"I hope you'll stop talking nonsense, do you not intend to contribute a single penny to our cooperation?" Li'ao looked at Tang Mo, seemingly trying to discern something from Tang Mo's face.
But Tang Mo's face showed nothing but calmness; no hints could be discerned. It seemed that he indeed did not plan to pay a penny for the intelligence network of the Silver Fox Tavern.
This feeling made Li'ao very uncomfortable. In reality, the assets of the Silver Fox Tavern were his pride and joy, the sum of all his hard work, and he was reluctant to let anyone belittle his creation.
It was as if you had spent months painting a picture, and in the end, someone offered to trade it for two buns and a bottle of cola...
Thus, Li'ao even felt that Tang Mo was humiliating him, which irritated him as a patron of many unemployed wanderers in Brunas.
Tang Mo also felt that if he continued to tease the old man in front of him, he might ruin the deal that lay before him.
He did not want to give up this ready-made intelligence network; the second he saw Li'ao, the old man, he felt that the network should be under his, Tang Mo's, control – to become his eyes and the power in his darkness.
For some reason, he just had this feeling, so he changed his tone and said to Li'ao, "Actually, I think it's more appropriate for us to establish cooperation first, before we discuss such vulgar things as gold coins."
Li'ao got somewhat angry and shook his head at Tang Mo, saying irritably, "If that's the case, I don't think there's any need for us to continue this conversation."
"Before you go, may I ask, what exactly brought you here this time?" Tang Mo was not annoyed but simply looked at Li'ao and asked curiously.
He knew that if it were merely a matter of cooperation, the other party would definitely not have come forward. Even the big bartender wouldn't have had to personally visit Tang Mo's weapon workshop.
Therefore, Tang Mo knew there had to be a motive, something he could use as leverage to facilitate their cooperation.
Li'ao stared at Tang Mo and scoffed coldly, "I don't think it makes sense to have a heart-to-heart with a madman."
"At least you don't have to worry about a madman's nonsense leaking your secrets, right?" Tang Mo pointed at himself, saying with self-mockery.
He also knew that his behavior of not offering money was actually quite insincere. The fact that the other party was still sitting here, listening to so much of his nonsense, was already quite restrained.
So, adopting a tough attitude, he self-deprecated and then continued to Li'ao, "Let's hear it. Perhaps, I can manage whatever it is you need?"
"Well, I don't know why, but I might be crazy too. I actually think you might help me realize a desire buried deep in my heart." After contemplating for a while, Li'ao finally sighed and spoke to Tang Mo, the pauper.
In fact, he had guessed Tang Mo's current situation: on the one hand, Tang Mo indeed needed an intelligence network very much; on the other, he genuinely didn't seem to have much money.
He could tell from Tang Mo's eagerness, which he tried to mask with jokes but couldn't hide, that Tang Mo desperately needed the power of the Silver Fox Tavern to support him.
He could also judge from the endless construction sites outside Tang Mo's office that Tang Mo's expansion pace was definitely not saving up much money.
Just a glance was enough to make it clear that, given Tang Mo's rate of expansion, he probably had fewer gold coins left in his pocket than Wes's private funds. Although Tang Mo was trying hard to hide it, he couldn't conceal such obvious facts.
After all, Li'ao was an old fox; he had lived so many years and wouldn't have come this far without such insight.
Actually, one of the main reasons he stayed seated and hadn't left was because he saw Tang Mo's shamelessness, the tenacity in trying to mask his weaknesses until the very end.
"Let's hear it, perhaps I really can be of help?" Tang Mo, a man who had lived two lifetimes and weathered many storms, knew that the other party had likely already seen through his disadvantage, so he blatantly began to play hardball.
Since both parties had their own needs, and neither one had any right to look down upon the other, why not talk it through with the spirit of mutual benefit?
Old Li'ao sighed, seemingly measuring his words, while Tang Mo did not disturb him, letting him perform his face-saving maneuvers.
Finally, Li'ao spoke, looking at Tang Mo with a hint of desolation, "Alright... Alright... Before I came here, I thought that one day, you could take me, or at least my corpse, back to my homeland."
Tang Mo strained to search his memories for that distant, mysterious place, but found nothing.
He knew that his father, Tang Qi, and his mother were from there, convicted residents of that place, never entitled to return.
For him, other than the people there having oriental faces, which gave him a sense of kinship, he truly had little longing for that so-called homeland.
So, he spoke, asking for confirmation, "The eastern side of the Endless Sea?"
"Yes, take me back there and bury me in my homeland," Li'ao coughed twice and pointed to himself, "It's just a pity that, as things stand now, you don't seem to have the capacity to do it."
"Let's not beat around the bush, old man," Tang Mo's smile faded, and he changed his tone, "Even though you're getting on in years, you're still far from passing on your legacy. The information network of the Silver Fox Tavern is very valuable to me, and merely sending you back to your homeland for burial is not worth such a high price."
"That's why I said you might not be able to handle an enterprise as large as the Silver Fox Tavern," Li'ao clasped his hands together, propping his chin on them.
"Actually, I can handle it, but I need a bit of time," Tang Mo thought for a few seconds and then said to Li'ao.
"Oh? How long do you think it will take for you to accumulate enough Gold Coin to support the entire message network of the Silver Fox Tavern? Six months? A year? Or ten years?" Li'ao grinned and mockingly said.
After pondering earnestly, Tang Mo gave an answer that left Li'ao agape: "About three months, maybe five at most…"
This time frame wasn't whimsically given by Tang Mo but was a very reasonable estimation based on meticulous calculation.
In three months, his steam engine could be making a significant impact in Northern Ridge, potentially resulting in a considerable number of orders.
If these orders came through, Tang Mo felt he would definitely have the money to properly expand his intelligence operations. So, the shortest time he offered was three months.
As for the six-month time frame, Tang Mo thought that if Northern Ridge won the war, he stood to receive a large sum of war dividends.
Once Earl Fisello was victorious in the war, he would get a substantial amount of money, along with swathes of land and vast resources…
With these assets, he could embark on unbridled expansion and forge himself into a group in the truest sense.
At that time, he would possess various forms of wealth, including mines, roads, fields, and factories, and then have these assets generate even more wealth for him.
"Do you really need only three months to get the money?" Li'ao asked incredulously.
Tang Mo nodded and said, "In fact, I was being conservative. If we go by the fastest estimate, I could probably have the money in two months to start our cooperation."
"Plus, I have many technologies related to intelligence transmission that I can share," Tang Mo, still not forgetting his telegraph system, proposed, "Once my experiments here are successful, I can also use the technology to increase my investment in the Silver Fox Tavern in a shareholding manner."
"Well then, I will spend the next two months thoroughly investigating Shireck's steel transportation. Rest assured...I'll give you a conclusive report," Li'ao thought about it and promised Tang Mo.
He had been considering cooperation all along. Since Tang Mo only needed two months, he was willing to wait patiently.
"I can provide you with two revolvers! With these for self-defense, your people might be safer in certain operations," Tang Mo naturally wouldn't decline nor waste his Gold Coin, so he took out the revolver as a product to sway the Silver Fox Tavern's people.
"We have many of Shireck's matchlock guns." Old Li'ao said confidently.
"Believe me, Shireck's weapons are all garbage!" Tang Mo laughed heartily, "Wes! Bring your weapon, go to the shooting range, and show Mr. Li'ao just how fearsome our revolvers really are!"
"No problem!" Wes, upon hearing the command, appeared at the door, opened it, and made a welcoming gesture.
"So, shall we say the cooperation is going well?" Tang Mo began to relish his meal, not wanting to waste Aunt Cui Xi's elaborate dinner preparation.
"The cooperation is going well!" Li'ao nodded his head, not staying for the meal, and stood up, letting the bartender support him as they left Tang Mo's factory.
Exiting Tang Mo's office, the bartender who saw Wes waiting there saw him make another inviting gesture, leading the two to the new shooting range.
By the time the bartender, who was assisting Li'ao, and the old man himself left Tang Mo's factory, their expressions were grave.
Because the bartender was carrying a wooden box, and inside the box were two mass-produced revolvers made by Tang Mo.
Without fancy engravings or any other unnecessary decorations, the two unremarkable revolvers lay quietly in the box, accompanied by dozens of percussion caps and bullets.
Having seen these weapons fire continuously, both Li'ao and the bartender seemed to gain a new understanding of Tang Mo.