Chapter 384: Terms of Trade

Finding himself perfectly in sync with the young woman in front of him left Yang Jin feeling surprisingly comfortable. “This price already takes all your requirements into account. Otherwise, it’d be much higher.”

To think she’d end up agreeing with a notorious miser—Xia Qing realized maybe she had the makings of a penny-pincher herself. Confidence blooming, she brought up the subject of commission. “How much of a cut do you want from this deal?”

Yang Jin, who hadn’t even considered taking a commission, had to answer when asked directly. “By the standard rules, I can take at least ten percent.”

“Ten percent it is.” That was already quite modest for someone like Yang Jin. Xia Qing nodded. “I owe you 1,460,000 credits for trade goods, and after subtracting what I should get for the spinach stalks, that leaves 1,091,600 credits. Just deduct both that and your commission directly from the proceeds of selling the spinach seeds.”

“Alright.” Yang Jin stood up and consulted with Xia Qing. “How many credits should we set for each second-generation spinach seed we use for cultivating cordyceps fungus?”

Right away, Xia Qing knew what he was after. “Two hundred credits per seed?”

“That works.” Yang Jin grinned and proposed, “Can I get 2,250 of your second-gen seeds at that price? With those, I can use my first-gen seeds for sale.”

As expected. Xia Qing simply nodded, “Once the cultivation room is fixed up and you need seeds or spring water, just send someone over to pick them up.”

Yang Jin smiled. “Looks like your debt to me has now become just credits.”

Xia Qing was at a loss for words.

Her mouth was dry and her head spun—she’d bargained with him for over two hours, only to end up owing credits again.

Damn. She was numb.

“Oh!” Just as Xia Qing picked up the big bag of spinach stalks to see Yang Jin out, he said, “Do you remember the protective suit I wore when I dropped by to get the Yi Stone Protector before the third Devastation Rain?”

“That was a grade-four field protective suit, right?” Xia Qing had wanted one for a while. She’d tried trading for one with Tang Huai, but he hadn’t had any left.

Yang Jin explained, “No, it’s better than a grade-four. It’s a special protective suit made with new materials, designed specifically for exploring the damp and rainy Evolved Forest. It’s even superior to grade-five field suits. The mask has an oxygen system, so you can stay underwater for three hours with no problem.”

With Hill Sixty’s north side bordering the humid, bug-riddled Evolved Forest, Xia Qing was even more tempted. “How many credits for one of those new-material suits?”

“Since the new material is scarce, they’re only issued to the Military’s special forces right now. I got mine by trading rare resources with the base chief. If you want one, I’ll mention it during my next visit. Luo is back on his feet and needs one too. But if we trade for these special suits, the price for the seeds will have to go down.”

“I want one.” To Xia Qing, survival gear was worth more than any amount of credits. “Captain Yang, aside from the rainproof ones, are there other types?”

Yang Jin explained, “Every base has suits adapted to its environment. Guilin Base and Huicheng Base only have the rain-resistant kind. Baicheng Base has suits for extreme cold. Lancheng Base supplies ones for both extreme heat and cold. Hongcheng Base has ones for high radiation and high pressure. All of them are special-operations gear and only available in exchange for rare resources.”

Xia Qing got it. She lowered her voice. “Are there ones for dogs?”

Yang Jin was momentarily speechless.

“I’ll ask around.”

“Thanks a lot.”

With the deal made, Xia Qing walked Yang Jin to the Northern Gate and handed the bags of spinach stalks off to Hu Zifeng.

Hefting two heavy bags, Yang Jin assured Xia Qing, “I’ll get your traded goods as soon as possible and send them over.”

Once they’d hauled the stuff back to Section Three on Hill Forty-Nine, Hu Zifeng adjusted the weight and put in a good word for Xia Qing. “Boss, farming’s really not easy. Go easy on her with the pricing, will you?”

Which eye or ear of yours ever saw or heard me haggling? Yang Jin put on a stern face. “Don’t want to buy that helicopter anymore?”

“I do!”

“Then zip it.”

“Yes, sir!”

……

A helicopter? Ha.

Xia Qing returned to the spinach terraces and carefully searched every inch. Sure enough, she dug up over twenty more spinach seeds—a little bonus that had her skipping home for lunch.

She’d been at it since dawn—checking the pig pens, digging up herbs, harvesting spinach seeds, bargaining with Yang Jin. No wonder she was starving.

On her way down the slope, she spotted Old Goat by the reservoir, staring at the water.

Xia Qing came closer, squinting at the shimmery surface until she saw the water teeming with tiny plankton—algae, rotifers, water fleas. All of them were prime natural fish food.

The fish in the reservoir had all been wiped out by lightning, so now the plankton were running wild. Xia Qing filled a bucket and called to her companion, “Old Goat, let’s go home and take a look.”

Old Goat had no objections and unhurriedly followed Xia Qing towards home.

“Ding.”

Xia Qing heard a notification and checked her phone. Er Gou had just come in through the Northern Gate—he must’ve noticed Yang Jin was gone and hurried back.

She grinned and told Old Goat, “Er’s been babysitting those wild boars so long he nearly starved. Finally home for some food.”

“Ding.”

Another notification—Crippled Wolf had arrived too.

Before she could say anything, her phone chimed again—Crippled Wolf had left, then returned a moment later.

Since Crippled Wolf was one of her best clients, Xia Qing let it slide.

Back at home, Xia Qing spread out her freshly gathered spinach seeds on the balcony to dry. After some thought, she decided to call her idol.

Getting spinach seeds promoted was big news—she ought to give her idol a heads-up. If negotiations between Yang Jin and the base chief went well, the seeds would be distributed base-wide by April or May next year. She didn’t want her idol hearing about it secondhand, in case he caught a weird grudge and cut her off.

Losing that connection, for Xia Qing, could mean losing her life.

A few million credits were tempting, but life—and her idol—were priceless.

When the call connected, Xia Qing asked first, “Third Brother, is now a good time?”

Zhang San was wandering down a long hallway. After closing the door, he replied, sounding tired, “Talk.”

After explaining the plan to promote spinach seed planting, Xia Qing asked, “Captain Yang said they’re pretty valuable. How many do you have? Want to sell them together?”

If we join forces, Third Brother, we can rake in the credits together—how about it?

Zhang San sounded lazy as always, but Xia Qing could tell he was in a good mood. “Not selling. I don’t need credits. Got any more Green Lantern food I haven’t tasted?”

Hmm…

……

……

Her idol didn’t need money—just good food. What was a fan supposed to do?