Chapter 444: Sold Out
Translator: TYZ Editor: TYZ, KLKL
An unusual silence descended upon the meeting room.
Everyone recovered from their shock but they did not speak at all. All of them were digesting the information presented within the scene in front of them.
Twelve liters of snow lava, including the two liters sold to Venerable Volcano, were placed in front of everyone. Undoubtedly, these twelve liters of snow lava had shocked everyone. According to the price set by Ai Hui just now, one liter would cost fifty thousand essence elemental beans. As such, twelve liters of snow lava would cost six hundred thousand essence elemental beans.
Even Qiao Meiqi, who was used to encountering big situations and wealthy people, could not stay calm at this moment.
The number of essence elemental beans involved was astronomical.
This astronomical number was thought-provoking.
Everyone no longer doubted the fact that Ai Hui possessed a refinement method to mass produce snow lava. Otherwise, he would not have so much snow lava.
A refinement method that mass produced A-grade fire liquid!
A lot of people began to breath heavily. Even the seemingly impish Gong Peiyao could not help but widen her eyes at this moment. She clearly knew what this meant. The snow lava was an unbeatable moneymaker.
There were surprised gazes, greedy gazes, pensive gazes and sympathetic gazes. However, everyone was keeping quiet.
It was as if the crystal-clear flames contained a mysterious power that froze their mouths and the air.
Ai Hui smiled in the midst of the silence. He casually picked up a wine cup from the table but then realized that it was empty. Being too lazy to pour himself another cup of wine, he took Iron Lady’s untouched cup of wine and downed it in one gulp.
The wine slid down his throat and a burning sensation erupted in his chest.
With a cold glint in his eyes, Ai Hui stood up and picked up his sword and walked towards the centre of the meeting hall.
Every’s eyes converged on him.
His sharp gaze slowly swept across the meeting hall. At this point of time, Ai Hui resembled an unsheathed sword, cold and sharp. Everyone felt as if Ai Hui’s gaze could pierce their bodies. A cold shiver went down their spines as they subconsciously avoided his gaze.
"Initially, I intended to sell the snow lava through auction but I didn’t expect the Mayor to treat me with such magnificent hospitality. I am indebted to him and I can’t thank him enough. Since everyone is so happy and it’s such a good day today, I shall not wait for the auction anymore. The selling price for the snow lava shall be the same as before. You can use essence elemental beans or materials to pay for them." Ai Hui said with a loud and clear voice.
Immediately, a commotion broke out among the crowd.
The price of fifty thousand essence elemental beans for one liter of A-grade fire liquid was rather enticing. If it was sold through auction, it could easily fetch an auction price that was twice the current selling price. This implied that they had a higher profit margin now.
A-grade fire liquids were extremely scarce on the market. As such, they did not need to worry about the demand for it. Some of them had even thought of suitable buyers for it already. If they could sell the snow lava to Newlight City or Skyheart City, they could even get ten times their usual profits.
They were waiting and calculating in their hearts.
Ai Hui remained composed. The reason why he’d changed his mind and decided to sell the snow lava at a low price rather than selling it at an auction was because he suddenly understood the situation everyone was in.
The snow lava was very valuable in the market now and Central Pine Valley was able to mass produce them. However, rather than trying to find a high selling price for the snow lava, what they needed to do now was to quickly open up a market for it. Following which, they had to obtain more essence elemental beans and use them to exchange for more resources.
They needed to increase their strength fast.
Ai Hui could see greed and desire in many people’s eyes. The snow lava was a sure moneymaker that held a deadly enticement over anyone with any powers. As long as they could obtain the refinement method for snow lava, their strength could rise sharply in a short period of time.
For sure, when the news of snow lava spread to the outside world, there would be people trying to find out about the city they had built and the refinement method for making the snow lava.
These people would rack their brains to achieve these goals by hook or by crook.
Even Masters would covet this moneymaker.
Ai Hui knew that they were in a race against time. Only by making sure they had sufficient self-defense capabilities, before those covetous individuals knew of Central Pine Valley’s existence, could they then protect this moneymaker.
So they must act fast!
The faster they sold the snow lava, the quicker they would grow stronger.
Ai Hui was clear-headed. By the time he thought of the crux of the issue, his back was drenched in sweat. Right now, he was rejoicing. He was glad that the two Masters in Clearwater City weren’t in the city now and they were dealing with Venerable Volcano instead. Otherwise, they might’ve been in deep trouble.
If Qiao Meiqi bore malice towards them, he would definitely have the capability to detain them with the help of his two Masters.
Tackling the root of the problem was always the best solution.
Ai Hui looked very calm. Only by staying calm could he make other people feel that he was unfathomable and not easily predictable.
If he behaved slightly flustered, these people would engulf him like sharks that had smelled blood.
"A good product like this is rare."
Qiao Meiqi’s voice broke the silence. With a wide smile on his face, he stood up and saluted Ai Hui. Following which, he said, "Since no one wants to say anything, then don’t blame me for being too greedy. I will buy five liters of the remaining ten liters of snow lava. As for the materials that Mr Ai Hui needs, I will procure them via various channels. It would be an extraordinary humiliation and shame to Clearwater City if we let Lightning Blade return home empty-handed."
Ai Hui had to admit that Qiao Meiqi was a very formidable individual.
This man was able to move calmly towards the prevailing position at the most critical moment. Furthermore, he did not covet petty profits and always thought of the big picture. He had an extraordinary breadth of mind.
Upon hearing Qiao Meiqi’s words, the rest of the crowd heaved a sigh of relief and followed suit.
"It’s our loss if Mr Ai Hui can’t buy anything from a business hub like our Clearwater City! Our enterprise will purchase one liter and we will try our best to obtain the resources that Mr Ai Hui needs."
"I want one liter! Mr Ai Hui, I have seen your list of resources, no problem!"
"I want one liter too! Our enterprise will do our best to get what Mr Ai Hui needs!"
...
In the blink of an eye, all of the remaining snow lava was sold.
Ai Hui could not help but express his gratitude to Qiao Meiqi, "Mayor, I will always remember your kindness. From today onwards, Clearwater City is my friend."
Ai Hui had to return this favor.
If not for Qiao Meiqi, these enterprises would not have gone all out in buying Ai Hui’s snow lava. Qiao Meiqi was truly worthy of being the mayor of Clearwater City. His influence over Clearwater City was unmatchable.
Furthermore, Ai Hui could also sense that the number of the surrounding covetous gazes had reduced significantly after Qiao Meiqi had spoken.
Everyone here was shrewd and sharp. Even though they did not know exactly why the mayor would think so highly of Ai Hui, they would not do anything stupid after seeing that the mayor had made his stand.
Ai Hui had yet to find out Qiao Meiqi’s real intentions. However, from the look of it, Qiao Meiqi did not seem to have any malice towards Ai Hui and his party.
After the snow lava was sold out, the mood was dampened significantly and all of them left one by one. The banquet had come to an end as well. A lot of people approached Ai Hui and tried to find out the location of his city, but Ai Hui merely smiled at them.
When most of the businessmen had left, Kang Ding walked towards Ai Hui and said, "Mr Ai Hui, do you still remember you have one more item that you’ve entrusted to me to appraise?"
Ai Hui thought of that unknown beast bone and quickly asked, "How about it? Is the result out?"
Ever since Ai Hui found the unknown beast bone in the pile of scarletfire flying fox bones, he had been racking his brain to find out which beast it came from. The texture of the beast bone was rather outstanding. It could not be easily damaged by any weapons.
Kang Ding’s face was filled with regret as he took out a package and passed it to Ai Hui, "I’m very sorry. My knowledge is too shallow and I can’t determine which beast it comes from."
Ai Hui took over the package. The beast bone within it was in good condition. Since even Appraiser Kang Ding did not know where it came from, it most likely belonged to a dire beast that was extinct or a dire beast that had migrated to the depths of Wilderness.
"There’s a limit to anyone’s capabilities. Furthermore, there are numerous species of dire beasts in this world. Mr Kang, don’t be too hard on yourself," Ai Hui consoled Kang Ding.
Kang Ding smiled, "Mr Ai Hui, there’s no need for you to console me. There are too many things and creatures unknown to us. Elementalists’ understanding towards Wilderness is still very shallow. However, even though I can’t recognize which beast it is from, I was still able to discover some interesting features of it that might interest you."
"I’d like to hear about them," Ai Hui was slightly curious.
"While I was appraising it, I found out that its fire attributed nature is hidden, as if it’s being covered by a layer of hard crust. If you truly want to understand its characteristics, you will have to break through the layer of crust." Kang Ding explained.
"How do I break this layer of crust?" Ai Hui asked.
"Since it’s a fire elemental material, the best way to break it is with fire. Since you can mass produce snow lava, that means you have very high-grade flames. You can try using high-grade flames to burn through it. Of course, this is just my assumption. Whether it will work or not, I’m not sure. Furthermore, by doing this you will risk damaging the beast bone. Think twice before you try this method." Kang Ding answered.
Ai Hui nodded his head solemnly and replied, "Yes, I will."
He was thinking of using White Cluster Flames to burn it and see what would happen to it.
After settling the issue, Kang Ding bade farewell to Ai Hui and left.
At this moment, Qiao Meiqi walked towards Ai Hui and said, "Mr Ai Hui, you might have to stay in Clearwater City for some time. I will need a few days to prepare the resources. The amount of resources you need is far too massive."
Ai Hui knew Qiao Meiqi wasn’t exaggerating.
It was not possible for a purchase that was worth six hundred thousand essence elemental beans to be completed in a short period of time. This purchase was the largest business deal in the history of Clearwater City.
"Many thanks to you, Mayor, for your help today," Ai Hui expressed his gratitude to Qiao Meiqi.
"I should be the one thanking you for taking care of my Clearwater City. We are going to make a huge ton of money off such a huge business deal this time around. I am a businessman and I built Clearwater City so that I can do business at ease," Qiao Meiqi laughed cheerfully.
Qiao Meiqi was right. Such a big business deal was rarely seen in Clearwater City. He bought five liters of snow lava in one go and this would allow him to make a terrifying amount of profit.
"Mayor, I am thinking of giving the exclusive dealership of snow lava to Clearwater City, what do you think?" Ai Hui suddenly said.
Qiao Meiqi’s body trembled while his eyes lit up brightly all of a sudden. With excitement, he replied, "Really?"
Even Venerable Volcano was startled upon hearing Ai Hui’s words. Gong Peiyao’s jaw dropped involuntarily as incredulity filled her face.
Is this guy mad? Doesn’t he know how much profits he will lose by doing this?
The next moment, a strong sense of jealousy arose in her heart.
That’s right! Jealousy!
So much money!
She looked at Uncle Qiao and it was like she’d seen an enormous piece of meat pie fall from the sky and drop on his face!