756 Five-River Freeport Auction
John sat there in stunned silence for quite some time, unable to believe that a singular jar of leaves could fetch such a sum. His flying ship had cost a fraction of that, and flying ships were not something everyone could buy.
‘That was just a single jar of leaves, whivh was harvested from a single tea plant. The tea garden in my spatial realm contains hundreds of those plants, which regrow quite quickly as well. I’m rich!!!!!!’
Money had always been a source of contention for John, as it was needed to buy things from pills and weapons, to battle arts and flying ships. Every time he acquired a significant sum of money, his costs also increased as he went up in cultivation realms, which required more expensive materials.
However, this sum of money was beyond what he could quickly spend, and he practically had an unlimited amount of leaves to sell.
“I take it you are satisfied with this outcome?” Caz asked, snapping John out of his thoughts.
“More than satisfied,” John replied happily.
“I’m glad you’re pleased with the outcome, and I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that future sales will be even more lucrative,” Caz said.
“More lucrative? Are you sure?” John asked.
“I’m sure,” Caz said before taking another sip of tea. “The first few auctions fetched meager prices as word of the leaves were yet to spread. Most of the proceeds were received through the last few sales, and the last leaves sold fetched an an average price of fifty million spirit crystals per leaf,” Caz explained.
“News of the leaves has only continued to spread, and so future priceswill most likely be even higher. Tell me, how much would you spend to step into a higher cultivation realm, if you were stuck in your current realm for thousands of years?” Caz asked John.
“Any amount. As much as I had on me,” John replied. In the cultivation world, strength was everything. If the tea leaves could help someone raise their cultivation realm, their new strength could help them reacquire what they spent on the leaves quite quickly.
“Exactly. Your leaves provide something very few things on this world can do, so it will have no shortage of desperate cultivators willing to throw their life savings on the chance to break through,” Caz agreed.
“Not only that, but the tea is also sought after by the young geniuses of the great powers of the continent. While one with a higher cultivation gets more benefit from these tea leaves, it still has the chance to help geniuses gain rare insights and push ahead of their peers.
So you see, in my opinion, the price will only continue to rise,” Caz concluded while smiling at the thought of the future profits to come.
“I see,” John mused before taking another sip of his tea.
“And that brings me to my next point, and the most important one. How many leaves do you have to sell?” Caz inquired, as everything depended on that.
“How many leaves could you sell, had you the option to pick any amount?” John asked in response.
A thoughtful expression appears on Caz’s face as he thought about the question.
“If I had to pick a number, I suppose around one hundred leaves a month,” Caz answered, which was about five times more than the jar he had been given at first.
“The leaves are amazing beyond compare, and so there will be no shortage of buyers. Selling more wouldn’t be a problem, but part of the hysterical demand for these leaves are their scarcity. If the market is flooded with them, the hysterical frenzy to obtain them will also subside. I think one hundred a month is a good balance between supply and demand, so we can maximize profits while maintaining excitement around the leaves,” Caz mused.
“Ah, but that is of course if you can provide that amount of leaves,” Caz hastily added. “I understand if your supply of such Heaven defying tea leaves is not that large.”
“One hundred a month won’t be a problem at all,” John replied calmly, agreeing to Caz’s proposition. A shocked expression appeared on Caz’s face, which was quickly replaced by elated glee.
“Fantastic!” He exclaimed with great excitement. “It’s been several months since we last sold any leaves, and buyers have been inquiring incessantly about future sales. It just so happens that the annual Five-River Freeport Auction is happening next week, which will be the perfect opportunity to sell the next batch of leaves!”
“Annual auction? Is it a large event?” John asked curiously.
“It is one of the largest auctions on the continent, perhaps the largest, and attracts the wealthiest cultivators from around the world. More money is exchanged at the auction than the entirety of Five-River Freeport deals with in a year,” he explained.
“Perfect. Then I’ll leave everything to you,” John said as he slid a spatial ring over to Caz, who inspected it with an expression of absolute shock.
“This!”
“There are twelve hundred leaves, enough for a year of sales,” John explained, as he couldn’t be bothered to provide Caz a new batch every month. “I trust you’ll be able to this.”
“Absolutely, you won’t be disappointed with how I handle this” Caz replied with fiery passion, “and to show you that, I’d like to officially invite you as my guest of honor for the upcoming Five-River Freeport Auction, where you can personally see your leaves be sold.”
“Sure, why not,” John accepted the offer, as he too was curious to see such a large auction for the very first time
“Excellent. I will begin preparations for this, and will need to start so now,” Caz replied eagerly while standing up. “Do excuse my hastiness, but this matter requires extensive preparation, and the auction is in one week. In the meantime, please feel free to explore
the city, and inquire with Attendant Sasha outside for housing arrangements. I will seek you out again before the auction.”
“Sounds good,” John replied and watched as Caz hastily strode out of the room, his eagerness more than apparent.
“Coming to this city seems to have been the correct thing to do,” John mused happily as he walked outside the room and discussed housing with the attendant outside.