Big Data Cultivation

The Ninth Brother of the Chen Family hesitated when he said those words, mainly because he was reminded of certain rumors.

He wasn’t very clear about the military’s investigation into smuggling channels, but others have heard that Zuo Jing City discovered a "former energy block warehouse," so naturally, related insider information began to circulate.

The Chen Clan Association is a relatively loose organization and hasn’t clearly entered any specific sectors. To put it directly — within the Xiajing district of Kaifa Bank, there is more than one member from the clan association.

The Chen Family has extensive local connections, and the operations of Kaifa Bank also require support from local people. Two individuals are already in mid-level positions at the bank.

Therefore, some bank information reached the ears of the Chen Family, which included that senior bank personnel could leave to go to Zuo Jing City, where there are better refugee facilities available.

Of course, the bank didn’t want these two mid-level members of the Chen Family to leave, since Xiajing still needed people to stay and ensure operations, and locals staying put is the most suitable option.

However, the bank did indicate that the salaries for those staying behind would be increased, and once a lot of people withdrew, the per capita resource availability at the bank would also increase, so staying to hold the fort wasn’t a bad deal.

That’s what they said, and the logic is sound, but these two mid-level members still felt a bit unbalanced. Although even if they were told to leave, they might not want to, they felt it wasn’t handled correctly... shouldn’t opinions be sought before making such decisions?

They felt a bit unhappy, inevitably complaining in private, and thus people in the Chen Clan Association got to know about it, realizing that the materials in Zuo Jing were much richer than in Xiajing?

A lot of people wanted to know why there were so many resources over in Zuo Jing.

However, the two mid-level members of the Chen Family at the bank didn’t continue to answer — complaining was fine, leaking information was inappropriate.

The Ninth Brother was also curious. He was a director in the clan association, so he quietly asked around. Because he had a wide network, and the bank’s many operations needed his help, he got the answer — the Zuo Jing district may have successfully organized materials transportation.

Later, part of the people from Kaifa Bank did leave, but the scale was not as large as initially planned. The mid-level members of the Chen Family also indicated that something might have changed over in Zuo Jing.

Having heard both social rumors and internal information from Kaifa Bank, a little analysis made him realize that interstellar resource transport might trigger certain issues.

To be fair, he truly hadn’t heard of the military investigating smuggling channels. However, when Feng Jun mentioned it, he wasn’t surprised at all — the military having such a reaction is completely normal, isn’t it?

As for the smuggling potentially involving the "mysterious human forces," the Ninth Brother really hadn’t thought about that aspect, so after hearing Feng Jun’s words, he frankly said, "Smuggling channel... haha, if the military is envious, why don’t they create a smuggling route themselves?"

"Is that so?" Feng Jun looked at him with a half-smile, "Are you really not afraid of implicating the Chen Clan Association?"

"How could it implicate anyone?" The Ninth Brother scoffed, "The Chen Clan Association has more than seventy thousand members. Are they going to catch them all or kill them all? As long as we are not collaborating with the Insect Race, even if they dared to catch ten thousand, I assure you the military wouldn’t find enough maintenance personnel."

The Chen Clan Association only had seventy thousand people, but back in the day, the number of pioneers arriving on Xingzheng Star was enormous, so much so that there were countless clan associations, with the Chen Family being one of the more powerful ones.

If the military treated the Chen Family in such a manner, they could treat others the same way. If it provoked public outrage and people resorted to non-cooperation, the military would indeed be very passive.

The maintenance of military warships is handled by damage control teams on the battlefield temporarily, but when they return to port, they rely on civilian resources for thorough maintenance and servicing.

When it comes down to it, although Hesheng is also a family business of the He FAMILY, their power is focused in a certain domain. Though they may be strong in negotiations, if they face targeted treatment from the government, they are more vulnerable to suppression.

It’s different with the Chen Family. Their power is more dispersed. They may not be strong in individual projects, but their people are spread across various industries with differing interests, making it virtually impossible for the government to suppress them as a whole.

Feng Jun realized this from the Ninth Brother’s words, so he smiled and said, "Is there any need? Just wait patiently while I prepare the goods."

"We don’t have the time," the Ninth Brother became anxious. If the other side had urged him to purchase pharmaceuticals, he might have hesitated — perhaps you’re also involved in smuggling?

But since the other party wasn’t in a rush, that made him anxious, "Delaying one day, who knows how many people will die? If you’re preparing goods... let’s not talk about the price. How many days will it take to get everything ready?"

"How would I know?" Feng Jun waved his hand and stated calmly, "Just wait patiently."

It’s not that he wasn’t anxious, but he knew that being anxious wouldn’t help. Fully mobilizing the other party’s initiative was the real solution.

"Can’t really afford to wait," the Ninth Brother smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Our clan association loses a few people each day, please have mercy."

Feng Jun pondered for a while, then reluctantly nodded, "Alright, prepare the pharmaceuticals, and I’ll have someone help you transport them... but let’s be clear upfront, how are we calculating the shipping cost?"

"Shipping cost..." The Ninth Brother was somewhat speechless, thinking, aren’t you doing charity? Why mention shipping costs?

But he also knew he couldn’t speak like that now, "Just name your price, I don’t know how to charge."

"Half the value of the pharmaceuticals," Feng Jun offered a fair price, "There’s going to be loss transporting goods, not just of the goods themselves, but potentially my personnel and ships... taking only half is truly an act of charity."

"I understand," the Ninth Brother nodded. He’s been in society long enough to understand this basic concept, "Only half... during wartime, this percentage is pretty low, just take seventy percent."

He wasn’t as financially strong as Kaifa Bank and wouldn’t say something like you take ninety percent. When the bank flaunts its wealth, not everyone can compare, let alone that he represents the Chen Clan Association and can’t make reckless promises.

In an organization like a clan association, if you do well, it’s expected, and if you don’t... you’ll have to compensate out of your own pocket.

If you don’t want to pay from your pocket, social death is waiting for you — it’s acceptable to be incompetent, but boasting beyond your ability is your fault.

So for the Ninth Brother to offer "seventy percent" was quite sincere, proving he’s an experienced old hand, not spouting off without thinking.

"You’re quite an interesting person," Feng Jun also laughed, "I’m quite curious, how do you plan to pay me the seventy percent? Or rather... how can you ensure when I transport the goods, I won’t just take off with them?"

"In installments and batches," the Ninth Brother was also well-versed in this, as cooperation inherently progresses from shallow to deep, "Building mutual trust takes a process, but it won’t take too long... actually, I’m personally willing to trust you unconditionally, but my resources are limited."

"Installments and batches... you really have limited resources," Feng Jun laughed, shaking his head, this fellow was really far behind He Runxian.

But it was understandable. Hesheng was a well-known enterprise within the Alliance, and He Runxian, as the production manager of the Xingzheng Star base, wielded significant authority, whereas the Chen Clan Association was merely a loose organization bound by blood ties.

In such a situation, even if the Ninth Brother were a vice-chairman, he couldn’t make any large decisions unless he was confident enough to bear the risks of this deal.

However, Feng Jun didn’t look down on him, different positions lead to different action logic, and there’s no need for comparison, "I’m not picking on you, but I really want to ask... do you think crossing the blockade of the Insect Race is easy?"

The Ninth Brother was initially startled by these words, then he raised his hand and clapped his forehead, "I get it, I didn’t really think that through, lacking experience and overlooking the risks involved in that process."

Feng Jun didn’t respond because he wasn’t sure whether the guy truly "hadn’t thought it through." On Earth, "The Actor’s Self-Cultivation" was a bestseller, how could he easily trust anyone?

The Ninth Brother wasn’t new to the scene, knowing what Feng Jun might be feeling, so he didn’t mind the silence, and straightforwardly stated, "Do you have any suggestions?"

"I think, it’s essential to lay a foundation of mutual trust," Feng Jun smiled, "Firstly, have a few successful collaborations."

"What you’re saying is basically what I’m trying to express," the Ninth Brother nodded earnestly, "I’d love to hear more details."

"I’m somewhat interested in your pharmaceutical production lines," Feng Jun finally revealed his true intention, "Take out a few production lines, those that Xingzheng Star can provide, and I’ll buy them."

"That’s not a problem," the Ninth Brother nodded readily, but then added, "If you want to buy them, you have to pay. I don’t doubt your ability to pay, but I’m currently representing the clan association, so please understand."

"Paying is fine?" Feng Jun laughed hearing that, "That’s simple... can antiquities be used as payment?"

Currently, the mainstream payment method of the Human Federation is electronic currency, with cash occasionally, but the cash amounts aren’t large.

This is mainly to prevent tax evasion and money laundering, along with payments in energy blocks — many anti-government forces prefer using energy blocks to avoid financial tracing, as energy blocks are essentially hard currency.

Besides that, antiquities are also considered hard currency, primarily because energy blocks take up too much space, whereas antiquities conserve space.

"Antiquities?" The Ninth Brother’s face turned even darker, "Antiques in prosperous times, energy blocks in chaotic times... if you want antiquities, I have some too, how many do you want?"

Feng Jun was silent for quite some time before speaking, "Are you saying I could pay with energy blocks instead?"

"That’s right," the Ninth Brother responded without hesitation, "Energy blocks are much more valuable than antiquities. As long as you can provide them, you can buy as many production lines as you want... fifty percent off, no, seventy percent off!"