Chapter 1.1: Wang Ke (1/2)
Zhu Cultivation Town! In an extremely spacious hall.
All major shop owners and members of cultivation clans filled the hall. All of them were looking up at the stage, listening to a handsome man in a white shirt.
“I’ve already gone through the matter in detail. I believe that everyone has understood what I said. Right?” The man in a white shirt smiled as he looked at those attending.
“Clan Lord Wang, we understand everything you said. It’s just that we’re still worried! You’re so wealthy already… Why are you going after our money?” a man in the audience asked, visibly worried.
“Money you say? Money is not something anyone could have enough of! I’ll be able to do more and greater things if I have more money. I will invest more money to hire better apothecaries and sell better medicinal pills; I will hire better blacksmiths to forge better enchanted artifacts that we can sell. Have I, Wang Ke, ever lost money while doing business?” the white-shirt man said with a smile.
“No, never. Our town’s money has endlessly flowed into your Wang Clan ever since you settled down in the Zhu Cultivation Town. How could you ever suffer any losses?” the group of people immediately replied mirthfully.
“Then what is there to worry about? Are you worried that I, Wang Ke, will cheat you out of your money?” Wang Ke asked, still flashing a smile.
“How can that be! The Wang Clan has abundant wealth, and is considered one of the four major cultivation clans in the Zhu Cultivation Town. The clan even has shares in most of the town’s shops… You would surely not care about our paltry sum of money!” the man who had expressed his concern immediately replied while laughing.
The act considerably lightened the pervading mood in the hall.
“And now, the Ten-thousand Great Mountains are becoming increasingly dangerous; it’s getting more and more difficult to find spirit herbs and stones. Everyone considers me an honest businessman and thus invited me to propose a solution. That is why I hosted this conference, inviting the fellow people of our Zhu Cultivation Town to point a clear road ahead of us. Why? Does anyone have anything else to ask?” Wang Ke said with a frown.
“Clan Lord Wang, is what you said true? We’ll have a 20% interest every year as long as we buy your so-called ‘financial product’?” a man in a grey shirt asked expectantly.
Wang Ke stiffened his face immediately and replied, “Of course. The Wang Clan has been in the Zhu Cultivation Town for many, many years. We have massive properties and wealth. Everything is signed in black and white, there’s no room for deception!”
“No, we certainly trust Clan Lord Wang. It’s just that we’ve never done this before, so we are a little... a little excited!” the man in a grey shirt replied.
“We can certainly trust in Clan Lord Wang’s promise! Even though we are also cultivating, we simply cannot compete with the disciples of the major immortal sects. They have endless resources and spiritual Qi, while we have to earn our own resources. Spirit herbs are abundant in the Ten-thousand Great Mountains, but they’re closely guarded by demonic beasts. We often have to risk our lives to harvest those resources.
“Moreover, many fatal robberies happen in the chaotic Ten-thousand Great mountains. We even need to put our lives on the line for an insignificant amount of goods, and one misstep would lead to death. It’s just so difficult to cultivate for people like us!” a man in a red shirt said bitterly.
“Yeah. Clan Lord Wang, you’re a true philanthropist! You’re helping us with a way to make money while in the comfort of our homes!”
“Clan Lord Wang has already said it. If you don’t care about finance, finance won’t care about you either. Your money will only decrease if you hoard it. We can all thank Clan Lord Wang for showing us a way out!”
“You’re right. Clan Lord Wang, I’m buying your financial product!”
“I’m buying too!”
“20% interest every year? It’s the same time I take for every closed-door cultivation round. Wouldn’t that mean that my spirit stones would increase by 20% after each enclosed cultivation?”
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There were some people planted amidst the crowd in the hall to fire up the atmosphere. Upon hearing those words, the real audience’s blood started boiling in excitement.
“I’ve said my piece. Those who want to buy, head to the front hall of our Wang Clan to make your purchase and sign the contract! The first financial product batch is limited in number! Everyone, feel free to try!” Wang Ke said with a chuckle.
“Front hall? Where is that? Where do I make the payment? I’m paying fifty pounds worth of spirit stones!” The grey-shirt man ran out of the main hall immediately.
“Shopkeeper Zhang, wait for me. Save some for me! The financial products are limited, don’t buy everything!” Another red-shirt man ran out.
“Hold on! Wait! Leave some for me!”
“I’m going to buy everything!”
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The noisy main hall was emptied in an instant. A throng of people left the building; they were competing to make their purchase of the Wang Clan’s financial product before it ran out.
The satisfied-looking Wang Ke stood in the main hall with a bunch of Wang Clan members.
“Did you see that? Financial products have to be sold like this. Use the same method on the other cultivation towns!” Wang Ke said as he sipped the tea that his subordinate had offered.
“Clan Lord, is that bunch of people genuinely willing to spend that many spirit stones to buy a piece of paper? Is making money that easy? Clan Lord, why didn’t we use this earlier?” one of the clan members asked while still shocked.
Wang Ke threw him a glare and said, “You know nothing. The Wang Clan has to be firmly rooted in the Zhu Cultivation Town so we can garner enough credibility first. How else would anybody believe in the financial product?”