Sunk costs are costs that cannot be changed by any decision in the present or in the future because a decision has already occurred in the past. When people decide whether to do something, they not only look at whether it is good for them, but also whether they have invested in it in the past. We refer to these incurred, non-recoverable expenditures, such as time, money, and energy, as "sunk costs."

Sunk costs are often compared to variable costs, where variable costs can be changed and sunk costs cannot be changed. But many times investors don't rationally terminate the investment because they don't want to pay the sunk costs.

Here's a simple example:

A gambler brought 300 gold coins to gamble. In a matter of minutes, he lost all the money he had on him, which was lost and irretrievable, that is, sunk costs. In order to save 300 gold coins, the gambler was red-eyed, borrowed usury to continue gambling, and in the end fell deeper and deeper, and the cost was far more than 300 gold coins. Interestingly, investors tend to think of themselves as rational when it comes to increasing sunk costs, even if in the end they sink completely.

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Bigbow, the seaport city. Today is the date of the delivery of the Empire of Twilight.

Sailors brought out wooden crates from cargo ships, containing pieces of "broken silver" equipment. When I opened the lid of the box, I saw that they were a little yellowish in color, because they had been lubricated with "corpse oil lubricating liquid". Clavisoll was smiling as she walked around, but all her attention was focused on the reaction of the royal procurement staff.

The royal procurement staff leaned over, picked up a sword, and brushed away the wheat stalk crumbs on it: "Well, it's standard 'broken silver'." 30,000 pieces of armor and 30,000 weapons each. 1,900 gold coins per weapon and 2,850 gold coins per piece of armor, for a total amount of ......"

"Wait!" Clavisol pulled out a note from her cleavage (because it was too deep to pull out immediately), glanced at it, frowned, and said, "Didn't you say that it would be okay at the beginning, two thousand gold coins for weapons and three thousand gold coins for armor?" ”

"The contract also said that this is only a reference price, and the actual price fluctuates with the same equipment on the market year-on-year. The pricing we quoted is also based on evidence, you see, this is a list of equipment prices jointly signed by major chambers of commerce, not to mention them, even in which country, equipment is sold at the same price. The procurement staff hurriedly took out a piece of paper, for fear that the beauty would not believe it.

Clavisol didn't pick up the piece of paper, but continued to put on a dissatisfied look: "Hmph, then aren't we losing money?" In fact, even if she doesn't understand the economy, she knows that this batch of goods can make a small profit, after all, the contract is the price of the commodity, not the cost price, and there is still a profit margin. However, women always have the privilege of bargaining, especially young and beautiful women, if they don't take the opportunity to complain, they are really wasting the capital given by God.

"The contract is valid for three months, and you can continue to produce armaments. Within three months, all rumors will be quelled, and we will start to calm prices and ensure the rationality of the transaction. The procurement staff laughed. Your second shipment is already on its way? By then, you should be satisfied with our offer, right? ”

Clavisoll thought for a moment, and then smiled sweetly. She felt more and more that the business had been completely secured. Isn't it? The price of armaments has withstood the double test of rumors and ore dumping, and it is impossible to fall any longer, right? In this case, my pocket money will increase again~

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Seru Vega is a small area, about the size of the Blackstone Valley, so it only took a day for the convoy to travel from the border to the capital of Seruvega.

The moment he saw the outline of the city, Qingyi was a little nostalgic.

The walls are 50 meters high and are made of huge stones. There were no arrow towers at the four corners of the city, no shooting holes, no gun emplacements, no ballistae in the walls (the Seruviga knew how to use the equipment to defend the city?). No kidding). The Seruviga defended the city by smashing stones and logs, nothing more, and nothing more technical at all. However, this city wall has a very strange design, which is the "plastering hammer". The Plastering Hammer, which has never been seen in the real world, is one of the few pieces of defense equipment in the capital of Seruvega, a solid iron ball weighing two tons, smooth and round in appearance, with a wall head protruding half a meter outward, tied to the city gate with a long cold iron chain, and the hammer head is suspended from the side of the city wall. When someone uses a ladder or siege machine, as soon as they put the hammer on the wall, it will make a half-arc like a pendulum of a hanging bell, sweeping the soldiers under the city into meat sauce or crushing the rushing cart. It's not easy to recycle after use, but the Seruvega people are known for their strength, and they still lack the strength of this hand?

There was a strict order in the capital, because there were elite troops stationed near the capital, and there were guards in the capital. Every soldier in the elite army has the strength of a sheriff, and the Guards are better equipped than the elite army, and these two armies are the biggest cards of Seruvega. As for the guys who were sent to the corpse wetlands to join the coalition? It's just an intermediate warrior recruited with a dozen gold coins, and it's completely expendable.

Gareth the Wise attaches great importance to high-ranking warriors, and is willing to use all conditions to tie them to Seruviga; And his attitude towards mid-level fighters was completely different, and he sent them to the battlefield without even thinking about it. As for those civilians who fled abroad? Hehe, those guys are of low quality, have an inferior nature that cannot be removed, and will only sneak and abduct and add a lot of trouble to foreign countries. The use of iron-fisted rule in a brutal environment has made the superstructure of the country solidified, and the quality of the people has been continuously improved, and it can also disgust neighboring countries, which is the interesting thing about Seruvega.

There are many large houses in the city, and there are sparsely lined green trees on both sides of the road. Looking at the roads, there are more people wearing clean clothes and trousers, and beggars and orphans are basically extinct, indicating that the people of the capital are still living a relatively good life. It's a pity that other cities are still like slums, separated by dozens of kilometers, like two countries.

When he came to the palace, Qingyi smiled dumbly. The palace was smaller than the Joint Research Center, unadorned, not spectacular, not a lot of metal (because it was used to forge weapons), and was built in the style of Seru Vega - with stone walls. Muscular men stood outside the palace, acting as railings instead of metal.

"You guys wait outside."

Qingyi followed the commissioner, stepped in, and soon came to the hall, and saw the man who was named "wise". Gareth was in his forties, not amazing, and had a lot of pockmarks on his face; The height is almost no more than five feet, and his body is quite strong. His left scalp is bruised, and his style is a little more fierce; He wears a crude shortshirt and shorts, and sandals; He sat on a low stool, clutching a chicken leg and nibbling on it. No matter how you look at it, he doesn't look like a hero, much less like a wise man.

Gareth the Wise: ?? level, the god of war of the wilderness. One of the "Twelve Heroes of the Gospel", he is the guardian and king of Seruviga, known for his intelligence and wisdom, and his thoughtful and thoughtful actions at all times. After becoming a guardian hero, he immediately carried out drastic reforms, creating a complete organizational structure and system, so that the monarch's power could be consolidated. Although he is called a wise man, he rarely reads books and has a very low level of education (he can't even write well), so some people say that he is a genius who knows how to write without a teacher. The mantra is "you get the idea". Good skills are【???? 】、【？？？？ 】、【？？？？ 】、【？？？？ 】、【？？？？ 】。 The specialty is????

Qingyi walked in, saw that he didn't arrange his own seat, and he was not angry, and sat on the shadow throne safely: "Hello, Wise Gareth." ”

Gareth chewed all the bones, swallowed, and wiped his hands on his clothes: "It's okay to call me anything, just don't call it that." I don't deserve to be called 'wise' at all, and a true wise man would disguise himself as a fool, rather than be like me and make you all wary. But there is no way, when you become a hero, your reputation is like the fire of a paper bag, and sooner or later it will come out, so you might as well add fuel to the fire. ”

Qingyi shook his head: "It's true that it's best to be wise and foolish, but you have another purpose for making a name for yourself: you want to intimidate Bigbowo." ”

"Ah, you're not stupid. When did you see it? ”

"It was a long, long time ago, from the first time I came to the capital of Seruvega. You have an elite army that is completely at your disposal, but it occupies the backwoods, so Bigbowo doesn't want to gnaw at your hard bone - and there is no interest in gnawing it. Qingyi diverted the topic: "Defeated the Dusk Empire, aren't you afraid that Bigbowo will cross the river and tear down the bridge?" Trust me, that guy can definitely do it. You're too smart, too dangerous, and he won't let you live forever. If the price of getting rid of you is to sacrifice an army or set the domestic economy back by ten years, and he thinks it makes sense, then you are dead. ”

Gareth laughed, "Don't I know this? As a neighbor of Bigbow, am I defenseless? For twenty years since I ascended the throne, I've only thought about one thing – how to make Seruva go further! Why am I called 'wise'? They were all forced out by Bigbowo! If you had moved with me, you might have been smarter than I was. ”

Qingyi smiled: "If I change places, I'm afraid I won't be able to last for three years." ”

"Okay, that's all for the chat, I'm not familiar with you, there's nothing to talk about." Gareth held up three fingers: "I'll say three words, and when you're done, let me leave." ”

"Listen up."

"First sentence, you will definitely lose this battle."

"The second sentence, when this battle is over, you will not die."

"The third sentence, if you can't die, you will definitely come to me, and only I can save you."

"Definitely? Certainly?! Qingyi's face suddenly became strange, and he changed color several times in a moment. His voice was low, and his eyes were full of unwillingness: "Can you see the future? ”

"Yes, I can see that. I can still see through people's hearts. Gareth smiled: "You believe my words, you are wondering, is there any way to save everything?" The more you think about it, the more desperate you become, so you must leave with heavy steps. ”

Qingyi raised his face, and his tone suddenly carried a hint of anger: "If you expect me to ask you for help in the future, then tell me the crux of the matter first, otherwise everything will be stopped." ”

"You're coming, so your intimidation won't work for me. Still, let me remind you of one word: sunk costs. You know. ”

Qingyi was silent for a while and said, "I understand." But I don't understand, why do you want to help Bigbower dismantle my desk in the first place? ”

"Even if I don't warn you, Bigbower will have to trouble you sooner or later, don't think that other countries don't understand people. Moreover, with a painful lesson to teach you a lesson, you will be more able to adapt to the rules of the game and be more qualified to stay. ”

Qingyi nodded, turned to leave, and walked heavily. However, as he walked out the door, he couldn't help but smile. His expression was strange, with both clouds and sunshine.