Tai Tan's eyes almost popped out of their sockets; he, of course, knew very well what that small hammer symbolized.
The fact that Tang Chen would give this hammer to six-year-old Tang San was enough to show how much he valued Tang San.
After gloating, Ling Yun tossed the small hammer back into his storage space.
He glanced at the pig iron in the furnace and took it out again.
Next, it was another round of Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Method, transforming the pig iron directly into high-quality refined iron before he contentedly put down the hammer.
The four of them returned to the inner hall, where Tai Tan respectfully bowed to Ling Yun.
"Young Master, do these items forged by this old servant meet your expectations?"
Ling Yun always felt a bit strange with Tai Tan calling him "Young Master" and constantly referring to himself as "this old servant."
Although he found it quite agreeable, he also knew that winning people over was important, so he waved his hand repeatedly at Tai Tan.
"Grandpa Tai Tan, can you please stop calling yourself 'this old servant'? I always feel a bit uncomfortable.
I heard from my teacher that your grandson, Tai Long, is also a student in Shrek Academy's Inner Courtyard, so he is my classmate.
If you don't mind, just call me Little San; don't be so formal."
"Young Master, I cannot, I cannot. There is a distinction between superior and inferior; how can I directly call you by your name…?"
Tai Tan shook his head repeatedly, looking very troubled.
"There's nothing you cannot do, Grandpa Tai Tan. In the future, I will have many more formidable Hidden Weapons concepts that I will need your clan's help to realize.
Otherwise, relying solely on my own strength, I'm afraid it would be impossible to complete them even in a lifetime."
Ling Yun tried his best to appear approachable, as this was the easiest way to bridge the gap between them.
"Alright, Young Master, this old servant…"
Tai Tan was about to say "this old servant" again, but seeing Ling Yun's brows furrow slightly, showing displeasure, he quickly corrected himself.
"Alright, then I… I will presumptuously address you as such."
"That's more like it." Ling Yun nodded with satisfaction, picking up the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow.
"The products made by your clan are very much to my liking, which shows that your clan possesses extraordinary forging techniques.
I am certain that in the future, with the Hidden Weapons schemes I provide combined with your clan's forging techniques, many extraordinary weapons can be created that will shine brightly on the Douluo Continent."
Ling Yun spared no praise, giving the Strength Clan an extremely high evaluation.
"To deepen our cooperation, I would like to change our current cooperation model of paying for each item forged.
From now on, for any Hidden Weapons produced by your clan, you will receive fifty percent of the profits from their sales. Grandpa Tai Tan, what do you think?"
Since he needed long-term cooperation with the Strength Clan in the future to acquire a large number of Hidden Weapons and dominate the entire Douluo Continent's market share,
Ling Yun felt he couldn't be too stingy, nor could he exploit the Strength Clan's labor by leveraging his status as Young Master.
Otherwise, if their loyalty was exhausted, the people's hearts might scatter before long.
So he proposed a profit-sharing arrangement: he would provide the Hidden Weapons blueprints, and the Strength Clan would cover the material and labor costs.
This would make him appear fair and, while ensuring both parties' profits, could also ignite the enthusiasm of everyone in the Strength Clan.
Of course, this was also Ling Yun's strategy; he understood that given Tai Tan's respect for Tang Hao, his suggestion of half the profits would certainly be firmly rejected by Tai Tan.
As Tang Hao's most loyal subordinate, Tai Tan would definitely propose a solution that both benefited his clan and did not put Ling Yun at a disadvantage.
Indeed, as soon as Ling Yun proposed his profit distribution plan, Tai Tan flatly refused his suggestion.
"Young Master, our Strength Clan is inherently the Master's servant clan; how could I accept so much money from you?
Fifty percent of the profit already far exceeds the funds you give us for forging.
If the Master were to know, I'm afraid I would feel ashamed before him, so please do not humble this old man so much."
Ling Yun feigned confusion, looking at Tai Tan and asking hesitantly.
"Grandpa Tai Tan, isn't the plan I proposed good? I only provided the Hidden Weapons designs.
Your clan has to provide materials and labor, and also bear the losses from forging failures. I think a fifty-fifty profit split is very fair."
Tai Tan shook his head repeatedly again: "As you said, these Hidden Weapons design blueprints you provided have never appeared on the Douluo Continent.
Especially this crossbow that can fire a dozen arrows at once; if sold to non-combat professions, it will certainly be very popular and highly profitable.
Let alone fifty percent of the profit, even twenty percent is far more than the funds you give us just for forging, so I think twenty percent is enough."
"Twenty percent? Uh…"
Ling Yun looked utterly astonished, staring at Tai Tan strangely. Was this guy stupid? Refusing money even when offered?
"Grandpa Tai Tan, with only twenty percent of the profit, you still have to bear those risks.
Let alone the blacksmiths in your clan, even Little San would feel that he's being too greedy."
Ling Yun's face showed contemplation as he sternly added.
"Think about it, if I make a fortune in the future but only give you twenty percent.
I'm afraid many people in your clan would be dissatisfied with my actions. How about raising it to forty percent? At least that way you won't suffer so many losses?"
Ling Yun sincerely offered a sixty-forty split again, with him taking the larger share and the Strength Clan taking the smaller one.
This distribution model was also more favorable to Ling Yun, and furthermore, if he wanted to completely incorporate the Strength Clan for his own use, just like in the original story,
he certainly couldn't be too stingy. If he was eating meat, he definitely had to let the Strength Clan have some soup to motivate them.
"Thirty percent. This old man will only accept thirty percent. If it's over thirty percent, there's no need for us to discuss it further.
Otherwise, if I accepted forty percent of the profit, I would have no face to see the Master again in the future. I hope you can understand."
"Holy crap…" With every other word being "Master," Ling Yun became even more speechless with this Tai Tan.
He was trying to give him money, yet he kept making excuses. Based on Ling Yun's previous life's understanding of human equality,
he just couldn't comprehend why Tai Tan could be so loyal to Tang Hao.
For modern people, Master? What the hell is a Master?
As long as the benefits are sufficient, let alone a Master, how many people would turn their backs on even their own parents?
But this Tai Tan guy was stuck on this one principle, only willing to accept thirty percent of the profits.
"Alright, alright, since you insist on being so stubborn, then thirty percent it is. At worst, I'll keep ten percent of the profit.
And give it to you as a performance bonus later. Grandpa Tai Tan, since that's the case, let's finalize the cooperation plan now.
For now, let's expand the production of these three types of Hidden Weapons I've given you; start with one hundred sets of each for the first batch."
"One hundred sets of each?" Tai Tan showed hesitation, as if there was some difficulty.
"What's wrong, Grandpa Tai Tan? Is there a problem?"
Ling Yun looked at Tai Tan in confusion, not understanding why he was hesitating.
...
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