Chapter 3322 — The Five Luminaries Sect's Worry

It was just like the Kang family back then—relying solely on a monopoly, and the moment the market took a hit, they would be stripped to the bone. The same was true of Kang Zhaoming now. When it came to sly tricks, Liu Jinghan might not be his match, but when it came to business, ten Kang Zhaomings would not be enough.

So once the two of them saw the predicament, they set their sights on the second-grade automatic medicinal cauldron that had not yet gone on the market, hoping to make a fortune through the supply of raw materials for it.

But they had never once considered how big the market for this second-grade automatic medicinal cauldron might be—or rather, both of them had misjudged it. They assumed the second-grade cauldron was just like the first-grade one, with an extremely low threshold for use, usable by anyone, and so a sales frenzy was surely inevitable.

"Then shall we now use the money we earned from the first-grade intelligent medicinal cauldron to mass-produce second-grade cauldrons?" Kang Zhaoming asked.

"Exactly. When the time comes, the production of second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons won't be able to bypass our raw materials!" Ancestor Xuanchen nodded. "Since we can't make money from producing and selling the second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons, we must seize control of the raw materials market."

"Who says we can't sell them?" Kang Zhaoming waved a hand and said smugly. "Father-in-law, we are the raw material suppliers! We can use that as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Wei Zhao. The finished second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons Wei Zhao produces must be partially allocated to us for sale, and at a low price at that. That way we can simply rebrand them as our Xuandan Sect's second-grade intelligent medicinal cauldrons and sell them, so our first-grade intelligent medicinal cauldron customers won't feel we have no follow-up products or technical support."

"Oh? Now that is a good idea. I must say, Zhaoming, you really are a business genius!" Ancestor Xuanchen found it quite reasonable upon hearing it. Only he had no dealings with the worldly world of commerce and had no idea that such rebranding was the most common of business tactics, requiring no business acumen at all—it was everywhere in the market. Yet in Kang Zhaoming's hands it became the mark of a business genius.

"Haha, merely a paltry trick!" Kang Zhaoming said, though his manner was thoroughly self-satisfied.

"You handle following up on this matter. And as for that Limit Qi Condensation Pill, you must hurry as well—produce it and poison that brat Wei Zhao to death!" Ancestor Xuanchen said.

"Rest assured, Father-in-law!" Kang Zhaoming nodded in agreement.

What Kang Zhaoming had never anticipated, however, was that he had manufactured several hundred second-grade cauldrons, yet neither Wei Zhao nor Liu Jinghan had shown the slightest intention of coming to him to buy any!

Before his eyes, the Cultivators' Commerce Association's second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons had even begun to be auctioned off, their numbers growing fewer and fewer, and the sects that bought them all sang their praises—yet Liu Jinghan still showed no sign of wanting to purchase more cauldrons!

Kang Zhaoming knew perfectly well that Liu Jinghan had only those thirty second-grade cauldrons supplied by You Panhu—not a single one more. They were about to sell out at any moment, so how could there be no word at all?

Could it be deliberate, keeping a low profile for fear that he would drive up the price?

But when only the last ten second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons remained, still neither Wei Zhao nor Liu Jinghan made any move to contact him, which left Kang Zhaoming utterly baffled. What kind of way was this to do business?

Only ten left in stock—if you don't restock, does that mean you no longer want to do business? And production takes time, doesn't it? You can't possibly buy back those raw materials one moment and have the goods produced the next. Do you think this is an automated production line? Producing second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons all requires handcrafting!

"Father-in-law, what do you suppose Wei Zhao means by this? Is he after a one-shot deal, never to sell again?" Kang Zhaoming finally lost his patience and went to find Ancestor Xuanchen.

Ancestor Xuanchen's grasp of economics was even weaker than Kang Zhaoming's, so the moment he heard Kang Zhaoming's words, he was somewhat dumbfounded. "Zhaoming, could it be that these second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons are extraordinarily difficult to produce, and Wei Zhao is thinking of not selling them anymore?"

"That seems unlikely. Difficult as they are to make, they are solidly profitable—enough money for Wei Zhao to fund that orphanage of his. He shouldn't give up on it," Kang Zhaoming shook his head and said. "Right now, what I fear is that Wei Zhao might produce the second-grade cauldrons himself, or buy them through other channels—then wouldn't our second-grade cauldrons become unsellable?"

"That's impossible! Though making a second-grade cauldron isn't especially difficult—any Yellow-Rank third-grade alchemist with Heaven-Rank strength can make one—how many Yellow-Rank third-grade alchemists with Heaven-Rank strength are there?

"Besides, in the making of these second-grade cauldrons, many of the materials are controlled exclusively by our Xuandan Sect, coming from the edges of the Five Fiends Wilderness. Other sects have no channel to obtain them even if they wanted to!

"Whether it's Wei Zhao, or that Han Jingyi, or even Bai Lingtou—even if they could refine them, could they find a place to get the materials?"

"That's true enough. Then Wei Zhao must be putting on airs..." Kang Zhaoming had barely finished speaking when his phone rang. He glanced at it—it was his elder brother, Kang Zhaolong, calling!

The hidden You family, now swayed this way and that by Wei Zhao's strength, dared not casually leak information about Wei Zhao anymore. But Kang Zhaolong, at You Panhu's side, had no such scruples. The moment he got wind of the news, he immediately phoned Kang Zhaoming.

"Elder Brother, what's the matter?" Kang Zhaoming asked after picking up.

"Zhaoming, there's something you must listen carefully to. Just now, Wei Zhao called You Panhu, asking whether the You family still had any second-grade cauldrons—he wanted some more. But the You family had none left either, so they could only promise to think of a way, to see if they could squeeze out one or two..." Kang Zhaolong said.

"What?!" Kang Zhaoming had been stewing in worry, and upon suddenly hearing this glad tidings, he slapped his thigh and cried excitedly, "Wonderful, truly wonderful! Elder Brother, this news of yours is important. Rest assured, when there are benefits in the future, you will certainly not be left out!"

"Haha, we're all one family, aren't we? The Kang family will always be your home," Kang Zhaolong said with a laugh. To be continued. You are welcome to subscribe and tip at this site.

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