"I heard that they initially plan to divide the purchase price into five ranges. The big pirate groups that signed contracts with them are in the top range, and other relatively powerful pirate groups can also get prices in the third and fourth ranges. By analogy, newcomers like you who appeared later can only start from the bottom range. Of course, as long as you can get enough loot, the purchase price will continue to increase, but even if you estimate it at the fastest speed, you enter I'm afraid it will be three years before we reach the fourth section, which is unfair to you and your crew." Karina stretched her somewhat swollen wrist that was strangled.
Zhang Heng glanced at Annie, who reluctantly pulled out the dagger at his waist, and cut the ropes on Karina's wrist and ankle.
"What business are you talking about?"
Karina thanked, "I want to cooperate with you for a long time and buy the spoils in your hands. Don't worry, the price I offer is definitely higher than that of the alliance. I can directly give you the price of the fourth range."
Karina was very confident about the offer, but Zhang Heng refused without hesitation, "Sorry, I'm not interested."
Karina didn't expect to get such an answer, she looked very surprised, "Why? Now you need a strong and stable partner, you can get nearly 40% more price from me, which is better than selling to The alliance is much more cost-effective, and I can promise that this price is only valid when you are the captain, which should be very helpful to maintain your captain position, no matter how you look at it, you have no loss."
Zhang Heng shook his head, "You only counted my gains but not my risks. If I sell the booty to you, I will definitely offend the entire black merchant alliance, which means losing the support of almost all black market merchants on the island. Once something happens on your side, I will suffer the risk that the spoils cannot be realized."
The smile on Karina's face was a bit forced, but she still said, "You don't have to worry about this. I have been in Nassau for so many years, and I have never had anything wrong."
"Really, in this case, why didn't you join the alliance?" Zhang Heng asked back, "According to your previous description, you should have many partners before, so even if you join the alliance, the treatment should be pretty good, so what about now? , How many other captains are willing to sell the goods to you?"
This is a question that Karina cannot avoid. She has thought about countless answers on the way here, and made up several versions of the story. In her opinion, Zhang Heng is just a lucky guy who happened to get a ship. Battleship, I shouldn't be difficult to deal with, but when the two met, she knew how naive her previous thoughts were. The young man in front of her had a calmness that was completely out of proportion to her age. Meticulous, calm and rational, she was more terrifying than any pirate she had encountered on the island before.
Karina suddenly realized how lame and ridiculous the stories she had made up before were, so when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what else to say.
The atmosphere in the living room became a little silent for a while, only the snoring of Annie. She was not interested in the profit distribution that the two of them were talking about, and fell asleep on the back of the chair at some point.
Zhang Heng put the coat on the red-haired girl, and then said to the businesswoman, "If you can't tell the truth, then there is no possibility of any cooperation between us."
Karina smiled wryly, "If I tell you the truth, I'm afraid there will be no possibility of cooperation between us."
"You can at least give it a try." Zhang Heng poured two cups of tea and gave one of them to Karina.
The latter hesitated for a long time, and finally opened his mouth, but the first sentence was shocking, "I'm actually... not a black market merchant on the island."
And when she finished speaking, she raised her head and looked at Zhang Heng's face, but found that there was no surprise in the latter, and she couldn't help being even more discouraged, "You have already found out? Then I, am I just like a clown in your eyes? "
"It's not that exaggerated. How long have you been on the island?"
"Two months."
"It's not easy to do this in such a short amount of time. There is nothing wrong with your clothes, and there is nothing wrong with your behavior. The most important thing is that you have a good understanding of the situation on the island. If it weren't for your skin color, I wouldn't doubt you. Yes." Zhang Heng paused, "The black market merchants on the island are often exposed to the sun when inspecting goods, and their skin is generally darker, and you don't look like someone who often leaves the house."
"Is it because of this?" Karina's smile was full of bitterness, "I have been living in New Hampshire before, and my father was a black market dealer in Nassau, and he would always tell me about this place when I was young. Stories, he called it the Land of Fortune, a land where only the most fearless survived, but back then I wasn't interested in adventure or anything like that."
"Then why are you here now?"
"Because of my dad, he was arrested in New Jersey about six months ago on charges of piracy and they held him and one of his transports, ironically the harbor master and the customs guys were just in a week I took a large bribe from him before."
Karina sighed, "After he was imprisoned, my mother has been doing business all the time, and finally found out that he offended a local big shot because he sold a batch of similar products. We asked someone to mediate, but the other party had a big appetite. Even if all the family money is taken out, there is still a big gap, so I thought of taking over his previous business, continuing to make money through the Nassau trade, and getting enough of the ransom, which is why I came here. "
"But then you happened to coincide with the establishment of the Black Merchants Alliance."
"Yes, I didn't join because I was not qualified to join at all." Karina said helplessly, "I tried to find several captains who had worked with my father before, but because he left for a while, the previous partnership They are automatically invalidated, and as for those old friends of his, they also expressed that they are helpless, I am really desperate, I saw you and your boat at noon, and I wanted to try my luck with you."
Karina is still making the final effort, "My father also left behind a transport ship. Over the years, he has managed a lot of contacts in various ports. When I visited him in prison, he told the names of those people. For me, in addition to this, there is a charter. In theory, all customs in the colony must be released for the charter. Although I can’t go to New Jersey now, there are several other ports where I can sell the goods. .”