Galaxy of Giant Ships: Starting with Data-Driven Warships

Chapter 27 On the Right Track

The next morning, Huang Ping led a young man to the shop that had recently put up the "Global Mining" sign.

"Brother Yao, this is the nephew from our clan that I mentioned to you last night."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yao smiled and glanced at the other person.

At the age of twenty-five or twenty-six, with an ordinary appearance and a cultivation level of only the fourth level of Qi Refining, he was only at a slightly below-average level in Tianlan Academy. However, judging from his exceptionally bright and lively eyes, one could tell that he was by no means a dull person.

"Young Master Yao, my name is Huang Qizhuo, you can just call me Xiao Zhuo."

The young man stepped forward, bowed slightly, and spoke with a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, and his manner was just right.

Chen Yao looked him up and down and nodded inwardly.

As Huang Ping had said, this person was indeed quite good.

"Qi Zhuo, right? Okay, okay, we've been waiting for you."

Chen Yao reached out and patted his shoulder, his tone warm and unpretentious: "Come and help out, we've been so busy this early in the morning."

He was telling the truth.

The shop had just signed the contract yesterday and done a quick cleaning. Even the signboard was hastily made last night. As a result, before dawn this morning, someone came to sell the goods. It has to be said that Huang Ping's trip yesterday afternoon was really effective.

Chen Yao originally wanted to wait until Huang Qizhuo arrived before making a decision, but since other people's goods were already piled up at the store entrance, he couldn't just push them out.

They had to take matters into their own hands, along with a temporary employee hired the night before. The two of them were in a flurry of activity, barely managing to cope. Even so, there were still seven or eight bags of uncounted ore piled up on the counter, making it look rather messy.

Huang Qizhuo's gaze swept across the store, a knowing glint in his eyes, but he said nothing more, simply responding crisply:

"Don't worry, Young Master Yao."

He strode to the counter, first roughly separating the uncounted ores by type, then casually took out a palm-sized booklet from his pocket and flipped through a few pages before starting to count, weigh, and price the bags one by one.

The movements weren't fast, but each step was quite methodical.

"This hematite ore is not of high enough grade, so we'll treat it as a small piece and reduce the price by 10% per unit."

"This batch of raw iron ore has too many impurities, so we need to deduct from its weight. I'll calculate it for you at 90% of the net weight. Is that acceptable?"

"Sir, there are three different kinds of minerals mixed in your bag. I need to separate them one by one. Please wait a moment."

Chen Yao stood aside, watching Huang Qizhuo handle one transaction after another in an orderly manner, and the look of satisfaction in his eyes grew stronger.

The temporary shop assistant was a young man in his early twenties named Zhou Chi. He was a native of Iron Crocodile Star, and his parents were ordinary citizens of a universe country. He didn't have much talent for cultivation, but he was hardworking and honest.

At this moment, he followed behind Huang Qizhuo, helping to move the ore while secretly observing Huang Qizhuo's every move, his eyes full of admiration.

Huang Ping stood to the side, watching his nephew's performance, a hint of barely perceptible satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

In less than half an hour, the seven or eight bags of ore that had been piled up were all counted. Huang Qizhuo neatly listed the types, weights, and amounts due for each type of ore on a piece of paper and handed it to Chen Yao with both hands.

"Young Master Yao, please review the records. The total payment should be 437 low-grade planetary origin crystals. I have already calculated it at 70% of the market price, and the pioneer brothers are quite satisfied."

Chen Yao glanced at the list. The handwriting was neat and the items were clear. Each item was marked with the ore name, grade, weight, unit price and total price, making it easy to understand.

"Not bad." Chen Yao sincerely praised, then took out the Origin Crystal and paid the amount on the list to the waiting pioneers one by one.

The pioneers accepted the Origin Crystals, and satisfied smiles appeared on their faces.

While counting the crystals in his hand, one of them whispered to his companion, "This newly opened shop is honest. They give you good prices and don't overcharge. I'll definitely send my goods here again."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yao's smile deepened.

After the last pioneer left, the shop finally quieted down.

Chen Yao invited Huang Ping, Huang Qizhuo, and Zhou Chi to sit down at an old wooden table in the backyard, brewed a simple pot of tea, and began to discuss serious matters.

"Qizhuo, from today onwards, you will be in full charge of managing 'Global Mining'." Chen Yao picked up his teacup and looked at Huang Qizhuo with serious eyes.

"You'll be in charge of the daily acquisitions, shipments, bookkeeping, and dealing with the pioneers. I probably won't be staying on Iron Crocodile Star for much longer, and Brother Ping can't be watching over this place every day, so you'll have to make the decisions yourself most of the time."

Huang Qizhuo sat upright, nodded slightly upon hearing these words, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes, and then said:

"Thank you for your trust, Young Master Yao. I promise I won't let you down."

Chen Yao became increasingly satisfied with his reaction.

"Ping-ge has already told you about the compensation, right?"

Huang Qizhuo nodded.

"As I said, it's a fixed monthly salary plus a 5% bonus on the store's net profit."

Chen Yao took a sip of tea and added.

"A fixed salary is the base, but profit sharing is the main source of income. The better the store performs, the more you earn. Also..."

He paused, his gaze lingering on Huang Qizhuo for a moment:

"If the store is well managed, I don't rule out the possibility of opening a second or third branch on other planets in the future. At that time, you will no longer just be the 'store manager' of Iron Crocodile Star."

Upon hearing this, Huang Qizhuo's pupils finally contracted slightly, and a strong ripple appeared in his clear eyes.

But he quickly calmed down, simply nodding heavily without uttering any grand pronouncements.

Huang Ping watched this scene from the side and nodded silently in his heart.

He picked up his teacup, slowly took a sip, and suddenly spoke:

"Qizhuo, there's something I need to make clear to you beforehand."

"Second Uncle, please speak."

"Brother Yao entrusted the shop to you to manage because he trusts you, but you must remember where the shop's roots are."

Huang Ping put down his teacup, his tone calm yet undeniably authoritative:

"No matter what happens in the future, the first priority is to protect Yao's interests, and only then should we consider the rest. This order must not be reversed."

Huang Qizhuo's expression hardened, and he stood up, bowing deeply to Chen Yao: "Qizhuo has remembered."

Chen Yao quickly got up to help him up, and said with a smile, "Brother Ping, what are you doing? We're brothers, no need to be so formal."

Huang Ping waved his hand, offering no further explanation; some things are best left unsaid.

After explaining everything, Chen Yao reached out and took out a folding storage box. Inside was none other than the operating funds for Huanyu Mining, a total of 5000 low-grade planetary origin crystals.

Originally, there weren't this many, but yesterday Dad also took out a batch of Origin Crystals, which brought his total number of Planetary Origin Crystals to 5000.