Astral Cockroach

Trust? You've made it so obvious; wouldn't it be foolish not to take precautions!

The undisguised dissatisfaction of the Flower Cypress Mountain Master greatly pleased Banbu.

Banbu sincerely said, "Flower Cypress Mountain Master, I know that your Black and White Flower Roach Tribe occupies a raw stone mine, making you wealthy. However, after I get the raw stones, I have to find a way to exchange them for various primal force foods suitable for myself, right?!"

"You should understand that the bamboo fruit produced annually by my Emerald Bamboo Divine Seed during my time as a high-level warrior is quite limited. I have to set aside a portion to attract trade caravans. Selling the bamboo fruit is secondary; the main purpose is to purchase primal force foods suitable for my growth."

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master said, "During your time as a high-level warrior, the Emerald Bamboo Divine Seed produces so little bamboo fruit each year. You still plan to split it into several portions for sale? The quantity is insufficient; unless they're passing by, trade caravans are unwilling to detour."

Banbu said, "It would be good enough to attract two or three trade caravans passing by."

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master was exasperated, opened the spider silk bag containing the raw stones, and asked, "Banbu, speak plainly. How do you plan to sell your bamboo fruit? I want all of this year's yield!"

Banbu said, "I've estimated that traveling merchants can offer a price of 15 raw stones. They resell it, earning a profit of over 20%. Usually, the profit is around 30%, meaning they resell it for a price fluctuating between 18 and 20 raw stones."

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master said, "The Black and White Flower Roach Tribe is adjacent to the Red Roach Tribe. We trade nearby, without traveling merchants earning profit in between. According to the rules, this portion of the profit is split equally."

"Calculating based on a 20% profit, after splitting it equally, the selling price is 16.5 raw stones. However, since I'm running around and coordinating, shouldn't you and Princess Autumn Wind give me a little commission? I'll collect 0.5 raw stones from each of you. Is that too much?"

Banbu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This was an ideal price. He moved his antennae and said, "Acceptable. The selling price is 16 raw stones, a fair transaction."

Banbu took out 8 bamboo tubes of bamboo fruit, arranging them neatly in a row, and said, "Each tube contains 16 bamboo fruit, and each bamboo fruit sells for 16 raw stones, totaling 256 raw stones. Flower Cypress Mountain Master, please check carefully."

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master scanned everything once with his mental power, confirmed that it was correct, and nodded his antennae, saying, "A total of 8 tubes, totaling 2048 raw stones?"

Banbu said, "That's right."

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master took out a raw stone cut into a multifaceted sphere from the spider silk bag, saying, "This is a large raw stone specifically used for large transactions. Each one is equivalent to 100 raw stones, and it's slightly more than that. Weigh it in your hand and check the weight."

Raw stone particles are cut very small, only slightly larger than pine nuts. Cutting them is troublesome, and counting them during transactions is even more troublesome. They are only suitable for small-scale buying and selling transactions.

Banbu held the raw stone and weighed it in his hand. He didn't have the ability to estimate the precise value, but he guessed that the Black and White Flower Roach Tribe wouldn't engage in fraudulent practices in this regard. He nodded his antennae and said, "The weight is sufficient; no problem!"

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master took out 20 large raw stones from the spider silk bag several times, then directly broke the 21st one with his fingertip, dividing it in two, and handed it to Banbu, asking, "Is that about right?"

Banbu said, "About right."

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master put the 8 bamboo tubes on the ground into the spider silk bag, and finally asked, "Banbu, next year, when you advance to a high-level warrior, the number of bamboo fruit produced should be 1168. How many do you plan to sell to our Black and White Flower Roach Tribe?"

Banbu happily weighed each raw stone, casually answering, "Half. You'd better pay the deposit first. Otherwise, next year, when the trade caravans come and think the bamboo fruit is of good quality, wanting to order more, I might find it difficult to refuse."

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master asked, "Deposit?"

Banbu said, "It's that you pay half of the selling price in advance as the pre-order funds for next year's Emerald Bamboo Divine Seed bamboo fruit. However much you order, I'll guarantee to sell you enough bamboo fruit when the time comes."

"Having paid the deposit in advance, if other trade caravans ask me for more purchase quotas, I'll also have a reason to refuse, and I won't offend the trade caravans. Flower Cypress Mountain Master, what do you say?"

"Who came up with this lousy idea? Mountain Master Iron Blade? He's not that cunning yet." The Flower Cypress Mountain Master was both happy and angry, saying, "I'll send the bamboo fruit to Princess Autumn Wind today, and I'll consult about the deposit. At the latest, I'll give you an accurate answer in three days."

Of course, the Flower Cypress Mountain Master was happy. Banbu charged a deposit, and he, the "middleman," would also get the raw stone profit in advance.

What angered him was that this transaction model of collecting a deposit in advance was clearly unfair. Banbu was sitting on the ground and raising the price, taking advantage.

… …

Before the bamboo fruit matured, Banbu invested nearly 500 raw stones to improve the fruit's quality.

Calculating carefully, in terms of quality, the Emerald Bamboo Divine Seed is one grade higher than the Purple Gold Divine Seed. In terms of revenue, they are actually about the same.

Two days later, the Flower Cypress Mountain Master hurried over, the spider silk bag he often carried bulging, undoubtedly filled with a large half-pocket of raw stones.

Judging by the look of things, the deposit matter was settled!

Banbu greeted enthusiastically, "Flower Cypress Mountain Master!"

"Banbu!"

However, the Flower Cypress Mountain Master's mood seemed a bit heavy.

Banbu's heart also skipped a beat, feeling ominous. He tentatively asked, "Flower Cypress Mountain Master, Princess Autumn Wind agreed to the deposit matter?"

"Princess Autumn Wind said that the price is very reasonable, and the practice of collecting a deposit is also a guarantee for both parties, but…" The Flower Cypress Mountain Master changed his tone and said:

"Princess Autumn Wind's Autumn Maple Divine Seed bears fruit in the same season as your Emerald Bamboo Divine Seed. Princess Autumn Wind cannot finish so much primal force food in one go. Therefore, she hopes that the primal force food she purchases next time will be the same as this time, and she would like to trouble Banbu to use amber fruit to preserve it, so she can keep it to eat in the spring of next year."

After the Flower Cypress Mountain Master finished speaking, he emphasized, "The price remains the same!"

"… …"

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Banbu was speechless.

He never expected that Princess Autumn Wind would turn around and use this method to restrain him.

No, it's not Princess Autumn Wind; it's the Flower Cypress Mountain Master who's causing trouble.

No, it's mostly that old fellow Princess Autumn Wind who gave the Flower Cypress Mountain Master this lousy idea.

Bamboo fruit is different from other fresh fruits; it can be preserved for up to half a month. How could a dignified princess not be able to digest a mere few hundred bamboo fruit in ten or fifteen days?

It was clearly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult.

Amber fruit preservation involves the cost of raw stones, and more importantly, the process is cumbersome, consuming a lot of time and labor.

Banbu said, "Flower Cypress Mountain Master, if there are too many bamboo fruit, I might not have that much effort to preserve them all."

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master said, "If you don't use amber fruit for preservation, then you have to lower the price."

After all the trouble, the essential purpose was still to lower the price.

Banbu asked, "What price do you want to buy them at?"

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master said, "Slightly lower it, 15 raw stones."

This was the price Banbu was preparing to sell to the traveling merchants. The traveling merchants could resell it for 18 to 20 raw stones, with sufficient profit, and they would definitely be happy to establish a long-term and stable trading relationship with Banbu.

The Flower Cypress Mountain Master wanted to buy bamboo fruit at the same price as the traveling merchants? That was wanting to monopolize the profit in between.

This situation was similar to that of Mountain Master Weeping Willow.

Unfortunately, Banbu was not Mountain Master Weeping Willow.

"A very fair transaction!" Banbu nodded his antennae in agreement, then changed his tone and said indifferently, "However, I won't collect the deposit for now. The bamboo fruit yield is limited. Since it's the same price as the trade caravans, I'll contact the trade caravans first and compare before making a decision."

Banbu then comforted, "Flower Cypress Mountain Master, don't worry. Everyone is a roach tribe, and we live next to each other. No matter what, I'll leave a batch of bamboo fruit to sell to you, but the quantity… should be reduced somewhat."

PS: 10 chapters of updates are completed. There will be no more updates tonight.