41: They all obediently came into the pocket.

At 3 PM, in the VIP lounge of HSBC.

Yamamoto Yushin arrived for the appointment with two lawyers; Momota Shizuka did not appear this time.

Meeting again, there weren't many pleasantries, and they got straight to the point.

"Mr. Louis, this time my quote is based on the prices from the Antwerp Trading Center in Britain.

The diamond grade is quoted according to the VVS level."

Yamamoto Yushin stated the data source right at the start, showing his professionalism.

"I accept this pricing basis!" Lu Fan nodded repeatedly in agreement. "Please continue."

Seeing the other party's approval, the confidence on Yamamoto Yushin's face increased a bit more.

He quickly took a quote letter from his folder, stood up, and handed it over with both hands. "Mr. Louis,

this is my quote letter. Please take a look."

Lu Fan took the document with one hand and skimmed through it quickly.

The multifunctional glasses extracted the key points in a second.

1 carat: $3,000; 2 carats: $8,000; 3 carats: $18,000; 4 carats: $24,000.

This price was almost no different from what he had investigated himself.

"The price is very fair!" Lu Fan gave a thumbs up and praised him generously. "Mr. Yamamoto is indeed an expert. Professional!"

"Thank you for your approval, Mr. Louis!"

Hearing Lu Fan's praise, an excited smile appeared on Yamamoto Yushin's face.

Immediately after, he asked eagerly, "How many diamonds can you specifically provide on your end?"

Lu Fan replied unhurriedly, "Within three months, I will provide your company with 250,000 carats of diamonds.

In the following six months, I will provide your company with another 600,000 carats of diamonds."

Yamamoto Yushin was clearly unsatisfied with this number; there was still a gap compared to the quantity discussed that morning.

The US had become a global supermarket due to the war, and its economy was recovering rapidly.

The demand for luxury goods among the wealthy was very strong; it was the perfect time to harvest.

He requested with a face full of smiles, "Mr. Louis, this first year is crucial. Could you give US a bit more quota?"

"That's possible," Lu Fan responded solemnly. After handing out a cigarette, he changed the subject. "However, it depends on your company's performance."

Yamamoto Yushin frowned and asked, "Mr. Louis, what do you mean by that?"

"It's simple. Our contract term is tentatively set until the end of the year. Whether we continue to cooperate will depend on your market share."

Lu Fan lightly delivered his trump card, using market share as his leverage.

Yamamoto Yushin stood up abruptly, his eyes showing some dissatisfaction as he looked directly at Lu Fan to argue his point. "This contract ends at the end of the year.

Such a short time is very disadvantageous for US.

Once our market is fully rolled out, if the cooperation terminates, our losses will be enormous."

Lu Fan didn't respond immediately. Instead, he took a deep drag of his cigarette and then slowly exhaled the smoke.

Why should I care about your huge losses? If you didn't have ulterior motives, would I deliberately target you?

He thought this, but he couldn't say it out loud.

He organized his words and explained with a warm smile, "Mr. Yamamoto, don't be angry.

As I said, I made it very clear before: what I want is market share.

If your company cannot complete the market share takeover,

it will be hard for me to explain things on my end.

After all, we are cooperating with you with the goal of pulling De Beers off its pedestal.

If you can't complete the task, we naturally need to consider changing agents."

Lu Fan methodically presented his arguments, leading him on.

His goal was very clear: to make the japanese invest a large amount of manpower and resources into opening physical stores in the short term to seize market share.

Opening physical stores would make the japanese's wishful thinking of bartering less effective.

At least in the short term, not only would there be no profit, but they might even lose quite a bit.

Furthermore, once the physical stores were established, Lu Fan would have more than one way to deal with the japanese.

Yamamoto Yushin's face turned a bit ugly; he was in a bit of a dilemma.

Demanding market share was a ruthless move.

If he agreed, he would be spending money to promote someone else—a classic case of doing all the work for someone else's benefit.

If he didn't agree, future cooperation would be impossible, and even the best business deal would be a one-off thing.

These were still minor issues; the important thing was that his trading line would be stretched.

He wouldn't be able to get a profit immediately upon resale; his plan to get something for nothing through bartering would also go bankrupt.

Having navigated the business world for over twenty years, this was the first time he had encountered such a difficult opponent.

Looking at his opponent's age, he was in his early thirties.

This hidden-needle-in-cotton scheming, this experienced and steady mindset, and this airtight rhetoric...

All of it left him shocked, and in the end, he could only sigh inwardly: the heritage of China's great families is truly terrifying.

He was silent for a moment before facing the issue directly. "Mr. Louis, how much market share do you hope we can occupy?"

"Before the end of the year, we hope you can occupy 15% of the US market."

Lu Fan replied nonchalantly, as if achieving this goal was effortless.

Upon hearing this, Yamamoto Yushin immediately complained, "Mr. Louis, the standard you've set is too high!"

"Too high? I don't think so. This is an incentive clause I designed!"

"If you can reach the goal, the cooperation will continue, and the price will be reduced by 3%."

Lu Fan showed a confident smile. If you don't bait the spot while fishing, you won't catch much. If you want the fish to come ashore, you must use heavy bait.

"If you exceed the goal, for every percentage point the market share increases, the price will be reduced by five points, with no upper limit."

This was another bright hook cast right in front of the fish.

After hearing this, Yamamoto Yushin's eyes suddenly lit up. This clause was simply too tempting.

The phrase "no upper limit" sent his IQ straight out of his skull.

He calculated inwardly that as long as he could reach this goal, he could not only automatically renew the contract,

but also obtain more profit on the basis of further consolidating the cooperative relationship between the two parties.

He could definitely play the long game to catch a big fish.

After some thought, Yamamoto Yushin finally made up his mind and said, "Alright."

"Mr. Yamamoto, are there any other objections? If not, please have your lawyers draft the contract."

Lu Fan's tone was crisp and decisive, without any hesitation.

"I have no more issues on my end."

Yamamoto Yushin nodded vigorously, a smile of relief appearing on his face. "Draft the contract according to what was just said."

As the lawyers began drafting the contract, Lu Fan took out the diamonds he had prepared and placed them on the table.

"Mr. Yamamoto, these are the diamonds I brought this time. One thousand carats, all five-carat stones, VVS grade."

As soon as the blue velvet bag was opened, the diamonds scattered onto the tabletop, and the entire room was instantly plunged into a brilliant display of colors.

In just an instant, all the japanese were immersed in this dreamlike light and shadow.

Especially Yamamoto Yushin; his eyes were full of greed, and he wanted nothing more than to take these diamonds for himself.

Lu Fan glanced at them nonchalantly.

Look, keep looking!

Once you've set your eyes on them, don't look away.

Obediently put those tens of millions of dollars into my pocket.