Chapter 236 - First bids

"Hello everyone!"

Looking at the stage from my comfortable spot in one of the few rooms located on the third floor of the building, I could see the beautiful announcer organised by Venna, opening the auction. One needs to give respect when its due. That girl was as cute as Eve herself! I think that while no one here would be so stupid as to be tempted to bid higher only because of some random beauty on the stage, it would put us in a bad light if we were to put someone average as an announcer.

I'm sorry, all political correct rules from the earth! This is a place for making money, not propagating some weird ideology!

"I would like to welcome you to the first auction of the Bart and Heavens incorporated! But please, don't ask me what does that means, I'm saying it out of a request made by the owner of this auction house!"

There was no way that I would let a beauty write her own speech or whats worse - improvise on the spot! That's why I followed my experiences from the arena and made her memorize every single word of introduction before allowing her to take this job.

"I hope that everyone is sitting comfortably on their spots, because the first product that we have for you, will shake the foundations of everything you believe in!"

This was the last part that I decided on myself. Just a slight attention hook and few more words steeming from my suggestion, and this girl would be left to her own devices. After all, she was someone recommended and even brought here by Venna herself!

"The first item on our auction will be a Tigris Reinforcing pill. As one of the most common pill in the market, I don't think I need to explain how important it is for cultivators on the mortal realm! And let me surprise you here, the starting bid will be twenty arena coins!"

All the pills and cheap wares for the first phase of the auction were supplied by the Heavenly sect. I didn't bother myself with gathering those common ingredients but left it all on Venna's head. Even if I claimed that this would be the mainline of business for this investment, no one needed to know the truth behind my lies!

But speaking of the price… it was ridiculous. Even in the times of crisis, those pills went in packs of three for a single coin, while in good times going as low as four pills per coin. This was also one of my suggestions. Only by shocking the clients, we would be able to wake them up from their everyday lives and make them focus on the auction.

"But don't worry, I think you got one thing wrong, dear sirs! We are not selling them in detail, but we are offering an entire hundred of them for the price I just said!"

Even if they were cheap, those pills could be used to help everyone in the mortal realm to improve their body constitution, smoothing out the path of their further cultivation in the process. While the price of five pills per single coin forced us to actually pay for the difference from our own pockets, the further we would go into the auction, the closer we would get to make a profit. And obviously, the second phase, where only the richest and most emotional players would remain, would allow us to profit a lot by selling the wares prepared by me!

"Twenty-two!"

Almost instantly, someone quickwitted enough to see the difference in price already placed the bid. I wonder if it was a pure rush to bid first or if that guy really calculated how cheaply we were selling?

"Twenty-two for the first time, for the second time and SOLD! Congratulations for the winner!"

While I can't decide which one of my guesses was right, it didn't really matter. Thanks to the fact that everyone preferred to either hold back their hand or calculate it properly, allowed the winner to obtain those pills a lot cheaper than he would be able to do by buying them off the market!

"At this point, I would like to remind you all, that the average price for those pills would be thirty arena coins in good times, all the way up to thirty-five when they are in short supply! Additionally, you can get a whooping hundred of them all at once here! The same item will be sold once again, with the starting bid of twenty-two!"

At this moment, I couldn't care less about the auction. The first phase with all the wares that we prepared would cost us approximately two thousands of arena coins. That's how much we would have to pay if the starting bid would be the last one. And that didn't take the case of undersupplying into any regard!

"Bored?'

Laughing lightly, Venna passed me a cup of fine vine that she just poured herself. While it wasn't a problem to get some servants for the lodge housing me, her and Eve, but since we wanted to speak freely during the auction about its progress, we decided to keep the room to ourselves.

"Quite a bit. It's hard to enjoy the times when all we are doing is spending the money."

Raising the cup to my mouth, I took a small sip. It was a strange feeling to enjoy expensive wine while watching other people profit from you. While I heard that some people enjoyed burning their money away, I apparently lacked this mindset of the rich.

"Don't sulk like that! You know that if we were to invest any less into this feint, all those damned spies wouldn't get bored enough to leave before the real gig will start."

As someone that accompanied me for the longest in this world, Eve perfectly understood all the reasons behind this scheme. But I don't know why seeing her getting all comfy with Pengu was irking my anger! If you want to pat something, you could pat my head, not it's back!

"Endure it, endure. I think you had a good idea to provide the VIPs with some additional… services for the time of the auction."

What the hell is she speaking about? Turning my head to face Venna, I could notice a contented smile forming on her lips. Did she misunderstand something?

"Don't think that I missed this crowd of whores that you brought in! I don't know why didn't you tell me about it though, I could get you some more valuable girls. Those people at the high spiritual levels won't enjoy mortal girls as much as they would be happy with someone sturdy enough to keep up with their pace!"

Ah, so that's what she had on the mind! It's a pity, she didn't even get close to the grand scale of my plans!

"While you are wrong on the point with the whores, there are indeed some additional services included for VIPs. Do you want me to get the servants to bring out some of the additional perks that they received? As for those girls… They will be used at a later time when the second phase concludes!"

Taking another sip of this great wine, I placed the cup back on the nearby table and stretched my legs, falling flat on the spacious chair. At this point, I even began to wonder whether this piece of furniture could still be called with a word as simple as a chair! If I were to be completely honest, it resembled the Roman beds that those ancient people used to lay flat during their feasts.

I wonder how all those mighty and haughty people would react when they see the parting gifts I prepared for them?"