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"You're not doing business! You're robbing us!"

Shen Wang cried out in grief and indignation.

Unmoved, Morgan casually flicked the ash from his cigar and said in a nonchalant tone, "Mr. Shen, in business, it's normal to make and lose money."

"Besides, it's not that we won't let you make a profit. All these prices added together, you can still make a little profit overall. It's just a matter of how much."

He put the cigar back in his mouth, leaned back, crossed his arms over his stomach, and crossed his legs, looking as relaxed as if he had just finished a light morning workout.

White and Sir George, standing nearby, also showed sympathetic smiles, not out of sympathy for Shen Wang being pressured to lower the price, but out of sympathy for him having made such thorough preparations only to encounter an opponent like Morgan.

In the Morgan family's dictionary, there has never been an entry for "the other party can make money".

Shen Wang remained silent for a long time. He lowered his head, and anyone could see his struggle.

However, in his heart, he was laughing silently.

He wished he could pour himself a Coke right then and there to celebrate.

But of course he couldn't laugh; not only could he not laugh, he had to keep acting.

After a long, suffocating silence, he slowly uttered those words in a voice that seemed to be squeezed from the deepest part of his throat, a voice that was somewhat hoarse and choked with emotion.

"make a deal!"

"But settlement must be in gold; that's my bottom line!"

As Shen Wang spoke, his gaze swept from White to Morgan Jr., from Morgan Jr. to Sir George, and finally landed on von Speer's face.

There was no room for negotiation in those slightly reddened eyes; there was only the last-ditch persistence of a wild beast cornered against a wall.

It was as if gold settlement was the only remaining dignity he refused to relinquish in this unequal negotiation.

The representatives from the four countries exchanged glances and then nodded in turn.

gold?

Idiot!

Over the past few centuries, the British Empire's fleet has transported hundreds of tons of gold from Africa, the gold bars accumulated by generations of German Junker nobles have filled the underground vaults of the Bank of Berlin, and the United States' Federal Reserve System holds 60% of the world's gold reserves.

As for the Soviets... well, the Soviets didn't have that much gold, but the gold mines in Siberia were being mined at a wartime pace.

What is gold?

Compared to these luncheon meats, lighters, and stockings, gold is the least valuable thing.

This Eastern merchant only wants gold, not trading licenses or colonial agency rights. Does he even know how to do business?

Morgan even shook his head inwardly.

Gold is inanimate, commodities are alive.

By exchanging their gold for these hard currencies that can be sold for ten times their original value on the market, they are guaranteed to make a profit.

He felt that Shen Wang must have lost his mind after being hit hard by the previous round of price-cutting, which was why he proposed this settlement method that was most disadvantageous to him.

So he was the first to speak, his tone carrying a generous, almost condescending tone: "Gold settlement, no problem."

White followed suit and nodded.

Sir George tapped the ground lightly with his cane to indicate his agreement.

Von Speer simply uttered a "yes".

The Soviet deputy chairman hesitated for half a second, then nodded. Although Moscow's gold reserves were tight, the big-bearded man would definitely approve the shipment for this batch of supplies.

Then countries began to report their purchase volumes.

One hundred million rations of military supplies, one hundred million US dollars, and eighty million grams of gold.

There were also canned luncheon meat, stockings, lighters, flashlights, dry cell batteries, chewing gum, toothpaste, quartz watches...

Each item was increased to the agreed price, bringing the total to one hundred million US dollars.

As if they had agreed beforehand, each of the four countries contributed exactly two hundred million US dollars, no more and no less.

The total amount is 800 million US dollars, which is equivalent to 640 tons of gold.

Based on the gold price in later years, it would be close to 700 billion RMB!

Shen Wang's lips twitched.

He used all his strength to suppress the laughter surging from the depths of his dantian, forcing it back into his stomach and turning it into a low sigh.

Six hundred and forty tons of gold, worth a total of seven hundred billion, but what about the cost?

The goods I ordered from Qin Ran last time cost 30 billion yuan, and I still haven't used them all.

They ordered a billion bags of military rations alone, and the four countries only bought six hundred million bags in total. There are still four hundred million bags of rations piled up in the warehouse.

A cost of 30 billion yuan leveraged to generate nearly one trillion yuan in revenue. This leverage ratio would have caused the stock price of any listed company in the future to surge to the point of triggering a circuit breaker on the stock exchange.

He lowered his head, his hands gripping the edge of the table, his shoulders trembling slightly, as if he were trying to suppress some immense grief.

He kept muttering, "You bunch of robbers," "At this price, I can't even break even," and "Don't you have any conscience at eight cents a can of luncheon meat?"

His voice grew lower and lower, hoarser and hoarse, every syllable brimming with grievance and resentment.

Morgan put the cigar back in his mouth, smiled, and patted Shen Wang's shoulder lightly, like an elder comforting a junior who had just lost all his pocket money at the card table.

"Shen, don't be like that. You will gain the most sincere friendship from the United States of America!"

White nodded in agreement, "That's true. The Morgan family's friendships are very valuable."

Sir George leaned slightly forward, using his cane, and added in a polite yet aloof elegance characteristic of the British Empire, "Mr. Shen's contributions to the Empire will not be forgotten. I will apply to His Majesty the King for a medal upon my return!"

"Of course, the specific level of the medal still needs to be discussed by the cabinet, but given Mr. Shen's outstanding contributions to the logistical support of the Imperial Army, an Imperial Medal of Honor is a certainty."

A rare smile appeared on von Speer's face as he patted the Iron Cross on his chest: "Mr. Shen is welcome to visit Berlin after the war. The Reich never shortchanges its friends."

Soviet Deputy Chairman: "Welcome to Moscow, Comrade comrade. It's on me. There's plenty of black bread and vodka."

Shen Wang nodded gratefully, labeling each of the people in his mind as he did so:

Jinshan No. 1, Jinshan No. 2, Jinshan No. 3, Jinshan No. 4!

After finishing, he looked up and sighed deeply with a complex expression that seemed to say, "You have drained me of my last drop of blood, but I still retain the last shred of dignity and respect of an Eastern businessman."

"I have one last exhibit. Ladies and gentlemen, please follow me."

The exhibition hall fell silent for a moment.

The representatives from the four countries were all dumbfounded!

Are there still exhibits?

Everyone felt an ominous premonition pour down their spines like cold water.

The shipment just now included military rations, luncheon meat, lighters, stockings, flashlights, and quartz watches—each item was a unique and highly sought-after commodity on the market, and this guy surnamed Shen actually agreed to it at such a low price.

They initially thought it was because of their excellent bargaining skills, but now, upon hearing the words "there are still exhibits," everyone simultaneously had an extremely negative association.

Those low prices weren't negotiated down by them; the other party deliberately offered them those prices!

It was a lure, a carefully designed trap that made everyone feel like they were getting a great deal, making it impossible for them to refuse the next transaction!

Damn Eastern merchants!