86. Yan Lin
"A small investment yields huge profits, making a fortune every day."
"One tael of silver."
Su Yubai was stunned. A large number of plain white teacups could be bought for ten coins in the Liang Dynasty.
"And tea, the lowest grade coarse tea is five taels of silver per catty."
Su Yubai frowned slowly, muttering, "If only we could open up trade routes, open up trade routes..."
Yan Lin chimed in, "A small investment yields huge profits, making a fortune every day."
Su Yubai breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at him, and said excitedly, "This business is worth doing."
Yan Lin shook his head: "Not yet. The Shatuo and we have been at war for years, and the border is closed, so a large amount of goods simply cannot get in. If we want to make this business sustainable, the war must stop and the border trade routes must be reopened. But when will that be? Will we live to see it?"
Su Yubai: "I think that Xiao Pingchuan is quite good; he's very capable."
"Is it the one Zhaozhao was betrothed to?"
"It's him."
"I don't believe it. Zhao Zhao was forced to use the Secret Pavilion this time because of him. I heard he was seriously injured by the Shatuo and can't get out of bed. How much ability can he have?"
Now that the Secret Service has been exposed, countless eyes will be watching them. It will be incredibly difficult to operate covertly again, and the losses will be enormous.
Su Yubai: "Besides him, who else can the Great Liang rely on?"
“That’s true,” Yan Lin said. “Forget about him, let’s keep going.”
"Look, Zhao Zhao absolutely refuses to let me touch that piece of land to the south, saying it's reserved for a so-called cotton-padded clothing workshop. I've never seen one before. Do you really think it has that much potential?"
Yan Lin gazed into the distance for a long time before replying, "This piece of land is indeed not big enough."
"ah?"
"The cotton-padded clothes will be supplied to the entire Daliang. Do you think this tiny piece of land is enough?"
"More or less. Look for yourself, there are thousands of acres in this area to the south, how could it not be enough?"
“It’s not enough, we can wait and see,” Yan Lin said. “However, I don’t think Zhao Zhao was just talking nonsense when she said she would compensate you with the Su family. At least in my opinion, once the cotton clothing workshop is established, it will be a matter of minutes for you to become richer than a country.”
"I never doubted her."
"Then why are you still coveting this land?"
"Who would complain about having too much money?"
Yan Lin glanced at him: "Master Su, you've become short-sighted after all these years."
Su Yubai wanted to bite him. "Forget it, let's get down to business. Do you still remember Luo Su? Zhao Zhao said he was one of yours."
"I remember, how did he do?"
"We've grown one cotton plant, and right now we're writing a planting manual. After that, we'll train a group of people to teach others how to grow it."
"There's land available for cotton planting?"
Su Yubai replied, "I've found it. Zhaozhao has already found it. It's in the area north of Liangzhou, about 100,000 mu."
"Yes, she is always meticulous in her work, thinking three steps ahead for every one step she takes."
"really."
The two strolled around the neighborhood, and Yan Lin gained a general understanding of what they were doing.
"Tell me honestly, has your total monthly profit exceeded this amount?" Yan Lin held out a palm, which represented five million taels of silver.
Su Yubai broke off his four fingers.
Yan Lin slowly said, "Ten million taels of silver?"
Su Yubai shook his head: "Gold."
This was somewhat unexpected for Yan Lin. "How could there be so many?"
"Unexpected, isn't it? I didn't know how such a small soap workshop could make so much money."
Shen Suqin woke up in the afternoon and ordered a table of food from Xingyuan Restaurant to welcome Yan Lin back.
She didn't invite any outsiders to this welcome banquet, only Su Yubai. The three of them sat around a table, eating and chatting.
“I took him to Guzongfang for a stroll during the day,” Su Yubai said.
Shen Suqin: "We should go and see him. Brother Yan can't rest now that he's back. You have to help me."
"What can I do for you?" Yan Lin asked.
“Let him manage the ice and the greenhouse,” Su Yubai suggested.
These two earn their money through hard work, and there are many troublesome things to deal with, so he has no patience to manage them.
Shen Suqin shook her head: "It's good that you're in charge of everything now. Sun Jiwen is helping you with the soap workshop, Wang Lu is helping you with the dried meat workshop, and Zhou Baihu's cousin is helping you with the saltpeter. You just need to manage them well. It won't take much work, and you're familiar with them too."
"What about the cotton-padded clothing workshops?" Su Yubai asked again.
"The cotton-padded clothing workshop will also be under your management in the future. When the time comes, the cotton-padded clothing workshop will be opened in the name of the Su family to revitalize the Su family. Isn't this something that was agreed upon a long time ago?"
"You might as well exhaust me."
“I’m here for you. You can come to me if you’re too busy,” Shen Suqin said.
"Then what will Yan Lin do? You can't just support him for nothing," Su Yubai asked.
"Why can't she support me? I'm her brother. Isn't it normal for a sister to support her brother?"
"I'm her brother too. Why don't you support me? I'm exhausted like a dog every day."
Helpless, Shen Suqin put a piece of meat on each of their plates and said, "Stop arguing, it hurts my ears. You all know I don't keep idle people around. There's a coal-iron symbiotic mine in Laomaoling. I need to mine coal and smelt iron, and I also need to make thermal weapons. Brother Yan, please help me."
"There's an iron mine at Laomaoling? The one you fenced off and wouldn't let anyone near?" Su Yubai asked.
"yes."
"Is Your Highness aware of this matter?"
“He knows.”
"So he'll allow you to mine it yourself?"
"We haven't reached an agreement yet."
“Hmm,” Yan Lin pondered, “Then there’s no rush. This concerns the foundation of the nation, so we need to discuss it slowly. You also can’t overstep your bounds; after all, he is the future ruler of the country.”
“I know, I’ll slowly probe his intentions, but the gunpowder workshop needs to be opened as soon as possible.”
Yan Lin and Su Yubai exchanged a glance, and Su Yubai tentatively asked, "Is the gunpowder workshop for the Black Flag Army?"
“Yes,” Shen Suqin said angrily. “The Shatuo actually got gunpowder before us. Xiao Pingchuan was injured by gunpowder. We can’t let them get away with this. We have to get ahead of them as soon as possible. Otherwise, it’s hard to say how long the Black Flag Army can hold off the Shatuo.”
Yan Lin's expression turned serious, as did Su Yubai's.
During the day, they were talking about how their idea of opening trade routes could be realized if the war could end soon.
If, as Shen Suqin said, the Shatuo people have gunpowder, then the situation needs to be reassessed.
"Where do you plan to open the gunpowder workshop? It can't be in Guzongfang, can it?"
“No, that won’t do. It could hurt people if it explodes,” Shen Suqin said. “These past few days, Brother Yan has been taking me around to see where it would be suitable to open.”
"good."
While Shen Suqin was busy finding a place for the gunpowder workshop, the wheat and sweet potatoes were harvested and brought into the Shen residence.
That day, Shen Suqin and Yan Lin returned from a long day of work and were astonished by the sacks of grain that were almost piled up to the roof.
"What is this?" Shen Suqin asked the servant.
"Lord Tian Cao sent some grain, saying that the lady had specifically asked him to plant it, and now that the harvest is complete, he sent it over for the lady to inspect."
Shen Suqin recalled for a moment, "Oh, it's wheat and sweet potatoes. Brother Yan, let's take a look at how they're growing."
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