, everyone must honor it. If the price needs to change later, you’ll have to negotiate again. No one is allowed to change it without the other side’s agreement or go back on their word.”
Nolan accepted the condition solemnly, and Edith, Ruth, and Helen agreed as well.
With everything settled, the others soon went their separate ways. Edith called Nolan and the other representatives aside to discuss the price of the jerky and how much they would need each day.
Marlin watched them for a while before giving Jack an appraising look.
“I never would’ve guessed you had such a good head for business,” he said with a smile. “These rules are surprisingly well thought out. You almost sound like a real merchant.”
Jack gave him an annoyed look and pointed toward the convenience store.
“I am a merchant. There’s an entire convenience store sitting right there. Have you somehow never noticed it?”
Marlin paused, then burst out laughing. Even Elias shook his head with a quiet laugh.
Jack couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. His expression gradually turned serious.
“Stop laughing. There’s still one problem with these rules.”
Marlin’s laughter died immediately, and Elias regarded Jack with surprise. They had already checked the entire arrangement from beginning to end without finding any obvious gaps. Neither of them had expected Jack to identify another issue.
“What problem?” Elias asked.
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