"Joshua isn't wrong. We can't become very rich just by mining and selling gold. Unless we own this territory, scraping by with the gold we mine in secret will only fill our hungry stomachs but won't make us rich."
There were no siblings to contradict his statement.
They agreed with Rockefeller's words.
"Then what should we do? How can we become very rich, like you said, Rockefeller?"
The third child expressed his doubt, and Rockefeller answered.
"If we can't become rich by mining gold, we must look for another way."
"Another way... What do you mean? Does Rockefeller have something else in mind?"
"The way to become rich is actually predetermined."
Rockefeller, with his ears perked up, continued speaking to his siblings, who were focused on his words.
"Real big money, you see, is not earned through labor. You can't make big money that way. To really earn big, you have to either do business or gamble."
"Gambling?"
At the mention of gambling, the younger siblings expressed their disapproval.
No matter what their eldest brother said, the story they always heard from their late father was not to become a gambler.
But gambling?
The second child expressed his concerns.
"Are you suggesting we become gamblers?"
"That's not what I mean. What I'm talking about is Passive income."
"Passive income? What's that?"
"It's about earning money not through labor but by just sitting still."
"Is that even possible?"
In the younger siblings' understanding, earning money always meant having to work.
But the idea of making money without working was new to them.
And not just a small amount, but a significant sum.
"You guys know about interest, right? The money you get for lending money to others?"
"Yeah, we know about interest. It's the money you receive when you lend money to someone."
"Right, it's a concept like that interest. Besides that, there are also investment returns like dividends or rental income, or profits from trading stocks or real estate. And the real big money is made through these means, not just by working laboriously."
The younger siblings became quiet when a difficult topic came up.
‘Early education is important in everything.’
Rockefeller smiled faintly and continued.
"You don't need to understand all these complex concepts right away. Just remember this much: the money you earn by sitting still is more than the money you earn by working hard."
The third child retorted.
"Then who does the work? If the money earned by sitting still is greater, there's no need for anyone to step forward and work."
The second child had a similar thought.
"I don't get it either. If the money earned by sitting still is more, why would people bother working hard?"
Rockefeller slowly shook his head.
"That's not the case. Not just anyone can earn money by sitting still. To do that, you first need to have a lot of money. But not many people have that, right?"
It seemed that the third child was the first among the siblings to understand.
"I get it. If you lend a large sum of money, you receive more interest than when you lend a small amount. Is that what you mean?"
"That's right. That's how you should think about it."
"So, that person can make money without working?"
"And if the loaned amount is large?"
"They would become incredibly rich. And that too, without doing anything."
The second child, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, voiced another question.
"What if the person who borrowed the money doesn't pay back? What if they don't even pay the interest properly? That would be a big problem."
Rockefeller smiled faintly.
"Brother, didn't you say at the beginning that passive income is like gambling?"
"Yes."
"Here, if we consider the possibility that the borrower might not pay the interest on time or might run away with the principal, then it can indeed be a form of gambling."
"That's not good, then?"
"So, to increase our chances of winning, to whom should we lend money?"
"Well, we should lend it to nobles or maybe to rich people. Those kinds of people wouldn't run off with the money, would they?"
"You're right. If we lend money to people with credibility, we can win in this gamble with high odds. Ultimately, what we need to consider is the odds. We keep betting in a gambling house where the odds are high. That's how we become rich."
The younger siblings didn't fully understand what Rockefeller was saying, but they seemed to grasp the gist of it.
"I think I kind of get it."
"Me too!"
Rockefeller continued speaking to his siblings.
"What I want to say in this situation is simple. We can't become rich just by collecting and selling gold dust. That's why I plan to only do it moderately and soon enter under a goldsmith."
"Why there?"
"One of the tasks of a goldsmith is to lend gold coins to others and collect interest. I've mentioned it before, right? Real big money isn't made through labor."
Both siblings exclaimed in unison.
"By sitting on a chair!"
"Exactly. Real money is made that way, not through labor."
After finishing his words, Rockefeller pondered about the future.
'In the current situation, gold dust collection is too risky. Not only is getting caught doing that work a problem, but it's also bad luck to run into orcs. So, I need to enter under a goldsmith as soon as possible and secure a position. That's the way for me and my siblings to survive.'
