Chapter 447 Colin Is Business-savvy
The Alpha Alliance uses crystal coins, which are made from some rare ore and issued by the alliance. In fact, crystal coins are a virtual currency, just like the credit points of the Nami Alliance.
The difference is, crystal coins of the Alpha Alliance are not recognized by the Nami Alliance. In contrast, credit points of the Nami Alliance can be used on the turf of several alliances. After all, the currency of a powerful alliance will not depreciate.
What can one credit point buy? It can’t even buy some snacks for a child. Actually, the gap between the rich and the poor is great among the Nami people. People from powerful member stars of the alliance are of course well-off. These rich people spend thousands of credit points on a piece of clothing. While most of those living on the poor member stars can only earn ten credit points after toiling for a day.
Colin Weir is from a powerful family of the Caesar Star of the Alpha Alliance, but he knows very little about the price of the Nami Alliance. Even for the Han family, who engage in interstellar trade, they don’t do business with different alliances.
In this situation, Colin thinks of a trick. He decides to divide the spirit rice into three batches and arrange three auctions for each batch, during which the selling price of one batch must be higher than the former one. In that case, there is no way to force prices down!
“Mr. Weir, how much spirit rice do you have?”
Windsor taps the table with her fingers. She has asked a good question. Too little spirit rice would mean little profits they can make.
“Six tons of spirit rice are divided into three batches, each with two tons.”
There is a smile in Windsor’s green eyes. Spirit rice is a high-end product. If she gets all the six tons of it, she will not have to return empty-handed.
Colin Weir beams at the Nami people. These people in gorgeous clothes obviously want to bid for the product, but they remain elegant and try not to reveal their intentions. However, they cannot refrain from pus.h.i.+ng up the price.
“500 credit points per catty (1 catty=0.5 kilogram).”
“500 credit points? Big Beard, are you buying rotten persimmons? ”
The chunky old man is so angry that his beard shakes. What is that guy saying? What rotten persimmon can be sold for 500 credit points per catty? A piece of mashed potatoes lingers on his gorgeous pleated collar, making him look particularly funny.
“I would like to pay 600 credit points… ”
“Mr. Churchi is joking, aren’t you? I would like to pay 800.”
Colin Weir doesn’t say anything, even when the crowd pushes the price up to 1800 credit points per catty.
“You have been bidding for a long time. Why not take a break and have some tea?”
When the businessmen hear Colin’s words, they feel thirsty. Remembering the potato and beef rice they previously had, they wonder what kind of tea this stars.h.i.+p can offer, though tea is not unique to the earth.
Lin Luoran doesn’t disappoint them. She orders the robot butler to serve top-notch Dahongpao tea.
The blue-and-white porcelain bowl and the golden liquid have greatly impressed the pretentious Nami people even before they taste the tea. In the past, Huaxia’s porcelain was carried to Europe by the Silk Road. It proved popular among the people of the upper cla.s.s. Lin Luoran finds that the Nami people are dressed in a sophisticated manner, just like the polite society of Europe. She guesses that these people may share the same taste with the Europeans, though the two peoples live on different stars.
As expected, the blue-and-white porcelain does the trick. The ancient Huaxia civilization, along with the simplicity of the wooden table, has outs.h.i.+ned the cold technological culture. The Nami people suddenly feel their tongues drier.
A cup of tea for each person doesn’t cost many tea leaves, but the refres.h.i.+ng Reiki contained in the white mist still makes the merchants feel relaxed and happy.
The tea also has a special taste, which makes people calm and peaceful. Actually, they haven’t drunk such tea ever before. Nice tea!
Colin Weir takes a sip of tea. He understands that Lin Luoran is observing them secretly and trying to promote this auction.
When the auction starts again, it becomes more heated. The merchants almost lose their elegance and wrestle on the table.
In contrast, the gorgeous and domineering Queen Windsor lowers her head to drink tea. The tea is no worse than the best tea in the alliance. Perhaps, she has found another business opportunity? Careful Windsor narrows her eyes. She has decided not to bid against these merchants, which makes Colin Weir quietly look at the female pirate.
For such a thing as the spirit rice, sellers are not easy to find, but buyers abound, because many dignitaries crave longevity. The first batch of spirit rice for auction is finally sold for 3,000 credit points per kilogram. One ton is 1,000 kilograms, so Colin gets 6,000,000 credit points from the first batch. The second batch earns him 6,400,000, slightly more than the first batch does. Windsor partic.i.p.ates in the bidding for the third batch and raises the price to 8,000,000 credit points. However, she doesn’t pay for the goods.
Colin Weir doesn’t know if the earnings are enough to obtain temporary residency, so he talks in a vague way.
“The ‘Alpha-Edward’ stars.h.i.+p may have ingredients with Reiki to sell, but I have to check with my boss. I will inform everyone if we are to sell more products.”
The businessmen are quite satisfied with what Colin says. Those who don’t get the spirit rice have regained their elegance. The successful bidders make payments and leave with their goods.
Obviously, the Nami Alliance pays great attention to citizens’ privacy. In addition to using a personal computer, credit points transfer can be made by bearer credit cards. People can pay with such a credit card at any time by entering the pa.s.sword. In fact, these merchants use such credit cards to conclude the deal.
Colin Weir looks at the card made of crystal-like materials in his hand, and then raises his head and smiles. “Ms. Windsor, you agreed to have dinner with me, didn’t you?”
Light of temptation flashes in the green eyes of Windsor. “If we can talk about the business of selling ingredients with Reiki, such as potatoes, spirit tea… We can do more than having dinner together.”
Windsor takes a step further, while Colin takes three back.
“Well… It’s up to my lady to make a decision.”
“Cultivator Lin” sounds like she is distant from him, while “Sister Lin” would make him sound too cute. Now that he has become Lin Luoran’s “conspirator”, he readily swallows his pride and becomes her subordinate. There’s nothing improper if he calls her “my lady”, he thinks.
Smile of the glamorous pirate grows faint.
It turns out that the mysterious master is a woman? In dealing with a woman, Windsor feels that she has lost her inborn advantage.
Colin Weir throws up his hands. “Ms. Windsor, I have to disembark to get a temporary residence permit. How about giving you a ride?”
A trace of anger in Windsor’s eyes is hidden so well that it goes unnoticed. The blatant order for her to leave makes her feel hurt.
However, the gorgeous woman who heads a group of gangsters smiles. “Since Mr. Weir comes here for the first time, let me go with you to apply for a temporary residence permit.”
It’s hard to refuse a favor given by a beauty. What can Colin do except accepting with a cheerful expression? The gentleman and the lady, both in disguise, take the airs.h.i.+p to the nearest office of the N2 planet.
When the meeting room quiets down, Ma Shuangshuang comes out pursing her lips.
“Look, Aunt Lin. Colin is really a lady-killer!”
As Lin Luoran thinks of the female pirate’s flamboyant appearance, she shakes her head secretly. Whether for Windsor or Colin, their amorous looks are nothing but smokescreens when they confront each other.
When she saved Colin Weir on the earth, this aristocrat even inquired about what benefits he could draw from her. Seen in this light, Colin is completely unrelated to the word “good”.
As for Windsor, a female pirate who is in charge of a stars.h.i.+p, she is far from a brainless beautiful woman without any capabilities. If that were the case, she would have been killed by now.
Han Weiya is helping the cyan little fox restore the medicine field to the previous condition. Only the siblings of the Ma family follow Lin Luoran.
Ma Yiming remembers what he has heard and asks, “Aunt Lin, do we really need to sell ingredients with Reiki?”
When they have the temporary residence permit, there is no need to sell any ingredients with Reiki, right? To be honest, Ma Yiming feels that he hates to part with the spirit rice. Since they can be self-sufficient, what’s the good of the Nami Alliance’s credit points?
Lin Luoran is astonished. “When I decided to take you away from the earth, I didn’t intend to inflict suffering on you. Since we have come to an exotic land, why not enjoy the journey? In that way, our half-year interstellar drift will prove worthy. We are travelling here! It’s hard to move on without money.”
Since they collided with the pirates’ stars.h.i.+p, Lin Luoran has tried to clear her thoughts.
In fact, she didn’t manage to do that.
Now she has personal ability in the late Bearing Essence Period. If, with the experience in the Nami Alliance, she can evolve to be a cultivator of the Gathering Vitality Period, she will have the confidence to enter the Alpha Alliance’s turf.
The earth is being colonized by the Alpha Alliance, and artificial intelligence with independent consciousness is no match for the alliance. However, as long as she advances, the Alpha Alliance will respect the earth, even if there is only one Gathering Vitality cultivator.
Since the relatives and friends of the Lin family are all gone, she has nothing to lose now. With the stars.h.i.+p, she can shuttle through the vast universe at any time and cause trouble to some of the Alpha Alliance’s big names.
More than six months ago, she ventured to do a s.p.a.ce jump because she had provoked the Alpha Alliance but she didn’t want to plunge the earth into a war. Moreover, she may meet her old friends again in the vast sea of stars. In that case, she will be very lucky.
Will G.o.d make her wish come true?
Lin Luoran is not sure, but she has always been so stubborn as to believe that hope is always good, even if it is slim. It is hard to tell… Maybe someday her dream will come true.
The siblings of the Ma family notice that Aunt Lin no longer knits her brows tightly, though she still looks gloomy. They feel happy at heart. They don’t know when Colin will complete his task and return. Ma Shuangshuang is going to prepare dinner, but she is urged to practice self-cultivation by Ma Yiming. He feels that his sister is very talented and should not waste her time doing ch.o.r.es.
Seeing Ma Yiming go to cook dinner with a smile, Lin Luoran rests her chin on her hands.
She is at a loss. Bone Marrow Cleansing Elixir, Bone Marrow Cleansing Elixir. Will she swap something for it with Han Weiya?
…
Colin Weir comes back very late, long after the usual dinner time. The cyan little fox lays on the table and wails. It even makes a scene, urging dinner to be served. Even the good-tempered Xiaozhi wants to throw it off the stars.h.i.+p.
Before the nearest star has s.h.i.+ned exclusively on the other half of the N2 planet, Colin returns after completing his mission.
He comes back feeling he has been exploited.
Temporary residence permit is not expensive, but the flight permit for the “Alpha-Edward” stars.h.i.+p is exorbitant. The Nami people are not fools. They know that those coming here from other stars are either rich persons or stowaways. The former need to pay heavy taxes, and the latter need to pay for their lives. The flight permit for a stars.h.i.+p is too expensive, so there are many trespa.s.sers.
The earnings from three tons of spirit rice sold today are only enough to pay for a flight permit of four months for the huge Edward, which makes Colin unhappy. Besides, a flight permit is sold at an annual price. They just can’t pay it. What a shame!
When they came from the Alpha Alliance, their stars.h.i.+p was equipped with nothing other than energy, weapons and some raw materials. Actually, they can be said to come empty-handed. Therefore, it is really not cost-effective to pay for an expensive flight permit.
In fact, they don’t give full play to the stars.h.i.+p’s huge s.h.i.+pping capacity. What a pity! Colin Weir thinks. For those experienced merchants, only making two flights a year can earn them more than 50,000,000 credit points. Big stars.h.i.+ps do have a huge advantage.
Lin Luoran ponders for a while. “Did you notice what are mainly sold in the alliance?”
Colin Weir perks up. He did survey the goods being traded; Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stayed there for so long.
“I met a person from the Nami Star, and got some information from him. The Nami Star is going to hold a wedding for a princess. Therefore, more luxuries have recently been sold on the N2 planet. It is estimated that the spirit rice we sold may be sent to the Nami Star by those merchants.”
Princess, empire. Well, most of the planets of the Nami Alliance are monarchies, so the custom of dressing is similar to that in the Middle Ages of the earth. A royal wedding on the most powerful star of the alliance will definitely drive domestic demands and consumption… Not only the luxuries will see a rise in sales, right?
“It seems that we can not only sell ingredients with Reiki.” They can make money more quickly by selling Ingredients with Reiki, though.
Lin Luoran turns up the corners of her mouth and looks up. “During the royal marriage, the Nami Star must be bustling. Why not go there first?”
This suggestion is accepted by everyone. The cyan little fox which has been having its food silently is very happy with the decision.
Colin Weir recounts Windsor’s help today and her intention to cooperate with them.
Lin Luoran doesn’t mind Windsor’s being a pirate. The price of a flight permit is beyond her expectation. Since many stars.h.i.+ps come to the N2 planet to do business every day, selling many things here will not draw attention to themselves.
“Windsor only needs spirit tea?”
Spirit tea is too eye-catching. It’s not like the spirit rice with Reiki, for tea trees are few. The old tea tree in her s.p.a.ce is over ten thousand years old, so she hates to part with the tea leaves.
Colin smiles. “It’s best to sell her spirit tea, but it seems that she is willing to buy something else.”
Suddenly, Lin Luoran has an idea. There are seeds of crops with high output in her s.p.a.ce.
Thanks to agricultural robots, Lin Luoran doesn’t weep bitter tears when cultivating a large area.
She decides to grow potatoes, so that these old-fas.h.i.+oned and pretentious Nami people can’t get rid of the taste of mashed potatoes. Lin Luoran won’t admit that she is playing tricks on the people.
In Huaxia before the New Era, it was not difficult for the average yield of potatoes to reach thousands of kilograms per mu (1 mu=0.0667 hectares). In fact, in foreign countries with mechanized management, it was normal to yield two to three kilograms of potatoes per mu.
The potatoes will be cultivated by robots in Lin Luoran’s s.p.a.ce with a yield of more than five thousand kilograms per mu. Within a few days, the harvested potatoes can be sold to buy a flight permit, though potatoes are cheaper than spirit rice.
Lin Luoran begins to carry out her plan. She takes out all the previously harvested potatoes in her s.p.a.ce, but several hundred kilograms of seed potatoes are obviously inadequate. She needs to cut these potatoes and plant the pieces. When the potatoes are harvested, cut more seed potatoes and plant them again. Yielding enough seed potatoes to be planted in an area of ten mu are relatively easy. Potatoes are reproduced vegetatively, from other potatoes with tubers. A potato can be cut into several pieces, which will grow into several plants, each bearing many potatoes.
Agricultural robots are more professional when cutting seed potatoes. They don’t waste a single tuber. Therefore, Lin Luoran can rest a.s.sured that a few robots in her s.p.a.ce will perfectly handle the agricultural work.
Three days later, when the green plants lined up on the ten mu of land produce purple, pink or white flowers, Lin Luoran knows that the moment of reaping the benefits has come.
“Don’t notify anyone except Windsor. Tell her to come if she can buy the goods.”
When Colin Weir asks curiously how many potatoes they have, Lin Luoran doesn’t reply but shows a finger.
“Ten thousand catties (1 catty=0.5 kilogram)?”
“Add another zero.”
“One hundred thousand catties…?”
“If she comes tomorrow, there will be two hundred thousand catties; The day after tomorrow, three hundred thousand catties, and so on, you know.”
“… ” Colin is dumbfounded. The cultivator’s prowess makes him feel that he is a b.u.mpkin with little experience, and that he can always gain some knowledge from her!
Without a flight permit, the Edward can’t land. Even Lin Luoran can’t stand staying on the stars.h.i.+p any longer. Windsor can wait, but Lin Luoran is too impatient to wait for a few more days. Therefore, as soon as two hundred thousand catties of potatoes are reaped, Lin Luoran sells them all to Windsor at the wholesale price of 800 credit points per catty.
The balance of the crystal credit card is astonis.h.i.+ngly high. Nevertheless, comparing the price of the potatoes with that of the spirit rice, they seem to have made little profits. However, the yield per mu for potatoes is so high that the Reiki in the field is diluted. Considering the low cost of Reiki, they still make huge profits from the potatoes.
Windsor has accepted the batch of fresh, high-quality health food. This is the first time that she has done business with good faith, because she intends to make friends with the mysterious “distant guest”. After the goods are delivered and the bill is cleared, Windsor still fails to see the stars.h.i.+p owner. She says to Colin.
“Our stars.h.i.+p is about to return to our place soon. I wonder if you are also going in the same direction, so that we may take care of each other.”
Overhearing the words, Ma Shuangshuang can’t help laughing. The female pirate says she wants to take care of them. Does she want to loot the Edward halfway?