Chapter 62: Asking for the Sky, Bargaining on the Ground
"Not give it to them?" Qin Haonan was a little confused.
’If we aren’t giving it away, then we shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s just asking for trouble.’
"We can trade with them!" Lu Jiamei now understood Ren Yuanyang’s intentions. "We’ll trade the research data and the potion for crop seeds!"
Relying solely on the runners of the bitter grass to capture plants was far too inefficient.
And searching for plants on the ocean’s surface was purely a matter of luck.
The aircraft carriers were mobile landmasses on the ocean. The higher-ups must have transferred large quantities of animals and plants to the carrier fleets before the flood!
And those were Ren Yuanyang’s target. ’Even though my Mental Energy isn’t strong enough yet, I have to get my hands on those plants first!’
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "Actually, it’s not just plants. We could try asking for some common poultry and livestock. Even if we only get a pair of chicks, it would be worth it!"
Qin Haonan finally caught on. "I get it! The carrier fleets must have tons of seeds!"
"Then reply to them quickly," Ren Yuanyang urged.
Qin Haonan immediately replied to Wang Jun as Ren Yuanyang instructed.
"The survivor brought out the research data and experimental samples of the Evolution Potion. They have no other information about the Feixiang."
Seeing this reply, Wang Jun’s eyes lit up. He hurriedly asked, "Could you share the research data and the Evolution Potion with us? We have a professional R&D team on the aircraft carrier. If we can successfully develop a perfect Evolution Potion, it would be of great benefit to our Dragon Country!"
Wang Jun instantly elevated the matter to the national level. Ren Yuanyang smiled faintly and cut right to the chase, "Sharing is no problem, but I have conditions."
Wang Jun frowned slightly. "What conditions?"
"First, your three carrier fleets must actually come and drive the Feixiang out of our region. Only after you’ve accomplished that will I share the data."
After all, Ren Yuanyang and his group had stolen one of the Feixiang’s speedboats and eliminated a squad from Lvzhi Country. Driving the Feixiang away would give them much greater security.
"That won’t be a problem. We would have driven the Feixiang away even if you hadn’t mentioned it!" Wang Jun replied instantly. "But this will take time. A conventionally-powered aircraft carrier’s maximum speed is only thirty knots. Our fleet is relatively close to the Feixiang Aircraft Carrier, but the other two are rather far away."
Seeing Wang Jun’s message, Qin Haonan was a little surprised. "Are aircraft carriers that slow? That’s about the same as the speed we were just moving at. I thought carriers would be really fast!"
"Aircraft carriers are massive and have a lot of drag, so it’s normal for them to be slower," Ren Yuanyang replied. "Smaller vessels with powerful engines, like speedboats, are actually faster."
Qin Haonan nodded.
Ren Yuanyang had him continue replying to Wang Jun: "No problem, I can wait. Secondly, I need you to provide seeds for all of your plants—ten of each variety."
Wang Jun was stunned by this request. ’I assumed they’d ask for a large quantity of food, but they just want plant seeds? And only ten of each kind?’
’Ten seeds isn’t even a guarantee that you can successfully cultivate a single plant!’
It was true that the carrier fleet had a large cache of seeds that had been transferred aboard as a rescue measure.
But Wang Jun felt it wasn’t worth giving them all the seeds.
After all, the value of the research data in Ren Yuanyang’s possession was still uncertain, while the value of those plant seeds was anything but ordinary.
With this in mind, Wang Jun replied, "Our fleet doesn’t have a huge variety of plant seeds. We have the common crops, vegetables, and fruits, since the situation was an emergency, and we could only prioritize things that would ensure our survival."
Ren Yuanyang didn’t believe for a second they only had those seeds, but it was enough. He hadn’t expected them to actually hand over all their plant seeds.
After all, the value of the research data was uncertain, and it wasn’t as if one could just take it and start producing the Evolution Potion. It would still require an investment of manpower and resources to research.
"The common crop, vegetable, and fruit seeds are fine, but the total number of varieties must not be less than fifty, with ten seeds of each," Ren Yuanyang countered with his new demand.
"Done!" Wang Jun agreed with exceptional swiftness.
Ren Yuanyang froze, feeling a little helpless. ’I think I lowballed it.’
’Then again, are there even that many varieties of crops, vegetables, and fruits?’
"Anything else?" Wang Jun continued to ask.
"All your poultry and livestock—give me one pair of each," Ren Yuanyang continued, laying out his terms.
"I’m afraid that will be difficult!" Wang Jun replied instantly. "The aircraft carrier isn’t mine alone. Every last one of those farm animals is a precious treasure! Besides, you don’t have the space to raise that many animals, do you?"
"Space is not an issue!" Ren Yuanyang started bluffing.
In truth, space was a very real problem for Ren Yuanyang at the moment.
If the trade was completed successfully, the plant seeds could be stored without taking up too much space. They could be planted selectively over time.
Raising animals, however, really did require adequate space. You couldn’t just cram them all into a shipping container!
Ren Yuanyang had said it on purpose, just casually tossing out a Smoke Bomb. It didn’t matter whether they believed him or not.
Hearing him state so decisively that space wasn’t an issue, Wang Jun was indeed a bit surprised. He then said probingly, "Your ship must not be small!"
"It’s alright." Ren Yuanyang didn’t continue the topic, instead asking, "Do you agree to our demand?"
"We need to discuss it," Wang Jun replied.
"Fine. Contact me when you’ve finished your discussion."
Following Ren Yuanyang’s instructions, Qin Haonan sent the reply, then asked excitedly, "Boss, are they really going to give us the things we just asked for?"
"They’ll probably give us the plant seeds. Ten of each kind won’t have any real impact on them. As for the poultry and livestock, they’ll most likely give us one type. If we can get a pair of chicks, I’ll consider it a success."
Ren Yuanyang wasn’t expecting them to actually give him a pair of everything—pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese.
’It’s just business. You start with a high asking price, and they haggle you down.’
Qin Haonan looked a little disappointed. "I was thinking I’d finally get to eat pork!"
"Even if they actually gave us pigs, we wouldn’t be able to eat them for a good while. What are you thinking?" Lu Jiamei said, shooting him a glare.
Qin Haonan froze for a moment, then scratched his head and chuckled. "I know. I was just saying. Getting my fix by talking about it!"
"Still, the point they made about space is a real problem," Lu Jiamei said, her brow furrowed. "We can’t just raise them on the surface of the water, and even if we could, we’d need to build pens and shelters. It would be hard to manage!"
"Let’s wait for their reply first," Ren Yuanyang said. For the time being, he didn’t have a good solution either.
"So, can we still do our shooting practice?" Qin Haonan asked suddenly.
They had just been about to go out and familiarize themselves with the automatic rifles when Wang Jun’s message arrived. From him, they learned that the satellite systems were all down and that three of Dragon Country’s carrier fleets were en route. This meant it was highly unlikely the Feixiang’s pursuit teams would be able to find them, so shooting practice no longer seemed so urgent.
"Of course, we still need to practice. Now that we have automatic rifles, everyone has to learn how to use them. That’s how we’ll be able to better protect our supplies!" Ren Yuanyang answered. "You all go practice for a while. I’ll call you when a message comes from Wang Jun’s side!"
"Yes, sir!"
Lu Jiamei and the other two acknowledged the order and went out together.