CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 54 GUESSING, TRADING, PROCURING_2

Chen Ming nodded and said, "I understand."

The boss seemed quite satisfied with Chen Ming’s response, able to tell that Chen Ming was someone who really listens to others.

"Now, a case of wine has sixteen bottles. Going by the current market price, each bottle is 1600. I’ll count a case for you at 16700."

"A case of cigarettes has twenty packs. The cigarettes are about 800 a pack, a case is 10400."

"Altogether, that’s 1160600. If there are no issues, we can settle the bill."

Chen Ming calculated, confirmed there were no problems, and took out his terminal.

The boss very straightforwardly transferred the 1.16 million to Chen Ming.

Looking at the increased balance on the card, Chen Ming couldn’t help but think.

How much did the trade caravan spend to acquire such a batch? And how much could they earn by selling it all?

He completely acquired it at zero cost and sold it at 70% of the price, earning far more than what the caravan could fetch by transporting goods.

Yet even with such profit efficiency, it still couldn’t compare to hunting the Mechanical Race.

It’s no wonder trade caravans would choose robbery and smuggling.

Straightforward trade routes barely compare to the gains from looting.

If he could tow back another ship and sell it after depreciation, the profit would surpass what several trade runs could yield.

Comparatively, Chen Ming even felt the million he just obtained seemed a bit too little.

Although for ordinary people, slightly controlling their spending, 1.16 million is more than enough to maintain a lifetime of basic needs.

But sadly, the value of a spaceship is not limited to that.

Even adding the previous 3 million Chen Ming got, it’s still far from enough for a complete ship.

Not to mention the prices of advanced marine equipment Chen Ming saw just now at the maintenance yard.

Even a basic mining ship with only the most fundamental equipment starts at a minimum of 5 million, and a 2000-ton class like the Iron Ore No. would only cost more.

Simply owning the most basic civilian ship could empty his pockets; this sum of money is really not much.

And this is also one of the reasons Chen Ming hesitates to switch ships.

Chen Ming sighed silently, realizing there was still some distance from achieving his goal.

Yet Chen Ming quickly rallied again, having already completed the goal of returning alive from Rimu Star to the Human World.

So he believed he also had the capability to complete the task of reaching the Prosperous Star Realm from the Pirate Space Station in the Edge Star Realm.

Chen Ming reaffirmed his determination, lifting his head from the terminal.

He noticed the boss had returned to his rocking chair, holding a terminal and scrolling through videos.

"Uh, boss, when will you come to get the goods?"

Upon completing the transaction, the boss resumed his leisurely attitude.

He casually waved Chen Ming off, saying, "No rush, I need to inform the recipients first. Might take a couple of days."

"Anyway, I have your communication code. I’ll send a message to set a time later, and I’ll send someone to find you."

At this moment, Chen Ming found himself a bit hesitant, asking, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll back out on the deal later?"

The boss casually pointed outside the shop, saying, "Take a look outside."

Following the boss’s words, Chen Ming looked over, gaining a view of the outside factory with heavy industrial equipment making weapons in operation.

Also, Chen Ming had checked the map earlier; unlike the area by Space Arm 13, the boss’s hardware store is the only marked location on Space Arm 2.

Chen Ming turned back and observed the leisurely boss sitting in the shop, having a clear understanding in his mind.

The implications of this situation were self-evident.

Chen Ming silently nodded and left the hardware store.

He headed directly to the city in the Space Station’s core area.

Now that he had money, the first order of business was naturally to purchase supplies.

The city, being a place for people to live, surely sold all the essentials needed for human life.

Chen Ming followed the map’s markings, checking each shop one by one.

He discovered that most shops offered direct delivery to ships, saving him a lot of trouble.

Allowing him to begin his procurement with peace of mind.

The most important thing, of course, is food.

Stocking up for half a year won’t go wrong.

Modern industrial-packaged foods are always easier to store than self-grown or hunted ones.

The cold storage space can also be utilized better.

Besides food, Chen Ming also needed to stock up on various daily necessities.

As well as some emergency items for the ship.

Like foam cans for emergency plugging of ship breaches, trigger-activated foam extinguishers that spray fire-retardant foam when sensing flames, among others.

Additionally, Chen Ming needed to prepare other medicines for various diseases and emergency situations.

Even though Chen Ming had not fallen ill, and herbs were continually planted in the planting chamber.

But herbs are ultimately just temporary substitutes; modern medical drugs remain the best for curing and preventing disease.

Once these matters were handled, much time had passed.

Fatigue gradually crept into Chen Ming’s mind.

Thus, Chen Ming returned to the Iron Ore No.

He took off the protective suit he had worn for a long time.

Although the protective suit had temperature-adjusting functions and was not too stifling to wear, it still wasn’t as comfortable as regular clothing when worn for too long.

Little Stone had been stuck inside Chen Ming’s helmet for the whole day; when let out, it vanished without a trace.

It either went back to sleep in its piece of mineral or went to play on the exercise wheel Chen Ming made for it in the captain’s room.

Anyway, Chen Ming was tired and didn’t bother to look for it.

After a quick wash-up, he laid on the bed.

But at the moment, Chen Ming still couldn’t rest.

Since the Space Station’s time was set according to Earth Time, Chen Ming had to adjust his schedule accordingly.

He needed to hold out a bit longer, until reaching the normal Earth Time rest time, to finally get some sleep.

Chen Ming thought for a moment and opened the program on his terminal.

He checked out what this Pirate Space Station’s internal forum was used for.

After spending some time roughly understanding it.

The forum’s main functions are essentially threefold.

Task posting, mutual communication, and announcement information.

Tasks generally include investigation, exploration, collection, smuggling, recycling, freight, etc.

Of course, there is also combat, against the Mechanical Race, battles with Dusk, and clashes with other pirates.

Tasks are issued by individuals as well as by the Space Station Administration.

Chen Ming tried posting a task and found that any tasks posted needed to go through an approval process, indicating that the task issuers’ credibility should be reliable.

However, Chen Ming had no plans to leave the Space Station for the moment, so he wasn’t considering any of these tasks, even those offering seemingly decent rewards.

As for mutual communication, Chen Ming referred to the program’s most basic forum function.

However, this forum resembled those from Chen Ming’s past life, filled with humorous people chatting and cracking jokes without any valuable insights for Chen Ming’s current situation.

So Chen Ming glanced a bit and ignored this section’s existence.

Then there’s the announcement information, apart from tasks and normal interactions on the forum, there’s a variety of announcements by the Space Station Administration.

For instance, today’s ship collision incident at the dock appeared in an announcement, stating that it’s under investigation and new information will be released afterwards.

While browsing through previous announcement records on the Space Station, Chen Ming even discovered that this section contained announcements related to Dusk released by the neighboring military outpost.

It was as if stating plainly that he had someone covering his back.

Judging by this, Chen Ming needed to pay more attention to this announcement section, considering that not only Space Station news, but also intel from the military outpost could be obtained here.

After viewing these, the time had just about passed.

Chen Ming couldn’t resist the drowsiness any longer, drifting into dreamland.

The next day, when Chen Ming woke up, he felt a bit sluggish.

Given he was adjusting to the time difference, feeling a bit tired was quite normal.

Besides, his situation on the Space Station was different from when he was on Rimu Star.

There were no immediate survival crises urging him forward, and he faced almost no pressure.

Still, Chen Ming held certain expectations for himself.

So, despite feeling drained, he quickly got up to start the day’s tasks.

The progress of his plan was satisfactory.

His identity was settled, and he had part of the money at hand.

If joining the maintenance yard goes smoothly, then his progression to the next Star System should be swift as well.

Thus, what Chen Ming planned for today was very straightforward.

Go to the maintenance yard, figuring out how to find Lao Wu’s superior.

And consult with Lao Wu about matters related to ships.

Such as modifying the ship’s departure data, transforming the ship’s exterior, and the prices for selling depreciated ships.