Chapter 1708 - 939: The Enigmatic Director Li

In order to solve the energy problem in Southern Paradise, before Chen Er negotiated with Oil City this time, Mr. Hu issued him a death order: cooperation must be achieved.

But exchanging one truck of medicine for six trucks of oil is truly a bit too little.

So Chen Er, with an awkward smile on his face, continued:

"A truck of medicine for eight trucks of oil, really... let’s reduce a bit, eight trucks, how about a truck of medicine for eight trucks of oil?"

"Six trucks," Xiao Jun remained firm and unyielding, consistently insisting on this number.

"Uh..." Chen Er showed a troubled expression.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent, and Xiao Jun nonchalantly picked up a cup to drink, seemingly unconcerned about failing to reach an agreement.

This time, Southern Paradise actively sought out cooperation, so naturally, as the party being sought, they had more leverage.

Although Big Camphor Tree Base also needs your supplies, it’s not so urgent.

Since your Southern Paradise is so desperate for oil, while I’m not in a rush, the exchange mainly depends on my stance.

This is a game, with both sides having a bottom line in mind.

"How about seven trucks? It’s really too little." Chen Er seemed to have made a major decision and spoke to Xiao Jun.

During the conversation with Xiao Jun, he occasionally glanced at Li Yu sitting at the top, but Li Yu seemed to have his attention elsewhere, playing with his phone.

"Six trucks." Xiao Jun clung stubbornly to the number.

Chen Er realized Xiao Jun still wouldn’t budge, so he shifted his gaze to Li Yu.

"Director Li, you see, six trucks are really too few...." Chen Er, with a bitter expression, spoke in a somewhat flattering tone.

He knew that although Director Li didn’t seem to be involved in deciding the exchange ratio, he was certain that Director Li was the real decision-maker here.

Li Yu heard Chen Er call him, leaned forward, put down his phone, and smiled at Chen Er saying, "Captain Chen, to be honest, the oil produced by Oil City isn’t even enough for ourselves."

After saying this, he picked up his phone again.

Upon hearing this response from Li Yu, Chen Er’s heart skipped a beat.

Oh no, could it be that trying to haggle has angered Director Li? What if Director Li gets mad and refuses to cooperate?

Then they wouldn’t get any oil at all.

After all, it was us who came seeking cooperation, bluntly speaking, we were asking for help.

When asking for help, there’s no room for negotiation.

Realizing this, Chen Er woke up, gritted his teeth, and said to Xiao Jun:

"Alright, we’ll go with what you said, six trucks of oil for one truck of medicine."

Xiao Jun nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Since we’re on it, let’s also talk about salt and sugar. One ton of salt/sugar for one ton of oil, what do you think?"

Upon hearing Xiao Jun propose this exchange ratio, Chen Er furrowed his brow and said:

"This exchange rate is truly too low; our salt and sugar yields are extremely limited. I need to report to the leaders at our base before I can respond to this, but exchanging one ton of salt for one ton of oil is basically impossible."

Xiao Jun smiled without saying anything.

He naturally knew that in the Doomsday, food and weapons were the most crucial.

Secondly, it was resources like energy and medicine.

Salt and sugar belong to a category of food; a prolonged lack of sufficient salt intake makes a person lethargic and weak.

While sugar provides energy, making it also very precious in the Doomsday.

Exchanging a ton of oil for a ton of salt/sugar was just Xiao Jun speaking casually, negotiations are meant to be discussed gradually, back and forth.

Xiao Jun put down the cup and asked:

"You need to bring your own oil tanks for storage; we won’t provide them."

Chen Er saw that Xiao Jun didn’t continue discussing the sugar and salt matter, realizing roughly what was going on.

He was worried that Oil City might use its power to force them, making them suffer by exchanging one ton of salt and sugar for one ton of oil. Such an exchange rate would be a grave loss!

Not talking about it now indicates there’s room for negotiation.

"Captain Xiao, don’t worry about that, we’ve brought oil tankers ourselves; they can store the oil."

"Oil tankers? Captain Chen, may I ask what the capacity of your oil tankers is?"

"Ours is small, roughly similar to what we discussed just now, each truck can carry around eight tons."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jun nodded; close enough.

Although they discussed in terms of vehicles during their communication, there was a benchmark set; that is, oil is measured by each truck’s capacity of eight tons, while medicines are measured using a standard of a 50 cubic truck.

After all, medicines are relatively light, so they’re calculated by volume.

Xiao Jun then said:

"Let’s set the trading location at the intersection three kilometers east of Oil City, there’s ample space there."

"Alright." Seeing the cooperation reached, Chen Er was inwardly pleased.

....

The two sides then communicated on some details, such as the time, place, and items for the next trade.

Towards the end of the discussion, Xiao Jun saw Li Yu touch his ear, understanding he had done well.

Before the negotiation, Xiao Jun had a secret signal agreed with Li Yu: if Li Yu continuously played with his phone, it meant he was dissatisfied with the results and wanted it to continue.

If Li Yu touched his ear, it meant he could accept the deal.

Li Yu touched his ear and put down his phone.