Chapter 175: Chapter 174 Someone Knocks on the Door
As the old saying goes, money isn’t everything, but without it, you’re truly helpless.
But money indeed isn’t omnipotent.
For the City of Korhal located in the Northlands, getting hold of Tachibana Fruit was not an easy task. Although they also cultivated it themselves, just as “Oranges born in the south are sweet, but are bitter in the north,” the Tachibana Fruit grown in the Northlands were inferior in both taste and shape to those from the south. And even in the south, they were only available for one season each year.
So even these high officials and nobility could only eagerly wait every summer for the caravans to bring in the Tachibana Fruit and other fresh fruits from the south. Only then could they enjoy a delicious meal.
And now, in the depths of winter, there were fresh Tachibana Fruit that had just been picked?
What’s more, these fruits’ taste far exceeded that of ordinary Tachibana Fruit, even better than those for which the nobility paid a hefty sum to have transported from the south!
During the cold winter, to bite into a sour-sweet, refreshingly pleasant Tachibana Fruit was an unparalleled delight. This was something money couldn’t buy because the Tachibana Fruit grew only once a year, just as a baby takes ten months to be born—an immutable law of nature beyond the reach of wealth.
And now, this law of nature seemed to have been altered?
Before, when none had them, these nobles could still remain calm, but now that there were some available, naturally, they wouldn’t let the opportunity slip.
Not to mention, since the number of Tachibana Fruit was limited, those who couldn’t grab any outnumbered those who did. Watching the noble lady next door sipping her afternoon tea while savoring the crunchy and tasty Tachibana Fruit, while they could only salivate behind the hedge …
Ah, how infuriating! Can anyone be more ostentatious with their wealth?
They must find out the origin of these Tachibana Fruits!
Since these Tachibana Fruits were distributed by the Alchemists’ Guild, naturally, everyone first approached the Alchemists’ Association. The response from the alchemists was that these Tachibana Fruits were the product of some alchemical tool, which is why they were being consigned for sale by the association. However, the fruits were limited in quantity, and they only had these left; there would be no more available anytime soon.
This answer was a severe blow for those full of enthusiasm who had come to inquire. If even the Alchemists’ Association clearly stated they had no more stock, then there was nothing they could do. In people’s minds, it might have been possible that an alchemist had cultivated a new, cold-resistant variety of Tachibana Fruit trees, or perhaps they had accidentally produced such fruits in the course of some inventive experiment. And now, with no more fruits available, they could only leave in disappointment.
Yet, there were others who astutely sensed a business opportunity.
“So, you’re seeking a partnership?”
Fang Zheng put down his teacup, smiling as he looked at the man before him. The man sitting across from him was middle-aged, his entire figure round and plump; he was currently wiping sweat from his brow, all the while looking towards Fang Zheng with a somewhat awkward smile.
“Yes, Mr. Ezio, our Northern Trading Company is very interested in the greenhouse innovation and the Slime Fertilizer you’ve invented. If possible, we hope to cooperate with the workshop and secure the exclusive rights from you.”
“I understand that … but Mr. Fress, the terms you propose are far from satisfactory to me.”
Hearing this, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but look up at the man named Fress before him. It had only been two days since they started selling the Tachibana Fruit, and he wasn’t the first to seek out the Alchemy Workshop for business negotiations. However, unlike the others, Fress wanted more.
He hoped to reach a comprehensive agreement with Nanali’s Alchemy Workshop, allowing the Northern Trading Company he represented to manufacture and sell the “greenhouse innovation” and “Slime Fertilizer” exclusively.
For Fang Zheng, this was, of course, a favorable proposition. The only issue was that there were still many points of contention between him and Fress. The biggest problem was that Fress wished to pay a large sum of money to “buy out” these two inventions, whereas Fang Zheng insisted on signing a “revenue-sharing” contract.
However, Fress was clearly not inclined to do so.
“Mr. Ezio, I can understand your position. Although the greenhouse innovation and Slime Fertilizer both have a very bright future, it is precisely because of their promising prospects that these technologies will face certain obstacles during the promotion process… you understand what I’m saying.”
After a brief chat earlier, Fress had already realized that the young man sitting before him wasn’t the sort of nerd only capable of inventing and creating—he seemed even more astute than himself. Hence, he abandoned his previous thoughts and began to fight for his interests.
“If you, Mr. Ezio, are willing to establish a trading company and promote these yourselves, the Northern Trading Company would be quite willing to become your partner. But as it stands, it seems you don’t wish to do so, and thus the Northern Trading Company must bear greater risks. I hope you’ll consider this. We are very sincere. If you are willing to sell these two alchemical technologies to us, we’re prepared to offer a reasonable price to buy them out completely.”
Not bad, you’ve got some brains.
Looking at the rotund Fress in front of him, Fang Zheng also raised an eyebrow. Indeed, as Fress had said, both the greenhouse technology and the Slime Fertilizer were very useful, and what was rare was how affordable they were, with readily available materials. Slimes were creatures that one couldn’t exterminate no matter how much one tried, posing no risks or hazards in their breeding. It could be said that once these two technologies were introduced, they would form a highly visible monopoly in the industry. To exaggerate a bit, if these could be rolled out, then practically everyone in the Northlands, and even the entire Main World, would have a need for these two items.
Not to mention if Nymph and Nanali could overcome the limitations of the nutrient solutions for soilless cultivation, then the profits would be even higher.
Soilless cultivation…
Without saying anything further, Fang Zheng knew that the Kingdom of the Holy Church would absolutely not let such technology slip by. It had been mentioned before that the Kingdom of the Holy Church needed to guard the Twilight Border, therefore they had “exclaves” like the Order Fortress all over the world, and most of their material supplies depended on coordination by the Sanctuaries of the Holy Church in various countries. Food was always of utmost importance because the Twilight Border was contaminated by Chaos Magic, with a climate so harsh it was utterly unsuitable for cultivating crops.
But if technology for soilless cultivation could be developed successfully, combined with greenhouses, the Order Fortress would have the capability to produce food independently. Even if they couldn’t completely solve the problem, even resolving half of it would be enough for the Archbishops of the Sanctuary to burn incense in celebration.
And if the food issue could be completely resolved, then maybe they could use each Order Fortress as a breakthrough point to weaken the power of the Twilight Border and take back the territories that originally belonged to Order—in plain terms, this technology might even have the potential to affect the entire dynamic of the Order World!
In such a scenario, who could remain indifferent to such technology? It wasn’t just economic benefits at stake here; if handled well, there were political benefits to be had as well.
Without an umbrella for protection, such a thing would be devoured by ravenous wolves coming from all directions. In other words, if Fang Zheng couldn’t protect his interests, facing a situation where everyone was against him, the Sanctuary would probably have to settle for an even distribution.
After all, there was strength in numbers.
Although the Alchemists’ Association was a stakeholder, the issue with the association was that it was an “official agency,” and when it came to matters of “national strategy,” official agencies naturally had to cooperate unconditionally.
Fang Zheng certainly could turn hostile, but all for this… to turn against the Kingdom of the Holy Church? And let someone like Malthael loose?
Even thinking about it made Fang Zheng think he was crazy.
Now, there were two paths Fang Zheng could take, either act like the protagonist of an urban novel, start his own company, then develop it into a group enterprise, and once the business was strong enough, naturally have the strength to protect his proprietary technology,
Or choose to behave like the real world and sell the patents to powerful multinational companies, so that whoever was capable should go trouble those multinationals, while he could just peacefully conduct his experiments and take his commission.
The former path might look glamorous, but Fang Zheng was not willing to tread it. In contrast, making money easily and comfortably through selling patents and cooperation was what he hoped for.
Lying at home and counting money sounded good, why bother with the hassle of business affairs, possibly face assassination, espionage, tracking… all troubles.
Fang Zheng nowadays did not like trouble.
He had looked into the background of the Northern Trading Company. It was a bit inferior compared to earth-shattering multinational conglomerates, but it was still second-tier at least. The words “Northlands” were not just for show, as they had a commercial network throughout the entire region. This also indicated, from another angle, that the trading company had considerable power and, being located in the chilly northern region, had a more pressing demand for greenhouse technology and Slime Fertilizer.
But this was good. If it were a behemoth like Microsoft dominating the industry, then it would have been much more difficult for Fang Zheng to fight for his interests. After all, with their monopoly, you couldn’t escape their grasp whether you wanted to sell or not. As a second-tier player, the Northern Trading Company naturally had ambitions to rise further and also the capability to compete with other large powers, ensuring that Fang Zheng did not have to turn this into an urban novel plot.
Therefore, Fang Zheng directly stated his demands.
“We want a forty percent share of the profits, the rest you can distribute amongst yourselves,” he said.
“That’s impossible!!”
Upon hearing this, Fress’s plump body suddenly sprang from his chair like a bouncy ball.
Although he had anticipated that the other party would make an exorbitant demand, Fress had not expected this young man to have such a big appetite.
It was practically robbery!