Chapter 382: How Do You Plan to Cooperate?

Xiaqing had already thought it through. “I can part with them, and it’s worth it. Auctioning off the spinach seeds for wider distribution might mean earning a little less in the short term, but it will be beneficial in the long run.”

Xiaqing didn’t really have any grand ambitions; she just wanted to survive. But no matter how powerful a single person was, they were still insignificant on the evolved and Crazy Blue Star. Only when the Human Clan was strong could individuals live better lives.

Therefore, Xiaqing hoped for the country to be strong and society to be stable. She hoped for more people to survive, and for the Human Clan not to be devoured and wiped out by the rapidly evolving creatures of Blue Star.

The Special Level Nutrient Liquid made from the High Yi Element Green Light Spinach native to her territory was a life-saving item in critical moments.

Even if it wasn’t made into Special Level Nutrient Liquid, eating this spinach could boost the body’s immunity, repair physical damage, and promote evolution. In other words, ordinary people and General Evolvers who couldn’t afford the Special Level Nutrient Liquid could also benefit from growing this spinach and advance their own evolution.

Therefore, promoting the spinach seeds wouldn’t just cut off the Fiery Fire Team’s source of income and make them behave, it would also benefit the overall situation.

Besides, this method of promotion wasn’t a free giveaway. The tens of millions of points she’d earn from selling the seeds would be enough to last her for a long time.

Even if the price of the seeds and spinach seedlings dropped after they were widely distributed, the price of the first-generation seeds she cultivated would definitely still be higher than that of ordinary Green Light Seeds.

If a Research Institute or another team used a High Yi Element environment to cultivate seeds more stable than her first-generation ones and promoted them, causing her own seeds to become unpopular, it wouldn’t be a huge deal.

Because as a Lord who possessed Pollution-free Spring Water and a seven-thousand-acre territory, she had plenty of ways to earn survival resources.

Seeing that she had thought it through, Yang Jin cut the pleasantries and asked directly, “How do you plan to cooperate this time?”

Xiaqing had already figured out the strategy for negotiating with an Iron Rooster and wouldn’t state her bottom line right away. “You give me the seeds you took. I’ll be responsible for planting them in these two terraced fields, using the spring water and Yi Stones from my territory. You’ll be in charge of sales and ensuring the Fiery Fire Team doesn’t suspect me. You’ll also need to provide the manpower and equipment to protect my territory, so no one discovers I’m growing a large amount of spinach. After the harvest, we’ll split the profits eighty-twenty. You get twenty percent, I get eighty. How does that sound?”

Yang Jin chuckled to himself and shook his head firmly, starting to haggle. “Sixty-forty. I get forty, you get sixty. Distributing over a million spinach seeds without the source being traced is not a small price for me to pay. And another thing: while the cultivation resources are uniquely yours, I’ll be responsible for keeping nearly two acres of spinach hidden from people, reconnaissance birds, drones, and even satellites for over three months during their growth period. That also requires a significant investment of manpower, finances, and resources. If there’s even one slip-up in this process, when the spinach seeds hit the market in large quantities, people from Fiery Fire and Su Feng will connect it to the large patch of spinach in your territory.”

It was precisely because she knew how dangerous it was to grow spinach on a large scale—and that she couldn’t keep it a secret on her own—that Xiaqing was willing to give up tens of millions in profit to have Yang Jin take charge.

Yang Jin understood this as well, which was why he was demanding a forty-percent share of the profits.

Xiaqing gave her final offer. “Thirty-five percent for you, sixty-five for me. I can’t go any lower. For me, growing this spinach means using up ninety-five percent of my spring water, Green Light fertilizer, and Yi Stones over the next three months.”

Yang Jin didn’t say whether he agreed or not, instead starting to calculate the costs and returns. “1.2 million seeds, sold at a price of 30 points each, comes to a revenue of 36 million. The spring water, Green Light fertilizer, Yi Stones, my efforts to clear sales channels, and arranging the manpower and equipment to protect the spinach fields… the total investment will be around 9 million. If everything goes smoothly, based on the split you just proposed, your income would be 17.55 million. That is indeed a huge amount of points, but the effort we both need to put in over three months will also be enormous.”

When Yang Jin saw that Xiaqing’s expression remained calm, he knew she had already considered this.

The smile in his eyes deepened as he proposed his own plan. “If your target profit is over 17 million, we could just sell these twenty-thousand-plus seeds this year at a high price. The return wouldn’t be low, and we wouldn’t have to expend the effort to plant another crop.”

Xiaqing had, of course, considered that option. “But while more than twenty thousand seeds is a lot, selling them might lead to them being monopolized by a few teams or organizations. They could end up like the Fiery Fire Team, just producing Special Level Nutrient Liquid to earn points, which wouldn’t achieve the goal of widespread cultivation.”

‘So that’s what she’s worried about,’ Yang Jin thought with a smile. “We can sell the seeds to someone who is capable, won’t hoard them, and will use them to their advantage. That would be the best of both worlds.”

Xiaqing had considered this as well, but such a person would have to be a major figure, and it would require Yang Jin to contact them directly, which carried a high risk of exposing their secret.

However, since Yang Jin had proposed it, it meant he had someone in mind and a plan to avoid exposing the secret of the spring. Xiaqing asked, “Who are you thinking of trading with?”

“Our own Hui San Base’s Commander, Qi Zhongye.” Yang Jin explained to Xiaqing why he chose him. “These seeds are of great significance. The person who discovers and promotes them will be credited with a great merit. For our own reasons, it’s not convenient for either of us to take that credit, so we can transfer it to the Base Commander. He will absolutely not hoard them; he’ll find a way to promote the spinach seeds for planting as soon as possible.”

“With these spinach seeds, his prestige in Hui San Base will increase, and he’ll have more say in Hui Yi and even at the Red City Headquarters. The stronger he gets, the weaker Deputy Base Commander Tang Zhengrong becomes, and the Su Feng Team will weaken along with him.”

Yang Jin continued, explaining the benefits for Xiaqing. “Doing this isn’t just advantageous for the Green Dragon Team; it will also bring a great deal of peace to the Second Territory. Your territory will be much safer. What do you think?”

The prospect of weakening Tang Zhengrong and the Su Feng Team was incredibly tempting for Xiaqing. More than the Fiery Fire Team, she wanted to weaken the Su Feng Team and get her revenge sooner. But, “How will you explain the origin of the seeds to the Base Commander?”

Yang Jin was full of confidence. “The spinach seeds came from the same place as the Pollution-free Spring Water used to cure Brother Luo’s poison.”

Xiaqing raised an eyebrow. “The Sea of Death in Lan City? Is there really Pollution-free Spring Water there?”

“There is, but retrieving the water is extremely dangerous, and its quality isn’t as good as what’s in your territory. I made a trip to the Sea of Death this past May and did find some Yi Evolution Spinach there, but it was only of ordinary Green Light quality. However, I can claim that I discovered High Yi Element Spinach in the Sea of Death.”

Yang Jin jostled the winnowing basket and continued explaining, “After I discovered them, I collected the seeds of this High Yi Element Spinach, cultivated them, and only after confirming their quality did I consider promoting them.”

After speaking, Yang Jin grabbed a few spinach seeds from the basket. “If you think this is feasible, I’ll arrange for someone to go to the Sea of Death as soon as possible. They’ll bury these spinach seeds in the grass near the Death Sea Spring. Then I’ll go to the Safe Zone to find the Base Commander and negotiate the deal.”