CHAPTER 237: CHAPTER 234: SWEEPING THROUGH NUTA CITY (COMBINED PART 2)

These goods were highly profitable and in short supply; the Eternal Commerce Guild sold them on a limited basis.

Grain merchants were all figuring out how to make money with the Grain Tickets in their hands.

The Grain Tickets issued by the Eternal Grain Bank were also used as wages for workers.

Merchants throughout the city were notified that they were willing to settle payments for goods with Eternal Grain Tickets.

Since traders were willing to accept Grain Tickets, the workers of the Eternal Domain didn’t need to exchange them for grain, instead using the tickets as currency for their daily consumption.

In Nuta City, grain was hard currency.

Now, the Eternal Grain Bank had fine grain and ordinary grain in stock. One could exchange a pound of Eternal Grain Tickets for more ordinary grain than before, and it was cheaper than using metal currency.

When the Eternal Grain Bank introduced the Grain Tickets, the circulation system established by Yan Xing started operating without any barriers.

Even people outside of this system were willing to accept the Grain Tickets to purchase cheap grain.

Many were even trying to buy Grain Tickets with metal currency.

Soon, when the entire Nuta City accepted the Grain Tickets from the Eternal Grain Bank as a secondary currency, the advantages of paper currency quickly became apparent.

Firstly, the value of paper currency remained unchanged no matter how worn it was. As long as the worn part was less than a third and it was a complete note, it could be exchanged for a new one at the Eternal Grain Bank.

However, the same did not apply to metal currency. Many would reject metal currency if it was significantly worn or missing a large piece.

This type of currency needed to be collected by a ruler, and remelting it would not reproduce the original amount.

The money that disappeared in the process was always borne by someone.

Therefore, Count Theodore strongly supported the Grain Tickets issued by the Eternal Grain Bank.

Nuta City was in dire need of money and didn’t even have the metals to mint new coins.

It was anticipated that after the war, Nuta City would face a severe shortage of money.

The war had consumed a vast amount of money.

If the Lord’s Mansion lacked money, it wouldn’t have the capacity to quickly help the city recover from its wartime state.

A city-wide shortage of money could trigger various social problems.

Trade would stagnate, leading to no tax revenue. Without tax revenue, the Lord’s Mansion would continue to face a money shortage.

This was a vicious cycle, and signs were already showing. If not for the grain from the Eternal Domain helping to cover some of the currency needed for trade, the city’s financial system would probably have already collapsed.

With the Eternal Grain Bank’s Grain Tickets now entering the city’s trading system, Count Theodore could use the city’s limited reserves of metal currency for external purchases.

Internally, Nuta City and Yan Xing signed a low-interest loan agreement, borrowing three hundred million pounds worth of Grain Tickets from the Eternal Grain Bank for city procurement.

As soon as news spread that Count Theodore had mortgaged future city tax revenue to borrow three hundred million pounds worth of Grain Tickets from the Eternal Grain Bank, the Eternal Grain Bank’s share value increased exponentially.

Grain merchants who bought shares with grain filled their coffers, earning more than they had previously anticipated from grain speculation.

They became incredibly wealthy and influential, swaggering through Nuta City.

Those grain merchants who were concerned about risks and opted to exchange 1:1 for grain, however, regretted their decision deeply.

I once had shares of the Eternal Grain Bank within my grasp, but I didn’t cherish them... If I could choose again, I would invest all my assets, buying as many shares as possible. But no matter how much I regret it, it’s no use. Opportunities come only once, and if missed, they are truly missed. And there will never be a second chance.

Because Yan Xing announced that the Eternal Grain Bank would no longer sell shares to the public; the shares circulating outside were finite and would not be increased.

Upon this announcement, the share prices of the Eternal Grain Bank soared again.

But no matter how much the share prices of the Eternal Grain Bank rose, the grain merchants who held shares seldom sold them.

They could all see that the Grain Tickets from the Eternal Grain Bank were not just Grain Tickets anymore; they had become a smoothly circulating currency in Nuta City.

Moreover, due to their convenience, the residents of Nuta City gradually preferred to use the Eternal Grain Bank’s Grain Tickets for their daily transactions.

The Eternal Grain Bank, without any delay, provided grain exchange for those holding Grain Tickets, rapidly enhancing the credibility of the Grain Tickets.

Now, even the Lord’s Mansion was using Grain Tickets for procurement, and more and more traders were beginning to accept them.

It had become a new currency.

Its advantages destined it to expand beyond Nuta City.

Looking at the vast farmlands opened up by the Eternal Commerce Guild, it was evident that Yan Xing’s ambitions were not limited to just this one city.

Before long, the Eternal Grain Bank’s Grain Tickets would appear in estates near Nuta City, then spread all the way to Storm City, eventually reaching across the entire Wildwind Highlands.

The value of the shares they held still had vast room for growth, and what lay behind those shares might be even more valuable than the shares themselves.

All eleven of the external major shareholders who held shares of the Eternal Domain had, upon realizing the true value of the shares in their hands, completely replanned their families’ futures.

"The enemies of the Eternal Grain Bank are our enemies... no matter who they are!"

The special circumstances allowed the Eternal Grain Bank’s Grain Tickets to spread rapidly within Nuta City, and people from all walks of life gained some benefits from it.

Only Gale from the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce fell seriously ill.

That day, having returned early from Yan Xing’s Envoy Mansion banquet, Gale spent the entire night preparing to bid for grain owned by other traders.

He believed that no matter what price Yan Xing put forward, as long as he made the same offer, the traders would prefer to sell their grain to him.

He could almost see his granaries overflowing. All he had to do was wait for Yan Xing to raise grain prices so he could start reaping profits too.

But!

Gale never expected Yan Xing to propose a 1:1 exchange ratio, trading his own grain for that of the traders’.

Yan Xing’s grain was high-quality, and it could be traded at a 1:1.5 ratio for ordinary grain on the market.

How could he compete with such a purchasing price? Had Yan Xing gone mad? Even if he was rich, he couldn’t just do that!

However, he did just that.

The traders readily exchanged their grain, demonstrating the reliability of Yan Xing’s promises.

Gale also learned the details of the entire transaction through his own channels.

It seemed like an idiotic move, no matter how one looked at it.

But Yan Xing had always been so sharp in his dealings. How could he possibly engage in such a loss-making venture, especially one where the losses were far from trivial?

Gale spent half a month at home and still couldn’t understand the purpose behind Yan Xing’s actions.

It was only when he found out that, at some point, the entire Nuta City had started using the Eternal Grain Bank’s Grain Tickets for transactions that he began to understand a bit more.

Turns out, Yan Xing wasn’t buying grain at all!

When news came from the Lord’s Mansion that Count Theodore had secured a loan of three hundred million pounds worth of Grain Tickets from the Eternal Grain Bank, Gale knew Yan Xing had effectively bound the entirety of Nuta City to the Eternal Grain Bank.

At this point, no one could touch Yan Xing.

Because no one could bear the consequences.

However, as a businessman, as the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce’s representative in Nuta City, Gale knew... Yan Xing now held the power of life and death over him. If he wanted, he could make it impossible for the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce to remain in Nuta City within minutes.

Thinking of the assassination mission he had issued against Yan Xing at the Assassin’s Guild, and then considering the farce of that assassination attempt being leaked, Gale, who didn’t know how many secrets of the Assassin’s Guild had been spilled, finally succumbed to the continuous blows and fell ill.

But Gale dared not waste time recuperating.

By then, Yan Xing had established his financial dominance in Nuta City. Before that power could come crashing down on him, Gale had to find a way to save himself.

The only people who could save him in Nuta City now were Count Theodore, Lady Karol, and Grand Priest Lancelot.

It was pointless to consider Count Theodore, who was under too much pressure from the war. The loan indicated that he had left himself no path of retreat within the Duchy.

Lady Karol, for some unknown reason, had moved into Yan Xing’s Envoy Mansion, and her attitude was unclear. Gale felt that he didn’t have a deep enough relationship with Lady Karol, and it was unlikely she would lend a hand.

Therefore, having thought everything through, an ailing Gale, supported by his attendants, got into a carriage and headed straight for the Temple of Nuta City to request an audience with Grand Priest Lancelot.

Meanwhile, as Gale went to see the High Priest, Yan Xing also had a formal meeting with Lady Karol.