Chapter 120 - Cooperation (Part 2)
-This chapter was sponsored by Noah (Wisconsin, US). Thanks!!!
Laura looked at the white magic radish. She didn't remember how many radishes she had seen before, but this was the first time she had seen such a high quality magic radish.
Kun was also giving this white magic radish a determined look, but what his heart really took note of was Zhao. With just a wave of his hand, Zhao made the magic radish appear. What did this mean? It meant that Zhao had some sort of spatial item.
Spatial items weren't something that ordinary people could have. Only a few large forces in the Continent had spatial items. For example, in the entire Markey clan, there was only one of these items, which was a spatial bag that the patriarch kept close to his body. Kun had heard that this bag contained a spatial area of one hundred cubic meters, which could be considered a lot of space.
Spatial items weren't just special equipment, it was also a sign of your superior status. You wouldn't be able to get a spatial item if you didn't have great strength. That was why Kun's heart couldn't help but feel surprised when Zhao pulled that magic radish out of nowhere. Because of this, Kun had confirmed his belief that Zhao certainly belonged to some kind of large underground force, otherwise he wouldn't have a spatial item.
Kun was now more determined about cooperating with Zhao. That was because he was very clear about their situation with the Markey clan. Although Kevin was the second heir to the clan, he simply didn't raise his own forces, so their position in the clan was small. They needed a powerful ally.
Laura picked up the magic radish off the table and carefully looked at it, then she put it back down. "Mister Zhao, do you have other magic radishes of this quality?"
Zhao smiled. "They're all the same, including the size. Please rest assured, Miss Laura. I want this to be a long-term cooperation, not just a one-shot business deal."
Laura suddenly stood up and bowed to Zhao. "I would like to thank Mister Zhao for trusting me with this proposal. You have now become an official ally of the Markey clan."
Zhao quickly stood up as well, and reached towards Laura. "No, in this case, an alliance with the Markey clan is impossible. What I was interested in was an alliance with you, Miss Laura."
Laura was surprised by what he said. In fact, although Laura told Zhao that he would have an alliance with the Markey clan, what she really wanted to do was ask him to form an alliance with her. However, she feared that Zhao would not go for this because her strength was too small. She really didn't think that Zhao would propose an alliance with her himself rather than form an alliance with the Markey clan.
This filled Laura with joy, but this also raised a wave of doubt in her heart. She looked at the magic radish on the table, which could be said was top quality. No matter who Zhao wanted to cooperate with in selling this radish, the other side would give him the best part of the deal. So why did Zhao choose them to work with?
"Why would Mister Zhao want to ally yourself with me? You should know that an alliance with the Markey clan would get you greater benefits," Laura said.
"I just want to do business with you, Miss Laura. I know you, but I don't know the Markey clan. I had even heard that their big stores would bully people. Even if your strength is smaller, if I cooperate with you, I wouldn't have to worry."
It was as Zhao said. He had a dense amount of fire fish outside. Although they might give him a lot of gold coins, they would also become the root of trouble. If Zhao were to cooperate with a large clan, it was likely he would only get bones that were hard to swallow.
Figuring this point out, Laura said, "Well, I will not do anything of that sort to you. From now on, I will be your staunchest ally. Please believe me."
Zhao smiled. "If I didn't believe you, Miss Laura, then we wouldn't be talking about this today. Now please give me a number on how many magic radishes you can endure per month."
Laura made a quick calculation. "I can't buy too much right now. We already have a store supplier that we have collaborated with for a long time, so I must make some preparations before we can work together. How about I send someone to pick up one jin of magic radishes three days later?"
"Only one jin?" Zhao frowned. That figure was too low, only the equivalent of five thousand catty.
Laura saw Zhao frowning, but she thought it was because he didn't have that much magic radishes. "Is this amount too large, Mister Zhao?"
Zhao had a wry smile on his face. "You misunderstand, Miss Laura. That number can't be considered large, it's too small an amount. I want to know how many magic radishes all of your stores buys per month."
Laura froze for a moment, then her eyes flashed. "If we're talking about all the stores I run in the Purcell Duchy, then we buy about four hundred thousand catty of magic radishes per month. If you can provide magic radishes with the same high quality as this one, then I will pay sixty copper coins per catty. Are you satisfied with this, Mister Zhao?"
Zhao nodded. "I'm very satisfied with this deal. I can assure you, Miss Laura, that if you need four hundred thousand catty per month, I can fully supply that amount, and each of the magic radishes will be the same high quality. Just make sure you have the money when you pick them up."
Laura looked shocked as she quickly asked, "Are you kidding, Mister Zhao? Four hundred thousand catty per month is not a small number."
"Rest assured, Miss Laura. I told you that this will be a long-term cooperation. I would not lie to you," Zhao said. "Four hundred thousand catty per month. Pick them up and pay me according to the price you had mentioned."
Laura had a look of excitement. "It's a deal. Three days later, I will send someone to pick up your magic radishes and give you the money."
Zhao smiled. "Don't be in such a hurry. In fact, there is another type of business I want to do with you. Miss Laura, do you also sell fruit oil?"
Although Laura was surprised, she nodded her head. "This is natural. Fruit oil is the Continent's most common commodity. It's always in great demand. Although you can't get much money per catty, the profits are not small. Is Mister Zhao also selling fruit oil?"
Zhao shook his head. "Not yet. This time I just want to ask Miss Laura a favor. Once you take the magic radishes, can you use some of the money to get me an oil press? I have a large number of oil fruits, but I have not yet been able to press them into oil."
Laura and Kun saw a glimmer of understanding in each other's eyes. There were very little areas in the Continent that was dedicated to growing oil fruit trees. Most oil fruits were gathered from the wild, and that was because of an absence of good land, which were generally controlled by some small elites. As for the nobility, they would not go into this kind of business because they would earn too little.
Zhao now said that he had a lot of oil fruits. Was he a small elite? Ah, no, if he was just a small elite, then he wouldn't have any spatial items.
Looking at the two, Zhao asked, "Will this be difficult, Miss Laura?"
Laura was startled, but then she recovered. "No, there will be no difficulties. Just tell me, what kind of oil press do you require? Wind, water, or animal?"
Zhao was surprised for a moment. He really didn't think that there were so many kinds of oil press. "What's the difference?"
"There's a big difference for oil extraction, Mister Zhao. If you have a spacious place, then wind-powered is the best. If you are near a river, then water-powered is the best. If you have neither, then you can only use an animal-powered oil press."
Zhao nodded, then he thought about the Black Waste. It was a very open place, so a wind oil press would work. There was also the moat with flowing water, so a water oil press was okay as well. And an animal oil press was also not a problem. He had so many undead that would never get tired and could work like machines. Any of the three appeared to be good selections.
But after thinking about it, Zhao overruled both the wind and water oil press. The Black Waste wasn't safe. You'd never know when there would be an outbreak of spirit beasts from the carrion swamp. The Iron Mountain castle still had no defensive capabilities. Even if they built a wind or water powered press, it would just be destroyed.
Figuring this out, Zhao turned to Laura and asked, "You understand these three kinds of oil press better than I do. Is an animal-powered oil press easy to handle?"
Laura didn't say anything this time, and instead she looked at Kun. Obviously, he knew more about these kinds of things than her. "Out of the three, the best oil press is the one powered by water. Wind is almost as good. But the oil press powered by animals is the worst. That is because you can get large volumes of oil from a wind or water powered oil press, and only small volumes from an animal-powered one. However, they are more suitable for handling and transport," Kun politely said.
Translator Notes: This chapter is to make up for the one I missed on Friday, 5/27