Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 86 The Sugar Business (Please read 4k words)

"Brother, what a refined taste you have. What book are you reading?"

A delicate fragrance wafted in the study, the smoke from the cone-shaped copper incense burner rising straight up.

However, as the door was pushed open, the straight column of smoke was dispersed.

Zhang Xian pushed open the door and entered. Guo Huai, who was lying on the soft couch holding a bamboo scroll, raised an eyebrow but did not get up to answer casually.

"Zixu is here. Mr. Jiexin's 'Qianfu Lun' is always fresh and insightful. It doesn't quote any specific passages, yet it can still criticize current affairs. Although it was written decades ago, it still feels like something is happening in the court today. It makes one marvel at Mr. Jiexin's talent."

"Such talent? Then I'll have to read it later."

Zhang Xian chuckled and placed the pottery jar he was carrying in one hand on the table beside him. Without stopping, he opened all the windows in the study to disperse the smoke.

Guo Huai placed the bamboo slips beside his pillow and sat up.

"Brother, what brings you here to see me today?"

He asked with a smile, and then helped her put on the cloth shoes.

“I’ve acquired some new things at my estate, so I’m sending them over for you to try.”

"Oh? What good thing is it?"

A hint of curiosity flashed in Guo Huai's eyes.

Zhang Xian beckoned to him and opened the pottery jar on the table.

The snow-white particles are like crystals and are very beautiful.

"Refined salt? No, salt grains aren't that big. What is it?"

Guo Huai leaned closer to take a look, quite curious.

"Brother, why don't you try it and you'll know?"

Zhang Xian handed over the pottery jar, and Guo Huai, without the slightest suspicion, picked up some with his fingers and put it in his mouth.

His eyes widened immediately: "Candy?"

"Such a clean and sweet taste! Is this jar all for your brother?"

Guo Huai asked, and Zhang Xian nodded.

"Of course I will be filial to my elder brother."

"Haha, my dear brother, you're so kind. Are you free today? You should have a meal at my residence so that your brother and sister-in-law can keep you company."

"I haven't been able to have many heart-to-heart talks with my brother lately."

"Brother, you mean well, but I have other matters to attend to. I need to go to the government office later to pay my respects to the Duke."

Zhang Xian smiled warmly and waved his hand to politely decline.

Guo Huai didn't insist on keeping him, but pointed to the soft couch and frowned, asking, "How about going to the government office, brother?"

He sat on the soft couch, patted it, and instead of kneeling, he appeared rather lazy.

Zhang Xian also walked over, sat down, and replied, "Brother, do you know that Li Family Village, more than ten miles from my own village, was wiped out overnight?"

"I came here today because I have my eye on the Li family's land, so I need to pay a visit to the government office."

"Oh—." Guo Huai looked at Zhang Xian with a meaningful gaze: "So that's what it is. Then I'm afraid my foolish brother will have made a wasted trip."

"Why?" Zhang Xian frowned.

Guo Huai stared at him, shook his head, and sighed: "My dear brother, although you are intelligent, the people of Changshan are not stupid either. Everyone knows who did this."

"Once the Li family is destroyed, that's it. The survival of powerful clans is all about you eating me and me eating you, but the methods used here are too simple and direct, so you can't take anything from the Li family."

"If I give it to you, and then you want something from someone else next time, will the next Li family appear?"

He patted Zhang Xian on the shoulder: "Although I don't know how the Li family offended you, you can always come to me for help, Brother Changshan. With me here, I will definitely not let you suffer. But since you have done something that destroyed a family, don't blame everyone for being wary of you."

"I see." Zhang Xian's eyes flickered.

It seems this matter wasn't handled discreetly enough; now everyone knows who was truly behind the destruction of the Li family.

The reason they didn't launch an attack was probably because they had made sufficient preparations beforehand to explain their actions to the outside world, and the power they displayed when they destroyed the Li family made the powerful clans of Changshan wary.

"Is it really impossible to get it?"

He didn't defend himself, he just asked.

Guo Huai nodded: "That's the rule. Destroying someone's family is revenge. If everyone doesn't cause trouble for you after the revenge, then the spoils will be shared among everyone. As for how much you get, that depends on your abilities."

"But why is my dear brother so concerned about the Li family's land? The closer their land is to our own, the less productive it is. What is there to covet?"

Zhang Xian did not answer directly, but pondered for a while before asking, "Brother, I can disregard the Li family's possessions, but I would appreciate it if you could speak with Master Changshan about the Li family's pottery business. Taoyuan wants it! Anyone who touches it will be making an enemy of the Zhang family!"

"My dear brother, you've grown since half a year ago," Guo Huai smiled with satisfaction. "You're not as reserved as you used to be, and you're even more domineering now!"

"Alright, I'll take care of this. I'll write it down in a bit."

As he spoke, he patted Zhang Xian on the shoulder again: "Brother, now you know the disadvantages of being restricted everywhere when you don't hold power, right? How about it? I've been thinking about your application to become an official for you for the past few days."

Zhang Xian sighed helplessly: "Brother, it's not that I'm ungrateful, but you always have my best interests at heart. However, accepting the Guo family's recommendation for officialdom is truly not a good thing. I have my reasons for this."

"Alas, you, you claim to be my virtuous brother, yet you never treat me like family. It truly saddens me."

"Yes, yes, yes, all the mistakes are my fault. That's why I've come to apologize to my elder brother."

Zhang Xian looked at Guo Huai's pretentious act with amusement and pointed to the pottery jar next to him.

"Brother, do you think this item would be favored by noble families?"

Guo Huai pretended to wipe his eyes and replied, "Of course I like it."

"Then, brother, would you agree to let the Guo family sell this item?" he asked with a smile.

Guo Huai suddenly turned to look at Zhang Xian: "Brother, is what you say true?"

"How could I dare to deceive my elder brother? It is the truth."

"Hahaha, as expected of my good brother, entrusting such a treasure to me is more than just a commodity."

"Brother, you don't plan to sell it?" Zhang Xian asked curiously.

Guo Huai laughed: "It would be a waste to only sell such a precious item. This item is most suitable for gifting."

'To accumulate political capital?' Zhang Xian thought to himself.

"By the way, my dear brother, how much would you like to price this?" Guo Huai patted the earthenware jar beside him. Now he felt that the earthenware jar was too flashy and that it should be placed in a porcelain bottle to appear more noble.

"I don't know, brother. What do you think the price should be?" Zhang Xian threw the question back at Zhang Xian, who didn't want to set the price himself. Setting it too high would upset people, while setting it too low would give others an unfair advantage.

Guo Huai pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "Lingnan rock honey is worth ten thousand coins a pound. My brother, this stuff is pure white and noble, with a clean taste. It must be worth several times more than rock honey!"

"How much of this can you produce each year, my dear brother?" he asked again.

Things are valued for their scarcity; if there are too many of them, they will naturally become cheap.

Zhang Xian pondered.

This batch of white sugar used 500 jin of sugarcane juice, and the final product weighed over 40 jin. It's roughly 9 jin of white sugar that was concentrated from 100 jin of juice. Each month, the farmland can produce three rounds of sugarcane, with each round yielding 700 jin of juice, which is 2,100 jin per month.

If 700 catties of sugarcane yield 500 catties of juice, that's 1,500 catties, and the sugar yield is...
It weighs around 130 jin (approximately 65 kg).
Having calculated the result, he tentatively asked, "Thirty catties per month?"

"Thirty jin!" Guo Huai was almost startled when he heard the number.

"It's alright, not too much, but it'll still cause some competition." After thinking about it, however, he realized it wasn't too much. There were so many high-ranking officials in Luoyang; even if each person produced one jin (500 grams) a year, it wouldn't be enough.

"How about I offer you 30,000 coins per catty?"

He asked tentatively as well.

He originally wanted to have a good talk with his younger brother, but to his surprise, his younger brother nodded and agreed without saying a word.

“Brother, once you’ve decided on the date, I will have someone from the village deliver it to you tomorrow.”

"My dear brother, why don't you try to bargain with me?"

“Brother, what you’re saying is true. You said earlier that I didn’t treat you as family, but now I’m treating you as family. We’re all family, so any loss or gain is family wealth. Do you think I would let you suffer a loss?”

"Ah, alright, alright, I was wrong."

Guo Huai was deeply moved. Even if the price was 40,000 coins, he would have wanted to buy a batch of these items to give as gifts. He never expected that his good brother would not even try to bargain.

Zhang Xian found it amusing.

Thirty thousand coins? Don't even mention thirty thousand coins, he would sell it for ten thousand, eight thousand, or even five thousand coins.

Once you've mastered the technology, the only remaining issue is raw materials. If others want to do this business, they can only go to Lingnan and Jiaozhi (Vietnam).

But for Taoyuan, the cost of sugarcane is zero. The raw materials are produced by themselves, which are not available elsewhere, and they are cultivated by themselves, requiring only a few people.

Therefore, white sugar does not require much manpower in Taoyuan. It costs 30,000 yuan per catty, and even if only 30 catties are sold a month and the rest are used for reserves, there is still an income of 900,000 yuan.

It can sell well, so why not?

Thirty catties of sugar can sell even faster than Taoyuan wine, and it's possible that in the near future, white sugar will become the main source of income for Taoyuan.

Since he couldn't take anything from the Li family, there was no point in going to the government office. So Zhang Xian decided to stay at the Guo residence and have dinner with the Guo family.

Zhang Xian spent half an afternoon playing with Guo Tang, climbing trees to catch birds, going down to the river to catch fish, basically taking Guo Tang through all the games Zhang Xian himself had played as a child.

Several times, the falcon saw the two creatures, one big and one small, fail in their attempts to catch a bird and then flap their wings in frustration, unable to understand why these two-legged creatures were so useless.

Then it flapped its wings and flew away. When it returned, it grabbed a large bird with its belly ripped open and threw it next to the two of them.

It's like comforting two fledglings with poor hunting skills.

This made the two of them burst into laughter.

At night, the little guy slept soundly on his back.

He got tired of playing with them.

Upon returning to the Guo residence, Madam Guo lovingly carried her young son back, lamenting, "Only my uncle can keep Tang'er in check; otherwise, this boy is always causing trouble at night."

Zhang Xian laughed and said, "Hahaha, at this age, he's naturally full of energy. If you don't want him to cause trouble all day, you could hire a martial arts teacher for him. Firstly, it can help him improve his health, and secondly, it can help him burn off some energy."

Madam Guo covered her mouth and smiled: "Uncle is right. We should hire a tutor for this boy."

As she spoke, she pinched the nose of her sleeping baby.

After sending the person back, Zhang Xian did not wish to linger. He bowed to Guo and said, "Brother, you are resting after drinking. I will not disturb you any longer. I will take my leave."

"Why isn't Uncle staying at home? It's getting late, you can go back tomorrow."

"No, sister-in-law. There are many things to do on the farm, and I'm worried about them. Besides, I'm a skilled rider, so it won't take much effort for me to go back and forth."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Xian also left the Guo residence.

Leading a horse, strolling through the streets of Zhending.

The lights of thousands of homes illuminated the scene, while the orange-yellow clouds on the horizon created a magnificent spectacle.

After walking only a dozen steps, a sudden gust of wind swept up from behind.

Without a second thought, Zhang Xian suddenly crouched down and slapped the horse's back, causing the horse to kick backward and spur the horse to make way.

Hurry——!
The horses' neighing was like thunder.

Zhang Xian crouched down, braced himself with his palms, and flipped over.

With one hand supporting himself on the ground and the other reaching for his waist, he saw a man with bloodshot eyes, holding a jujube wood stick.

That blow was aimed right at his forehead; if it had hit him squarely, he would have been knocked unconscious or at least swayed.

"Zhang Xian!!" The man's voice was hoarse as he charged forward, stick in hand: "Give me back the lives of my entire family of two hundred and thirty-seven!"

The Li family!
Zhang Xian grinned maliciously: "If you have a grudge, report it to the authorities. But you attacked someone in the street, which violates the laws of the Han Dynasty!"

"Law! Law! Hahaha, if the law were effective, you would have died a thousand times over! I hate you, I hate you! Die!"

The man charged forward, and Zhang Xian dodged repeatedly. A short distance away, the gatekeeper of the Guo residence saw the commotion outside and hurriedly called out loudly!
"Help! Help! Mr. Zixu has been attacked!"

The Guo residence suddenly became lively, with servants and servants grabbing sticks and running into the street.

The patrolling soldiers also heard the noise.

The jujube wood stick swung with a whooshing sound, but Zhang Xian nimbly dodged it. In fact, killing this man would have been easy for him.

But he didn't.

After a dozen or so breaths, Zhang Xian was still fine, but the man wielding the stick was panting heavily.

The servants and household guards of the Guo family surrounded them, and several patrolling soldiers also arrived.

Without saying a word, he used the tip of his spear to knock the stick out of the man's hand, and then struck him on the back with the spear, knocking him to the ground.

The others quickly stepped forward and pinned the man down.

Some local residents also came over to see what was happening.

"Is Mr. Zixu alright?"

The soldier who had knocked the man down with his spear stepped forward and cautiously inquired.

Zhang Xian waved his hand and bowed again: "I am unharmed. It is fortunate that you all arrived in time. Otherwise, I, who am so weak, would have been in serious trouble."

"It's good that you're alright, sir." The soldier breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to look at the man on the ground, his face contorted with rage.

Fortunately, nothing happened. If a case had occurred on the street during his shift, he would have been reprimanded and punished.

He stepped forward, knelt on the man's back, and forcefully tied the man's hands behind his back with rope.

"Damn it, Mr. Zixu, how dare you hurt him? This is a great philanthropist who has saved countless lives in Changshan. Aren't you afraid of incurring divine retribution?!"

"Divine retribution? A great philanthropist? Hahaha, Zhang Xian wiped out my entire Li family, what kind of philanthropist is he! Hypocrite! Hypocrite!"

The man was held down by the soldiers, but he did not resist. He just whimpered and acted crazy.

Upon hearing that Zhang Xian had been attacked, the people around pointed at the man on the ground, their voices filled with disgust.

(End of this chapter)