After taking a bath, Su Chen couldn’t wait to find Lin Miao, regardless of the "horse plague" remedy from before and now the big business that’s making him feel anxious.

With his cleverness, unsurprisingly, this business must be related to the "colorless glass cup."

This guy took out six at once.

Does this mean there are even more in his possession...

This Sanshui must have discovered the "colorless glass" mine, which could be a big problem. These underground mineral resources belong to the court, even if found on one’s own land, the mining rights do not belong to you and must be reported to the court to obtain mining rights, along with paying high taxes.

This is the court’s rule, and even those martial arts sects must comply. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Generally, most people can’t hold onto such discoveries; safely exiting with a big sum of money is already very fortunate.

His brother is in danger, and even if the Su Family discovered such a rich mine, the court definitely wouldn’t let it go, and might not be able to keep it!

Su Chen nervously and worriedly followed Lin Miao out from the inn’s back door.

"Brother, why did you bring me to our back door?" Su Chen raised his head, realizing it was the back door of the Lin residence under "renovation."

Having stayed at Lin Miao’s home for about a month, he couldn’t be unfamiliar.

"Such a big business, of course, it has to be discussed at home to be assured." Lin Miao chuckled, opened the door, and walked in.

It was pitch black in here.

Fortunately, both were martial artists who could see at night, moving freely, especially since they were at home.

Lin Miao’s study was untouched because he would sometimes come to take a look, offering a place for temporary rest, and for another purpose.

That is to conceal the excavation of the underground tunnel space.

Since this work needs to be kept secret, naturally it cannot be entrusted to others; sometimes even Si Miaoxue joins in the digging.

For the future happiness of the two, Si Miaoxue also had to contribute.

The excavated soil was first piled outside; since the Lin residence is under "renovation" and reconstruction, taking out construction waste or reusing it would not arouse suspicion.

This was also based on the expansion of the previous underground tunnel space; as for the interior decoration, they had to do it themselves.

The project wasn’t small, but for two martial artists, it was relatively easier, and each exhausting exertion followed by recovery was a form of cultivation.

Especially for Lin Miao, such exercise greatly helped the tempering of bones, progressing swiftly, and the partnership of a man and woman made the work less tiring.

The tunnel is a private secret between Lin Miao and Si Miaoxue, adding only Sun Youwei, as for Xia Zhu and Mr. Xie, even though they knew about it, they were prohibited from entering.

The study’s light turned on, and Si Miaoxue knew Lin Miao had arrived.

She immediately came over from the tunnel, the feeling of a clandestine meeting more exciting.

The sound of the "mechanism" in the tunnel echoed, and then a door opened on the left wall, a stunning beauty emerged from within.

It startled Su Chen nearly into drawing his weapon.

"Mr. Lin, who is this?" Si Miaoxue immediately recognized Su Chen but still pretended not to know and asked.

"Su Chen, as I’ve mentioned to you, the third son of the Su Family, the wealthiest in Lanzhou."

"This humble one, Si Miaoxue, greets Mr. Su." Si Miaoxue smiled slightly, paying respects to Su Chen with a graceful bow.

"Greetings, Miss Si. You and my Sanshui brother..." Su Chen hadn’t yet recovered from shock, looked at Lin Miao, and couldn’t help trying to figure out the relationship between the two.

"I..."

"Family." Lin Miao interrupted Si Miaoxue, stating directly.

Si Miaoxue’s beautiful eyes twinkled with a hint of affection; the term "family" indeed wasn’t wrong, this connection was much closer than being an "external chamber" or a secret lover.

"Mr. Su, for our business, Miaoxue here will be collaborating with you, specifically with that ’colorless glass’ you just saw, which we call ’glass.’" Lin Miao explained.

"Brother, have you discovered this ’colorless glass’ vein?"

Lin Miao exchanged a glance with Si Miaoxue, smiled slightly and said, "No."

"No, then how did you get this ’colorless glass’?" Su Chen asked, puzzled.

"We produced it ourselves." Lin Miao chuckled as he explained.

"Produced it!" Su Chen was stunned upon hearing this, expression full of disbelief, "Sanshui brother, don’t joke around with me. If you discovered the vein but didn’t report it to the court and secretly mined it, once discovered, it’s a serious crime."

"Of course I’m not joking, otherwise why would I take you to see what we’ve made?" Lin Miao gave Si Miaoxue a look.

Si Miaoxue nodded, walked over, pressing the mechanism on the wall’s tunnel door, the secret door reopened.

"Mr. Su, please!"

Once inside, it wasn’t long before the three arrived at a space that had been excavated earlier, where shelves were filled with the "colorless" glassware Su Chen had seen.

Glittering and dazzling, under the candlelight, it blinded Su Chen’s eyes, and a glance around revealed hundreds of pieces.

There were also over a dozen wooden boxes in the corner, some yet unopened; besides colorless, there were colored glass items too.

The colored ones were even more valuable; these items had colors that were full, crystal-clear, flawless, leaving Su Chen unable to find words to describe these glass pieces he saw.

The quality was extraordinarily high, something he had never heard of or seen before; even the glassware in the royal collection couldn’t compare to this, not to mention the astonishing quantity here.

"Mr. Su, tomorrow have Miaoxue take you to our glassworks, and you’ll understand how they’re made." Lin Miao chuckled, the power of technology is beyond what people in this world can comprehend.

"Sanshui, are you planning to sell these items?"

"Yes."

"These glassware, if priced according to the market, would be worth at least a million taels, but once they flood the market, even the most expensive things will see a price crash."

"Exactly, which is why I don’t intend to sell these glass items in Da Li."

"Not in Da Li, why?"

"Because once these things are mass-produced, their prices will crash. If we sell them at high prices in Da Li now and people find out later, more people will be jealous and covetous of us. With our current strength, we can’t protect it." Lin Miao explained, without strong enough power, one can’t suppress overwhelming wealth; in the end, one would just be managing money for others.

"We need to fabricate an origin for these items, then transport them to the Great Yue Country. Although the journey is longer, the money we earn there can be used to purchase local specialty products to bring back. As long as we don’t bring the silver directly back, no one will covet it. Of course, we also need strong protection." Lin Miao said.

"Can’t the Su Family do it?" Su Chen asked.

"The Su Family isn’t enough, we need to bring in the Snow Mountain Sect as well." Lin Miao said, "The Snow Mountain Sect married into the Su Family back then because they valued the Su Family’s wealth and resources, which could help the Snow Mountain Sect. Now that the Su Family faces significant problems, the Snow Mountain Sect’s biggest issue is inheritance and resources. Without enough resources, there won’t be enough talent and thus no inheritance. A sect unable to attract sufficient talent will wither away slowly, so this is a win-win cooperation!"

Living in the Su Family, Su Chen naturally understood the business operation path, but he valued freedom and didn’t want to be bound by these matters, thus was quite repulsed by them.

But this family crisis made him realize the responsibility he needed to bear.

He understood the logic of "without skin, what can the hair attach to".

Su Chen was astonished by Lin Miao’s words, with such understanding, he felt like he wasted years living those twenty-some years of his life.

"We provide the goods, the Su Family and Snow Mountain Sect provide transportation and protection, and after deducting the costs, we each take one-third of the profits."

Su Chen was shocked.

Three-way split. Such profit distribution felt like a giveaway; the Su Family only needed to transport the goods to Great Yue and have the Snow Mountain Sect provide protection along the way.

The Su Family has a transport fleet and ships, and although these glasswares are fragile, there will definitely be losses during transport.

But it could be anticipated that these items, once transported to Great Yue Country, would be snatched up wildly, especially if a story is fabricated about their origin.

They could even be sold at astronomical prices.

"This matter is too big, I have to call my mother over, she can represent the Snow Mountain Sect, I can’t." Su Chen calmed down and said.

"If Aunt can come, that would be for the best. We can do this business twice a year, then gradually lower prices. The story is easy to fabricate, just say the trade route with the Western Regions has been opened, providing a continuous supply, this way no one will be dissatisfied..." Lin Miao explained.

Lin Miao wouldn’t ask how Si Miaoxue managed the workshop, anyway, she knew the importance of the "glass" craft secret, and would definitely carry out confidentiality measures to the highest level.

In a world where information is so closed-off, secrets should be able to be kept for a longer time.

As long as the Su Family and Snow Mountain Sect started profiting and saw long-term high returns, they would ensure to protect this industry desperately.

Of course, Lin Miao also thought about what to do if the Su Family saw the profits and wanted to seize this industry from him.

No matter, if he could get the first pot of gold, even if he couldn’t keep the industry in the long term, he’d see it as understanding people through benefits.

If he truly had strength later, there were plenty of profit-earning industries in his mind, why care about just one?

In other words, if he really had strength, could this industry still be taken away?

"I now..." As soon as Su Chen started speaking, he sheepishly smiled. At this moment, the outside was pitch dark, even if he wanted to return, he had to wait until dawn to leave the city.

...

The two bid farewell to Si Miaoxue and returned to the inn’s study.

Su Chen was not the kind of person who would get impulsive and be easily swayed by others. If it were just small businesses, whether profit or loss, he could make decisions.

Even though the Su Family had significant troubles, he had the authority for deals within 100,000 taels of silver, but this business at hand was too large.

Not only could he not decide, he feared only his mother could come and negotiate.

If the deal were made, this business might not reverse the Su Family’s predicament, but it would at least inject a stabilizing force against the decline.

Actually, during this time, he had gone to the Su Family’s Horse Field, even missing the New Year at home to buy superior breeds in Da Yue and capture wild horse herds in the depths of Beiyuan.

The more severe crisis for the Su Family was the insufficient number of stud horses. Even if they bought at high prices, a foal from birth to maturity would take at least two years.

Meaning, even if the plague at the Su Family’s Horse Field could be resolved, it would take at least three years to recover.

Would the other two families spare him for these three years?

This was a life-and-death struggle.

Moreover, the Su Family also had a newly rising competitor in Lanzhou, which was the Ye Family.

Yes, it was the Ye Family where Ye Shengyuan was from. The Ye Family also had a horse field in Lanzhou, but they had always been in the civilian market, not involving military horses. Now, they’re getting into military horses too.

War horses have requirements regarding breed and appearance, and training also demands higher investments. Failing to meet certain standards means they’re excluded from the imperial procurement list.

Every year, the court renews a large batch of war horses and eliminates those at an age unable to serve, forming a cycle.

Besides the three major horse merchants, there are also scattered suppliers. These horse fields are small in scale, war horses of unstable quality, and their supply numbers are not fixed, thus not securing a stable procurement quota from the court.

This year, to meet their quotas, the Su Family had to purchase war horses at high prices from small horse fields within Lanzhou, including 500 horses from the Ye Family’s field.

This alone earned the Ye Family an extra 250,000 taels of silver in profits last year, albeit with tears.