Chapter 39: The Charity Auction

Chapter 39: The Charity Auction

Da Lei nodded and followed behind Xiao Ce.

After just a few steps, the merchants who saw Xiao Ce walking towards them all quickened their pace.

They trotted up to Xiao Ce and knelt down to pay their respects.

“We commoners pay our respects to the King of Northern Desert!”

Xiao Ce quickly stepped forward with a smile, helping them up, showing great courtesy.

“Gentlemen, please rise, rise! There’s no need for such grand gestures. Your willingness to come today to participate in This Prince’s disaster relief auction, to contribute your share of kindness for these disaster victims, is already support enough for This Prince.”

“King of Northern Desert, your compassion is admirable. To be honest, we didn’t want to stand by idly either. But there are simply too many disaster victims now; we have to rely on the imperial court. Our abilities are limited. Even if we tried to help, it would be just a drop in the bucket!”

“That’s right. Since there’s this opportunity now, we certainly won’t be stingy. If for nothing else, we will bid for the sake of the disaster victims…”

“Yes, we wanted to provide relief before, but our strength was too weak. We also didn’t dare to act recklessly. Many people, because they acted on kindness, ended up causing their city to fall, and the citizens within became disaster victims…”

These heads of the merchant associations were all shrewd individuals, terrified that Xiao Ce might hold any negative thoughts about them.

Even though rumors said Xiao Ce was a useless Crown Prince, even if he was disgraced, he was still the eldest legitimate son of the Great Xiao Kingdom’s royal family and someone they could not afford to offend.

Xiao Ce said with a laugh, “I understand. It’s the thought that counts. You are right. This famine can no longer be solved by any single individual! The state must intervene!”

As he spoke, he looked towards Xu Zhiyuan at his side.

Without Xiao Ce even asking, Xu Zhiyuan knew what Xiao Ce wanted to know.

“Prince, there is still no word from the imperial court! But don’t worry. Even if things go very smoothly, we won’t have news until tonight or early tomorrow morning at the earliest!”

Xiao Ce smiled. “You really are the worm in my stomach. I didn’t even say anything, and you already knew what This Prince wanted to know?”

“Your Highness, you must be worried about these disaster victims… Actually, I’m anxious too…”

Xiao Ce stepped forward and patted Xu Zhiyuan on the shoulder. “Minister Xu, I am indeed anxious, but I’m not worried at all. If they won’t even agree to my conditions, if they choose the path to their own destruction, then there’s nothing This Prince can do.”

Hearing Xiao Ce speak like this, no one in the group dared to respond, as his words sounded quite mad.

Seeing their complicated expressions, Xiao Ce laughed and said, “Alright, enough about that. Let’s talk about the matter at hand. Please, everyone, this way!”

Saying this, Xiao Ce headed towards a simple auction area set up to one side.

There was a small stage, with some seats arranged opposite it.

A banner hung behind the stage: [“Disaster is Merciless, Humanity has Love! King of Northern Desert’s Disaster Relief Charity Auction!”]

[“All proceeds from this auction will be used for the resettlement of disaster victims.”]

Xiao Ce invited the merchants to take their seats.

He then stepped onto the auction platform.

By now, many commoners and disaster victims had gathered outside the auction area.

These disaster victims, having eaten and drunk their fill, were less hostile.

Moreover, Xiao Ce had already promised.

No matter the outcome, he would see it through to the end!

Once he saw that everyone was seated, Xiao Ce cleared his throat.

“First, I welcome the merchants of Anhua City who are willing to participate in this auction.”

“As you all know, the purpose of this auction is to save these disaster victims. This Prince is well aware that disaster relief should be the responsibility of the imperial court.”

“However, This Prince truly cannot bear to watch the disaster victims suffer in dire circumstances. So, I thought to use my own modest strength to save as many as possible.”

“Of course, inviting you, the heads of the merchant associations, is not about treating you as easy targets! Because This Prince understands very well the hardships of being a merchant. Many nobles and powerful noble clans look down on merchants. But This Prince holds merchants in very high regard.”

“A nation cannot be ordered without its scholars, cannot be stable without its farmers, cannot be strong without its craftsmen, and cannot prosper without its merchants!”

“If a nation wants to prosper but lacks the impetus of merchants, it would be like a pond of stagnant, lifeless water!”

“If water does not flow, even if the fish are alive, they won’t thrive! Only by making the water flow. When water flows, the fish become lively! And merchants are the ones who make goods flow, who make the economy flow! They bring more tax revenue to the state, making it more prosperous!”

“The reason our nation’s economy has been sluggish is partly because we haven’t valued merchants enough and haven’t given them sufficient support.”

With these simple words, Xiao Ce got the merchants feeling quite fired up.

Merchants indeed had money, but in the Great Xiao Kingdom, they were placed at the lowest rank and were hardly respected.

“Alright, I’ve strayed from the topic! Today, I invited you all here, and I won’t treat you as easy targets either!”

“The items This Prince has prepared for you are absolutely excellent.”

With that, Xiao Ce nodded to Da Lei.

Da Lei then ordered people to distribute some prepared samples to everyone.

Each person received a small bag of salt and a small bag of sugar.

“As you can see! These items are called Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar and Tianshan Snow Salt! Don’t blame me for giving you so little; it’s truly because these things are far too precious.”

“These items were gifted to me by a wandering Immortal. Tianshan Snow Salt is produced from a salt pool within an Immortal’s cave dwelling on Tianshan, refined by the essence of heaven and earth…”

Xiao Ce was good at telling stories, and even better at making them up. He repeated the story he had already told to people like Yin Pan’er.

After listening, everyone tasted the small bags of salt and sugar Xiao Ce had given them.

The sugar and salt were indeed of celestial quality, without a single impurity.

So, naturally, they chose to believe Xiao Ce’s story.

“Prince, we believe you! How good these things are, we could tell with one taste! Whatever price you ask, we will certainly not disappoint you!”

“Yes, Prince, keep these treasures. We promise our bids won’t disappoint you… we just don’t know how much you’re selling!”

…

Knowing the quality of these items, the merchants couldn’t wait to start bidding.

Xiao Ce said with a smile, “Good, then, This Prince won’t waste words. Originally, I didn’t plan to sell everything. However, the disaster victims urgently need money and grain now. So, This Prince has decided to auction off all that the Immortal gifted me.”

“There are a total of two thousand catties of Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar and four thousand catties of Tianshan Snow Salt. I will auction them in lots of one hundred catties each! Please bid enthusiastically! There are twenty lots of Tianshan Snow Frost Sugar and forty lots of Tianshan Snow Salt. I want to say that, so far, besides that Immortal, only This Prince possesses these items! You are all merchants; you know that rarity increases value.”

“The starting bid is one hundred taels! Let’s begin! First lot!”

The merchants inside the venue immediately started raising the price.

“One thousand taels.”

“Five thousand taels.”

“Ten thousand taels!”

After just a few calls, the price had skyrocketed to a sky-high figure. Ten thousand taels, broken down, matched the one thousand taels per catty purchase price that Yin Pan’er had mentioned.

Everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding. After reaching ten thousand taels, they mostly stopped calling.

Occasionally, a few lots went for eleven thousand or twelve thousand taels each.

Xiao Ce called out the bids very quickly, feeling delighted inside.

He roughly calculated. The price per lot averaged around fifteen thousand taels, though it gradually decreased.

With sixty lots in total, a conservative estimate put the income at nine hundred thousand taels of silver.

As the final lot sold for twenty thousand taels of silver.

Off to the side, hidden in the crowd, Yin Pan’er and Nie Bing, both wearing veils, were stunned.

“Pan’er, these merchants have gone mad. Such a tiny amount of salt and sugar actually sold for one million taels of silver!”

“Mainly, the Prince described this salt and sugar as almost being Immortal elixirs! Something that can be a lifesaver, no price is too expensive for that.”

“This Xiao Ce, he really knows how to spin a tale.”

Yin Pan’er nodded. “With this money, at least these disaster victims won’t go hungry in the short term!”

She then looked at Nie Bing. “Sister, I’m starting to think that with his methods, the Prince’s three-year promise might actually be achievable!”