Chapter 4827 — Bargain Hunting
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"This..." Old Chai scratched at his scalp, looking pained. Securing the renewed cooperation with Morning Star Academy through Yellow Little Peach's connections was already a great achievement, but if they embarrassed themselves at this grand auction and their rivals used it as a pretext, the position of partner might not be so secure after all.
"What can we do? Before we arrived, the Morning Star Branch here was already a total wreck. All the suppliers we dealt with in the past had gone over to other houses. We've recovered some ground over the past six months, but we're nowhere near the old scale, not by a long shot. How easy is it to get your hands on top-grade goods?" Cui Mingshan sighed helplessly.
Seeing the two of them so downcast and at their wits' end, Wei Zhao, who had been sipping tea off to the side, blinked in surprise and spoke up at once. "Let me see that list."
"Oh." Old Chai, though embarrassed to show it, hurriedly handed over the list.
Wei Zhao glanced over it. What was written there could hardly be called low-grade—at least by the standards of South Continent and the other Cloud-Tier Isles, these were rare treasures. But by Wei Zhao's measure, more than half of it was not really so uncommon.
If Wei Zhao thought so, how much more so the great families of East Continent? These things alone would scarcely turn enough heads, let alone steal the show at an auction of the Morning Star Grand Auction's caliber. For the illustrious Hong Clan Merchant Guild to produce nothing presentable—they would only be held up to ridicule.
"Is what we're auctioning this time really so important?" Wei Zhao asked. From what the two had just said, this grand auction seemed to weigh heavily on the Hong Clan Merchant Guild; otherwise they would not be so glum.
"Extremely important. You don't know, Vice President Lin—this Morning Star Grand Auction is really aimed squarely at our Hong Clan Merchant Guild. Success or failure bears directly on whether we can keep our footing!" Old Chai said with a bitter laugh.
"Oh? Isn't this Morning Star City's highest-grade auction? How is it aimed at our Hong Clan Merchant Guild?" Wei Zhao asked, puzzled.
"The reason's simple, really. Ever since we fell out with Morning Star Academy, our Morning Star Branch has gone downhill fast. The partnership qualification passed to several rivals, but a while back, because the East Sea Vice Dean spoke up personally, we won it back again. That's what started the feud," Old Chai explained.
"Even without this, they'd be rivals anyway, wouldn't they? Does it matter so much whether there's a feud or not?" Wei Zhao said noncommittally.
"That's different. These merchant guilds were all rivals before, sure, but they'd never tasted that sweet deal. At most they were a bit jealous. This time, though, we snatched the partnership qualification right out of their hands. How could they let it go so easily?" Old Chai said with a bitter smile.
"All right, but what does that have to do with the Morning Star Grand Auction?" Wei Zhao asked, still confused.
"Any merchant guild that has a footing here has more or less some connection to the upper echelons of Morning Star Academy. This time they all went to those academy higher-ups together and pressured them into holding this grand auction. It's really a showdown! Whichever guild shines brightest at the auction wins the partnership qualification and becomes the academy's sole supplier!" Old Chai said, his face grim.
"Oh? And the East Sea Divine Nun consented to this too?" Wei Zhao could not help frowning.
Never mind how it turned out in the end. This move inherently stripped the Hong Clan Merchant Guild of the qualification it had already secured—and by extension slapped the East Sea Divine Nun in the face, since she was the one who had spoken up to restore it.