Chapter 244 The First Factor in Making Money

Dage's Death Rose was sheathed, her face calm and composed, showing no particular emotion—she had seen such things too many times, and anything less than a decisive move wouldn't be enough to intimidate these wolves.

All the vendors were stunned, their vision darkening, feeling as if they were sitting at home when disaster struck from out of nowhere.

If it were any other goods, they could simply stop selling them, but what terrified them now was that this item was rarely bought by anyone...

Occasionally, a few tourists on Freedom Island might buy some, or perhaps a few high-level alchemists in need of a fourth-grade magic potion, but the market was so small that even a hundred units would likely rot unsold, let alone a thousand. These people had brought in the goods, only to find themselves in a bind with no buyers.

Earlier, they had relied on their numbers to bully the outsider, but now they realized that the person opposite was not just tough... No, no, no!

Looking at the ears scattered on the ground and smelling the chilling blood, this wasn't just a tough opponent; this was Death itself!

Everyone around was stunned, no one daring to step forward, the area falling silent except for the moans of those who had lost their ears. Most importantly, everyone here was shrewd; otherwise, they wouldn't have survived. The island often saw important figures and experts, and the beautiful woman before them was clearly a Ghost-level expert. And who could the person be that could afford to have a Ghost-level beauty as a bodyguard?

Clearly, they were not someone to be provoked.

"Quickly pick them up; maybe a demon hunter can reattach them," Old Wang said in a more serious tone once the surroundings quieted down. "Making money through trade is supposed to be a joyful thing. Why must you resort to violence? Now look, all the money you earn will go to paying for medicinal fees. Isn't that a loss? Harmony brings wealth."

Hearing his tone soften, some of the vendors began to recover from their shock. After all, it wasn't their ears that had been cut off. As for those who were injured, they gritted their teeth and stopped groaning. They were used to living on the edge, and scars were a common part of their lives, though today's marks were a bit larger than usual.

"Yes, yes, harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth!" everyone chimed in. Since they couldn't fight back, what else could they do but get back to business?

"Sir," someone ventured, "but the price of a thousand is really a bit too..."

Normally, they sold them for around twelve hundred each, at least eleven hundred. Now, they weren't trying to cheat anyone; if the smiling tiger still wanted the goods, they'd sell them to him for eleven hundred. As for the imbalance, who could they blame but their own greed?

"How about this, let's halve the price. It was originally two thousand five hundred, so how about one thousand two hundred and fifty?"

"If that doesn't work, one thousand two hundred is fine too!"

"The price of one thousand is just the previous price," Old Wang said with a chuckling smile. "It indeed seems a bit inappropriate."

Hearing this, the surrounding vendors immediately heaved a sigh of relief, their minds becoming active again.

They had taken a loss, but they still needed to make a profit where they could.

But before they could properly think about how to negotiate, they heard Wang Feng say with another chuckling smile, "The buying price has changed now, it's uniformly six hundred!"

"Wh-what?"

There was an immediate silence all around, with many people gaping in shock.

Old Wang wasn't clear about the exact bottom price these people paid for the algae cores, but he had already inquired from the pirate leader Old Sha a couple of days ago. It was said that if you had connections, you could get them for four or five hundred each in the nearby underwater city, and even at six hundred, that included transportation costs.

"Si-sir..." Some vendors' voices trembled, those who had connections to buy from the underwater city were better off, but some had no way to source the algae cores from there. They had to resupply from other free ports, getting hit by middlemen, making their costs more than six hundred: "Sir, we really can't sell at six hundred!"

Cries of distress immediately filled the air, as everyone wailed and moaned.

"Heaven! This is taking our lives away!"

"Sir, I'm different from them. I have parents to support and children to raise; my whole family depends on my shop for food. With this move of yours, I'll be working for nothing for half a year. There's no one who buys things like this..."

"Sir! No more words, it's our fault, we failed to recognize your greatness! How about this, let's go back to the original price, one thousand? I'll personally deliver it to your residence without a second thought!"

"Sir, six hundred is really too low! How about this, forget one thousand, let's do nine hundred and fifty!"

"Nine hundred! Sir, I'll give... no, you give me nine hundred! I'll sell all of them at nine hundred!"

The vendors complained bitterly but held firm, knowing that at six hundred, many wouldn't even cover their costs. For merchants, this was like drinking their blood, and they couldn't afford to give in. A few who could get wholesale prices from the underwater city and still make a small profit at six hundred were now being glared at fiercely by the others, as if they would tear them apart if they dared to agree to the price.

Lao Wang has figured it out, now all that’s missing is someone who’s the first to try it.

"I gave you a chance to buy goods worth one thousand, but you didn't make it..." Lao Wang sighed, "Well, I'll give you another chance. The first person who comes to me to sell goods, I'll give him nine hundred, the second one eight hundred, the third one seven hundred, and the rest all six hundred!"

The surroundings fell silent for a moment, and the thin, bamboo-like boss was the first to react, rushing to Old Wang's side: "Sir, me! I'm the first to sell, nine hundred!"

Following this, the merchants were greatly enraged.

Someone yelled, "Jin Laoyao! Why are you the first one? I have more goods than you, so let me be the first one!"

"Is there anyone with a sharper mind who has already shouted: 'Sir, sir! I'm the second, I've got eight hundred!'"

There were several people who wanted to sell for 800 yuan. Lao Wang randomly picked a female vendor who looked more pleasing to the eye and said, "It's you. Second prize, 800 yuan! Who wants to sell for 700 yuan?"

Oh my goodness!

Now everyone realized that if they were a step slower, they would not get any of the seven hundred!

"I'm seven hundred!"

"Me, me, me! Sir, pick me!"

Old Wang casually picked another one, and then several merchants who could get goods from the Underwater City also took the opportunity to sell at six hundred. At this moment, who still cares about how much they earn? Being able to sell is the real deal. This old man is so shrewd, not a word of truth comes out of his mouth. Who knows how much he will actually take? If they are any slower, they might find that he has stopped collecting, leaving them with all the goods in their hands, which would be a real disaster.

Besides, they can get the wholesale price, so even if they sell it for 600, they won’t lose money, and they can even earn some money for drinks.

In just a few seconds, half of the vendors had sold their goods. Some vendors were counting money, but Uncle Wang was already counting the goods happily. The remaining vendors were shocked, angry and anxious, but they also knew that the game was over.

Not selling? Are you planning to keep it to yourself? Besides, they've already received the goods; they don't care whether you sell or not. There's no leverage left for anyone to negotiate with. But... six hundred, that's a loss-making deal!

They were still somewhat hesitant.

But Old Wang calmly said, "It’s six hundred now, and it might drop to five hundred in a bit..."

The merchants felt their blood rush to their heads, feeling dizzy and almost fainting.

What was the point of holding out at this moment? If they held on any longer, they’d lose everything!

"I... I’ll sell..."

...

Even if they sold at six hundred, the key issue was that Old Wang was being very selective, inspecting each item before accepting it.

Fortunately, these merchants had already been very selective when they bought the goods yesterday, given the price of two thousand five hundred. If the quality was poor, it would be unacceptable. Therefore, there weren’t many items that Old Wang rejected.

Over sixty boxes of seaweed nuclei were packed into three large water tanks, totaling over one thousand two hundred pieces. Including the previous purchases at nine hundred and eight hundred each, Old Wang rounded up the total and threw out eight hundred thousand. The beastmen then transported these items to the Nisan, which was docked at the shipyard. The management center had already notified Old Wang and Karida the night before, confirming that they had reached an agreement with the ship owner.

The merchants, dejected, quickly dispersed after selling their goods, as if staying within a hundred feet of Old Wang would bring them bad luck.

Karida watched as the price plummeted from two thousand five hundred to six hundred, and what was more surprising was that the merchants were willing to sell at this price. She found it both astonishing and amusing.

She could understand some of Wang Feng’s tactics, including borrowing her sword, but not all the details.

Taking advantage of Wang Feng’s inventory check, she couldn’t help but ask, "Come on, tell me, since you wanted to buy, why didn’t you say so from the beginning? Why make it so complicated? And six hundred should be a loss, yet they’re willing to sell to you..."

"Karida, you don’t know the whole story. If I had started bargaining with them right away, they wouldn’t have bought so much of this stuff. But once they saw a sucker willing to buy, they thought they had a golden opportunity. Greed is the root of all evil," Old Wang said, pointing at the green algae nuclei in the water tanks, clearly pleased with himself. "The key is that the demand for this stuff in the market is very low, and the land markets are already controlled by others. If they can’t sell it, keeping it will mean a huge loss."

This wasn’t just smart thinking; it was also a deep understanding of the market. After all, he had frequently dealt with the Jinbeibei Auction House and had consulted with pirates who knew the ins and outs of the sea.

Information! It’s always the first and most important factor in making money.