BSI Chapter 11 Pricing
Chapter 11 Pricing
While the North African campaign was in a stalemate, the Mediterranean air and naval forces had recently concluded a major battle codenamed "Operation Plinth".
英国付出了1艘航母（鹰号）2艘轻巡1艘驱逐舰，以及9艘商船的代价，将5艘装满燃油的商船护送到了马尔他岛。
Thus, the Maltese navy and air force, which had been unable to operate due to lack of fuel, were revived.
Submarines, warships, reconnaissance aircraft, and bombers launched attacks to intercept transport convoys traveling from Italy to North Africa.
A convoy sailing from Naples, Italy to Tripoli, North Africa, was relentlessly attacked by the British navy and air force.
Despite the Italian navy's best efforts to cover them, five of the six transport ships were sunk, and debris and rubble were floating everywhere on the sea.
Unlike usual, this time the Royal Navy did not leave immediately; instead, they organized fishing boats and haulage vessels to salvage the oil drums floating on the sea.
The Italians, seeing this from afar through their binoculars, couldn't help but curse, "To hell with them, they're using our fuel to replenish their fleet."
What they didn't see was that after the British retrieved these oil drums, they added something to them before throwing them back into the sea in batches.
These oil drums drift downstream and will appear on the beaches of North Africa in just one or two days.
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Thorne heard about Operation Plinth, which the British military described in the Egyptian Gazette as a great victory and a miracle to boost morale.
The rest was beyond the knowledge of a nobody like him, including "toxic gasoline," which were all military secrets, and the less he knew, the better.
What he had to do was produce the "toxic gasoline" and deliver it to Montgomery in batches.
Thorne generously sold the unplanned fuel to the military at a low price.
While still at the refinery, when Gray heard the oil prices, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Are you kidding me, Thorne? Aviation fuel is only 29 pence a gallon, and car fuel is 20 pence?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Thorne retorted. "Tell me, do you want it or not?"
"Yes, of course I want it," Gray quickly replied. "I'll take as many as you have."
Just kidding, these are rare finds, especially aviation fuel that even oil giants can't supply in sufficient quantities.
Then Gray shook his head incredulously: "God, no wonder the oil giants don't want your company to survive; they're after a monopoly."
"You're only finding out now?" Thorne chuckled.
Thorne's output may be negligible to oil giants.
The problem was that as soon as Thorne started producing oil, the military immediately knew that aviation fuel was still profitable even at 29 pence, while the oil giants were selling it for 50 pence, almost double the price of the same quality of oil.
Now that Thorne's company has survived, even if it only produces a little over a hundred barrels a day, it can still threaten the oil giants' monopoly.
Wells protested the pricing during a family meeting.
"Are you crazy?" He stared at Thorne, who was sitting across the table, his eyes full of incomprehension.
"The oil giants sell for 50 pence, why can't we sell for the same price? Our quality is even better than theirs."
"More importantly, the military is extremely short of oil, and they will buy it no matter the price. We have no worries about not being able to sell it."
"This is a money-making opportunity, Thorne! We still have a lot of debt and loans to pay off!"
Thorne countered calmly, "Father, if we sell for the same price as the oil giants, what reason does the military have to let us survive?"
"What?" Wells looked completely bewildered. "You're friends with Major Gray..."
"The business world doesn't care about these things, Father," Thorne interrupted Wells. "The business world only cares about profits. If we sell gasoline at the same price as the giants, the military won't get any real benefit."
After a pause, Thorne added:
"But if we sell oil cheaper, it's a different story."
"If the military wants to obtain more and cheaper fuel in the future, they must ensure our safety."
"At the same time, our presence can drive down the prices offered by oil giants, which will further solidify our necessity."
Wells was speechless; Thorne's explanation was reasonable and he could not refute it.
However, as the head of the family, he was reluctant to bow down in front of his son, and the atmosphere in the restaurant instantly fell into a brief awkward silence.
Emma, who was busy in the kitchen, came out with a plate of apples to smooth things over:
"Darling," she said to Wells.
"You're right. From a profit perspective, we should indeed price it at 50 pence per gallon."
"But these are extraordinary times. We need the military's protection. Right now, the most important thing is to consider survival."
"So, at least for now, we should listen to Thorne. This is to give the military enough benefits to make them realize our value."
Wells's expression softened somewhat.
This means that it's not that he was wrong, but rather that we are in "extraordinary times" and should adopt a different strategy.
Thorne cast a grateful glance at Emma. His mother had this skill; she had mastered it to perfection.
Emma returned a meaningful look, as if to tell Thorne: Your father cares about his reputation, son. Convincing him will only take one step.
Wells considered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Alright, that's settled, 29 pence a gallon."
He glanced at Thorne, wondering why this good-for-nothing son, who usually only knew how to indulge in drinking and showing off, seemed like a completely different person now.
Emma smiled and nodded at Thorne, her eyes full of approval.
He has finally grown up, she thought, growing into a strong tree capable of standing on its own in this adversity on the verge of bankruptcy.
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Thorne's strategy soon paid off.
After receiving an extremely low price offer from Red Sea Oil Company, most of the troops that had already withdrawn returned, ostensibly to protect energy security.
Not only that, they also brought a special force to serve as workers.
"This is to ensure production," Gray said casually, raising his head. "They work very well."
Thorne looked at the group of "workers" with curiosity. They were dressed in tattered British military uniforms, mostly white, with a few Indians and Arabs occasionally in sight.
These "workers" were unequipped and worked under the guns of British soldiers. If they were even slightly slow, they would be scolded or even have their gun butts pointed at them.
Gray smiled and explained, "No need to make a fuss, Thorne. They've violated battlefield discipline."
Thorne exclaimed "Oh!" in realization. They were deserters who had been disarmed and used as laborers.
Thorne found it somewhat ironic; the British army had retreated all the way here, and there must have been many deserters and laborers like this!
(Note: Depending on the severity of their disciplinary violations, the British Army would assign deserters to three units: non-combat labor companies, disciplinary companies, and vanguard companies. Non-combat labor companies were used for tasks such as building fortifications, disciplinary companies fought under supervision, and vanguard companies were used as human expendable resources to carry out various dangerous missions.)