"If you are willing to cooperate, what I want is simple. For the next thirty years, the Zhang Clan will help me construct the items on the blueprints. Everything must be constructed according to my requirements, to the highest standard. All of the metal castings must be inscribed with at least ten layers of toughness, and they must meet the requirements. "
Wang Chong didn't know what the head of the Zhang Clan was thinking about, or perhaps, he didn't care. He stretched out his right index finger and lightly tapped on the table. His rhythmic tapping gave off a very confident and rhythmic feeling.
"Inscriptions of at least ten layers? That's a frighteningly high cost! "
The head of the Zhang Clan frowned.
He almost thought that the Wang Clan was going to revolt, but upon hearing the inscription of ten layers, he knew that he was overthinking it.
"You don't have to worry about that! I will pay for all of the cost of inscriptions! "
Wang Chong said calmly.
He lacked everything at the moment, but money wasn't one of them. Even though the cost of inscriptions was expensive, given his strength, it wasn't a problem.
"Then there's no problem. As for the inscriptions, it's not a problem for us to pay in advance. What about the WuZi Steel? "
The head of the Zhang Clan said. After which, he turned to look at Wang Chong intently.
This was what he cared about the most.
Wang Chong could own a portion of the Zhang Clan, and it wouldn't matter even if there wasn't a thirty-year deadline. What the Zhang Clan cared about the most was Wang Chong monopolizing the most mysterious and popular WuZi Steel in the entire Central Plains.
Only those who were in the industry would know how high the status of this young man in front of them was.
300,000 gold taels for a single weapon, this had sent the entire circle into a frenzy. Right now, all of the weapon merchants viewed this young man as a god.
If they could work for this young man, many of them would be willing to work for free.
It was a pity that this young man was elusive, and not just anyone could enter the Wang Clan. Otherwise, just by taking a stroll around the weapon market, this young man would know how influential he was in the circle.
With this kind of influence, coupled with the reputation of WuZi Steel, if it could be combined with the Zhang family in the capital, the influence of the Zhang family in the capital would not be weakened, but would be even greater. Just like what Wang Chong had said, it was entirely possible for them to become the "number one swordsmithing family".
This was the reason why he was here.
"It's very simple, I can sell WuZi Steel (Hyderabad Ore) to you for 20000 gold taels. As for how much you sell it for, that's your business, it has nothing to do with me. However, no matter how many jun of ores you buy from me, your WuZi Steel cannot use my name. "
"Secondly, you must listen to me on how many WuZi Steel weapons you sell every month. The number of weapons sold in a month could not exceed four. As for whether it will change in the future, I will let you know when the time comes. Also, at this stage, WuZi Steel weapons can only be sold to the Imperial Guards! "
Wang Chong extended two fingers.
"Four? That's too little, can you increase it? "
The head of the Zhang family asked with a slight frown.
"Heh, definitely not!"
Wang Chong chuckled. On the surface, it seemed as though he was easy to negotiate with, but the meaning behind his words was the complete opposite.
"The rarer an item is, the greater its value. If WuZi Steel weapons were all over the streets, do you think that they would still be able to sell for such a price? Of course, if a few unfilial descendants of the Zhang family were to appear in the future, it wouldn't be surprising if one or two WuZi Steel weapons were to be sold outside, right? "
"Haha, gongzi is wise. Don't worry, our Zhang family will strictly abide by our agreement with gongzi! "
The head of the Zhang family complimented Wang Chong inwardly. He had completely understood Wang Chong's intentions.
Just like what Wang Chong had said, the rarer an item was, the greater its value. If too many WuZi Steel weapons were to appear, they would not be able to sell for a high price. However, if one or two weapons were to appear in the black market, not only would it not affect the price of WuZi Steel, it would even further increase the market's thirst for WuZi Steel.
In fact, there might even be situations where the black market was selling them at a higher price than the Imperial Army.
Regardless of whether it was for the external or internal market, the profits of the WuZi Steel weapons would be maximized. In this aspect, the young man before him had already considered it thoroughly.
In this aspect, even the heads of many prestigious clans might not be able to match up to him.
"There's one last thing that I believe gongzi should know. We are out of ores!"
The head of the Zhang family said with a crafty glint in his eyes.
The Zhang family's ores in the capital were almost empty. This was the biggest problem in their collaboration, as well as the Zhang family's weakness. The head of the Zhang family was worried that this would affect Wang Chong's opinion, so he intentionally left it till the end.
"Hahaha …"
Wang Chong laughed heartily as he stood up from behind the table. It was as though he had expected the head of the Zhang family to say this.
"This matter is even easier to resolve. I've already prepared the new large-scale ores for you! "
As Wang Chong spoke, he flicked his sleeves and placed the deed of the ores on the table.
“！！！”
Looking at the deed before him, the head of the Zhang family looked at Wang Chong in astonishment for the first time. He couldn't have imagined that the greatest problem of the Zhang Clan, a problem that concerned the rise and fall of the Zhang Clan, would have been resolved by Wang Chong!
…
The head of the Zhang Clan in the capital left with great shock. When he stepped out of the doorstep of the Wang Clan and left with the deed in hand, he was still in a daze, unable to believe what he had just seen.
It had been many years since he would allow himself to be swayed by external factors. But this time, holding the title deed, he really had a heavy feeling, as if he was in a dream.
"Young master, the profits of the WuZi Steel are huge. Why do you want to hand it over to the Zhang Clan? Isn't it better to hold onto it for yourself?"
Unknowingly, Shen Hai had walked to Wang Chong's side and whispered.
In the Wang Clan, Shen Hai and Meng Long were one of the few who could speak to him in such a manner and even oppose Wang Chong. There were simply too many profits to be made from the WuZi Steel.
From the very start, Shen Hai felt that his side was suffering a huge loss.
"That's because this is the only way to maximize profits!"
Wang Chong said calmly.
Even though the profits from designing the WuZi Steel weapons could be maximized, easily selling a single Death's Abyss for an astronomical price of three hundred thousand gold taels …
To most people, this was something that they would never dare to imagine in their entire lives.
However, it was too slow to produce a single sword every month. But Wang Chong couldn't possibly forge the swords himself. If he did so, he wouldn't be able to sell them for a high price.
Thus, selling it to the Zhang Clan became the best choice.
This way, he would be able to differentiate the weapons he sold, and at the same time, he would be able to maximize his profits.
With money, he would be able to move on to the next step of his plans!
…
The Zhang Clan's efficiency far exceeded Wang Chong's expectations. That title deed had a huge impact on the Zhang Clan. On the very same night, Wang Chong came to a secret agreement with the Zhang Clan.
The Zhang Clan would use five hundred thousand gold taels to obtain 50% of the mining rights to the mine. At the same time, they would use another one million gold taels to obtain the distribution rights to the Hyderabad ores from Wang Chong.
Due to the huge sum of 1.5 million gold taels, the Zhang Clan didn't have that much liquid assets. Thus, they would give the Zhang Clan a three month buffer period, and within two to three years, they would have to pay off the debt in the form of gold or in other forms agreed upon by both parties!
This matter hadn't been announced to the public yet. Other than Wang Chong and a few elders of the Zhang Clan, no one else knew of the contents of the agreement.
…
Time flew, and unknowingly, several days had passed.
The bright moon hung high in the sky. In the dead of the night, everyone was in a deep slumber.
In the east of the capital, roughly a hundred zhang away from the Zhou Ji Charcoal Wine Shop, a black silhouette could be seen amidst the shadows of the trees. His sleeves fluttered as though he was a gigantic bird, and he staggered along the roofs.
"Traitor! To think that I treated you as my own child, yet you dared to collude with outsiders … to betray me … "
Black smoke billowed from the figure's body, and he exuded an intense malevolent aura, making him look like a ferocious beast. Under the moonlight, if one were to take a closer look, one would realize that he was a black-haired elder with disheveled hair.
His left hand was clutching his chest, and fresh blood was flowing out from between his fingers. However, the most disastrous thing was that a long sword on his back had pierced his palm from behind. The long sword had even pierced more than a foot into his palm.
"Traitor, I'll never let you off! I'll never let you off! … "
The elder clenched his teeth, and a ferocious glint flashed across his eyes. Under the moonlight, his eyes were actually blood-red, as though a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
"Gagaga! … "
In the big tree beside the house, the night birds were startled by the intense malevolent aura, and they all screeched and rushed up. In the courtyard nearby, the dogs were also startled awake, and they all began to bark uneasily.
"What's going on? Why are the dogs barking in the middle of the night? "
In the house below, the faint sound of a husband and wife getting up could be heard.
The black-haired old man's legs went soft. Suddenly, with a 'kacha' sound, he stepped on several tiles and fell down from the roof. He hit the wall, and then fell into the dark, dirty alley, and fainted.
Blood kept flowing out of his body. As the blood flowed out, the old man's aura grew weaker and weaker. His jet-black hair also turned from black to white at a speed visible to the naked eye, from the roots to the ends of his hair.
In the blink of an eye, the elder's black hair turned white, and he fell to the ground. His aura was weak, and he did not move at all.
"Whoosh!"
Not long after the elder fainted, a few enormous auras suddenly appeared in the distance, like the mountains and the seas. These people were extremely fast, and their figures could not be seen at all. In the void, only a few blurry shadows could be seen.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, a few ghost-like figures appeared above the roof where the elder had fallen. The dogs felt danger, and suddenly, they started barking.
"Rustle!"
With a cold snort, one of the black figures turned his head to look, and a few dozen feet away, the black dogs immediately suffered heavy injuries. Blood flowed out of their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and they slowly lay on the ground, motionless.
"The old man can't have gone far!"
"If we let him make a comeback, we will be the ones to die!"
"Search carefully, we must find him no matter what!"
…
Three figures stood on the roof, and their cold eyes were like the eyes of the Grim Reaper. They slowly scanned the surroundings, and wherever their eyes passed, even the void was slightly distorted.
Not far away, the elder's figure quickly appeared in the eyes of the three. However, in the next moment, when they saw the elder's white hair, the three quickly looked away.
"It's just an old beggar. There's no need to care about him. Let's go! "
…
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
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