Half an hour later.
These barbarians gathered again in the side hall. The food and drink they had just eaten had been tasteless, and they had only eaten a few bites. Their minds were still preoccupied with the purchases.
The wicked husband arrived late, immediately drawing everyone's attention as soon as he entered. He calmly took his seat at the head of the table, a slight smile on his face. "What have you all decided?"
The wicked man glanced around at the foreign envoys huddled together in the side hall, a smile on his face, but in his mind he was quickly trying to decipher each person's expression.
If the lunch just now was a chance for them to catch their breath and rethink their plans, now it's time for a real showdown.
“We have already discussed it.” The man from the Western Regions who had raised the price first stepped forward, looking anxious, as if afraid that if he was a step too late, someone else would snatch it away. “Grand Commandant, please grant us more quotas. Yesterday we promised to raise the price by 10%, but we also hope that the quantity we want can be allocated more.”
The implication was that they were willing to pay more, but they insisted on securing the wine and sugar first. After all, they had traveled all the way to Xianyang and didn't want to return empty-handed, nor did they want to miss out on the opportunity by only seizing a small amount of goods.
Seeing this, the envoy from Haidong was not to be outdone and quickly followed: "Grand Commandant, we are also willing to increase the price by 10%. But if we can further ally with Qin, we are willing to increase the price by 20% when purchasing Qin goods in the future..."
"Add 20%?"
"Wow...that's really impressive!"
The side hall erupted in an uproar, with many people exclaiming in surprise, while others frowned inwardly.
Whether it's the barbarians from the Western Regions or even further afield, most can only afford a 10% or 15% price increase; this sudden 20% price hike is clearly an attempt to preemptively hoard goods and gain an advantage by "striking first."
Upon hearing this, the wicked man remained outwardly calm, merely toying with the teacup on the table, while inwardly he was secretly overjoyed.
Adding 20% means a huge amount of money flowing into their pockets. These foreigners are indeed afraid of not getting their share, and they're starting to panic.
"Please, everyone, have a moment to quiet down." He coughed lightly, then smiled and gestured with his hand. "Since I, the Grand Commandant, have received His Majesty's approval to take charge of this matter, I will naturally not show favoritism to anyone. However, since someone wants to increase their share by 20%, then..."
He paused deliberately, as if leaving a tense opening, "I have another suggestion—if you only want to lock in a portion of the wine and sugar, and since you don't have much money or valuables with you, you might as well pay a deposit."
"As long as you pay a sufficient deposit, my Qin state will produce day and night without stopping. I guarantee that those who have paid the deposit will have goods available whenever they come."
The implication was clear: by handing over the deposit, we would operate at full capacity to prevent you from suddenly changing your mind and leaving a large amount of goods stuck in Qin's hands.
"This is brilliant!" one of the envoys exclaimed, his face beaming with excitement.
The Western Region man who had raised the price by 10% earlier couldn't contain himself. His lips twitched slightly, but he forced a smile: "Grand Commandant, don't forget that we were the first to agree to raise the price yesterday. Don't let the later ones beat us to it."
"Of course not." The wicked man chuckled. "Our Great Qin has always been fair and impartial in its dealings. This is also taking into account the circumstances of others, and it won't ruin the reputation of our Great Qin for no reason."
"Those of you with sufficient funds can deliver the goods on the spot. The current inventory of my Qin state can definitely meet your needs."
Within moments, three or four envoys had their attendants bring out gold, silver, gems, or rare materials, eager to add to their deposits in order to gain a competitive edge.
The atmosphere in the side hall grew increasingly tense, but the wicked man sat there calmly, sipping his tea as if nothing was amiss.
"Erhe, hurry up and register everyone. Those who are making direct purchases will be taken to pick up their goods later. Those who are paying a deposit should note when they will come to pick up their goods..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the barbarians swarmed forward, afraid of falling behind others.
Zhang Erhe was instantly swallowed up by the sea of people.
The wicked man chuckled as he watched Zhang Erhe stagger and nearly fall to the ground, then gestured for his guards to step forward and maintain order.
As soon as the burly Qin soldiers stood still, they immediately steadied the barbarians' hurried pace, allowing Zhang Erhe to catch his breath.
"Don't rush, don't rush—" Zhang Erhe called out repeatedly, took out a notebook and began to check the financial and material items reported by each envoy. After the registration was completed, he had his attendants collect them one by one.
Everyone present took out their most treasured possessions and had their attendants unload the money and valuables they had prepared in advance from the carriages outside the mansion.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Erhe immediately went into the courtyard and summoned his guards to assist in the inventory. In no time, the large courtyard was filled with all sorts of exotic treasures, resembling a miniature treasure exhibition.
"These guys really know how to spend a fortune," the wicked man murmured, his eyes gleaming.
If he hadn't had that quick thinking and brought up the deposit, we probably would have collected much less money today! Well, that's fine too, everyone who's joined today will have to leave a big piece of meat behind.
The signing and registration process was extremely complicated. Zhang Erhe and several clerks in the mansion were so busy that they didn't even have time to drink water.
The wicked man sat leisurely in his chair, his eyes slightly narrowed, letting the group of foreign guests rush around, wanting to bargain further.
But he always manages to quietly say "As usual, the rules cannot be broken" at crucial moments, accompanied by an unintentional sneer, instantly shutting the other party up.
After much fuss, the wealthy envoys successfully secured the "first-come, first-served" purchase quotas and went to the warehouses or government warehouses with beaming smiles, inspecting the goods and discussing how to ship them back to their home countries.
Other envoys, lacking sufficient funds, could only watch with envy, hoping that after paying their deposits, they would return and Qin would still have enough stock available.
As the crowd gradually dispersed and the noise in the courtyard finally subsided, the wicked man got up and stretched his slightly stiff shoulders.
Zhang Erhe walked up to him carrying a thick record book, his voice brimming with barely concealed excitement: "Grand Commandant, after this whole ordeal, we've collected a considerable amount of deposits alone, plus cash on delivery, the total... is enormous!"
At this point, he swallowed hard, finding it hard to believe what earth-shattering things the wicked man would be able to do once these treasures and gold and silver entered the imperial treasury.
"Don't be too happy yet." The wicked man put down his teacup, casually flipped through a few pages of the register, and only after confirming that there were no errors did he hand it back to Zhang Erhe.
"These riches are ultimately finite."
"The real big spenders are those who come after they go back; their funds are truly terrifying."
"Right now... we've only taken a small slice of the profits from this first batch of easy prey!"
Speaking of the number of times, the wicked man slapped his forehead and hurriedly ordered, "I almost forgot, you quickly go and inform these barbarians that this is the end of it... From now on, all trade will be conducted at the distribution market, so that they don't have to travel such a long distance."
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