novelnext Chapter 238 231 Agent He Qiu
Chapter 238 231 Agent He Qiu
Bai Zhongqi and the others went through customs without much complication. It was similar to the border check from Earth to Ruyi City: basically, fill in an identity form and pass quarantine, and there were no problems. Bai Zhongqi was not worried about being penniless on Bupinga Star; he had many ways to engage in trade to acquire the chips necessary to exchange for the things he wanted.
As a first-time visitor to Bupinga, a Bupingan man named He Qiu, wearing a smile unrecognizable to Earthlings, took the initiative to approach Bai Zhongqi.
Bupingans could smile, but their smiles were quite different from the grinning of the Primate Clan. When Bupingans smiled, their mouths puckered forward and their nostrils enlarged, creating a somewhat strange appearance. This reminded Bai Zhongqi of a meme featuring a male actor from Country C who had once played role X Kang.
"Honored guests, I am a broker specially dispatched by the Trade Services Federation to serve you. Since it is your first time visiting our planet, the service this time is free of charge. However, if you are satisfied with my service, you can provide financial encouragement and add me as a trade broker for your civilization," He Qiu said, bowing deeply with what looked like utmost respect.
Bai Zhongqi nodded slightly, understanding that He Qiu was essentially an official intermediary. He held an official identity recognized by the Trade Services Federation of Bupinga Star, and could be employed by other civilizations as a trade representative on this commercial planet. Regardless of what the civilization needed, whether it was to purchase certain goods or to sell a planet, a trade broker would find the right trade partner for their employer and broker the deal for the employer's benefit.
Yet Bai Zhongqi also anticipated that truly capable trade brokers would not casually represent an unknown civilization; they couldn't gain much profit from it. Only those brokers with insufficient strength or experience would eagerly pursue such civilizations, hoping to make a substantial profit from them.
The "Eagle Shield Civilization" quickly obtained customs clearance to enter Bupinga Star, and after inspection, Bai Zhongqi's Starwave Craft was allowed to land on the planet.
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"This car was made by the Romuk civilization, considered a quite popular mode of transportation in over ten nearby Star Regions. Romuk is a typical artisan civilization; although their civilization level isn't very high, even some high-level civilizations struggle to match the quality of their products," He Qiu explained to Bai Zhongqi.
Casually, Bai Zhongqi asked, "How much would such a car sell for on Bupinga?"
Thinking Bai Zhongqi was interested in the luxurious car—though such recreational purchases wouldn't be very large—He Qiu immediately responded, "Such a vehicle can be purchased for only 0.085 Pulun."
Bai Zhongqi remained composed, but understood something. The amount of 0.085 Pulun seemed like a small number, but Pulun was actually a very large unit of currency used for major trade deals. In fact, the currency commonly used by Bupingans for their daily life was the Pu Qie, equal to one hundred-millionth of a Pulun.
So, such a car would cost a whopping 8.5 million Pu Qie. Pulun and Pu Qie were both energy currency units, with one Pu Qie roughly equivalent to just over a kilowatt-hour of electricity. By this comparison, the cost of the luxury car was about the same as those produced on Earth. However, considering the technological disparity, producing such a car might cost less than 100 Pu Qie, something Iridium Star could achieve with less than 100 Pu Qie.
If a lower civilization purchased such products, they would spend vast amounts of precious energy in exchange for higher civilization's manufactured goods, effectively allowing their productive capacity to be exploited by the greater productive power of higher civilizations through a disparity known as "price scissors."
The existence of a Trade Star was essentially a way for higher civilizations to exploit lower civilizations with their superior productive capacity in a non-aggressive manner. Yet, lower civilizations often accepted it eagerly, exchanging what they could produce for goods they couldn't manufacture themselves and striving towards higher civilization levels.
Bai Zhongqi couldn't help but feel that this situation seemed strangely familiar.