Fang Qianyuan stepped in to mediate for the Jiang Clan and, with considerable difficulty, finally appeased the Merchant Association. Along the way, he had to endure no small amount of sneering and mockery from its members.
Although the Jiang Clan's standing had declined, it remained the foremost aristocratic clan in Abundance City. With Fang Qianyuan, an elder from outside the clan, explicitly supporting it, they could not push too far. In the end, they agreed to grant an extension.
Ten million was no small sum. Given time to sell off its holdings gradually, the Jiang Clan could still raise that much cash. But if it rushed into things without a plan, it would suffer needless losses and have its vitality severely depleted.
It was like a person suddenly losing too much blood and dying from the injury. If the blood loss was less severe, the body could replenish it on its own.
Fang Qianyuan had no way to spare the Jiang Clan all losses. He could only soften the impact as much as possible.
But anyone with discerning eyes could see that the Jiang Clan no longer deserved its former standing. Some people had even begun coveting Jiang Lin's position as city lord.
In the days that followed, Jiang Lin also encountered a number of troubles, neither great nor small.
The most direct sign was that Jiang Lin's words no longer carried anywhere near their former weight.
It was not that anyone was already looking to replace him. Rather, the city's other aristocratic clans and powerful families had begun seeking more for themselves.
These were matters internal to Abundance City, and they came slowly, like a dull knife slicing flesh. They were even harder to deal with than the Merchant Association's debt collectors at the door.
The city's various clans