Qin Siyang licked his lips and slowly said, "Principal Zhao, how many rare materials do you think would be enough for this plan?"
Zhao Longfei was taken aback for a moment, "Didn't you say you had no other rare materials left?"
"Well, I might have some."
"I knew it! You little rascal, there's no way you'd honestly reveal all your rare materials at once."
"A person must always leave themselves a way out."
"How many rare materials do you still have?"
Qin Siyang didn't answer directly but instead asked, "Principal Zhao, how many rare materials do you think would be enough?"
"I already said, a proof of trust requires more rare materials and a broader variety."
"Stop beating around the bush. Just tell me how much is enough."
Zhao Longfei looked at Qin Siyang and said, "I think if it's just Crimson Crystals, we'd need one about the size of a fist."
"Principal Zhao, be serious."
"I am serious."
"Are you kidding me? If I had a Crimson Crystal that big, this chamber of commerce should be called the Qin Chamber of Commerce, got it?"
Zhao Longfei seemed unwilling to give up and asked again, "You really don't have a Crimson Crystal that big?"
"No."
"Are you sure you don't?"
Qin Siyang grew impatient, "Why don't you go get Professor Lu's bird and interrogate me question by question?"
"Uh, no need, no need."
Zhao Longfei scratched his scar, "If you don't have one that big, then ideally, we'd need a whole Crimson Crystal along with a complete inner leaf of Titan Foxtail Grass..."
"No. Principal Zhao, stop talking nonsense. You should know that if I had the inner leaf of Titan Foxtail Grass, that would mean I have an entire Titan Foxtail Grass plant."
"You don't have that either?"
"No."
Zhao Longfei sighed.
It seemed that Qin Siyang's remaining assets weren't as exaggerated as he had hoped.
"Everything I thought you might have, you don't. So what do you have?"
Qin Siyang thought for a moment and said, "As far as I know, there are no more than four Crimson Crystals in the safe zone right now, correct?"
"That sounds about right. But who knows if someone secretly obtained one in the past two years? A conservative estimate would be five or six."
"Alright. Excluding the one I gave to Old Li, the remaining ones add up to about the size of an egg, right?"
"More or less. Your Crimson Crystal is abnormally large. If we exclude yours, the rest might not even add up to an egg's size."
Qin Siyang nodded and leaned back on the sofa in thought.
Zhao Longfei kept his gaze fixed on Qin Siyang, not moving an inch.
After a moment of silence—
Qin Siyang spoke, "The four Crimson Crystals I have left should add up to about the size of an egg."
"I'll give them all to you as proof of trust for the Zhao Chamber of Commerce."
"If the Zhao family is holding one-third of all the Crimson Crystals in the safe zone, that will be a huge selling point."
"Moreover, these four Crimson Crystals will most likely be assumed to have come from four different people."
"That would prove the Zhao family's credibility, strength, and network better than a single egg-sized Crimson Crystal."
"Principal Zhao, what do you think of my proposal?"
Zhao Longfei swallowed hard, "You... You still have that many Crimson Crystals?"
Qin Siyang sighed, looking somewhat melancholic.
"I was lucky to obtain them. Originally, I planned to save them for my retirement, but now that my life is at risk, I have no choice but to use them for an emergency."
"No, seriously, how did you get them? Most people can only get one Crimson Crystal by killing a Blood Salamander. How did you end up with so many at once?"
"Principal Zhao, to be honest, I also didn't expect my luck to be this good."
Qin Siyang was still puzzled about how that middle-aged man, who had ambushed him in the Pooled Begonia Forest, had obtained so many Crimson Crystals.
Was it just luck?
The fire of jealousy was practically burning in Zhao Longfei's eyes.
"So, uh, Little Qin, are you sure you don't have a fist-sized one...?"
"No."
Qin Siyang glanced at Zhao Longfei, "How big do you think a Blood Salamander is? Where would a fist-sized Crimson Crystal even come from?"
"Honestly, I'm not even sure such a large Crimson Crystal exists."
Zhao Longfei thought about the Blood Salamander corpse Li Tianming had brought back to the safe zone. It had been over two meters long. For a low-tier divine beast, that was already considered quite large.
If there were a Crimson Crystal the size of a fist, just how massive would the Blood Salamander that produced it have to be? Would the Pooled Begonia even be able to hold it?
Zhao Longfei nodded slightly, acknowledging Qin Siyang's point.
"Alright, I understand."
"So when will you give them to us? That will determine when we can officially announce the formation of the Zhao Chamber of Commerce."
"Principal Zhao, there's no rush. There's still something else we haven't discussed."
Qin Siyang poured himself a glass of water and took a sip to moisten his throat.
"I'm using my life savings to help the Zhao family build their chamber of commerce, and the Zhao family isn't offering anything in return?"
Zhao Longfei shook his head as if he had expected this, "I knew you wouldn't make this easy. Alright, just say it—what are your conditions?"
"Without me, the Zhao Chamber of Commerce wouldn't exist."
"So I should at least be made president, right?"
"President? Are you joking?"
Zhao Longfei slammed his hand on the sofa armrest, "This is the Zhao Chamber of Commerce, not the Qin Chamber of Commerce! The president is Sifang. Don't even think about it!"
"Principal Zhao, why are you so worked up? We're negotiating terms here, let's discuss this rationally."
"Little Zhao is the president, and we're like brothers. So how about I take a vice president position to assist him?"
"Of course, this vice president role can't be just a title. It has to come with a seat on the board of directors, with decision-making power and dividends."
"The three treasures of the Zhao Chamber of Commerce are all tied to me, that's a well-known fact. Giving me a vice president and board member position seems perfectly reasonable."
Even though Qin Siyang wasn't sure what benefits being vice president would bring, he felt that after offering so much, not taking advantage of the situation would be foolish.
Who knew when it might come in handy?
"You're making outrageous demands. Aren't you afraid of overreaching?"
Qin Siyang looked indifferent, "Principal Zhao, we're talking about four Crimson Crystals, totaling the size of an egg. Do you even realize how much they'd be worth at an auction? I'm giving them all to you! And you're still hesitating over a vice president title?"
Zhao Longfei snorted, "If you really have the guts, go ahead and auction them off. I'd love to see if you dare to put them all out in the open."
"Principal Zhao, we're having a business discussion here. Why do you keep making veiled threats?"
Zhao Longfei scrutinized Qin Siyang for a long moment.
"Fine, I'll discuss it with my brother."
"Principal Zhao, let Old Zhao know—this is my bottom line."
"You actually have a bottom line?"
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