Chapter 211: There’s Always a Way

Chapter 211: Chapter 211: There’s Always a Way

"Everything for the auction house is ready. Aside from the sixteen who signed indenture contracts, the auctioneer and other necessary personnel are in place. For now, the auction items will be provided by our three families."

In the courtyard, Yang Haichen spoke slowly. Aside from the sixteen people who had signed indenture contracts, most of the remaining staff were members of the Yang Family.

Senior Brother Xie was from the Law Enforcement Hall and couldn’t be openly involved with the auction house. As for Senior Brother Ren, his family was temporarily unable to spare more resources to invest.

"I have twenty portions of Spiritual Cuisine left here. You can auction them as you see fit. All I want is forty thousand Spirit Stones."

Liu Chen nodded, handing a Storage Ring to Senior Brother Yang. If he wanted these three senior brothers to look after his two junior sisters’ parents, he naturally had to give them some incentive.

When Second Grade Spiritual Cuisine was put up for auction, the price would certainly exceed two thousand Spirit Stones per portion. Selling for anything less than four thousand was practically a losing deal.

"These are the membership tiers the three of us came up with. What do you think?"

Yang Haichen accepted the Storage Ring and took out a sheet of paper, his eyes full of anticipation. It detailed a total of four membership tiers. He almost couldn’t bear to look at it; after all, people would willingly hand over their Spirit Stones simply because of the involvement of a Second Grade Spirit Chef.

"Not enough."

Liu Chen frowned after a single glance. With only four membership tiers, if a major family decided to invest heavily, the levels would lose their significance in no time.

Any family could participate in a few auctions and make a few large-scale transactions to immediately become a top-tier member. In that case, how could the system highlight the special status of the truly great families?

"I suggest we start with nine membership tiers, with the required Spirit Stone expenditure for each level increased tenfold from what you have now."

Liu Chen shook his head. Exclusivity was what those families truly wanted. Moreover, the ultimate goal of this enterprise was to integrate with Purple Bamboo Peak. Even if he couldn’t accomplish this himself, it was bound to happen once Senior Brother Yang became a True Disciple.

If Steward Lin were to disagree, Liu Chen would sell the business directly to Senior Brother Yang. Once he became a True Disciple, the auction house would inevitably become the official auction house of Purple Bamboo Peak.

"If we do that, we won’t see a single second-tier member anytime soon."

Xie Xichen couldn’t help but interject. He already felt a little guilty looking at the proposed amounts; if they multiplied it by ten, how many wealthy fools would actually fall for it?

"Our targets aren’t individuals, nor are they Loose Cultivators. We’re aiming for entire families. One membership can be bound to twenty people, and adding more will cost ten Spirit Stones per person. The Spirit Stones they pre-deposit won’t be pooled, but all their expenditures will be counted together toward their tier."

Liu Chen shook his head. He wasn’t an expert on these matters, but he had no trouble tossing out a few ideas. As for the rest, it would need to be handled by professionals—and the Hundred Affairs Hall was the most suitable candidate.

The Hundred Affairs Hall was fundamentally a place for resource exchange. If it took over the auction house, families would likely snap up any idle resources on offer, especially the families of disciples from Purple Bamboo Peak.

"That sounds promising."

Ren Xunchun’s eyes narrowed. He considered it for a moment. Leaving aside the major families, even the disciples within Purple Cloud Valley might team up to raise their membership tier. After all, the appeal of Second Grade Spiritual Cuisine was undeniable.

The only problem was that Junior Brother Liu was about to leave. Once news of this spread, the auction house would surely be impacted. Still, its fundamental foundation would remain, especially with Junior Brother Yang—a disciple whose master was the Grand Elder. In light of that, people would still come to show their support.

"So, should we give it a try?"

Xie Xichen nodded. He thought it sounded good too, but whether they would actually continue with the plan could only be determined after the auction house officially opened.

"Let’s give it a shot. Worst-case scenario, it just becomes a private trading post for our three families."

Yang Haichen nodded. The best-case scenario was, of course, that everything went according to Junior Brother Liu’s plan. The worst-case was that the auction house failed and nobody bought into the chamber of commerce. At that point, it would simply become a private trading post for their three families.

The four people Junior Brother Liu had arranged would just serve as free guards for the three families, and they wouldn’t even have to be paid in Spirit Stones.

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"We need to gather at the station before noon tomorrow."

Liu Chen looked at his two junior sisters and spoke slowly. Their parents would be able to board Steward Lin’s Flying Ship directly. Junior Sister Suyao’s parents were, in name, Liu Chen’s servants, so there shouldn’t be any issues.

As for Junior Sister Linglong’s parents, Liu Chen planned to bring them along under the pretense of being his Guardians. He would visit Steward Lin tomorrow to discuss it and see what happened.

"Our parents can really get on the ship?"

Ji Suyao couldn’t help but ask. No disciples had brought servants along on the journey here, so the return trip should be the same. After all, this was the Flying Ship that went directly to Purple Bamboo Peak.

"I’ll ask Steward Lin tomorrow. If that doesn’t work, there’s still the Yang Family’s Flying Ship. Getting them safely to the Purple Cloud Valley Marketplace is definitely not a problem."

Liu Chen spoke very casually, though it was still unclear if his plan would work. It all came down to a single thought from Steward Lin. If the steward agreed, it was a strong sign that his subsequent plans had a high chance of success.

If he refused, the Yang Family’s Flying Ship was docked at the station outside the Imperial City. He had already spoken to Senior Brother Yang about it, so he could just send their parents over directly.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Ye Linglong nodded. The safety of her parents had to be her top priority. The Ye Family had been trying all sorts of tactics lately, pressuring her parents to see if they could persuade her senior brother. Who knew if their desperation would drive them to do something reckless?

Ji Suyao thanked him as well. Loose Cultivators were constantly loitering near her family home, and she didn’t need to guess who had sent them. Although the Great Xia Royal Family had promised not to make a move, she wasn’t a fool; matters involving the Royal Family were never so simple.

If her grandfather hadn’t stopped him back then, her second uncle would have "taken care of" her family long ago. Until her parents were officially under the protection of Purple Cloud Valley, Loose Cultivators would continue to target them. Even if everyone knew her uncle was behind it, nothing could ever be proven.

Her second uncle’s power was immense within the Great Xia Imperial City, but it could not possibly extend to Purple Cloud Valley, nor could it influence the Yang Family.

The former was a given. As for the Yang Family, Senior Brother Yang was the disciple of Purple Bamboo Peak’s Grand Elder. He was already in an incredibly advantageous position; there was absolutely no need for him to jeopardize it over her uncle.

His two junior sisters quickly turned and left. Liu Chen gazed quietly at the night sky. In just a few more hours, he would be leaving the Great Xia Imperial City. Instead of cultivating, Liu Chen spent the time contemplating his future plans.

’Once I’m formally accepted as a disciple, the master-apprentice relationship will be set in stone. It would be hard to justify not returning to the Mo Family then. But the situation with the Mo Family is unknown. For now, my two junior sisters have no choice, but if I can break through to the Bright Aperture Realm, I’ll have more room to maneuver.’

’Ah, forget it. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.’