Chapter 38: The 38th Day of Livestream Selling
“However, there’s still one problem.” 1114 raised a hand.
To be precise, it was an old problem.
Transportation.
When they had first reached a preliminary supply agreement for potions with the dark elf on New Year’s Eve, it had only involved small-batch delivery of a single product. 1114 alone could handle it as a system, just like it handled those takeout orders. One order came in, one order got delivered.
But this multi-party trade was visibly going to grow bigger. Once it involved multiple planes, multiple categories of goods, and massive quantities of products, they had no choice but to bring out their old recurring actor—the special space crates that could only be purchased from the system shop.
And Lin Zhao already knew that the difficult part had never been buying the crates. It was sorting, packing, and boxing.
That was essentially the seller’s job. As the buyer, they could directly state their packaging requirements when signing the contract. But whether the other side would listen was one matter; the various invisible costs added to the other side were another. Lin Zhao was not afraid of the seller raising the price. As the middleman, he only needed to raise his price accordingly. What he feared was the time cost dragging on for too long.
The longer it dragged, the more variables there would be, and the risk would definitely increase.
Lin Zhao did have one proven solution that had already worked before: cargo-handling robots. Later, they might even be able to add harvesting robots too.
The problem was that the wasteland world’s productivity was too low. The few robots Lin Zhao had ordered last time had already nearly worked the old-school artisan Mechanic, who still insisted on handcrafting everything, to the point of throwing sparks. And that was not even counting the fact that the Mechanic currently had a research collaboration with Ms. Elowen. Even if he was willing to put everything aside and prioritize Lin Zhao’s business, he was still only one person, with only one pair of hands.
As for setting up a production line for cargo-handling robots from scratch, it was neither worth it nor realistic.
So, how should they solve it?
Lin Zhao and 1114 looked at each other. One answer was already on the tip of their tongues.
“Boss Bro!”
Without a doubt, Boss Bro from the interstellar plane was the version answer.
The only question was whether he would agree.
Well, they could ask. Lin Zhao shrugged. If it worked, it worked. If it did not, they would think of something else. Cultivation-world puppets, Western fantasy skeletons—those were all backup options. But the best option was definitely still robots, since 1114 could provide a safety net for those. Asking might lead to rejection, but not asking meant there was a one hundred percent chance of failure.
As for Prince Reinhardt…
He was already on the verge of worshipping his friend Wyatt, the diplomat currently far away at the Cosmic Alliance, as his chief strategist.
Deputy Carlos: Heh.
Although Lin Zhao had been sneaking around at home these past few days, secretly busy with work, he had not cut off contact with Reinhardt. The two of them still maintained a frequency of sharing at least one interesting thing a day, acting as online friends separated by the universe.
Of course, they definitely were not communicating as frequently as they had during the first few days of the new year. The smooth-talking diplomat Wyatt had said that when the other party was busy, you should not add to their chaos, but you also should not disappear completely. Keep up a frequency of one or two messages a day—not enough to annoy them, but enough to keep the connection alive. That way, when Lin Zhao ran into something, he would naturally think of coming to Reinhardt to talk about it, and he would not have any concerns like, “We haven’t been in contact much lately, would it be awkward if I suddenly asked?”
Reality proved that Sage Wyatt’s prediction had been exactly right.
Reinhardt, who loved being needed by Lin Zhao, was already so happy he almost set off fireworks in celebration. In fact, he did have the mothership’s AI set some off—silent, dazzling, grand electromagnetic cannon sparks.
As for what the Watcher Fleets from the other star systems would think, that was not within his scope of consideration.
Lin Zhao asked Reinhardt if he could help him buy some cargo-handling robot modules. Reinhardt’s answer was: Wouldn’t it be better to just buy finished products? Or do you enjoy the process of assembling them yourself?
If Lin Zhao needed recommendations for open-source robot architecture from different companies, Reinhardt had far too much to say. After all, ever since he was young, he had been able to list the major mecha companies as if they were treasures in his own collection. As far as he knew, the robots sold by the subsidiaries of the major mecha manufacturers were also very popular. Whether it was the modular programmable options, or the more interactive artistic designs…
Lin Zhao: “!!!”
In other words, not only could he buy finished products, he could even choose the company and model?
You interstellar-plane aliens are way too blessed, aren’t you? Don’t tell me you can also play full-dive holographic games day and night? Ah! Speaking of that, can I also buy a holographic game cabin?
1114 tactfully said from the side, “You can, but with your current assets, you probably cannot afford one.”
“What would you say if you weren’t being tactful?”
“Please choose the cheapest robot module, President Lin. Otherwise, our Flatland-Grove Electronics Company will sooner or later go bankrupt and undergo restructuring.”
1114 showed Lin Zhao his total assets, then compared them with the terrifying prices on the Star Network in the 3S region.
Lin Zhao instantly became as calm as still water. He no longer had any worldly desires. He numbly and honestly told Boss Bro:
No, I don’t enjoy the assembly process. The modules are just cheaper.
When he said that, Lin Zhao had imagined quite a few possible responses from Boss Bro.
For example, some Celestial-Dragon-style remark like, “It’s only a few million. Not even enough for one repaint of my mecha. Is that expensive?”
Or, “Ah, I don’t know. I’ll ask my assistant for you.”
Or maybe Boss Bro would immediately throw money at him, saying he wanted to support every poor person’s business dream, while Lin Zhao had to work hard to overcome the greed in his heart and refuse the other party’s generosity.
But what Reinhardt said was:
Then would you like to know about leasing?
You can lease them?
Of course you could. Pay monthly, with a minimum lease term of half a year. After the lease expired, you could also buy it outright. There were even shared robots, but those had time and location restrictions, so they did not quite fit Lin Zhao’s needs.
Lin Zhao roughly explained his situation to Boss Bro. Of course, he left out the part about inter-plane trade. After all, he did not know whether something like that would be considered too much even for interstellar people. He only wanted Boss Bro to help recommend the most cost-effective robot option based on local conditions.
Although he spoke vaguely, Boss Bro understood.
Not only did he understand, he also summoned his second strategist, Carlos. Although Carlos was not very good at dating—Carlos: At least I chased my wife myself, thank you—he did understand economics a little.
Deputy Carlos did not speak at first. He only shook the wrist beneath his military uniform. He had already shaken it several times today.
“Tendinitis?”
“It’s a souvenir bracelet my wife sent me after her trip ended, you bastard!”
“Oh.”
Deputy Carlos, who had finally found a chance to show off after being forced to watch Reinhardt flaunt things in front of him for days: “…”
He felt as if he had punched cotton. He also finally remembered that this bastard Reinhardt had never cared whether other people’s love lives lived or died.
Damn it!
While thinking this, Carlos still gave a series of extremely qualified suggestions.
“Multilateral trade can be done, but remember to remind him to watch out for triangular debt. Once any link in the chain of interests starts being unable to repay its debts, it may cause the other links to fall into payment difficulties as well.”
“You need to choose your trading partners carefully. Not only do you need to evaluate their credit and assets, you also need to understand their ability to withstand risk.”
The criteria for selecting a partner were not whether they were a good person, but whether they had the capacity to keep completing the trading cycle. Some people were very good, but their ability to withstand risk was extremely low.
For example, suppose they ordered a batch of spiritual plants from the cultivation world, and then some powerful cultivator fighting in the sky caused an entire year of painstaking planting to go to waste. What then? Of course, Lin Zhao could contact other suppliers in the cultivation world. But what if the other party took advantage of the critical moment, knowing his urgent need, and raised prices on the spot?
That was exactly why Carlos could become Reinhardt’s first executive deputy. He did not only raise problems; he had already prepared solutions.
“Set up a prepayment system. Strictly prohibit circular credit debt…”
“It would be best to hold some local hard currency as a risk reserve…”
“Or you can also consider buying third-party commercial insurance to hedge against risk.”
Lin Zhao studied each word carefully.
These preventive measures could not guarantee that multilateral trade would have no problems one hundred percent of the time, but at least they lowered some of the possible risks.
Lin Zhao prepared to implement them step by step.
And very soon, the first crisis arrived.
It was just that this crisis seemed a little different from what he had imagined.
—
In the Zuowang Minor World, Tianyan Demon Sect.
“All peak masters are to proceed to the side hall of Wuwei Hall for an urgent meeting!”
An urgent communication talisman tore through the calm of Chaoyun Peak and flew straight into Lady Hu’s hand.
At the time, she was teaching her daughter how to draw characters. Yes, draw. The little girl with two tiny hair buns drew every “foot” character like a stick figure pushing out a qigong wave.
Lady Hu still thought she was adorable.
Inside the side hall, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive. Sect Master Seven Kills still did not show himself. The steward of the Spiritual Plant Department, one of the symbols of the sect’s greatest sources of wealth, was currently having an outer-sect executive elder report with a deathly pale face:
“…The Myriad Poison Sect has just sent word. They say their pill sales this year have decreased, and they have also found a new source of spiritual plants. Therefore, they have decided to… temporarily suspend the execution of next season’s contract with our sect, including the seven major spiritual plants such as Rouge Spiritual Rice, Five-Star Spirit-Nurturing Grass, and Earth-Vein Fu-Tu.”
Before he even finished speaking, the entire hall was already in an uproar.
“Suspend? This is clearly a public breach of contract!”
“The Myriad Poison Sect has cooperated with our sect for more than three sixty-year cycles and has never changed course before! Suspending now—what malicious intent!”
“What pill sales decreased, what new source of goods? Bah! Nothing but excuses from brats! They must know that the Sect Master is gravely injured and think our demon sect’s hearts are unstable, so they want to use this as leverage to force us to lower our prices!”
Yes, demon sects also needed to do business.
To be precise, whether demon cultivators or Dao cultivators, everyone needed money. They needed large amounts of spirit stones—or demon stones. As the number one demon sect in the Demon Region, Tianyan Demon Sect had no shortage of businesses under its name. But one of its most important industries was still its old founding trade—spiritual plants.
The current Sect Master’s younger sister, Moonwhite Fairy, had the ugliest expression of all, because the Spiritual Plant Department was currently under her jurisdiction. The Myriad Poison Sect was one of the top pill-making sects in the Demon Region over the past few centuries, and it had been through her connections that they had become the largest buyer of the sect’s spiritual plants, accounting for nearly thirty percent of their sales.
If this line truly broke, not only would the loss of demon stones be massive, the spiritual plants piled up in storage would also lose their spiritual energy if they could not be processed in time. That would be a bloody loss.
Transmission Elder Xuan Yinzi spoke darkly, “The sect has fallen into misfortune, and outside enemies are circling us. The Myriad Poison Sect’s move is probably more of a probe. If our response is weak, I fear the other cooperating demon sects will also follow suit…”
This was how demon cultivators were. When it came to undermining one another, they were always the fastest. Even when resisting the righteous path, they had never once been of one mind.
Internal strife was the eternal theme.
No one was willing to remain beneath another forever. When they saw a crack appear in the former number one demon sect, their first reaction would never be to consider whether Dao cultivators might take the opportunity to act. Instead, like hyenas, they would swarm forward, wishing they could break the old leader’s bones, suck out its marrow, and devour it completely to strengthen themselves.
No one understood these thoughts better than Tianyan Demon Sect. After all, that was how they had risen to power back then.
And now, the problem was laid bare before all the demons.
If they agreed to lower prices, the demon sect’s dignity would be completely lost, income would sharply decrease, and it would be equivalent to announcing to the outside world that they were weak and easy to bully.
If they did not agree, the spiritual plants would pile up, the demon stone cash flow would be cut off, and they would be injured just as severely.
“Then we pressure them with force!” the hawkish Li Fantian immediately slapped the table and rose.
“Nonsense!” Moonwhite Fairy immediately objected. “The greatest taboo in business is unrest and chaos. Why do you think the other demon sects have not moved yet? They would love nothing more than for us to fight the Myriad Poison Sect.” If that happened, more and more forces would cut off business with them.
“Then… find new buyers? But in such a short time, who could swallow such a large quantity of spiritual plants? Even if we found someone, they would probably press the price even harder.” Xuan Yinzi smiled bitterly. That was also why the Myriad Poison Sect dared to do this. They had calculated that Tianyan Demon Sect had only one option.
Li Fantian’s brows were tightly furrowed. He was good at dueling and killing, but commercial maneuvering and material turnover were truly not his strengths. He only felt unbearably impatient, with a fire of irritation and nowhere to vent it.
Moonwhite Fairy was skilled in internal affairs and understood the stakes clearly, but for the moment, she could not think of a perfect solution either.
Xuan Yinzi was already considering compromise.
These major figures, each with the greatest hope of taking control of the sect, unexpectedly found themselves helpless in the face of this sudden strangulation.
The hall sank into a suffocating silence.
Only Lady Hu sent a message through the channel 1114 had left her, the one that allowed her to contact Lin Zhao at any time:
Those spiritual plants I promised you before—can you buy more of them?
Lin Zhao: How much more?
Ten times as much.
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