Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

Liu Yiyi noticed Lin Mo's movement and looked up.

She saw Lin Mo engrossed in reading her masterpiece, and a complex expression flashed in her eyes.

"These... are all just my wild ideas, nothing more than theoretical speculation."

Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying a hint of helplessness and loneliness.

"Many ideas seem fantastic, but when it comes to actually implementing them, you'll find that there are barriers everywhere, making them simply impossible."

"Oh? Like what?"

Lin Mo became interested.

He felt that Liu Yiyi's plan was already perfect and couldn't think of any other problems.

Liu Yiyi sighed softly, pulled out a sheet of paper from a pile, and handed it to Lin Mo.

"Take this salt for example."

She pointed to the words on the paper—"refined salt".

"I've checked. There are vast salt flats outside Blackwind City, with an astonishing number of salt mines, but the salt in the city is all monopolized."

"We don't lack coarse salt here, what we lack is fine salt that can break the monopoly."

"But I checked all the books I had and asked many old salt workers."

Liu Yiyi's voice carried a hint of resentment.

"They all say that refining crude salt is as difficult as climbing to the sky."

Lin Mo listened, then suddenly froze.

How to refine coarse salt into fine salt?

A buzzing sound went through his mind, and a bunch of long-forgotten memories were activated.

Dissolve, filter, evaporate, crystallize...

What the hell!

Isn't this exactly the knowledge point from the third section of the second unit in junior high school chemistry?!

The Purification of Coarse Salt!

Back then, in preparation for the high school entrance exam, he memorized the experimental steps perfectly, and even in his dreams he would shout "one stick, two lows, three leans"!

This thing...

So, in this world, there isn't one?

what?

Lin Mo screamed inwardly.

His expression, however, was remarkably composed, remaining calm and collected.

He put down the paper in his hand, walked slowly to the desk, picked up Liu Yiyi's brush, and dipped it in the inkstone.

Liu Yiyi was taken aback by his sudden action. She blinked her watery eyes, which were full of question marks.

Lin Mo casually pulled out a blank sheet of Xuan paper, and with a flourish of his brush, drew several crooked and distorted shapes on it—

A beaker, a funnel, and an alcohol lamp.

Then, he looked up and raised an eyebrow at Liu Yiyi.

"Third Sister-in-law, is this crude salt purification you mentioned... very difficult?"

Lin Mo's tone was incredibly smug.

"I was thinking, this thing... isn't it something anyone can do with their hands?"

Liu Yiyi took the paper Lin Mo had drawn, her slender fingers twirling a corner of the paper as she brought it close to her eyes.

Lin Mo straightened his back to the side.

He slightly raised his chin, his face practically screaming, "Praise me, I'm a genius!"

He had already imagined Liu Yiyi suddenly realizing something, and then looking at him with eyes full of adoration.

Then, she would sweetly exclaim, "Wow! Little Ten is so amazing!"

However, Liu Yiyi's brows furrowed more and more as she tilted her head and examined the paper over and over.

She glanced at the paper, then at the roof beam.

It seemed to be pondering which deity had written these strange scribbles.

"This...is some kind of formation diagram?"

"Or... a talisman for warding off evil spirits?"

She muttered to herself, and finally, as if giving up on thinking, casually tossed the paper aside.

The paper fluttered lightly to the ground.

"Go away, Xiao Shi, go play somewhere else and don't disturb your sister-in-law while she's reading."

Her tone was as if she were dismissing a three-year-old child who was holding a lump of mud but insisted it was a priceless treasure; her words were full of indulgent helplessness.

"puff--"

Lin Mo suffered a myocardial infarction on the spot.

"no!"

"Third Sister-in-law, don't you understand?!"

He picked up his "crystallization of wisdom" from the ground in grief and indignation, feeling deeply humiliated.

Lin Mo shoved the paper back in front of Liu Yiyi, pointing to the simple line drawing of a beaker on it.

"Third Sister-in-law, look!"

"This is a beaker! A transparent beaker!"

He then pointed to the funnel.

"This one is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom; it's like a funnel!"

Finally, he pointed to the alcohol lamp.

"This is fire! Fire for heating!"

"Put the salt water in a beaker, heat it, and then filter it through a funnel. Understand?"

"A beaker?"

Liu Yiyi tilted her head, her confused expression deepening.

She parted her red lips slightly and uttered two words that would kill Lin Mo on the spot.

"A sesame seed cake?"

Lin Mo was completely petrified.

It took him a full three seconds before he suddenly slapped his forehead.

What the hell!

Forgot this is ancient times!

Forget about beakers, they didn't even have the word "chemistry"!

Talking to her about these things is like casting pearls before swine!

Lin Mo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his inner turmoil, and reorganized his thoughts.

"Third Sister-in-law, what I mean is..."

He decided to try a simpler, more understandable approach.

"If I had a way to turn that hard, yellow, and tough coarse salt into refined salt that is as white as snow and as fine as sand."

"Will your plan from earlier work?"

This time, Liu Yiyi understood.

Those eyes, which had previously held a hint of languor, suddenly lit up.

"certainly!"

Liu Yiyi's voice carried a hint of excitement.

"If we can truly have a continuous supply of refined salt, then this plan will most likely succeed!"

Lin Mo was overjoyed and was about to continue bragging when a crucial question suddenly popped into his head.

"wrong."

He frowned, and his expression became serious.

"Third Sister-in-law, I remember that in the Great Xia Dynasty, salt and iron were monopolies."

"To sell salt on a large scale openly and legitimately, one needs a 'salt permit' issued by the government."

Although Lin Mo was an outsider, he still had this basic common sense.

These "salt permits" were just like modern-day exclusive licenses—extremely precious.

For ordinary merchants, let alone obtaining a salt certificate, even seeing what a salt certificate looks like is as difficult as climbing to heaven.

The issuance of each salt certificate involved a complex web of vested interests, from local tyrants to high-ranking officials in the imperial court, layer upon layer.

Liu Yiyi remained silent for a moment, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

There is reminiscence, resentment, and a touch of resolute determination.

She suddenly turned around and walked into the inner room.

Lin Mo was a little puzzled, but looking at her slender figure, he didn't say anything to disturb her.

A moment later, Liu Yiyi came out.

In her hand now lay a small, exquisite sandalwood box.

She returned to her desk, gently placed the wooden box in front of Lin Mo, and slowly opened it.

Inside the box lay a piece of warm, smooth mutton-fat jade pendant.

The jade pendant is carved into the shape of a small boat, with smooth lines and a profound artistic conception, making it clear at a glance that it is of great value.

"Little Ten."

Liu Yiyi's voice was very soft, with a hint of etherealness.

Do you know why I agreed to marry into the Lin family in the first place?

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat.

He hadn't really thought about that.

Liu Yiyi raised her eyes, her gaze falling into the void, as if looking at a distant past.

"Your third brother and I have never met, let alone had any feelings for each other."

"I agreed to this marriage for two reasons: first, the Lin family was full of loyal and righteous men, worthy of respect; second..."

Her voice paused, and her slender fingers gently stroked the jade pendant.

"That's for it."

Lin Mo's gaze fell on the jade pendant, his heart filled with doubt.

Liu Yiyi looked somewhat forlorn.

"Back then, my ambition was..."

She sighed softly, as if all her lofty ambitions had been transformed into this sigh.

"My father promised that as long as I married into the Zhenguo General's Mansion, he would grant me one wish."

"I originally intended to use this wish to open my own trading company in the capital and realize my ambition."

"But who would have thought that disaster would strike, bringing misfortune upon the Lin family, and I would be exiled here as well..."

Her words were filled with the helplessness of shattered dreams.

Lin Mo's heart was gently touched.

He then realized it.

This naturally alluring third sister-in-law was actually willing to go to such lengths for her dream.

Liu Yiyi's fingers caressed the jade pendant, her tone becoming firm again.

"This jade pendant is a token of my Liu family."

"With this, I think we should be able to get a salt permit for Dingbei Prefecture."

Lin Mo stared at the jade pendant, his eyes deep.

Salt import...

Based on this jade pendant?

Only two words came to his mind.

Hard to say.

Liu Yiyi has an astounding business sense, but when it comes to family ties, she ultimately fails to see things clearly.

Liu family.

A wealthy merchant in the capital.

Seeking profit and avoiding harm is a businessman's instinct.

When the Lin family was at its peak, this marriage was the icing on the cake.

After the Lin family was exiled, the Liu family wisely protected themselves and did not send a single letter—this was the cruelest answer.

Cutting.

It was already completed.

Why would anyone risk offending the emperor's authority for a small jade pendant or a casual promise?