Chapter 4836 — Let Me Explain

Bear in mind that the first-rate branch of a top-tier chamber of commerce would not come close to that figure in a whole year's turnover, yet the Hong family had pulled it off with a single auction. The result was enough to drive the envious mad; even those grand magnates and titans who heard the number visibly drew their breath a little heavier.

The crowd did not disperse, for Ling Yuanqing appeared once more on the auction stage and announced in a ringing voice: "By my authority as headmaster of Morning Star Academy, I declare that from this day forth the academy's sole supplier shall be the Hong family's chamber of commerce!"

The moment the words landed, Chai Laoshi leapt up in delight. This time he had truly been brought back from the brink, and when all was said and done, it was all thanks to Wei Zhao arriving in the nick of time.

Yet he and the Morning Star branch were not the only ones to profit; Wei Zhao himself had made a killing this time, for he had supplied all these pills. After deducting the necessary material costs and the auction commission, he had cleared at least eighty million spirit jade today.

Wei Zhao, however, merely smiled at this, showing no particular excitement; after all, he had never lacked spirit jade, and any greater sum was, to him, no more than a number.

The people around him crowded in to offer congratulations. None of them knew Wei Zhao, but they all knew Chai Laoshi. The Hong family's chamber of commerce had made such a spectacular showing today that everyone knew the title of Morning Star's foremost chamber henceforth belonged to him alone; as its branch manager, Chai Laoshi's standing would naturally rise with the tide, and now was the time to curry favor.

Chai Laoshi was busy attending to them, heart blooming with joy, when suddenly a figure sprang from Box Thirteen above and, amid the crowd's startled cries, landed before him, jabbed a finger at his nose, and shouted, "Impossible! The Hong family is plainly playing tricks!"

"Manager Wan, what do you mean by that?" Chai Laoshi glanced at the man before him, and his face turned cold at once. This was none other than Wan Zhongjie, branch manager of the Wantong Grand Assembly.

Seeing the two square off, the whole hall fell silent, every face alight with the look of a spectator scenting a good show. If Wan Zhongjie could produce any evidence, Ling Yuanqing would likely retract his word; it seemed the question of who would finally become Morning Star Academy's sole supplier was not yet settled.

"Hmph, you know well enough what I mean, Manager Chai!" Wan Zhongjie sneered. His sudden outburst was born purely of resentment: he had gone to great lengths to obtain a seventh-grade Great Return Pill as a grand finale, had finally outdone the Gilded Circle, and had been watching victory within reach—only to be slapped down in public and made a laughingstock. How could he swallow such a grievance?

"Manager Wan, if you have something to say, say it plainly to my face. To smear my reputation in vague insinuations—do you truly take the Hong family's chamber of commerce for an easy mark?" Even Chai Laoshi, honest man that he was, had been roused to anger.

"Everyone knows the Hong family's chamber of commerce is in utter shambles right now. I suspect these pills are the last gasp of a dying enterprise—bought up at high prices from elsewhere on short notice! I'd stake my word on it: these pills of yours cannot possibly come from a single supplier. They must be cobbled together from here and there!" Wan Zhongjie asserted flatly.

"And what of it?" The onlookers were baffled—even if the pills did not come from a single supplier, what difference did it make?

"What of it? Heh heh. A chamber that only scrambles to buy pills at high prices to put up a front has no value for long-term cooperation whatsoever. To let such a chamber be Morning Star Academy's sole supplier—is that not still harming the academy's disciples?" Wan Zhongjie sneered.

"Manager Wan speaks rightly. To become Morning Star Academy's sole supplier, one must win everyone's heartfelt conviction. What does a patchwork facade like yours amount to?" At this, a voice answered from the crowd, and all turned to see Manager Jin of the Jinyu Chamber.

"Exactly. Manager Chai, why not hurry up and explain? Take this set of Gestation Golden Pills that my Gilded Circle has brought out—every one was refined by the same partner alchemist, our exclusive source, so a steady supply is naturally guaranteed. Otherwise, if one could only scrape together a few pills on short notice, how could one bear the needs of so many academy disciples?" Manager Hao stepped forward at the opportune moment.

Though these chambers were all rivals of one another, and Manager Hao had been cursing Wan Zhongjie in his heart a moment ago, before the common foe of the Hong family's chamber of commerce such things could only count as internal squabbles. Now they must present a united front—kick a man when he was down and drag the Hong family's chamber from its horse first.

With Wan Zhongjie and the others leading, the managers of the smaller chambers also leapt out one after another, clamoring loudly that Chai Laoshi must disclose his source, or else today's auction results could not stand.

"Impossible. A supply source is the absolute core secret of any chamber of commerce. Were it you, would you so lightly make your source public? Manager Hao, why not set an example first?" Chai Laoshi shot back.

"That..." Manager Hao immediately dared not take up the challenge. If it were made public before the crowd, what if someone poached his source from under him?

"The Gilded Circle need not shoulder the supply of the entire Morning Star Academy, so of course it has no need to disclose its source. But the Hong family's chamber of commerce holds the fate of all the academy's disciples in its hands—ought it not give everyone a satisfactory accounting?" Wan Zhongjie sneered and shifted his target.

The crowd was at once stirred to fresh fervor, the commotion mounting until the scene grew harder and harder to contain. Chai Laoshi watched in burning anxiety. He had thought this a perfectly圆满 ending—who could have foreseen the wind turning in an instant to this? The tallest tree catches the wind; the old saying was not a whit wrong!

"Silence!" At this, Ling Yuanqing finally spoke, and all fell instantly quiet. This headmaster of Morning Star Academy was acknowledged as the academy's foremost man; once he opened his mouth, no one dared utter another half word.

"I beg Headmaster Ling to uphold justice!" Chai Laoshi was overjoyed. So long as Ling Yuanqing was willing to say a word, the loudest objections of Wan Zhongjie and his like would come to nothing. Now he could rest easy.

"Headmaster Ling, this concerns the fate of all the academy's disciples; no degree of caution is excessive. You must not soften your heart and show the Hong family's chamber favoritism!" Wan Zhongjie and the others said hastily.

Ling Yuanqing slowly swept his gaze over the crowd and said mildly, "To have the Hong family's chamber of commerce disclose its source is neither practical nor reasonable. However, since you all harbor doubts, then to clear the Hong family's name, we may as well have someone inspect these pills; I believe that will yield a convincing conclusion. What say you, Manager Chai?"

"Good. Since Headmaster Ling has spoken, I have no objection either. So long as it is verified that these pills came from the hand of a single alchemist, you gentlemen should have nothing more to say. But whom shall we ask to appraise the pills? Surely not the alchemists of their own chambers?" Chai Laoshi said with a frown.