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"Spot goods refer to goods that can be exchanged on the spot, while futures require a specified date for exchange. Brother Qian, didn't you say you needed to adjust the goods and they could only be exchanged in ten days?" Wang Shouzhe casually shared some knowledge with him.
"Makes sense, after hearing your explanation, Younger Brother Shouzhe, I understand the difference," Steward Qian said with a reinvigorated spirit, his eyes rolling as he whispered, "Younger Brother Shouzhe, these five thousand bags of Insecticide Powder are definitely not self-prepared. Could it be that you've found a new business opportunity?"
"Haha, as Brother Qian mentioned, it's indeed a new business opportunity," Wang Shouzhe said with a smile while sipping his tea. "I'm helping your trading company clear stock while earning a modest profit from it. It's a win-win situation. Brother Qian, give us a sincere price."
"Hahaha, a win-win situation indeed. Your words are truly interesting, Younger Brother Shouzhe, so I won't pry further. In that case, these five thousand bags of Insecticide Powder will be given to you at a 10% discount, making it a total of 4,500 Qian Gold."
"Four thousand!"
"Four thousand two hundred is the lowest, Younger Brother."
"Four thousand two hundred it is, but I will use the Ping'an Wang Clan's credit to pay for the current order," Wang Shouzhe stated calmly. "In a month, I will hand over four thousand two hundred Qian Gold, not a single coin less."
Steward Qian was slightly taken aback but immediately chuckled, "This is feasible, but we must draft a contract. If the payment cannot be made on time, our trading company reserves the right to use any means necessary to collect the payment."
Even though the Wang Clan has fallen into hard times, it is still a Black Tortoise Noble Family with some wealth. Just selling the Fenggu Farm alone would bring at least ten thousand Qian Gold. As long as there's a contract, the powerful Qiaan's Trading Company has ways to recover this debt.
"Even if Brother Qian hadn't mentioned a contract, I would still want to draft one," Wang Shouzhe said seriously. "I am already arranging for merchant ships. In three days, I will send someone to your warehouse to move two thousand bags of Insecticide Powder. The second batch will be in ten days. If your company breaches the contract or fails to deliver the goods, you must pay us three times the contract amount as compensation."
"Do not worry, Younger Brother. The integrity of Qiaan's Trading Company is the foundation of its standing for hundreds of years," Steward Qian said with a very solemn expression. "One way or another, we will deliver the goods on time and in full."
"I trust in your company's integrity, but this deal is significant to our little Ping'an Wang Family," Wang Shouzhe also replied with a serious expression. "Having it written and drawn up in black and white makes me feel at ease."
"Since that's the case, let's write it down." Steward Qian did not see any reason for their side to breach the contract, after all, it was merely a transaction of a few thousand Qian Gold, which was nothing for the entire Qiaan's Trading Company.
The two spent a full hour, during which Wang Shouzhe scrutinized every detail, making clear all the terms of the contract.
By the time both parties had signed and sealed the contract, Steward Qian was already sweating. He wiped his brow and smiled wryly, "In all my twenty years in business, this is the first time I've seen such detailed contract terms and meticulous wording. But then again, such detailed contract terms avoid unnecessary disputes in the future and have truly opened my eyes and taught me a lesson."
Hehe~
Wang Shouzhe just smiled. What was this? On Earth, some complex commercial contracts were a hundred times more intricate than this rough contract, making it look like a celestial script to laymen.
Finally obtaining the contract, the weight in Wang Shouzhe's heart seemed to lift.
Although based on his understanding of Qiaan's Trading Company, even without such a detailed contract, they would not violate their own integrity. The credibility accumulated over hundreds of years is the most valuable asset of a trading company.
As for sending experts to destroy a family for this little amount of money? That was even more impossible.
Although Ancestor Longyan's days are numbered, she remains a veteran Ancestor Spirit Platform from Purple Mansion Academy. Who knows what trump cards she has hidden? Once she disregards her life and erupts with a strike, it's highly likely she could take down a Spirit Platform Realm expert.
All reasons considered, this was the risky decision Wang Shouzhe dared to make. There was no choice—the Wang Family was too poor, so poor that they had to scrimp for even a single "Minor Primordial Cultivation Pill," and continuing in such a way would only lead to a vicious cycle.
The only one he felt sorry for might just be this Steward Qian.
Being middle-aged and still just a small steward of a branch in a secluded region indicates he wasn't born into a high status within the well-rooted Qiaan Family. This loss-making operation might very well have the branch shopkeeper making him take the blame.
"Brother Qian, this cooperation was a pleasure," Wang Shouzhe said as he rose to take his leave, then whispered, "If things turn out as expected, in the near future, I will present you with a grand reward."
Steard Qian was taken aback, then immediately smiled and said, "Thank you, Younger Brother, for the good omen. Let me see you out, Younger Brother Shouzhe." Amidst the laughter and conversation, Steward Qian personally escorted Wang Shouzhe to the main door.
Once he left Qiaan's Trading Company, Wang Shouzhe's mood became immensely better. In three days, just three days, he could greatly alleviate the Wang Family's financial crisis.
"Patriarch."
Two Household Generals who had been waiting at the door approached leading horses, greeting him respectfully.
"Wang Zhong, Wang Yong," Wang Shouzhe smiled, "It's been a long time since I've been out. Accompany me for a stroll in the Guardian City."
"Yes, Patriarch." The two Household Generals responded respectfully, leading the horses and accompanying Wang Shouzhe on a casual stroll within the Guardian City.
When Ancestor Zhou Xuan was alive, Wang Clan was at its peak with forty-seven Household Generals, and the highest-cultivated one reached the Ninth Layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
Now, the Wang Clan has only nine Household Generals, with the highest cultivation at merely the Fifth Layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
Household Generals differ from household servants; they are no longer slave labor but attached citizens, though unlike Foreign Ministers who are contractually hired outsiders.
The majority of Household Generals are trusted individuals nurtured within the clan. They hold a relatively high status and receive good treatment but do not have the freedom to come and go as they please. They are born as Household Generals and die as Household Generals.
Their fate, life, and death are tightly bound to the main family, sharing honor and disgrace. Therefore, many clans often bind exceptional Household Generals with children from collateral or lowborn lines within the family. This not only creates stronger ties but can also enhance the family's bloodline.
The nine current Household Generals of the Wang Clan are descendants of Household Generals personally nurtured by Ancestor Zhou Xuan, passed down through generations, and are very loyal.
"Wang Zhong, I remember your youngest son is already seven or eight years old?" Wang Shouzhe asked casually, "Has his Black Tortoise Talent been evaluated?"
Wang Zhong hastened to catch up and replied, "Thanks to the Patriarch's concern, my son participated in this year's spring talent assessment and was rated as Lower Grade C. He is now being enlightened and starting the meridian nurturing stage in the Clan Academy."
Speaking, he chuckled slightly, clearly very pleased with his son's talent.
Black Tortoise Talent is first divided by whether it can be rated or not, which determines its potential for cultivation. Among rated talents, there are four levels: Grades A, B, C, and D. Being rated as Lower Grade C is already second tier and worth the clan's efforts to cultivate.
"Truly, a cub takes after a tiger," Wang Shouzhe praised, "Train hard, and he'll surpass you in the future."
"Thank you for your kind words, Patriarch." Wang Zhong smiled with crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. He was thirty-six this year and already had two sons, one older and one younger, both rated with Black Tortoise Talent. The older son, now fifteen, would be an adult in a year and could become a Household General to serve the clan. The younger son had even achieved Lower Grade C talent, entering the key cultivation sequence.
On the other hand, the nearby Household General Wang Yong had a somewhat embarrassed expression. He was about the same age as Wang Zhong, married to a Wang Family collateral woman, and had fathered a son and a daughter.
His son's Black Tortoise Talent tested unrated, leaving him to study literature. Now seventeen, he works at the Silkworm Manor, while his daughter was only six and yet to test for Black Tortoise Talent. Even if she were to have talent, she was still just a girl.
"Wang Yong, you should seize the last few years and make more efforts with your wife to have another child," Wang Zhong teased with a laugh, "Perhaps you'll get lucky and have a Lower Grade B boy."
"Go, go, go!" Wang Yong snapped impatiently, becoming somewhat sullen on this topic.
The trio strolled leisurely through Changning Guard City as Wang Shouzhe's memories of Changning City started to refresh. The city had a permanent population of about 150,000, housing several old Black Tortoise Noble Families, with the Changning Xu Family being the closest to the Ping'an Wang Family.
But ultimately, they were only somewhat close, the difference in their scales growing increasingly vast, no longer on the same playing field. Thus, Wang Shouzhe had no intention of visiting Patriarch Xu of the Xu Family.
Besides traditional farming estates, the Changning Xu Family's unique enterprise focused mainly on silk weaving workshops.
The cotton and hemp cocoons produced in the entire Changning Guard Region were supplied to several workshops owned by the Xu Family, who then manufactured textiles and silk, selling them throughout the county, yielding considerable profits.
One of Ping'an Wang Family's pillar industries, the Xinmao Silk Farm, supplied its raw cocoons to the Xu Family in Changning.
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