Everyone's heads were spinning, and they felt that what they had heard was simply too absurd. When they went downstairs and turned into Donglai Street, they saw more than a dozen black-awning horse-drawn carriages parked on the street.
Armed guards stood watch around the carriage, while a dozen or so tall, strong men dressed in coarse cloth and short jackets carried out pieces of uncut glass, about the size of doors and windows, from the heavily covered carriage.
The glass is dazzling and radiant, and when the sunlight shines on it, it becomes even more beautiful and incomparably gorgeous.
"!"
Glass?
Is it really glass?
Everyone gasped in unison, staring in disbelief at what they were seeing.
They had never seen such a large piece of glass before.
This is too big...
How much is this worth...?
I wonder if ten thousand taels of silver could buy one?
"Who?" The burly man carrying the glass was extremely perceptive. He noticed the gaze and immediately looked at them warily, reaching into the carriage. A cold, gleaming blade flashed into everyone's eyes.
shock!
There were more than a dozen swords lying haphazardly on the carriage.
The guards who were originally standing guard around them had already drawn their knives and were pointing them at them.
Stared at by thirty or forty men who looked like wolves and tigers, everyone's minds went blank, and the timid ones even shrank back in fear.
"Don't be afraid, Captain, it's me." Fang Xiaozi quickly stepped forward.
"Manager Fang." The head guard waved his hand, and his men immediately sheathed their swords. Those who were still vigilant remained alert, while those who were carrying goods went back to carrying more goods, but their eyes were still on them.
What vigilant guards!
Song Yi's pupils contracted, and his gaze involuntarily fell on the tiger's mouth and lower body of these guards.
His lower body was as stable as a rock, his tiger's mouth had many thick calluses, and his palms were large, clearly the hands of someone who had been holding a knife for many years.
He was tall and strong, with a booming voice and piercing eyes. Even after sheathing his sword, he still exuded a chilling aura of killing intent.
Such imposing presence is no ordinary that of guards.
He was dressed in coarse cloth, but underneath the tattered cloth, he wore heavy black armor.
They wore heavy armor, had practiced martial arts and wielded swords for many years, obeyed orders without question, acted in unison, and spoke with a northern accent.
This is no ordinary guard.
They are soldiers from the North!
Moreover, they were battlefield veterans, the kind who killed without hesitation!
Song Yi was horrified, and the others looked at them with even greater fear. These guards held sharp blades, their knives stained with blood, and their clothes were stained black and red with blood. The stench of blood could be smelled from ten steps away.
It seems the journey has been quite turbulent.
Yes.
How could one possibly live in peace while transporting these glass artifacts?
On the other side, Jiang Shuwan, through Fang Xiaozi's introduction, had already spoken with the head guard.
"I have met Miss Jiang before. Miss Wanwan described Miss Jiang to me when I set off, but I was too blind to recognize her."
"You know Wanwan?"
Sun Wanwan was timid by nature, yet she recognized these soldiers?
"Although we won the battle in the North, we still suffered countless casualties. Miss Wanwan and her family treated the wounded soldiers and prepared medicine for them. We all respect Miss Wanwan. Miss Jiang is our savior. Thanks to you for sending those medicinal herbs, otherwise even more people would have died."
The northern region is barren, with low grain yields and medicinal herbs that are mostly purchased from outside.
In recent years, military spending has been sharply reduced, and the money given by the imperial court is only enough for them to have enough to eat and wear. There is simply no extra money to stockpile medicinal herbs.
In this battle in the north, General Sun warned the court in advance, but it was not taken seriously.
When war broke out, food and medicine were urgently needed, especially medicine, which was a life-saving commodity and could not be delayed for a moment. It was all thanks to Jiang Shuwan's caravan that a steady stream of supplies were delivered.
The key point is that they didn't charge any money, which made the northern soldiers very grateful.
Now we're partnering with them to open a glass workshop, which has brought them tremendous benefits.
The head guard was so angry he wanted to bang his head on the ground, and he was about to kneel down when Jiang Shuwan quickly pulled him up.
"General, be careful with your words. This is not the place to talk."
A few days ago, General Sun wrote to her, saying that he would send his capable subordinates to transport the goods.
Although the head of the guard had not reported his official rank, he was a confidant of General Sun and was certainly not an ordinary person. Moreover, she had just fought a bloody battle on the front lines, escaped death, and defended the country's borders, while she was enjoying a life of leisure in the rear. What merit did she have to receive his bow?
Jiang Shuwan helped the head guard up, and the guards sheathed their swords. The merchants who had come with her were no longer afraid and all rushed to see Liuli.
The crowd touched the pieces of glass, reluctant to put them down, feeling as if the scene before them was an unreal dream.
"Good heavens, someone pinch me! Am I dreaming? Is there really such a huge piece of glass in the world?"
"Its texture is translucent and its colors are vibrant; its quality is even better than that of the ones brought by Persian merchants."
The merchants marveled at this.
Most of the glass products in the capital city were imported from Persia. The Great Jing Dynasty also had glass workshops, but the quality was not even half that of the Persians.
Therefore, glass is extremely expensive.
They also had glass artifacts in their household, but they were all small cups and bowls, about the size of a child's fist. They cherished them dearly and rarely showed them to guests. But now that they saw so many pieces of glass, their eyes lit up. They were like hungry wolves, each clutching a piece of glass and refusing to let go. Their fingers trembled as they stroked the glass back and forth, wishing they could hug and kiss it.
My darling!
These are all treasures!
Not to mention the various glass vases, glass ornaments, and colorful glass horses that were unloaded from the other carriages, which made their hearts tremble.
"Be careful, be careful, don't break it."
They followed the soldiers carrying goods in and out step by step, wishing they had more eyes to imprint everything they saw that day into their minds.
Their minds went blank. At first, they were calculating how much these glass items were worth, but as more and more glass products were unloaded, they stopped calculating. They stared blankly at the room full of glass, with only one thought in their minds—glass is as expensive as jade. Are they really going to use such expensive glass for windows?
Whose windows are so extravagant?
Even the emperor wouldn't be this extravagant, would he?
The merchants clutched their trembling hearts; no wonder the young mistress demanded such an exorbitant rent.
If glass were used for windows, it would cost not only a hundred taels of silver for a small shop, but even a thousand taels would be sufficient.
Oh no, a thousand taels is still too expensive. The shop belongs to Jiang Shuwan, and the glassware is also hers. We're just lending it to them for renovations. If it gets damaged, they'll have to pay for it.
Waaaaah...
But these glass pieces are so beautiful.
With these glass items, I'm sure there'll be no shortage of popularity!
The merchants imagined the scene on their opening day, when Donglai Street would be packed with customers.
This is what true luxury is.
At that time, I'm afraid no nobleman in the entire capital would not want to come.
No wonder Jiang Shuwan charged such high rent and also made them pay management fees.
They were still at odds with each other. Why was it that they worked so hard to earn money while Jiang Shuwan did nothing and still made hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year just from collecting rent?
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