Chapter 170 - 152: Equal Cooperation Terms
Chapter 170: Chapter 152: Equal Cooperation Terms
"Of course, we wouldn’t ask you to take a loss on our partnership, Li Qian." With Li Qian having said that, Zhao Yong couldn’t refute him, even though he knew it was just a perfunctory excuse.
He could only mumble this awkwardly before a smile spread across his lips. He looked at Li Qian, which in turn made Li Qian’s expression a bit odd.
’I know exactly what this old fox is after, but there’s no room for compromise on this. The market value of the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon is well-established. Selling it too cheaply would not only be disrespectful to the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, but also to my own hard work.’
’These are just secondary reasons. More importantly, I’m about to start my studies at Shazhou Beast Taming University, which means the time I have to cultivate Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons and Frostfire Salamanders will definitely be greatly reduced.’
’The Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon is manageable. As long as I give the evolution method to my parents, they should be able to handle the evolution process. But the Frostfire Salamander involves controlling the Frostfire Array, which is very troublesome. It’s almost impossible for my parents to learn it.’
’Even if they can help with the Intimidation training, and even if that increases the chance of evolution, the production volume of Frostfire Salamanders will inevitably drop significantly.’
’Considering Jiaoyang Cultivation Base’s cultivation capacity, combined with the rarity of the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and Frostfire Salamander, it’s obvious that once they hit the market, demand will definitely outstrip supply.’
Since he had no worries about sales, Li Qian couldn’t think of any reason to offer a discount. Of course, maintaining a good relationship with the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau was also quite necessary, so he didn’t plan to be too rigid with the price.
"Thank you for your understanding, Uncle Zhao." Li Qian refused to take the bait, regardless of whether Zhao Yong was being sincere or just making an excuse, and simply went with the flow.
With that said, he changed tactics by asking a question of his own. "Actually, both the Wolf Vulture and the Fire Mastiff are excellent Pet Beasts. If cultivated properly, their future potential is no less than that of the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and Frostfire Salamander."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yong nodded. "The Wolf Vulture and Fire Mastiff are indeed good, but every Pet Beast has its strengths and weaknesses, and these two are no exception."
"The reason we’ve set our sights on the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and the Frostfire Salamander, besides expanding the range of choices and enriching the variety of Pet Beasts for our Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau, is also because they have advantages that the Wolf Vulture and Fire Mastiff simply can’t match."
"Furthermore, our partnership with the main bureau is a bit different from the one with the Lingshui City branch. Here, as long as they have sufficient merit, any Security Officer is eligible to exchange for a rare Pet Beast."
"These rare Pet Beasts aren’t normally raised within our Public Security Bureau headquarters..."
Zhao Yong’s words piqued Li Qian’s curiosity. He put on an expression of rapt attention, continuing to look at him.
Next, Zhao Yong spent a few minutes briefly explaining the partnership model between the Cultivation Bases and their Public Security Bureau headquarters.
After hearing Zhao Yong’s explanation, a look of realization dawned on Li Qian’s face. He finally understood the partnership model between the Jiangnan Public Security Bureau and its various Cultivation Bases.
This model was indeed different from traditional partnerships. It wasn’t a simple Pet Beast supply agreement, but more of a strategic alliance, making the Cultivation Base a strategic partner of the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau.
Once the partnership was established, Jiaoyang Cultivation Base would become one of the Jiangnan Public Security Bureau’s designated Pet Beast supply bases.
Both the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and the Frostfire Salamander would be listed with a clear price, becoming an exchange option for all Security Officers at the main bureau.
As long as their Contribution Value was high enough, they could make the exchange. Moreover, this kind of exchange was different from a regular transaction; the Security Officers would redeem the Pet Beasts themselves.
After an exchange was completed, the main bureau would settle the accounts with the Cultivation Base. To put it bluntly, it would become one of the Jiangnan Public Security Bureau’s fixed Pet Beast redemption centers.
"Li Qian, as you can see, although our Public Security Bureau has many members, our tasks are also heavy. The funds allocated to us by the Federation may seem like a lot, but when you break it down, the amount per Security Officer isn’t actually that much." Zhao Yong began to plead poverty.
Li Qian furrowed his brow in thought. After a moment, he spoke, "Alright. As a citizen of Jiangnan Province, I also have a duty to support our homeland’s defenders."
Without pausing, he continued, "How about this? Taking the Fire Mastiff and Wolf Vulture as an example, we can adopt the same terms as the partnership you reached with their Cultivation Bases."
Li Qian knew full well what it cost to cultivate the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and Frostfire Salamander. Even at the ten million price point from Lingshui City, he still made a profit.
Besides, he simply didn’t believe that those two Cultivation Bases would supply the Fire Mastiff and Wolf Vulture to the Jiangnan Public Security Bureau for a tenth of the market price.
As it turned out, his guess was correct. Seeing that his bluff had failed, a helpless, bitter smile appeared on Zhao Yong’s face.
Since Li Qian had put it that way, asking only for the same partnership terms as the other Cultivation Bases, what more could he say? To continue pushing for a lower price would just make him seem ungracious and insincere.
"That would be for the best." Although he felt bitter inside, the smile on Zhao Yong’s face didn’t fade in the slightest.
Although he hadn’t managed to bluff his way into the same price as the Lingshui City Public Security Bureau, getting the same partnership terms as the other Cultivation Bases was already a very favorable deal.
In the ensuing conversation, Li Qian learned that the partnership the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau had with the Fire Mastiff and Wolf Vulture Cultivation Bases was to supply those two Pet Beasts at half of the market price.
Such terms were within his expectations. Moreover, he believed this was likely the truth; Zhao Yong was unlikely to deceive him.
After all, something like this couldn’t be hidden forever. If Li Qian were to find out the truth later, it would surely provoke his resentment and disgust.
There was simply no need for Zhao Yong to do such a thing.
After the verbal agreement was reached, Zhao Yong had Zhao Xiwei escort Li Qian out of the headquarters. The formal contract needed to be drafted and could only be signed tomorrow.
In the hallway on their way out, Zhao Xiwei said, looking a little embarrassed, "Li Qian, I’m sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" Li Qian looked at Zhao Xiwei, confused.
"If I hadn’t brought you here, you wouldn’t have lost so much..." Zhao Xiwei said apologetically.
In her eyes, Li Qian could have sold all the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons and Frostfire Salamanders to other Beast Masters. By doing so, not only would he not have to offer a discount, he could have even sold them at a premium.
That would have been the choice that maximized his profits. But after she brought him here, a conversation with her uncle had directly cost him at least half of his potential earnings.
That was why she was apologizing.
"Sister Xiwei, there’s no need. Just like I said earlier, I’m also from Jiangnan Province. It’s only right for me to contribute to our hometown’s Public Security Bureau," Li Qian chuckled and said frankly.
’Of course, the most important thing was that securing a partnership at half the market price had already met his expectations. At the very least, it was a much more generous deal than the one with the Lingshui City Public Security Bureau.’
’And the intangible benefits of partnering with the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau were immeasurable.’