Now that people saw Kei and his group bringing back a huge amount of food to recruit new team members, they finally understood. This was definitely the lucky team that got a big win.
This team clearly had the ability to pay the rewards they promised. Maybe they had some kind of secret or special information that helped them collect a lot of supplies easily. If anyone could join them, their life would change. At least they wouldn't have to worry about being hungry anymore.
Kei offered really good conditions, so the recruitment became very popular. Many people who didn't have a team rushed to sign up.
At first, Kei didn't plan to take in too many people. His original group had only five members. If they added too many strangers, things might get out of control, and trouble could come.
But after seeing how many people came and how some of them looked strong and useful, Kei and his group changed their plan. They decided to take in some people first, test them, and if they passed, let them become full members of the team.
They had ways to make people follow orders, so they weren't too worried. Also, they were going to get more supplies soon. They needed more people to protect the goods. If they only had a small group, it would be hard to defend everything.
This time, Kei accepted one hundred new people. He planned to build a strong, armed team to protect the team's supplies and power.
Others saw Kei recruiting so many people and didn't feel surprised. After all, Kei's team had just made a big score. Now they could go into the city to collect even more supplies. But going into the city was dangerous and needed strength. It made sense that Kei wanted to build a strong group first.
The villa they rented was big, but it couldn't fit one hundred people. Luckily, there were several apartment buildings nearby. They rented more apartments so the new members could live there. Only the official team members could live in the villa. These new people still had to pass the team's test, so they could only stay in the apartments for now.
The new recruits didn't complain at all. Before this, they lived in terrible places, dirty and messy. They didn't even have enough food. Now they had a clean apartment and food to eat. They were thankful and excited.
They couldn't believe their captain was so kind. He gave them high pay and a good place to stay. They felt they had to work hard and do their best to repay Kei's kindness.
"Captain, the new people are all settled in. I told them training starts tomorrow morning," Gelmer said.
"Good. As long as they are loyal to us, even if we have a lot of supplies, nobody will dare to touch us," Kei answered.
"Captain, what do we do now? We brought back a lot of goods. Everyone is watching us. If we leave the base, people will follow us. I don't think we can go out to trade again so soon," Eric said.
"The food we have now is enough for a long time. And it's not always a good thing to have too many supplies. In this world, if you are rich but not strong enough, people will come after you. That's why I never planned to keep trading right away. For now, we can buy some gold inside the base. When we've used enough supplies, then we go trade again," Kei said.
Kei also wanted more food, but this wasn't a safe world. Even in peaceful times, having a lot of wealth can cause danger. Now, with no law and no rules, having too much food would only bring more problems.
"If we can't trade for now, let's improve our strength. There are some good weapons in the base. Before, we didn't have enough food to buy them. Now we can. It's time to upgrade," Gelmer said.
Everyone was excited about that idea. Kei took the group and went to buy new weapons for their team.
But they didn't give the weapons to the new members yet. If those people decided to cause trouble, it would be too dangerous. Kei didn't want to think badly about others, but he still had to be careful.
After getting the weapons, they went to the plaza to buy a lot of gold and jewelry. They brought it back and stacked it up inside the villa.
At first, buying gold was easy. When people ran away, they took some gold and jewelry with them. But after Kei's team started buying large amounts, it became harder to find.
That day, they had brought a lot of food with them. So they were able to buy a lot of gold and jewelry.
Because they were buying in big amounts, the price of gold started to rise compared to the first time. But they didn't care. The price was still low. They were still making a big profit.
But then they noticed something. Some people were secretly copying them, also trying to buy gold and jewelry.
This made them feel worried. Lin Boss's shop was not hidden well. Other people could find it.
The shop wasn't very big. It couldn't hold many items. If too many people found out about it, even if Kei's team had enough gold, they might not be able to get the goods they needed next time.
They felt nervous but couldn't stop it. If someone found the shop, they couldn't stop the news from spreading. They could only hope that nobody else discovered it.
After finishing the trade with Kei's team, Tracy closed the shop and returned to the real world.
She could have stayed longer to wait for other people to trade. But right now, she wanted to turn all the gold and jewelry into cash.
She planned to open a real-world shop with that money.
A small amount of gold can be sold directly to a jewelry store without any problem.
But if you have a lot of gold and can't explain where it came from, selling too much could cause trouble.
Also, most of the gold she received was already in the form of jewelry, and some of it even had diamonds. If she sold it as just gold, she would lose a lot of value.
But she didn't own a store, and she couldn't sell them as jewelry either. So how could she sell all these gold and silver pieces safely and at a good price?
Tracy thought of her roommate Irish. Didn't she work at a jewelry store in the city? Maybe she could help her sell this batch of jewelry.
Tracy contacted Irish right away and said, "Irish, what are you doing right now? Hope I'm not bothering you."
"It's Tracy! What made you call me today? I'm off work today, so you're not bothering me at all," Irish replied.
"I need a bit of help, and I was wondering if you're available. Didn't you say you work at a jewelry company? I have some gold and silver jewelry, finished pieces, and I want to sell them. Do you think you can help me connect with someone at your company?" Tracy asked.
"I'm a graphic designer at the company, so I don't know much about the purchasing side. Let me make a call and ask for you, then I'll call you back," Irish said.
"Thank you so much. Once this is all done, I'll definitely treat you to a big meal," Tracy said.
"Come on, there's no need for that between us. By the way, did you get a job recently? Are you working in jewelry sales? Selling directly to the company will give you a lower price than selling retail," Irish said.
"I didn't get a job yet. I'm planning to open a small store of my own, but I don't have enough money. That's why I'm selling some gold jewelry to raise the funds," Tracy explained.
"You're opening a shop here? Rent is expensive in this area. I didn't know you were secretly rich," Irish joked.
"If I were rich, I would've just used my savings. I'm almost selling everything I have just to open this place," Tracy said.
After hanging up, Irish immediately called someone at her company to ask on Tracy's behalf.
After getting an answer, Irish quickly called Tracy back and said, "I asked them. Our company does buy gold and silver jewelry, but the price isn't very high. Tomorrow, bring some samples to meet with Manager Yan. He might offer you a better price."
"Thanks, Irish. Without you, I wouldn't even know where to start," Tracy said.
"Don't mention it. I'll send you the company address. See you tomorrow," Irish replied.
After finding a way to sell the jewelry, Tracy sorted through the gold pieces she had.
Unfortunately, she didn't have enough jewelry boxes. If she could pack them nicely, they might look more valuable.
The next morning, Tracy arrived at Irish's company and called her. "Irish, I'm already outside your building."
"Wait a second, I'll come get you and take you to Manager Yan. Did you bring the samples? He'll check them to decide the price," Irish asked.
"Don't worry, I've brought them," Tracy replied.
A few minutes later, Irish came out to meet her and took her inside.
"Your company is pretty big. Is the whole building yours?" Tracy asked.
"Yes, our company owns this entire building. We have many departments. I work in the online sales department on the fourth floor. Manager Yan, who handles gold jewelry purchases, is on the eighth floor. I don't know much about that department, so I might not be much help," Irish said.
Even though Irish helped Tracy get in touch with Manager Yan, she was still just a new employee. She didn't have much say in pricing.
Tracy understood that Irish had just started working there and couldn't influence any major decisions. She had only asked for Irish's help to try her luck and see if she could find a connection.
"Just helping me meet Manager Yan is already a big help. This is his office, right? You should get back to work. I can handle it from here," Tracy said.
It was work hours, and Irish had only taken a 20-minute break, so after dropping Tracy off at the office, she went back to work.
"Hello, Manager Yan. I'm Tracy. I made an appointment with you yesterday. I have some gold jewelry that I'd like to sell to your company. Could you please tell me what price your company offers?" Tracy asked.
"Our price depends on the purity and appearance of the gold jewelry. We'll have to check your samples to decide. But don't worry, we're a well-known company, and among all the jewelry companies in the city, our offer is the most competitive," Manager Yan said.
Jewelry companies usually have their own suppliers, but they also buy random pieces from individuals. These usually cost less, so they can make more profit. With money involved, there's always someone willing to make a deal.
"These are my samples. Please take a look," Tracy said.
Manager Yan took out some tools and tested the samples. He found that the gold was very pure, and the designs were also creative and modern.
If she sold these as plain gold, she'd lose money. No wonder she came to a jewelry company.
But even though the jewelry was well-designed, the company couldn't sell them as-is. They would melt them down and make new items. That's why their purchase price was about the same as buying regular gold.
"Miss Tracy, I've checked your samples. They're very good quality. Right now, the market price of gold is 300 yuan per gram. We're willing to buy all your gold jewelry at that rate," Manager Yan said.