The auction was in full swing, and the atmosphere grew increasingly heated.
Watching the continuous bidding, Lin Tian started to get anxious.
“Xunhuan, hurry up and bid! If you don’t, it’ll be gone.”
“Don’t rush. Why panic? They’re auctioning off Category C shops now. We’ll bid for a set of Category B shops later,” Li Xunhuan said calmly.
He had no hope of competing for the three hundred Category A central shops. Those top-tier businesses, backed by major aristocratic families, had long set their sights on the central street shops. He couldn’t compete with them.
Therefore, his target was a set of Category B shops.
Over the past few days, he had already scouted the Category B shops outside the central shop circle. Although they couldn’t compare to the central street shops, their locations were still quite good.
As long as they secured a set of Category B shops, it would be enough for them to start their business in River West City.
“Now, the last set of Category C shops is up for auction. The starting bid is still fifty thousand taels of silver,” Finn Chen announced loudly.
After getting the hang of it, he felt that being an auctioneer wasn’t that difficult.
“Sixty thousand!”
“I bid seventy thousand!”
“Eighty thousand…”
“One hundred thirty-five thousand, third call, sold!” Finn Chen struck the small hammer, producing a crisp sound on the copper plate.
At this moment, Finn Chen’s mouth was grinning from ear to ear. How much silver was this?
Over twenty million. River West City had just been built, and it already had so much money. It was incredibly wealthy.
With so much money, he didn’t even know how to spend it.
There were still seven hundred Category B shops and three hundred Category A shops. If all were auctioned off, how much money would that be?
Finn Chen didn’t even dare to think about it!
“Alright, next up are the seven hundred Category B shops, auctioned in sets of five, totaling one hundred forty sets. Everyone, get ready.”
“Without further ado, the first set starts at eighty thousand taels of silver, with each bid not less than one hundred taels!”
As Finn Chen announced the starting bid, the wealthy merchants aiming for the Category B shops began to bid.
“Eighty-one thousand taels!”
“Eighty-five thousand taels!”
“Ninety thousand!”
“One hundred ten thousand…”
“One hundred fifty thousand…”
The price quickly rose to one hundred fifty thousand taels of silver.
“One hundred fifty-five thousand taels,” Li Xunhuan raised his hand and shouted.
“One hundred fifty-seven thousand taels!” A well-dressed middle-aged man shouted.
Li Xunhuan glanced at the man. He recognized him as Wang Yaozu from the Wang family of Langya, one of the major aristocratic families.
But he had no intention of backing down and continued bidding.
“One hundred sixty thousand taels.”
“One hundred sixty-two thousand taels,” Wang Yaozu didn’t give up.
“One hundred sixty-five thousand taels!”
Now, only Li Xunhuan and Wang Yaozu were still competing for the first set of Category B shops.
“One hundred seventy thousand taels,” Li Xunhuan decisively increased his bid.
In his view, even spending two hundred thousand to buy those five shops was worth it. He trusted his judgment.
Back when he spent thirty thousand to secure the distribution rights for Western Wind Blaze and Green Ant Wine, it was a decision that made him a fortune.
Moreover, the shops in River West City had enormous development potential and were very much worth buying. How could Li Xunhuan give up?
Seeing Li Xunhuan’s determined stance, Wang Yaozu didn’t continue to compete.
“One hundred seventy thousand taels, any higher bids?”
“One hundred seventy thousand taels, going once!”
“One hundred seventy thousand taels, going twice!”
Finn Chen paused to see if there were any higher bids.
Earning a bit more was always good, especially since building River West City had consumed a lot of Oliver Sheng’s silver.
Building such a large city on this grassland required a significant amount of money.
Previously, shops like these were often bought at low prices through various connections.
But with Oliver Sheng overseeing River West City, no one dared to act rashly.
Otherwise, even as the governor of the River West Protectorate, he couldn’t withstand the pressure from all sides.
“One hundred seventy thousand taels, sold!” Finn Chen struck the small hammer.
Li Xunhuan finally felt at ease, securing five Category B shops.
The second set sold for one hundred seventy-three thousand taels, and the third set for one hundred sixty-five thousand taels.
During this period, Li Xunhuan also secured another set of Category B shops for one hundred seventy-two thousand taels of silver.
Oliver Sheng watched the auction proceed smoothly from the loft, relaxed and at ease.
Xiao Chuyi stood beside him, watching the auction below. At this moment, she didn’t know what to say.
She could only marvel at how wealthy these merchants and aristocratic families were.
She glanced at Oliver Sheng, wondering what was going on in his mind.
Organizing an auction for shops and generating money at such a terrifying speed left Xiao Chuyi in awe.
Not to mention Oliver Sheng’s winery, which brought in nearly ten million taels of silver every month.
Without such a terrifying income, it would be impossible to support so many elite soldiers and generals.
In the River West Army, the monthly distribution of pills and salaries was higher than in other armies.
Not to mention the large supply of meat for the soldiers’ consumption and cultivation. Supporting tens of thousands of warhorses required a strong economic foundation.
As far as she knew, Oliver Sheng had ordered the craftsman’s workshop to produce over ten thousand sets of heavy cavalry armor.
Ten thousand heavy cavalry—she couldn’t even imagine how powerful that was.
“Xiao Batian!” Oliver Sheng glanced at Xiao Chuyi.
“What are your orders, General?” Xiao Chuyi responded.
“I heard you’re from the Xiao Residence?” Oliver Sheng said calmly.
Xiao Chuyi’s heart tightened. Had Oliver Sheng discovered her identity?
“Yes, General!”
“Xiao Martial King is your grandfather!”
“Yes!”
Xiao Chuyi didn’t know what Oliver Sheng was planning.
“Xiao Martial King has guarded the Demon Suppression Pass with great merit, and he must have hunted many beasts. I wonder if General Xiao could purchase some beast meat for our River West Army,” Oliver Sheng said.
Ordinary beef and mutton didn’t have the same value as beast meat, which provided more blood and essence for martial artists.
After the auction, he planned to start purchasing beast meat from the Demon Suppression Pass.
“This!” Xiao Chuyi thought it was something serious or that her female identity had been discovered by Oliver Sheng.
“What’s the matter? Is it difficult or impossible?” Oliver Sheng looked at Xiao Chuyi with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
Seeing Oliver Sheng’s slightly displeased look, Xiao Chuyi’s heart tightened, and she quickly said:
“No, it’s certainly possible. It’s just that beast meat is very expensive, and…”
“As long as it’s possible, the price is negotiable,” Oliver Sheng said with satisfaction.
Price? Silver in his hands was just a pile of silver lumps. If not spent, it had no value.
“Alright, I’ll write a letter to my grandfather explaining the matter,” Xiao Chuyi said.
“Good, General Batian is still concerned about our River West Army,” Oliver Sheng smiled.
Xiao Chuyi pouted. She didn’t dare disagree, or she would definitely be given a hard time by Oliver Sheng and sent to guard some remote place.
“Now, the auction for Category A shops begins!”
“The first set of five Category A shops starts at one hundred thousand taels, with each bid not less than two thousand taels.”
As soon as Finn Chen finished speaking, someone couldn’t wait to bid.
“One hundred ten thousand taels of silver!”
An increase of ten thousand taels in one go showed how wealthy they were, making many feel pressured.
“One hundred fifteen thousand!”
“One hundred twenty thousand!”
The competition became fierce, with each increase being five thousand or ten thousand taels.
The price quickly soared to two hundred thousand.
“Two hundred ten thousand!”
“Two hundred fifteen thousand taels!”
Watching the frantic bidding below, Xiao Chuyi was puzzled.
“Aren’t they afraid of losing money by spending so much on a shop?”
Oliver Sheng rolled his eyes at Xiao Chuyi.
“How could they lose money? These merchants are sharper than anyone.”
“What about the house prices in Luo Capital?”
Hearing Oliver Sheng’s question, Xiao Chuyi replied, “Expensive, very expensive!”
Living in Luo Capital was no easy task!
“Were the house prices in Luo Capital always this high?” Oliver Sheng continued to ask.
“No!”
Xiao Chuyi shook her head.
“So, you’re saying these people are eyeing the future value of the shops!”
“Not too dumb!”
Xiao Chuyi rolled her eyes upward, cursing inwardly: You’re the dumb one!
With the prosperity of the Western Regions trade route, the shop prices in River West City would inevitably rise in the future.
The price of Category A shops quickly reached two hundred fifty thousand.
The first set of Category A shops was sold for two hundred fifty-five thousand taels of silver.
That meant each shop cost fifty thousand taels of silver.
The Shen brothers even spent over a million taels of silver to secure more than twenty Category A shops.
The competition for Category A shops was fiercer than for Category B and C shops.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last set of Category A shops, located at the intersection of the central street. If you miss this, there won’t be another chance.”
“Alright, without further ado, the starting bid is one hundred fifty thousand taels of silver!”
Finn Chen’s hands were trembling at this moment.
How much silver had been earned today?
He probably had never seen so much in his life.
“One hundred sixty thousand taels!”
“One hundred seventy thousand!”
“One hundred eighty thousand!”
…
Finally, a wealthy merchant secured it for a high price of three hundred sixty thousand taels of silver.
“The final auction item is brought by Shengwu King,” Finn Chen announced.
As soon as he said this, the three thousand people in the venue fell silent.
What was Shengwu King auctioning?
Next, a beautiful maid walked out with a tray, on which was a wooden box.
“What is Shengwu King auctioning?”
“Ladies and gentlemen, inside this wooden box is a martial arts cultivation method,” Finn Chen paused.
This pause heightened everyone’s anticipation.
A cultivation method?
Shengwu King was auctioning a martial arts cultivation method?
“What level of martial arts cultivation method is it to be auctioned at the end?”
“This is a Martial Saint level cultivation method, capable of being cultivated to the Martial Saint Realm. It was obtained by Shengwu King by chance.”
As soon as Finn Chen said this, the entire auction hall erupted.
“What?”
“A Martial Saint level cultivation method?”
“A Martial Saint level cultivation method, up for auction?”
Countless people were now wide-eyed, staring intently at the wooden box held by the maid.
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