Chapter 451: Getting Rich
Chapter 451: Chapter 451: Getting Rich
Although the bidding war drove the prices higher than they had anticipated, the banquet itself was novel and eye-opening, so everyone accepted it well.
Some of the cleverer guests were even thinking about whether they should try a similar operation back home to clear out their own inventory, though they would have to think through the details carefully.
Gu Kaiyuan and his wife were selling sought-after properties and farmlands. How could they convince people to willingly spend their Silver on their own miscellaneous stock?
Others took the idea and ran with it, planning to go back and create their own gimmick. They would invite some gentlemen and their wives who were particularly interested in a certain item, confident that they would be willing to spend the Silver to save face.
After all, the only reason they had just paid so much more than they intended for those shops and estates was to avoid losing face in front of others.
These guests, buzzing with ideas, lingered behind. They made sure to become more familiar with Gu Kaiyuan, arranging for a future visit before they finally, reluctantly, departed.
Once Gu Kaiyuan had finally seen all the guests off, he hurried to the back courtyard, unable to hide his excitement. He personally carried the chest of silver notes they had just collected.
"My dear," Gu Kaiyuan said, placing the chest of silver notes in front of Bai Suihe as if showing off a treasure. "Look what I’ve brought for you."
Gu Xingyang patted the chest with her little hand. Bai Suihe immediately grabbed her hand, concerned. "Why do you keep patting things? This is made of wood."
Gu Xingyang waved her hands, once again selling out her own father. "Mama, so many silver notes! We’re rich!"
"When did you become such a little money-grubber?" Bai Suihe said in mock exasperation. "Your father was trying so hard to give me a little surprise, and you couldn’t even play along."
Although her words were chiding, her expression was full of adoration, and she completely ignored Gu Kaiyuan’s mournful gaze.
"But Mama already guessed," Gu Xingyang said, a little confused. ’These adults say one thing and do another. Can’t they just be straightforward?’
’Besides, we really are rich now. Before, Daddy and Mama were worried there wouldn’t be enough funds for the shipyard, but now they don’t have to worry.’
"You little rascal," Gu Kaiyuan said, lightly tapping Gu Xingyang’s little forehead. "You’re right. I shouldn’t have tried to be so mysterious."
The guests today had all been arranged by the two of them, so it was obvious what kind of "treasure" he was presenting.
He couldn’t blame the child for spoiling the surprise. After all, she didn’t have a malicious bone in her body; she was just telling the truth.
Gu Xingyang broke into a toothless grin. "Mama, look! Daddy praised me."
"..."
The couple burst into laughter. Whenever Gu Xingyang was awake, she brought them endless joy.
"So, how did it go? Did all the land you intended to sell get sold?"
The moment Bai Suihe asked, Gu Kaiyuan began to speak effusively. "We made a fortune this time! We sold less than half of the land, and we’ve already made several times our initial investment back."
"I never knew making Silver could be this easy. All that hard work before wasn’t in vain."
Although he had long known that trading land held great potential, it still felt unreal until he had the cold, hard Silver in his hands.
In less than half a day, the Silver they had spent had returned to them several times over. On top of that, they still held so many shops and plots of land, having built such a large estate. It was simply unimaginable.
He couldn’t help but sigh, thinking back to how he used to risk his life fighting bandits to earn military merits, how he and his brothers had bled for the Silver they earned. None of it came as quickly as this.
"How much is in there?" Bai Suihe knew today would be a success, but the final transaction amounts had fluctuated quite a bit. She hadn’t sent anyone to inquire at the front, so she was still curious.
Gu Kaiyuan said, "Take a guess."
He immediately turned to Gu Xingyang and quickly stopped her. "And you, don’t say anything just yet."
Gu Xingyang covered her mouth with her little hands, her eyes darting around. "Daddy, I’m not saying anything."
Bai Suihe smiled. "My baby indeed hasn’t said a word."
"No communicating with your mother."
"Daddy, you’re so petty. Even if I wanted to communicate, I couldn’t. I know there are silver notes in there, but I’m not powerful enough to count them all for you."
Gu Xingyang really wanted to roll her eyes. ’I can use my spiritual power to see what’s inside, but I’m not a god. How could I possibly know everything?’
"So you’re not so omnipotent after all," Gu Kaiyuan said, breathing a sigh of relief. ’At least my daughter isn’t some kind of monster. Otherwise, I’d feel pretty useless as a father.’
"Daddy, what are you talking about?"
Bai Suihe shot him a look. "Watch what you say. You achieve one little thing, and your tail is already sticking straight up."
Gu Xingyang nodded her little head. "That’s right. Daddy’s been so smug ever since he walked in the door."
"Don’t worry, Mama. When I grow up, I’ll earn you even more Silver. Then I’ll treat you to all the best food and drinks."
Her words made Bai Suihe’s eyes curve into happy crescents. "Then Mama will be waiting for that day."
"You ungrateful little thing, what about me?"
"You can tag along, too," Gu Xingyang said grudgingly. "But you’ll be the one paying for us."
Bai Suihe couldn’t be bothered to guess anymore. She opened the chest directly. Seeing it stuffed full of silver notes, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes. Guessing and seeing were two different things entirely. ’Just how much Silver is in here?’
"I haven’t counted it either," Gu Kaiyuan said, scratching his head with a bashful smile. "I only know a rough figure; I haven’t tallied it up yet. Our family can count it together, nice and slow."
After seeing the guests off, he had immediately rushed back to the courtyard with the chest, excited to share the good news with his wife and child as soon as possible.
"And you still asked me to guess," Bai Suihe said as she began to take out the silver notes. There were notes of all different denominations, so she started by sorting them.
Seeing this, Gu Kaiyuan started to help. "My wife’s a brilliant strategist. Maybe you could have guessed the right number."
Bai Suihe said, "Alright, alright, stop with the flattery or I might just float away."
"Can’t have that," Gu Kaiyuan said, full of confidence. ’This is my wife, after all.’ "I never expected your idea to be so good. These people originally wanted to test the waters, but as soon as I announced the method, they all got fired up."
"Even the families I expected to just watch from the sidelines were rolling up their sleeves and jumping in to compete."
Thinking of the scene, Gu Kaiyuan felt it was a bit of a shame. "You should have been there to see it. It was like the land was free in their eyes. Each bid was more ruthless than the last."
"At first, I thought setting the starting price so low—just a little higher than our purchase price—meant we wouldn’t earn that much."
"But in the end, we were the ones who profited the most."
Bai Suihe said, "It’s quite simple. We were auctioning something they desired. By setting the price low, we made them afraid that something within their grasp would be snatched away by someone else..."