Female Novel"You know as well that this herb is quite rare. It's possible that there's no other booth in the entirevenue offering this herb. That’s why it's relatively expensive. How about this? I'll give it to you for 5,000dollars per pound..."
The herbalist did not actually understand the value of this herb because the herb truly had nodiscernible value in the market.
He started with 5,000 dollars, purely intending to negotiate the price with the other party.
Luca furrowed her brows.
Even though she did not know the value of the herb, 5,000 dollars per pound was already comparableto some ginseng varieties.
The herbalist saw Luca’s expression and prepared himself for the possibility of her disagreeing topurchase the herbs. He thought to himself that this was not a high-cost investment, maybe evenzerocost. There was still room for negotiation.
What was important was that he could make money...
"Miss, this herb of mine..."
Before the herbalist could finish his sentence, Luca received a call from Abel.
Luca picked up her phone and shook her head at the herbalist. Then, she pointed at her phone,indicating that she needed to take the call.
The herbalist nodded and thought this was just a traditional negotiation tactic. Thus, he patientlywaited.
Luca answered the phone. "Boss."
Abel’s excited voice came from the other end of the call. "You found one of the herbs? Have youconfirmed it?"novelbin
"Yes, I've verified it. It's the herb Mr. Shanks is looking for," replied Luca.
"Okay. Awesome." Abel was excited. Before they came, Shanks mentioned he had seen these herbs inX City, but everyone thought they were of no value, so they hardly grew them.
Hence, this trip was just a shot in the dark.
Abel did not expect Luca to find one of the herbs so quickly. He was thrilled.
"The herbalist said he has ten pounds of it, and he's asking 5,000 dollars per pound," Luca shot aglance at the herbalist and reported to Abel.
The herbalist, who was standing behind the booth, found everything inexplicable. Who was she talkingto? Why could he not understand anything she said? Was she babbling nonsense while pretending tobe on a call?
Considering this possibility, the herbalist felt he might not make much money this time. Perhaps it wasnot even enough to cover the cost of renting the booth.
After all, this woman was shrewd, unlike the man he dealt with before...
"Okay, I'll take them all. Have him deliver the herbs to the company," said Abel.
"Yes, sir," replied Luca. Abel's pharmaceutical company had a branch in X City.
Therefore, having the herbalist deliver to the branch would save a lot of hassle.
After ending the call, Luca turned to look at the herbalist. "So, it's ten pounds in total, right? I'll takethem all. How much deposit do you need?"
Since Luca could not take the herbs immediately, the custom was to pay a deposit first.
The herbalist was startled for a moment. He thought she would haggle with him, but she did not. Sheeven asked about paying a deposit.
"Will you need the herbs to be delivered?" asked the herbalist.
"Yeah, otherwise, how would we transport them?" Luca furrowed her brows. After most people herereached an agreement, they usually had the goods delivered, right? Was there a problem?
"Alright. For the deposit, I usually collect 10% of the transaction price. That'll be 5,000 bucks. You cantransfer that sum to me first. Oh, by the way, there's also a delivery fee.
"It's a hundred dollars within the city and 200 outside."
Luca took out a business card from her pocket, crossed out Watson's name, wrote Abel's companyaddress in X City along with the company name, and handed it to the herbalist.
"Delivery within X City. I’ve written down the address of the company. Make sure you don't deliver thegoods to the wrong place. Someone will settle the remaining payment once the goods are delivered.Where can I scan to pay?"
The herbalist felt pleased since Luca did not hesitate long before purchasing the herbs. He took out hispayment code from his bag. "Since you're being so easygoing about it, I'll waive the delivery fee foryou."
Luca heard what he said but still paid him 5,100 dollars.
She knew the herbalist had it tough, and the quality of the herbs he grew was not very high. Hisbusiness probably was not doing great. He could charge whatever he wanted. The money belonged toAbel, after all.
Even if she was being deceived, she would not feel bad.
Plus, she had already reported this to Abel.
The herbalist smiled broadly when he saw the 5,100 dollars credited to his account. Deep down, hewas marveling at Luca's efficiency.
He felt a bit embarrassed for hiking the price of the herbs so much.
After all, the herbs did not cost much to produce. However, now that the price was out there and thedeposit paid, he had no reason to lower it.
No one would ever complain about having more money.
"Thank you." The herbalist glanced at the company name on the card, which was different from thecompany name on Luca's entry badge. He asked curiously, "Why aren't the names of these twocompanies the same?" "This is the company I'm partnering with for procurement. Can you deliver thegoods to them the day after this exhibition ends? Is that okay?" asked Luca.
"Of course, I can arrange it for you now. My son is waiting outside," said the herbalist cheerfully afterthe deal was done.
Luca nodded and reminded him, "Please issue a receipt for me."
"Oh, right. How forgetful of me." The herbalist chuckled and quickly wrote out a receipt for her.
Luca took it from him, snapped a photo of it, and sent it to Abel.
This marked the end of her task.
The herbalist asked again, "By the way, Miss, are these herbs valuable for medicinal use now?"
He wanted to seize the opportunity. If there was indeed a surge in demand for these herbs bycompanies, he might be able to take advantage of it and expand his cultivation first.
When others caught on and started planting them, the price would inevitably drop. By then, he couldswitch to other profitable herbs. It would be a lucrative business move.
"No, not really. The company doesn't need much of it. Don't entertain such thoughts. Just stick with themarket trends." Luca shook her head and offered him a kind reminder.
She did not want him to think about expanding his cultivation.
Ten pounds were enough for Shanks to conduct research, and he might not even need all ten. Shankscould probably develop the medicine he wanted with just a portion of it.
If the herbalist really expanded his cultivation, no one would support such a foolish move.
"Oh, I see." The herbalist felt slightly disappointed. He examined Luca's expression for a moment, but itdid not seem like she was lying.
Luca pondered for a moment and then took out her phone to ask the herbalist, "Do you know where Ican find these herbs?"
The herbalist shook his head. "Your colleague asked me the same question earlier, but no one aroundme cultivates these herbs."
"Alright, thank you." After expressing her gratitude, Luca turned around and walked away.
The herbalist looked at the 5,000 dollars in his account and smiled happily. He then called his son,asking him to come over so that they could deliver the herbs today. He hoped to receive the paymentsooner.
After leaving the herbalist's booth, Luca let out a sigh of relief.
With so many booths around and with Luke's help, she finally found one herb. It was not a total loss.
This way, Abel could not blame her too much later on.
After all, it seemed like they had not found any herbs on Shanks' end yet.
If they did find any, they would surely inform her, saving her from doing any unnecessary work.
After a while, Warren found her.
"Dr. Craw."