Seeing their thoughtful expressions, Field said, "But I have a solution... Does anyone have a sobering potion?"
"I need to sober up."
Upon hearing this, a merchant immediately called over an attendant and fetched a bottle of sobering potion.
After drinking the potion, Field said seriously, "You must not want to bundle the shipyard with the ships, right? After all, that's your livelihood, I understand."
"I didn't want to do it at first either. If it weren't for being pushed to the brink, I wouldn't want to take this gamble."
"But I got lucky and it paid off."
"If you don't want to take the risk, you can join forces as a group."
"Each of your families can contribute some ships, give me the orders, and I'll pass them on to Roge. We'll say it's the volume of a single factory, so Roge will have to accept it."
"After all, a pie put together is still a big pie, right?"
Several merchants' eyes lit up instantly.
Indeed, with this approach, the risks would be spread out evenly and could be accepted!
"Of course, my relationship with Roge is good. I won't help you cheat him. So you'll have to actively lower the price, at least below the market price, otherwise I won't be able to help you." Field continued.
"I have to make a profit myself, don't I?"
You can't always be honest with merchants, but sometimes, some brutally honest words can have a good effect.
Because merchants freaking need "honesty"!
The irony.
Upon hearing this, the merchants exchanged glances and nodded. "Okay!"
"So, how many ships will one family contribute, and how much will you lower the price?" Field asked.
"Six ships!" the group agreed after discussing.
At the moment, the goal was to recoup losses, not to make money. They needed some capital turnover first to survive. Otherwise, not to mention fighting over the leftovers of two major forces, when the workers' salaries were due at the end of the month, they would all be doomed.
Five families, each contributing six ships, totaling thirty ships.
And after negotiations, they were willing to sell these ships at thirty percent below market price, which would still leave them with a small profit after deducting costs.
It was an on-site transaction, where no direct delivery was required. Instead, temporary trading orders issued by the Merchant Guild would facilitate the transaction.
Once you had the trading order, the goods were considered yours, protected by the rights of the Merchant Guild.
Of course, when it came time for actual delivery, you had to pay up, or the order would be invalidated.
And what Field had to do now was to take these trading orders, equivalent to thirty ships, and exchange them for even more and larger orders!
And to make a profit from the "difference."
This "difference" could be money or something even better.
"I'll go find Roge first. I just saw some Wild Wolf Gang people here," Field said.
"Go ahead, brother. We'll be waiting for good news!" the merchants said in unison.
Field chuckled and headed toward the Wild Wolf Gang's exhibition area, carrying a thick stack of trading orders.
Before long, he arrived at the Wild Wolf Gang's turf.
The Wild Wolf Gang mainly sold magical devices, including some daily-life gadgets and heavy-duty equipment like magical sniper cannons.
But for some reason, the exhibition area seemed to be closed, leaving the buyers who were interested in the Wild Wolf Gang's magical devices standing by.
Field, however, was different. He simply strode over the railings and walked into the Wild Wolf Gang's exhibition area.
"Hey brother, is Roge around?" Field said, offering a cigarette as he approached.
The Wild Wolf Gang members he encountered here were people Field had seen before and knew.
They didn't ask Field to leave but instead accepted the cigarette with smiles and started chatting.
Because they knew their boss had a good relationship with this tall mercenary who had caused quite a stir in the sea.
"The boss is applying for a permit to sell magical devices at the Merchant Guild, but it seems there's a problem. The permit quota is insufficient, and he's currently in a dispute with someone. We don't know if he'll be able to secure it," one of the Wild Wolf Gang underlings said.
Field nodded. Private transactions of weapons here were no problem, but this wasn't a small-scale transaction. The magical devices to be sold later would be counted by the cart, so they needed a permit.
Field wasn't in a hurry either. He chatted with the group of underlings while smoking, trying to glean some information from their conversation and see if there was any profit to be made.
Meanwhile, several merchants who had been keeping an eye on Field became extremely excited when they saw Field actually mingling with the Wild Wolf Gang members.
In their eyes, Field hadn't lied to them!
After waiting for about ten minutes, Roge returned with two of her henchmen, but she seemed to be in a bad mood, muttering curses under her breath.
"That bastard Cornell, better not fall into my hands!"
"Damn it!"
Seeing this, Field walked up to them, offering a cigarette as he did so. "Hey, what's got you so worked up?"
Seeing Field, Roge seemed a bit surprised at first, but then she took the cigarette and lit it, exhaling smoke as she spoke. "It's another merchant guild member. They're trying to snatch the sales permit from me."
"That damn merchant guild is auctioning off the permits right on the spot!"
"You didn't get it?" Field asked.
"It hasn't started yet," Roge rubbed her temples. "They're not asking for money, they want orders. Whoever provides the most orders gets the permit."
"But hell, we came here to sell magical devices. How can we sell without a permit? Where are we supposed to get orders from?"
"Damn it! Cornell must have colluded with that fat bastard from the merchant guild. They not only have magical devices but also weapons and equipment. They'll soon have orders coming in!"
"Half an hour's time, where the hell am I supposed to find orders? Damn it!"
Watching Roge's explosive temper, with each sentence laced with profanity, Field couldn't help but smile.
Roge raised an eyebrow. She was in a bad mood, and this Field guy thought he could joke around with her just because they were on good terms? Even if Raymond were here, she'd still curse him!
But before she could start cursing after disposing of her cigarette, Field pulled out a stack of orders with a smile. "Funny thing is, I happen to have some orders, and they're quite sizable."
Roge was taken aback and quickly took the orders to look them over.
As she read through them, she started to smile.
Thirty ships, thirty percent discount—a solid big order!
"Where did you get these?" Roge asked.
"Thanks to my merchant friends. Look, they're over there," Field pointed in a direction.
Roge looked over and indeed saw several merchants paying attention to them.
Field hadn't lied to them; his relationship with Roge was indeed good!
"Well, aren't you a godsend," Roge chuckled.
"But don't get too happy just yet. This isn't a freebie, you know the rules," Field said.
"Of course, how much?" Roge asked.
"No need for much, just the amount on the orders," Field smiled.
"Just this?" Roge was surprised. "You and your friends aren't making any money?"
"We are, but I can't let my friends profit off my brothers and sisters," Field said.
"I like the sound of that!" Roge laughed heartily. "So, what are the conditions?"
Smart woman.
Field spoke frankly, "With these orders, can you get the sales permit?"
"Of course! What Cornell brought isn't even half of what these orders are worth!" Roge said confidently.
"And that fat guy you mentioned won't throw a wrench in the works?" Field asked.
"Even if he wants to, he wouldn't dare here. The city hall of Grelle is keeping an eye on him," Roge said.
"Alright, these orders are yours. Once you get the sales permit, I want all the orders for magical weapons from your end!" Field said.
"All of them?" Roge was taken aback.
"Yes, all of them!" Field nodded, then instantly put on a smile.
"So, dear sister Roge, can you give me a discount?" he grinned. "After all, this is basically wholesale, so a little discount wouldn't hurt, right?"
Seeing Field call her sister, Roge's mood instantly lifted, and she laughed heartily, nodding. "If you can take all of them, no problem! I'll give you a fifteen percent discount!"
"Round it up, twenty percent. Consider it an investment in the future legendary mercenary," Field smirked. "And for any future missions, I'll also give you twenty percent!"
"Haha, you're quite the cunning one," Roge couldn't help but laugh.
"Hey, I'm just a mercenary. Being a merchant isn't my thing," Field said modestly.
"I've never seen a mercenary as cunning as you."
"Well, I'll take that as a compliment."
"Fair enough. With those four words 'future legendary mercenary,' you've earned yourself the extra five percent," Roge nodded, saying, "It's a deal."
She hadn't heard a mercenary talk about becoming a legend in a long time. The last one was Raymond. But in the end, he paid a hefty price for it and ended up being just a mercenary tavern owner in Grelle. But even then, he was the most formidable tavern owner among mercenaries.
So Roge was eager to see what Field could do. At least for now, this kid seemed to have more potential than Raymond.
The rest of the process went smoothly. Half an hour later, Roge successfully obtained the sales permit, and all the orders from the Wild Wolf Gang were now in Field's hands.
Field held a thick stack of orders and gold certificates, strolling leisurely towards the group of merchants.
"How did it go, brother?"
"Not bad. Roge accepted it, even praised the cake as delicious," Field smiled, indicating the thick stack of orders and gold certificates in his
hand.
The orders were for magical devices.
As for the gold certificates, they were half of the down payment for those ships. The rest would be paid upon delivery.
And Roge didn't ask for the down payment for all the magical devices, because they hadn't been delivered yet. Field told her to wait and promised a surprise. Anyway, if Field couldn't sell them, these orders would be voided, and Roge would only lose some time.
Although the magical devices hadn't been sold, they had bought back a bunch of ships at a low price. After some refurbishment, they could resell them for a handsome profit.
Seeing Field holding the orders and gold certificates, the group of merchants were all extremely excited.
After handing out the gold certificates for the down payment, Field said, "But if you want to make big money, this isn't enough. It depends on whether you want to continue."
The group of merchants tasted the sweetness and immediately nodded. "We're in, let's do it, brother!"
"Hehe," Field nodded satisfactorily. "Have someone find out which merchants are selling magical devices. Remember, they must have permits to sell."
"And then find out who wants to buy magical devices, big orders or small."
"It's eight ten now, come back here before nine and report."
"Got it!" the group of merchants nodded.
They had people under them who were good at gathering intelligence. They just hadn't played this kind of thing on such a big occasion before, so inexplicably, they were a bit excited, feeling like they were doing something big.
Next, Field just needed to wait patiently. Of course, he wasn't just waiting around; he was walking around the venue with Qiqi, collecting useful information.
Before long, at nine o'clock, the merchants returned one by one to report, and Field roughly figured out the layout of this vast venue.
Thirteen merchants were selling magical devices, five of which were weapons, and the rest were either for daily use or had special functions.
And there were even more merchants buying magical devices. Basically, any merchant buying equipment would be interested in magical devices.
These things were almost like military weapons from his past life—highly profitable! Because a magical device could give someone with a silver rank the power to kill a gold rank.
This kind of power might not mean much for one person, but for a group of people, it was different.
Many of the wealthy and influential people present would want to buy some magical devices to arm their bodyguards. It was not only to ensure their own safety but also a symbol of power and status.
So selling off these magical device orders in his hand was as simple as can be for Field.