Griffon

Kerry certainly wouldn't finalize the transaction on the spot. He'd learned the wisdom of shopping around when he was CEO of his own supermarket in his past life. After leaving that shop, Kerry walked into the next one.

Speaking of which, since Kerry had already found a copper mine, why didn't he just mint his own copper coins? The amount of copper coins that could be made from one ton of copper would surely be more than what he'd get from selling the ore. Why bother selling the copper mine?

It's important to clarify here that while the copper coins in the various countries on the continent had different designs, their composition was largely the same. Real copper only made up about sixty-five percent of the coins; the rest consisted of various rare or non-ferrous metals. Furthermore, minting these metals into coin shapes required a lot of specialized equipment and workers, which Kerry didn't have access to yet.

It was a shame that paper money wasn't popular on this continent. Otherwise, on his next trip to the exchange, he'd just buy a printing press, and by next month, it would be game over.

Kerry browsed the metal trading district for the entire morning. The quotes from various shops were basically the same, around 40,000 copper coins per ton. The highest wouldn't exceed 40,100, and the lowest wouldn't go below 39,800.

Kerry could feel that this was a stable market, with everyone having a generally consistent valuation of the commodity.

Kerry wanted to establish a long-term trading relationship, so he was looking for a powerful shop. And when it came to power, the Gaits Family was unmatched.

The Gaits Family had eight storefronts in this metal trading district, which reflected quite a bit about their influence.

Kerry arrived at the best-decorated and largest shop. Its name was the Gaits Chain Business Metal Branch. The ubiquitous "Gaits Chain Business" was there, with "Metal Branch" appended for metal trading and "Apparel Branch" for clothing.

"Boss, I'm back. I'd like to talk with you again." This wasn't the first shop Kerry had entered. The owner of this particular shop was a small old man with glasses named Paul.

"Young man, I knew you'd come back to our shop. Not only are we the strongest, but our prices are also fair." Seeing Kerry return, Paul knew this big deal was practically sealed.

"Boss, I am Kerry Raynor, the Lord of South Australia Island, an island very close to here." Kerry desired a long and stable relationship, so he had to introduce himself first. Mutual understanding was key.

When Paul heard Kerry's introduction, he felt a hint of disdain. Was this young man trying to use his noble status to drive up the price? Old Paul wasn't afraid. Dukes were a dime a dozen in our Jili Merchant Alliance. Everyone traded fairly; noble status was useless here.

Kerry ignored the disdain in Paul's eyes and said, "I'm introducing myself because I want to establish a long-term trade relationship with your Gaits Metal Branch. I have a channel, and I'll have large quantities of this pure copper available every month. This is a massive deal with excellent quality, so don't you think you should offer some preferential treatment to keep me?"

A thriving market indicated intense competition. Didn't you see that even the Gaits Family was using the strategy of operating multiple shops in the same region to squeeze out competitors?

Therefore, a big deal could easily shift from a seller's market to a buyer's market. Kerry felt he should be able to negotiate a significantly better price than the original quote.

"Young man, I've already given you the fairest price. You should have inquired; 40,000 copper coins per ton is a price not many can offer. How much more do you want to push it?" Paul was someone who wouldn't act without a clear advantage. Just saying "many" wasn't enough; he needed specifics.

"Today, I'll trade 42 tons at 40,000 per ton. In a week, I'll have more, around 300 tons. What price can you offer then?" Kerry directly stated the numbers, waiting to see if Paul could meet his expectations.

"If you can supply 300 tons of this purity weekly, I can authorize a price of 41,000 copper coins per ton." Paul was an old hand at the Gaits family, but a transaction that increased the price by 1,000 copper coins per ton was extremely rare.

Paul had spent his entire life trading metals and knew how important a client who could guarantee large, consistent supplies of pure copper was. If he could truly secure 300 tons of pure copper weekly, such a deal would even catch the attention of Bill Gaits, the head of the Gaits family.

Kerry thought getting an extra 500 copper coins would be great. He hadn't expected this old man to be so bold as to offer a purchase price of 41,000 copper coins.

Kerry had researched the market. Even the pure copper smelted by the Dwarves in the northeast only fetched around 40,300 at most. It seemed the sheer volume played a significant role.

"Deal. You're a shrewd businessman." Kerry was very pleased and didn't hesitate to praise the old man, Paul.

"Deal. I will personally oversee the transaction and warehousing of your goods from now on." Paul was also very happy. It was good to have such a major client under his wing; his year-end bonuses would be much higher.

Having accomplished a significant task, Kerry was in a great mood. Although this first transaction would only yield 168 gold coins at the price of 40,000 copper coins per ton, future deals would bring in a steady stream of high-priced goods.

He called Mike over to handle the handover with Paul and decided to take a good look around this trading island. He wanted to enjoy the afternoon on the bustling island, try some local specialties, and buy gifts for his Butler Carson and Mrs. Wesley. Of course, he couldn't forget Frank, who had been recovering from his injuries in Little Nose Bay Port City for nearly half a month. Frank was a master, and he needed to be well taken care of.

Kerry started by browsing the adjacent livestock area. One reason was that he had no specific target and was just exploring. Another was to conduct market research; perhaps there were trades in this market that could benefit his territory's development.

This world was one of swords and magic, where dragons roared and countless wild magical creatures roamed, alongside many domesticated magical animals.

The livestock area wasn't just for domesticated animals; many powerful wild monsters were also traded there. Domesticated livestock were sources of labor and meat, while wild monsters were sources of magical pets that could aid their masters in battle.

His Majesty King Raynor VI owned a Dragon Horse, a hybrid of a dragon and a wild horse. It was incredibly fast and had excellent stamina, ate meat, but unfortunately couldn't fly. In any world, anything associated with dragons was never weak.

Kerry wandered aimlessly, encountering mostly livestock he'd never seen in other worlds: six-legged sheep, chickens with four wings, and meat rabbits as large as pigs. The variety was astounding. Kerry felt that the zoos of his past life paled in comparison; here, he could witness the wonders of nature without paying an entrance fee.

"Hey, I say, you're selling this old and sick griffon for 100 gold coins? Do you think it's in its prime?" a pleasant female voice suddenly reached Kerry's ears. Kerry instinctively looked forward.

This area was already selling magical beasts, mostly young ones. This was partly because they were easier to capture and partly because adult magical beasts were difficult to tame.

A young man was haggling with a young woman over an adult griffon, as large as a hippopotamus.

Please add this to your collection. You can start raising it. I can guarantee updates.