Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 39 A'Luo and Qingluan's First Meeting
The news of Wu, the deputy commander, being reinstated quickly spread throughout the entire Jingbian Commandery.

The recent turmoil has finally come to an end.

It seems that Shen, the centurion, was reprimanded by his superiors for his dereliction of duty.

Wu, the deputy centurion, was rewarded for his successful mediation and was reinstated as deputy centurion.

The Yang family, who besieged the Jingbian Division, were not only not held accountable, but the Jingbian Division also had to do its best to appease them.

In the early years of the dynasty, rebellions by the chieftains in the southwest were frequent, and the court only managed to suppress them with great difficulty. Afterwards, the court always prioritized maintaining stability when dealing with these chieftain families.

As long as they don't rebel, all their demands are negotiable.

The most awkward person in the Jingbian Division right now is none other than Huang Yue.

He paced back and forth in his private duty room, extremely agitated.

He thought that Commander Shen had powerful connections and that Deputy Commander Wu had been suppressed by him and would never have a chance to rise again, so he decisively betrayed him.

Who would have thought that he would be back in just a few days?

Fortunately, Wu Baihu only returned to the position of deputy Baihu, while Shen Baihu remained the head of the Jingbian Division, so I had nothing to fear.

He was just puzzled; how could things have turned out this way?
The fight between the Tian and Yang families ultimately resulted in the greatest loss for Commander Shen...

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it...

At this moment, the culprit who caused the power shift in the Jingbian Division was walking slowly out of the Jingbian Division gate with his hands behind his back.

When Lin Xuan returned home, a figure had been waiting at the door for a long time.

Lin Xuan stepped forward and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Miss Qingluan, I've kept you waiting."

Tian Qingluan nodded slightly and said, "I just arrived a little while ago."

After inviting her into the courtyard, Lin Xuan clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you very much, Miss Qingluan, for this matter."

Tian Qingluan smiled and said, "Lin Xiaoqi, you're too kind. It was just a small favor."

Lin Xuan knew why she had come here, so he didn't waste any more words. He went into the kitchen, took out a small cloth bag, and handed it to Tian Qingluan.

The scene seemed familiar. Tian Qingluan untied the ribbon and found some tiny white particles in the bag.

Her first thought was refined salt, but she quickly realized it wasn't.

Lin Xuan gestured to her, "Try it."

Without any hesitation, Tian Qingluan picked up a small handful of granules and put them in her mouth.

The next moment, her beautiful eyes suddenly lit up.

"This is...candy?"

Sugar is a luxury that ordinary people can't afford; it's even more expensive than salt.

But the sugar available on the market is mostly brown sugar and black sugar.

The sugar Lin Xuan gave her was snow-white in color and tasted purer than brown sugar or black sugar.

As a businesswoman, Tian Qingluan naturally knew that once this snow-white sugar hit the market, it would be a rare commodity with profits no less than those of refined salt.

Moreover, this business has a huge advantage over refined salt.

The Da Yong regime had a monopoly on salt and iron, and imposed strict restrictions on the salt industry.

Although the imperial court allowed the chieftains to sell private salt in order to appease them, this was limited to the southwest. The Tian family's salt could only be sold in the southwest.

However, this restriction does not apply to the sale of sugar.

White represents purity and is most favored by the upper class.

This kind of pure white, high-quality sugar, with its simple taste, could probably be sold to the powerful and wealthy in the capital at ten or even dozens of times the price after some packaging.

In just a moment, Tian Qingluan understood many of the key points.

Previously, out of trust in Lin Xuan, she had not inquired about the nature of the business Lin Xuan was collaborating with the Tian family on.

However, she was still full of anticipation for this collaboration.

Unexpectedly, the surprise Lin Xuan gave her was even greater than she had hoped.

Lin Xuan handed over a small booklet, saying, "This is the method for refining sugar. The key points are all written inside. If Miss Qingluan has any questions, she can ask me anytime..."

Tian Qingluan solemnly accepted the booklet and then said, "This time, the profit sharing..."

Lin Xuan waved his hand and said, "This time I won't ask for any profit. Last time, I presented the new salt production method to the court, which was a breach of my promise to Miss Qingluan. So, I'll consider this refined sugar purification method a gift to Miss Qingluan..."

He receives a huge share of the profits from the Tian family's salt shop every month, and he can't spend all of that money. Any more money would be of no use to him.

Lin Xuan wasn't particularly interested in the money; all he wanted was to get rid of the Gu worms in his body, leave Sizhou—this place of trouble—and never see that man in black again in his life…

Tian Qingluan firmly said, "No, no, no, one thing at a time. Since Lin Xiaoqi has said so, Qingluan will make the decision for you. The Tian family will still give Lin Xiaoqi a reward of one thousand taels of silver for the method of refining sugar, as well as a 20% share of the profits within ten years..." As a businesswoman, she was very clear about this.

Personal feelings are personal feelings, and business is business.

Lin Xuan could refuse the money, but she couldn't refuse to give it.

If she had agreed to Lin Xuan's request not to share the profits from refined salt with him last time, then this cooperation might not have happened.

Similarly, if the Tian family accepts his gift this time for the sake of money, they may miss a bigger opportunity next time.

Making concessions temporarily is for the purpose of gaining more benefits in the future.

Lin Xuan found it somewhat amusing, as he was already friends with Tian Qingluan. He couldn't help but say, "Who does business like Miss Qingluan, rushing to give away money to others?"

Tian Qingluan smiled and said, "If it were someone else, Qingluan would naturally be reluctant to part with them. Lin Xiaoqi has done a great service to the Tian family, and the Tian family cannot let you suffer a loss."

Since she, a young woman, was so straightforward, Lin Xuan didn't say anything more.

A Luo hadn't returned from grocery shopping yet, and since Lin Xuan had nothing else to do, he decided to explain the key technical points of sugar purification to Tian Qingluan.

The main principle behind turning brown sugar into white sugar is adsorption and decolorization.

Lin Xuan originally wanted to use the yellow mud water leaching decolorization method, but this method was extremely inefficient and the resulting white sugar was not pure in color, which not only affected the appearance but also made it difficult to sell at a high price.

He later made some activated charcoal himself, and after filtering it with fine sand and multiple layers of cotton cloth, he obtained white sugar with a relatively pure color.

Fair skin hides a hundred flaws; good looks are justice.

Since refined salt can be sold at a high price, the profit margin for white sugar will only be higher.

Lin Xuan originally only intended to use it himself and did not intend to promote this method. However, he was forced by Shen Baihu and Huang Yue to make this deal with the Tian family.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Lin Xuan had explained all the key points to Tian Qingluan.

Tian Qingluan kept these things in mind and then said, "I will send someone to deliver the thousand taels tomorrow. As for the profit sharing, Lin Xiaoqi can receive it every month along with the profit from refined salt."

The method for purifying this white sugar is extremely simple. Within a few days, it can be sold in the Tian family's shop, saving them the cost of renting a shop and hiring employees.

Lin Xuan thought of something and asked Tian Qingluan, "Does Miss Qingluan know where I can buy Bone Tempering Liquid?"

This world is ultimately one where strength reigns supreme, and improving one's strength is always the top priority.

Without those bottles of bone-tempering liquid to boost his strength, he might have been the one knocked back by a single punch at Jingbian Division that day.

The Tian family is a fairly large business in Sizhou; I wonder if they have any inside connections.

Tian Qingluan smiled and said, "Lin Xiaoqi has come to the right person."

Lin Xuan was overjoyed and asked, "Does Miss Qingluan have resources for Bone Tempering Liquid?"

Tian Qingluan said, "There should be two more bottles of Bone Tempering Liquid in the Tian family's armory. If Lin Xiaoqi needs them, I'll give them to him first..."

Lin Xuan was somewhat excited and immediately said, "Then thank you, Miss Qingluan. I can buy it at the market price and I will definitely not let the Tian family suffer a loss."

Tian Qingluan smiled and said, "To be honest, the Tian family has some other channels to purchase Bone Tempering Liquid, and the price is far lower than the market price. How about this, the one thousand taels of silver will be converted into two bottles of Bone Tempering Liquid..."

Lin Xuan assumed she was deliberately selling it to him at a low price. Not wanting to owe her a favor, he shook his head and said, "One thing at a time, Miss Qingluan, there's no need for that. The market price for Bone Tempering Liquid is one thousand taels of silver. I'll give you another one thousand taels for the two bottles..."

He hasn't touched the thousand taels the Tian family gave him last time.

Tian Qingluan realized Lin Xuan had misunderstood and explained, "The Tian family's Bone Tempering Liquid was purchased directly from the Jiuli Clan, eliminating the middleman's markup, so the price was much cheaper..."

"what!"

Lin Xuan suddenly looked at Tian Qingluan, and in his excitement, he grabbed her hand.

The words "Jiuli tribe" kept echoing in his mind.

The Gu worms inside his body had always been a shadow looming over his heart.

After consulting a large amount of information, Lin Xuan learned that the Gu worms in his body could only be removed by finding an elder of the Jiuli tribe who was skilled in Gu techniques, unless the person who cast the Gu did so voluntarily.

However, the Jiuli tribe has lived in seclusion in the Hundred Thousand Mountains for generations and rarely had contact with the outside world, so Lin Xuan had no idea where to look for them.

Unexpectedly, he learned about the Jiuli tribe from Tian Qingluan.

Lin Xuan asked urgently, "Does Miss Qingluan know the Jiuli tribe?"

Tian Qingluan nodded slightly and said, "Our ancestors had some connection with the Jiuli tribe. Every six months, people from a certain tribe of the Jiuli tribe would go down the mountain to purchase supplies. The Tian family's bone-tempering liquid was obtained by trading salt..."

Lin Xuan realized he had overreacted and said, "I'm sorry, I've always been curious about the mysterious Jiuli tribe. I heard you know people from the Jiuli tribe, and I got a little excited..."

Tian Qingluan nodded slightly, but didn't say anything. She just looked down at her hands.

Lin Xuan noticed that he was still holding Tian Qingluan's hand. Just as he was about to let go, a figure carrying a vegetable basket and humming a song walked in from outside the door.

As soon as A Luo stepped into the courtyard, she saw this scene. Her mouth dropped open slightly, and she murmured, "Brother Lin, did I come at the wrong time...?"

(End of this chapter)