Anyone who has seen The Hobbit movies, or read the books will know that the dwarves quest to reclaim Erebor does not end well for the people of Lake Town (or arguably for the dwarves themselves, due to the fate of Thorin, Fili and Kili, and the end of the line of Durin). Of all the terrible fates that befall the characters across the story, what happens to the people of Lake Town is arguably one of the worst tragedies, because many people who die in the dragon's terrible fire and wrath are innocent bystanders, women and children who were simply victims swept up in a much larger political endeavor.
This is only made worse when Thorin, who is now the self-proclaimed king under the mountain after the dragon leaves, refuses to give the people of Lake Town any part or share in the gold and wealth of Erebor, in order for them to afford to rebuild a life and a home somewhere new after their last one was destroyed.
Thorin, unfortunately, falls prey to the dragon sickness that is prone within dwarves, especially of his family line, and traps himself under the mountain whilst he refuses to part with a single penny, even though Bard did him a great favor in shooting Smaug and bringing the mighty dragon down out of the sky before any more damage could be done. The only solution seems to be for the men of Lake Town to team up with the elves of Mirkwood and try to negotiate with the dwarves about the payment that is rightfully theirs. But the readers of the original Hobbit book have come up with another solution that would have evaded the tricky dealings with the deranged dwarf.
The hint comes earlier in the books, and also in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations, when the dwarves are sneaking quietly through the halls of Erebor, trying not to be discovered by the dragon who is prowling overhead. As he slinks past, coins fall from beneath his armored scales and clink to the floor, demonstrating that all that time sleeping amidst a huge hoard of gold has left some of the rare jewels and money literally fused with his body. In the book, Bilbo also noticed the precious gems in the dragon’s hide when he is trying to distract the dragon with his quips about barrel riding, for long enough to escape with his life.
When Bard does then manage to use the black arrow against the deadly opponent and bring him toppling down on top of Lake Town, the survivors of the waterside village miss an immense opportunity to reclaim the wealth that exists within his scales. This would have saved them negotiating and battling with the now corrupted will of Thorin, and would have allowed them to collect the remuneration from within the dragon scales and disappear without anyone even noticing, long before the Battle of the Five Armies took place.
However, this is actually addressed within the book, and it is disclosed that no one dared go near the corpse of Smaug, not even the greedy councilor Alfrid, who seems purely driven by greed and self-preservation. It is written that the survivors of the town ‘removed northward higher up shore, for ever after they had a dread of the water where the dragon lay. He would never again return to his golden bed, but was stretched cold as stone, twisted upon the floor of the shallows. There for ages his huge bones could be seen in calm weather amid the ruined piles of the old town. But few dared to cross the cursed spot, and none dared to dive into the shivering water or recover the precious stones that fell from his rotting carcass.’
So although this money would have saved them many hardships, it was also considered blood money, cursed with the blood of the dragon and the loss of many lives, and the people would rather be poor and freezing and starving than risk the terrible fate that gold such as this might bring.
Instead, they start to rebuild the town further up, with the Master of Lake Town guiding and overseeing whilst Bard meets with Thranduil the elven king and tries to negotiate a settlement of the money. After the battle, when Dane takes rule of the mountain and returns Erebor once again to a strong dwarven kingdom, he gives the people of Lake Town a fourteenth share of the treasure as promised, and they establish a good relationship and trade ever after.
Thus the quest to reclaim the mountain is successful, and Gandalf has achieved securing Erebor as a stronghold against the kingdoms in the north who might have otherwise tipped the scales in favor of Sauron 60 years later, when the one ring of power resurfaces, and the War of the Ring begins.