Chapter 367 - 339: Change in Disparity
The wooden boat sat on the ground in the Gated Community like an exhibit, on full display for any passing residents.
"Boss Huang, pushing your boat again, I see," someone who knew Huang Tao teased with a smile.
"Just doing business. You want one?" Huang Tao just smiled, unconcerned, and pitched it back to him.
"Can’t afford it, it’s too expensive. I’ll just stick to the big ships," the man said, waving his hand dismissively.
Many passing residents came over for a look, but in the end, most of them just glanced at it, asked for the price, and walked away.
"Brother Huang, I still think the price is too high," a young man following behind Huang Tao said in a low voice.
Huang Tao smiled and said, "The cost is what it is, so the price can’t be that cheap. I don’t think the product is the problem. I think we’re just pitching to the wrong people."
He turned his head toward Building 8, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
These ordinary residents mostly had limited assets. Even if they wanted to buy one, they couldn’t afford it. Besides, if they moved to a new map, the boats’ usefulness would be greatly diminished.
For one, the boats could only travel on water. If they were transported to an environment with no water, the boats would just sit at home collecting dust.
For another, not every map was this close to the water.
You could just walk a few steps out of the Gated Community and be at the seaside.
If the water source was far away, just hauling the boat back and forth every day would be a huge hassle. And if it was left out in the wild, it could easily be damaged.
All things considered, Huang Tao felt that looking for ordinary buyers was a dead end. He needed to find a suitable major buyer.
The Alliance Association in the Gated Community was on its last legs.
Over the past several days, members of the Alliance Association had been trickling away. They had mostly all left, with only two or three hundred people remaining in the Alliance.
Many of those who remained were the core base whose interests were tied to the Alliance Association.
So, the suitable buyer was the Qin Alliance.
Huang Tao spotted a passerby, his eyes lighting up. He quickly walked over to greet him. "Old Zheng, Old Zheng."
Zheng Yuan stopped. His beard was getting thicker, and he wore a straw hat woven from branches on his head. He had on a tailored, off-white short jacket, wide-legged trousers, and sandals. In his left hand, he carried a large bucket, and in his right, a Steel Fork. Behind him followed five or six similarly dressed men.
"Old Huang, what’s up?"
Huang Tao explained his purpose.
Zheng Yuan was taken aback, then his gaze fell on the boat behind him. "You want to sell your boat to the Qin Alliance?"
Zheng Yuan’s expression was strange. The Qin Alliance had its own shipyard; why would they possibly buy boats from him?
’Isn’t this a joke?’
He immediately waved his hand. "There’s no use asking me. I’m just the captain of a hunting squad. For something this big, you have to find Chairman Qin."
"I can’t get a meeting with him," Huang Tao said with a bitter smile.
Qin Ziwen had hardly shown his face in public recently. There was no opportunity to ask about his whereabouts. In fact, anyone he asked would just give him a wary look, as if wondering what he was up to.
Thinking of this, Huang Tao had mixed feelings.
He didn’t know when it started, but the distance between him and Chairman Qin had grown wider and wider. In the past, he could still get a meeting based on their old friendship.
Now, he had to make an appointment. Even then, when he asked when he could actually meet, he would only get a vague answer: "Countless people want to see Chairman Qin every day. If he met with everyone, how could the old chairman possibly manage? Besides, you’re not even a member of our Qin Alliance. Go home and wait for news."
Hearing this, Zheng Yuan paused for a moment. He was silent for a while, then said, "I can’t help you then. But I heard that a certain grand steward is the one managing things in the Qin Alliance now. You should be able to get somewhere by finding Steward Jia."
Half an hour later, Huang Tao stared at Zhang Bo, who sat across from him. They looked at each other, speechless.
"Why is it you?"
"And why can’t it be me?" Zhang Bo retorted with an annoyed laugh. "What’s wrong with me? Am I not worthy of meeting you?"
"No, it’s not that..." Huang Tao said helplessly. He had asked someone to arrange a meeting with that Steward Jia, but in the end, he didn’t even get to see the man. Instead, he was met by this former colleague who had jumped ship from the Alliance Association just a week ago.
Ever since the Alliance Association started losing members on a massive scale, this guy had dropped all pretense. He’d grabbed a bucket, scurried over to the other side, and even poached a batch of skilled families on his way out.
He heard that because of his smooth way of handling things, he was now running errands for that Steward Jia, dealing with miscellaneous matters.
’So my business has been classified as a "miscellaneous matter"...’
Zhang Bo said, "Lord Jia is busy too. There’s a big move happening within the Alliance. You know how the ’Trade Life for Death’ thing has been causing a huge stir recently. The Chairman only points out the general direction; Lord Jia is in charge of all the specific details. He’s an old man with graying hair, so busy every day that his feet don’t touch the ground. Where would he find the time to discuss a small collaboration like yours?"
Huang Tao fell silent. ’The business I’d thrown myself into, the one I had such big plans for, was just a "small collaboration" in their eyes?’
The stark contrast sent a complex, indescribable emotion through him.
He secretly took a deep breath to compose himself. Huang Tao asked, "Are you authorized to make a decision?"
"I am," Zhang Bo nodded. "But there’s absolutely no way we can agree to your terms."
Huang Tao’s eyes flickered. ’Business is all about negotiation, after all. What deal is ever settled on the first try?’
He remembered a time when he used to sell health supplements, going door to door. Sometimes he’d even get chased out with a broom. This was nothing!
At that thought, Huang Tao secretly gave himself a pep talk. ’It’s fine. I can definitely make this work.’
Zhang Bo’s voice continued from across the table. "We have just one condition. If you can agree, we have a deal. If not, it doesn’t matter. We’re not going to buy your little boats. There’s no need. They’re too small, a waste of resources.
"If our own shipyard wanted to, we could build a dozen of them a day and launch them, but it’s a waste of time and energy. You probably don’t know this, but the Qin Alliance now has two shipyards. The second one is already up and running, staffed by those Fishman artisans. You know about the Fishmen, right? That other race that looks short and skinny but is actually incredibly strong. The artisans in there are amazing—all skilled workers."
Zhang Bo looked at Huang Tao with a hint of pity.
If it had been any other industry, it would have been fine. But he just had to run straight into the Qin Alliance’s latest booming business: shipyards.
"If you’re not buying... then what are you...?" Huang Tao murmured.
"Rent!"
Zhang Bo gave his answer.
Huang Tao’s heart sank at his words.
Zhang Bo continued, "We can rent them. We’ll do it as a partnership. You keep your boats in the coastal waters near the Gated Community and rent them out to the Qin Alliance. We’ll rent the small boats from you on a contract basis. If a boat is damaged during that time, as long as it’s due to an operational error, we’ll compensate you for it. If it’s a quality issue, then you’re responsible."
Huang Tao’s cheek twitched slightly. "If I’m just renting them out, I might not even make my costs back."
Zhang Bo offered a placating smile. "Why wouldn’t you make your money back? The boats are still yours, right? You’ll be earning pure rental income. That’s all profit! A huge win! And what if you need boats on a future map? You can rent them out a second time. It’s not a one-shot deal. Besides, once everyone’s situation improves, maybe more people will be looking to buy boats. Don’t you think?"
’Don’t I think? I think you can go to hell!’
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