The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

afternoon.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the locust tree leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground, like a child spilling a pile of broken gold.

Jiang Lin lay on the recliner, his eyes half-closed, so comfortable he almost snored. On the stone table beside him sat a half-full cup of chilled tea and a few pieces of unfinished osmanthus cake.

A clanging sound came from afar; it was Shen Kuo's workshop.

Normally, Jiang Lin would have found the sound noisy, but now he found it exceptionally pleasant.

Those are the sounds of money flowing into pockets.

The auction was a resounding success, not only paying off the debts but also making a fortune.

Jiang Lin thought to himself with a smug smile: I've made enough money, I can finally relax for a while.

Just as he was about to fall asleep—

"My beloved teacher! My beloved teacher!"

A series of hurried footsteps approached from afar.

Jiang Lin didn't even lift his eyelids. He knew who it was without even looking. In the entire academy, only Shen Kuo could exude such a "I'm going to save the world" aura.

Sure enough, the next second, Shen Kuo rushed into the backyard carrying a wooden box, tripped over a tree root, and fell forward—

"Splash!"

The box flew out of his hand, knocking over Jiang Lin's teacup and splashing cold tea all over his sleeve.

Jiang Lin opened his eyes, looked at his wet sleeves, then at Shen Kuo who was frantically picking up boxes on the ground, and sighed.

"Shen Cunzhong," he said calmly, "you'd better have made a really significant discovery."

Shen Kuo raised his head, his face covered in ash, but his eyes shone with an alarming brilliance: "My mentor! A tremendous discovery!"

He got up, carried the box to the stone table, and opened it. Inside was a pile of glass scraps—curved, irregular, and of various sizes.

Jiang Lin glanced at it: "That's it?"

Shen Kuo, his expression excited, picked up two curved pieces of glass, stacked them together, and aimed them at an ant crawling on the ground:

"Look, teacher! This ant... it's gotten bigger!"

Jiang Lin leaned closer. Indeed, the ants were magnified several times under the double-sided glass, their legs and antennae clearly visible.

He nodded subconsciously: "Yeah, it's just a magnifying glass effect."

After saying that, he picked up the freshly poured tea, took a sip, and suddenly froze.

and many more.

What did I just say? A magnifying glass?

Jiang Lin's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, he'd let something slip again.

He secretly glanced at Shen Kuo.

Shen Kuo stood there, stunned, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape. After several seconds, he slowly turned his head, his voice trembling:

"magnifier?"

Jiang Lin sipped his tea to cover up his misunderstanding: "I meant, an enlarged mirror. The literal meaning. Don't overthink it."

Shen Kuo didn't speak, but the fervor in his eyes was no longer concealed.

My mentor was indeed well-informed! He even came up with a name! This must be the beginning of "Gewu Optics"!

He carefully put away the two pieces of glass as if they were some rare treasure, and bowed deeply to Jiang Lin:

"I understand! My teacher is guiding me! A magnifying glass can see tiny things, but if we do the opposite..."

He muttered to himself, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. Ignoring Jiang Lintong's consent, he grabbed the box, turned, and ran, muttering to himself as he went:

"If we do the opposite...and increase the distance...would we be able to see things further away?"

Jiang Lin sighed, looking at Shen Kuo's crazed figure.

Oh no, he's even using a magnifying glass. Is this kid really going to make a telescope?

As evening approached, the sun began to set.

Zhao Lingjun, dressed in men's clothing, returned to the academy.

Jiang Lin was still sitting under the old locust tree, but the tea in his hand had been replaced with hot tea.

"You're back?" Jiang Lin asked casually.

Zhao Lingjun plopped down opposite him, grabbed the teapot, poured himself a cup, and gulped it down without any regard for his image.

"I'm back!"

"I just sent the six thousand strings of cash back to 'home'."

Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow and picked up a piece of osmanthus cake: "Six thousand strings of cash? For whom?"

"Who else could it be? My husband, of course."

Zhao Lingjun leaned closer, like a little fox that had just stolen some oil, and whispered:

"I borrowed three thousand strings of cash from the old man before, and now that I've made a profit, I've paid him back six thousand, including the principal and interest."

Jiang Lin's hand trembled as he held the osmanthus cake, almost dropping it.

"Borrowing three thousand and repaying six thousand? One hundred percent interest? You spendthrift child, even loan sharks don't repay like this!"

Zhao Lingjun, however, didn't take it to heart and waved his hand dismissively:

"Oh dear, sir, you don't understand. My husband is a miser; he's incredibly stingy."

"This time I gave him double the reward, and he was so happy he was practically grinning from ear to ear. He didn't care what I was doing outside anymore!"

"This extra three thousand strings of cash is hush money for buying freedom, it's worth it!"

Jiang Lin glanced at Zhao Lingjun, who had a smug look on his face, and shook his head helplessly.

Anyone who can accept 3,000 strings of cash as hush money is indeed a top-tier rich second-generation.

But he soon noticed that Zhao Lingjun's expression was somewhat strange, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What? Is there something else?"

Zhao Lingjun hesitated for a moment, his smile faded, and he lowered his voice, saying:

"Sir, there's another piece of news... The old man told me—"

"Your Majesty, we wish to see you."

Jiang Lin paused for a moment, and the water in the teacup swayed slightly.

"See me?"

He was somewhat surprised. Although Tiangong Liuli had gained considerable fame, it was still a minor business, so why would the emperor suddenly want to see him again?

Zhao Lingjun quickly explained:

"That's right. After those 'heavenly crafted glass' pieces were sent to the palace, the emperor was amazed when he saw them and inquired about their origin."

She pointed to herself, then touched her nose somewhat guiltily:

"An elder in my family who works in the imperial court casually mentioned that it was built by Jiang Shanzhang of Jingshi Academy."

"The Emperor was very interested in hearing this, and coupled with the previous incident with the Liao envoy, he had long wanted to see you again, sir..."

"Therefore, an imperial decree may be issued in the next day or two, summoning you to the palace for an audience."

Jiang Lin suddenly realized.

It turned out to be the case.

The fact that Zhao Ling's elders can speak to the emperor suggests that their family background is indeed quite powerful.

Zhao Lingjun looked at Jiang Lin with some worry:

"Sir, when you go to the palace... you'll have to control your temper. That's the Emperor, not the manager of Fanlou, nor an envoy from Liao. Don't treat the Emperor like you would any other person."

Jiang Lin put down his teacup and looked out the window at the setting sun gradually sinking below the horizon.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly smiled.

That smile held no tension or fear, but rather a confident air of mastery.

"Don't worry, it's not like we haven't seen it before."

Jiang Lin turned his head to look at Zhao Lingjun, his eyes gleaming with a light that seemed to say "ambition":

"Zhao Ling, since the Emperor wants to see me, why not take this opportunity—"

"Let's expand our business."

Zhao Lingjun was stunned: "How much bigger do you want to be? Right now, all the powerful and wealthy people in Bianjing are scrambling for our glass. Isn't that big enough?"

Jiang Lin shook his finger and said meaningfully:

"The current Tiangong Liuli (a type of glasswork) is merely a plaything for the powerful and wealthy; it is a luxury item."

"Once the hype dies down, the price will eventually drop."

"But what if... I could make it a 'royal warrant holder'?"

"Royal imperial use?" Zhao Lingjun's eyes widened.

"right."

Jiang Lin's lips curled into a playful smile:

"I want to make the words 'Heavenly Craftsmanship Glass' a symbol of the royal family."

"Only by being labeled as 'official' can the value of this item truly stabilize, or even increase tenfold."

"At that time, we won't be making money from the powerful and wealthy in Bianjing, but from all the rich people in the world."

Zhao Lingjun gasped.

Tenfold again?

Looking at the nonchalant man before her, she felt a chill run down her spine, yet her blood was also boiling with excitement.

To have the emperor act as a "brand ambassador" for one's business?

This idea... is absolutely outrageous!

"Sir..." Zhao Lingjun swallowed hard. "You're not going to meet the Emperor, you're planning to drag him down with you... no, to recruit him!"

Jiang Lin laughed heartily, lay back in his chair, and leisurely fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan.

"Don't put it so harshly, this is called 'win-win cooperation'."

"Just wait, this time when we enter the palace, I'll make the Emperor willingly work for our academy."