Chapter 644: Not Enough Money? Loan or Sell a Patent?

What to do with money?

Of course, build buildings—ah, no, construct towers. After Garrett and a group of philanthropic businessmen rushed to the White Tower and completed the transfer procedures, they headed straight to the Alchemy Workshop with their account proofs—

The construction team that built the hospital last time was good; they would use them again!

Build two buildings!

With the glittering gold coins in place, the construction team rumbled into the site. One part of the construction extended forward from the foundation of the existing maternity building, adding one more floor, increasing the total by 40 wards: the foundation was solidly laid before, adding two more floors was no big deal.

The other part, next to the maternity building, would be a VIP tower. This tower had only 10 wards, but the cost was even higher than the next 40 rooms combined:

Each ward was soundproofed, ensuring that no outside noise could be heard once the door was closed;

The rooms had a magic circle for constant temperature and humidity, keeping the temperature between 22-26 degrees Celsius, ensuring comfort for the mothers without the need for 【Heat Resistance】 or 【Cold Resistance】;

The room decor was a notch above the ordinary building next door, with each ward having its own bathroom...

“Uh, with these requirements, 10,000 gold coins might not be enough...”

The head of the decorating team, Mage Valenna, took notes and calculated rapidly. After tallying Garrett’s requirements, he announced a staggeringly high figure:

“The total construction cost for the two buildings is 16,000 gold coins. Would you like to increase the budget, or cut back on some requirements?”

“16,000 gold coins?” Garrett was shocked. He leaned over the desk, peering at the figure:

“Why so much? Don’t I have a discount?”

“Of course, you have a discount!” Mage Valenna quickly filled in the budget sheet with numbers and turned it around for him to see:

“You are a major client of the Alchemy Guild, receiving an 80% discount on products and services. This quote is already discounted, and we even rounded down the change for you!”

It’s worth noting that Garrett’s discounts were rather unusual. Others got their discount cards from bulk ordering; this Nordmark Mage got his by shearing the Alchemy Guild’s wool extensively...

To date, how many patents had he sold to the Alchemy Guild? Microscopes, shadowless lamps, pencils, explosives, penicillin, rubber...

Large sums of money rolled into his account, only to be sent off to who knows where. It seemed like there was a black hole next to this Nordmark Mage, endlessly devouring money.

—Of course, every mage is like that. Nordmark Mage’s spending was not too outrageous—after all, with his current level of arcane skills, he could match a level 9 mage...

Garrett was in a quandary. 6,000 gold coins out of his own pocket was out of the question; the hospital’s budget wasn’t that high;

To reallocate the budget from the Mage Tower seemed problematic as well, especially since the development of streptomycin and other such medicines must not stop; research by Lynn and Aurora also needed substantial financial support;

Write a few papers quickly, to swindle some rewards from the council? All the valuable major papers had been published recently, and minor papers were useless, unable to swindle much...

It’s out of the question to borrow from Cirella!

“...Are any of my patents at the Alchemy Workshop due for settlement soon? If not, can I use the future earnings from the patents as collateral to secure a loan?”

Mage Valenna couldn’t answer this question. But of course, the needs of major clients must be met. He took Garrett up the ranks until finally, they reached the vice president of the Alchemy Guild, that chubby old man:

“...The settlement period isn’t until the end of the year,” the old man replied promptly:

“A loan wouldn’t be difficult. If you speak up, a credit limit of up to 20,000 gold coins, a repayment period of one year, no collateral required, with an annual interest rate of 5%.”

What use is 20,000 gold coins—no, 20,000 gold coins was already a lot! Garrett bit his tongue in a critical moment, quickly did the math:

The interest rate wasn’t too high, even lower than the interest rates for first-home mortgages in his previous life.

However, borrowing 6,000 gold coins at an annual interest rate of 5% meant paying back 300 gold coins; if he borrowed the full 20,000 gold coins at 5%, he would have to pay back 4,000 gold coins...

300 gold coins, enough for a month’s meals for everyone in the hospital (primarily because mages have refined diets, while barbarians

eat meat). 4,000 gold coins, that’s enough for half a building!

He genuinely felt a pang of pain and tentatively inquired:

“...Could the interest be waived?”

...For a major client, it’s not impossible. But interest-free loans require quite a lot of paperwork, many signatures, and cause a series of troubles.

The old man reviewed in his mind the dreadful scene of a bunch of mages applying for interest-free loans, chuckled, and offered another suggestion:

“How about, do you have any patents you could license to us?”

Hmm... nothing new recently. Caesarean section methods, surgical indications—these weren’t patentable. Forceps were barely scraped together, probably not wanted by the Alchemy Workshop...

Garrett quickly reviewed in his mind, vetoing one option after another. The old man patiently waited for half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then smilingly hinted:

“How about that recent thing... the one for labor pain relief, could that be made into a magical device for sale?”

Garrett’s eyes lit up.

Yes! Definitely yes! In his previous life, pain-free childbirth involved the doctor setting up an epidural and handing a button to the mother:

“If the pain becomes unbearable, press this button, and the electronic pump will administer medication into the spinal canal, but don’t just press it willy-nilly; the medication dosage per hour is fixed...”

A self-controlled analgesic pump! Definitely doable!

“Yes, absolutely! That... I’ll draw out the spell model, license it to the Alchemy Workshop, can you make it according to my specifications? I’ll pre-order 10 sets, and for regions outside of Nevis, you can market it yourselves!”

“Deal!”

The two shook hands to seal the agreement. Then, the old man pulled out a large piece of paper for drawing magic scrolls, and Garrett started sketching and writing, sketching and writing:

“This is the output end, it’s better to make it larger, covering a section up and down the vertebrae, to prevent the person handling the output from misaligning the vertebrae...”

“This is the connection system, it’s better to make it longer, or perhaps remote activation is also possible, so the mother lying on the bed can activate it herself...”

“This is the activation system of the magic circle, it’s best to activate once per press, activate once per press...”

“This is the power supply system, it’s better to increase the power a bit, a single activation lasting five hours...”

The old man’s expression darkened as he watched. He finally couldn’t help but pull out a sheet of paper and start redrawing:

“Can’t you make it like a stamp? Held in hand, press it against the back to activate once, press to activate once? Much more convenient than your complicated connection system! And portable! Warriors can carry it with them on adventures!”

Ah... Garrett hadn’t thought of that use—mainly because he hadn’t gone on many adventures. He stopped his hand, scratched his head with the tip of his 【Endless Ink Pen】, leaving a long ink mark:

“...Then how about this, I’ll sign a license, and that stamp-like thing can also be made and sold. —But definitely make this remote version! I want mothers to be able to control it themselves! Don’t make them wait in pain for someone to come every time!”

So, in the future, it became “press this button when it hurts, the magic circle will activate pain relief, but don’t keep pressing it non-stop, this thing burns magic crystals...”

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read