The royal family of Bianhe, thousands of miles away.
The old patriarch, Wang Sun Qinghui, was looking at an account book in the study.
The old housekeeper, Chai Xi, walked in softly, bowed before Wang Sun Qinghui, and said, "I wonder what orders the master has sent me here for?"
Wang Sun Qinghui put down the account book and pointed, "Sit down and talk."
"Thank you, sir."
Chai Xi sat down and looked up at Wang Sun Qinghui's expression. His face was extremely serious, his brows were tense, and he looked like he was in great trouble.
The master has been in charge of the royal family for forty years. He is very adept at business and has a good relationship with people in official circles. He is known as a Confucian businessman in the entire Huainan Road. It is very rare for him to have an expression like today. It seems that something big has happened. Could it be... that the matter in the north has been exposed?
Chai Xi's heart skipped a beat. The Wangsun family had made their fortune in ironware and had been a renowned family in the previous dynasty. It was said that one of their ancestors had become a disciple of the master craftsman Zhu Xi, and had learned superb smelting and forging techniques. After hundreds of years of development, the Wangsun family's ironware was not only sold throughout the country, but they were also the imperial merchants of the Yu Dynasty.
At least half of the Yu Dynasty's military weapons, armor, and even horseshoes came from royal families!
The profit from selling ironware to the imperial merchants was not very high, so the current head of the family, Wang Sun Qinghui, sent him to the Huang Country more than ten years ago to establish underground exchanges with the Huang people in the north through smuggling channels.
The profit is three times that of selling it to Yu Chao!
Therefore, the Wangsun family ranks first among the four major families!
As Wang Sun Qinghui's true confidant, Chai Xi also has a very high status in the Wang Sun family. He is one of the very few people who can sit in this study and chat with the master.
But Chai Xi knew very well that the smuggling matter must never be exposed, as the Huang Kingdom and the Yu Dynasty were in a hostile relationship!
The charge of collaborating with an enemy country is enough to wipe out the now prosperous royal family in an instant!
"I received two pieces of news today..." Wang Sun Qinghui said slowly as he brewed tea. "The first piece of news came from Pingling. In Pingling County, there's a blacksmith named Zhou Zuoren. He invented a method of frying steel based on the pig iron pouring technology..."
"I originally thought this pig iron pouring technique was unique to my Wangsun family. After all, all of Master Craftsman Zhu Xi's disciples and descendants are dead. I never expected there would still be some who slipped through the net."
Chai Xi was startled, then asked intently, "Does it need to be removed?"
Wang Sun Qinghui shook his head. "No need. This person has some relationship with Fu Xiaoguan."
Chai Xi opened his mouth in surprise. Since this person had a relationship with Fu Xiaoguan, things would become a bit tricky.
Fu Xiaoguan is a very famous person and is not someone you can easily mess with.
"Official Fu..." Wang Sun Qinghui smiled and shook his head. "He fought a battle in the southwest and was conferred the title of Earl of Ding'an by His Majesty upon his return. So we shouldn't make an enemy of this Lord easily!"
Earl of Ding'an? Chai Xi was startled, then nodded in agreement.
"Official Fu built a huge iron workshop in Pingling. Led by this blacksmith Zhou, he recruited many blacksmiths. They weren't looking to forge anything, but to produce steel ingots, so I squeezed two of them in."
As he poured tea, he continued, "The steelmaking method passed down by our ancestors mentioned that steel can be made after a hundred refinings. However, after so many years of exploration, the craftsmen of the Wangsun family have not been able to figure it out. Instead, it was figured out by an unknown blacksmith named Zhou, who now supports a bunch of good-for-nothings!"
Chai Xi said quickly, "That method is also extremely difficult to come by. Since the master has made the arrangements, it will fall into his hands sooner or later."
Wang Sun Qinghui remained silent. "This isn't a big deal. Listen carefully to what's coming next. This is the big deal!"
Chai Xi straightened up immediately, "Please give your orders, Master!"
Wang Sun Qinghui took a sip of tea from the cup, and after a moment, he whispered, "That line to the north must be cut off!"
Chai Xi was shocked. If it was cut off, how much money would the mansion lose?
"Now it's not about how much money we make... The letter sent back by carrier pigeon from Shangjing City mentioned the title of Ding'an Earl. I sent Wangsun Wuya to Shangjing to see if this Ding'an Earl is a remarkable business genius as Wangsun Wuji said in his previous letter."
"I have carefully reviewed the laws implemented by his Ministry of Commerce. This man... must not be underestimated!"
"Better safe than sorry, Chai Xi. That line must be cut cleanly!"
Chai Xi quickly bowed and said, "Please rest assured, Master. I will cut it off completely and won't leave any traces!"
"Hmm..." Wang Sun Qinghui suddenly sighed, "It seems that a new situation is about to open up. If the craftsmen sent to Wofeng Road can find a mine... our Wangsun family must also go to Wofeng Road to be closer to this Ding'an Earl."
"Go ahead and ask Jian Lin to remove all those discarded pieces... from the chessboard!"
…
…
For businessmen, neither Xiyu Tower nor Ant Colony has ever paid attention to them.
Even Fu Xiaoguan was not even known by the five major business families before, because merchants had a low status and no matter how much money they made, they could not make much waves.
At this moment, Fu Xiaoguan was sitting in the Sifang Building.
The atmosphere in this private room was very awkward.
"So, this is all a misunderstanding..." Fu Xiaoguan took out a bottle of Xishan Tianchun and handed it to He Sandao. "You idiot! Young Master Wang Sun just said a few words to me. Actually, what he said was not wrong. I am really just a small landlord in Linjiang. You beat me up like this... Go, pour Young Master Wang Sun a glass of wine to apologize!"
Having said this, he turned to look at Wang Sun Wuya, whose face was covered in bruises, and said with a smile, "As the saying goes, there is no friendship without fighting. Young Master Wang Sun is outspoken, which is the nature of youth, and there is nothing wrong with that. And He Sandao is my personal guard, so it is natural for him to feel unhappy after hearing what you said, so..."
"Master Wangsun, let's just settle this. How about a glass of wine and forgetting all grudges?"
While hitting him with a stick, Fu Xiaoguan also made it clear that He Sandao was his personal guard. No matter how stupid Wang Sun Wuya was, he came to his senses at this moment and realized that the beating was in vain.
What can he do?
This gentleman is Earl Ding'an!
I spoke without restraint just now, but now I suddenly felt scared.
"Sir, I was rude, but this brother has woken me up. I will pour this glass of wine for him to express my regret."
He Sandao laughed and walked over with the wine bottle. He patted Wang Sun Wuya's shoulder with a "pa" sound, which scared Wang Sun Wuya again.
"Well, I'm sorry, I was a bit too heavy-handed. Since Mr. Ding An said so, I won't take it to heart. I don't need you to pour a glass and I will pour a glass. Please, come on, let's drink a bottle!"
Wang Sun Wuya's face suddenly turned pale again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
