Lin Xiangzhi widened his eyes, pretending to be someone who had never seen anything like it before.

However, he was also secretly surprised. Guo Baoxian was too arrogant. He had so many managers under his command. Wasn't he afraid of showing off his wealth and being reported to the capital?

Qin Hui raised his eyebrows slightly, "I didn't hide it from you because I saw you were a merchant from out of town. Actually, I am from the Li family, which means the governor's wife's family."

Lin Xiangzhi suddenly realized why Guo Baoxian hadn't capsized all these years; it turned out he was using his wife's family as a cover.

"What kind of 'hard goods' are you referring to, Third Master?" Lin Xiangzhi asked bluntly, regardless of whose side he was on.

He is one of Guo Baoxian's men, so I need to be even more careful.

Qin Hui didn't keep him in suspense and tapped the table with his finger. "It's ore."

"mine!"

"Gold mine or silver mine?"

Lin Xiangzhi was quite surprised, knowing that illegally opening a mine was punishable by death, yet the Governor-General of Water Transport had actually sent his men to openly sell ore.

"Brother Jia, what are you saying? Do you think we can touch a gold mine? The area south of Jiangzhou is all mountains. We can occasionally dig up some quartz sand, borax, barite, and limestone. We haven't found anything else yet."

Qin Hui spoke of ores with great familiarity, his tone dismissive as if those ores were utterly worthless.

Lin Xiangzhi didn't believe his occasional digging.

He was certain that there must be many mines in Jiangzhou, otherwise he wouldn't have asked everyone he met in the teahouse.

Lin Xiangzhi had heard Xiao Jingzhao mention that Wanling ore was scarce, and these ores were the materials for making glass paste. Wanling has not been able to produce glass paste in large quantities to this day because it has not found enough ore.

Guo Baoxian discovered the scarce minerals in Wanling and then sold them off cheaply.

It was clear that these people wielded considerable power in Jiangzhou, and Lin Xiangzhi couldn't help but gasp in shock.

If I don't take this job, will I be silenced?!

Thinking of this, Lin Xiangzhi felt a tightness in his lower abdomen and suddenly felt an urge to urinate.

Zhu Xi lowered her head and silently noted down the several types of minerals that Qin Hui had mentioned.

Lin Xiangzhi was unaware that he was overthinking things.

Qin Hui didn't just ask anyone he met. Among the group of merchants, he noticed that Lin Xiangzhi had an extraordinary demeanor and was definitely not the type of businessman who ran a small business.

The worst thing about the ore business is dealing with small merchants. The money isn't always in hand, and their small-scale operations are exhausting.

Since the new emperor ascended the throne, several major business partners who had previously cooperated with him were afraid of getting into trouble, so some stopped to observe and others gave up their business.

Goods piled up at the dock warehouses for several months, and the quarries in Nanshan also temporarily shut down.

There has been no news for a long time after the application was submitted to the imperial court for funds to maintain the river.

Guo Baoxian took a risky move, sending his subordinates to secretly investigate potential buyers.

Lin Xiangzhi was inwardly turbulent, but he pretended to be calm and said, "I have never heard of the minerals that Third Master mentioned. I have no downstream buyers to take over, so I really don't know where to start this business."

Lin Xiangzhi was careful with his words, fearing that he might anger the Third Master and bring about his own death.

“If Brother Jia wants to do this business, Third Master might as well do you a favor and show you the way.”

“The Nanzhao Kingdom and the surrounding small countries all need these ores. If they are transported out of Wanling, we can earn double the silver. Even after deducting the costs of water and land transportation, we can still make at least 50% profit.”

Lin Xiangzhi thought to himself, "If you know how much money you can make, why don't you go yourself? Your boss controls the water transport; wouldn't he be able to earn even more?"

Lin Xiangzhi feigned ignorance and shook his head, "I don't intend to do business with hard goods. In business, we value familiarity. Different industries are like different worlds, and I don't usually touch business I'm not familiar with."

Seeing that Lin Xiangzhi had no intention of cooperating with him, Qin Hui picked up his tea and took a sip. "It's alright if Brother Jia doesn't want to do this business this time. If you ever think it through, you can leave a message for the manager here, and I will come to talk to you in person."

Qin Hui was certain that no businessman would turn his back on making money, especially young people who were bolder and might not necessarily be well-versed in Wanling law.

The Wanling Law, left over from the previous dynasty, has many loopholes. For example, limestone and borax are not included in gold, silver, or copper mines.

Qin Hui had no idea that the person in front of him would not follow the usual path.

Seeing Qin Hui stand up, Lin Xiangzhi quickly stood up as well.

He clasped his hands in a respectful bow and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Third Master. I hope we can work together again next time."

After Qin Hui left, Lin Xiangzhi turned back and waved to Zhu Xi, "Quickly sit down and have some pastries to fill your stomach. Someone is treating us, so let's not refuse."

With no one else in the room, Zhu Xi obediently sat down next to him.

“Young Master, that Third Master Qin is incredibly audacious. He’s not afraid that you’ll report him to the authorities for illegally mining ore.”

Lin Xiangzhi picked up a pastry and put it down again. After thinking for a while, he said, "That's right. A water transport governor in Jiangzhou can't possibly have absolute power. There must be a prefect involved, which is why he is so fearless. Once we leave Jiangzhou, we have no proof, and he can deny everything."

Thinking of the minerals that were overlooked in the Wanling Law, Lin Xiangzhi pushed the plate of pastries towards Zhu Xi, "Eat quickly, we have important things to do when we get back."

Zhu Xi had never tasted such exquisite pastries since leaving Yan Nan.

When Lin Xiangzhi was busy in the capital, he didn't even have time to eat. Since his wife and mistress were not in the capital, the food in the mansion was not fancy, and the kitchen never made pastries.

Zhu Xi picked up a piece of pastry and swallowed it before even tasting it.

"Eat slowly, don't choke." Lin Xiangzhi picked up an empty teacup from the tray, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it over.

"Thank you, young master. I wasn't actually hungry. It was just that the pastries smelled so good that I couldn't resist."

The sixteen-year-old boy's eyes were as clear as a mountain stream, his innocence tinged with a touch of naivety.

Lin Xiangzhi felt ashamed; this child had suffered because of him.

"Young master, have a couple more pieces. They're soft, sweet, and delicious."

Seeing that Lin Xiangzhi had stopped eating after taking a bite and was watching her eat, Zhu Xi quickly pushed the plate over to him.

The master and servant devoured the plate of pastries in no time, as if they were starving ghosts reincarnated.

After leaving the Sifang Teahouse, Zhuxi asked, "Young Master, shall we still go to the dock?"

Lin Xiangzhi looked around and saw that there was no suspicious person following him.

He waved his hand and said, "Go, let's go over there. We're already out here, so we need to let people know that we're really looking for goods."

Guo Baoxian's network of informants extended throughout the entire dock and even the surrounding area; who knows how many eyes were watching him from afar?

Upon arriving at the dock, Lin Xiangzhi didn't rest. While inquiring about the price of goods, he also inquired about the freight rates of cargo ships.

Jiangzhou is located in the central area of ​​Wanling, with a mild climate and well-developed water and land transportation.

Goods from all directions converge here, and the variety of goods is astonishing, resulting in an incredible throughput at the dock.

Lin Xiangzhi did a rough calculation in his mind and realized that the freight costs at the dock alone were astronomical, not to mention the passenger ships as well.

As noon approached, the master and servant returned to the inn.

When the waiter saw the two return, he quickly stepped forward and asked solicitously, "Young Master Jia, would you like lunch today?"

Without thinking, Zhu Xi said, "Send two bowls of braised pork trotter noodles to the second floor."

"Please go upstairs first, I'll bring it up right away."

Seeing the waiter drape the handkerchief over his shoulder and turn to leave, Lin Xiangzhi quickly called out, "Wait, we're not having pig's feet noodles today."