542: Cross-Project Cooperation Invitation from the Shop Alliance
Inside the castle commercial building of the Dragon Blood Assembly, within the Witchs Kitchen.
Gregor dared not sit beside Locke; instead, he took three cups of ice-drip brewed duck-head green tea from a Wizard Apprentice waiter.
Then, he placed two cups on the table, passing them to his mentor, Locke, and the professional manager wizard of the Shop Alliance, respectively.
He kept the last cup in his hand, holding the duck-head green tea, and began to drink.
The ice-drip method is a new tea-brewing technique innovated by tea artists, a branch of Breeders. It uses condensed water dripping from melting ice cubes to brew tea. Its taste is crisp and clear with prominent sweetness, capable of bringing out the flavor of duck-head green tea to the extreme. It is also a specialty item launched by the Witchs Kitchen here in the Yunze Wetland.
As the hometown of wizard tea, the local wizards in the Three Ze Lands have higher requirements for the taste and quality of wizard tea compared to wizards in other Wizard Lands.
Locke set his teacup aside and then said to the Second Ring Wizard before him, "Master Wizard Terrence, is there something you need from me?"
The professional manager of the Alsace Plantation Shop Alliance, Wizard Terrence, smiled at Locke and said, "No matter how many times I drink it, I still think the ice-drip brewed duck-head tea is delicious."
"Speaking of which, the Lu Xu Bridge branch of the Witchs Kitchen in the Yunze Wetland recently launched a new tea. It is a peach blossom brewed black tea made using steam from boiling water. Its taste is mellow, leaving a lingering aftertaste, and it is overflowing with fragrance."
Wizard Terrence seemed to truly love wizard tea, so he said to a Flavorist at the Witchs Kitchen, "Bring two more cups of peach blossom brew, I will pay."
Soon, a Wizard Apprentice waiter brought over a tray with two steaming cups of peach blossom brew.
Locke took a light sip of the peach blossom brew and immediately felt a refreshing, rich fragrance explode between his teeth and tongue; it felt like the first ray of sunshine in spring, like the rising morning sun.
The residual potion toxicity in his body was completely cleared; beyond that, his energy was restored to its peak, and he even felt more inspired.
Many wizard teas have the effects of purifying potion toxicity, restoring energy, and increasing inspiration, which is why the tradition of drinking coffee and tea when wizards conduct research has existed for a long time.
Locke said, "This peach blossom brew truly has a unique taste."
"It is worthy of being a wizard tea that costs three thousand magic stones per cup."
Honestly speaking, this price is frighteningly high. Most One-Ring Wizards would absolutely not drink it unless they were hosting distinguished guests, and even then, it would have to be an extremely important guest.
It is estimated that the target customers for this wizard tea are wizards of the Second Ring and above.
But regarding taste alone, it is absolutely delicious and makes one linger.
After drinking the peach blossom brew, drinking other wizard teas will only leave regret in one's heart.
I really wonder what those higher-grade wizard teas at Lu Xu Bridge taste like.
Wizard Terrence smiled and said, "Right? Wizard Locke, as expected, you are also a wizard who knows how to appreciate wizard tea. That way, we will have plenty of common topics."
"To be able to gain the appreciation of Master Wizard Hao, who determined that you will surely become a Second Ring Wizard in the future, is a very high praise."
Wizard Terrence said, "I will keep it short. To be direct, the reason I sought you out this time is that I want to find you for business cooperation."
Locke looked calmly at Wizard Terrence.
Regarding this point, he was not surprised. Otherwise, as an ordinary Second Ring Wizard and a professional manager of the Alsace Plantation Shop Alliance, why would Wizard Terrence come to find him?
Wizard Terrence said frankly to Locke, "I listened to the defense meeting just now. Wizard Locke, you are very talented in excavating the mechanism pathways of magic plants. But this kind of basic research only has reference value for our Alsace Shop Alliance and lacks practical significance."
"Even if an unknown natural magic structural component is discovered, it must at least go through the transformation of Potionology, lightning studies, and other various scientific achievements before it can possibly become something with actual production value for our Shop Alliance."
Wizard Terrence said, "Therefore, I did not come to find you, my young friend, because of this. I came to find you because of the Hydra Magic Plant."
Locke was not surprised by this either.
In fact, after the Yunze Cup, a huge crowd of people sought him out for cooperation, including wizards from all sides.
He had rejected many of them.
Because the crowd was mixed; some genuinely wanted to cooperate with him but lacked the strength, while other wizards wanted to see if they could scam a sum from him.
Furthermore, since he was coming to the Yunze Wetland, he had rejected all previous cooperation invitations.
Seeing that Locke still did not speak, a flash of appreciation crossed Wizard Terrence's eyes, "As expected of the Eye Demon Wizard, truly calm and composed."
"Let us get straight to the point. The Alsace Plantation Shop Alliance is a large commercial group comprising numerous magic plant shops and magic plant-related industrial chains. It has a large number of magic plant-related industries under its banner and possesses perfect distribution channels."
"And we want to reach a cooperation with Wizard Locke to produce the Hydra Magic Plant, to sell it within our magic plant shops."
"Our Shop Alliance generally adopts two conventional methods to complete transactions. One is a one-time transaction where you provide the technology and the seeds of the Hydra Magic Plant, and we provide you with a lump sum of magic stones that you find satisfactory."
"The benefit of this is that you can instantly obtain a large sum of magic stones, and you can do whatever you want."
"This is equivalent to a technology buyout."
Wizard Terrence said, "The second method is sales sharing and licensing."
"Our Alsace Plantation Shop Alliance can pay you an authorization fee and then reach a cooperation agreement with you; for every magic plant sold in the future, you can receive a share of the money."
Wizard Terrence said, "Generally speaking, for Breeders without much fame, we adopt the first method, which is the buyout system."
"But you are the champion of the Yunze Cup and a Senior Researcher at Golden Crown Mountain, so we can also offer the second cooperation option of a sharing system plus an authorization system."
Locke understood.
These two forms of cooperation depend on the strength of the individual Breeder. Those with low strength get a one-time cooperation, which is also beneficial to them as they can instantly get a large sum of money.
Those with strong strength tend towards sharing cooperation; although they might eventually receive more money, the money comes slowly, and the process is full of unstable factors.
If the project cannot be pushed forward, or if the sales volume does not reach the expected value, then perhaps it would not be as good as using the buyout system cooperation.
Locke asked tentatively, "Is it possible to reach some other aspects of business cooperation with your Shop Alliance?"
Wizard Terrence was stunned for a moment. "Young friend Locke, what kind of business cooperation are you talking about? I do not understand what you mean."
Locke said, "I mean, could it be like this: the Alsace Shop Alliance and I jointly open a joint-stock shop."
"Or I could use my technology as equity in one of your existing branch shops."
Opening a joint shop is the cooperation method he has with the Plutarch Family of the Six Towers Land, and using technology as equity is his cooperation method with Lady Irina of the Southeast Corner Region.
The cooperation method between him and Liliths Cottage Academy is similar to a salary system.
Wizard Terrence was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Wizard Locke, it is not that I am refusing. But it is not just our Alsace Shop Alliance; even other Shop Alliances in the Three Ze Lands cannot reach such cooperation with you."
"To jointly open a shop with a Shop Alliance in the Three Ze Lands, or to use technology as equity, even we Second Ring Wizards are not qualified. Only those in the true forging stage among Second Ring Wizards, which is the Sun Ring Second Ring Wizard, have the qualifications."
"That is the cooperation method between Shop Alliances and Third Ring Wizards. These two cooperation methods do exist, but generally speaking, they belong to the privileges of Third Ring Wizards."
Locke nodded slightly.
Actually, he also roughly knew some of the situation, after all, he had already received so many cooperation invitations.
He only spoke up to give it a try.
Since there was no way due to these objective reasons, then so be it.
At the end of the day, his magic rank is still too low.
Thinking about it, when a Second Ring level Breeder cooperates with a shop, there should also be some privileges belonging to Second Ring Wizards.
This is all reasonable.
After all, when he becomes a Second Ring Wizard in the future, he will also enjoy these privileges.
Wizard Terrence said, "But cooperating with our Alsace Alliance has an advantage that cooperating with those individual wizards, or wizard families and Wizard Academies, does not have."
"That is stability and maturity."
Wizard Terrence took out a large stack of contracts from his astral ring, "We have a mature cooperation system to rely on, and the shareholders of the Shop Alliance are also a huge number of High-Ring Wizards. In other words, the Shop Alliance will not change because of the will of an individual, or even a few High-Ring Wizards."
"Pursuing profit, thirsting for profit, this is the only goal for the existence of this entity called the Alsace Shop Alliance."
"Even a Third Ring Wizard cannot change the nature of the Shop Alliance."
"Our Shop Alliance even has three major forces internally to supervise: the Wizard Shareholders Association, the Wizard Council, and the Wizard Supervisory Committee."
Locke knew what this Second Ring Wizard before him was saying.
It is just saying that the Shop Alliance has certainty in its thirst for profit and a perfect cooperation system. Cooperating with the Shop Alliance, he does not need to worry about being scammed.
Or being unable to make money due to various objective reasons.
As long as there is even a sliver of opportunity to make money, the Shop Alliance will be more eager to seize it than he, the developer of the Hydra Magic Plant, and bring wealth to himself.
In a sense, the Shop Alliance is no longer a dead object, a sum of many wizards.
But a large entity composed of shops, industrial parks, and wizards, but with something more than these components.
There are two forms of large wizard organizations in the Yunze Wetland.
One is a university like Golden Crown Mountain or Boniface, and the other is those Shop Alliances.
Cooperating with a Wizard Academy for research is fine, but if one wants to make money together, the fastest way is to cooperate with a Wizard Alliance.
From the very beginning, Locke wanted to cooperate with the major Breeder Shop Alliances in the Yunze Wetland. The Yunze Wetland has two super-large plantation Shop Alliances; one is Alsace, and the other is Frankfurt.
It is just that the one that came to find him first is the Alsace Plantation Shop Alliance.
Locke asked the key point. "Then, Master Wizard Terrence, could you tell me, regarding the Alsace Plantation Shop Alliance wanting to cooperate with me, how many magic stones will each of the two cooperation methods provide me?"
Wizard Terrence said, "Of course. This is what I should have done."
"You also know that for our Alsace Shop Alliance, we have different cooperation strategies for wizards of different levels. First Ring, Second Ring, Third Ring, and even Fourth Ring, as well as Wizard Apprentices, all have different ways of cooperating. For instance, those Wizard Apprentices can generally only cooperate with individual shops; it is almost impossible for them to cooperate directly with our Alsace Shop Alliance."
"As for ordinary First Ring Wizards, negotiations are generally handled by ordinary project managers of the Shop Alliance, usually employing the first method."
Wizard Terrence introduced himself: "I am the Senior Manager of the Alsace Shop Alliance in the Golden Crown Mountain region, managing the shops, industrial parks, and supply chains under the Alsace Shop Alliance in this area."
"If we adopt the first method, I can issue a contract directly to buy out the two-year exclusive sales rights for your Hydra Magic Plant in Alsace shops, and I can pay one million Magic Stones for this."
"If we adopt the second method, we can sign a two-year licensing and profit-sharing agreement. I can pay you an initial licensing fee of 500,000 Magic Stones, and subsequently, you and Alsace will split the profits fifty-fifty; fifty percent of the sales profit from every transaction will be given to you."
"Fifty percent of the net profit after deducting costs."
Fifty percent?
Locke calculated it; indeed, the Alsace Shop Alliance was worthy of being a mature, large-scale commercial alliance.
In his cooperation with the Plutarch Family, they only gave him twenty percent. As for Lady Irina, aside from a fixed monthly payment of 60,000 Magic Stones, she only had to pay him 10% of the net profit.
But the Alsace Shop Alliance undoubtedly had more confidence in his platform, paying him 500,000 Magic Stones upfront, with fifty percent of the profits still to be shared with him later.
Locke said: "The mass production technology for the Hydra Magic Plant has not been completely perfected yet."
Wizard Terrence said: "I know, of course. I am also a Breeder, and I have watched the Yunze Cup competition. So, I know. But mass-producing your Hydra is quite simple."
"In my experience, with 100,000 Magic Stones worth of resources, the development for mass production can likely be completed. The Hydra Magic Plant you developed is already very complete; you just need to perform a final [Backcrossing] to stabilize the seed's characteristics and ensure the offspring do not degenerate."
"I know what you are worried about. When you were developing the Hydra, you used Variegated Mutation technology. Variegated Mutation might weaken the reproductive ability of the Hydra's offspring seeds. However, I believe the side effects of Variegated Mutation will not be that significant, especially in the case of your Hydra Magic Plant. I have reviewed your competition records, and I believe your Hydra Magic Plant has not been overly affected."
"We at Alsace have many magic field experimental zones in Golden Crown Mountain. I can rent one to you for free, and you can complete the [Backcrossing] there."
Wizard Terrence said: "The Magic Stones needed for you to complete mass production can be paid for by our Alsace Shop Alliance. That is not an issue."
Locke nodded slightly.
It seemed that signing a cooperation agreement with the Alsace Shop Alliance was not a bad idea.
Moreover, Locke leaned more towards profit-sharing.
Selling the exclusive sales and product development rights of the Hydra for two years for one million Magic Stones was, honestly, not worth it.
Only a wizard truly in need of money would do that.
But it would indeed allow him to obtain one million Magic Stones in a short time to solve his urgent needs.
Although he needed money, he was not so desperate that he needed to sell his work cheaply for two years.
That was the winning work of the Yunze Cup.
The Hydra Magic Plant was very special, and many wizards within wizard organizations would be interested in it.
Choosing profit-sharing would undoubtedly allow him to gain more benefits.
However, Locke asked with a question: "I have a question."
"Wizard Terrence."
Wizard Terrence took a sip of peach blossom black tea. "Please go ahead, young friend Locke."
Locke said: "Why only cooperate for two years?"
"I originally thought there would be a longer-term cooperation."
Wizard Terrence gave a wry smile. "Please do not worry. This is also to ensure that we can cooperate better, and this method of cooperation has been proven over a long period of time to be indeed more suitable for cooperation between us wizards."
"This kind of medium-to-short-term cooperation makes it easier for us to adjust the contract and cooperation terms at any time, which is very beneficial for both of us."
"Besides, you have your concerns." Wizard Terrence spread his hands helplessly and said: "And I have mine."
"Shop Alliances in the Three Ze Lands rarely sign long-term cooperation contracts with wizards during their first collaboration."
"There are many reasons. First of all, the Hydra Magic Plant is undoubtedly an excellent magic plant, but the Alsace Alliance is not quite sure of its specific value because it is something that has never appeared before. Therefore, no matter how we price it, it will not satisfy both of us."
"So, we simply set a price for a short period."
"This way, it is easy to change course."
Wizard Terrence said: "There are other reasons as well. Past experience tells us that for wizards, long-term contracts... often end up in a mess."
"Therefore, before both sides have built up confidence in each other, let us stick to medium-to-short-term cooperation."
"All Shop Alliances do it this way."
Locke nodded slightly; that was indeed the logic.
Clearly, Wizard Terrence meant that if the sales of the Hydra did not meet the expectations of the Alsace Shop Alliance, they could downgrade the contract level with him at any time, or terminate the contract.
But conversely, the Alsace Shop Alliance was also taking on considerable risk, for example, if the Hydra Magic Plant sold extremely well and became a hit.
And if the Frankfurt Shop Alliance also took a liking to the Hydra, while he had only signed a two-year contract with Alsace, it would become an opportunity for Frankfurt to exploit.
This was a result reached after a game between both sides, balancing the interests of both parties.
Honestly, Locke quite liked it.
Not doing one-off deals, but taking it one step at a time, prevented the situation where he sold the Hydra at a loss and had to swallow the bitter pill.
Locke estimated that this system was likely not formed from the beginning, but was summarized by the Shop Alliance through commercial practice.
After all, wizards possess knowledge and power.
Any Formal Wizard possessing an Eternal Defense Field, as long as they seriously wanted to cause trouble, could always cause a certain degree of destruction.
It was just a matter of how much.
The appearance of the Eternal Defense Field, this tortoise shell, granted a Formal Wizard the possibility of still being able to cause a certain degree of destruction in front of wizards who were stronger and more numerous than them.
It was precisely because of the existence of the Eternal Defense Field that there was a consensus in the Wizard World.
When a wizard possesses an Eternal Defense Field, they are an adult in this Wizard World.
They possess the ability and power to protect themselves, harm others, and make choices.
Therefore, these Shop Alliances deliberately set up such contracts that balance the interests of both sides, just to make the collaborators convinced and satisfied.
Wizard Terrence smiled wryly: "There is one more thing, which has to do with me personally. That is, these commercial cooperations often start at the million-mark, especially for cooperation projects related to high-value magic plants like the Hydra."
"You also saw