Song Xibai was quite surprised.
There has been no news of her older brother for a long time.
He said he opened a trading company and was always very busy, having to purchase goods, attract business, and also take care of some special customers.
He runs a herbal medicine shop, and with his father being a royal physician, business is never a problem.
After the herbal medicine shop's business stabilized, Song Xinian handed it over to his younger brother to manage. He also took over another shop next door, this time selling general merchandise.
The grocery store claims to sell everything, but its main business is grain and non-staple food products, which is actually preparing for sweet potato flour in advance.
But since the shop opened, it has never received any decent orders and has been losing money.
As Song Xibai walked towards the front yard, he thought to himself: Could it be that my brother is having some business troubles and is asking me for advice?
Upon arriving at the front yard, Song Xibai quickened her pace and greeted Song Xinian, who was wearing a long robe, with a smile.
"Brother, what brings you here? How is everything at home?"
"It's all good, but Dad is always worried about you and talks about you several times a day."
Song Xinian looked Song Xibai up and down and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she looked well, with a rosy complexion and a larger waistline.
“We were all startled when you suddenly left the palace. Fortunately, His Highness sent someone to tell us that you went to the estate to rest during your pregnancy, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to go to work.”
Song Xibai pursed her lips and led him into the main room.
"Now that you see me, brother can rest assured."
Song Xinian nodded: "The palace is indeed not suitable for pregnancy. This estate has green hills and clear waters, and the environment is pleasant. It's really nice. It's just that His Highness is still in meditation and can't accompany you, which is quite worrying."
"There's nothing we can do about it, after all, he's the crown prince."
Song Xibai didn't say much, but instructed Wei Hong to serve tea and sat down facing Song Xinian.
"Brother, is there something important you need today? Is it because sweet potato starch isn't selling well?"
To everyone's surprise, Song Xinian's eyes lit up.
"That was true before, but recently someone placed a huge order! They wanted a thousand kilograms of sweet potato flour!"
Song Xibai was startled.
Sweet potato starch is very light after drying, so it needs to be stored and transported carefully to prevent breakage. A thousand kilograms is a very large quantity.
"There probably isn't that much stock on the estate, is there?"
Song Xibai raised his sleeve, rubbed his temples, and then revealed the reading glasses tucked into his sleeve.
Song Xinian spotted it at a glance.
What is this thing?
"Oh? This? I had someone make it for fun."
Song Xibai took out the mirror and started talking about the telescope.
"It was given to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?" Song Xinian fell into deep thought. "The person who placed the order seems to be from the military as well. Could it be related to General Xuanwei?"
"I'll have to ask Mr. Jin when I get back."
Song Xibai's heart stirred.
This means the telescope worked? General Xuanwei seems to care a lot about this thing!
Then we can hurry up and make more!
However, another problem arose: there weren't enough crystals.
As for glass, it already existed in this era and was called liuli, but it couldn't remove all impurities and would always have some color.
That's how Song Xibai obtained the precious glass test tubes he had treasured before.
Those few test tubes alone cost a fortune; if we were to experiment with completely transparent glass, who knows how much more money it would cost...
When you calculate it this way, it's actually not worth it.
Moreover, the development time is uncertain!
Thinking about this, Song Xibai felt a headache coming on.
Seeing that she was frowning and looked uncomfortable, Song Xinian quickly said something.
"You're pregnant, so don't overthink things. It's not good for the baby. If you need anything, tell your older brother, and he'll help you."
Song Xibai then shared her troubles.
Song Xinian burst into laughter after hearing this.
"I thought it was something serious! It's just quartz, isn't it? Although it's expensive, it's not particularly rare. It's much easier to find than rare medicinal materials like Tian Shan snow lotus or century-old ginseng. Don't worry, leave this to me."
During this period, Song Xinian traveled between the capital and other places and made many acquaintances. It wouldn't be too difficult for him to acquire a batch of crystals.
Besides, how big would it be to make a lens? It wouldn't even be as big as the amount needed for jewelry!
Upon hearing this, Song Xibai relaxed and laughed.
"The eldest brother is indeed the eldest brother; he's so smart. The second brother isn't as good. If he were here, he'd probably just be worrying along with me."
Song Xibai chuckled.
"Naughty".
Song Xinian shook his head and chuckled.
Then, Song Xibai mentioned Master Luo: "We don't sell this, we only give it away, but I'm afraid it will be imitated by someone with ulterior motives. We need to think of a way to prevent counterfeiting. Master Luo isn't good at this, so could you think of a solution, brother? We shouldn't trouble two people with one thing!"
Song Xinian nodded.
As for reading glasses, they're not as important as binoculars right now, so we'll talk about them later!
Just as Song Xibai was about to put away his reading glasses, Song Xinian stopped him.
"Little sister, would you like to use this?"
Song Xibai shook her head: "It was just something I thought of on the spur of the moment, something I made for fun."
"Could I have it? I need it."
Song Xibai simply handed over her eyes.
"These glasses can only make you see things in front of you clearly, but not things in the distance. They are more suitable for older people with presbyopia."
“I know, that’s exactly why it’s useful!” Song Xinian explained. “Grand Secretary Song is about to celebrate his birthday, and I was just worried about not having a suitable gift. This is the perfect thing to give.”
"Grand Secretary Song?"
Song Xibai didn't know much about the specifics of the previous dynasty, and she didn't even know how many people were in the cabinet.
"Yes, Grand Secretary Song comes from the Song family of Jiangyin. They have been scholars for generations and have a profound cultural heritage. Each generation has produced several Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) and even quite a few Zhuangyuan (top scholars in the imperial examinations)!"
Song Xibai was even more confused.
"What does this have to do with your business?"
"Silly girl, this is for you, not for business."
Song Xinian first sighed, and then began to explain in detail.
“Your identity is currently unknown, and you can conceal it for a while in the Eastern Palace, but you will not be able to hide it in the future. The court officials will not allow a child born to a woman of unknown origin to sit in that high position. But once your identity is revealed, our family is too lowly to be of any help to you.”
"That's why I'm thinking of trying to build a connection with the Song family in Jiangyin. After all, we all have the surname Song, and we might have been one family five hundred years ago! With a family background like the Song family in Jiangyin, it will be easier for you in the palace."
Song Xibai was deeply moved upon hearing this.
She never expected that her older brother would plan so much for her.
“Brother, I don’t think our family is inferior to others. Father practices medicine and saves lives, doing good deeds that benefit generations to come. How is he inferior to those scholars?”
Song Xibai's voice was hoarse.
"Silly girl, of course you're on your side, but outsiders won't see it that way."
Song Xinian touched the top of his younger sister's head, just like when they were little.
“Father is simple-minded and wouldn’t think of these things, so it’s up to me, the eldest brother, to do them.”
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