Martial Peak

“Is Elder Sister sure she wants to auction all these land deeds?” Li Nuo was a businesswoman herself, so the moment business came to her door, she set aside all other matters and quickly entered negotiations with Hua You Meng.

“En,” Hua You Meng nodded. Although she had her own plans, these things were only given to her because of Yang Kai’s existence. Since Yang Kai suggested that she sell them all, she would not object.

“That’s a pity,” Li Nuo sighed lightly. “If you kept them for yourself, it wouldn’t take ten years for Five Paths Chamber of Commerce to become famous with Elder Sister’s methods.”

“Manager Li must be joking, I don’t have such skill,” Hua You Meng waved her hands quickly.

“Why does Elder Sister insist on being so modest? Although Five Paths Chamber of Commerce is not well-known today, with this Sir assuming…” She was halfway through her words when she noticed Hua You Meng smiling bitterly and understood that Yang Kai was likely just a passerby and would not be staying in Five Paths Chamber of Commerce. As such, she didn’t bother continuing this topic and smiled, “Good, since Elder Sister wants to sell all these land deeds, Junior Sister will accept; however, does Elder Sister want to auction these land deeds separately or as a package?”

Hua You Meng frowned and fell into contemplation.

As a businesswoman, she knew the difference between selling these land deeds individually or together.

If they were split apart, it was guaranteed that these land deeds would easily sell out; after all, although each land deed was expensive, there were many chambers of commerce or great forces that could afford them. However, splitting them apart would mean losing the appeal of owning the entire Soaring Dragon Street.

On the other hand, if all the land deeds were auctioned off together, the price would be so high that not many great forces would be able to fight for them. The final selling price would still likely be much higher than if these land deeds were sold individually.

The two methods both had advantages and disadvantages, and it was not clear which was the better choice.

Helpless, Hua You Meng turned her eyes to Yang Kai, hoping for him to advise her.

Yang Kai just chuckled though, “I only know how to fight. Business is completely foreign to me. It would be better to ask Manager Li for her opinion.”

Hua You Meng’s eyes lit up as she looked towards Li Nuo eagerly.

Li Nuo pursed her lips and said with a smile, “Since Sir has offered such generous praise, this Mistress won’t hold back. Elder Sister, Junior Sister suggests auctioning these off as a set with a starting price of 100 million Saint Crystals.”

“1… 100 million!” Hua You Meng’s pretty face changed drastically as her voice trembled audibly.

She almost fainted from happiness after hearing this number. Together with her thirty or so brothers and sisters from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, Hua You Meng would need to work all year round just to earn one million Saint Crystals in revenue, but after wages and expenses were subtracted, the chambers of commerce would be able to save 200,000 Saint Crystals at best!

To her, 100 million was simply inconceivable.

“Does Elder Sister believe this is too expensive?” Li Nuo smiled. “If Elder Sister thinks about it, it shouldn’t be too surprising actually. Although Soaring Dragon Street is not in the most prosperous area of the outer city, it is not a poor location either. As a street to do commerce on, it should rank around the middle. Each land deed on Soaring Dragon Street would allow one to set up a shop with a good fifty-metre frontage, making the base cost for each one about five to eight million Saint Crystals; however, that is still a low estimate. In the busiest areas, a single land deed should be worth at least twenty million. Let us say the average land deed on Soaring Dragon Street is worth six million, since there are around thirty such deeds, that alone is 180 million… What’s more, these land deeds are all connected together, which makes it far more convenient and attractive for those great forces or large commercial firms. This alone will push the value up by at least twenty percent. With that said, does Elder Sister still think a base price of 100 million is unreasonable?”

Hua You Meng was stunned on the spot, unable to speak for a long time, her tender body trembling constantly.

The impact of Li Nuo’s words on her was too great.

Although she had realized before that these thirty land deeds were not low in value, she had never had the presence of mind to calculate it out carefully. Now that Li Nuo had explained it to her in plain words, Hua You Meng realized just how immense the wealth she stood to gain was.

This was something she would not be able to accumulate over an entire lifetime with just Five Paths Chamber of Commerce.

Seeing her so stunned, Li Nuo did not hurry her but instead picked up the tea she had just brewed and poured a cup for Hua You Meng and Yang Kai each.

Yang Kai raised his cup and asked, “Manager Li, if these are auctioned as a package, how many great forces in Purple Star City could swallow it?”

“There are at least ten companies that have this ability. Sir must not underestimate the great forces in Purple Star City. Although it would not be easy to take out a few hundred million Saint Crystals on the spot, all that is needed is to let out some rumours ahead of time and many firms will be able to gather enough funds.”

“Good, in that case, let us auction it as a whole. President Hua, what do you think?” Yang Kai asked while turning to Hua You Meng.

Hua You Meng let out a faint breath as her face flushed with excitement and she said blankly, “I trust Sir to make this decision.”

“Then let’s do this,” Yang Kai chuckled. He knew that Hua You Meng was too shocked to think straight right now, so he took the initiative to decide on her behalf.

“Sir, please rest assured. There are still five days before the next auction is held, so this Mistress will properly advertise these land deeds so your chamber of commerce can sell them for a good price,” Li Nuo assured Yang Kai.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you with that,” Yang Kai smiled faintly.

“En, according to our auction house’s regulations, after the auction is successful, we will take a five percent service fee, but since this time’s transaction is so large, this Mistress will give Sir a discount. How about two percent?”

Although it was only a three percent difference, this was still a massive number of Saint Crystals because the selling price would undoubtedly be sky-high.

Yang Kai was taken aback for a moment, but since he had no reason to refuse, he simply said, “Then on behalf of President Hua, I will offer Manager Li thanks for this favour.”

Li Nuo was slightly startled as she understood the meaning behind Yang Kai’s words, but not dwelling on them too much, she smiled and turned to the mature woman beside her and said, “Aunt Chun, take out two VIP invitations for this Sir.”

“Yes.” Aunt Chun responded and took out two golden invitation cards from her Space Ring, placing them in front of Yang Kai.

Li Nuo smiled and explained, “In five days, Sir and President Hua can enter the auction house with this invitation. This Mistress will arrange everything. There will be many good things at the auction, so Sir should definitely attend. Perhaps there will be a treasure that interests you.”

“I’ll certainly come,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded, putting away the invitation before immediately taking Hua You Meng, who had not yet recovered, and walking out of the stone pavilion.

Aunt Chun saw them to the exit of the auction house before returning.

“Young Lady, why did you show such goodwill to that man? Is it because of the Second Young Master?” Aunt Chun looked at Li Nuo with a worried face and asked.

“En, why else does Aunt Chun think I would take the initiative to take three percent off from the auction fee? Those three points represent some ten million Saint Crystals,” Li Nuo smiled bitterly before sighing again. “But he is a very sharp and cautious individual.”

“En,” Aunt Chun also sighed.

What Yang Kai said at the time was ‘On behalf of President Hua, I will offer Manager Li thanks for this favour’. It could be seen from this sentence that Yang Kai was being cautious of them. Rather than saying he had personally accepted Li Nuo’s kindness, he simply gave thanks in Hua You Meng’s place, pushing the favour onto her while making Li Nuo feel helpless.

“Second Young Master’s status is uncertain, but there was some fighting above the city not long ago. Could Aunt Chun perceive what happened clearly?” Li Nuo asked the woman.

“Everything happened too fast,” Aunt Chun shook her head, “I’m afraid that Second Young Master and his people tried to escape from Purple Star City but failed.”

“Haa….” Li Nuo sighed, “The President is too cruel, sending his own flesh and blood to this place. Why send Second Young Master here while allowing the Third Young Master to enjoy riches and honour…”

“Young Lady!” Aunt Chun was taken aback and quickly cut her off.

Li Nuo simply smiled though, “I know, Aunt Chun, but there are no outsiders here. I only wanted to complain a little in front of you. We cannot make any overt moves, let alone reveal ourselves rashly; for now, we can only borrow the help of others. The origins of that Sir with Five Paths Chamber of Commerce are unknown, but from Lu Tian Feng’s attitude, it is obvious he is someone of great strength and status. I originally wanted him to inquire about the Second Young Master on our behalf, but it seems that won’t be possible now.”

Aunt Chun frowned and said, “Young Lady should not worry. Although Second Young Master sometimes acts a bit rashly, he is not someone who lacks discretion, so it is unlikely that anything extreme will happen to him. What’s more, even though Purple Star is not weak, it wouldn’t really dare move against our people, especially the Second Young Master who has an honourable identity. There’s no need to worry about his life, but some suffering is probably unavoidable.”

“That is precisely what I’m worried about though. Second Young Master has been pampered since childhood so his tolerance for suffering cannot be too high.”

Nodding, a light of determination flashed across Aunt Chun’s eyes as she said, “If Young Lady is really unable to feel relieved, I will go speak with Elder Peng.”

“Peng Hu?” Li Nuo frowned, “That man is nothing good, filled with greed and lust. Aunt Chun shouldn’t interact with him!”

“Young Lady need not worry,” Aunt Chun smiled lightly. “Although that old man Peng Hu is impudent, it is precisely because of his nature that we can take advantage of him. At worst I will give him some small benefits and that will be it. In any case, his strength is lower than mine, so I certainly won’t be the one to suffer.”

While talking, Aunt Chun seemed to make up her mind and declared, “Good, I will go find him now!”

“Aunt Chun!” Li Nuo wore a stern look, but Aunt Chun disappeared in the next moment. Helpless, Li Nuo could only silently pray that Aunt Chun really did not suffer a loss at Peng Hu’s hands.

Yang Kai and Hua You Meng left Clear Sky Auction House with the latter still in a daze, her cheeks flushed and a bounce in her step as she was unable to calm herself when thinking about those 100 million Saint Crystals…

Glancing over at Yang Kai once in a while, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude.

Without this person, Five Paths Chamber of Commerce would have been razed to the ground yesterday, and all her brothers and sisters would have been severely punished. Yet now, such great blessings were practically raining down on them. At this moment, Hua You Meng suddenly understood the feeling of being able to rely on someone.

This warm and comfortable feeling soon infatuated her.

For so many years, she had helmed Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, and just as Li Nuo said, everyone’s future and lives were resting on her shoulders, a heavy burden her tender body struggled to bear.

But she currently had someone to support and protect her, letting her experience the feeling of relying on others.

She was unable to extricate herself for a while as she imagined what a future together with such reliable support would be like… wouldn’t it be wondrous?