After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

The sun was high in the sky, but Yang Shen was still asleep.

I've been so busy these past few days, I need to catch up on the sleep I've missed.

The housekeeper, Laifu, rushed into the bedroom and yanked off the quilt.

"Young Master, something terrible has happened!"

Yang Shen sat up groggily and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lai Fu said anxiously, "A group of soldiers suddenly broke in and are going to demolish our house! Master and Second Master are both on duty, and we can't stop them. You'd better go and see!"

Yang Shen scratched his head and asked again, "They're going to demolish it? I haven't heard anything about it!"

Lai Fu couldn't explain it clearly, so he forcibly dragged Yang Shen off the bed.

Upon arriving at the front yard, I indeed saw a group of people dismantling... the outhouse!

Yang Shen shouted, "Stop! What are you doing?"

"Yang, my study companion! Your humble servant greets you!"

Li Chun stepped out from the crowd and bowed with clasped hands.

Yang Shen rubbed his eyes and asked, "Commander Li, what are you doing?"

Li Chun said with a smile, "His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered that the promotion of biogas digesters begin with your home."

Yang Shen was taken aback and said, "Didn't we just send Wang Sizhi to survey the site? How come construction has started so quickly?"

Li Chun explained, "If you hadn't discovered the problem in time yesterday, His Highness would have suffered a great loss. His Highness specifically instructed that you were the first to be included, and all expenses would be covered by the Crown Prince's Palace."

Yang Shen was a little embarrassed and said, "How could I possibly accept this..."

Li Chun replied earnestly, "Yang, please don't refuse. I'll go and attend to my duties now."

Yang Shen turned around and instructed, "Make some good tea for all the brothers, and prepare some food. Don't let them work for nothing."

Lai Fu immediately agreed and left. Yang Shen quickly washed up, changed his clothes, and hurried to the East Palace.

Upon arriving at Zuochunfang, they saw Zhu Houzhao holding a list, his brows furrowed.

Liu Jin stood to the side, looking somewhat uneasy.

"Yang, you've come at the perfect time!"

Upon seeing Yang Shen, Zhu Houzhao immediately beckoned, "Come and take a look at this, I don't quite understand it."

Yang Shen stepped forward, took the order, and examined it carefully.

This is a material quotation sheet, which lists the specifications and prices of various materials such as lime, fine sand, blue bricks, glutinous rice, and tung oil.

To his surprise, these prices were much cheaper than those on the market.

"Eunuch Liu, did you negotiate all of this?"

Liu Jin's face showed a smug look, and he nodded and said, "It's all thanks to Yang's guidance that I know the tricks of the trade. This shop is called Xinglong Trading Company, and the manager's surname is Ma. Originally, they supplied glutinous rice and tung oil, but their goods are complete and the prices are fair, so we buy a lot of materials from them."

Yang Shen pressed further, "How's the quality? Don't try to save money by getting some inferior goods."

Liu Jin patted his chest and said, "Don't worry! My family has already had craftsmen from the Ministry of Works inspect it. The lime is fine, the bricks are sturdy, and the glutinous rice is top-quality. There's absolutely no problem!"

Although Yang Shen had some doubts, since the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works had approved it, the quality should be quite good.

He looked at Zhu Houzhao and said, "Your Highness, this price is indeed reasonable. Eunuch Liu has done a good job and deserves to be rewarded."

Zhu Houzhao then smiled: "That's good! I was worried he'd been tricked!"

Just then, Wang Shouren hurriedly walked in carrying a stack of documents.

"Your Highness, Yang, this is the first list of those eligible to build biogas digesters, compiled by this official."

Zhu Houzhao didn't even look at it before handing it directly to Yang Shen.

Yang Shen carefully read through the list, which contained thirty-seven households, all of which were prominent families in the capital with spacious residences and enough space to build biogas digesters.

Each household also had an estimated construction cost attached, ranging from 150 taels to 300 taels.

"Director Wang is truly meticulous in his work."

Wang Shouren humbly replied, "This humble official was merely following Yang's instructions, however..."

He paused, then continued, "These families may be wealthy, but they may not be willing to pay this sum. I visited several families, and most of them made excuses, saying either their houses had just been renovated or they were short of money."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao was immediately furious: "They dare to defy the imperial decree?"

Yang Shen smiled and said, "Your Highness, please calm down! Since it is His Majesty's decree to promote biogas digesters, they naturally dare not openly oppose it. It's just that the money..."

He turned to Liu Jin: "Eunuch Liu, take this list and go door to door to collect money."

Liu Jin was stunned for a moment: "How much...how much?"

"We'll collect three times the amount calculated by Wang Sizhi."

"three times?"

Liu Jin hesitated, "Is this...is this appropriate? Would they be willing?"

Yang Shen remained unfazed and said, "Building biogas digesters is His Majesty's decision, a good thing that benefits the country and its people. If they try to disobey the imperial decree, they will be dealt with according to the law. Besides, the first batch of pilot households will be recorded in history; what is a little money compared to such glory?"

Zhu Houzhao nodded repeatedly: "Yang is right! Let's do it this way!"

Liu Jin was still somewhat hesitant, but seeing that the Crown Prince had spoken, he had no choice but to reply, "This servant obeys."

Yang Shen then said to Wang Shouren, "Wang Sizhi, continue to lead people to survey the land and compile the lists for the second and third batches. His Highness and I will start with these thirty-seven households."

Zhu Houzhao asked with some concern, "Yang, are you really going to charge three times the normal rate? Isn't that... a bit too harsh?"

Yang Shen calmly replied, "Your Highness need not worry. These thirty-seven households all own thousands of acres of fertile land and countless shops. The construction cost of a little over one hundred taels is nothing more than a drop in the ocean for them. They are making excuses today, but if they see that the biogas digester is truly effective tomorrow, they will probably rush to install it, and then the price will be much higher."

Zhu Houzhao suddenly realized, his eyes lighting up: "I understand! This is called... this is called..."

Yang Shen chimed in, "A rare commodity is worth hoarding; we should wait for the right price to sell."

"Yes! That's exactly what I mean!"

Zhu Houzhao rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "Yang, you've thought of everything! Once I'm rich, I can do whatever I want without having to worry about Father Emperor's feelings!"

Yang Shen replied, "Your Highness, as the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, the entire world belongs to you. Why should you care about such money?"

Zhu Houzhao asked, puzzled, "Then why did you still send Liu Jin to collect the money, and why did you demand three times the amount?"

Yang Shen patiently explained, "The extra money we collect is to raise more funds for the promotion of biogas digesters, and to subsidize the people and train craftsmen. Money is needed for all of these. Think about it, ordinary people are not wealthy. If the court doesn't provide subsidies, where will they get the money to build biogas digesters? And the court's subsidies will require the use of the national treasury, which is currently tight. Your Highness's acceptance of money from wealthy households is a way of helping His Majesty share his burdens."

Zhu Houzhao suddenly realized what was happening and exclaimed, "So, I've done Father a great favor!"

"Exactly!"

"No, I need to talk to Father and make things clear, let him know..."

"Your Highness, please don't worry..."

Yang Shen quickly stopped him, advising, "A gentleman should act first, and then his words can be followed!"

Zhu Houzhao nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, go ahead, go ahead!"