Gao Fei had reached the point where he could set the rules for everyone, yet nobody thought anything was amiss.
When he declared that whatever money they made from selling the guns would be split evenly, naturally no one objected. At least two-thirds of the weapons had been captured by Gao Fei himself—or rather, scavenged after he had gunned down the enemy.
Furthermore, Parker was the one who had brought Li Jie here, and it was Parker who had negotiated with Wagner's higher-ups to crack open this channel for frontline trading. And the only reason Parker had chosen to set up shop here instead of anywhere else was out of respect for Gao Fei.
Tracing it back even further, if not for Gao Fei, they never would have captured Parker in the first place; they would have been slaughtered outright by the elite force Parker led, leaving no chance for any deals today.
Since Gao Fei was the root of it all, he naturally called the shots.
This was merely their first deal, and it had already brought in three thousand dollars. Li Jie was clearly just testing the waters on this initial run; if they kept the trade going, future earnings would certainly far exceed three thousand.
On top of that, Li Jie had brought the things the front line needed most.
The most coveted supplies on the front line were always cigarettes and alcohol. If a third had to be added, it would be coffee.
Items that satisfied psychological needs always took precedence over everything else.
So when Li Jie slung the five rifles from their first transaction onto his back and prepared to leave, the men—Glaski included—weren't fixated on splitting the cash with Gao Fei. Instead, their eyes were glued greedily to the smokes and liquor sitting on the ground.
The moment of testing Gao Fei had arrived.
As Li Jie was about to leave, Gao Fei called out to him, "For the smokes and booze, bring a carton of cigarettes and four bottles of liquor next time you come over."
Li Jie nodded, putting on the air of a businessman who treated the customer as god. "No problem, you call the shots. I can see you guys have purchasing power now. Whatever you ask for, I guarantee I'll deliver."
Gao Fei turned to Parker. "We'll cover the money for your pistol."
Parker wore a matter-of-fact look. "Of course you're paying. Even if I wanted to pay, I'd need money, and if I wanted to settle in goods, I'd need to actually have goods."
Gao Fei was holding three rolls of cash. He handed two of them straight to Li Jie. Li Jie took the money without the slightest hesitation before saying, "This deal is settled, payment cleared. Pleasure doing business with you."
"Pleasure doing business. Get going, and come back early—with what we need."
Li Jie offered a jaunty wave. Then, with five rifles slung over his back, he climbed out of the trench, hunched over, and began trudging back toward the Ukrainian lines.
Once Li Jie had vanished from sight, Gao Fei slipped the remaining roll of cash into his pocket. He picked up a pack of cigarettes from the ground, tore it open, and handed it to Glaski. "Go ahead and divide this among the boys."
Glaski glanced toward the bottles of liquor, kept his mouth shut, and set off in high spirits to hand out the cigarettes.
Gao Fei picked up the remaining three packs of cigarettes and two bottles of liquor, set them before the company commander, and whispered, "Take these back to the company command post and share them with the boys there, Commander. Don't worry, we won't be short on smokes and booze from here on out."
When good things came, they went first to the protective umbrella up top.
The company commander smiled. Unceremoniously tucking the cigarettes into his pocket, he picked up the two bottles of liquor and murmured, "The boys bought all this with their lives, so the command post won't take a cut. We have a fair amount of gear stored at the post too. In time, we can gradually bring it over to trade. Just keep an eye out for us when the time comes."
The company command post was packed with heaps of body armor and rifles.
Previously, captured weapons and gear were stripped of their ammunition, while the rifles and machine guns were simply hauled away, since holding onto them served no purpose. But now that Wagner's resupply couldn't make it up, by the same token, gear captured on the front line couldn't be transported down either.
Gao Fei understood what the commander meant.
Since the promised bounties couldn't be paid out, the higher-ups had used Parker's connection to find the men a way to turn gear into cash. Life wasn't easy for the boys on the forward positions to begin with; now that they had managed to capture gear and convert it into money, the company command post wouldn't reach into their pockets.
The commander's words made the brass's attitude clear.
Meanwhile, Parker was fiddling with his new pistol. He slammed in a magazine, raised the weapon to take aim, and said with immense satisfaction, "Rex, I don't know this guy. I don't know his background or how capable he really is, so do not extend him any credit."
No credit transactions meant never letting anyone run up a tab.
At this point, Gao Fei would rather forgo a deal entirely than let someone owe him money.
"If you don't know him, how did you get in touch?"
Gao Fei was purely curious, nothing more. Parker had no intention of hiding anything either, replying casually, "That's the advantage of having wide connections. The arms dealing circle is even more cutthroat than the mercenary world. Ask around enough, get introduced through mutual contacts, and you'll naturally find someone willing to take the risk."
Gao Fei pressed further, "I just want to know—he buys a gun for six hundred dollars, but how much can he flip it for? The Ukrainians aren't short on guns, so who is he selling them to?"
"Well, Ukraine isn't short on guns, but he never planned to sell them to Ukrainians."
Parker knew the ins and outs of the trade. Without hesitation, he explained, "High-end gear like a SCAR is sold to people who need it. If he unloads it right here in Bakhmut, he can get at least a thousand dollars. Get it to Kyiv, and it goes for fifteen hundred. Smuggle it to a place like Iraq, and it'll fetch at least three thousand. Ship it to Mexico, at least five grand. And if he can get it onto US soil, a single piece will run close to six thousand dollars. Fully automatic weapons fresh off the battlefield command that kind of price."
The profit margins were staggering—truly worth risking one's neck for.
Parker continued, "In fact, the margin on a SCAR is on the smaller side. An AK74 has a local buy-in price of two-fifty. You can't even sell it in Bakhmut, and in Kyiv it fetches at most five hundred bucks. But once you move it to Iraq, it sells for two thousand, and they'll take as many as you can supply. Speaking of which..."
Parker paused, thought it over, and decided to lay everything out for Gao Fei.
"Speaking of which, I should let you know: this Jeffte Li has limited capability. He definitely doesn't have the channels to move weapons out of Ukraine, which is why he chose to start with guns like the SCAR. Once he collects AK rifles, he can only flip them to bigger arms dealers with real reach to make a small margin. I'd wager he can offload them to those heavyweight dealers for about five hundred dollars apiece. A hundred-percent profit—still well worth the gamble."
Gao Fei had only wanted to learn the market rates out of sheer curiosity; he wasn't about to jack up the price just because he knew how much the other man stood to make.
The risk was far too great. To dare shuttle back and forth between two hostile trench lines smuggling supplies and running a black-market trade—in the whole of Bakhmut, Li Jie was probably the only one doing it. For that matter, he might be the only one doing it across the entire Russo-Ukrainian theater.
Gao Fei nodded. "Then we need to be extra careful from now on, and we have to keep him safe."
Parker put on a solemn look. "He can make a decent haul in a single night, but relative to the risk, it's really not that much. Anyone willing and daring enough to do this kind of business is bound to be a rookie who just entered the trade and is desperate for quick cash. Someone like that could drop dead at any moment, so never let him owe you. But as long as he stays alive, a small business can slowly grow into a massive enterprise. So don't antagonize him either. Whatever convenience you can offer him, you must offer. If his business expands later, it benefits us all."
Parker wasn't just a mercenary; after surviving in this world for so long, he was practically a walking encyclopedia.
Taking advantage of a pause in the conversation between Gao Fei and Parker, Glaski stepped up and offered Gao Fei a cigarette, then handed one to Parker.
Gao Fei took the cigarette, lit it, and took a long, blissful drag. Then he turned back to Parker. "I get the picture. Don't worry, we can definitely handle a little business like this."
Parker looked down at the lit cigarette in his hand and said with profound feeling, "A pack of smokes goes for a hundred, flipped for a tenfold profit. Doing business pays far better than being a mercenary. But I'll say it again: if someone is willing to risk their neck to earn this money, you have to let them earn it. Don't you dare try to drive down his prices."
"I know, I know. What he's earning is blood money, not just a price margin. I definitely won't squeeze him."
Parker didn't know Gao Fei's character well, so he was still worried Gao Fei might be shortsighted. After drumming the point home several times and receiving Gao Fei's promise, he said with satisfaction, "Good. We're heading out. Go ahead and do your trades first. Once your stockpile is sold off, let the brothers in the nearby positions offload their gear. After everything nearby is cleared out, go buy up gear from more distant positions and resell it. If everyone gets a piece, business will be easy to sustain."
"I understand. Everyone gets a share; no hogging the pie."
"This business must remain in your hands. Right now, I can ensure Jeffte only deals with you, but that might change later. For now, it's a buyer's market, and Jeffte is the key player."
Gao Fei understood the principle; he really didn't need Parker repeating it over and over.
Then Parker lowered his voice, shifting the tone. "So don't gouge our friendly units too hard on the margin, or someone will get resentful and shoot the buyer dead outright. If that happens, nobody makes a dime."
So that was what Parker was truly worried about. And yet, Parker's concern made complete sense.
There were plenty of people who would rather wreck a deal than let someone else make a profit.
Gao Fei replied with utmost gravity, "Understood. You're right. I'll make sure to watch out for that."
"Those who risk their lives earn blood money; those who run the errands earn honest sweat money. Be sure to remember that rule. You must never forget it."
Parker had likely seen far too many people blinded by greed, which explained why his warnings to Gao Fei were so thorough. Even so, these words gave Gao Fei a whole new appreciation for the man.
No wonder Parker got along so well in this world. He wasn't someone who merely painted grand pictures with empty promises. Beyond his genuine capability, his attitude toward money was a major reason for his success.
Gao Fei nodded repeatedly. "Understood, understood. I get it. I'll definitely treat everyone fairly."
Seeing that Gao Fei's attitude was genuinely sincere, Parker finally set his mind at ease. He turned to the company commander. "Let's head back, then. Staying here really is a bit too dangerous."
The company commander had barely said a word, while Parker had talked on and on without end; to an outside observer, it almost looked as though Parker were the commanding officer here.
Now that Parker announced their departure, the commander didn't object. After a moment's thought, he said to Gao Fei, "Try running a few more trades with the arms dealer first. If we need anything later, I'll let you know. We're heading out now. Keep in touch at all times."
Chapter 84