After listening to Cheng Xingye's question, Zhu Hongbo frowned and said, "Which of these brokers is truly reliable? However, when Lao Wu was around, I did complete two transactions with him. He took a lot of cut, but in the end, nothing went wrong, and the transactions were completed smoothly."
Cheng Xingye also knew that these middlemen who specialized in connecting people in the black market were all swindlers who cheated their superiors and subordinates, and had no credibility whatsoever. Yet, the black market couldn't do without some of them.
The black market mainly deals in contraband goods of unknown origin, and buyers and sellers avoid discussing it, making it difficult to complete a transaction. These brokers, however, are well-informed and facilitate indirect communication, enabling buyers and sellers to quickly complete transactions. They are an indispensable part of the black market.
"Did he say how much of this batch of wound medicine there was?" Cheng Xingye asked.
“It’s a huge deal. This broker, nicknamed Ma San, even revealed that the other party also has a source of sulfonamides,” Zhu Hongbo replied, deliberately lowering his voice.
"That's impossible!" Cheng Xingye was clearly shocked by Zhu Hongbo's words. "There's no sulfonamide available on the market at all, how could that be! Is his word credible?"
Zhu Hongbo nodded and replied, "Ma San was very confident, even promising that we wouldn't need to pay a deposit and could inspect the goods first. However, the condition is that the price is 30% higher than the market price, and we must pay in full upfront, all in US dollars. This quote is too expensive, and I'm unsure, which is why I'm specifically asking for your opinion!"
Cheng Xingye pondered for a moment and said, "If sulfonamides really exist, even if they're 30% more expensive, we must get them. Believe me, in a few months, even with that 30% price, it'll still be cheap. The sooner we get them, the better. But we must be careful with this deal. We must strictly control the authenticity of the drugs. If it turns out to be a con artist, we'll suffer huge losses!"
At this point, Cheng Xingye tapped the table lightly with one hand, thought carefully for a while, and finally made up his mind to say, "I will personally inspect the goods. I believe that with my eyesight, no fake medicine can fool me!"
Cheng Xingye comes from a family of doctors and is not only proficient in traditional Chinese medicine but also quite knowledgeable in Western medicine. He is naturally very confident in his ability to identify medicines. This transaction is too large and too valuable; he can only feel at ease if he completes it personally.
However, this was opposed by Zhu Hongbo, since Cheng Xingye was the top leader in the pharmaceutical sector, and it would be somewhat presumptuous for him to personally intervene!
"That won't do, it's too dangerous! You're the top organizer! We have plenty of people who understand medicine; I can take a couple more to inspect the goods. There won't be any problems!" Zhu Hongbo shook his head in opposition.
Cheng Xingye waved his hand and said, "There are people who understand pharmaceuticals, but they don't have the authority to make decisions on the spot. If this batch of pharmaceuticals really contains sulfonamides, it is of great value and definitely not something they can decide on the spot. So the only one who understands pharmaceuticals and has the authority to make decisions on the spot is me."
He waved his hand, stopping Zhu Hongbo from saying what he was about to say: "It's settled then! You tell that middleman to arrange for us to meet with the seller as soon as possible, and at the same time, mobilize armed personnel to be ready for any eventuality. This is to prevent the other party from doing business dishonestly!"
They are all experienced veterans who consider things carefully and have backup plans before taking any risks!
"Understood, I'll arrange it right away!" Zhu Hongbo nodded in agreement, then got up and quickly left!
The next morning, several people sat facing each other in a private room of a teahouse.
A burly, dark-skinned, fierce-looking middle-aged man with a diagonal scar on his cheek sat at the table, behind him a young man with a sallow complexion and a strong build.
Opposite these two men were Cheng Xingye and Zhu Hongbo.
Sitting in the very center was a middle-aged man with a slender face and a small mustache. His eyes were sharp and he was clearly a shrewd man. He was Ma San, the one who had arranged this deal.
At this point, he spoke first, introducing them: "Boss Gao, this is Boss Zhu and Boss Cheng, both of whom are reputable merchants in Nanjing with substantial financial resources."
As long as Boss Gao has good goods, there's no reason this deal shouldn't fall through. I've been in this business for many years, and my reputation is well-established. Thanks to everyone's patronage, all my deals have been completed without a problem. Now that we're all sitting together, everything is negotiable!
After saying that, he gestured and introduced, "This is Mr. Gao Jin from Shandong. He has quite a lot of good goods. Please get to know him better!"
With a fierce face and a burly build, Gao Jin said in a deep voice, "I'm a rough man, and I don't know how to haggle in business. My conditions are very simple: as long as you agree to my price, you can inspect the goods first and check their authenticity. Then you can pay the full amount on the spot, and the goods are yours! It's that simple! How about it?"
Cheng Xingye smiled slightly and said unhurriedly, "Mr. Gao, you haven't been in the pharmaceutical business before, have you? The price of medicines isn't fixed. Especially traditional Chinese medicine, where quality matters."
Frankly speaking, even for the same medicine, its quality and efficacy can vary greatly. Can the Yunnan Baiyao made in a small workshop be priced the same as the Yunnan Baiyao produced by Huanzhang Pharmacy?
In particular, traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the proportions of ingredients and the quality of raw materials. The quality of the raw materials is crucial, and their prices fluctuate greatly.
Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine is unlike Western medicine, where the finished products of Western medicine are generally not much different and the prices are usually the same.
"How can we know the quality of this batch of medicines if we haven't inspected them?"
Cheng Xingye's words were reasonable and well-founded, easily leaving Gao Jin speechless, and he also intentionally or unintentionally steered the conversation toward sulfonamides!
Sure enough, Gao Jin glared at him and said disdainfully, "The most expensive thing I have here is Western medicine, and it's the best Western medicine, called sulfonamide. You didn't know that, did you? It's said to be the best miracle drug in the world, capable of curing all diseases. There's no need to test it, is there? Besides, do you even know how to test it? Can you even tell if it's good or bad?"
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