The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 17: Turning Pennies Into Followers
That afternoon, after William performed his century-defying miracle trick of turning ninety-seven cents into a dollar several times, three young men successfully joined the construction of Great Empire.
Very soon, they would begin this highly promising line of work. Of course, William had not selected these three young men because they were silver-tongued.
The real reason was that they came from families with substantial financial means.
In other words, they had enough money of their own, money they could actually put on the table. They would use their own funds to help William make money, make even more money, and then thank him for giving them the opportunity to get rich alongside him.
From a certain perspective, William’s current business possessed virtually no resistance to risk. In this case, risk referred to the possibility of imitation.
Absent any technological monopoly, low-skill businesses always faced the danger of being copied. This was also the ceiling that low-skill, low-cost ventures struggled to break through, because practically anyone could do them.
Turn large bills into change, then turn that change back into even more large bills through people who needed it. On the surface, it looked like something anyone could do, provided they had enough coins and small denominations on hand.
And that was indeed true.
But there was still a small problem hidden inside the process, and that problem was the true core of the business.
Trust.
Some people constantly complain about society’s unfairness. They sell exactly the same service, yet one shop is so busy customers have to wait in line, while the shop next door sits empty.
The reason is actually very simple.
Trust.
Without trust, it is like two isolated nations with no connection between them. There will be no exchanges of any kind.
But once trust exists, it becomes a bridge. As long as that bridge remains intact, the relationship between the two islands will remain close.
William could not stop others from entering the same business.
But he had advantages of his own.
Bringing Richard and the other three young men, each harboring their own ambitions while remaining full of confidence, William returned to the office.
The office was actually a warehouse William had rented temporarily. He had hired two carpenters to build a simple office inside and partition the warehouse into two sections.
This warehouse office was located outside the downtown district.
Fortunately, thanks to the city’s convenient transportation and the unique nature of their work, they would not need to come in every day. Naturally, they had little reason to complain about the office being far from the city center.
William assigned them a simple task.
Once they had exchanged enough change, they could bring it back to the office and exchange it with him. Then they could head back out to collect more.
The warehouse office was like a beehive.
William was the queen bee.
His employees were the hardworking worker bees.
After arranging work for the three men, William left as well.
He needed to have a word with Mr. Fox about future business matters.
About half an hour later, William once again met Mr. Fox in the basement office. As it happened, Mr. Fox had been preparing to send someone to find him.
“You came at exactly the right time...”
He tossed William a cigarette and walked out from behind his desk before settling onto the sofa beside him.
Thanks to William’s help, he had solved quite a few major problems recently.
Watching money emerge from dark corners where it could never be publicly acknowledged and flow into bank accounts gave him a level of satisfaction he had never experienced before.
For the first time in his life, the numbers on his bank statement brought him genuine pleasure.
He had even applied for a five-thousand-dollar cashier’s check. When spending money outside, he could openly use the check as payment.
The feeling was intoxicating.
It also made him appreciate more than ever how important it was to get money into the banking system.
Because of that, he had done William a small favor, which was exactly what he wanted to discuss.
He even took out a lighter and lit William’s cigarette personally.
The gesture drew surprised looks from the surrounding toughs.
Mr. Fox rarely did such things.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.