The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 95: The Cost of a Seat
When some people were happy, others were bound to be dejected. Regardless of whether these people believed William had been deceiving them before, at least now they had seen part of the truth.
Money. There was nothing more real than money. Some people held a little over four hundred dollars while their eyes stared at the larger sums in other people’s hands.
They had actually been extremely perfunctory. Before knowing whether this work was truly that miraculous, their attitude had been perfunctory. They had not even considered working here for long. They had only wanted to see the result after the first consignment auction ended, then make their choice.
Now they regretted their slackness over the past week or so. This kind of regret could only reveal itself under an enormous gap in earnings. At the same time, they also planned to work properly and put in more effort, so that at the next consignment auction, they could become the kind of people who stood out.
Under everyone’s gaze, several twelve-year-old newsboys, their mouths dry, received a commission from William’s hands, more than eight thousand dollars in total. Their contribution had nearly caught up with the combined total of the other dozen or so people.
They themselves had not realized what kind of wealth myth they had created. They had only done as William said, handing the flyers to people who needed them. None of them had even thought they might receive a commission. This had only been a job.
In truth, these children had more advantages than Richard and the others. The advantages appeared in two areas. The first was that they spent all day running through the streets. Perhaps they themselves did not realize it, but they knew how to estimate a person’s worth through his clothing and appearance.
The second advantage was that their coverage was broad. They were not one person. They were many people. They could let more high-quality “resources” see the flyers, while also screening potential customers to a greater extent.
Richard and the others had not lost to a group. They had lost to the people inside that group. In truth, the children could not be considered strict winners. If the money were divided evenly among each of them, their income would instantly fall back to the middle-lower ranks.
William smiled as he watched the children whisper excitedly with flushed faces in a place away from the others. He watched the crowd centered around Richard, where people offered praise and flattery. He saw Wood standing behind Richard with a smile, watching all of it. This place was like a single instant of a miniature society.
William’s promise could also be considered fulfilled. The very first consignment auction alone had produced such enormous income. There was no need for him to provide a subsidy himself. At least five people would be able to receive more than ten thousand dollars in commission by the end of the month.
Such enormous income made every person’s eyes turn red. In Sabine City, where the average wage was only a little over two hundred dollars, what kind of concept was earning more than ten thousand dollars a month?
Ten thousand dollars was roughly the total amount of savings in various funds that a family could accumulate over seven or eight years. But this, they had earned in one month. They could already proudly tell others that they stood at the very front of monthly income in Sabine City, at least at the front of the class that worked for others.
William waited until their emotions calmed slightly, then poured a little cold water over them. “This is a very good beginning, but not every time will have as much deal value as today. People are always interested in fresh things. A scene this hot will not last very long.”
This was not something he said casually. The economic slide would continue for a long time. Farther down the line, many families would completely cancel any purchase plans. They would not even consider secondhand goods, and transaction volume would gradually decline.
Fortunately, Sabine had a population of eight hundred thousand, roughly one hundred fifty to two hundred thousand households. They would not all be poor households. Secondhand trade would continue to exist, but it would be very difficult to create results as terrifying as today’s.
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