Of course, if it was four months, the beef quality would be better, but there was no need for Yan Fei to mention that.
He had seen enough to know there wasn’t a big difference, at least not externally — and the little extra marbled beef from fattening it for an extra month just wasn’t worth the cost, compared to fattening a new cow. After all, even with his own ’secret method’ of fattening, it couldn’t all turn out to be marbled beef, right?
"Money is not an issue!" Upon hearing that only money was required, the Third Young Master Guo’s heart was fully set and he confidently stated. "As long as you can guarantee beef delivery in three or four months, we can proceed with this cooperation. As for the money, we can prepay the deposit or call it the payment for the goods. You can estimate how much start-up capital you need based on our purchase volume, and we’ll advance that for you. You just have to pay us back with beef later."
"How much beef can you purchase?" Yan Fei asked. "Do you need the beef directly or live cattle? It might not be easy to transport from here to your place, right?"
Now that their talks had reached this level, both parties had gained some understanding. They might not know how big the Guo family was, but since they had come for an inspection, they must have some foundation. As for Yan Fei’s side, Xu Xiaoyan had already mentioned that their cattle farm wasn’t big, but it was already a well-known enterprise locally.
That’s the basis for their cooperation. As for other issues, they were temporary and didn’t need to be considered now. Let’s talk about cooperation directly!
Upon hearing this, the Third Young Master Guo looked over at the Sixth Miss Guo, who had been muttering to Miss Xu Xiaoyan, and said, "Regarding the quantity, I’ll have to ask my little sister! I haven’t looked at her proposal in detail yet, so I don’t know how big a restaurant she plans to open..."
While the two ladies were whispering, they were actually paying attention to their conversation. As soon as the Third Young Master Guo said this, the Sixth Miss Guo immediately responded, "We’ve made a call and had people investigate. If we open a restaurant the same size as Will’s in Hong Kong, we can do at least twice the business he does. So our plan is to use 200 to 300 kilograms of beef per day."
"If you talk about more than 200 kilograms, it’s the meat from two cows, and if you go over 300 kilograms, it’s three. So you need at least the meat from two cows, right?" Yan Fei nodded. "So do you just need the beef or live cattle? Will we deliver it directly or will you transport it yourselves?"
"I’m not familiar with this aspect, I’m not very skilled in slaughtering, but I’ve heard that poor slaughtering techniques can affect beef quality, right? Also, transporting live cattle is more troublesome, we will directly purchase the beef." The Third Young Master Guo responded. He had been flipping through the proposal while the Sixth Miss Guo was speaking just a moment ago, and it was proving useful now.
"You don’t have to worry about the transportation issue. My sister has planned for how to transport it, including dealing with customs issues. You don’t have to consider this. All you need to do is prepare the cows and slaughter them at the time we’re ready to pick up the goods. This will ensure the freshness of the beef, Nana, please record this. Boss Yan, is it OK if we include this point in the contract later?"
Once Yan Fei nodded, he continued, "Plus, I think we should use at least 300 kilograms of beef per day, even a little more is fine. If the restaurant can’t use that much, we usually need to purchase beef for our family and friends anyway. It can be consumed internally."
The last point was likely an explanation for the Sixth Miss Guo, because when she heard him ask for more beef, she clearly wasn’t very willing.
After he finished speaking, Yan Fei thought for a moment then nodded, "All these points you’ve brought up are fine with me. As long as there’s money, one or two more cows are not a problem. We can slaughter them when the truck arrives to pick up the meat to ensure its freshness. How about the price?"
Upon hearing this, the Third Young Master Guo flipped through the proposal again, pondered for a moment, then asked, "Could you wait a moment while we discuss this?"
The group exited for a while before returning. In reality, it was just for show, as Yan Fei could hear them from miles away. However, Yan Fei still had some integrity and would not stoop to eavesdropping on their discussion.
Upon reentering, the Third Young Master Guo began to speak, "We can purchase the beef at triple your original price, and prepay the full payment three months in advance. But, we too have a couple of conditions. First, we hope that our cooperation can be kept as confidential as possible. Second, if there are other business people from Hong Kong who come to negotiate with you, you must ensure that the conditions you offer them are not less than the ones you’ve given us."
"What does ’not less than the conditions you’ve given us’ mean?" Ma Yongming asked from the sidelines.
"For example, if we pay you one million for the goods now and the goods are to be supplied three months later, once the supply starts, we will continue to prepay every month after our initial prepayment is used up. If other businesses come and negotiate, they must also prepay you at least three months in advance before the first shipment. Even if it’s three months and one day, it’s acceptable, but it must not be shorter than our agreed time. Including the price, the price for other businesses cannot be lower than ours, but of course, it can be higher..."
Fearing that Yan Fei’s side wouldn’t agree to this, the Third Young Master Guo added, "The purpose of our arrangement is to win as many customers as possible when we have an initial advantage and prepare a buffer time when competitors appear. After all, we are the first customers to come forward, and so, we should have some preferential conditions, right? Moreover, frankly, I don’t think this condition is harsh. In the short term, based on Boss Yan’s current situation, I don’t think we have the capability to supply more than one customer."
"What do you mean by ’keeping our cooperation confidential’?" Yan Fei asked.
"There are two reasons to this." The Third Young Master Guo said. "One is still to give us an advantage in the initial stage. The Guo family is somewhat known in Hong Kong. If you flaunt our signed contract, it should be easy for you to find a second collaborator in Hong Kong. We can’t demand that you don’t do this, but we hope you don’t advertise it."
He chuckled a bit awkwardly after saying this, then continued, "There’s also a need for advertising. When we publicize it, we will definitely beautify your cattle farm. For instance, we might exaggerate your current situation..."