Chapter 365 - 306: Currency War

Chapter 365: Chapter 306: Currency War

Marx once said, "Capital comes dripping from head to toe, from every pore, with blood and dirt."

Shire firmly believed this. Even though he felt his society resembled the late feudal era, that didn’t stop the great merchants from using their wealth to achieve their goals, even in an obscure corner of the world like Yangjiao Town.

He knew his recent business activities must have attracted the attention of interested parties, but he didn’t know at what level. So, he deliberately proposed the astronomical price of 300,000 Gold Coins, just to see how much Energy the person pulling the strings really had.

The result was a mixed blessing. The good news was that the 300,000 Gold Coins was actually approved. The bad news was that the other party seemed completely unabashed, certain that he had no way of escaping their grasp.

Shire was all too familiar with the power of these Commerce Banks. His father had once been short on funds for the construction of the Deepwater Port and had gone back and forth with those types—reasonable on the surface, but a bunch of penny-pinchers behind the scenes.

In the end, it took five years of the port’s tax revenue to barely pay off the debt.

"And now they’ve set their sights on my little commerce guild," Shire said, picking up his coffee cup, his eyes still fixed on the contract in his other hand. "It’s like they’re trawling with a fine-mesh net—they won’t let anything slip by, big or small."

"Boss, about the 300,000 Gold Coins... isn’t that a bit...?" Mary asked as she knocked and re-entered the meeting room, covering her mouth with her hand to hide a smile.

She had just seen the bank employee out. The man had spilled coffee on his pants several times, leaving a dark, wet patch right on his crotch. The deep color of the coffee made for a very unsightly stain on his cream-colored pants, attracting stares and whispers from passersby.

"Too large an amount?" Shire put down the contract and took a sip of coffee. "I don’t know who wants to swallow up this little commerce guild, but anyone with the guts and resources to put up 300,000 Gold Coins definitely isn’t going to take us seriously."

"If they wanted to seize the commerce guild outright, they could. It’s only because we’re part of the Commerce Alliance that they have to maintain some semblance of decorum."

"So you deliberately proposed 300,000 Gold Coins," Mary said after a few seconds of thought. Then, seeking his guidance, she asked, "Aren’t they afraid we’ll just take the money and run?"

"Run where?" Shire said with a laugh. "Do you have any idea how big a mountain of gold 300,000 Gold Coins is? A standard cargo ship on the Darren River couldn’t even transport it all in one go. If we wanted to take the money and run, it wouldn’t be easy. Besides, a major merchant with this kind of power would surely hire expert trackers to hunt us down. Unless I could get the gold out of the Star Realm, I couldn’t be sure I was safe even if I made it to another plane."

"Besides, we’re just a small commerce guild. Where would we even run to?" He glanced around the meeting room, where the simple decor spoke volumes about the ’rich heritage’ of White Shell.

"You could take the Gold Coins and hide in the forest..." Mary suggested.

But Shire cut her off with a wave of his hand. "First, the forest isn’t exactly a lawless place. There’s nowhere to spend the money, and if a skilled Adventurer tracked us down, we’d be caught red-handed with the loot. Second," Shire paused, looking at Mary for two seconds before speaking calmly, "this commerce guild might be mine, but you and Little John are indispensable parts of it. If I ran, you couldn’t. So, even if only for your sakes, I could never just run off and hide in the forest."

Mary fell silent at Shire’s words. A few seconds later, she gave a slight bow and said, "Boss, Mr. Herbert said he will be here later." 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Shire nodded. "I know. You can go and take care of things at the workshop for now."

Just as Mary turned to leave, Shire spoke again. "For a small commerce guild like ours, 300,000 Gold Coins might sound like a lot, but it’s nothing to worry about. After all, I don’t intend to let them trap me so easily."

Mary nodded, bowed once more, and left the meeting room.

The meeting room door closed softly. A corner of Shire’s mouth curled up as he took a Gold Coin and a Silver Coin from his pocket, holding them in his hand. "Besides, it’s not like I don’t have a way to deal with these greedy bastards."

Time slowly passed until dusk. After the sun sank below the horizon, a gentleman in a long, black Trench Coat and a black fedora pushed open the door of the "Drink Undying" Alchemy Workshop. "My beautiful Miss Mary, it has been too long."

Mary heard the bell on the door jingle and knew who had arrived. She straightened her clothes slightly and greeted him politely, "Lord Count."

"No, please don’t call me that. Just call me Mr. Herbert," the Vampire Count said with a smile and a wave of his hand. "After all, I’m not a Count of your Fran Kingdom."

Mary smiled, pressing her lips together. "In that case, the esteemed Mr. Herbert, my boss is already waiting for you in the meeting room. Please, follow me."

When the meeting room door was pushed open, the aged Herbert walked directly toward Shire and bent down to embrace the goblin, which caught Shire a little off guard. "Mr. Herbert, hello."

"You sought me out this time. Does that mean you have good news?" Herbert asked as Shire led him to a seat. He then pulled a silver flask directly from his pocket. "Some fine wine. Care for a drink?"

"No, thank you," Shire said with a wave. "Regarding that pair of ears, I’m afraid I have no news yet. However, my people have begun operating in the forest. A few days ago, they even explored a cave and killed a Magical Beast. I’m confident it’s only a matter of time."