Cave Refuge

But after contacting Thomas Jefferson, he discovered that the other party wanted to sever ties with him.

Realizing that Thomas Jefferson wanted to distance himself, Zachary naturally wouldn't embarrass himself by being overly enthusiastic, thinking if there's no butcher Zhang, he'd still get his pork elsewhere.

However, Zachary never expected that Thomas Jefferson, who had initially distanced himself, would take the initiative to contact him now.

Although the other party had once refused Zachary's invitation for a proactive trade, Zachary still didn't immediately hang up or outright ignore the call.

Instead, after waiting for the ringtone to go off for fifteen seconds, Zachary finally answered the phone, nonchalantly asking, "Yo! Weren't you the one who said we wouldn't trade anymore? Contacting me now surely isn't just for a nice chat or a trip down memory lane."

Hearing Zachary's teasing on the other line, Thomas Jefferson also felt somewhat helpless. As much pride as he had when Zachary first approached him, that's how awkward he felt now.

Most technical pros tend to have thin skins and aren't best at articulation, so after hearing the jest from the other end of the communication device, Thomas Jefferson was momentarily embarrassed, unsure how to reply.

As to the silence on the other end of the phone, Zachary would have hung up immediately if it were business as usual, but given that he was currently idle, he might as well just wait quietly and see how the other would react.

After hesitating for a while, Thomas Jefferson quickly recognized his situation and soon made up his mind, proceeding to say directly, "I'm sorry, my bad last time. Although the inventory was indeed cleared out then, I apologize for the things I said afterward."

For someone like Thomas Jefferson, a typical tech geek, he might not be too savvy in social niceties, but he still displayed a very sincere attitude in personal and professional conduct.

Hearing the other party owning up to his mistake, Zachary didn't press the issue further; after all, there was no substantial discord between them.

Both parties were very satisfied after the first transaction.

When Zachary approached Thomas Jefferson for a second deal, Thomas Jefferson didn't drag his feet or try to scam him, and declined quite transparently.

So although they didn't conduct another trade, it neither caused loss to either party, and they parted on good terms.

As such, now that the other party had shown willingness to admit fault, Zachary naturally wouldn't push too hard, even though he roughly guessed why the other party was calling this time.

But still, Zachary took the initiative to ask: "Alright, there's no major conflict between us, so what brings you to call me this time?"

Hearing Zachary say this, Thomas Jefferson knew that any past unpleasantness was no longer an issue for Zachary, so he straightforwardly said, "Actually, it's nothing major, just wanted to ask if you're still dealing in explosives?"

As expected, this was the reason Thomas Jefferson called at this time.

"Since the past is past, let me be frank. After you refused our last deal, I've already purchased sufficient explosives from someone else.

However, since you've reached out to make amends, I can't just snub you. So I'll give you two options.

The first one is, after I've used up all my current explosives, I'll contact you again, and when I need to buy more, I'll go directly through you.

The second option is, if you're in urgent need of offloading some explosives, I'm not averse to buying, but since I've already secured enough previously, it would be difficult for me to use more in the short term. Therefore, I might not be able to offer the same price as in our previous transaction."

After laying out the two choices, perhaps recalling something else, Zachary quickly added, "I'm not trying to take advantage of the situation to drive down prices, but as you understand, the most important thing in business isn't the profit margin, but quick capital turnover without overstocking."

After all, as long as one does not hold inventory, even if each transaction does not yield much profit, continuous trading leads to a qualitative change through quantitative accumulation, and this trading method hardly ever results in losses.

As for those goods that need to be held for a long time, unless there is a huge profit margin, under normal circumstances, no one is willing to take the gamble.

After all, despite the potentially high profitability of such trading methods, like the saying goes, "Open shop for one day, and you can eat for three years."

However, the long-term stockpile of goods, before the transaction occurs, can lead to anxiety at any unexpected event.

I won't hide it from you; I consider explosives fast-moving consumer goods, as you must be aware that with the continuous improvement of Martial Artist's strength, ordinary firearms can hardly cause them any harm.

Although explosives can cause significant damage or even kill the enemy by relying on quantity,

no matter what, relying on explosives as a merchant is like setting traps; it's quite troublesome to use, especially in the face of surprise attacks where the enemy certainly won't give you time to set traps.

So, at this point, if there isn't a suitable scenario or user, the practicality of explosives is not high.

That is why, at this time, the sales of explosives have a high volatility period. If someone urgently needs to buy, they probably would spend all their assets to make a bulk purchase.

And if luck is not on your side, you may not encounter anyone wanting to buy explosives for months."

After listening to Dong Tianyu's elaborate explanation, Thomas Jefferson understood that Dong Tianyu was not simply trying to bargain, but was laying out all the facts for him to make a decision.

Under normal circumstances, if one wants to maximize profits, they would definitely choose the first method of trading.

After all, after Dong Tianyu brought up the second method of transaction, it was implicitly informing Thomas Jefferson that if he chooses to trade in the near future, in order to ensure profit margins, Dong Tianyu will inevitably press the price down, and the discount may not even be small.

A man knows his circumstances best. At this point, Thomas Jefferson cannot afford to wait. If he fails to maintain the network of relationships he has painstakingly built, it will soon vanish into thin air.

Thomas Jefferson still knows what's more important, so after only a moment of hesitation, he prepares to proceed with the direct transaction.

However, for some reason, before he could speak to confirm the transaction, Thomas Jefferson impulsively asked, "Could you tell me what you plan to use the explosives for?"

As soon as he asked the question, Thomas Jefferson quickly realized his mistake. Traditionally, buyers don't inquire about the source of the goods, nor sellers question where the buyer's funds come from. His abrupt question was a breach of convention.

So, seizing the moment before Dong Tianyu could reply, Thomas Jefferson hurriedly explained: "I'm sorry, I just had a brain cramp, which is why I asked that question. If you don't want to answer, you can just ignore my previous question.

It's just, it's just..."

Listening to the voice on the other end of the phone getting quieter as he spoke, Dong Tianyu did not display any intention to tease him. Instead, carelessly answered his inquiry: "The explosives I bought, some of them will be directly sold off. The remaining portion will be used against those large-sized Otherworldly invasion creatures.

After all, with the increasing strength of the Otherworldly invasion creatures, the effectiveness of ordinary firearms is diminishing further.

To be completely honest with you, when facing those larger Otherworldly invasion creatures, sticking explosives onto their bodies can cause significant damage."

;Upon hearing the intended use for the explosives Dong Tianyu purchased – which was different from what he had originally suspected – Thomas Jefferson instantly relaxed.