Auction

The servants moved quickly.

The leftovers were removed, the original long dining table was pushed to one side, and the seating was arranged in the style of an auction.

Mayor Bartók even brought in a high-backed chair to serve as an auction stage, and pulled out a decorative wooden hammer from somewhere.

Ye Weian smiled as he handed a stack of property ownership certificates and documents to the town mayor, then sat down and watched their performance with a smile.

"Gentlemen, the first 'compensation' we are going to sell is the perpetual lease of the 'Old Oak' leather shop's warehouse in the West District, and... as well as the 30% of the 'non-contractual profits' that Gray Raven previously held from Thorne Lumber Company."

Bartók coughed lightly, his eyes quickly sweeping over the crowd. "Everyone knows that both the warehouse and the shares were given to him by the former owner because of Gray Raven's 'suggestion'."

Upon hearing this, Thorne, the guild leader of the Timber Guild, twitched his face.

This so-called dividend is essentially his reward to the Grey Crows.

Under Gray Raven's protection, he monopolized the town's timber trade, making the townspeople pay twice as much unjustly by raising market prices, while he himself made a fortune.

Thorne stood up, bowed his head, and shouted, "I'll buy out this 30% of the profits... for two thousand gold coins! Also, I admit that I previously helped Gray Raven dispose of some timber of dubious origin for 'business convenience'..."

"That's called 'going astray,' Chairman Thorne," Ye Wei'an corrected with a half-smile, holding his wine glass.

"Yes, yes! We've gone astray!" Thorne hurriedly agreed.

"Is there anyone else bidding?" Bartók asked the others symbolically.

Of course, no one would make an offer. These shares were the lifeblood of the Timber Guild, and no one would make things difficult for Thorne at this time.

"Then, shall we make a deal?" Bartók looked at Ye Weian cautiously again.

"Since no one is bidding, the deal is done." Ye Wei'an nodded slowly.

Thorne finally breathed a sigh of relief when Ye Wei'an spoke.

In Farron, the value of such industrial shares is typically three to five times their annual net profit.

After deducting taxes and salaries paid to the Xia Xing family, the entire timber guild's normal annual profit is about 2000 gold lion coins, and the annual income of this 30% share is 600 gold lion coins.

When making the bid, Thorne was really reluctant to spend the money; the auction price he proposed was just below the minimum acceptable price for a normal transaction.

He had prepared himself for Ye Wei'an to make things difficult for him, but now it seemed that this young master was indeed kind and benevolent.

With the first successful auction setting a precedent, other major investors probably understood Ye Weian's bottom line.

Next, it was the turn of the grain merchant, Old Klin.

What he wanted to "buy back" were several empty warehouses that Gray Crow had registered under his grain store's name.

Many people at the banquet knew that it was a special product used by the Grey Crows to hoard old rice and to collude with bandits to plunder competitors before selling the stolen goods.

In the past, in order to crush his competitors, old Klin often sought help from the Grey Crows, and even lent out his own guards to help the bandits transport grain.

"I'll offer a thousand... no, a thousand two hundred gold coins for those warehouses!" Old Klin gritted his teeth and made his offer.

There were still no bidders, and the item was sold quickly.

The entire auction process proceeded very quickly, with a strong rapport between the auctioneer and the buyer.

Some of these "shares" didn't even have written contracts; Ye Wei'an would include them simply because Gray Crow had publicly announced in a drunken state that he owned a share.

Even with just such a contract, these local bullies had no choice but to obediently pay gold coins to "buy it back".

They were forced to publicly acknowledge those shady verbal agreements and admit how they had used the power of the Grey Crows to run rampant in the town.

The most ironic moment came at the end of the auction—the two-story building belonging to the "Old Oak" leather shop was up for auction.

In fact, that piece of land was the work of Mayor Bartók back then.

To cover up his embezzlement of bridge repair funds, he approached Gray Raven for help, and in return, he secretly granted the land to Gray Raven.

Now, Bartók had no choice but to step in himself, gritting his teeth and buying it at a price far above market value, thus filling the hole left by the past.

In fact, with the downfall of Grey Crow, the local bullies could have easily renege on these so-called assets and shares.

Now that Ye Weian has pulled this stunt, they have no choice but to bite the bullet and hand over these "atonement funds."

Everyone had done the math in their minds:

Although the money had flowed out, the industries that had been held by the Gray Ravens had finally returned to their rightful hands.

More importantly, through this auction, they successfully whitewashed their identities in a grand manner—transforming from "accomplices" of the Grey Ravens into "philanthropists" who supported the lord and compensated the townspeople.

At the end of the banquet, Mayor Bartók presented Ye Wei'an with a thick stack of Woking gold notes, followed by two chests of jingling gold coins carried by his attendants.

"Sir, all the 'compensation' has been tallied. Please take a look."

Looking at these results, Ye Wei'an's last bit of fear of Lady Serena of Firefall Fortress dissipated.

These local bullies had no idea that the real backer of the Grey Crows was the Baroness.

Now, they have spent real money to buy back the real estate and shares that originally "belonged" to the Baroness.

For these stingy and greedy merchants, to atone for their sins, they had to hand over the cash they had accumulated through squandering their entire fortunes—it was like cutting off their own flesh.

This kind of flesh is only cut once; it's absolutely impossible for it to be cut twice.

If Lady Serena wants to reclaim these properties in the future, she will have to forcibly seize them from these local bullies.

At that time, the lady will no longer be facing obsequious merchants, but a group of desperate outlaws driven to the brink of ruin in order to protect their family property.

Amid the enthusiasm of the wealthy merchants, Ye Wei'an left the brightly lit official residence.

The cool night breeze cleared his head considerably.

His carriage was already waiting for him at the gate.

As soon as he boarded the carriage, a pretty figure came to greet him.

It was Elaine. As she spread a blanket over Ye Weian, she pouted and said, "Young Master, if you don't come down soon, I'm starting to wonder if you've been bewitched by the mayor's fat daughter. This dinner has been going on for far too long."

"I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible, but the enthusiasm of these local bullies is just too 'valuable'." Ye Wei'an rubbed her head and casually slapped the stack of Woking gold coupons into her arms. "Here, this is tonight's haul."

As Eileen muttered to herself, she began to count the items by the dim light of the carriage lamp. At first, she flipped through them casually, but after counting just a few, her movements froze, her eyes widened, and finally she simply held her breath.

"One, two, three... eighty-six, eighty-seven... Good heavens, over eight thousand gold coins in notes?" she exclaimed, then looked at the two heavy money boxes beside her. "And here are five thousand gold coins... Young master, have you robbed the entire Firefall Town?"

"This is all thanks to that 'Grey Raven'," Ye Wei'an said, leaning back in his soft chair, looking at the maid's greedy yet adoring expression. "I told them that Grey Raven had harmed too many people, and I had to liquidate the assets he left behind to compensate the victims. To absolve themselves of responsibility, these local bullies had no choice but to scramble to hand over their money."

"Young Master, you're amazing!" Eileen was already counting on her fingers, dreaming, "With so much money, I could buy so many handsome tuxedos, hire the best chefs, order the finest maid dresses... I could even buy a huge manor with a fountain in Sussart!"

She remembered that the black and white maid dress she was wearing was designed and made by her master herself.

It's a pity that the original owner didn't have enough money to choose the best materials.

Later, however, this maid outfit design became popular in Susar.

She was furious that she was the first maid to wear such attire, yet her maid outfit was inferior to those of the later maids.

"Don't just think about the skirt." Ye Wei'an pointed to the two heavy cash boxes. "I plan to really distribute those five thousand gold coins in cash to the townspeople who were ravaged by the gray crows and bandits first thing tomorrow morning. Not a single penny of this money can be touched."

Eileen was stunned for a moment, then her eyes filled with even greater admiration: "Young Master, you are so kind. I was so naive."

Ye Wei'an didn't reply, but just looked at the street scene receding outside the window, a strange thought rising in his mind.

He secretly rejoiced that he had chosen warlock instead of mage when selecting his profession.

Without a charisma score as high as 18, he could never have possessed that innate leadership aura and persuasiveness.

It was this intangible personal charisma that enabled him to quickly break down the local bullies' defenses in just one night, and to make them trust him despite their fear.