"You're certain you want to auction off all of these land deeds?" Li Nuo was a businesswoman through and through. With a deal now knocking at her door, she set aside all other concerns and quickly settled into character, fixing her gaze on Hua Youmeng.
"Yes, all of them." Hua Youmeng nodded. Although she had her own plans, these things had only come into her possession because of Yang Kai. Since he had suggested she sell them all, she naturally had no objections.
"What a shame," Li Nuo sighed languidly. "If you kept them for yourself, with your talents, give it less than ten years and the Five Directions Trading Company would be famous throughout the south and north alike."
"Manager Li flatters me. I have no such ability," Hua Youmeng hastily waved her hands.
"Why be so modest, Sister? The Five Directions Trading Company may not be well-known yet, but with this gentleman's backing—" She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly catching the bitter smile on Hua Youmeng's face. Understanding dawned immediately—Yang Kai probably wouldn't be staying with the Five Directions Trading Company for long. She cut herself off and smiled instead. "Very well. Since you wish to sell all of these land deeds, then naturally there's no reason for this sister to refuse. But I'd like to ask one thing—do you want to sell them individually, or auction them as a single lot?"
Hua Youmeng's slender brows furrowed as she sank into thought.
As a merchant, she naturally understood the difference between selling land deeds separately versus as a whole.
Selling them individually would guarantee a smoother sale. Each deed, while valuable, would still fall within the reach of numerous trading companies and factions. But doing so would mean losing the advantage of having them all connected in one block.
Auctioning them as a single lot, however, was another matter entirely. With over thirty deeds bundled together, the total value was enormous—very few factions would have the resources to absorb them all. On the other hand, the fact that the deeds were sequential would push the price up considerably.
Each approach had its merits. Neither was clearly superior.
She turned her gaze to Yang Kai, hoping he would make the call for her.
Yang Kai smiled sheepishly. "Fighting is right up my alley, but I'm completely clueless about this sort of thing. Why not hear what Manager Li has to say?"
Hua Youmeng's eyes brightened, and she looked at Li Nuo with eager anticipation.
Li Nuo pressed her lips together and smiled. "Since you place such trust in me, then this humble woman will be so bold as to speak her mind. Sister, my recommendation is to auction them as a single lot, with an opening bid of one hundred million Holy Crystals."
"One… one hundred million!" Hua Youmeng's pretty face drained of color, her voice trembling.
She felt as though she might faint from sheer happiness. Her Five Directions Trading Company had twenty or thirty brothers working their hearts out for an entire year, and the best they'd ever earned was a mere million Holy Crystals. After deducting Cultivation expenses and the company's various overhead costs, they could barely set aside two hundred thousand.
A hundred million was, to her, an utterly incomprehensible figure.
"You think that's too high a price, Sister?" Li Nuo laughed. "Let's do the math. Tenglong Avenue may not be the most prosperous or affluent district in the outer city of Purple Star City, but it's far from bad—it's solidly mid-range. In a district like that, a shop covering a fifteen-zhang radius would carry a deed price somewhere between five and eight million. And that's already on the cheap end. For plots in the most prime locations, you'd need at least twenty million just to get a foot in the door. On Tenglong Avenue, let's be conservative and say six million per shop. Thirty shops—that's one hundred and eighty million. And since all of these deeds are connected in a continuous block, they're extremely convenient for a major faction or large trading house to acquire in one go and run their operations. That means the value climbs even higher. Put it that way—do you still think a hundred million is too much for a starting bid?"
Hua Youmeng stood frozen on the spot, speechless for a long time, her delicate frame shivering without cease.
The impact of Li Nuo's words was simply too immense.
She had known the thirty land deeds were worth something, but she had never actually sat down and tallied it all up. It was only now, with Li Nuo laying it out, that she truly grasped the magnitude of the fortune that had fallen into her hands.
It was more than her Five Directions Trading Company could earn in a lifetime.
Seeing her standing there in a daze, Li Nuo didn't press her. Instead, she picked up the freshly brewed tea and poured a cup each for Hua Youmeng and Yang Kai.
Yang Kai raised his cup and took a thoughtful sip. "Miss Li, if you do auction them as a single lot, how many factions in Purple Star City could actually absorb them?"
"At least ten have the means. Don't underestimate the factions here in Purple Star City. A few hundred million Holy Crystals may not be easy for them to scrape together, but as long as word is put out ahead of time and they're given a window to raise the funds, they can pull it off."
"Mm, in that case, let's go with a single lot. President Hua, what do you think?" Yang Kai turned to Hua Youmeng.
Hua Youmeng let out a startled "ah," her face flushed bright with excitement. Dazedly she replied, "Whatever the gentleman decides."
"Then it's settled." Yang Kai chuckled, knowing Hua Youmeng was in no state to think straight at the moment. He went ahead and made the call for her.
"Rest assured, sir. There are still five days before the next auction. I'll make sure to promote this thoroughly and ensure your company's deeds fetch an excellent price." Li Nuo addressed Yang Kai with a solemn expression.
"I'll leave it in your hands, then." Yang Kai smiled mildly.
"By our house's standard rules, a five percent commission is charged on consigned items once they're sold. However, given the sheer scale of this transaction, I'll offer you a special courtesy—two percent. How does that sound?"