I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

Sensing Li Chengqian's worry, Li Shen gave him a big smile and then comforted him:

"Don't worry, I've already figured it out. You may have thousands of houses, but you can only sleep in a space of three feet. You may have thousands of pieces of silk, but you can't wear them all when you die. You may have millions of strings of gold, but you can't take a single penny with you when you die."

I took off my shoes and socks at night, wondering if I'd wear them again tomorrow morning.

Li Shen's words were a wake-up call for the group. Li Tai and Li Zhi never expected that Li Shen could say something so profound.

Although it doesn't sound very elegant, every word makes sense.

The two men had to look at Li Shen with new respect and held him in higher regard.

Li Shimin and Li Chengqian were already used to it. They had spent a lot of time with Li Shen and often heard him say things that were full of life wisdom.

Some of these statements are fallacies and heresies, while others are actually quite reasonable.

Li Shimin stroked his beard, savoring Li Shen's profound enlightenment, and wholeheartedly agreed.

When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Now he no longer believes in ghosts and gods, and is afraid of being swindled out of a huge sum of money by Li Shen.

Now that someone is talking to him about immortality, his first thought is that they are sent by Li Shen to swindle him out of his money.

Sigh... If only Li Shen's quick wit could be passed on to the Crown Prince like the wind.

Li Shimin thought to himself.

Looking at Li Shen with his eyes closed, Li Shimin said affectionately:

"Since you have come to a complete understanding, why not move the treasury of the Prince Ji's mansion to the imperial treasury?"

"Absolutely impossible!!" Li Shen's eyes snapped open, a sharp glint in them, and Sun Jian stood up.

Li Shimin's words instantly broke Li Shen's defenses.

Good heavens, just as I suspected, after taking one thing, he started eyeing his own vault.

"Hahaha, you all see that, if this scoundrel could have a complete awakening, then there would be no one in the world who is greedy for money."

Li Shimin burst into laughter. He knew this would happen; his son, who valued money above all else, could never possibly regard money as dirt.

If excrement were money, he would eat it.

"Tenth Brother, didn't you just say that money is like dirt?" Li Chengqian asked with a smile.

"This... Father is the true Son of Heaven, the supreme ruler. I wonder if you have ever heard of the saying that the dragon has nine sons, each different from the other?"

And I am the Pixiu, one of the nine sons.

Li Shen raised his proud head.

"Oh? Why Pixiu?" Li Shimin asked curiously.

"Only in, no out," Li Shen said decisively.

This left everyone speechless. How could someone describe themselves like this, being so stingy and yet so self-righteous?

"Alright, sit down and let's talk." Li Shimin felt tired of looking up at Li Shen, so he waved his hand.

Li Shen sat down and continued to walk around the stove.

"I just heard from your mother that you were chatting in the Daji Hall? Are you going to lie to them again?"

Li Shimin glanced at Li Tai and Li Zhi, then spoke to Li Shen.

"No, they want to do business with me. Doing business naturally requires investment. How can you expect to receive dividends without investing?"

"Isn't this plunder?" Li Shen's words had a double meaning.

Li Shimin knew that Li Shen was subtly hinting at him, but he couldn't get angry, otherwise he would expose that he wanted a share of the profits even without contributing any money.

He could only glare fiercely at Li Shen before speaking:

"Tenth Prince, if you are truly committed to leading them in business, that would be a good thing, and I would like to see it."

But if you focus your attention on those two people, I think it's better to forget about it.

I know you have many tricks up your sleeve, and those two are no match for you.

But they are still your brothers, your siblings.

Li Shimin didn't actually finish his sentence, but Li Shen understood that they were his brothers, and he should let them go if he could.

"Father, what are you saying? How could I deceive my brother? I was just joking."

Li Shen smiled and nodded.

He could not reveal his true thoughts in front of Li Shimin.

“Father, my tenth brother just said he has a big business deal to discuss with you.”

Just then, Li Chengqian suddenly interjected.

"Oh? What big business deal is it?" Li Shimin glanced at Li Chengqian after hearing this, and then looked at Li Shen.

“Father, my tenth brother said that we can use soybean oil to feed the people.”

Without Li Shen needing to answer, Li Chengqian spoke on his behalf.

"Beans? Can they be pressed into oil?" Li Shimin looked surprised upon hearing this.

"Yes, Father. It's a similar process to making sesame oil. You should be able to succeed after a few more tries."

Li Shendian.

Upon receiving confirmation, Li Shimin's face immediately lit up with joy:

"How much will it cost?"

"Replying to Aye, in the early stages it will definitely be similar to sesame oil, but I believe that once the process is mature and more and more people start to imitate it, the price will definitely drop a lot."

Li Shen thought for a moment and then answered.

He didn't plan to sell them too cheaply in the early stages, because there weren't enough soybeans, and the amount of oil extracted wouldn't be enough to distribute among the people of the whole country.

Ultimately, most of them were bought by nobles and wealthy people.

It would be better to sell it at a higher price and make some money first.

Seeing that he was making money, Li Shen was certain that others would follow suit, just like with cotton.

When there are more oil pressing workshops, there will be more people growing soybeans.

This can be considered as finding a way for ordinary people to make money.

"Good, good, Tenth Prince, if you can accomplish this, it will be a great achievement. Go ahead and do it with confidence, and I will reward you accordingly."

Upon hearing Li Shen's words, Li Shimin applauded.

Rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea are all necessities for people's livelihoods, but tea is expensive and many people cannot afford it.

However, people's livelihood is a very important thing.

If Li Shen succeeds, it will surely benefit future generations.

"Thank you, Father. Since you say so, then I do have a request." Li Shen said happily after hearing this.

"Speak," Li Shimin said with great confidence, "and I will help you with anything related to oil pressing."

"Then, Father, could you give me 500,000 shi of grain?" Li Shen asked, rubbing his hands together.

How much grain did you say?

Li Shimin, who was initially in high spirits, thought he had misheard.

"Reporting to Father, 500,000 shi of grain," Li Shen repeated.

"Hehe, hehe." Li Shimin sneered repeatedly.

"Tenth Brother, are you planning to use these 500,000 shi of grain to offset the loss from the glass house?"

Your 500,000 shi of grain is worth exactly 100,000 guan in the market.

You're quite the schemer.

The price of grain is now 20 wen per stalk, and 500,000 shi would be exactly 100,000 guan.

"Oh dear, what a coincidence! Hehe." Li Shen chuckled awkwardly, surprised that his father was so good at math and had figured it out so quickly.

That was exactly what he meant. Having lost a glass house worth 100,000 guan, he naturally wanted to find a way to get some of it back.

The 500,000 shi of grain could be exchanged for soybeans from Baekje, and he would even make a profit.

"Heh, what a coincidence. Did you think I'd fall for your trick?"