Xiao Zhuo's eyes flickered with panic, but his expression remained steady. "The money I've earned... it's all from Salu Star, and I haven't paid taxes on Salu Star. However, I have paid taxes on Spiral Star in a roundabout way!"
"Oh?" Jiang Ye chuckled. "What do you mean by paying taxes on Spiral Star in a roundabout way?"
"Firstly, when I buy medicine from Spiral Star, a portion of the money is paid as tax through the pharmaceutical companies," Xiao Zhuo said with a smile. "Secondly, I've decided to retire and live on Spiral Star. I've already bought a house here with my years of savings. Some of my old colleagues also want to come to Spiral Star, and they've sent me money to buy houses for them. So, all our money is spent on Spiral Star, flowing into its economic environment."
Jiang Ye smiled with satisfaction. "Your income isn't really low, and black market medicine is quite expensive, isn't it?"
"Actually, it's not that expensive. Our medicine prices are often similar to market prices, and the markup doesn't exceed double. This is because our customer base is limited, and many of them are also poor," Xiao Zhuo explained. "The money we make primarily comes from cutting out the middleman."
Jiang Ye suddenly understood and nodded.
"If the prices are similar to the market, how can you earn so much?" Helena, standing nearby, couldn't help but ask.
"Let me give you an example," Xiao Zhuo said. "For a box of medicine that costs five yuan to produce, the pharmaceutical factory will price it at seven to eight yuan when it leaves the factory. Then, they add one to two yuan for market promotion, another yuan for inclusion in the catalogs of major hospitals and pharmacies, four yuan as tribute to various officials in hospitals and pharmacies during negotiations, three yuan to encourage doctors to prescribe it, two yuan for transportation costs, and one yuan for taxes."
"With all these miscellaneous expenses, a box of medicine that costs five yuan to produce might end up costing over twenty yuan by the time it reaches the patient," Xiao Zhuo explained. "By getting the medicine directly from the factory and delivering it straight to the patient, I can save a lot of intermediate steps and earn the difference."
Helena was shocked, her expression one of surprise.
"If I were to allow Spiral Star's pharmaceutical companies to open up sales channels on Salu Star," Jiang Ye inquired, "would that mean you'd be out of a job?"
"We would definitely lose a lot," Xiao Zhuo admitted. "But we wouldn't be completely out of work, because there are always various new rare disease drugs emerging, and they are always distributed on different planets, requiring us to procure them."
"How much do you know about the pharmaceutical industry?" Jiang Ye asked.
"How should I put it? I make my living from it," Xiao Zhuo replied with a smile.
"In the next step, my planet may establish commercial ties with Salu Star. After commercial integration, medicine might also open up sales channels," Jiang Ye stated. "At that time, I'd like to hire you as a consultant. Would you be willing?"
Xiao Zhuo's expression immediately turned serious. "I would be deeply honored to serve you, Chief! I just don't know what you would require of me?"
"We'll contact you then," Jiang Ye said with a slight smile.
Xiao Zhuo's expression became apprehensive, and countless speculations likely flashed through his mind in that instant.
Jiang Ye didn't elaborate further, as there were still many people at the table.
The job he wanted Xiao Zhuo to do was to report on the price inflation of various drugs.
For such a task, a shrewd and experienced black market drug dealer like Xiao Zhuo would be quite reliable.
If he were to choose medical experts or pharmaceutical representatives for this job, Jiang Ye felt he wouldn't get accurate data due to their deeply entrenched vested interests.
Xiao Zhuo, on the other hand, was an outsider, a phantom from the gray areas, and was eager to obtain a legitimate identity on Spiral Star, wanting to ascend from the fringes of society to a more established position. Therefore, there was a high probability of his loyalty to Jiang Ye in the short term.
"Do you have any opinions or suggestions regarding the development of Spiral Star?" Jiang Ye asked, pulling out a small notebook.
"I can't really say," Xiao Zhuo replied, shaking his head.
"There must be something, right?" Jiang Ye smiled.
"I haven't been here for long. I spend my days running between various pharmaceutical companies, sleeping in my vehicle, eating bread, steamed buns, and self-heating meals. My life is turned upside down. I don't actually know much about Spiral Star," Xiao Zhuo said. "From my current interactions with the major pharmaceutical companies on Spiral Star, they are much better than those on Salu Star."
"Oh?"
"The pharmaceutical companies on Spiral Star are more formal. I don't need to find people on mountains to offer tributes; everything is done according to procedure, and negotiations are conducted in offices, which is very fast. Salu Star's pharmaceutical companies are different. If I can't get the goods, I have to find ways to compete, which is tiring and dangerous. I was almost killed twice," Xiao Zhuo recounted. "Ah, there is one detail that makes me slightly uncomfortable, but it's not really a big issue."
"What detail?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Accented discrimination," Xiao Zhuo began to explain. "People from Jiang Ye Star, Spiral Star, and Exile Star each have different accents and common phrases."
"People from Jiang Ye Star are often the standard 'old money,' very dignified. When they hear my foreign accent, they appear friendly on the surface, but they actually look down on me, though they hide it well."
"People from Birong Star are second only to Jiang Ye Star people in the hierarchy of disdain, but Birong Star people have lower qualities. When they hear my foreign accent, they unreservedly show a slight difference in attitude."
"People from Exile Star are more easygoing, ranking below Birong Star. They only have a slight discrimination towards foreign accents."
"These three planets, their people discriminate against accents from other planets, and there's also internal comparison," Xiao Zhuo said. "I saw online that Jiang Ye Star is your first planet, Chief, so they are quite proud. Birong Star and Exile Star's pride decreases sequentially, also based on time."
"Is there such a thing?" Jiang Ye was very surprised. "This is the first time I've heard of it. Why do they have a sense of superiority?"
"Because these planets all belong to you, Chief, the older ones have more seniority and thus are more arrogant," Xiao Zhuo explained. "I initially thought it was linked to the economy, but I found that wasn't the case. Birong Star is the wealthiest, yet Jiang Ye Star people still discriminate against Birong Star accents, and Birong Star people feel inferior when they meet Jiang Ye Star people."
"As for why they discriminate against people from other planets, it might be because they think those who come from other planets couldn't make it in their own hometown and are trying to integrate locally," Xiao Zhuo paused. "There's also the distinction between insiders and outsiders. Jiang Ye Star, Birong Star, and Exile Star are insiders, while other planets are outsiders."
Jiang Ye's expression was complex.
This was preposterous.
How could there be such a thing as accent discrimination?
"I don't even feel... any difference in the accents of these three planets," Jiang Ye said, confused. "Take Birong Star, for example. Sometimes when I go among the common people and chat with them, I feel there are at least four popular accents on Birong Star."
"They can distinguish them," Xiao Zhuo said. "There's also a very subtle hierarchy of accents within different regions of Birong Star, as I've seen mentioned by netizens online."
"Can you distinguish the accents of these planets?" Jiang Ye asked.
"I can distinguish the major ones, but not the minor ones," Xiao Zhuo replied. "I can tell which planet it's from, but not the specific location on that planet."
"Then, in your opinion, where is my accent from?" Jiang Ye smiled.