Chapter 1239: Cooperation for Mutual Benefit, OEM Profits

"Lord Halan, I just thought of a new plan in Seventon that would be mutually beneficial for both sides. Of course, this plan will not affect our current transaction. As for whether or not to cooperate, it is entirely up to Lord Halan to decide."

"What kind of plan? Lord Xia Duo, please speak—" Charles Halan's expression remained unchanged, feigning a calm appearance.

One knows one's own affairs best; he was secretly eager for cooperation with Lord Xia Duo, but he would not show it on his face.

"Heh!"

Xia Duo smiled slightly and took a Communication Magic Tool produced by the Tower of Time from his Personal Space. It was a palm-sized, slightly hazy transparent Crystal Ball, with a faintly glowing Tower of Time emblem inside.

Holding this Crystal Ball, he asked Halan: "Lord Halan, have you seen this before?"

"Of course I have, I have one myself! I think there are very few people in Seventon now who don't know about the Tower of Time's Communication Magic Tool! Is this the cooperation Lord Xia Duo wants to talk about?"

Although he said that, Charles Halan knew very well that the Tower of Time's Communication Magic Tools had always been sold by the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce, and he had never heard of any conflict between the two sides. How could such a stable cooperative relationship be changed because of him?

"Lord Halan, do not be impatient. The cooperation I am talking about is not the Communication Magic Tool, but it is related to it. I am using this Communication Magic Tool as an example just to illustrate the production capacity of the Tower of Time!"

"Production capacity?"

Lord Halan pondered carefully. As if he had thought of something, all the Mist cleared away. He struggled to control his excited and agitated heart, and asked with forced composure:

"Does Lord Xia Duo want to cooperate with me on the Demon-Slaying Arrow business, just like you cooperate with the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce on the Communication Magic Tool? No! Is it the Demon-Slaying Amulet?"

Perhaps even he himself did not notice that his words now carried a slight, distinct tremor.

Xia Duo noticed this, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He had no intention of coercing or defrauding the other party; they were just discussing cooperation. If the other party did not agree to his requirements, then it would be useless no matter how much they cried or begged.

If the other party agreed, or even eagerly agreed, Xia Duo would not make exorbitant demands. After all, the foundation of cooperation is a win-win, not unilateral exploitation.

Putting himself in their shoes, if he encountered a situation of exorbitant demands, even if he agreed at the time due to the situation, he would retaliate once the situation reversed in the future.

Or even if he didn't retaliate, as far as the cooperation itself was concerned, he would drag it out in various ways, ensuring the other party would not gain the maximum benefit.

The ancestors often said "harmony is precious." Setting aside those profound philosophical speculations, it actually means "mutually beneficial cooperation."

Spellcasters are selfish, but they are more rational. They know how to reduce risks and how to obtain maximum benefits. For those who do not know how to avoid risks, even if they gain power for a moment, time will eventually make them take a big tumble.

Xia Duo has never aimed for maximizing profit. He has his own goals. So-called benefits are often just tools for him to achieve his goals; he takes them when they are there and discards them when they are to be discarded.

Now that the Tower of Time has entered a new system, only one-third of the Apprentices' three-year contract period has passed, but there are already signs of continuous advancement.

Not for anything else, even if just to settle those Official Mages who are about to advance, Xia Duo must strive to take on work, fully incorporating those new mages into the normal system operations so they do not drift outside or remain on the periphery of the system.

Meeting Lord Halan was inevitable, as he had to buy his manor and had revealed information about custom-made high-quality Magic Items. But Lord Halan bringing out the design blueprints for the Demon-Slaying Arrow and Demon-Slaying Amulet was purely a coincidence.

Xia Duo had no prior knowledge or estimation of this, but now that the opportunity was before him, if he didn't seize it, could he expect others to force it into his hands?

"Lord Halan, you guessed correctly. What I want to discuss with you is cooperation regarding the Demon-Slaying Amulet!"

Xia Duo first responded to Lord Halan's guess, then said: "I don't know much about Halan Territory, but let me guess: I think it must be very difficult for Halan Territory to produce enough Demon-Slaying Amulets in a short period of time!"

For a genuine Demon-Slaying Amulet, a High Mage must participate in the production. If there is no division of labor and cooperation, and a High Mage is responsible for every step of the process alone, then if the slightest mistake occurs midway, the previous work must be scrapped and started over.

To produce enough Demon-Slaying Amulets in a short time, one needs enough High Mages to gamble on probability and time!

But given Lord Halan's strength, Xia Duo highly doubted how many High Mages Halan Territory could have now. If he had to find outsiders, how many could he find? And what would the cost be?

Regarding Xia Duo's guess, Charles Halan's body trembled slightly, but he still feigned composure. This situation was easy to investigate, so there was no point in hiding it here.

Afterward, he thought of the cooperation Lord Xia Duo mentioned. After hesitating for only a moment, he said truthfully: "Indeed, Halan Territory alone cannot complete the entire production plan within the deadline."

To this, Xia Duo just nodded silently, understanding in his heart, and said: "Since that is the case, what does Lord Halan think about the Tower of Time undertaking part of the production as an OEM?"

"OEM?"

A flash of doubt crossed Charles Halan's eyes. He had initially thought Lord Xia Duo would ask to share the previous batch of orders he had received, but he hadn't expected it to be just OEM.

Without the order, there is no pricing power, so the profit would first be discounted. Moreover, with OEM, one cannot earn the material premium either. Why would he do this?

Regarding this, Xia Duo did not explain too much. Should he say that this method allows him to intercept scrapped Mithril? Or should he say that the Tower of Time's OEM fee is far cheaper than the labor cost the other party understands?

But for the Tower of Time, there is currently not much spare capacity to purchase materials for Demon-Slaying Amulets. Rather than freeing up cash flow to earn that little bit of profit without essential improvement, it is better to focus on OEM!

For an ordinary Mage Tower, the profit from OEM might indeed not be as high as owning the order, but for the Tower of Time, it is actually no less profitable than directly splitting the order.

This is actually similar to the mobile phone industry on Earth, the difference between a manufacturer that builds its own factory and an OEM factory; the former is not necessarily more profitable than the latter.

Especially since the latter's technology is constantly updated and iterated, it will only continue to expand the profit margin. Even if the situation is suitable one day, it is not impossible to make mobile phones themselves and take all the profits.

"Lord Halan, do not doubt it. I am indeed talking about OEM. Currently, all resources of the Tower of Time have their uses, and there are no new procurement plans in the short term. For large orders like the Demon-Slaying Amulet, it is better to let a prepared Mage Tower take them!"