Chapter 201 Investment Caution_1
"True Man Wang, can we really trust this profit-sharing arrangement you’re proposing?" someone cried out from within the crowd. "You are cultivators and we are ordinary folk; if you go back on your words later, wouldn’t we lose everything we’ve invested?"
"This fellow villager worries too much," Duge said with a smile, offering a fist and palm salute. "If I wanted to swindle you, why would I go through such an elaborate scheme? You all have seen the people from Sky Mist Valley; if I commanded them to slaughter the village, who among you could escape?
Afterward, your wealth would be mine, I would kill the witness, and even the Supervisory Academy wouldn’t be able to trace it back to me because, after all, the method of murder would be that of Sky Mist Valley’s..."
Just one sentence.
The faces of all the villagers present had changed.
"I am an upstanding person and would never do such a thing. That’s why I am speaking to you all in good faith. If you disagree, I will not force the issue," Duge said with a smile, taking out the silver taels he had collected from the people of Sky Mist Valley the day before. "All of you in the village combined might not be able to produce this much money. It is beneath me to ruin the reputation of the Seven Star Gate for a trivial gain. Let’s not speak any more of losing everything; such talk only invites ridicule."
The burly man who had asked the question blushed and muttered, "No one wants to just throw their money away."
Pleased with his performance, Duge said, "It seemed like Li Zheng was reluctant to invest earlier. There are many things I haven’t said yet. Since this fellow villager has doubts, I might as well explain everything all at once so you all won’t be suspicious."
After a pause, Duge continued, "When you invest your silver coins into the Seven Star Gate, we will sign an investment contract with you, which will specify the amount invested, the timing and proportion of profit-sharing, and both parties will sign and affix their seals. When it’s time for profit-sharing, you simply come to Seven Star Gate with the contract to collect your silver.
Seven Star Gate’s every move and the money earned from each project will be announced periodically to everyone, so you all have a rough idea of how much silver you can expect to receive each year."