Chapter 248

Chapter 248: Uniting the Small Against the Large in a Frenzied Sale

When the sheep enter the pen, it’s time for a swift slaughter!

Li Hui sharpened his knives, looking to milk every coin possible from the pigs and sheep, pushing to lower the purchase prices.

The managers of these small families left with faces ashen, feeling the pressure. Those who arrived early barely broke even, while those who came late had to take tiny losses to even make a sale.

Of course, that was their method of calculation.

Throughout the entire process of barter, Huo Qiniang skillfully calculated profits. She sold spiritual treasures to the island’s merchants for at least seventy percent less, then exchanged them for talisman paper and talisman ink at the island’s pricing.

When the fleets transporting goods to Blue Moon Island came knocking, they were not treated poorly but settled everything using spirit talismans.

With a time flow rate eighteen times faster around him, Li Hui immediately began talisman-making with the talisman ink and talisman paper he acquired, no longer limiting himself to Blood Ignition Talismans, Exotic Blood Talismans, and Spirit Sense Talismans.

Before long, Golden Sword Talismans, Golden Bell Talismans, Lightning Sword Talismans, Thunder Shield Talismans, Brocade Talismans, Spirit Insight Talismans, and even Green Scale Talismans and Wood Jiao Talismans emerged. For ship owners operating outside, gathering an array of attack, defense, assistance, and scouting types was something they welcomed.

During this time, Li Hui placed an order at the shipyard, beginning modifications on the Wave Breaking Cone.

Those small merchants unable to withstand the massive financial pressure found their way to the ship to discuss selling vermilion and blank talisman paper, but they didn’t want spirit talismans. Instead, they wanted Huo Qiniang to settle in spiritual shells.

“No, everyone, we really don’t have any extra spiritual shells. We will continue settling in spirit talismans. The good thing is you won’t lose out; let’s discuss prices first,” Huo Qiniang smiled slightly, exuding confidence.

When the small merchants received the price list and analyzed the offers, their expressions changed dramatically. The prices on the list were half of what they typically paid; some were even offered at eight percent less. If they quickly lowered their prices, they wouldn’t run at a loss but could rake in considerable profits, envisioning their bonuses rolling in.

Li Hui had his business wisdom; he wasn’t profiting from these small merchants but rather giving them advantageous deals, aiming for these small players to hold up against the large merchants and flood the market with spirit talismans.

That’s right, it was a flood!

His goal in talisman-making was to boost the success rate for creating talismans, smoothing over the aftereffects caused by the Fortune Ascending Talisman. If they just hoarded without selling, they too would face immense pressure. Having both inflows and outflows changed everything; stagnant waters flowed anew, and obstacles transformed into opportunities.

Even though these small merchants knew the Wave Breaking Cone was under modification and would need to stay a few more days, they didn’t dare guarantee that other merchants wouldn’t discreetly contact Huo Qiniang. Since everyone was gathered, they had to come up with a plan.

In reality, the room for negotiation left to them was extremely limited; unless they could maintain pressure on stock, they would inevitably have to make changes soon.

"It’s settled!" Huo Qiniang appeared radiant. Every time she completed a deal, her confidence soared, leaving no trace of her previous doubts, transforming her into a remarkable female manager, composed and elegant, skillfully navigating through numerous merchants.

Surroundings shape one’s character. Li Hui provided a platform for Huo Qiniang, whose performance was indeed commendable.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed since they arrived on Blue Moon Island. Fortunately, the jade tablets purchased at high prices indicated that sailing southward from this island was the best maritime route back to Wutu Continent. Yet it lay far beyond imagination, with several perilous regions to cross. Regardless, it was certainly better than taking other routes, plus once they reached the Grand Xuan Dynasty, there was a teleportation array waiting.

The allure of the teleportation array was immense for Li Hui; he would break in just to activate it once.

Blue Moon Island featured ten markets, dealing in classics, medicinal herbs, artifacts, talismans, mechanisms, spiritual treasures, poisons, minerals, servants, and ships.

In the talisman market, many small merchants began to reduce prices. Newly released lower-tier spirit talismans like Golden Sword Talismans and Golden Bell Talismans now sold for almost half their original price.

Not just halved, purchasing in sets offered significant discounts. This wave of price cuts came so swiftly that even the larger merchants found themselves at a loss.

Small merchants banding together to oppose larger merchants indicated an inside power struggle on Blue Moon Island, highlighting Li Hui’s success in transferring the risk.

In the business world, merchants had their own rules. Although they often bent the rules, they managed to maintain things on the surface to avoid “Together in ruin.”

Big merchants approached Huo Qiniang too, even if they realized the ship’s owner was focused on acquiring materials for talisman-making. The trend had already shifted. Small merchants were encroaching on their profit margins, and soon everyone on the island would possess a few spirit talismans, making the next period quite difficult for them.

To these large merchants’ surprise, after Huo Qiniang’s arrival, she mentioned other businesses.

“We’d like to acquire some minerals and metals, regarding talisman paper, talisman ink, and those materials for talisman-making, just as an added bonus!”

Added bonus? Why would they just accept a minor addition? These big merchants had no choice but to board the ship for a discussion.

“Think about it, my master is obsessed with artifact refining. How unwise would it be to collect artifact fragments? If you’re willing to help by pushing prices down as much as possible, we’re all friends here.”

Alright then! Huo Qiniang wanted to make friends, but was this friend easy to befriend?

Everyone realized that they were being used as tools to poke holes in the mineral markets. The potential transaction amounts would be enormous; otherwise, such a meticulous plan wouldn’t have been formed.

Huo Qiniang cheerfully said, “We have hoarded a large stock of spiritual plants from the fire and gold types. You can verify the prices. Additionally, we have fur from strange beasts like the golden hound and fierce beasts like the Electric Lightning Beast, along with a few spiritual treasures, asking merely for some minerals, should that be too difficult?”

She lured them with profits, confident they wouldn’t refuse.

In the end, these large merchants decided to assist, by leveraging relationships to secure lower prices. They exchanged goods and developed a partnership to benefit all, ensuring mutual gain.

This signified a shift in thinking. Previously, Huo Qiniang arrived on the island with goods but didn’t have a mutual benefit mindset; she would simply suppress prices.

However, was Li Hui’s plan that simple? What he was doing at the moment aimed for at least two outcomes: to integrate into the mineral markets and medicinal herb markets while further expanding the influence of spirit talismans. As long as the major talisman merchants stabilized prices and assured the quantity of black shells or purple shells needed to purchase spirit talismans, it would enable trading on Blue Moon Island using spirit talismans.

He didn’t know much about other matters, but serving as the accounts manager under Jin Buduan, he knew what resources Dalong practitioners required. Two hundred crew members readied themselves, each focusing on one or more resources, ready to swarm at a signal.

“Poof…” With a soft sound, the success rate for creating Golden Sword Talismans was restored to ninety percent, Lightning Sword Talismans to eighty percent, Thunder Shield Talismans to eighty percent…

In the midst of his fervent talisman-making, Huo Qiniang secured two batches of dragon scale gold and frost silver. These metals were considered wealth on Wutu Continent, but on Blue Moon Island, they weren’t worth nearly as much as black shells or purple shells.

The output of the Mysterious Pearl was gradually running out, and Guang Jin was left with a mournful face while trimming the branches and leaves of the Concentrating Peace Wood. As for those four strands of Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King’s roots in his hands, Li Hui wouldn’t dare touch them. Touching them would surely invite disaster.