Once all the dishes had been served, Boss Lucius was the first to raise a toast.
After Duke, citing his age, took only a shallow sip, Lucius stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point. "Today, I asked Captain Murashi to act as an intermediary and arrange this meeting with Boss Little Duke. It's for no other reason than that I've taken a fancy to Little Sam's Card Shop and want to buy it."
"You want to buy my shop?" Duke hadn't expected that to be the purpose of the meal. He immediately furrowed his brow. "Sorry, but business at Little Sam's Card Shop is doing very well right now. I have no intention of selling."
Lucius spoke calmly. "But the Pioneer War is about to begin. Snakehead Town will become a huge whirlpool, and there certainly won't be any shortage of trouble."
"There may be trouble, but we should be able to make quite a bit of money." Duke still refused.
"Are you really so certain you can handle every problem? Just look at all the mercenaries pouring in from every corner of the country. If they aren't treated well, they might smash up the shop outright."
"I think I can."
"Haha, Boss Little Duke, you're certainly confident. Let me offer you a toast." As Lucius spoke, he raised his cup and glanced at Murashi.
Murashi seemed to understand at once and immediately said, "Boss Little Duke, I'm afraid the trouble will be far greater than you imagine. Even I've been under tremendous pressure lately, worried that these mercenaries from out of town might cause such a commotion in my jurisdiction that it can't be cleaned up."
Duke glanced at Murashi and asked in a low voice, "Then can Boss Lucius resolve these troubles?"
Lucius smiled. "Of course. I've been doing business in Chen Jiao City for so many years, and I'm friends with Captain Murashi. Naturally, resolving a little trouble won't be difficult."
By this point,
Duke already understood that if he didn't sell the shop today, trouble would likely come one wave after another in the future.
Having offended the Security Brigade, trying to do business on the Black Snake Family's territory would be practically impossible.
If Old Sam were here, it would naturally be easy to handle. Old Sam knew quite a few people from the Black Snake Family, but Duke had no connections of that sort.
Thinking of this, he wasn't particularly flustered.
He merely asked indifferently, "Then, Boss Lucius, if I transfer Little Sam's Card Shop, what price are you thinking of paying to take it over?"
Lucius was delighted inside, but put on a bold expression and offered, "Thirty gold dragons. That's plenty sincere, isn't it?"
"Impossible. The deed to the shop alone is worth more than that."
"Forty gold dragons."
"Far too little, far too little. That's not a sincere offer." Duke shook his head. "Besides, I'm a Spiritual Apprentice. I need to run a shop and make money to fund my cultivation. If Boss Lucius is still going to show so little sincerity, you'd better look for another shop."
"I've already offered a very high price, Boss Little Duke. Won't you think it over carefully?"
"I've thought it through very carefully. Little Sam's Card Shop has more than twenty years of reputation behind it. It was among the first shops opened in Snakehead Town. Just for that signboard alone, it's worth a hundred gold dragons. We've always been the most law-abiding shop in Snakehead Town, and we've never once delayed paying our business taxes..."
Duke's words carried a hidden meaning, aimed mainly at Murashi.
If the Black Snake Family acted as bullies on their own territory, forcing people to buy and sell against their will, it would deal a serious blow to their reputation—especially at this critical juncture.
If someone seized on this and made an issue of it...
Putting everything else aside, Murashi absolutely didn't want to be dragged into it.
Thus, Murashi frowned and decisively said, "Boss Lucius, offer a truly sincere price. Little Sam's Card Shop is an established old brand, after all."
"Er, this..." Lucius gave a wry smile. "All right. Since Captain Murashi has said so, I'll be frank. Eighty gold dragons. If you're willing, I'll buy it. If you aren't, I'll go to Third Vertical Street and open a new shop myself."
From forty gold dragons, the offer had doubled to eighty.
It still didn't match Little Sam's Card Shop's true value; it was considerably lower.
But it had already reached Duke's psychological bottom line. Snakehead Town was growing more chaotic by the day, and he himself was somewhat unwilling to wade into the muddy waters in the open.
Today, it was merely an ordinary shop owner who had relied on a connection to 0-ring Knight Captain Murashi to apply pressure.
Next time, it might be someone capable of reaching a 1-Ring Great Knight, coming to seize the shop by force.
So,
he might as well sell the shop and leave early.
He no longer hesitated. "In principle, I agree to this price. It's just that I hope you'll look after my employees, Boss Lucius."
"Rest assured. I'm very satisfied with the way Little Sam's Card Shop is run. Everything for the staff will remain as it is."
"I also want to take one set of Card Machines with me. Don't worry, it's an old, discarded set. It won't affect the Card Masters' normal workstations."
"This... all right."
After lunch, Lucius went with Duke to Snakehead Tower, where they completed the shop's transfer for eighty gold dragons.
Once the paperwork had been signed and the gold dragon card swiped,
Boss Lucius cheerfully took the business card and said to Duke, "This is a huge sum of money. Boss Little Duke, have you thought about how to spend it?"
"Compared with what Little Sam's Card Shop could earn during the Pioneer War, this isn't much. But since I've sold it, I won't say anything more. I wish you booming business, Boss Lucius."
"Haha, of course, of course."
"Give me two days to sort through the miscellaneous items."
"No problem. There's no rush."
Duke returned alone to Little Sam's Card Shop. Sally came over and asked, "Boss, what kind of lunch gathering was that? Why did you come back so late?"
"Didn't Teacher Murav tell you?"
"No."
Murav, who was at his workstation, raised his head and replied, "This has nothing to do with me. It's better for Boss Little Duke to tell you himself."
"All right." Duke drew a deep breath and motioned for everyone to come over. "I have something to announce. Little Sam's Card Shop has already been transferred..."
"Ah!"
"What?"
"No way, Boss! Why did you sell the shop when everything was going so well?"
"Transferred again?"
Only after the employees had quieted down did Duke say, "Yes, it's been transferred. But don't panic. The new owner promised me that everything would remain as it was, so everyone can continue working normally."
"Boss, I don't want you to leave." The honest Levin put down his broom, his face full of reluctance.
Because he was too honest, Levin had been unable to make money working at the factory. His parents didn't care about him, and after finally finding an apprenticeship, he had still been disliked by Murav.
If Duke hadn't been kind enough to transfer him under his own command as an assistant, he would probably have become unemployed again.
Now that Duke was leaving, Levin felt that things were about to go wrong for him again. He was afraid the new owner would drive him away after a few days. After all, apart from having some physical strength, he wasn't good at anything else.
"It's all right, Levin. The new owner will treat you well." Duke comforted him.
He actually rather liked the simple-minded big man Levin. He worked tirelessly, had no complicated relationships with anyone, and was very reassuring to employ.
But Duke hadn't even decided where he would go next.
Naturally, he couldn't take Levin with him.
"Ah, this past year has been a mess. The boss has already changed three times." The Card Master Dilanke teased him, without being too shaken by the change in ownership.
A skilled Card Master like him could survive anywhere.
Opening the Spirit Sea might not send someone soaring to the heavens in a single bound, but as a Spiritual Apprentice, there were many paths one could choose. There was no need to worry about being unable to make money.
Before you continue