The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 96: Champagne, Cash, and New Chains
The moment William threw out the idea that bidding seats could be purchased with money, Richard wanted to say something. Before he could open his mouth, William stopped him with a single look.
This was also another part of William’s income in this plan. You wanted to make money, wanted to make big money, and yet not bear the slightest risk? How could that be possible?
There was no love in this world without reason, and there certainly could not be a saint like William, who took on all the risk himself and left all the benefits to others. From the very beginning, one of his targets had been those seats.
Even for Richard and the others, their free seats would gradually be canceled in the future. If one wanted to make money, was it possible to pay nothing at all?
Working in a plant carried little risk, true, but it also paid little. Risk and reward were certainly proportional. The greater the risk, the higher the return. Of course, sometimes the definition of risk was not as simple as an increase or decrease in wealth.
This time, the children had taken first place in sales commissions, and that was also something William had deliberately shown to everyone.
Perhaps only Richard understood why the children had won first place in sales, because they had more seats.
Seats represented potential. The more seats, the greater the potential. This was a simple process of quantitative change.
If one person out of ten was willing to buy something, then ten people out of one hundred would be willing, and twenty people out of two hundred. The spending power of twenty people was not necessarily higher than that of ten, but it was not necessarily lower either.
After some people calmed down, they might begin to consider the issue of risk and possibly retreat. But William gave them some hope again: as long as they made the top three, if their share did not reach ten thousand, William would make it up to ten thousand.
This gave these people a few other thoughts. Even if their own share could not exceed ten thousand dollars, they only needed to be higher than the others. When the time came, William would make up that part of their income.
In other words, they had spent nine thousand dollars in costs for the auction. As long as they could make the top three, they would still have one thousand dollars in profit.
This was very simple math. Everyone could calculate it. Yes, everyone.
This was one of William’s goals. The entire state had fourteen cities in total. Some cities were larger, some smaller. If averaged out, assuming one city had three thousand seats, then fourteen cities would have forty-two thousand seats.
Forty-two thousand seats, each at five dollars. Every week, William’s income would be around two hundred thousand dollars. And this was only the seat fee.
These salesmen were unlikely to leave things to fate. As long as someone made moves, William’s income would increase by a huge margin. In every round, he would set up some flashy, impractical, and highly priced goods.
These goods were prepared for those salesmen with crooked ideas. They were special tools for them to charge toward the regional top three.
Two hundred thousand a week in seat fees meant eight hundred thousand a month. Adding actual income and dividends outside the profit line, these people could provide him with at least more than one million dollars in income every month.
Was this the whole of his plan?
No. Far from it.
After throwing out the question, William gave them some time to think. Then he smiled and invited everyone to go celebrate together.
Aside from two men who had lost their free seats and left, everyone else, including Vera and the two accountants under her, went with William to a fairly good hotel in Sabine City.
All kinds of rich, exquisite food were placed continuously on the tables. In truth, William had already greeted the hotel people in advance. This dinner was held in a form similar to a buffet dinner.
They had even opened a small meeting hall specifically for William, and given three songs for free. The hotel had a dedicated band. After three songs, they would charge. William would not be stingy with this money either. He wanted these people to feel what decadence and luxury meant.
The long tables on both sides were covered with all kinds of food. The band played on the stage. A locally somewhat famous mezzo-soprano sang soothing songs in an intoxicating voice. William had also ordered service from a brokerage firm.
Just as everyone was enjoying all of this and thinking this was everything, William let them see things they usually could not see.
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.