Seventy years old is the age to take risks!

The auction continues.

The remaining lots were unremarkable, and the atmosphere in the audience gradually cooled down.

The scholar struck his gavel and announced loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, now comes the grand finale of today's auction!"

He lifted the red cloth, revealing a fist-sized crystal on the stage.

The crystal is dark red all over, with faint shimmering light inside, like a solidified flame.

"This is a demon beast core, said to have come from an extremely powerful demon beast!"

"This item is extremely rare; it can be used in medicine and is also an excellent collectible. Starting bid: four hundred spirit stones!"

Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up.

Monster core?

He had heard that this world was vast and boundless, with nine provinces and four seas. The Great Yu Kingdom was located on the outermost edge of the nine provinces, where spiritual energy was relatively thin and monsters were rarely seen. He had only heard about it by chance.

It is said that any demon beast possesses the fighting power of a human martial artist.

This thing is actually quite interesting.

Moreover, the core of this demon beast looks rich in spiritual energy, so it must be a top-quality material for alchemy!

"Five hundred spirit stones."

Jiang Yuan raised his voice and made his first offer.

Five hundred and fifty.

A man's voice came from the VIP room next door; it was hoarse and deep, clearly belonging to a martial artist.

Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow, unconcerned: "Six hundred."

"Six hundred and fifty."

The man made another offer, this time with a more sinister tone, even carrying a hint of internal energy fluctuations, conveying a warning.

"Seven hundred."

Jiang Yuan didn't hesitate at all. He had just earned three thousand spirit stones from the Marrow Cleansing Pill, so he was very wealthy and confident, just like a nouveau riche.

The man seemed angry and spoke again: "Eight hundred!"

"Nine hundred!"

Jiang Yuan persisted, but he had already decided that if the other party continued to raise the price, he would not follow suit.

It's not that I'm afraid.

Rather, they didn't want to be taken advantage of.

Nine hundred spirit stones is already an extremely high price.

After a moment of silence, a woman's languid voice suddenly came from the other end, "Fine, since this friend wants it so much, let him have it."

Upon hearing this sound, the guests below were all greatly alarmed.

Even the scholar, who was acting as the auctioneer, glanced up at the woman's private room, a cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

Damn it, what's this woman doing here?

Amidst their astonishment, everyone turned to look in Jiang Yuan's direction, their eyes filled with pity.

This guy dared to try and take something from that woman; he's probably in for trouble.

Meanwhile, in a luxurious private room on the second floor of the auction house.

A well-dressed woman reclined on a chair, her long, black hair cascading down to her waist, her expression languid.

A man in black knelt respectfully beside the woman, looking puzzled, and asked, "Madam, why don't we continue bidding?"

"You came here today... just for this demon beast core, didn't you?"

The woman gently lifted her delicate foot and tapped it on the man's shoulder, a smile playing on her lips. "This is their territory. We are guests, so we shouldn't be too ostentatious."

"But Madam..."

The man in black was still somewhat unwilling.

"Lin Sheng, go find this old gentleman who made the offer later and tell him that I want to give him my friend," the woman said with a faint smile.

Upon hearing this, the man in black finally raised his head, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"I am willing to serve you, madam!"

...

After the auction, Xu Teng personally went to Jiang Yuan's VIP room, handed him a storage bag, and smiled broadly.

"Brother, this is the proceeds from the pill auction. After deducting the 10% commission and the price of the demon beast core, it totals 1,930 low-grade spirit stones. Please take a look."

"No need, I trust Master Xu."

Jiang Yuan took the storage bag, didn't check it on the spot, and put it away with a smile.

"Brother Jiang, how about my Xuanwu Auction House?" Xu Teng asked with a smile.

"It's an eye-opener."

Jiang Yuan offered a compliment, but then hesitated and said:

"However, Master Xu, if I may be so bold, some of the items auctioned by your firm are not up to standard and their quality varies greatly. If we accidentally leave any evidence in the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it could cause considerable trouble for the black market."

He was referring, of course, to items such as slaves, banned drugs, and stolen goods.

The Great Yu Kingdom explicitly forbids the auction of slaves, and the crime is extremely serious, almost equivalent to treason.

Although the black market is a place where all sorts of people live, and the government usually has little say in managing it, if it is deliberately exposed by someone with ulterior motives, it could cause a huge uproar.

Upon hearing this, Xu Teng's smile froze slightly, and he nodded, saying, "Yes, brother is right."

"only......"

Xu Teng looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Brother, to be honest, I don't like getting involved in these messy businesses either."

"But nowadays, wealthy gentlemen like to do things that are more exciting, especially the upper-class gentlemen..."

Xu Teng pointed upwards, his expression conveying a sense of unspoken understanding, and then sighed, "Brother, it's not easy for me either. I have to support so many brothers, and the entire Jiangning City branch relies on the business of our four halls to survive."

"If the auction house were doing better, why would I bother doing this?"

to be frank.

The black market is the least like any reputable sect because it has too many people, a real mixed bag. To support so many people, they have to prioritize business and territorial disputes over focusing on martial arts training.

Jiang Yuan nodded slightly and pondered for a moment before saying, "I understand the Hall Master's predicament, but if you want the auction house to thrive, it's not necessarily necessary to use these things to attract high-ranking officials and nobles..."

At this point, Jiang Yuan seemed to have thought of something and smiled, "Master Xu, I have a plan that might help your business get back on track."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Teng immediately became interested. "Brother, you're a master at business. Do you perhaps also know about auction houses?"

He might not believe what others said, but he believed Jiang Yuan's words to some extent.

Who can blame them for being so powerful as to manage the entire fourth district?

Jiang Yuan pondered for a moment, then said, "Master, I have three suggestions for you: product selection, pre-sales, and installment payments!"

Please enlighten me, elder brother.

Xu Teng was completely baffled; he had never heard of these terms before.

Jiang Yuan held up one finger: "Firstly, in terms of item selection, we meticulously select the auction items, keeping only the top ten for auction each day!"

"The current state of affairs, with all sorts of people mixed together, makes it hard to be interested."

Xu Teng nodded after listening, then asked with a puzzled look, "Brother, the items auctioned at our Xuanwu Hall are carefully selected. If we only keep ten items, how will we make a profit?"

Jiang Yuan smiled mysteriously, "Things are valued for their rarity. Since these are auction items, the profit from one truly attractive item can be equivalent to that of ten or a hundred other items!"

"Ideally, the head of the hall should also hire some well-known appraisers to act as guarantors, and even hire some famous people to promote it."

"Once you establish a reputation, why worry about profits?"

"I see."

Xu Teng seemed to understand something, his eyes growing more eager, and then he asked, "Brother, what are pre-sales and installment payments?"

"Don't be anxious, Master."

Jiang Yuan gestured for Xu Teng to calm down, then raised his second finger. "Secondly, pre-sale. As the name suggests, pre-sale means selling in advance. The hall master can publicize these ten items for auction every day, and claim that as long as a small deposit is paid, the price at the auction, regardless of the size, can be paid at 20% of the original price."

"In this way, not only can a substantial deposit be earned, but those who have paid the deposit will also fight tooth and nail over it."

"There's another advantage."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "As long as the deposit is paid, regardless of their wealth, that person will definitely come to the auction to join in the fun, and even compete for a piece of the pie."

"But the master must remember that the deposit should be as small as possible."

"The smaller the deposit, the more people will be willing to pay a deposit, and the more people will compete for this treasure."

"Brilliant!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Teng's eyes practically lit up, and he looked at Jiang Yuan as if he were a living Buddha.

As expected, when it comes to doing business, you still have to rely on Lao Deng!

How could he come up with such a despicable trick?

"Brother, what about the third one?" Xu Teng asked impatiently.

Jiang Yuan raised his third finger and couldn't help but laugh. "Thirdly, installment payments. This is the most underhanded trick. The hall master can promise that all customers who bid on the treasure can keep a record at Xuanwu Hall and pay the price in installments, either for a year and a half or three to five years. Xuanwu Hall will only charge a small amount of interest."

"With this interest alone, I guarantee the hall master will make a fortune."

"Interest??"

Upon hearing these two words, Xu Teng was utterly astonished. His expression towards Jiang Yuan was one of utter awe, almost to the point of bowing down in reverence.

Damn it, he had only ever heard of earning interest on loans before, he never thought that he could earn interest on selling goods!

This is absolutely amazing!

Could this Brother Jiang be the God of Wealth descended to earth?