Flying Snow
(* * *: Jiu 'er is a skinny person, and her stomach is pitifully weak. It was unknown what she ate last night, but she has been running to the toilet since this morning. Her entire body is on the verge of collapsing, but she managed to make up for the chapters she missed yesterday. Jiu' er needs to rest now. Three chapters are done. * * *: Can you give Jiu 'er a few recommendation tickets?)
The appraiser with the surname Xu was clearly very excited when he saw the three super-quality Purple Hearts of Spirit. Actually, Xia Fei had casually picked these out of his four hundred and seventy-three tons of ore reserves. They were far from being the best, but to the Alliance, which had always been lacking in reserves, these items were enough to shock them.
"Mr. Xia, forgive me for being blunt, but the largest Purple Heart of Spirit should be auctioned on the last day, for it's qualified to be one of the top-tier items in this trade fair," the old man excitedly said.
Xia Fei nodded. "That's not a problem, but I think the two smaller ones and the ancient civilization video system should be auctioned off earlier. There are a few items that I want to get my hands on, so I'll be able to recoup some of my capital if they're auctioned off earlier."
The old man shook his head. "Though the ancient civilization video system is rare, it's not enough to be considered a top-tier item. There's nothing wrong with auctioning it off earlier, but the three Hearts of Spirit should be auctioned off on the last three days."
Xia Fei understood the reason after some thought. He smiled. "I understand now. If we're auctioning all three at once, it's far better to auction off one each day. That way, we'll be able to maximize the enthusiasm of the participants. Auctioning off the smallest one on the first day will have an impact on the market, and the bigger one will be released right after that, attracting more attention. Only on the last day will we be able to release the real trump card."
The old man nodded. "Indeed, Mr. Xia understands with just a hint. That's exactly what I meant."
Xia Fei was somewhat hesitant. Though Quantum Holdings had received an initial deposit of two hundred billion star coins from the military, the money needed to be used for the daily operations of the company. Besides, if he really did come across a top-tier equipment that he needed, two hundred billion star coins might not be enough. After all, the truly unparalleled top-tier equipment could not be measured with money. It would be impossible to defeat countless opponents and obtain it without paying a huge price.
Currently, most of the funds that Xia Fei had access to were from the credit certificates he had obtained from the bank, which were guaranteed by Quantum Holdings' future performance. Xia Fei, of course, could borrow a large sum from the bank with his status as an A-list military supplier, but it was still money that he had borrowed, and he would have to pay it back sooner or later. A few Hearts of Spirit were nothing to Xia Fei, and the sooner he auctioned them off, the sooner he could get the money back.
At this time, the appraiser surnamed Xu said, "You don't have to worry about the funds. I can issue you a credit certificate. After these items are sold, we will settle the accounts."
Xia Fei felt that the suggestion was very reasonable, so he agreed to it.
May I know how much credit you are willing to provide? Xia Fei asked.
"100 billion."
"A hundred billion star coins!" Xia Fei was somewhat surprised. Quantum Holdings' annual income was only four duns, and these three Purple Hearts of Spirit could be sold for 0.1 duns! If Xia Fei were to take out all of his reserves, he really had no idea how much he would be able to get.
Of course, if Xia Fei were to put so many Purple Hearts of Spirit on the market at once, it would definitely cause the value of the ores to depreciate. Xia Fei was not that foolish, so he planned to sell off his stock bit by bit.
"Recently, some organizations have been offering high prices to purchase truly high-grade Purple Hearts of Spirit. Though these three ores might not be able to sell for a hundred billion, I believe that a gentleman who can casually take out three high-grade Purple Hearts of Spirit must have considerable ability."
The initial contempt he had for Xia Fei was long gone, replaced by a kind of respect. After all, Xia Fei's extravagant spending had already proven that he was no ordinary person.
"Deal," Xia Fei said with a smile.
…
With a temporary credit certificate of one hundred billion and the more than 160 billion star coins in his company's account, Xia Fei felt that he had the qualifications to go all out in the auction house. If push came to shove, he would have to get a loan from the bank. With the profitability of Quantum Holdings and the huge reserve of Purple Hearts of Spirit, Xia Fei was not worried about repaying the loan.
Xia Fei had already seen the catalog for today's auction. There was nothing worthy of him making a move, so he went to the high-grade trading area after leaving the auction headquarters.
With the arrival of the carnival's climax, more and more high-quality items appeared on the stage. After all, the auction was settled in cash, and money was never a problem for many wealthy people. They would rather use their items to exchange for something more useful, so the high-grade trading center opened with great fanfare.
Along the way, the stalls on both sides of the road were still there. Those who did not have much spare cash could exchange for the items they needed at a relatively low price, but Xia Fei had no interest in this at all. Unless it was an Eternal rank or even an Immortal rank weapon, there was no way he would be moved.
The high-grade trade center was a massive building with a gorgeous exterior, no different from how the Adjudicator Union worshipped wealth and status. From afar, it looked like a pearl shell that had been magnified a hundred thousand times, radiating a dazzling radiance under the sunlight.
"Xia Fei!"
A pleasantly surprised female voice called out. Xia Fei turned toward the source of the voice and saw the head of Gaia Heavy Industries, Nicole, standing not too far away, happily looking at him.
She was wearing a snow-white business suit. Unlike Avrils, who liked playful pink, Nicole preferred to dress neutrally, and her clothes were colder in color.
"Miss Nicole, what brings you here?" Xia Fei smiled and greeted her.
"What? Can't merchants like us come to The Brotherhood's carnival? "
Xia Fei hurriedly said, "I don't mean that. Miss Nicole, please don't misunderstand."
Xia Fei's politeness was normal. It was only natural for him to keep his distance from a woman he was not familiar with, but Nicole was slightly dissatisfied with the way Xia Fei addressed her as miss.
In truth, Xia Fei liked women, but he was not the kind of man who could not move his legs when he saw a woman. No woman would like a man who would throw himself at a beautiful woman, so Xia Fei's deliberate distancing from her actually made many women pay more attention to him.
Nicole pulled out a golden pass from her white bag. "Even if you're not a member of The Brotherhood, you can still buy a special guest pass like this, though it's not as high-grade as the ones you give out internally. Others will look down on you if you take it out. After all, the Adjudicator Union is the one running this carnival, so of course we won't let go of any chance to make money."
Xia Fei smiled and nodded. "That's very much in line with the Union's usual style. If the Monastic Order were in charge of this convention, I'm afraid it'd be a lot quieter."
"Isn't that so? If I had to say, your Adjudicator Union is the one that likes to use crooked methods the most out of all the warrior guilds, using anything to make money."
The moment Nicole said this, Xia Fei noticed several unfriendly gazes directed at them. The Adjudicator Union was a large organization, and there was no telling if there were spies from the Union anywhere.
Xia Fei grabbed Nicole's hand and pulled her several hundred meters away. Making sure that no one was around, Xia Fei said, "Since you're here to participate in an event organized by the Adjudicator Union, don't say anything bad about them. Be careful, the walls might have ears."
Nicole felt that Xia Feis concern for her, and the fact that he had unintentionally held her hand just now made her blush a little.
In all honesty, Xia Fei did not have any other intentions. How could a careless man like him possibly understand the thoughts of a young lady like Nicole?
"Seriously, I was just about to look for you," Xia Fei said.
"Look for me?" Nicole could not help but feel her heart thumping. "Do you need something from me?"
"Of course, it's something important. I've recently been planning to build a high-standard fleet, so I need to buy a batch of warships from you."
"What else?" Nicole was somewhat disappointed as she probed.
Xia Fei embarrassedly smiled. "Aside from that, I also have a presumptuous request."
Nicole lowered her head, her heart filled with excitement as she tried to guess what Xia Fei was about to say.
"I want to ask you to give me a discount, a preferential price," Xia Fei carefully said.
"That's your presumptuous request?" Nicole's body trembled. She had never expected Xia Fei to ask for a discount.
"You received the video I sent you, right? The Impaler was able to contend against an Armageddon-class battleship all by itself. This means that as long as it's equipped properly, a Deimos-class heavy-assault cruiser isn't completely useless. We still have many areas where we need to work together in the future, and since we're partners, it's not too much to ask for a preferential price."
'Hmph!'
Nicole's face paled. She turned around and walked away angrily. She shouted, "You want a discount? No way! "
Xia Fei had no idea how he had offended this young lady. Frowning, he asked, "You don't have to be so fierce even if you don't want a discount, do you?"
…
To enter the high-class trade zone, one needed to first prove that they had enough bargaining chips. If just anyone could enter, it would make top-tier goods seem worthless. Besides, a building could not fit everyone.
Xia Fei magically took out two Purple Hearts of Spirit from his spatial ring, and the person in charge of verification very readily placed them inside. After all, anyone who was not an idiot would know just how valuable these things were.
The building had three floors in total. The first floor was the area where prices were clearly marked. There were all sorts of top-tier equipment displayed in the window, but no one was around. A thin piece of paper indicated what one needed to exchange for the item.
Most of the people participating in this trade had special needs. They only needed what they wanted and could not be bothered to haggle, so they left the trade fair's organizers with full authority.
The advantage of such a trade was that it was clean and efficient. Money was exchanged, but the disadvantage was that there was no room for negotiation. Unless one could provide what the other party needed, there was no room for negotiation no matter how high the price was.
Along the way, Xia Fei saw several tempting pieces of equipment, but unfortunately, he did not have what the other party wanted, so he could only give up.
After all, Xia Fei only had the products of the ancient civilization and the Purple Hearts of Spirit. Xia Fei was not discouraged. He recorded down the items that the other party needed so that he could use the Purple Hearts of Spirit in exchange if he came across them. He would then return to complete the trade.
Though this was a little cumbersome, it could be considered a roundabout way of saving the country. Who asked these people to exchange for such strange and exotic items?
All of a sudden, a snow-white dagger caught Xia Fei's eye. The thin blade was as translucent as if it had been made of ice, and the cold air it exuded penetrated the window.
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