"Fellow Daoists, you already know the general state of my little shops. I've invited you all here today for no other reason than to let the highest bidder take them."
"Let's get down to business and bid here on the spot. A fair competition."
In a small workshop in Armor Capital City, Li Chen had summoned several representatives of Aristocratic Clans interested in the workshop and his shops around the city to discuss their transfer.
They were all stewards, shopkeepers, and the like from Aristocratic Clans, well versed in commerce. But after dealing with Li Chen over the past few years, they had also learned that he was no easy man to fool.
More importantly, Li Chen was a Puppet Master and Master Artisan, with privileges others did not possess.
They knew that if they wanted to acquire his holdings, they would probably have to offer a sincere, substantial price.
And so, after a moment of deliberation, each stated their offer.
"For the iron shop in the west of the city, I offer four hundred and fifty thousand, including all the stock."
"For the medicinal herb shop in the north, I offer three hundred thousand..."
"For the concealed weapons shop in the south, I offer seven hundred thousand..."
Even so, they did not truly compete fiercely and hand Li Chen an easy windfall.
They were all prominent households in the city, bound to see one another wherever they went. There was no need for that. Usually, once one household made an offer, another that truly wanted the property would raise it by twenty or thirty thousand, and the first would stop bidding.
Li Chen was somewhat disappointed, but he understood that the things he was leaving behind were not scarce resources they simply had to acquire. They were not worth