Not daring to piss him off, Ye San broke it down for Shan Ke’an. "We’ve set up such an elaborate scheme; my lord would never risk his reputation over it. Both he and us, we’ve tested these products repeatedly. We only took this on after making sure there were no problems.

We still have some of these that haven’t been used. I’ll send some over to both of you gentlemen later."

Shan Ke’an was speechless. ’So you all knew.’

Lu Ping was speechless. ’I was the one who made the introduction, yet I was left out and the last to know.’

Seeing what they were both thinking, Ye San reassured them, "We were just afraid word would leak out and all our previous efforts would be wasted. I hope you two gentlemen can forgive us."

Lu Ping and Shan Ke’an were speechless.

＆

Jin Qianqian had been on pins and needles since morning. She’d lost count of how many times she had paced around the small courtyard.

When she saw Ancient Wen Heng enter with his men, Jin Qianqian’s eyes lit up.

Ancient Wen Heng smiled and nodded, walking over to take Jin Qianqian’s hand and lead her into their room.

The servants nearby, long accustomed to such displays, went about their own business.

"It was a success," Jin Qianqian said with certainty, for she could see the delight on Ancient Wen Heng’s face.

Ancient Wen Heng picked her up and spun her around. "A success! It was even more successful than we anticipated.

We sold the entire shipment in one go. Now we still owe Prince Bai, so we’ll have to work hard for the next couple of days to rush out the products."

Jin Qianqian said, "The people in the workshop haven’t stopped, but they’re mostly making scented soap right now. Should we have them make some regular soap as well?"

At the same time, she silently calculated in her head how long their raw materials would last.

Ancient Wen Heng led her to the table and quickly pulled a thick stack of silver notes from his robes. "I’m handing over my earnings. Please accept them, my dear."

Jin Qianqian had already estimated their potential income, so she had a rough idea. After flipping through the notes, she immediately noticed something was off. "This seems like too much?"

Ancient Wen Heng explained, "Ye San, one of Prince Bai’s men, is a sharp fellow. He saw how the people we planted beforehand had hyped up the atmosphere and that everyone’s enthusiasm to buy was high, so he raised the prices on the spot.

This brought in over ten thousand more Silver Taels than expected. I gave them two thousand taels, though, so their efforts weren’t in vain." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Jin Qianqian nodded. "They certainly deserved it. It must have been quite a scene!"

Although she was a little sad she couldn’t be there, Jin Qianqian was still curious.

Ancient Wen Heng stroked her head. "This time, we didn’t know Prince Bai had another cargo ship docked at the port. I’ll take you with me to see it next time we get a chance."

Jin Qianqian asked, "You want to do it again?"

Ancient Wen Heng waved his hand. "Of course not, not like this. But with the promotion from all these people, and because the product is genuinely useful, we won’t need to pull any tricks next time. As soon as word gets out, the merchants will come swarming."

If they had gone door-to-door to sell the products, not only would the results have been poor, but they might have also been forced to lower their prices.

But with all the hype, the frenzied atmosphere, and Prince Bai’s backing, the market was now wide open for them.

Jin Qianqian asked, "What about those people you bought before? Are there any problems?"

Ancient Wen Heng replied, "Everything is proceeding smoothly. I also bought another manor nearby. Once we deliver this batch of goods, we’ll move the workshop there.

As for the workers, as long as they’re not fools, they’ll understand. Even though they’ve sold themselves into servitude, I’m paying them high wages. Once their ten-year term is up, they can buy back their freedom and live their own quiet lives on the money they’ve saved over the years."

They both understood that winning hearts and minds was the best strategy for managing people. Even in this backward dynasty, common folk yearned for freedom, let alone the impoverished masses who had been forced to sell themselves into servitude.

As for ten years from now, Ancient Wen Heng was confident he could build a promising future for himself. As long as he had power in his hands, people would naturally follow him willingly.

Besides, he had also made other preparations. On the newly purchased estate, he was raising more than a dozen children of varying ages. He had not only hired an old scholar to teach them their letters, but had also asked Deng Yuanhang to introduce a retired old dart master to teach them martial arts.

All they needed now was time. Everything would slowly move in the right direction.

＆

"Seventh Uncle, are you in there?" Gu Lejia, who they had practically forgotten about for days, shouted from the courtyard.

"Why is that brat back today?" Ancient Wen Heng frowned. He couldn’t even remember how many days it had been since he’d last seen his nephew.

It seemed he hadn’t been back since the last time he brought that widow over and stormed off in a huff.

Jin Qianqian tucked the silver notes in her hand into her personal space. "He wouldn’t be here unless he needed something. Go and see what it is."

Ancient Wen Heng sighed. "I hope he doesn’t cause any more trouble this time."

Jin Qianqian shrugged. ’Who knows?’

"Seventh Uncle, you have to save me this time!"

Ancient Wen Heng had just stepped out of the room when Gu Lejia tried to lunge at him, only to be held back by Hong Tianbao and Hong Da.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "What is this nonsense? If you have something to say, say it properly. A grown man, a crying, snotty mess like this?"

But Gu Lejia showed no signs of calming down. With a grief-stricken face, he let his tears and snot flow freely. "Seventh Uncle, I really need you to save my life.

If you don’t help me, I really can’t go on living."

Ancient Wen Heng gave him a cool glance, walked over to the reception hall by himself, picked up the tea Liu Xiaohua had served, and took two slow sips.

"State your business first."

Gu Lejia rushed forward to grab his hand but was brushed away in disgust by Ancient Wen Heng. "Go stand in the corner. Just look at the state you’re in."

Gu Lejia lifted his sleeve and wiped his face. "Seventh Uncle, they’re going to sell Xiuxiang! I’m begging you, please lend me some Silver Taels first. I’ll definitely pay you back in the future."

It turned out that Xiuxiang’s stepmother no longer wanted her freeloading at home. Furthermore, after searching for so long, no one was willing to pay a high bride price to marry the jinx.

But she couldn’t just let the girl be stuck on her hands. The stepmother came up with a plan: sell her off to a faraway brothel. That way, the family would not only get some income but also save on food.

Somehow, Xiuxiang got wind of this and ran to Gu Lejia for help.

But even though Gu Lejia had been working diligently all this time, he hadn’t saved much silver, not nearly enough to solve such a huge problem.

Hearing this, Xiuxiang was devastated. She threatened that if her stepmother really tried to sell her to a brothel, she would throw herself into the sea to at least die with her innocence intact.

Ancient Wen Heng looked at his nephew’s hopeful expression and silently shook his head. "Today, this is the reason. What about tomorrow? Do you really think you can satisfy her family’s appetite?"