Fang Zheng’s speech undoubtedly touched a sore spot in everyone’s hearts.

But they were all old hands who had been in the market for years, and couldn’t be fooled as easily as ordinary people.

Before long, the excited expressions on the faces of the wealthy merchants faded, and they began to sink back into thought.

Although what Fang Zheng said sounded good and moving,

Renovating the road plus fifty years of maintenance was clearly a huge expense.

Add to that the need to pay a sum to the government, and many of them might have to empty their coffers to afford it.

Such a deal couldn’t be decided on a whim.

Of course, Fang Zheng didn’t think he had fooled this group of people so easily.

After painting a good picture of the future, he also had to give people some benefits.

Although there was a slight element of deception, the essence of business is win-win cooperation.

If these merchants couldn’t profit, wouldn’t it become fraud?

Disaster victims are people, and wealthy merchants are people too. Although their power needs to be borrowed, one can’t be too partial.

I, Fang Zheng, act with integrity and live openly and honestly. How could I do such an immoral thing?

Seeing the whispers below, Fang Zheng smiled and waved his hand.

Maids began to walk out gracefully from behind the scenes, each carrying a tray of various foods made from sweet potatoes.

They then distributed them to everyone’s tables.

“Everyone! This is the Prosperity Potato from the capital, yielding thousands of catties per mu. You probably haven’t tasted it yet. Today, this official had some prepared for everyone to try.”

“Friends who came to participate in the auction today will each receive 100 catties of sweet potatoes for free.”

“This crop is currently only grown on imperial farms. You could say you’re the first batch of people to plant these Prosperity Potatoes!”

“In less than two years, everyone here will have granaries full of grain. The funds you usually use for hoarding grain can be saved and used to continue seizing the market. Isn’t that wonderful?”

The people below repeatedly expressed their thanks, then lowered their heads and began to eat.

The rich sweet aroma of the sugar-added sweet potatoes clearly impressed many.

They looked at the sweet potatoes on the plate with envy.

Such a delicious thing is also so high-yielding! It seems the news from the capital wasn’t exaggerated at all.

They knew it tasted good, but didn’t expect it to be this good. This thing is even better than rice and noodles… and it seems it can be both a staple food and a side dish.

Amazing!

Someone in the crowd stood up and said softly to Fang Zheng, “Lord Fang, my family’s financial resources are insufficient to bid for the road construction rights.”

“I wonder… if there are any more sweet potatoes…?”

Evidently, many people were interested in this question.

Fang Zheng waved his hand generously and said, “Of course! Everyone here is a friend!”

“Even if the deal doesn’t go through, the friendship remains. This official has said before, every step is voluntary.”

“Please don’t overthink it. Act within your means. Participate if you want to, and if you’re tired of sitting here and want to go home directly, you can. This official will have people deliver the sweet potatoes to your homes.”

“Thank you, Lord Fang!” Everyone cupped their hands in thanks.

Fang Zheng pointed to another place on the map with his small stick: “Everyone, keep eating while listening to this official finish speaking before making a decision. What if you back out too early and miss out on a great deal?”

“Road construction will definitely require a large amount of building materials. If you set high standards or want to do something unique, you’ll need brick factories to make bricks.”

“Please look here! This place belongs to the government office. The government has decided to allocate 200 mu of land here as a special zone, provided free of charge to the successful bidders for ten years.”

“You can build brick kilns, ceramic kilns, timber yards and other businesses here. The road conditions here are poor now, but the government will spend money and manpower to build a road from here directly to the city!”

“In addition! An area outside the city will also be allocated free of charge to you, specifically for building workers’ housing.”

“Finally, if you do well enough and the number of workers you hire reaches the corresponding standard, the government will consider giving you tax reductions.”

“As for what the standards are and how much the reduction will be, you can come to the government office to discuss.”

“All the conditions are here. Think it over carefully. If there are no questions, the auction will start directly!”

This is the real bombshell!

Fang Zheng didn’t have much money on hand, but fortunately, Jianjiang Prefecture still had land to use.

The initial cost was a bit high, but the long-term generous income should be able to move everyone present.

Doing this was somewhat against the rules, but at this stage, if some rules need to be broken, so be it.

Sure enough, as soon as people heard about such favorable treatment, they were immediately moved!

Even those who were hesitant before now focused intently on the map.

At this stage, it could be said that one could recruit a large number of people to work for almost no cost.

Just providing some food would have people obediently coming to the door, after all, there were masses of disaster victims outside the city.

The grain on hand could only make money once if sold, and the government had ordered no price increases, so selling grain also carried risks.

Now with the Prosperity Potato, grain wouldn’t be worth much in the near future!

So why not maximize the value of grain by using it to recruit workers?

Invest in street renovation, and the entire street becomes our family’s billboard for fifty years!

Now there are also large tracts of free land available for use, and possibly tax reductions! This… the risk is so much smaller.

It’s even suitable to change industries!

“Alright! Everyone has thought it over, right? We’re about to begin!”

“This official has selected nine streets with the highest foot traffic, all shown on this map. Now, starting with the first one…”

Many people below stared intently at the map, pursing their lips and swallowing repeatedly.

They were clearly in a state of readiness.

With concerns addressed, the auction began again.

…

The result was unsurprising. The rights to build and maintain the nine streets were quickly auctioned off, bringing in nearly 50,000 taels of silver!

Those who failed in the auction shook their heads and sighed, looking enviously at the successful bidders. With insufficient capital, the opportunity to make a fortune had slipped through their fingers.

Those who saw their competitors succeed in the auction were already considering shrinking their scale early or changing industries. After all, with everyone crowded onto one street, the chances of winning were basically zero!

The successful bidders, on the other hand, were smiling with satisfaction, constantly cupping their hands to those around them.

Sun Jiacheng and Wang Qixun were of course among them.

The two competed the fiercest, with the first street being driven up to 10,000 taels, finally ending with Wang Qixun’s victory.

This result also satisfied Fang Zheng.

Among the more than twenty people present, only about ten or so could afford it, and it seemed that maximum benefit had been achieved.

But there was still money to be squeezed from those who hadn’t won the bids!

Fang Zheng said with a face full of joy, “Congratulations to the friends who succeeded in the auction! There are still some details that you’ll need to discuss with the government office later.”

“Friends who didn’t win the bids, don’t be discouraged!”

“Don’t rush! There are more good things to come! There are still opportunities to make a fortune!”