"Shopkeeper, I know what you're saying. I've really done my best. I've tried everything that I can think of." Cui Mingshan smiled helplessly and bitterly.
"This …" Honest Chai scratched his head. Although it was a great achievement to make use of Huang Xiaotao's relationship with the Morning Star Academy, if they were to make a fool of themselves during the auction, and their competitors took advantage of it, they might not be able to keep their position as partners.
"There's nothing we can do. The Morning Star Academy branch was already in a mess before we came here. The suppliers that we've been in contact with have all switched to other companies. Although it has recovered a little in the past half a year, it won't be able to return to its previous scale in a short period of time. It's easier said than done to get high-quality goods …" Cui Mingshan sighed helplessly.
Seeing the two dejected expressions, Lin Yi, who was drinking tea at the side, was slightly taken aback. He immediately said, "Let me see the list."
"Oh." Although Honest Chai felt a little embarrassed, he still passed the list to Lin Yi.
Lin Yi took a quick look. The goods listed weren't of low quality. At least in the South Continent and the other Heaven Islands, they were already rare goods. However, in Lin Yi's eyes, more than half of them weren't that precious.
If Lin Yi was like this, then there was no need to mention the wealthy and distinguished guests of the East Continent. It would be difficult to attract much attention with just these goods, let alone stand out in an auction like the Morning Star Auction. The dignified Hong Merchant Association would be laughed at if they couldn't bring out any decent goods.
"Are the goods being auctioned this time very important?" Lin Yi couldn't help but ask. From what the two said, this auction seemed to have a great impact on the Hong Merchant Association. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so distressed.
"It's extremely important. Vice-chairman Lin, you might not know this, but the Morning Star Auction is actually aimed at our Hong Merchant Association. Our success or failure will directly affect whether we can gain a foothold here!" Honest Chai laughed bitterly.
"Oh? Isn't this the highest standard auction in Morning Star City? Why are they targeting our Hong Chamber of Commerce? "Lin Yi couldn't help but ask curiously.
"The reason is actually very simple. Ever since we fell out with the Morning Star Academy, our Morning Star Academy has been on the decline. Since then, the rights to cooperate with us have fallen into the hands of a few of our competitors. However, because the vice-dean of the East Sea Academy personally spoke up, we managed to snatch back the rights to cooperate with them. That's why we have a grudge against them." Honest Chai explained.
"Even if there's no such thing, we're competitors to begin with. Does it really matter whether we have a grudge or not?" Lin Yi said noncommittally.
"That's not the same. In the past, even though these merchant associations were competitors, they had never tasted the sweetness of victory. At most, they would be envious. But this time, we snatched the cooperation rights from their hands. How could they let it go so easily?" Honest Chai smiled bitterly.
"Alright, but what does this have to do with the Morning Star Auction?" Lin Yi asked doubtfully.
"Any merchant association that can establish a foothold here will more or less have some connection with the higher-ups of the Morning Star Academy. This time, they came forward to pressure the higher-ups of the academy and requested for the Morning Star Auction to be held. It's actually a battle! The merchant association that performs the best in the auction will obtain the rights to cooperate with the academy and become the sole supplier of the academy! "Honest Chai said bitterly.
"Oh? Even the Divine Nun of the East Sea tacitly agreed? "Lin Yi couldn't help but frown.
Regardless of the final outcome, this naturally took away the cooperation rights from the Hong Chamber of Commerce. It was also equivalent to slapping the Divine Nun of the East Sea in the face. After all, she was the one who helped the Hong Chamber of Commerce recover.
"Even if she didn't agree, even though the vice-dean of the East Sea Academy has a high status, she doesn't have the final say in the Morning Star Academy. With so many higher-ups of the academy coming forward, let alone the vice-dean, even the dean Ling Yuanqing wouldn't be able to suppress them with just a sentence." Honest Chai shook his head.
"Not only that, according to what I know, the chief alchemist of the Morning Star Academy has already formed an alliance with the rich and powerful families. He played a big role in this matter, and it was because of his appearance that the academy decided to hold the Morning Star Auction." Cui Mingshan added.
The position of the chief alchemist was extremely high in any Yellow-Step Academy in the East Continent. For example, in the Soaring Cloud Academy, Ren Tiansuo's position was second only to the dean. In the Morning Star Academy, even if it wasn't as exaggerated, it was still not a small matter, especially when it came to cooperation.
No academy would disrespect their chief alchemist for an external merchant association. After all, there were many powerful merchant associations, but if the chief alchemist ran away, it would be very difficult to find a suitable replacement. It would even affect the strength of a large number of academy disciples, so they couldn't afford to be careless.
Lin Yi nodded thoughtfully. Suddenly, he thought of the sixth and seventh grade pills in the display cabinet downstairs. He couldn't help but ask, "Since the academy's alchemist is already an ally of the other merchant associations, how did the sixth and seventh grade pills downstairs come about? Could it be from the other branches? "
"Vice-president Lin, you must be joking. The two of us have just arrived and haven't even seen the shopkeepers of the other branches of the Hong Clan Merchant Association. Who would be so kind as to supply us? This kind of high grade pill is directly related to one's performance. Everyone would hide it, unless they have a good relationship. Only then would they be able to save the day. Moreover, they would have to return it immediately. Otherwise, it would be useless even if they were beaten to death! "Honest Chai smiled bitterly.
From a certain perspective, the competition between the branches of the Hong Clan Merchant Association was even more intense than the other merchant associations. After all, the competition with the other merchant associations only affected the merchant association's profits. However, the competition between the shopkeepers of the same branch would directly affect each other's futures.
"Then how did it come about?" Lin Yi asked curiously. As far as he knew, level six and level seven elixirs were not available through normal channels. They were either supplied internally by the Hong Chamber of Commerce or cooperated with the school's alchemists. There shouldn't be a third way.
"To tell you the truth, these pills were all bought one by one by me and Old Chai from other cities. It was basically a losing business, but in order to keep up appearances, we had no choice." Honest Chai said bitterly.
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