Procurement Storm (Part 2)

Afterwards, Xi Ye and his group spent a whole day wandering around the market. The dazzling array of goods made Xi Ye want to buy this and that, but every time he looked at the price, he was given the most realistic reminder that he was a poor si and couldn't afford it, preventing him from indulging.

Reluctantly, Xi Ye finally led everyone towards the private lord market.

As one of the Federation's three largest markets, besides high-end exhibits, there were naturally some good and cheap items, all from various private lords.

Although not officially certified by the Federation, if you had a good eye, you could often find very fine products, and the prices were very affordable.

Official certification required a large handling fee, and the requirements for technological products to be listed in the Universal Federation were very high. Most of them were large lords who had this strength. Relatively speaking, some small lords' own products, because they didn't have trademarks, could only be traded in this kind of free market besides circulating in their own star field, so the prices were much more affordable.

However, Proxima, as one of the largest markets, had very expensive stalls, which was also an important source of income for this planet. Those who could afford to set up stalls here were all lords with considerable strength. Relatively speaking, it was still much more expensive than some second- and third-tier free markets, but relatively, the possibility of buying garbage was also much smaller.

Under the guidance of the Panda Man guide, Xi Ye and the others quickly arrived at a shop that looked very simple.

The strong rustic style was completely different from the magnificent mech market before, but the shop assistant surprised Xi Ye a bit...

"How is it you again?"

The players were also stunned, because wasn't the shop assistant who came out to greet them just now the Panda Man from the mech shop?

Thinking of Grandpa Lu's still-warm corpse in his pocket, Xi Ye's face darkened slightly. He would never buy anything from a shop that killed his own people, even if he lost money.

"Oh, esteemed lord, you misunderstand!" The Panda Man guide quickly explained, "The one just now was Da Pang, this is Er Pang, not the same Panda Man. You see, he only weighs 372 kilograms, a full 40 kilograms less meat than his brother Da Pang, and his fur isn't as well-maintained as his brother's. After all, his brother works under a big lord."

Xi Ye: "Is... is that so? Now that you mention it, it does feel a bit different..."

"What would you like to buy, sir?" Er Pang asked with a simple and honest smile, chewing on a Green Bamboo, "Wow... I smell a scent of Elf Jerky. Are you here to buy seasonings? We have excellent marinade seasonings here. Do you prefer Garlic Fragrance or Fruit Oil Refining? Our finished garlic is a product of the High Elves, without any genetic modification...!"

"I'm here to make a big deal!" Xi Ye interrupted, glaring at the Panda Man.

"Oh, is that so..." The Panda Man shopkeeper's eyes narrowed into slits upon hearing this, and he smiled even more honestly, "As soon as you came in, I could tell you were a very distinguished Celestial Lord. Are you looking to buy large interstellar weapons, or a chain of interstellar transfer stations? If you're interested in terrifying biological weapons, we can also provide them. We sell the highest level 16 Dragon-level terrifying star beasts, with pure bloodlines and fierce combat power. Here are detailed model data. If you want to see the actual bodies, you can only go to our main star. We can provide free teleportation services..."

"Uh... it's not that big of a deal..." Xi Ye's momentum weakened a lot.

"Oh... is that so..." The Panda Man still said enthusiastically, "Then what would you like to buy, sir? Just tell us, our shop is a direct sales store under the Wine Immortal Lord, and we already have more than a dozen branches. We have a very good reputation here. As long as it's not a very special item, we can generally provide it."

"Wine Immortal Lord?" Xi Ye was stunned, somewhat surprised, "Is that the one, the Wine Immortal senior who is the only Panda Man to become a Celestial Lord?"

"It seems you've heard of him!" The shopkeeper and the guide both showed proud expressions.

Not only have I heard of him, he's practically a legend, okay? The Celestial Group Academy uses this to slap GG in the face every year, look, our academy's high-quality education is worth so much tuition, even lazy Panda Men can be cultivated into elites, what else can't we do?

But this senior developed a bit too fast, right? Xi Ye remembered that this Panda Man senior seemed to have become a lord only 90,000 years ago, right? He's actually developed to the point where he can set up a stall in a first-tier free market, he really is a model for us!

"Sir, what do you think..." Er Pang said, rubbing his hands and smiling.

"Do you have mold tool machines here?" Xi Ye asked with a hint of anticipation.

"Tool machines?" Er Pang was taken aback, then showed a troubled expression, "Sir, you know, that thing... very few people sell it..."

"I know, I know!" Xi Ye nodded, "But Wine Immortal senior developed so fast, he must have a lot of eliminated tool machines, right? They're useless anyway, might as well sell them to me. In return, I can give senior priority in providing finished D-grade energy ore."

"Energy ore? Your planet has energy ore? How's the storage capacity?" Er Pang asked, his eyes lighting up.

"The storage capacity is very sufficient, estimated to be able to be developed for four hundred years. After my place takes shape, it can provide at least a million tons of refined source stone every year!"

"Is that so..." Er Pang hesitated for a moment, then raised his head and said with a simple and honest smile, "This matter is too big for me to decide, I have to report it to the boss. Please sit down first..." Then he said to the guide, "Chen Pi, please help entertain the guests, pour them a cup of tea!" As he spoke, he ran towards the store in a hurry.

Xi Ye's old man calmly found a place to sit down, while the group of players and Nico enthusiastically surrounded the exhibits in the store.

The guide quickly served Xi Ye and his father freshly brewed green tea. The tea leaves were top-grade Snow Peak, and the quality clearly indicated they were authentically produced by Snow Elves. A tael would easily sell for thousands of God Coins, something even Xi Ye's father, back when he was the clan leader, rarely got to drink.

His father leisurely savored the tea with satisfaction, while Xi Ye was somewhat absent-minded, concerned about whether this deal would go through.

This procurement was mainly to address the four most pressing issues in the base: energy, accommodation, basic material consumption, and large-scale crop cultivation.

With the Fire Ant Mine, it had to be said that Xi Ye saved a great deal of effort in terms of energy. The energy extracted from D-grade energy ore, combined with refining technology, was enormous, more than enough for an eighth-level planet that was just beginning to develop!

In this regard, he only needed to buy enough refining equipment and compressed mining factories to quickly collect a large amount of energy.

The accommodation issue wasn't a big deal either. The people of Planet D had a good quality of hard work and endurance, so the accommodation didn't need to be too high-end. He figured ordinary Black Iron Dwarf compressed apartments should suffice.

The same went for crops. Since he was growing crops that were very adaptable to the environment and had high yields, the seeds were relatively cheap. He just needed to increase the quantity, and he believed he wouldn't have to eat canned food and nutrient solutions for long.

Only the basic supplies were relatively the most troublesome!

The base was developing rapidly. According to intelligent predictions, it would soon grow to a scale of 100,000. Mining energy ore required fine mining picks, and then mine carts, branch mine points, and some basic tools would be in great demand.

Buying finished products would be too expensive, and long-term imports would easily expose their location. He couldn't possibly use the school's free teleportation channel every time, could he? Did he have any pride?

Xi Ye's best plan was to hire a few experienced blacksmiths and mechanics, and then purchase a batch of mold tooling machines. Excellent blacksmiths and mechanics were not difficult to hire. On the contrary, tooling machines were more difficult to obtain. Most private lords liked to sell finished products and rarely sold tooling machines. Even if they did, they would sell outdated products. It would take some effort to find good quality tooling machines. Even if he bought them, the after-sales service and the issue of increasing the number of tooling machines would be difficult to solve!

The best way was to cooperate with a high-level lord and obtain their discarded technology. This would save costs and greatly improve the base's growth efficiency, allowing them to avoid many detours.

Everyone understood this principle, but few new lords could get such cooperative conditions. It was said that competitors were enemies. Not deliberately suppressing you was already giving you face as an alumnus. Everyone was a competitor, and no one wanted to see more and more people competing for food, no matter how honest the other party was, even if they were a Panda Man.

Hopefully, his D-grade mine could impress the other party...

Xi Ye thought nervously.

After a long while, Er Pang ran out, covered in sweat, panting, "Respected guest, our lord wants to see you!"

Xi Ye's eyes lit up when he heard this. It seemed like there was a chance!