FVN Chapter 289 Lao Hei
Chapter 289 Lao Hei
Ma Lu picked up his phone, ready to call Yan Wu to inquire about the prices of the remaining materials, only to find that the hardware store owner had already contacted him first.
"Hey, kid, I've already negotiated a deal on your behalf—41,000, no more discounts possible. Besides, a 70% deposit is required upfront. As soon as the money is transferred, they will immediately arrange the shipment. Don't worry about trustworthiness; I've been doing business with this partner for many years."
"..."
Listening to the silence on the other end of the line, the Werewolf Boss immediately guessed what was happening, "What's the matter, not enough money?"
"Do I really need that much Star Currency just to add an equipment slot?" Ma Lu said innocently.
"So, how much were you planning to spend?"
"Well... about 10,000," Ma Lu said. "All the Star Currency I have barely totals up to just over 10,000. I don't have any more than that."
Yan Wu was somewhat annoyed. "Do you think High-Dimensional Artifacts are as cheap as cabbage? You expect to buy one for 10,000? Have you ever seen any High-Dimensional Artifacts for under 10,000 in my store?"
"Then... do you have any second-hand ones?"
"What I sell are already second-hand."
"It's okay if the condition is a bit worse," Ma Lu said. "As long as it can be kept under 10,000, no matter how bad the condition is."
With No. 6 around to repair damaged High-Dimensional Artifacts, in theory, the older the condition of the High-Dimensional Artifact Ma Lu bought, the more cost-effective it would be.
Hearing this, Yan Wu could only sigh. "I'll ask around for you again, but don't get your hopes up too high."
"Thanks for your effort, Boss Yan," Ma Lu said as the hardware store owner seemed ready to hang up. He quickly added, "Wait, I also want to buy some No. 173 Spherical Algae and Free State Grey Energy Body."
Yan Wu was amused by his request. "You don't have that much money, but the things you want sure aren't few."
The conversation also enlightened Ma Lu, and he went on to ask the hardware store owner, "Those smuggling ships you mentioned, how often do they come by?"
"About every three to five months, I reckon. It's not really set in stone; they come when they have accumulated enough cargo for a shipment, and if it's not cost-effective, they won't bother. Plus, my goods only make up a small part of their cargo. Any issues with that?"
"I was just thinking, since they come here fully loaded, they probably don't go back empty-handed, do they?"
"Of course not. To maximize profits, they do take other goods back. But this Plane doesn't have any specialties to speak of, so they mostly collect from clients in different dimensions."
"Would they be interested in food ingredients?"
Ma Lu had been thinking about how to deal with the surplus food ingredients. The most straightforward solution would certainly be to increase the restaurant's daily sales volume, but even with Old Wang's cooking efficiency, there was a limit.
And with the restaurant's limited space—he had already made use of the curb next to it—the waitstaff and he himself were bustling all day long, daily on a roll without pause.
If he wanted to increase sales further, he'd have to break the contract with Zhen Ye, which involved a penalty fee, then take more time to find a new location and recruit additional staff. Besides, after all these efforts, he would earn regular RMB, not Star Currency.
Ma Lu didn't think he had made enough money. Even with more than two million in cash lying in his account, he still felt short. Comparatively, the gap in his Star Currency was obviously bigger. If he could exchange the surplus food ingredients for Star Currency, it would add a new source of income for the restaurant and wouldn't be too exhausting.
"Food ingredients? Oh, are you referring to those collected from other Planes? What, you have more than you can use?" Yan Wu seemed surprised.
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Unaware that Ma Lu had repaired and upgraded the Desktop Cultivation Field, he assumed it was just imported from elsewhere.
"If they are high-star ingredients, then they would certainly be interested. But do you have enough quantity on your end? If it's only a small amount, they probably wouldn't care much. Tell you what, I'll give you a contact. You can have a chat with him first."
Soon after, Ma Lu received a string of phone numbers from Yan Wu.
Checking the area code, it was surprisingly China Unicom, causing him to wonder, "Has China Unicom's service become this widespread?"
"What are you thinking? Lao Hei is in charge of buying goods, he mostly resides in this Plane, so it's quite normal for him to have a mobile number," Yan Wu explained.