As soon as the topic of business came up, Meng Fugui's interest was immediately piqued.
He set down his wine glass and leaned forward across the table, completely ignoring his image as he began explaining the situation to Zhao Mu in detail.
"People outside think the ember remains business is easy money, but the reality is quite different."
"The Empire strictly controls the ember remains industry. Every year, we have to hand over a significant portion of our profits just to maintain our business license."
"Furthermore, the best source of bone remains for Jinhai Manufacturing is the military."
"Of course, we also purchase materials from professional hunters, but truly high-quality ember remains can only be obtained by venturing deep into beast territories or Dark Race territory."
Meng Fugui paused and smiled.
"Think about it this way. If a powerful beast wanted to kill you, it would have to enter a human city and pass through countless layers of defense. Would that be easy?"
Zhao Mu shook his head.
"Exactly."
"That's why the materials required to manufacture Rank 2 and higher ember remains are extremely scarce."
"On top of that, we have to pay Jinhai Masters, and the failure rate during production is quite high."
"Our sunk costs are enormous."
Zhao Mu listened carefully.
After Meng Fugui finished speaking, he suddenly asked,
"So what you're saying is that any first-grade Jinhai of Medium Grade quality or above is already considered valuable on the market?"
Meng Fugui nodded.
"That's right."
Zhao Mu continued.
"And if the success rate of Jinhai Manufacturing could be improved, production costs would decrease significantly, leading to much higher profits?"
"That's also true," Meng Fugui admitted.
"Unfortunately, low-level Jinhai Masters cannot guarantee a stable success rate, while high-level Jinhai Masters don't bother crafting low-level ember remains."
"It's a vicious cycle."
After hearing the explanation, Zhao Mu finally revealed the idea he had been considering.
Looking directly at Meng Fugui, he said seriously,
"Uncle Meng, I am already a First-Level Jinhai Master."
As he spoke, he raised both hands.
The Power Amplification Jinhai and Extinguish Ember Jinhai attached to his hands immediately became visible.
"I personally crafted both of these first-grade Jinhai."
The dining table instantly fell silent.
Meng Qiuqiu froze with a chicken leg still hanging from his mouth.
A piece of meat even fell onto the table.
Zhuo Yun and Lu Yan were equally stunned.
However, compared to the younger generation, the shock experienced by Meng Fugui and his wife was far greater.
Having spent many years in the military equipment business, they fully understood what it meant for someone Zhao Mu's age to become a First-Level Jinhai Master.
"This..."
Meng Fugui stared at him.
"Is that really true?"
He instinctively turned toward his son.
Meng Qiuqiu looked just as confused.
"Brother Mu, when did you become a Jinhai Master?"
Zhao Mu smiled.
"Recently, while I was at Qingfeng Camp."
"The principal asked me to keep it secret, so I didn't tell anyone."
Then his expression became serious.
"But now, I want to use this skill to explore a potential partnership with the Meng Family."
His sincerity was obvious.
An ordinary First-Level Jinhai Master was not particularly impressive to the Meng Family.
But a genius-level First-Level Jinhai Master?
That was a completely different story.
Meng Fugui remained silent for several moments.
He knew Zhao Mu wasn't the type to lie.
Pretending to be a Jinhai Master was impossible.
Especially in front of someone with his experience.
Finally, he sighed.
"You really are full of surprises."
After a brief moment of thought, he asked,
"How exactly do you want to cooperate?"
His tone remained warm and friendly.
The way he looked at Zhao Mu resembled an elder evaluating a talented junior.
The Meng Family had always believed in investing in talented people.
And Zhao Mu clearly possessed extraordinary potential.
Zhao Mu answered immediately.
"I can guarantee a manufacturing success rate of over seventy percent."
The moment those words left his mouth, both Meng Fugui and Madam Meng visibly changed expression.
A seventy percent success rate?
That was shocking.
For an ordinary First-Level Jinhai Master, a thirty percent success rate was already considered qualified.
Only by successfully producing one out of every three attempts could they make a profit.
Anything lower would result in losses.
Even most Second-Level Jinhai Masters could not maintain a success rate above fifty percent when crafting first-grade Jinhai.
Yet Zhao Mu was claiming seventy percent.
It sounded unbelievable.
If Meng Qiuqiu had not repeatedly praised Zhao Mu's reliability, they would have assumed he was joking.
But if it was true...
The value was immeasurable.
Working with such a talented Jinhai Master would practically guarantee profits.
And not just small profits.
Substantial profits.
Zhao Mu continued.
"If we cooperate, the Meng Family will provide all manufacturing materials."
"I'll provide the technology and craftsmanship."
"As for profits, we'll split them fifty-fifty."
He paused briefly before adding,
"Of course, if I fail to achieve a seventy percent success rate, I'll personally bear all losses."
If anyone else had said such words, Meng Fugui would have laughed and ignored them.
Not only was a seventy percent success rate difficult to believe, but the scale of the business was also relatively small for someone of his status.
However, when he looked at Zhao Mu, a different thought entered his mind.
This wasn't an investment in a business.
It was an investment in a person.
Immediately, he waved his hand.
"Forget that plan."
"Your personal production capacity is too limited for direct cooperation with my company."
"Instead, I'll invest two hundred million Xuanfeng Coins."
"Meng Qiuqiu will be responsible for management."
"My side will provide funding and sales channels."
"You provide the technology."
"As for ownership, just as you suggested."
"You and Qiuqiu will each hold fifty percent."
He smiled casually.
"Go ahead and do it boldly."
"Even if you lose money, it doesn't matter."
His true intention was obvious.
This was an opportunity for Meng Qiuqiu to gain practical business experience.
Zhao Mu immediately smiled.
"Thank you, Uncle Meng."
Before he could say anything else, Meng Qiuqiu threw an arm around his shoulders.
"Brother Mu!"
"We're partners now!"
"We're going to make a fortune together!"
"We'll build this company into something huge!"
Then he looked toward Zhuo Yun and Lu Yan.
"You two should join us too."
"With Brother Mu's skills, we'll definitely be able to create exclusive ember remains for you in the future."
"We won't treat our brothers unfairly."
Both Zhuo Yun and Lu Yan readily agreed.
Neither had any doubts about Zhao Mu's abilities.
Combined with the Meng Family's financial backing, the future looked extremely promising.
---
After dinner, Zhao Mu and the others prepared to return to Qingfeng Camp aboard a private airship.
Training would begin early the next morning.
Soon, the four young men boarded the luxurious vessel.
This time, nobody needed Meng Qiuqiu to suggest it.
All four immediately requested massage services from the bunny-girl attendants.
Meanwhile, Meng Qiuqiu excitedly began discussing their new company.
"Brother Mu!"
"My dad gave us two hundred million Xuanfeng Coins as startup capital."
"However, there's one condition."
"He won't allow us to use any of the Meng Family's resources."
Zhao Mu raised an eyebrow.
"Meaning?"
Meng Qiuqiu shrugged.
"It means we're completely on our own."
"We have to build everything ourselves."
This was clearly a test designed by Meng Fugui.
After all, anyone could make money using the resources of a powerful family.
Access to monopolized resources made business easy.
The real challenge was creating success without relying on family support.
Only then could Meng Qiuqiu prove himself worthy of inheriting the Meng Family's business empire.
As for Zhao Mu...
He wasn't worried at all.
With his mastery, talent, and ever-growing abilities, he was confident that this investment would become the foundation of something much greater.
A small company today.
A business empire tomorrow.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)