Making Money Was This Simple

"Any new discoveries these past few days?" A middle-aged man wearing an old, ripped short-sleeved shirt stood in front of Wood, shaking Wood hand as he asked in a low voice.

Wood shook his head and gave a wink. The Chief immediately spotted Lin Qi standing outside the crowd, and Ferral beside him.

Many ordinary people may not be familiar with Ferral, but Wood's Chief is very familiar with him. He knows almost everyone in the city who needs his attention, including Ferral, the mayor's close Attendant Official.

Lin Qi's connection with the mayor has caused some trouble for Wood's Chief. Before a higher-level governing body intervenes, the investigation into Lin Qi may involve some legal protection laws.

To ensure that those in power are not subject to political persecution or infighting during their term, thus avoiding any negative impact on the region, investigations are generally not conducted on relevant personnel during their term.

If the mayor of Sabine City believes that the investigation into Lin Qi is targeting him, the investigation into Lin Qi may be temporarily suspended and could only be restarted after the Sabine City's term ends.

Wood's Chief was somewhat nervous. If they could obtain evidence of Lin Qi's crimes before Lin Qi and the mayor had any substantial contact, they could indict Lin Qi first, and the mayor would naturally avoid contact with such a criminal.

But all of this is predicated on one condition: they must have substantial and conclusive evidence; otherwise, the court will not approve their next steps.

Wood shook his head. His Chief looked somewhat solemn, and then, led by Wood, sat down in Wood's "camp".

Wood used lake blue, he liked the color, so all one hundred of his chairs were covered with lake blue dust covers.

One by one, more unfamiliar faces took his flyers and sat in his camp. Many of these people were active-duty police detectives. Their purpose in coming here was to assist Wood in successfully infiltrating Lin Qi's inner circle.

Wood's Chief had originally only wanted to make up the numbers so that Wood could complete the mission smoothly, but given the current situation, time is extremely tight.

They had to get Wood into Lin Qi's favor as quickly as possible, and the best way to do that was to make him look like the person who could help Lin Qi succeed.

As time went on, more and more people arrived at the venue. Lin Qi had already made the necessary preparations. He prepared two thousand seats, arranged in a circle around the venue, to ensure that people on each side could see the displayed products and that the host could hear their bids.

Ferral's group also joined in maintaining order. Reporters will be recording the entire process, and it will be broadcast on local video news by tomorrow night at the latest, so there needs to be some official personnel on site.

Besides these people, the Warehouse District security guards, and even some people in Blue Vests, spontaneously stayed here to help Lin Qi maintain order while watching the commotion.

In this increasingly sluggish economy, people need something new to stimulate their numb senses.

By 2:15, there were probably nearly 3,000 people at the scene. Those without seats just found a place to stand. Even the rescue team came over to prevent any sudden accidents or dangers. In short, everyone was very expectant and very curious.

"It's starting..." With Lin Qi's words, the host and his assistants went up on stage one after another, and a large number of goods were also transported onto the stage. The somewhat noisy venue quieted down a bit. Although some people were still talking in hushed tones, it was generally no longer noisy.

"I'm very happy to be here on such a day..." The host was someone Lin Qi hired from the State Capital for 600 yuan. It cost 600 yuan for four hours, and Lin Qi also had to pay 120 yuan for travel expenses and one night's accommodation.

There are no formal Auction House in Sabine City, and therefore no professional auctioneers. A good auctioneer can be extremely effective at creating a lively atmosphere, generating minor conflicts, and frequently setting new historical high prices.

In the Bayer Federation and even internationally, some very famous auctioneers can even receive a 3% commission on the final sale price as their bonus!

He quickly explained the auction process, which involved participants simply raising their hands. No number plates were required, and it wasn't very formal or serious. Everything looked just like a familiar secondhand goods fair—in fact, top-tier auctions are also Secondhand Goods Auction, only the items auctioned there are more expensive.

The entire auction process can be divided into three stages. The first stage is a fixed-price bidding process, where there is no distinction between raising and lowering the price. The host will announce the price of an item, and then those who want to buy it simply raise their hands.

There are four additional employees on the central display platform. Each employee has a small button in their hand. When they see someone raise their hand, they press the button, and the other three employees will no longer be able to trigger the button's effect. This is used to confirm the first person to raise their hand.

The products sold during this period are mostly "stable" items, the kind that are essential to daily life, such as practical family ovens and six-burner cooking counters, which are in demand by every household.

The trading volume and price of this type of product in the second-hand market are very stable, and it can be easily sold without raising or lowering the price.

After the first phase ends, the second phase, which is the real auction, will begin. To create that atmosphere, the starting bid for each item is one dollar.

Yes, no matter how much this item sells for in a store, the starting bid here is one yuan, and how many you can bid for depends entirely on your demand.

Most of these products are flashy but impractical. If you set a price for them like you would for the first category, they would mostly just sit in the warehouse. It would be better to let customers compete for them; you might actually get a better price that way.

As for the third stage...

The host said it would be an unprecedented surprise, and might even change some auction rules around the world! As a surprise, he didn't choose to reveal it yet, and started directly with the first category of goods.

The first item was displayed by the staff, and the host skillfully introduced or boasted about it: a built-in oven that could be installed in a cabinet or embedded in the wall.

Concealable ovens have become very popular in recent years. They are aesthetically pleasing and save space, making them a good choice for families with small kitchens who need a relatively large oven.

A brand new oven like this would cost around 199 yuan in a store, but today at the event, it's only 79 yuan! The auctioneer's words were very persuasive. About ten seconds after he finished speaking, a light on the stage suddenly turned on, and then people saw that someone from another camp had raised their hand.

The first batch of goods from the suburbs appeared so quickly. People either regretted it a little or looked at the guy who raised his hand with some curiosity. A strange sense of participation began to slowly emerge.

"Congratulations to this gentleman! You bought an almost brand-new oven for just seventy-nine dollars! If I weren't the host, I wouldn't have given you this opportunity!" He smiled and pointed to the successful bidder. "Let's congratulate this gentleman..."

At the same time, staff will come forward to settle accounts, either in cash or by check. In addition, they will ask the customer to leave an address so that the goods can be delivered to their door.

While the home delivery service seemed to have created an extra expense for Lin Qi, this relatively small expense was enough to keep these people firmly under his control.

"Seventy-nine dollars, it looks like it's being given away for free..." Ferral sighed softly, turning to look at Lin Qi, "How much did you lose?"

"Loss?" Lin Qi looked at him with amusement. "I made at least ten dollars from this thing."

Wood glanced at the Chief who was taking out money, and a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on was spreading through his chest, because he had made money, he had made about four dollars.

For the first time, he experienced the feeling that Richard, the "class monitor," had described—making money while lying down without having to do anything!