Work Prophet
Chapter 356 - 114: The Wrong Choice

Chapter 356: Chapter 114: The Wrong Choice

"Name your price," Shafu Li said, lovingly playing with the white paper in front of her, then she said to Li Yu, "I can take as much stock as you have."

"I’m not looking for a middleman, and I could do that with any commerce guild in Black Stone City."

Shafu Li knew that Li Yu was not threatening her, but simply stating a fact.

Indeed, whether it was the linen being far below market price, or this new type of paper in her hand, there was no worry about not finding a commerce guild willing to buy them.

"What do you mean by cooperation then?" Shafu Li changed her sitting posture, crossing her left leg over her right. As she stretched her leg out, the tip of her foot inadvertently brushed against Li Yu’s calf.

"Convert to the Double Rest Sect," Li Yu said, "Become a follower of Saturday. Afterwards, I will provide you with the source of goods, the capital to open a shop, and even necessary protection."

Upon hearing this, Shafu Li furrowed her brows slightly, showing a troubled expression, "But I am a follower of the Forest and the Mother Goddess of Life, my son aside—as he is not a Pure-blood Elf—if I too betray the faith of our people that has been held for thousands of years... "

Timo felt a bit awkward on the side, knowing his mother well. Seeing her index finger tapping on her thigh, Timo understood that when Shafu Li made such a gesture, it meant she had encountered a fat sheep.

The female elf then said, "Let’s both make a concession. I don’t need the capital to open the shop from you. After all, I’ve saved some money from my previous business endeavors. You allow me to continue to serve the Forest and the Mother Goddess of Life, and as for the final profits... well, we could split them seventy-thirty."

"Seventy for you, thirty for me, but I want exclusive sales rights."

Li Yu shook his head, "You seem to have misunderstood something. I’m not looking for a business partner, and I won’t share the final profits with you—they must all belong to the Double Rest Sect. Of course, during this period, if you have contributed labor, I will definitely not mistreat you.

"The Double Rest Sect will pay you a monthly salary plus a bonus, the bonus being linked to the monthly profits. If you do exceptionally well, there will also be an additional dividend. Moreover, joining the Double Rest Sect is a mandatory condition, with no room for negotiation. From now on, you must believe in Saturday and abide by all the precepts of the Double Rest Sect."

As Li Yu leisurely finished speaking, he saw Shafu Li’s face instantly stiffen, then the female elf said angrily, "So, after all my hard work, I am just working for you, and even my faith has to be compromised. Prophet Merlin, you are too greedy."

"No, it is you who is greedy, it seems you haven’t understood the current situation," Li Yu said seriously to Shafu Li, "Without you, I could still find someone else to collaborate with, but without me, you certainly couldn’t continue on."

"Then go find someone else," Shafu Li huffed, "Without these two products, I can still find other things to make money with."

"It’s not just these two items," Li Yu shook his head, "The linen and white paper are just the first two products we’ve launched. The Double Rest Sect will definitely introduce more products later, which will also disrupt the existing market in turn. No matter what business you want to do, you should be prepared to possibly operate at a loss in the future."

"Besides, the salary and bonuses I offer for working for me are not meager. I guarantee that the wage and bonus will satisfy you. Here’s the deal, I’ll give you two salary schemes to choose from.

"One is five gold lions a month, plus a two percent commission, as well as ten gold lions a month, with a one percent commission, as long as you do well enough, this number could even increase later on.

"Of course, if you’re not up to the task, I can also choose to pay a penalty fee to let you leave at any time."

What Li Yu wanted from the start was a professional manager, not a distributor.

Otherwise, he would have gone straight to the Golden Fleece Commerce. Based on their previous numerous collaborations, the Golden Fleece Commerce would surely offer him a satisfactory price.

But Li Yu didn’t want to completely hand over the sales rights; he had formed the Wealth Association with the intention of establishing his own commercial system, so that he wouldn’t be left vulnerable in the event of any unexpected circumstances.

Moreover, this would also maximize his profits.

As for the choice of professional manager, Li Yu initially favored Frodo. Frodo was the deputy of the Golden Fleece, although Ireya had gotten the better of him when he previously tried to purchase the giant dragon blood.

But there was no helping it, Miss Rabbit was a one-in-a-million business prodigy, especially skilled in the art of negotiation, having reached a state of mastery. It was normal for even the Dwarf Deputy to be unable to guard against her, and besides, he didn’t suffer a loss, just earned a little less.

After several collaborations, this cunning and sly Dwarf had left a very deep impression on Li Yu.

Unfortunately, the Golden Fleece was a very well-known large commerce guild, and Frodo had climbed up to the position of deputy. If Li Yu wanted to lure him away, the cost would unquestionably be high.

Just then, his attention was drawn to Timo’s mother. Timo had previously mentioned his family background during the missionary event at Green Field.

Li Yu knew he had an Elf mother who, despite being a woman, had established a trading caravan that had travelled across the entire Bratis Continent. Just from the description, it was clear she was no ordinary individual.

Li Yu then had Tom, who came from a Black Stone City mercenary background, investigate, and discovered that the Snow Strings that Shafu Li had formed were indeed famous.

Moreover, this female Elf was currently idle at home, so Li Yu shifted his target to her.

Sure enough, upon hearing the offer, Shafu Li blinked.

She quickly calculated in her mind. Although the first proposal offered higher commissions, to exceed the total of the second proposal, it would still mean that her annual profits had to reach six thousand gold lions.

This number put quite some pressure on her. Even though Li Yu’s two merchandise items were very marketable and wouldn’t worry about sales, there was still the issue of production volume.

If the production didn’t keep up, no matter how good the product, it was useless; after all, neither linen nor white paper were luxury goods that could fetch sky-high prices.

Furthermore, the second proposal guaranteed an additional sixty gold lions annually. It didn’t take long for Shafu Li to make a decision that she would regret for the rest of her life.

— Choose the second proposal.

This way, she could reliably bank one hundred and twenty gold lions a year. This commission, although not as much as she would earn leading her own caravan, was still astonishingly high. Moreover, it was her net income; she wouldn’t need to bear any risks or additional expenses and wouldn’t have to risk her life trading outside.

However, she didn’t rush to agree. It wasn’t really about the religious issues as she claimed.

After many years in business, the bottom line of the female Elf had long become more and more flexible. Religion was merely a bargaining chip she threw out to negotiate with the other side.

Currently, in the western region, the Silver Moon Church still held a dominant position, but with Hirodod’s series of blunders and the rapidly deteriorating relationship with the Nobles, it seemed like it was in a state of decline.

On the contrary, the Double Rest Sect was thriving, looking robust and prosperous. Aligning with this powerful faction early on wouldn’t be a bad move.