At this moment, Lei Nianren looked at Wen Xue with a hint of grievance in his eyes, while Wen Xue turned her head away and whistled innocently.

"I accidentally bumped into the door last night and slammed it."

Lei Nianren gave a wry smile, but was met with Chuanwen's look that said, "Look, I'd be a fool to believe you." He realized this young girl from the Chuan family was quite shrewd; his lie had been seen through. A little embarrassed, he lowered his head and changed the subject, asking, "Is there something you need from me?"

Well, never mind! Chuanwen wasn't interested in Wenxue and Lei Nianren's relationship right now, so he smiled and said, "I just came to tell you that the imperial court is going to open the first railway in the Great Jin Dynasty. Whoever invests in it will have the railway named after that trading company."

Lei Nianren didn't say anything immediately. He looked at Chuanwen and Wenxue for a while, wondering why they were telling him this. Did they really already know that he was actually from the richest family in Jiangnan?

Lei Nianren's gaze finally landed on Wen Xue. He composed himself and decided to invest. However, out of a sense of responsibility to his family, he still asked what the railway Chuanwen had mentioned was.

Chuanwen explained what a railway is, its convenience, and its epoch-making significance for the Great Jin Dynasty and even the world. Lei Nianren's first thought was disbelief.

All he could say was that Chuanwen's imagination was wonderful.

Aside from maintaining the daily expenses of the Great Jin Dynasty, most of the gold and silver in the national treasury were used to support the industrial construction of the Crown Prince and Zhang Qing, which was very expensive. Therefore, Chuan Wen had not taken any action for a long time because he considered that the Great Jin Dynasty did not have that much money.

But now that such a fat sheep has been delivered right to our mouths, why not take it?

Seeing that Lei Nianren was deep in thought and hadn't answered, Chuanwen became a little worried. [Although this guy has a good business sense, talking about railways is still just empty talk right now. And this sounds like a project that requires a lot of money. Even though he could actually pull it off, he doesn't know how to do it. So for him, this is probably a project that could bankrupt him, with no guarantee of success! So, will he back out?]

Chuanwen glanced at Wenxue behind him and chuckled, "If the railway is built, Wenxue won't have to hide under the covers and cry secretly when she misses home. With the railway, it will only take half a day to travel from the capital to Jiangnan. Sigh!"

When Wen Xue overheard Chuan Wen's thoughts—that the Lei family might go bankrupt if Lei Nianren invested in this railway—her eyes immediately lit up. She didn't care that she hadn't actually cried in bed; she outwardly matched Chuan Wen's sorrowful expression, but inwardly she was thinking: Hahaha! Let him go bankrupt!

Lei Nianren concealed the heartache in his eyes, sighed, and said, "Such a good thing, I wonder if I could invest?"

Although this project is very risky, the rewards would be quite substantial if it succeeds.

Lei Nianren was willing to take this risk for Wenxue's sake.

However, Chuanwen said regretfully, "Alas, although I would like to give this good thing to Brother Yu, with Brother Yu's current financial resources, I'm afraid it's still far from enough."

As Chuanwen spoke, he glanced up and swept his small courtyard with its two rooms.

Two black lines appeared on Lei Nianren's forehead. At a time like this, why is he still pretending!

So Lei Nianren revealed his identity: "Actually, my name is not Yutian, but Lei Nianren, the young master of the Lei family, the richest family in Jiangnan."

He looked up at Wen Xue, "I didn't mean to deceive you two ladies before, it was just that I was in a bit of an inconvenience..."

His explanation earned him a big eye roll from Wen Xue, but Chuan Wen didn't care. He already knew the answer in his heart, but he still asked in surprise, "The richest family in Jiangnan! The Lei family! You're really from the Lei family?!"

Lei Nianren: ......

If you didn't know better, why did you come here and tell me all this? You're overdoing it!

In any case, Chuanwen's investment was secured, and he and Lei Nianren drafted a contract to their satisfaction.

"Alright, the contract is signed. Now let's talk about the money." Chuanwen folded his copy of the contract and put it into his clothes, then smiled at Lei Nianren. "When will the first research grant of 100,000 taels of silver arrive?"

Clang!

Upon hearing "one hundred thousand taels," Lei Nianren nearly knocked over the teacup next to him, his hand holding the contract trembling. "One hundred thousand taels?"

Although I know this is a huge investment, isn't asking for 100,000 taels a bit too much?

Although 100,000 taels of silver is not a large sum of money for the Lei family, this is just the beginning!

Chuanwen blinked his innocent-looking big eyes. "A lot?"

Wen Xue glanced at Lei Nianren with disdain, "Isn't he supposed to be the richest man in Jiangnan? He can't even come up with 100,000 taels!"

"We can produce it, we can produce it."

What else could Lei Nianren do but take it?

Wen Xue smiled, already looking forward to the moment when the Lei family went bankrupt!

However, Chuanwen comforted Lei Nianren, saying, "If this project succeeds, your Lei family will become world-famous!"

Lei Nianren gave a bitter smile, but there was still a possibility that it might not be done. If that happened, wouldn't the Lei family lose everything?

After Chuanwen and Wenxue left, Lei Nianren began to seriously study the market in the capital:

The fabric market has great potential; we could open a few fabric shops to test the waters first...

Furthermore, the aquaculture techniques in the capital still need improvement; he could seek out some aquaculture masters to expand the aquaculture industry...

as well as......

Lei Nianren's mind is now completely focused on making money!

He absolutely cannot let the Lei family go bankrupt! He must also give full support to the railway that Chuanwen mentioned. After all, if it really succeeds, it will be an opportunity for the Lei family. Not only can the Lei family obtain rich rewards from it, but they can also establish a relationship with the imperial court. With the imperial court as their backing, it will be much more convenient for them to expand into foreign markets!

When Chuanwen and his companion returned to the Changxing Marquis's residence, it was already completely dark, and the Marquis and his entourage were already having dinner.

Seeing Chuanwen return, Marquis Changxing and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although Chuanwen had Wenxue and several guards protecting him, they were at a critical juncture where Chuanwen might die, so no one dared to relax.

"It's so late, where have you been?"

Xu Yan reprimanded Chuanwen with concern, and Chuanwen then took out the draft agreement he had signed with Lei Nianren, chuckled, and said, "I'm off to solicit investment!"

He then turned to Chuan Hai and said, "Uncle, tomorrow at court, tell the emperor about the railway that the Lei family is exclusively sponsoring!"

Chuanwen handed the draft agreement to Chuanhai, and everyone at the table was stunned. Chuanhai was a little confused, "Railway?"

Wasn't his niece supposed to be giving up? Why does she seem so motivated?

And what about that railway? Was it the kind he saw in a martial arts picture book? The kind that takes half a day to get to Little Liang Kingdom?

Chuanwen smiled mysteriously, "Have you seen my brother's drawing book, Uncle? It's the kind described in it. I think we can try to bring that kind of good stuff to life."

[Hehe, thanks to my brother's sketchbook, otherwise I'd have to come up with an excuse to explain how I knew that kind of stuff! It would be a real shame if I were treated like a monster and burned for knowing too much!]