Chapter 1348: Additional Orders, Short-term Dividends

Having completed the delivery of the first order and made a large profit, Xia Duo felt extremely relaxed, and appeared even more calm and composed when discussing the next order with Lord Halan.

"After a month of practice, the Tower of Time has the capacity to complete more orders. If Lord Halan is willing to trust the Tower of Time, the Tower of Time will certainly not let you down."

"I certainly trust the Tower of Time and Lord Xia Duo, and I am very willing to entrust more orders to the Tower of Time, but there is still a small problem here; I need to get your confirmation first!"

"What problem?" Xia Duo asked.

"The issue of time."

Charles Halan recalled the days when he had contacted Lord Xia Duo every single day; although the other party had not broken the agreement, he was also very certain that the other party had intentionally delayed the delivery of the order.

"If possible, I hope the Tower of Time can deliver immediately after completing an order, and any additional personnel travel expenses incurred during this period will be covered by our side!"

"This—" Xia Duo was silent for a moment, then asked, "I wonder what production timeline Lord Halan is expecting?"

"How about fifteen days?" Charles Halan tentatively stated a time.

The first order had seemingly taken a month, but precisely because it was the first order, the time was bound to be longer; as the relevant personnel became more familiar with the process, a considerable amount of time would certainly be saved.

When saying this number, Charles actually did not have much confidence, because if the same order were given to other Mage Tower organizations, the time would only be longer than a month, not shorter.

Naturally, Xia Duo could not agree to this; they were unwilling to even pay an expedited fee, yet still wanted early delivery—it was simply wishful thinking.

"Lord Halan, you must know that everyone capable of crafting a Demon-Slaying Amulet is a High Mage, and no Mage Tower can force a High Mage to do something they are unwilling to do, unless—"

"Unless what?"

"……"

Xia Duo rolled his eyes instantly; it had been stated so obviously, did he still not understand? Unless you pay more!

"Ahem—"

Having no choice, Xia Duo had to be more blunt, "If Lord Halan is willing to increase the processing fee per Demon-Slaying Amulet, the High Mages of the Tower of Time might be willing to devote more of their private time specifically to completing your order."

Now, Charles Halan finally understood why Lord Xia Duo had not been replying to his Sending messages before; it was because of this!

From a rational perspective, obtaining higher efficiency by paying more was very favorable for him, but he still felt somewhat unwilling; since it could be completed without paying more, why did he have to pay more?

However, he was not foolish enough to say these words to his face, so he proposed another plan, "I just looked at the quality of those Demon-Slaying Amulets; I believe the yield rate of the Tower of Time is definitely more than seventy percent. I think we can change the method of cooperation—"

"The premise of the 100-piece monthly order remains unchanged, but at the end of the month, for every extra piece the Tower of Time delivers, I can purchase it at a price of 3,000 per piece."

This was actually a disguised way of paying more for efficiency, only extending the Time Line of each order to one month. According to Charles's calculations, at a price of 3,000 Gold Coins per piece, even as a normal procurement order, the Tower of Time would still make a profit.

Not to mention the materials left over from the processing order.

But this time, Xia Duo still did not agree. It was not that the additional purchase plan was bad; of course, there was profit at 3,000 per piece, as for one Demon-Slaying Amulet, the material cost was 1,000 and the market price for processing was 1,000, so the remaining 1,000 was pure profit.

That was the case for others, but for the Tower of Time, the profit would only be greater.

It was just that doing so would not align with Xia Duo's original intention. He wanted to make money, but he could not work himself to death. According to Lord Halan's new plan, the Tower of Time would indeed earn more, but it would also be tied to this order.

After thinking for a while, Xia Duo directly stated his final plan—

"First, the Tower of Time only accepts delivery at the end of the month; second, for an order of 100 pieces, the processing fee is 1,000 Gold Coins per piece; for an order of 150 pieces, the processing fee is 1,500 Gold Coins per piece; for an order of 200 pieces, the processing fee is 2,000 Gold Coins per piece, with a maximum of 200 pieces per month."

Xia Duo was unwilling to be tied too deeply to Lord Halan. If he wanted to increase efficiency, it was simple: just pay more. That kind of extra procurement seemed good, but it actually turned the Tower of Time into a mere processing factory.

The Tower of Time doing processing work was just a means to earn money and materials, not the ultimate goal.

The materials left over from processing supplied materials were what Xia Duo valued more; whether continuing to produce Demon-Slaying Amulets, other Magic Items, or using them to maintain the Tower of Time, it was relatively flexible.

At the same time, he was not worried about Lord Halan running off. After tasting the high efficiency of the Tower of Time, switching to other Mage Tower organizations or certain individual contractors would result in an experience that simply could not compare.

Sure enough, after Xia Duo stated his final plan, Lord Halan fell silent, frowning and thinking constantly, but he did not leave.

This plan was certainly asking for a high price, but such a consistent-quality, highly efficient processing factory naturally had the confidence to demand such a price.

It would not be too late to start a price war once other Mage Towers popularized mass production.

Of course, such a price was only valid for the first few months after the Demon-Slaying Amulet design was released. Once time passed, purchasing finished products from a large number of individual High Mages would be the most efficient method.

But by then, there would certainly be all kinds of problems, such as unstable quality of amulets produced by different groups, the need for extra inspection time, or High Mages having to complete production tasks for their own Mage Tower organizations, leading to delays in private order deliveries, and so on.

Xia Duo knew that Lord Halan had received the military order directly from the Dwarf Prince, and had even received it in advance; how could he use a batch of "off-brand" goods with widely varying quality to complete the task!

Of course, he had to choose a "branded manufacturer" like the Tower of Time that provided guarantees!

The facts were just as Xia Duo had anticipated; Lord Halan pondered for a long time and finally agreed to Xia Duo's plan. The second batch of orders was pushed directly to the limit Xia Duo had given—

200 pieces per month, with a processing fee of 2,000 Gold Coins per piece, though the yield rate was increased slightly to eighty percent.

Regarding the issue of the yield rate, Xia Duo and Lord Halan negotiated back and forth for a long time; Lord Halan's attitude in this regard was very firm, and it was only then finally set at eighty percent.

If he had asked for seventy percent again, it probably would not have been worthy of the 2,000-per-piece processing fee.

Of course, Xia Duo also intentionally made concessions after a difficult negotiation; otherwise, if it came too easily, the other party might not cherish it.

In fact, Xia Duo did not care much about the issue of earning more or less; reaching the deal was the key. Having a deal meant being able to make money, and he also earned materials, while providing job opportunities for the Magic Technicians of the Tower of Time.

Strive for one's own interests as much as possible under the premise of a win-win situation.

Without the premise of a win-win, even if more is earned in the short term, one will lose more from a long-term perspective.