Chapter 733: Risk and Sincerity

Afterward, Baoxi felt the risk was too high and remained unwilling to pay wages only once a month, while Huaxia could only hold firm to its bottom line; the price was negotiable, but the settlement of wages could not be so casual. If such a precedent were set, it would be even harder for them to handle things in the future.

Both sides argued without reaching an agreement, yet they were still calmly reasoning with each other and no conflict erupted. In the end, they did not reach a conclusion that day, so they chose to rest for the night, think things over properly, and continue the discussion tomorrow.

The Suiren clan only provided empty land to these people from Huaxia; if they wanted to live there, they had to pitch their own Tents, and they were unwilling to provide food either. After all, they knew Huaxia had plenty of grain and there was no need to use their own tribe's precious grain to feed these unrelated people.

That night, the group from Huaxia discussed together and believed the price could be raised slightly, but it could not reach their maximum limit, otherwise, future negotiations would be very difficult and leave no room for maneuver. However, they also shouldn't increase it by too little as before; they should give more all at once and state that this was the final price and their final sincerity—take it or leave it—to pressure the Suiren clan. They believed the Suiren clan would not be willing to give up this opportunity to earn grain.

Within the Suiren clan, Baoxi summoned Huangpin and asked for his opinion: "Do you think this proposal from Huaxia is reliable, or could they be here to deceive our tribesmen?"

Based on his observations throughout the day and his own reflections, Huangpin said to Baoxi: "Tribal Chief, I think there shouldn't be any problem with this matter. I calculated the price offered by Huaxia and their reasons; their price is very appropriate, as if it were made after a long time of consideration. Although I don't know what they want our tribesmen to do, it is of great benefit to us."

"If Huaxia wanted to trick our tribesmen away, why wouldn't they just negotiate with a very high price, a price so high we couldn't refuse? As long as they lured our tribesmen out of here, their goal would be achieved; there is no need to negotiate bit by bit like this."

"Most importantly, they have already united with the Xuanyuan Tribe. If we refuse, I fear we will be completely ostracized by both tribes, and in the future, we won't know anything about what those two tribes are doing."

"Furthermore, if we are willing to trade with them, we can arrange for our Soldiers to be sent in. We don't know what it is like inside Huaxia City, nor about that New City we have never seen. If we hire our tribesmen to go work there, we will certainly be able to obtain the most detailed information about these aspects."

Baoxi pondered Huangpin's words to judge whether it was truly so and whether he should agree to Huaxia. If he agreed, they would have to make concessions; wages would be settled every thirty days, and the only thing he could fight for was the price.

Just like that, Baoxi pondered in the darkness for a long time. When he came back to his senses, he discovered that Huangpin was still in his room, waiting with his head lowered, so he waved his hand: "Alright, you go back too; I will think about it carefully."

Huangpin then left humbly and closed the loose wooden door for Baoxi. In the neighboring house, Baoxi's children were still making noise. In the past, because of Baoxi's irritability and authoritarianism, his children were relatively weak and lacked presence. But Baoxi was at this age now, his children were no longer young, and given his status, he really had quite a few children. Besides those clearly known to be born to his women, there were likely more children of his, but it was impossible to know.

Baifeng also speculated that Baoxi had many children, but regarding him, Baifeng could be said to know nothing in history, so naturally, there were no accurate memories or judgments. There was not much communication between them, and it was even less possible to discuss their children; Baifeng had no interest in this aspect either. He was more interested in the son of Xuanyuan.

The next morning, they held discussions again. As soon as Baoxi sat down, he said to the people of Huaxia: "I have thought about it and decided to trust you, Huaxia. Wages will be settled every thirty days, but this price must still be raised a bit more. That amount is still not enough for us. If our Soldiers stay in the tribe, they can hunt wild beasts; they can capture a large amount of prey in a single day. Grain like Grass Seed cannot compare to meat."

A look of surprise flashed in the eyes of the Huaxia group. They did not expect that Baoxi would actually take a step back himself; this was something they had completely not anticipated. If that were the case, the plan they had prepared would not be needed; they only needed to show their own sincerity to Baoxi.

Zhigui said very seriously to Baoxi: "Tribal Chief Baoxi, since you are willing to trust us, Huaxia, then we, Huaxia, are also very willing to trade with you. The reason we must require this settlement time is that we do not want to cooperate just this once; we want to continue cooperating like this in the future. Therefore, we cannot set this precedent. If this door is opened, the risk will become higher and higher for us in the future."

"However, since Tribal Chief Baoxi has such sincerity, we have also discussed it and decided to add two more liang of grain per person per day to the price we discussed yesterday. How about that? Is our sincerity sufficient?"

Compared to negotiating by half a liang at a time yesterday, Huaxia was willing to increase the price by so much directly, and Baoxi was also very happy. Even if Huaxia was only willing to pay wages once every thirty days, that amount was extremely high; calculated out, it was enough to alleviate the grain shortage in their tribe.

With so many people, they could fully earn enough food for them to survive the Winter, and they could even distribute a portion to others. Originally, Baoxi was prepared to continue negotiating the price upward, but he did not expect Huaxia to be so straightforward, so it was not easy for him to continue negotiating. Thus, he nodded firmly, indicating that he accepted this price.

Hearing Baoxi's agreement, Zhigui and the others also breathed a sigh of relief. This meant their negotiation was a success. Afterward, they would discuss the details, as well as the transportation of grain, the selection of Laborers, the details of the work, and management methods, etc.

As the people of Huaxia spoke under the tree, the Soldiers serving nearby heard them and all felt a bit moved. Such treatment was perhaps a bit too good; it made them want to go too.

Through the decision of Zhigui and Baoxi, and the detailed arrangements between Huangpin and the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, both sides made the final decision that morning. After Zhigui and the others returned, they would immediately arrange to send the grain over, and the Suiren clan would also have to select their labor force to head toward the border of Huaxia.