“What? Aren’t you satisfied, Storekeeper Tang?”
The old man sipped his tea and said calmly.
Tang Hao smirked and said, “You can sell it for five crystals, but you’re only buying it for three. Don’t you think that’s a little too low?”
If the other party had come with ill intentions, there was no need for him to be polite.
“Ha! Is that so?” The old man laughed. “Tianlu Merchant Guild has more than two thousand branches in the southern region. Think about how big our order will be.
“If we make a big order, we should enjoy a bigger discount. Don’t you think so?”
“You think that our offer is low? Let me tell you, it’s an honor to cooperate with the Tianlu Merchant Guild. Who else would bother cooperating with this stupid little store?”
As he said this, he glanced around disdainfully.
The Tianlu Merchant Guild was one of the biggest organizations in the southern region, while Ritian Pavilion was only a small store tucked away in a remote corner.
The old man replied, “If you think that the price is low, why not pick the first option? Also, we can guarantee that we won’t set up a branch in Nanping City in the future.
“One hundred million crystals isn’t low, is it? Your Ritian Pavilion is located in a remote area, and you only have one store. You won’t sell much in a day.”
As he said this, he looked at Tang Hao with an amused expression.
The main reason for the trip was the recipe. He deliberately gave an undesirable option so that the buyout option looked a lot more tempting.
One hundred million crystals was quite a high price, but they had no other choice because they could not reverse engineer the recipe. If they could produce their own pills, the profits they would make would definitely exceed one hundred million.
“One hundred million? That’s too low!” Tang Hao said coldly.
In an instant, the expression of the old man turned cold.
Meanwhile, the young man yelled, “Are you crazy? You think that one hundred million is considered low? You won’t even make that much money in ten or twenty years with this stupid store.”
“That’s right, one store won’t make me that much money, but who can tell if I won’t open another branch?” Tang Hao said coldly, “One hundred million is not enough. Five hundred million? That’s more like it.”
“Five hundred million? Are… are you crazy? Do you love money that much?” The young man said exasperatedly.
The old man’s expression also became unpleasant.
One hundred million was already a very generous offer. Five hundred million was naturally out of the question.
Admittedly, in the long run, the value of the recipe would far exceed five hundred million. If the other party was on equal footing with Tianlu Merchant Guild, he would be willing to pay five hundred million.
However, the other party was just an unknown kid.
Everyone said that the kid was a prodigy in medicine making. Perhaps he had a powerful master.
However, the merchant guild has investigated Tang Hao, and they found no such heritage at least in the southern region.
He guessed that the kid was a disciple of a heritage in decline or on the verge of extinction. That was not a threat at all.
Those recipes were probably the only valuable things in the heritage.
As for talent, the kid was not a pill maker yet. It would be many years before he became one.
“Don’t you think that you’re asking for a little too much, Storekeeper Tang?”
The old man’s tone of voice was unfriendly.
“Take it or leave it!” Tang Hao said coldly, not willing to yield.
“You ought to know what’s good for you, kid. If you cross the Tianlu Merchant Guild, we’ll make sure that you won’t survive in the southern region!” The young man said fiercely.
The old man also said coldly, “I would advise you to reconsider your decision, Storekeeper Tang. It’s not wise to go against the Tianlu Merchant Guild.
“How about this? I’ll give you half a month to think through your decision, and I’ll come and ask you again when the time comes.
“If you persist, then we won’t go easy on you.”
There was a hint of a threat in his voice.
“Think about it carefully, kid. Losing your store is a small matter. Let’s hope you don’t lose your life!” The young man sneered disdainfully.
With the influence of the Tianlu Merchant Guild, killing that small fry was as easy as squashing an ant.
“See the guests out, Brother Liu!” Tang Hao said coldly.
“This way, please!” Zhao Liu walked up.
“Hmph!”
The old man grunted angrily, flicked his sleeves, and walked away.
The young man glared at him fiercely as if saying, “You’re finished.”.
“Aren’t things not looking very good for us, Brother Tang?”
Zhao Liu seemed worried after he re-entered the store. “The Tianlu Merchant Guild is very influential. We can’t afford to offend them!”
Tang Hao stood rooted to the spot with a solemn expression on his face.
The Tianlu Merchant Guild was indeed influential, and it would be quite troublesome. It would be fine if they attacked his store, but it would be bad if they attacked Tang Hao himself.
His identity must not be exposed.
He had to think of a way to scare them off.
After thinking for a long time, Tang Hao clapped his hands and said, “Got it!”
With that, he immediately walked out.
“Hey, Brother Tang, where are you going?” Zhao Liu hurriedly shouted.
“I’m going to get myself certified!” Tang Hao wagged his hand and said.
Zhao Liu was stunned. “What… what certification?”
“Pill maker!” Tang Hao said.
Zhao Liu was stunned when he heard that. He stood there, dumbfounded.
‘Brother Tang is going to get a pill maker certification?
‘Oh my god! Did I hear that wrong?
‘Does this mean that Brother Tang already knows how to make pills? That’s impossible! Brother Tang is still so young, how could he possibly know how to make pills?’
‘Even if he knew how to make pills, he would not be able to pass the test. Cloudcore Valley has countless disciples, but only a few dozen people have passed the test and become an official pill maker.
‘All the pill makers are very old. The youngest of them got certified in his forties. Many of them took the test more than ten times and passed only in their sixties.
‘It’s rumored that the test is the most difficult in the world.
‘Brother Tang is still so young. How could he pass it?’
While he was lost in thought, Tang Hao had already left the store.
In that world, a pill maker was an extremely respected profession. Once he became one, the Tianlu Merchant Guild would not dare to touch him.
It would also be more convenient for him to do anything in the future if he had that identity.
After leaving the city, he headed straight north.
There was only one place in the southern region that held the pill maker certification test. It was an academy in the central area of the southern region, and it was very far away from the border.
He rode on a flying mount and headed north, passing through dozens of countries, including the Ye Kingdom. It took him three days and three nights to reach his destination — Channel City.
It was a huge city, dozens of times bigger than Nanping City and Maple City. In the center of the city was a mountain that towered into the clouds.
That was Channel Mountain, the location of the academy and the nexus of the southern region’s pill-making world.
Outside the city, Tang Hao got off his mount, patted his clothes, and entered the city.
He asked the guards at the city gate and found that the certification test would take place in a few days. It was only held once a month.
