: Profit is the highest score of 4!

"So, it's a pleasure working with you?"

"It's a pleasure working with you."

The negotiations were successfully completed in just over half an hour.

The content is limited, mainly focusing on bulk shipping prices.

Generally speaking, the shipping fees for packages sent from Bitauto Delivery are as follows:

Within the region, it costs 6 Union Coins per kg, with any fraction of a kg rounded up to the nearest whole kg. Packaging services will incur additional charges based on the item itself.

If it's outside the designated area, it's twelve Alliance Coins per kg of item. If there's an area in between, then there's an additional ten Alliance Coins for each area.

This fee is indeed a bit expensive compared to Land Express's three or even two Union Dollars per kg, but it is definitely worth the money, with significant improvements in both delivery time and security.

Because Xia Ming planned to sign a dedicated delivery contract, Hel quoted 4.7 Alliance Coins per kg. Three mao of this cheap price was due to the quality of Stardew Valley's crops, and two mao was because of Miss Skirt.

In fact, the two cents were originally Hull's share that he intended to embezzle, but now, he didn't want to be bothered by his old buddy, the cricket, for the rest of his life because of this.

Most merchants typically receive a delivery discount of 80 cents.

Xia Ming felt the contract was acceptable; he had done the math before contacting the courier and packaging services.

This year, the market price for cranberries is 33 Union Dollars each, with an increase of no more than 5% in the past three years. The weight of a cranberry is usually between 160 and 200 grams, which is the weight of a cranberry of average to excellent quality.

When rounded up, every five or six cranberries will reach the standard, which is 150 to 190 Alliance Coins.

With a shipping cost of only 4.7 Alliance Coins, plus packaging costs, the total cost will not exceed 10 Alliance Coins.

These are the ideal returns under a model without additional commission from distributors.

However, Xia Ming also needs to pay a service fee to the Pikachu platform, which is about 3% of the sales amount per order, or about four to six yuan per order.

He also needs to prepare money for next year's seeds, as he hasn't yet mastered the technology of cultivating seeds, so he still needs to set aside a large sum of money to buy them.

Even excluding the fact that Pierre gave it to him for free, a cranberry seed is usually worth about 20% of the seasonal price of a cranberry, which is about six to eight Union Coins.

In addition, alliance taxes need to be paid, but those will be settled monthly after the total revenue is released, so they will not be calculated for now.

In the best-case scenario, Xia Ming's profit from a single order settled at full kg would be around 120 Alliance Coins, with a profit margin as high as 300% or even 400%!

This illustrates the profitability of cranberries, a popular tree fruit, but not all tree fruits offer such high profit margins.

In conclusion, Xia Ming felt that the transportation fee of 4.7 Alliance Coins per kilogram was acceptable. Although it could be negotiated further, Xia Ming felt there was no need to be so calculating.

After finishing their business and signing the contract, Hel rode away on his Pidgeot without lingering.

Xia Ming also took three copies of the contract back to the farm with Aluminum Steel Dragon.

………………

The next day at noon, the manager of the seed packaging service company arrived in Stardew Valley.

The negotiations with United Nations went very smoothly.

This company's packaging service is customized, meaning it preserves items according to their specific storage needs.

Xia Ming signed a contract for long-term preservation and packaging services for the cranberries, which cost approximately 5 Alliance Coins per kg of cranberries per order. The price is rounded up to the nearest whole number, and any fraction of a kg is counted as a whole kg.

The company's packaging promises a shelf life of at least two months, and during this period, for each cranberry damaged due to packaging issues, they will compensate the customer with the market price plus 7 Union Dollars.

After carefully reviewing the contract, Xia Ming signed it decisively.

Two months of long-term storage is already quite good. Normally, the shelf life of tree fruits is very short. Only when they are made into finished food products can the shelf life be greatly extended.

For example, dried tree fruit or tree fruit jam, etc.

Most tree fruits typically have a shelf life of no more than three months; even if frozen, they will spoil by then.

Some extremely rare tree fruits don't even have a shelf life of a month, but their deliciousness and quality justify their delicate nature.

And so, Xia Ming reached an agreement on the packaging and express delivery details.

Now all we need to do is wait until the cranberries are harvested before they can be packaged at a price of one kilogram per serving.

Having completed the service, the next step is to consider how to sell the goods.

In response, Xia Ming had already thought of the method he had tried the first time:

"Yes, I would like to book a battle arena outside the city. The requirements are that it can withstand the battle damage from level 40 Pokémon, and that it be equipped with a dedicated repairman and a part-time referee. The rental period is five days."

On the third day, Xia Ming packed his things early and took the aluminum steel dragon on a long trip.

Electric City is the closest small city to Stardew Valley, located near the Electric Mountains in the southern part of the Ephemeral region. Although it is not large, it has a small airport and several flying Pokémon rental plazas, attracting a considerable number of visitors.

Xia Ming went directly to the Local Alliance Hall in the center of Electric City to rent a battlefield outside the city.

"Okay, sir, please wait a moment."

The customer service representative at the front desk gave a sweet smile and then began checking the current rental fees:

"The venue rental fee for the current month is 80% of the standard fee. As per your request, there are currently six vacant venues for the Senior Trainer Battleground. The rental fee for each venue is 1800 League Coins or one standard-sized Evolution Stone per day."

Of course, since you are booking this service in advance, there is an additional charge of 50 Alliance Coins per day. The services for the field repairman and referee are listed in this table; you can view and select them as you wish.

Due to the emergence of Hyperdimensional Operation, the price of evolution stones has been driven down across the board. Now, the most valuable evolution stones are those with high concentration and high quality.

Ordinary evolution stones are usually processed and used as breeding tools. Large companies or leagues usually purchase evolution stones.

"Okay, then this field repairman and a recent graduate referee will do. The appointment is in five days."

"No problem, sir. The total fee is 11,250 Alliance Coins. The relevant repair personnel and referees will be waiting at the venue's rest area on the day of the event."

As she finished speaking, the receptionist maintained her sweet smile, picked up a card reader with both hands, and handed it forward.

"So, sir, would you like to pay by card, cash, or evolution stones?"

"Swipe your card."

Xia Ming took out his wallet from his clothes, pulled out his debit card, and swiped it on the card reader without expression.