He arrived quickly, seemingly well-prepared, walking in with a large bag in less than an hour.
With Zong En and the others at the gate, Zhang Deming didn’t even need to go out to greet him; soone just let him in.
Zhang Deming had just stepped into the courtyard when Qin Shizhong entered as well.
After they sat down, Qin Shizhong moved to take out the materials, but Zhang Deming raised a hand to stop him.
Qin Shizhong looked at Zhang Deming, confused, waiting for him to explain.
"Junior Brother Qin, this is our third ti doing business, isn’t it?" Zhang Deming began.
Qin Shizhong nodded. "I still rember the first ti. I thought you were in the sa line of work as , Senior Brother!"
"Now it seems you’re more of a producer, Senior Brother, not just a reseller."
Zhang Deming nodded and, without further pleasantries, got straight to the point.
"I’ve made a rough estimate. I’ll need about fifty to a hundred Spirit Stones’ worth of materials each month."
"The exact amount isn’t fixed; it will fluctuate depending on my schedule."
Qin Shizhong’s pupils contracted instantly. He drew in a sharp, silent breath.
’With such a large demand, even if I sell in bulk, I can make a profit of at least five or six Spirit Stones.’
’And it would be a steady inco, all while I continue to run my stall on the side.’
’For a rchant, that direct profit is secondary.’
’What’s truly important is the network and the supply channels that this massive demand would create. That’s worth far more than just the Spirit Stones themselves.’
’For soone like Qin Shizhong, who’s struggling at the bottom rungs of the sect and hoping for that elusive chance to advance to the Tai Chi realm, this is a golden opportunity.’
Zhang Deming glanced at Qin Shizhong, who was clearly doing his best to suppress his excitent, and said nonchalantly,
"I’m sure you understand what this entails and the kind of profits involved. You’re no newcor, Junior Brother Qin."
Qin Shizhong took a deep breath to calm himself. "Senior Brother Zhang," he said, "whatever your conditions are, please feel free to state them."
"If it’s within my power, I’ll do my utmost to et them."
"As for the price, given the imnse volu you’re talking about, we can certainly negotiate the details."
Zhang Deming smiled. "Those are minor details. There’s no hurry."
Qin Shizhong asked, puzzled, "Then, Senior Brother Zhang, do you have so other concerns? Or a special requirent?"
Zhang Deming nodded. "As expected of a veteran rchant, Junior Brother Qin. You read well."
Qin Shizhong smiled. "You flatter , Senior Brother Zhang. If you have a special requirent, please, just say it. This isn’t our first ti working together. We can talk it over."
Zhang Deming looked at Qin Shizhong and said, "If you want to be my long-term supplier, Junior Brother Qin, I do have one condition."
"It’s about the paynt terms. For a one-off or occasional purchase, it wouldn’t matter."
"But for a stable, long-term supply arrangent, I need you to understand, Junior Brother Qin, that I can’t pay for everything upfront."
Zhang Deming paused after saying this, watching Qin Shizhong’s reaction.
’After all, this was a traditional society. Things like installnt plans or the sell-first-pay-later model of supermarkets weren’t mainstream business practices in the Hongng Realm.’
Qin Shizhong asked hesitantly, "Senior Brother Zhang, what do you an by that?"
Seeing that he didn’t imdiately refuse, Zhang Deming felt he had a chance and continued, "For a long-term supply arrangent, I won’t be settling the full amount for the goods all at once."
"Each ti I receive a delivery, I’ll only pay ten to twenty percent of the total cost. I will then settle the remaining balance from the previous delivery when I receive the next one."
Hearing this, Qin Shizhong said hesitantly, "Senior Brother, are you proposing we use the sa supply model as the major Business Alliances?"
Zhang Deming was taken aback for a mont. ’Looks like there are plenty of smart people in this world,’ he thought.
Zhang Deming nodded. "Exactly. This way, it fully ensures the materials you provide don’t have quality issues, and it avoids problems like difficult returns."
"If there are any quality problems, it makes it easy to process a return before the next paynt is due."
"Of course, we’ve only worked together a handful of tis. We don’t know each other well, and there isn’t enough trust built up yet."
"So, to start, I can place smaller orders more frequently."
"That way, we both have peace of mind, and it won’t put too much pressure on your capital, Junior Brother Qin."
"And I’m not going to skip town over a few asly Spirit Stones, am I?"
Qin Shizhong gave a slight smile. "Senior Brother Zhang, you’re joking."
With that said, he fell into deep thought.
Qin Shizhong was a decisive man. After only a mont of contemplation, he asked, "In that case, Senior Brother Zhang, how large of an order are you planning to place for the first delivery?"
’Success!’
Hearing this, a smile spread across Zhang Deming’s face. "For the first delivery, I can pay a twenty percent deposit. Just for the first ti, of course. After that, it will be ten percent."
"As for the size of the order, that depends on how much of a capital strain you can handle, Junior Brother Qin."
Hearing this, Qin Shizhong thought for a mont before asking, "Then, Senior Brother, how often will you need a delivery?"
Zhang Deming said, "That’s not set in stone. It depends on the quantity of materials in each order. Roughly speaking, I consu about two to four Spirit Stones’ worth of materials on average each day."
"So, once I run out of materials, I’ll need more. In other words, the paynt cycle will depend on the size of each delivery."
"But it can’t be too frequent. That would be too much of a hassle, otherwise I wouldn’t have sought you out to discuss this in the first place, Junior Brother Qin."
After hearing this, Qin Shizhong mulled it over for a long while before gritting his teeth and saying, "I’ve brought twenty Spirit Stones’ worth of goods with this ti."
Zhang Deming shot him a surprised look. ’This guy’s got so real nerve,’ he thought.
’Twenty Spirit Stones is no small sum for an Outer Disciple.’
’For a disciple with a good inco, that’s several months to half a year of savings. For one with a poor inco, it could even be several years’ worth.’
’Twenty Spirit Stones ans I’ll need to pay a four-Spirit-Stone deposit.’
’Luckily, I have exactly four left on . Just enough to cover it.’
’The whole reason he’d structured the deal this way was because he was short on funds again after giving ten Spirit Stones to Qu Qizhong.’
’It was just like starting a business in his past life; capital was always the biggest hurdle at the beginning.’
’Of course, it wasn’t just about the money. For a long-term partnership, this kind of staggered paynt plan was an absolute must for Zhang Deming.’
’It was the only way to protect his own interests and ensure the quality of the materials.’
Zhang Deming smiled. "In that case, let’s have a look at the materials."
Now that he had made his decision, Qin Shizhong’s nervous and excited heart surprisingly cald down.
He took out the materials and began, "Since you were quite satisfied with the speed- and defense-type materials last ti, Senior Brother Zhang, and didn’t express any dissatisfaction..."
"...I didn’t change those. As for the binding-type material, you contacted via your Identity Card to say you weren’t fully satisfied, so this ti I brought a different one..."
They talked for a long while longer, hashing out various details like using item codes on the materials to make returns easier. At last, they formally finalized the supply agreent.
"To a successful partnership, then!" After a long negotiation, Zhang Deming said with a smile.
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