Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Before long, the bidding reached 20 million.

Shen Yanqing held up the sign.

"Twenty-one million!"

Cui Ming frowned slightly.

Shen Yanqing remained expressionless, sitting there motionless.

The steward of the Qingping Marquis's mansion hesitated for two seconds, then gritted his teeth.

"Twenty-two million."

Shen Yanqing didn't even turn his head, and immediately replied with another sentence.

"Twenty-five million."

Twenty million in cash is no small matter, and fewer and fewer businesses have the financial strength to go up that level.

The steward of the Qingping Marquis's mansion wiped his sweat, shook his head, and stopped raising his hand.

Xiao Jue glanced, intentionally or unintentionally, in the direction where Cui Yuan was sitting.

Cui Yuan is still observing.

He tried to calmly assess whether this was a setup orchestrated for the Cui family.

Cui Ming leaned closer, his voice extremely low: "Brother, how about we..."

Cui Yuan shook his head slightly, indicating that he shouldn't rush.

The price quickly reached "thirty-eight million".

Yan Xiaoliu finally threw the sunflower seed shells in his hand into the dish and patted the crumbs off his hands.

He straightened his collar and raised the wooden sign in his hand.

"Forty million."

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

Shen Yanqing picked up his teacup, lowered his head, and took a sip.

His task was complete; he stopped holding up the sign.

Yan Xiaoliu smiled.

Next was the relay price that Gu Dongjia set for him.

In the second half of the play, he took over the stage from Shen Yanqing and began to lure the Cui family onto the stage.

Meanwhile, Cui Ming's eyelid twitched.

Pujitang has made its move!

Cui Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on the last table occupied by merchants.

It didn't take long.

The gray-robed man at the Cold Abyss Alliance table raised his wooden sign.

Ji San calmly replied, "Forty-five million."

According to Gu Dongjia's strategy, he was responsible for playing the opposing side against Yan Xiaoliu at this moment, while also continuing to push up the bidding.

But to the unsuspecting merchants present, this was a completely different story.

There wasn't even a whisper in the room.

Unable to contain himself, Cui Ming turned to look at Cui Yuan.

"Brother! It seems that Pujitang is really after Lingzhou Commodity City. Even if we don't make a move, they are still competing with others for the project."

"They've tasted success before. The Kyoto shopping mall collected tens of millions in rent even before it officially opened; it's a profitable business!"

Cui Yuan's eyes were gloomy.

He knew, of course, that the project would be profitable, but the current price had exceeded his expectations.

Once this project is secured, the amount of cash available for stockpiling grain will decrease.

However, the Cui family absolutely cannot give up this project.

While he was deep in thought, Yan Xiaoliu raised the wooden sign again.

"Forty-eight million."

Ji San glanced at Yan Xiaoliu, then turned his head and held up the sign expressionlessly.

"Fifty million."

A collective gasp filled the room as everyone turned their attention to the two merchant booths at the front.

Now Yan Xiaoliu also began to hesitate, looking very troubled.

He was whispering to the accountant beside him, seemingly discussing how much of a price increase would be appropriate.

Cui Yuan's eyes lit up.

It seems that Pujitang doesn't have much room to raise prices.

A moment later, Yan Xiaoliu raised the wooden sign again.

"Fifty-five million."

The room was completely silent.

A faint smile appeared in Xiao Jue's eyes.

Gu Mingyue initially said that this method could raise over 50 million, but he still thought it was unlikely.

Now, the price has actually been driven up by three groups of people who were just there to bid.

Next, it was his turn to perform.

Xiao Jue withdrew his gaze from Yan Xiaoliu and swept it across the entire room.

"Fifty-five million taels of silver, Pujitang has made the offer. Anyone else want to bid higher? If not..."

He deliberately dragged out his words, as if giving the audience one last chance to consider.

Cui Yuan frowned, his hands clenched into fists behind his back.

If the Cui family makes a move, they must negotiate the price with Pujitang to the end; otherwise, the Cui family will lose face and be overshadowed by Pujitang.

However, if Pujitang continues to raise prices, the Cui family won't have that much cash at their disposal.

However, within the territory of Lingzhou, the Cui family would not allow other businesses to compete with them for trade.

This is their bottom line!

Cui Ming was sweating profusely with anxiety beside him.

"Brother, as long as we take over the commodity city, it's only a matter of time before we break even. With nearly ten million in rent and commission a year, we can earn back our investment in just a few years."

Xiao Jue didn't give them much time to hesitate and picked up a gavel from the table.

"Since no one else is bidding, then let's make it 55 million taels for Pujitang..."

Cui Yuan finally made his decision: "Raise the sign."

Cui Ming immediately became excited, eagerly raising the wooden sign in his hand and shouting, "Sixty million!"

At that moment, everyone in the room turned to look at them.

After a moment of silence, the noise suddenly erupted.

There was a buzz of discussion at the scene, with many people giving a thumbs-up in praise.

"Sixty million!! That's extravagant!"

"As expected of the Cui family! They're incredibly wealthy!"

"How could Puji Hall possibly compete with the Duke's Mansion's power in Lingzhou?"

Shen Yanqing sat in the back, sipping tea and secretly smiling.

These people who praised and flattered the Cui family were all arranged in advance by him at the request of the host.

I didn't know why the employer made this arrangement before, but now it seems it has actually come in handy.

Once the powerful families are put on the spot, the Cui family will have no choice but to play along.

Ji San turned his head and gave Cui Yuan a cold look.

They didn't raise their placards again.

Because his mission was already accomplished.

Yan Xiaoliu pretended to be in a difficult position, gritted his teeth and raised the wooden sign again.

"Sixty-five million!"

This time, Cui Yuan also broke out in a sweat.

Cui Ming gripped the hem of his robe tightly, his brows furrowed.

Xiao Jue stood there, holding the gavel, his expression calm.

"Pujitang has offered 65 million taels. Are there any higher bids?"

Cui Yuan nodded, his face dark.

"Seventy million!"

Cui Ming raised his sign again.

No one responded.

Yan Xiaoliu glanced back at the Cui family, dejected, and didn't try to negotiate the price again.

"make a deal."

The gavel slammed heavily onto the table.

Cui Ming let out a long breath.

He turned to look at Cui Yuan, his face full of excitement at surviving the ordeal.

"Brother! We've got it!"

Cui Yuan's expression was not good; this amount had disrupted his subsequent plans.

However, it's good that we've won.

At worst, the payback period will be extended by a few years, but from now on, the Cui family will be legitimate imperial merchants!

Xiao Jue stepped forward with a smile, "Congratulations, Duke. I hope you will have a pleasant cooperation with the imperial court in the future."

The accompanying officials handed over a pre-prepared cooperation agreement for Cui Yuan to review.

The deed clearly stated that the permanent right to use 300 mu of land south of Lingzhou City belonged to the Cui family, with the designated project being a wholesale commodity city, and a franchise for the canal transport within the city. The land deed was handed over to the Cui family immediately. The Cui family became "Imperial Merchants," responsible for fully funding the construction and operation, and paying 30% of the net profit to the imperial court annually.

The total price is 70 million, with a deposit of 50 million taels of silver to be paid on-site. The remaining balance will be paid within one month.

Cui Yuan read the contract word by word twice, but found no fault with it.

He picked up the pen, signed his name, and pressed his fingerprint.

Cui Ming immediately sent someone back to his residence to retrieve the silver.

In less than an hour, more than a dozen oxcarts loaded with silver notes creaked and groaned as they arrived at the entrance of the guild hall.

Xiao Jue took the contract and the banknote receipt and handed them to the accompanying Ministry of Revenue official to seal them in a box.

Then he took a gold-lacquered plaque from the servant behind him.

The plaque bears four large gilded characters: Imperial Gift to the Imperial Merchant.

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Business Warfare Tips

[Bidding shill]

The core logic is to use shills who "look like real buyers" to artificially inflate the bidding price in a real auction process.

The Cui family thought they were competing with numerous rivals, but in reality, they were the only genuine buyer in the entire auction hall. Shen Yanqing, Yan Xiaoliu, and Ji San were all actors planted by Gu Mingyue beforehand. And the director of this charade was on stage, holding a gavel.

The propaganda campaign concluded: Shen Yanqing's pre-arranged "praise squad" cheered in unison after the Cui family raised their paddle. Even if Cui Yuan felt the price was too high amidst this public outcry, it would be difficult for him to back out on the spot. Because if he did, the entire Lingzhou would be saying the next day, "The Cui family was scared off by Pujitang." Saving face was more difficult than losing money.