Silent Auction

Checking the information, Zanir saw, that the mission had been created by his new citizen, senior Lee. He was pleased, that the old man already had success, figuring out more information about the system. It felt like there were still so many things to unlock, though he was making decent progress so far.

To find out what the mission actually was, he'd have to go into the spatial world itself. First, he had to wrap up the sale of these animals, then he'd take a trip back home, staying a few days. It would give him the time he needed, to inspect the exchange rate, plus he needed to visit his parents. They were sure to be surprised at how successful his trading was.

As the crowd followed, they made their way into the city lord's estate. Having been a few hours, they had sobered up and were ready for business. Even though they were expecting him to bring animals, they were still shocked by how strong they were. Having been raised in the 'wilderness' their entire lives made them heartier than farm raised animals.

The moment they saw the quality, the entire purpose of the transaction changed. People wouldn't buy such beautiful and strong livestock, just to butcher them. Instead, they would use them as prizewinning breeding stock. Any offspring they produced would also be high quality, a single pair could produce countless progeny.

Even Lord Martin wanted to bid for some of the creatures. It was hard for him to show self-control, but he had to let the important families get some of the goods since he already bought everything, last time. If he hogged everything, the people would revolt. Therefore, he could only offer greetings when he came over.

"Brother Zanir, these animals are too good, hopefully, you can take care of these fine citizens."

"Not to worry, brother Martin. I've brought the finest livestock available, today we'll have a silent auction for an hour since I need to be on my way soon to keep my schedule."

"How can you sell anything at auction without talking? I've never heard of such a strange custom."

"My men will place signs next to the animals, guests will write down their bids. At the end of an hour, the highest bidder wins."

Explaining the concept, everyone was excited to try it out. None of them had ever heard of such a custom, he assured them it was from a very distant, little known, foreign land. It didn't take long for the crowd to get the hang of it. You didn't have to be silent, it was more like an auction without an auctioneer.

Chatting together with Lord Martin while the silent auction was going on, he informed the lord that he'd be gone several days. He would be visiting his family and also delivering the materials from everyone's orders. Naturally, it would take several days to produce them.

Hearing that it would only take several days to produce good of such a caliber, the city lord wondered how powerful and skilled their craftsmen were. Earlier he'd ordered an investigation into the company but it seemed like they simply didn't exist. Wherever they came from, it was great for the city.

Word was already spreading, traffic was increasing. Due to the sudden influx, they'd actually started running low on space. Lord Martin was going to relocate the homeless but remembered Zanir saying he needed people.

Confirming that he'd still intended to take them, he told the city lord about how he'd gained the trust of one of their key figures. He was adamant that he wouldn't force anyone to go. If they insisted on staying, he could offer them a little gold to move. That way, Lord Martin wouldn't have to dirty his hands and no one got hurt.

Together, they finished the discussion, talking about several civil matters. Haul away service for garbage and broken items. Landscaping and construction work was brought up, as they needed to plan for growth.

Walls would be relocated and expanded, giving the city more room. The roads and port would be improved, easing the flow of traffic, while improving the quality of life. Homes and storefronts needed to be built up. He was able to get several profitable contracts.

His rates were lower than any competitors, due to the system's assistance making the work quick and easy. Though they weren't quite signing the contracts so soon, they were able to outline several drafts. The city still needed to figure out the exact measurements they wanted.

One hour had passed, checking the signs, they called out to the guests. Since there was no haggling, the transactions went smoothly, some of the guests even spent all their money. Once they bred a few animals, they'd make back what they invested, by several folds.

Payments came in and they, once again, had a carriage full of bags of gold. This time, there were also precious gemstones as well, as the bidding had escalated somewhat. Later, he'd store the money in his world, both for safekeeping, and to see how it traded at the new trading post.

Confirming, that the orders were lined up, everyone had gathered the various materials needed. He was able to convince them, that he'd use the ghost hand to 'ship' the materials over. People were excited about the teleportation.

He explained, that it only worked on inanimate objects, it was something they were doing on the other side, and that it was only one way. After all, if he could teleport freely, why even bother traveling at all?

Absorbing several kinds of fabric, glass, and wood, the system was able to match the materials to each order. It only took a few seconds, for the materials to be reformed, had the people there known it was already complete, they would not believe it.

Moving into the carriage, he actually had to absorb two bags of money just to fit. Proceeding to the slums, he called senior Lee out of the spatial world. Joining him in the carriage, senior Lee was startled. The entire carriage was packed with bags of gold.

"Haha, senior Lee we've done good, no?"

"You made this much off a few animals?"

"Yes, just a small silent auction, now I have to ask a favor. Help me get these people out before Lord Martin does. Please."

"Small silent auction he says, ha! Alright, I'll help you get those people out. If we bring them into headquarters, I recommend we increase the amount of livestock and crops."

At the area where they arrived before, several people were now congregated. They had stuck together, waiting for the merchant to return. Seeing them finally come back, one of them shouted out.

'He's back, he's back.'

By now, all of the people in the area knew, senior Lee had returned. Walking out the carriage, he was followed behind by Zanir, who was carrying a single cloth sack. It was closed, so they couldn't see what was in it.

Everyone came over, to ask him how it was. Even though they already knew the answer. Deep in their hearts, they knew the moment they saw him. The once dirty and frail old man was nicely dressed, his hair had been cut and styled. Where he was once skin and bones, there was now a slight flush on his face.

"Come over everyone, you've all taken care of this old man for so long."

It seemed like he planned to go on speaking but was caught up with emotion. Continuing on a moment later, he simply motioned over for his close friends, they came over to support him. Leaning over the old man surprised them.

Reaching over, he opened up the sack that Zanir was carrying, it was full of gold coins!

He grabbed a handful of coins, giving them to the people that had helped him survive. They had been the ones who gave him food or protected him. Seeing the handful of gold coins in their hands, they just stared at them, afraid to blink, that they might vanish.

Realizing that they were real gold coins, several of them had started crying, overcome with emotion. Thanking senior Lee profusely, they even kowtowed to show respect. Taking a moment to address the people senior Lee made his speech.

"You people have eyes, you see how I made this gold, in such a short time! Look at these clothes and my healthy glow, all of this was possible due to my new job. You people should be begging him instead of the other way around."

"If you have nothing left like I did, just sign the contract. A new life waits for you, where you'll never be hungry. You don't have to suffer any longer, do the right thing."

After making his speech, several of the people spoke up, they wanted to sign the contracts. Passing out a stack, he had his guards distribute them. Setting up some lunch, he had the system automatically prepare a few soups like last time.

Almost all of the people in the slums area had signed, except for a few people, who were not that interested. When they heard, that Lord Martin planned on clearing the area out, they agreed to sign up for ten gold coins.

Now they had everyone in the slums area bound, totaling 120 people, it was a motley group of people. Everything from a group of orphan children, to entire families, and even older seniors. Forming up into a giant formation, they slowly set out of the city, leaving Trostin and heading back home.

About thirty minutes later, they were far enough away, so he had the group pull over. As the caravan began making camp, they came out of the carriage. senior Lee addressed them.

"Don't bother setting up camp, we're all going to headquarters. Stay together, everyone."

Commencing the journey he brought everyone into the world. Due to the number of people, it took some time. Finally, he was able to go into his world. He couldn't wait to see how it was now, with the trading post, and so many people, he wanted to see how it looked all together.

He also had to check what the mission was for. Hopefully, there would be a nice juicy reward.