BXBX NOVEL Chapter 113: Exercising Even Greater Caution
"Master Jeremy, you're finally back. Heber has been searching for you for quite some time!" the guard exclaimed urgently upon seeing Jeremy.
"Heber has been looking for me for a long time? I just left not too long ago."
Jeremy glanced at the sky deliberately. He had set out in the early morning, and now the sun was still high in the sky. This implied that he had been away for no more than half a day.
"You've been gone for almost an entire day." the guard reminded Jeremy.
It was at this moment that Jeremy suddenly realized that the sun in Nocturne City never sets.
This revelation meant that relying on the sun's position to gauge the passage of time was utterly inaccurate.
"This indeed was my oversight. Where exactly is Heber now? I should go find him."
"Heber is in his own room. He instructed me to stand guard here and to direct you to him immediately upon your arrival."
Having received the pertinent information, Jeremy swiftly made his way to Heber's room.
"Why are you in such a hurry to find me?"
Jeremy asked in a calm tone as he pushed the door open and walked in.
"I'm in a rush to find you because of the collaboration with the gemstone merchants!" Heber's expression was tinged with frustration.
He felt as though he was bending over backwards to offer Jeremy assistance.
Yet, Jeremy appeared utterly unappreciative of his efforts.
"I've already discussed matters with a friend of mine. He will handle the purchase of a portion of your gemstones. However, he is not among the most successful gemstone merchants, so we still need to collaborate with other merchants."
"I'll take you to the commercial district's hub where the gemstone merchants gather. There, we can thoroughly discuss the collaboration with them."
Heber said while packing his things and addressing Jeremy simultaneously.
"When you meet those gemstone merchants, you must exercise even greater caution than before. These gemstone merchants are extremely difficult to deal with. If they detect any flaws or inconsistencies, they are highly likely to refuse to collaborate with us. We must avoid such a scenario at all costs."
Jeremy did not interrupt Heber, he simply leaned against the doorframe, smiling as he watched Heber.
Jeremy's nonchalant attitude successfully irked Heber.
"What on earth are you doing?! Didn't I say I would take you to meet those gemstone merchants?! Why aren't you taking action?!"
With a smile still on his face, Jeremy replied, "Actually, I've already sorted everything out. We don't need to seek out other gemstone merchants anymore."
Jeremy's words left Heber momentarily at a loss for how to vent his anger.
If Jeremy had indeed found a gemstone merchant, then all of Heber's efforts would have been in vain.
Heber felt somewhat disheartened and put everything he was holding down.
After a moment of hesitation, he directly asked Jeremy, "Which gemstone merchants have you found? Where did you negotiate the collaborations with them?"
"I found an exceedingly wealthy gemstone merchant at the Nocturne Auction House in the commercial district center. This affluent merchant has the capacity to purchase the vast majority of my gemstones." Jeremy replied.
The gemstone merchant Jack, whom we previously encountered, along with your friend, can handle purchasing the remaining gemstones. This way, all of my gemstones will be sold.
And I can just wait for them to bring over the energy crystals and soul crystals."
Jeremy laid out his plan in full detail.
After patiently listening to everything, Heber asked, "What is the name of the exceedingly wealthy gemstone merchant you mentioned?"
"His name is Hector." Jeremy explained, "He purchased the Sunstone for the staggering sum of 200,000 energy crystals. It was precisely because of this transaction that I made contact with him."
Upon hearing Hector's name, Heber's expression seemed to grow exceedingly complex and layered, reflecting a myriad of emotions.
"Do you know this person? What kind of individual is he?" Jeremy inquired.
Faced with Jeremy's question, Heber finally decided to share his impression of Hector.
"Not only am I acquainted with Hector." Heber elaborated, "but in fact, every itinerant trader in Nocturne City is familiar with him. You are absolutely right, he is indeed an exceedingly wealthy gemstone merchant.
His immense wealth can be attributed to his deep-seated collaborations with us itinerant traders. We take on the responsibility of bringing precious resources from outside Nocturne City into its confines, while he takes on the task of purchasing these resources from us and subsequently selling them to those in need."
"That sounds like a perfectly normal business model. Why did your expression become so complex when you mentioned Hector?"
Jeremy found nothing problematic with Hector's approach.
After all, itinerant merchants couldn't sell all their goods by themselves. Hector essentially provided an additional channel for them.
"You're right, it does sound like a normal business model. The problem is that once Hector became wealthy, his attitude towards the itinerant merchants worsened considerably."
Heber sighed and continued.
"Initially, Hector would buy everything the itinerant merchants brought in. But after achieving success and amassing significant wealth, he started to cherry-pick.
If the goods weren't extremely valuable, Hector wouldn't buy them. Moreover, he would even team up with other merchants to drive itinerant merchants out."
Heber's anger was palpable as he recounted this.
It seemed Hector had once driven Heber out of Nocturne City.
"So, I want to warn you that Hector is a profit-driven individual. If your gemstones can bring him profit, he will cooperate smoothly with you. But if there's any issue with the quality of your gemstones, he will abandon you without hesitation. If you harm his interests in any way during the collaboration, he will retaliate harshly."
Heber hoped that through these words, he could make Jeremy comprehend the substantial risks involved in collaborating with Hector.
However, it appeared that Jeremy remained indifferent to these potential dangers.
"I understand everything you've said. But to achieve my goals, I must take some risks. If I refuse to collaborate with Hector, he will surely retaliate against me.
At that point, other gemstone merchants might not dare to buy my gemstones. So, we have no choice but to proceed with the original plan."
Heber was certainly aware that what Jeremy had articulated was, in fact, devoid of any issues.
After a deep sigh, he conceded, "You're right, all we can do is exercise even greater caution. We must be more meticulous in our dealings with Hector."
Jeremy agreed with Heber's advice.
Therefore, he decided to divide his gemstones into three parts.
The first part consists of gemstones that are not of the highest quality but can still yield some profit. These gemstones will all be sold to Jack. Among the three gemstone merchants, Jack is the least connected to Jeremy.
The second part includes gemstones of good quality, though not as precious as one might imagine. Due to their large quantity, these gemstones will all be sold to Hector.
Given that the quality is sufficiently high, Hector is unlikely to cause trouble for Jeremy over quality issues.
The final part consists of gemstones that are both of excellent quality and highly valuable. These will all be entrusted to Heber's friend.
His friend's auction house operates privately, which means that the auction of these gemstones will be conducted discreetly.
Jeremy does not want everyone to know that he possesses extremely valuable gemstones.
He has already found enough gemstone merchants to collaborate with and does not need to gain more notoriety.
As Jeremy divided the gemstones into three parts, Heber assisted him, hoping to purchase some of the precious gemstones from Jeremy himself.
It took the entire day for Jeremy and Heber to finally sort all the gemstones.
The next step was to approach the three gemstone merchants for transactions. Jeremy needed to go to Hector first because only Hector had the capability to gather a substantial number of energy crystals in a short period.
Neither Heber's friend nor Jack had the capacity to amass a large quantity of energy crystals quickly.
Thus, the transaction with the other merchants had to be postponed for two to three days—a delay Jeremy believed the class change goddess Janna could ill afford.
Therefore, Jeremy was eager to obtain a sufficient quantity of energy crystals today. If these energy crystals could restore the goddess Janna's condition, he might be able to swiftly depart from this instance.
As Jeremy and Heber, laden with gemstones, made their way to Hector's location, Hector was simultaneously engaged in a discussion with his subordinates about the impending deal with Jeremy. Although Hector had already consented to cooperate with Jeremy, he remained deeply suspicious, believing that Jeremy was a man enveloped in a shroud of secrets.
What perplexed Hector the most was why Jeremy would opt for energy crystals instead of gold coins. After all, aren't energy crystals more cumbersome to carry and store compared to gold coins?