Chapter 4119 — Demanding an Outrageous Price
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"And what of it? The pills of my Heaven Pill Pavilion are absolutely genuine and reliable. There will be no counterfeit pills whatsoever, and we may submit to inspection by the Pill Alliance at any time. But what does any of this have to do with the cooperation Manager Diao speaks of?" Wei Zhao countered, betraying nothing.
"Submit to the Pill Alliance's inspection at any time? Do you believe that yourself?" Diao Huanshan burst out laughing, then leaned in close to Wei Zhao and lowered his voice. "Manager, you had best not speak too boldly. We are all men of business here—who among us does not know the tricks of the trade? As long as one truly exerts oneself to investigate, there is simply no pill shop without problems. Oh, and by the way, a word in your ear—our Famous Medicine Sect happens to be this year's managing guild of the Pill Alliance."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Wei Zhao frowned slightly.
"The meaning is simple. This year, every inspection is decided by our Famous Medicine Sect. If we say you are fine, then even if you are not, you are. But if we say you are not, heh—then even if you are, you are not. Now do you understand my meaning?" Diao Huanshan threatened, his face full of smug satisfaction.
"Is Manager Diao's meaning, then, that I am to pay your Famous Medicine Sect protection money?" Wei Zhao's expression darkened.
His own pills were absolutely without problems, but if the other party truly meant to invoke the Pill Alliance's name and insist there were problems, then even if his innocence could be proven afterward, his reputation would at least be ruined. This was the classic case of being good for nothing but more than capable of ruining everything—and he truly could not afford to ignore it!
"Protection money? No, no, no. We are the illustrious Famous Medicine Sect—how could we stoop to so low and shameless a practice as collecting protection money!" Diao Huanshan shook his head repeatedly, then arched a brow. "Did I not tell you from the start? I came to find you today to discuss cooperation."
"And how would this cooperation work?" Wei Zhao said, giving nothing away.
"Very simple. Our Famous Medicine Sect can provide you with certain pills and let you handle their distribution. This is a pie dropped straight from heaven—what say you, Manager? Of course, so long as you choose to cooperate with us, there will naturally be no need to worry about inspections from the Pill Alliance," Diao Huanshan said temptingly.
Using the Pill Alliance as a cudgel to force me to distribute pills for his Famous Medicine Sect—so this was the scheme he had been nursing all along!
"Then, Manager Diao, for the pills we distribute on your behalf, how much below your normal selling price will our purchase price be?" Wei Zhao asked with great solemnity.
"At the normal selling price, of course!" Diao Huanshan laughed at once. Seeing Wei Zhao's expression turn somewhat displeased, he laid out the stakes. "Think it over, Manager. A small pill shop like yours can only drink the northwest wind when business is poor, but should business turn good, it is all too easy to run out of stock—and that is a thing that badly damages one's reputation. So long as you choose to cooperate with our Famous Medicine Sect, you need not worry about such risks, and you can settle the Pill Alliance's inspections as well. This is a blessing from the heavens—can you still not see it?"
"Heh. If we truly did as Manager Diao suggests, would not my Heaven Pill Pavilion become a free distribution tool for your Famous Medicine Sect, earning not a shred of profit from first to last? Do you think that can be called cooperation?" Wei Zhao arched a brow and shot back. (To be continued…) R752