Free Web NovelChapter 2391: Chapter 2383: The Agreement
In a high gravity environment, the material strength of mechanical equipment needs to be increased, the wear resistance requirements of mechanical arm joints are also extremely high, the power must be sufficiently strong, and even the lubrication fluid must be specially formulated.
Not to mention, in an extremely cold environment, having materials that are sufficiently resistant to cold is enough, but under a gravity overload, the equipment’s own weight could crush itself.
Therefore, the requirement of high gravity strength greatly increases equipment costs.
He Runxian is not a novice in the business field. Although at sixty years old, he is considered in his prime among Federation people who have an average lifespan of over one hundred and fifty years, he lacks no knowledge of the business arena.
He believes that Feng Jun might falsely report some environmental indicators to obscure the true location of the energy stone mine, which is quite common.
However, the other party raised the point of this abnormal gravity environment, directly dispelling his related assumptions—it’s impossible to significantly increase equipment costs just to obscure the origin, who holds a grudge against money?
Actually, simply increasing manufacturing costs is no big deal, it’s just a one-time purchase, the key is that various modifications would lead to a substantial increase in usage and maintenance costs.
Not to mention anything else, just talking about the engine modifications, a modified engine would consume a lot of energy—a smaller horsepower engine wouldn’t be able to move at all in a supergravity environment, and with greater horsepower, the wear naturally increases, which is inevitable.
In short, the conditions Feng Jun set forth not only prove that the energy stone mine has nothing to do with Xingzheng Star, but from another angle, it proves that he’s basically unlikely to be an enemy sent by Hesheng—this person truly has an energy stone mine!
As for where the energy stone mine is located, He Runxian doesn’t intend to delve into it, nor does he want to consider how the other party could transport this thing out of the star system—knowing too much isn’t a good thing.
He could only express, "I can modify three pieces of mining equipment within three days... the base has similar spare parts. The value is fifty thousand tons of such energy stones, and I can offer material transport equipment for free."
"I don’t need transportation equipment," Feng Jun outright refused, what a joke, what transport equipment could be stronger than a Storage Bag? "I just need mining equipment, thirty thousand tons of energy stones... that’s the maximum."
Thirty thousand tons of energy stones really aren’t much, just enough for the production base to run at full capacity for sixty days, and considering defense against Insect Race attacks also requires energy, calculating for forty days is safer,
but for He Runxian, this is already quite unexpectedly delightful, as for the raw materials and processing fees for those mining equipment, completing the cost of three pieces of equipment is just slightly over twenty thousand tons of energy stones, the key is it also helps him sustain his employees and turn over stock.
In fact, this answer also proves another of his hypotheses, which is that the other’s power isn’t generally large—why buy mining equipment but not transportation equipment?
Of course, he doesn’t know about the existence of Storage Bags, so there’s only one reason; the other’s background isn’t ordinary and possesses a pretty strong coordination ability—not that they don’t buy transport equipment, but that transport equipment is relatively low-end to manufacture, available anywhere.
And for mining equipment for energy stone mines, among the Federation there are only a few suppliers, and Hesheng is one of them.
More importantly, trying to procure mining equipment for energy stone mines is not ordinary in its difficulty. Energy stone mines are also strategic resources for today’s Federation; once discovered, they will be subject to control. Even if not reclaimed by the Federation, they will definitely send someone to guard against it.
It’s like Huaxia’s gold mines on Earth, strategic resources, completely forbidding private mining. Once discovered, they must at least be brought under control.
Actually, comparing with gold mines isn’t quite apt; although gold is a rare material and a natural currency, it cannot be used to make weapons, whereas energy stones, slightly processed, can become weapon energy!
So, in this world, clandestine mining of energy stones is even more forbidden, making it understandable why brokers at this time would visit Xingzheng Star, seeking to purchase energy stone mining equipment from Hesheng.
Even He Runxian’s thoughts have ventured to the point of wondering why the other party doesn’t use Federation currency to purchase equipment but insists on bartering with energy stones—only this way there’s no fear of being traced back through accounts.
The Human Federation has many methods for financial transfers, but that’s just because the Federation doesn’t want to probe deeply, fearing unnecessary panic. If the Federation genuinely chose to investigate, who could avoid detection?
In the end, the most primitive barter is the most reliable; why do vibrant social groups on Earth Realm play with cash transactions?
"Thirty thousand tons... okay," He Runsheng stated reluctantly, "It’s war-time restrictions that leave us eager for what you can supply."
"Someone does death-dealing business, not loss-making deals. That’s pointless to talk about," Feng Jun was unmoved by these words. "Moreover, three pieces of equipment are not enough; I need thirty pieces initially, and I want open-air mining equipment, as large as possible."
"Thirty pieces really won’t work," He Runxian refused decisively, while at the same time, an uncontrollable curiosity surged within him, "Just how large a mine have you discovered?"
As soon as he asked, he regretted it, and then Feng Jun’s cold voice came, "Among the offspring of the He Clan, there are several worthy men to respect; if you want to die, I can grant that, just don’t implicate their descendants, okay?"
"I was wrong," He Runxian readily admitted his mistake. Hesheng has reached where it is today indeed due to generations of Sect Leaders who were exceptional at strategizing, but the He Family indeed has a few praiseworthy martyrs.
It is precisely because of a few renowned martyrs that Hesheng, though involved in certain less-than-honorable dealings during its development, has been overlooked by the Federation—so long as it doesn’t go too far.
However, He Runxian also knows very well that the shelter of his predecessors is limited and can’t be consumed limitlessly—in fairness, which clan on Frontier Star hasn’t produced a few martyrs?
So he sincerely apologized, "I was just asking casually, but here, I can manage to gather ten more pieces within ten days... no more than that, what you need are large-scale mining equipment."
When saying this, he felt mixed emotions, just five hours ago, he was lamenting about the lack of orders in the factory, but now... unexpectedly can’t take more orders anymore.
Feng Jun felt blocked, "You claim to be such a big factory and now tell me production capability is limited?"
This shows the disadvantage of humanities scholars, He Runxian also felt blocked, "Large mechanical processing parts all require time, my reserves are limited, ten days to gather ten pieces, but give me a hundred days, I couldn’t gather another set of ten."
Feng Jun understood a bit, although a humanities scholar, he has done similar business before, second-hand equipment doing splendidly, he understands materials mechanics somewhat, doesn’t he know the tricks involved?
So he lightly sighed, "Then let me give another order for ten pieces, one hundred thousand tons of energy stones... you deliver the three-piece order, settle the thirty thousand tons order, then I’ll pay you a ten thousand tons deposit, considered as for those ten pieces, okay?"
Indeed, he felt a bit disappointed, originally he wanted to order many pieces, but unexpectedly, only ten.
Nonetheless, how can one say? Ten pieces are better than none at all, Hesheng is just a company after all, and the person he’s negotiating with He Runxian is merely a supervisor at a production base within Hesheng, and to have this much production capacity, he’s content.
But while he feels content, He Runxian perceives his disappointment, can’t help but shout, "Wait, I still have production capacity, just depends on whether you can afford it."
"More production capacity?" Feng Jun sounded surprised; you’re contradicting yourself, "Didn’t you say you couldn’t complete my task?"
"I can’t, but others can, we aren’t the only ones," He Runxian replied confidently, "Other production bases still have capacity; I can help you get in touch, just give me the energy stones."
Feng Jun felt hesitant upon hearing this, he did consider such operations previously, and possessing business management knowledge, he was aware of the difficulties involved, "Are the accounts manageable?"
"That’s no problem," He Runxian replied not entirely confidently, but his hesitation was not due to accounting concerns, "it’s just an internal allocation, nobody could judge... we’ve reached this point, who could dare to criticize us?"
Feng Jun detected his hesitance, contemplating for a moment before asking, "Are you sure no one at the other production bases will leak about the energy stone mining equipment? This is a wartime situation secretly hoarding energy stones."
"The charges are more than just what you’ve imagined," He Runxian replied with a bitter smile, "privately selling mining equipment for energy stones is, in itself, illegal. If the officials don’t pursue it, it’s fine; if they do, I’m done for."
Feng Jun was also troubled by these issues, yet he understood how dire Hesheng’s situation must be, certainly more desperate than himself, "Then go ahead and deal with it as you see fit. I’ll place this order for thirteen pieces first."
"Wait," He Runxian called urgently, "can you pay an additional two thousand tons as a deposit? Our current energy stone reserves aren’t enough to complete the production; we need you to bring some over."
"Oh, what a mess," Feng Jun sighed, amused yet frustrated, "Half an hour later, fetch goods outside the forest located eight kilometers east, you also deliver them here... prepare all documents, we don’t need technical personnel, it’s best not to cause trouble."
Then his communicator was shut off again, and He Runxian said "Hello" several times before dejectedly putting down his communicator, after contemplating, he opened the communication bracelet on his wrist, "Get me Uncle Hui Qing, choose the top-secret line."
He Huiqing is just over one hundred years old this year, not a problem to work another twenty or thirty years, though his energy is somewhat lacking recently. The production base has been in difficulty, and he’s been rushing around, having had no rest until now.
Seeing the call from He Runxian, he instinctively frowned.
(End of the month, there will be an additional update at midnight as usual, a reservation for next month’s guaranteed monthly ticket.)
