Chapter 348: Chapter 234: All’s Fair in Business, For Rent Not for Sale
"Uncle Tong, why are you back?" Song Changsheng looked at Song Lutong in surprise. ’Who’s gone and provoked him now?’
"Changsheng, give your old uncle a straight answer. What in the world were you thinking? Three Spiritual Artifacts, given away with just a few words?" Song Lutong boomed, his voice thick with anger.
Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion. "It’s an auction, isn’t it? How is that ’giving them away’?"
"How is it not giving them away? How many Spiritual Artifacts does the clan even have in total? The Clan Leader only has two, and I only have one! It’s easy to let them go, but getting them back is another story." Song Lutong’s tone was filled with resentment.
Hearing this, Song Changsheng finally started to understand. ’Ah, so that’s what this is about.’
Recognizing the meaning behind his words, Song Changsheng put on a worried expression and looked at Song Lutong. "You have a point, Uncle. It’s just that word is already out. Backing out now would probably damage the clan’s reputation."
"Then what do we do?" Song Lutong grew anxious.
"How about this? When the time comes, you can participate in the auction and bid to win one back for the clan. Bid whatever you want; the clan will reimburse you.
If you do a good job, I’ll even make the decision to pick a Spiritual Artifact from the Clan Treasure Vault and give it to you. How about that?"
At these words, Song Lutong’s old face flushed red. He shifted awkwardly and said, "This... isn’t that a bit much? Changsheng, I’m really not doing this for a Spiritual Artifact. I just don’t think they should fall into the hands of outsiders."
"It’s no trouble. Uncle Tong, you’ve held the line in the Mortal Realm for many years. Your contributions are immense. What’s a mere Spiritual Artifact in comparison?" Song Changsheng said with a magnanimous wave of his hand.
"AHEM, well, if you put it that way, then I’ll go win one back for the clan. We can’t let these outsiders get it for cheap."
"Exactly. As they say, ’Don’t let the best opportunities leave the family.’ But Uncle Tong, you must remember to hide your identity at the auction. If anyone finds out, it could cause a scandal," Song Changsheng said in a low voice, gripping Song Lutong’s arm.
Hearing this, Song Lutong rubbed his hands together and nodded repeatedly. "Can’t you trust your old uncle to get things done? I’ve got it, I’ve got it. I’ll head back to the River of Grace now."
With that, Song Lutong happily scurried off, leaving on his sword.
Pfft—
After he was a good distance away, Song Qingxi, who had been standing to the side, couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing in a very unladylike manner.
Only when she saw Song Changsheng look over did she compose herself. "Uncle, you’re too wicked. You never planned on auctioning off all three of those Spiritual Artifacts, did you?"
Song Changsheng responded with a knowing smile. ’How could I be so foolish? The clan hasn’t amassed many Spiritual Artifacts over the past five hundred years. I would never do something so wasteful.’
The three Spiritual Artifacts were just a gimmick. In reality, only one would be truly auctioned off. He would arrange for people to bid on the other two and return them to the Treasure Vault.
This kind of operation is commonly known as using a "shill."
Song Changsheng had been wondering who to get as a shill, and Song Lutong had just delivered himself to his doorstep. It would be a waste not to make use of him.
Although these two Spiritual Artifacts could never be shown in public again, they could still be used for Array Formation or other purposes. There would be no shortage of uses for them.
As for why he wasn’t taking all of them back, it was simply a matter of maintaining appearances. After all, the other bidders weren’t idiots. If not a single artifact ended up leaving with an outsider, anyone could figure out what had happened.
At that point, the Song Clan’s credibility would be in tatters.
It was a dishonorable tactic, but "no business without deceit." He wasn’t the first to do something like this. Everyone did it. The key was not to get caught.
On this point, Song Changsheng was crystal clear...
「Martial Spirit Sect, Baiyun Peak, inside the council hall.」
BANG!
Du Huating slammed his hand on the table, his expression terrifyingly grim. "What is the Song Clan trying to do? Do they want to monopolize the Marketplace’s profits for themselves?"
Others might not have understood the deeper meaning behind the Song Clan’s auction, but as their old rival, Du Huating saw through it at a glance. This was the reason for his fury.
Ever since Liu Hongye had led his men to occupy Liuyun Marketplace, the income of the major clans in Ling Province had dropped significantly. It would be a lie to say they didn’t want to re-establish a marketplace.
Everyone had originally been delighted that the Song Clan was willing to take the lead. After all, the previous Liuyun Marketplace had also been spearheaded by the Song Clan, who had acted as the "big brother."
Later, it was on the strength of the Song Clan’s reputation that it gradually grew and flourished, attracting large numbers of Loose Cultivators and smaller clans, eventually becoming one of the pillar industries for the major powers.
After the Marketplace was gone, it hadn’t seemed so bad at first. Less income just meant they had to be a bit more frugal. But after paying the Song Clan nearly 270,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, the major clans of the Martial Spirit Sect had nearly exhausted their reserves. Everyone was forced to tighten their belts.
Now, they desperately needed to open up new sources of revenue, so they were overjoyed at the prospect of the Song Clan re-establishing the Marketplace.
What Du Huating hadn’t expected, however, was that this time the Song Clan actually intended to kick them to the curb and go it alone.
This was the last straw!
"So tell me, what should we do?" Du Huating asked, his gaze sweeping over the people in the council hall.
Qiu Tianyang and Yu Chengshan’s expressions were also grim. In the original Liuyun Marketplace, their two clans had been major stakeholders!
Only Li Siyang remained composed. The Li Clan had only ever owned a few meager shops, so it didn’t matter to them whether the Marketplace existed or not.
"We must pressure the Song Clan immediately and demand the Marketplace shares be distributed as they were before!"
"Right! They can’t monopolize this auction either."
"Indeed. The location of the new Marketplace should be a joint decision."
...
For a moment, everyone at the meeting began to clamor, but Li Siyang just sneered. "Back when Liuyun Marketplace was first built, the Song Clan put in the most effort, yet we were the ones who profited the most.
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