Fleecing a Big Client (Seeking Recommendation Votes!)

After finishing lunch, Nora put on her hat and immediately headed downstairs to look after the shop.

Ron tidied up a bit and went into the study to browse for a while.

Around one in the afternoon, Ron heard Nora calling from downstairs: "Shopkeeper! Someone is here to see you!"

Ron set down the illustration book in his hand, strolled downstairs, and upon seeing Jasper, he immediately greeted him with a smile.

"Your Highness Ron." Jasper bowed respectfully.

"Let's go upstairs to talk," Ron said with a smile.

Watching the two of them head upstairs, Nora remained in a daze.

After Jasper had entered the shop earlier, he had introduced himself to Nora, so she knew his identity: he was the highest-ranking representative of the Glorious Mercenary Group in Chaos City.

It was already incredible enough that such a person would come to the shop to find the owner, but what did Jasper say when he greeted him?

Your Highness Ron?

The shopkeeper's name was indeed Ron...

And the shopkeeper had previously said he was the son of Andre III...

No way... Nora shook her head violently.

How could that be!

The shopkeeper had orc bloodlines; how could he be a direct member of the royal family?

Maybe he was an illegitimate child of some noble?

But what kind of illegitimate child would be addressed as "Your Highness"?

And be treated with such respect by someone like Jasper?

Nora felt her brain turn into mush; she couldn't make sense of the connections at all.

Just then, other customers arrived at the shop, so Nora had to temporarily set aside her doubts and focus on serving them.

In the second-floor living room.

Ron and Jasper sat down on the sofa.

After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, Jasper took two files from his coat and got straight to the point.

"Your Highness Ron, this is the contract regarding the Nether Orchid. Please take a look and see if there is anything inappropriate." Jasper handed one of the files to Ron.

Ron took the contract and carefully flipped through it.

A few minutes later, he put the contract down and nodded, saying, "There are no issues."

The two had already discussed the cooperation method for the Nether Orchid yesterday afternoon, so there were basically no problems with this contract.

Providing 25 Nether Orchids to the Glorious Mercenary Group every week was not much different from the original agreement of 100 per month.

The transaction method was to settle once every weekend, with payment upon delivery.

In other words, Ron would have a fixed additional income of 500 gold coins every week.

After confirming that neither side had any further requests, they signed the contract on the spot. It was drawn up in duplicate, and the cooperation took effect.

Setting the contract aside, Ron smiled at Jasper without speaking first.

The next transaction was likely the main event of the day.

For the Glorious Mercenary Group, 100 Nether Orchids a month was at most a nice little bonus.

After all, they were an organization primarily composed of warriors, and mages were not common.

Therefore, their demand for Nether Orchids was far lower than that of the Magic Academy.

But the Golden Red Chrysanthemum was different.

Last night, Jasper had found five trainee mercenaries who had been training consistently for a long time but had failed to advance to a first-tier warrior, and he had them consume the petals of the Golden Red Chrysanthemum.

The results were quite gratifying.

Among the five, four successfully condensed a Battle Qi Vortex on the spot, and although the remaining one failed to advance, the "qi" he squeezed out was far more than in the past.

If he were to consume the Golden Red Chrysanthemum long-term, he would inevitably be able to advance to a first-tier warrior in the future!

This was simply a perfect way to mass-produce first-tier warriors!

Except for the fact that the price was a bit expensive, Jasper couldn't find any other flaws.

Unfortunately, the channels for the Golden Red Chrysanthemum were entirely in the hands of the Magic Academy; otherwise, Jasper would have tried to pull some strings in this regard no matter what.

However, his own leader seemed to have a good personal relationship with the dean of the Magic Academy. Perhaps when the leader came to Chaos City next time, he could ask him to step in and test the waters?

These thoughts flashed through Jasper's mind, but he kept a smile on his face as he handed the second file to Ron and asked, "I have already drafted the details for the Golden Red Chrysanthemum transaction in the contract. It is no different from the Nether Orchid contract, but the transaction volume depends on how much you can provide, Your Highness Ron."

Ron took the contract and looked it over, finding that the terms hadn't changed much; it had just been changed from Nether Orchid to Golden Red Chrysanthemum, and the transaction amount was left blank.

He smiled and looked up at Jasper: "You must have had someone test the Golden Red Chrysanthemum you took back yesterday, right? How was the effect?"

"...The effect was very good." Jasper didn't actually want to discuss this before signing the contract, but since Ron asked, he had no choice but to answer truthfully.

Ron chuckled twice, didn't ask any more questions, and after a moment of contemplation, said: "500 Golden Red Chrysanthemums a month—that is the maximum limit the shop can provide you each month. What do you think?"

"Hmm, this quantity is acceptable." Jasper nodded calmly, his inner thoughts impossible to discern. "Then we shall proceed with the same transaction method as the previous contract: 125 Golden Red Chrysanthemums per week, payment upon delivery?"

"If the Golden Red Chrysanthemum trade is to follow this model, I'm afraid we must add another clause to the contract," Ron said after some deliberation. "Although the yield of Golden Red Chrysanthemums is significantly higher than that of the Nether Orchid, the demand is also quite broad. It is possible that other factions may come seeking cooperation in the future, and at that point, I cannot guarantee this specific share for the mercenary group."

Ron's words were complete nonsense; after all, as far as he was concerned, as long as he had enough time, spending a day in the Dimensional Space was enough for him to grow hundreds or even thousands of Golden Red Chrysanthemums.

However, the principle that scarcity creates value is an enduring truth, no matter where one goes.

He only said those words to make Jasper understand the preciousness of the Golden Red Chrysanthemums.

Unfortunately, in his original world, Ron was just an ordinary college student with no real insight into business.

If not for the special plants provided by the system, which allowed him to monopolize the supply channel, he would never have been able to sit at a negotiation table with Jasper.

Jasper, of course, did not know Ron's true background and continued to believe that the Magic Academy was backing this Seventh Prince.

Therefore, upon hearing what Ron said, he didn't find it strange at all, but simply insisted, "Your Highness Ron, the mercenary group is, after all, your first partner for Golden Red Chrysanthemums. Can you not even guarantee priority supply?"

"That is naturally possible, but in return, shouldn't the mercenary group also make some concessions?" Ron set down the contract and tapped his fingers on it. "I can guarantee a priority supply of 500 Golden Red Chrysanthemums per month, but the premise is that the mercenary group must pay the monthly sum in advance—15,000 gold coins. Once paid in full, I will naturally guarantee the mercenary group's priority supply rights."

Jasper, of course, would not agree to this.

Paying such a large sum in advance was a significant burden for the mercenary group.

However, since the channel for Golden Red Chrysanthemums was held firmly in the hands of Ron and the Magic Academy, Jasper had no better options.

After some intense bargaining, Ron stepped back slightly, not wanting to push too hard.

In the end, the two agreed that the Glorious Mercenary Group would pay 10,000 gold coins in advance each month, with 3,000 of the remaining 5,000 gold coins delivered mid-month, and the final 2,000 gold coins delivered at the end of the month.

I don't really understand business matters, so just take this negotiation clash as you will... please go easy on me in advance...