Chapter 85

Qing Ying returned to the Berlin Palace Building as the sun was setting. A magnificent sunset hung high in the distant western sky, casting a brilliant glow that seemed like molten gold. In the spacious and bright inner study, Wilhelm was dozing in a recliner. Hearing the familiar footsteps, he kept his eyes closed and said indifferently, "How was it?"

Although Wilhelm’s question was somewhat vague, Qing Ying could guess his adoptive father’s meaning from the faint pride in his voice. He smiled slightly and said to Wilhelm, whose eyes were still closed, "It’s a fantastic shipyard. There are no flaws in either the equipment or the personnel. Especially the battleship design team, they are tailor-made for this shipyard. I am truly grateful for your help, Father!" With that, Qing Ying bowed deeply to Wilhelm.

Wilhelm slowly opened his eyes and tried to act as if it was no big deal. However, the hint of satisfaction in his eyes clearly showed how pleased he was with Qing Ying’s words. He rolled his eyes and said, "You discovered the tonnage bloat problem in the Imperial Navy, which greatly boosted the Empire’s development. As the Emperor, I naturally have to reward you accordingly. This shipyard, though not large, is almost fully equipped. And to meet your need to build a 4,000-ton warship, I went to great lengths to bring over the top small warship design team from the Royal Shipyard! All this should be enough to satisfy you, right?"

Hearing the slight displeasure in Wilhelm’s words, Qing Ying’s eyes flickered, and he immediately put on a smiling face, nodding and bowing to express his unparalleled admiration and gratitude for Wilhelm’s generosity and efforts.

Seeing this, Wilhelm felt a bit more at ease. He waved his hand slightly, and Qing Ying understood, sitting down in the chair beside him. Looking at his second son, who had grown a head taller in just two years, Wilhelm’s expression softened. He said, "Although I still don’t agree with you getting involved in business so early, I have to admit that your shipyard is already bringing in astonishing profits. With the development of maritime shipping, shipbuilding profits have surpassed traditional coal and railways. Apart from the opium trade that the British engage in, no other industry can match this level of profit. The old Bremmer, who manages the shipyard, should have told you all the inside details, right?"

Qing Ying nodded slowly, his expression changing slightly, unsure whether it was joy or shock. After discussing the submarine design details with Hedira, he had gone to Bremmer’s office to hear the old man recount the financial gains over the past month. As Wilhelm had said, even if a sow were the general manager, the shipyard would still be profitable.

Due to the huge market demand for overseas trade, the profits from shipping were enormous. Generally, for every additional 2,000 nautical miles a merchant ship traveled, the profit on its cargo would increase by almost 100%. A merchant ship would typically be in service for at least 25 years. Therefore, each merchant ship purchased by a shipping company was like buying a money tree that would continue to generate wealth. Despite the heavy taxes imposed by governments on shipping companies, the enormous profits from overseas trade still drove them to constantly expand their fleets. In this context, shipyards naturally colluded to inflate the prices of merchant ships, to an extent that even the housing prices in first-tier cities of the future could not compare. If one had to describe it with a word, it would be "insane"!

In his previous life, when Qing Ying was studying the history before World War I, he noticed a strange phenomenon: all shipyards would always require the buyer to pay 25% of the total amount as a deposit before signing the contract. Only after the buyer paid this deposit would the shipyard start construction. Due to the lack of detailed first-hand information, Qing Ying had always been puzzled as to why all shipyards chose 25% so consistently. It wasn’t until this visit to the shipyard that he finally understood: the 25% deposit was the total cost of the entire ship!

Even as a穿越者 (穿越者 means "time traveler" or "穿越者" in this context, but it's better to use "穿越者" to maintain the original meaning), Qing Ying had seen many examples of urban profiteering in the future, but after learning about the shipbuilding industry, he still couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of awe. It was normal for a regular merchant ship to be sold at nearly four times its cost. And for some excellent designs with larger cargo capacities, the final selling price would be even higher!

For example, the merchant ships currently under construction in Qing Ying’s shipyard were the best proof. Three standard 1,050-ton merchant ships, with all expenses totaling just over 300,000 marks, were being sold for 1.2 million marks because they could carry 1,350 tons of cargo. The large merchant ship with a full load displacement of 4,500 tons was priced at over 2.4 million marks!

The situation was almost the same for warships. When Japan ordered two Fuji-class battleships from the British Armstrong Shipyard at the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War, they also had to pay a quarter of the total price as a deposit before construction began. The same payment method was used for the dreadnoughts built for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Spain, and Turkey. The most direct evidence of ship prices being four times the cost was the famous Liberty ships produced by the United States during World War II. Each ship cost only 100,000 pounds to build, but when sold to the military, the price was 400,000 pounds, with a gross profit margin of an astonishing 300%!

Wilhelm said indifferently, "The development speed of the Empire’s maritime industry is currently at an unprecedented peak. Since the shipyard is established under your name, all your shipbuilding berths will be fully occupied for the next ten years. Unlike warships, merchant ships don’t require such meticulous craftsmanship, and the construction time for a 3,000 to 4,000-ton merchant ship is only half that of a warship. From laying the keel to completion, it takes about 10 months. If the second phase of the project is completed and all eight shipbuilding berths are operational, the annual output could reach almost 12 million marks."

"Since shipbuilding is so profitable, why don’t we build more shipyards? As far as I know, the number of shipyards in the Empire hasn’t increased much in recent years. The additional merchant ships are mostly due to the expansion of existing shipyards. Such a profitable industry should attract a large number of people, right?" Qing Ying asked, somewhat puzzled.

Wilhelm snorted, "Do you think shipyards are like thatched cottages in the countryside, where you can buy 1 square meter for 1 mark? Land acquisition, recruitment, machinery purchase, factory construction... all these require a lot of money. Without tens of millions of marks in capital, you can’t even start the business! For this shipyard, we had to invest over 30 million marks. And since this project is for you personally, it’s outside the annual national budget, meaning I had to pay for it all myself! You wouldn’t know how painful it is if you had to pay for it!"

"Hey, when you inherited the throne, didn’t you also inherit the enormous wealth of the Hohenzollern family from your grandfather and great-grandfather? If there were a list of the richest people in Germany, you would be the wealthiest in the entire Empire. Now you’re complaining about 30 million marks?" Qing Ying was inwardly indignant but had to put on a guilty and awkward expression, feeling embarrassed.

Wilhelm paused and continued, "Moreover, the number of technical personnel is also a significant limitation in the shipbuilding industry. Unlike shipping, where you can buy a merchant ship and hire sailors to start, shipbuilding requires excellent design teams and a large number of skilled workers to ensure the quality of the ships. With a limited number of workers and designers, it’s impossible to arbitrarily expand the scale of shipbuilding. The current supply and demand relationship maximizes the profits of shipyards. The large shipyards will also guard the entry barriers to this field to maintain their monopoly, preventing a flood of capital from entering and creating competition."

With that, Wilhelm got up from the recliner and walked straight to the young man. His eyes showed seriousness and gravity as he said to Qing Ying in a solemn tone, "The Hohenzollerns, though a century-old royal family with substantial assets, only began to enter the shipping industry during the reign of the Holy Emperor. The Ningen Shipyard is the only fully-owned shipbuilding enterprise of the entire family. I am entrusting it to you, and you must cherish it and never act recklessly! If I find that you are behaving improperly or becoming arrogant because of your wealth, I will immediately reclaim its ownership. Do you understand?"

Since his arrival in this world, Wilhelm had never spoken to him with such sternness and urgency. Seeing how serious he was, Qing Ying’s expression turned solemn, and he said firmly, "Father’s teachings, I will remember them well. Whatever I think, I will certainly consult Mr. Bremmer in detail and never act independently."

PS: The author has always been skeptical about the 300% gross profit margin in shipbuilding, but after reviewing some materials and discussing with experts, he finally discovered this shocking fact. The conscience of capitalists is indeed greatly lacking...