In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

……

It's hard to say when Pan Ling will grow up, but the craze for Poseidon Stones in the Imperial City is visibly growing increasingly frenzied.

Over this period of time, people have gradually developed a relatively systematic trading method from the previous chaotic state, which can be generally divided into three categories.

Some people are more conservative and try to take advantage of this information gap to buy Poseidon Stones from others at a low price, and then sell them as quickly as possible to make a profit.

Another group of people are more greedy. They do buy Poseidon Stone, but they are not in a hurry to sell it because they have discovered that the purchase price is not fixed and there is a clear upward trend. So they might as well hoard the goods and wait for the price to rise further.

Another group of people tended to fall somewhere in between, selling some of their Poseidon Stones while keeping some to see how things would turn out.

With the royal family and the Papacy also getting involved, everyone felt even more at ease. They were buying and selling Poseidon Stones, so what was there to worry about? Even if these outsiders did run away sometime, their stock would still have a market, wouldn't it?

Under such circumstances, the market for Poseidon Stone can indeed be described as prosperous.

And just as most people expected, the price of Poseidon Stone began to rise—a new price every day, higher than the last.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it's only five or ten percent; it's actually quite a lot. Even the lowest grade of white sea ore can increase by at least twenty-five copper coins, and the best deep blue sea ore is even more remarkable, costing a full two thousand five hundred copper coins, or two and a half gold coins!

This is already a considerable sum of money for many people, not to mention that the unit of measurement has quietly changed—it is now measured in 50 grams, so the actual return will be even higher.

This is just one day's change; what if it's over ten days? Someone did the math, and it's almost doubled...

Damn it!

If such a thing exists, then why bother farming, blacksmithing, or wood carving? A month or two of hard work wouldn't be as worthwhile as saving up some Poseidon Stones!

The best part is that it's so easy; you don't have to do anything, just wait for your money to go up!

Under such circumstances, everyone's actions naturally became even more frantic. They tried to raise as much money as possible, sold everything they could, and then bought it back when the price of Poseidon Stone went up.

Although the prices of other goods are getting cheaper and cheaper, no one cares about this fluctuation at all.

As for who to sell to, it doesn't matter—if Xu Shi raises the price, the other two will definitely raise theirs as well. The royal family is doing alright, basically keeping pace with Xu Shi, but soon, the Papacy will also have to maintain the same level as the other two.

The truth is that the Vatican does have its own ulterior motives. The purchase price it offers has always been lower than that of others. After all, with the blessing of the divine faith, many believers are willing to pay even if they lose a little money.

But things soon changed, because the price of Poseidon Stones rose too drastically. Losses of one, two, or three, or even ten or twenty copper coins, were something people could grit their teeth and accept. But now the magnitude far exceeded that amount, so there was nothing that could be done. No matter how strong one's faith is, no one is willing to be a sucker.

Making money is nothing shameful, and the gods will surely understand, right?

As for the nobles, those who started using products made from sea god stone were naturally overjoyed. Not only did the value of the items increase, but their own prestige also rose accordingly. "I am a man who owns sea god stone! Why don't you hurry up and kowtow to me?"

Those who haven't bought it yet are naturally unwilling to lag behind; how can they let others outdo them? Everyone's rank is the same, so why should you be superior?

Paying a little more money is fine; consider it a family heirloom!

Therefore, there is no need to deliberately raise the price at all times. With just a little manipulation, someone will naturally take care of the rest, which will make the price of Poseidon Stone rise even faster.

Those who sold the Poseidon Stone early were filled with regret. "Damn it," they lamented, "why did I sell it so early? I could have made so much more money if I had kept it a few more days!"

But it's not a big problem; it's not too late to buy it back now! The price of Poseidon Stone is rising every day, so even if we have to pay a higher price than before, it's definitely not a loss!

However, despite this, many people are already struggling to keep up with the price increases. The money they used to earn is no longer enough to buy more, and they are selling their belongings to raise money, but they can only get less and less in return. If you don't buy this, there are plenty of other people who will, and there is simply no time to piece together the money.

Not to mention that more and more people are joining the market, many of whom have no start-up capital at all and can only watch their money slip away helplessly.

Oh dear, this must not end!

That's when.

Some people have emerged subtly and gradually.

"Hey buddy, I've got a great business opportunity for you, wanna do it?"

"It's a business dealing in sea god stone? I'd love to do it so badly, but I don't have enough money. Let alone a hundred grams, I can't even afford thirty grams..."

"What does it matter?"

The man waved his hand, "My friends and I came up with a solution, so you don't need to rush to pay!"

"Oh? Tell me."

"Well, that's how it is."

As he spoke, the man took out a piece of parchment. “Look, here’s a contract. I can provide as many Poseidon Stones as you need, as long as you give me a deposit first, and then pay me back the money within a month. The price will be based on today’s price. We’ll exchange the money for the goods on the spot. After you get the Poseidon Stones, I won’t care whether you keep them or sell them.”

"Such a good thing? You're not kidding me, are you?"

"How could that be? Look closely, it has the royal seal on it! If you're still worried, we can go and verify it right now!"

The man spoke with great confidence, clearly having made considerable preparations for this.

"That's it."

Hearing him say that, the old man who had been frowning relaxed.

This deal is incredibly lucrative. The value of the Poseidon Stones will increase many times over in a month, and that's plenty of time for him to raise the money. It's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.

That leaves only one question.

How much should I buy?

He pondered for a long time, then waved his hand with a flourish.

"Give me the 298 one!"

Goodness, I actually managed to finish it... I'm so tired.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 254. Bang, the bubble bursts.

254.

The famous philosopher Arminius once said that some things only happen once or countless times.

Therefore, since the first "pre-order of Poseidon Stone" contract was signed, it has opened new doors for countless people.

It can only be said that the inspiration for thinking is very important. Once this matter spread, everyone seemed to have an epiphany and followed this model. They would pay a deposit first, then obtain a certain amount of Poseidon Stones at the real-time price, and then pay the full amount when the due date arrived.

This situation is more likely to occur for people who don't have cash on hand. There's no other way; if you don't have money but still want to participate in the trading of Poseidon Stones, this seems to be the best way... However, the fact is that even if people have cash on hand, most people will still choose this method.

Anyway, the market for Poseidon Stone is booming, so who would really worry about losses? These contracts are money!

Sign up as many contracts as possible now, and you'll have a better life later!

It's not just buyers; as time goes by, sellers of all sizes are also gradually abandoning spot transactions. Many sellers have even put up signs saying "only contracts are accepted"—you don't have cash, and I don't have that much stock. Selling to one person only earns me one unit of income, but if we sign a contract, I can sell to ten, twenty, or even more people at the same time, right?

As for the issue of delivery on time, they don't care. After all, delivery times vary. Besides, the seller can also be a buyer. I can just sign the contract with someone else.

Some clever people have even learned to use asset verification as a trick. You think I don't have money? Look at how many contracts I have! When they mature, they'll be piles of gold and silver. What are you worried about?

Soon, the market for Poseidon Stones transformed into a market of contracts. At a glance, there were very few transactions where money and goods were exchanged directly; instead, contracts were everywhere. A contract for "pre-ordering xxx Poseidon Stones" could even be used as currency to circulate among people.

Anyway, the contracts are all in black and white, and they even bear the seal of the royal family or the Papacy. Who would care if the buyer or seller on the order doesn't honor their commitment?

If you're really lying, you won't get any good juice in court.

"Lord Gu Jian, why do I find myself increasingly confused about the buying and selling of Sea God Stones these days?"

As the most talked-about event in the main city, the young empress Dongfang Xiao naturally paid close attention to it. Whenever Cheng Gujian came to pay his respects, she would chat with him for a while.

She couldn't help but pay attention. Firstly, as the ruler of a country, such a major matter was naturally always on her mind. Secondly, the trend of trading sea god stones had truly swept across the country and was no longer just a small-scale affair among ordinary people; many officials in the court had also participated.

They certainly smelled the money in it, and began to be dissatisfied with simply collecting Neptune Stone ornaments for decoration—the truth is that many people are just being pretentious and don't really like these shiny Neptune Stone products; sorry, they can't appreciate them.

However, the fact that profits can be made from this is something everyone likes. Under this trend, even the wealthy and powerful nobles have finally lowered their stance and started to participate.

Most transactions among ordinary people revolve around the lowest grade of white Poseidon stone, sometimes mixed with a little bit of medium-quality Poseidon stone, which is considered the best they can get... In the end, they don't have a big vision. Even if they are blinded by the booming market, they don't have the guts to sign orders that are dozens or even hundreds of times more expensive than themselves.

Let alone raising the money myself, even if I dismantled all my relatives and even Xiaoqiang into parts and sold them, I still wouldn't be able to come up with that much money!

Even if they could raise more funds through signed or held orders, they would prefer to stay in the secondary market, preferring to trade more inferior goods rather than consider those exorbitantly priced deep blue sea jewels.

After all, with everyone hyping it up, the price of Poseidon Stone has long been incredibly high.

Remember the initial prices? Low-grade Poseidon Stone cost fifty silver coins, medium-grade Poseidon Stone cost five gold coins, and the best deep blue high-grade Poseidon Stone cost fifty gold coins... Interestingly, today's market price, at first glance, seems to have remained at the same level, without any change.

but.

The unit of measurement has long since changed. It used to be calculated in 100 grams, but now... it's one gram.

A hundred times!

It has only been exactly one month since the first sale of Poseidon Stone!

With such terrifying profits, it's probably impossible to find a more lucrative industry in the entire Hualan Empire!

The nobles, on the other hand, were not worried about this problem. Firstly, they were wealthy, and while ordinary people dared not buy or sell high-quality sea god stones, they didn't care. After so many years of hard work... no, after generations of people had worked so hard, this little bit of money was not a problem at all!

Secondly, it was also due to their innate sense of superiority. If the lower classes, dressed in coarse linen, were trading in low-grade or mid-grade sea god stones, wouldn't it be beneath them if we traded these too?

If you're going to buy one, buy the big one!

Yesterday, when Dongfang Xiao went to court, he saw a minister who was as happy as a flower. When he asked, he found out that it was because he had just signed an order for 300 grams of top-quality sea god stone, which cost a full 15,000 gold coins!

This amount... is enough to purchase a beautifully decorated castle with its own garden in the most prosperous Upper City of the Empire.

Logically speaking, the only difference between trading a certain number of Poseidon Stones and trading a certain type of Poseidon Stone is the price; those with money can buy more and those without money can buy less... But for some reason, this matter suddenly made the little queen feel uneasy.

She felt like something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

That's why her expression looked a bit serious today, and she kept frowning.

"Including the contracts issued by all parties, they should also have your permission, Gu Jian Gong, right?"

"Back to Your Majesty, yes."

Cheng Gujian answered calmly.

He himself had no interest in getting involved in this matter, but as the nominal ruler of the imperial family, he naturally had to keep a close eye on it.

This contract model was suggested by his subordinates, and after thinking about it, he agreed to it.

After all, there doesn't seem to be any problem here. Xu Shi's side really spent real money, and it was like water flowing out of his hands. Nobody knows where he got so much money... Thinking about this, he even felt a little unhappy, which was rare for him. Brother Xu, your family is so wealthy. When you came to visit, you only brought two boxes of gifts. Wasn't that a bit too little?

He had also witnessed the prosperity of the Poseidon Stone market. Just now, it was mentioned that a minister had signed a contract for a castle at full price. However, an earlier fact was that someone had already used a contract to exchange for a nice house in the lower city, which caused quite a stir at the time.

This incident actually put his mind at ease. Previously approved contracts and orders might have been quite restricted, but now they have been relaxed considerably.

"Is this so..."

Dongfang Xiao nodded thoughtfully, "Since you, Lord Gujian, also agree, then I can rest assured."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty."