The two followed Chaba out of the cave in a daze, were hooded again, and led onto the boat like livestock. They stayed in the dark cabin for two days before seeing the sunlight again.

Large swaths of sunlight streamed into the living room through the glass windows, leaving Lana and Ugia mesmerized. They weren't looking at the sunlight, but rather at the massive glass windows.

"Rana, have you... ever seen such a large pane of glass? I've only seen Venetian glass once, at the city lord's house, and it was all black."

Rana Singh shook his head. His family had been in business for generations and were very knowledgeable, but he had never even heard of such a flat and transparent large glass.

"I'm sorry to have kept you both waiting."

A slightly overweight middle-aged man pushed open the door and sat in the seat of honor. He greeted the two men with a friendly expression, which made them doubt their own identities. Were they really bought to be slaves?

"I am the director of the Dayuan Development Administration Bureau. You can call me Director Lin."

Lana and Ujiya quickly stood up and bowed to Lin Yongqian. Ujiya even began to offer auspicious blessings in Sanskrit.

"Don't be nervous, gentlemen. A few days ago, we carried out a cleanup operation against the pirates in the vicinity, but unfortunately, we had limited manpower and the pirates were very cunning. We simply couldn't wipe them out. We had no choice but to negotiate with them and pay money to ransom all the victims."

“Your kindness deserves the praise of the gods. Rana Singh is willing to pay any price to repay your life-saving grace, as long as I can return to my hometown of Calcutta.”

Lin Yongqian looked at the grateful Rana Singh and Ujiya, nodded, and then took out two shopping lists and handed them to Rana and Ujiya.

The two took it with some doubt, and once they looked down, they couldn't take their eyes off it.

Are you two interested in these items?

"Director Lin... can these goods really be purchased on credit?"

Rana thought she had misread it, because the list of goods clearly stated in Sanskrit the types of goods and prices that could be purchased on credit.

Even hard currencies like ironware and silk can be bought on credit at very reasonable prices. If I had known that the Development Bureau had this service, why would I have risked going elsewhere to trade?

“A reasonable amount of credit is acceptable, but first you two must join our Development Administration and become our ‘peripheral members’.”

Lin Yongqian spent a full hour explaining the rights and obligations of members to the two Indians, and finally the two signed their names on a contract.

Lin Yongqian watched the two accomplices who were about to take the bait with a smile, but he still had some doubts about whether Qin Mo's strategy would succeed.

India is not like Southeast Asia. They had a powerful Mauryan dynasty, and their nobles had a complete sense of national identity. Can a country really be controlled by a group of wealthy merchants who are close to high-ranking officials?

Little did they know that in Qin Mo's previous life, a special group existed who controlled the dynasty's economy for decades—the comprador class. To chat with more like-minded people about "Sailing and Conquest," follow "Or" on WeChat to discuss your favorite books with other readers.