Traveling through ancient times, I led my family to prosperity

"Are you really willing to do this?" Shen Liu asked at last.

"General, I'm sure you've already found out what's going on with my family. With our current strength, we can't keep this secret recipe. Not only can we not keep it, but it might even bring disaster to our family. I don't have much ambition, I just hope that my family can live together in harmony. Money is just something outside of the body. If you lose it, you can earn it again, but if you lose a person, it's really gone." Xiao Lan said. "Just now, the general asked me why I wasn't afraid of you killing people for treasures. It's not that I'm not afraid, but I have no choice. If my family wasn't about to serve in the army, I wouldn't take the risk and use this high profit to impress you."

While the two were talking, the servant came back with the boiled water. Shen Liu took the tea the servant had prepared, took a sip, and thought for a moment before saying, "I'll ask Ah Da to pick you up tomorrow. If it's really as easy as you said to get the money, I'll agree to your request."

Xiao Lan was overjoyed after hearing this. It was almost certain that her family would be exempted from five years of corvee labor. "I will definitely not let General Shen down."

Seeing her speak so confidently, Shen Liu felt relieved. "Keep it secret for now. If the secret recipe is leaked, your request will be invalid."

Xiao Lan was shocked. It seemed that Shen Liu was going to play big and monopolize the ice-making business. "General, I will keep it a secret, but if you use the wrong people and leak the secret, it can't be blamed on me. And I can't guarantee that others can't figure out this method. After all, if you want to make ice, you need to buy the missing materials. If someone with ulterior motives figures it out, it can't be blamed on me."

"I know this." Shen Liu said.

The next day, Ada Shen took Xiaolan away. Sheng Xuan was a little worried and wanted to go with his daughter, but Ada firmly refused.

"Dad, don't worry, nothing will happen. Our family is law-abiding. I believe the general will not kill innocent people." Xiao Lan said this to Sheng Xuan, but meant it to Shen Ada. "If I hadn't come back, rumors would have spread all over the city. The general would not make a mistake at this time."

After entering the Shen Mansion, the housekeeper came to greet them, but A Da did not let her lead the way. Instead, he personally escorted Xiao Lan to Shen Liu's study.

Seeing that Xiao Lan was only a girl in her teens, the housekeeper didn't pay much attention to her. She knew that Mr. Shen Liu had specially invited her to ask questions, and although she was suspicious of what this older girl could ask, she knew that she should pretend to be deaf and dumb when it was time to do so.

After entering the study, Xiao Lan greeted Shen Liu.

"No need to be polite." Shen Liu continued, "Xiao Lan, come here."

This study room was extremely cool, in stark contrast to the heat outside. Shen Liu sat behind a desk, wearing a half-worn wide robe that he usually wore at home, without a waist belt or a hair tie, and his thick black hair was tied up on top of his head with a jade hairpin.

"Sit down." Shen Liu glanced at Xiao Lan and asked her to sit down at the table. This was his territory, so he would not flirt with her.

Xiao Lan also knew how to read people's expressions. After all, she had saved him once. Although he didn't need to repay her with his body, he would not harm his savior.

Xiao Lan knew that what Shen Liu wanted to know most urgently was the ice-making process. She saw that there was already a tank and water in the study. She didn't want to delay any more, as she had a lot of housework to do. She wanted to find out about this as soon as possible so that she could go home and continue making soap.

So she made ice again in front of Shen Liu, and told him that the powder used was saltpeter powder. "General, this powder will settle at the bottom of the water and can be collected and used again."

Shen Liu looked at Xiao Lan's series of operations and recalled the information he had checked before, which detailed the story of Xiao Lan's family's rise to wealth. Whether it was making tofu or soap, her family made a lot of money. If it weren't for the ice disaster, Shen Liu believed that with her clever brain, her family would have been rich long ago, and why couldn't they even take out a mere 100 gold.

If this family could come up with one hundred gold, then he would have no chance of getting into the ice-making business, because people would not tinker with inventions if they were not short of money.

"Generally speaking, I got the upper hand in making ice, so let me give you another piece of news." Shen Liu was in a good mood today. After he succeeded in making ice by himself, he might as well do Xiao Lan a favor.

Xiao Lan's ears pricked up instantly. This was the information of the first song. Coming from Shen Liu's mouth, it must be true.

"The Hu people have submitted a ceasefire agreement to the court. It won't be long before the court issues a written document." Shen Liudao.

This is good news. It means that refugees with land and property can return home. It also means that Xiaolan's family can end their life in the city and return home. You know, except for her, everyone else in the family has long been dissatisfied with the high cost of living in the city and wants to return home to farm.

Hedong Prefecture has a long border with the Hu people. Although the Hu soldiers have been driven out by Shen Liu and the border has been temporarily stabilized, the Hu people are skilled in archery and horse riding and have a tough folk character. They are always a potential threat to the Daqi Dynasty, and the court dare not relax for a moment.

Not long after, a notice was posted in the city, informing the refugees that they could return to their hometowns. This was really encouraging. Not only were ordinary people happy about this news, but even the officials of all ranks in the city were very happy.

Along with this announcement, another announcement said that the court was short of officials now, and those who had passed the examinations for the title of scholar or above were asked to return home and wait for notification. The court was currently recruiting people, and perhaps there would be suitable jobs for them.

When the old Sheng family heard the news, they were overjoyed. The purpose of Grandpa Sheng supporting Sheng Nuo to study was to bring honor to the family. Now Sheng Nuo not only saved the family from suffering from corvée, but also had a job. His ancestors had never been officials. If Sheng Nuo became the first official, it would be a great honor for the family and a great success for the ancestors.

Originally, Sheng Nuo wanted to marry Xiao Ru to the Sun family, and use the Sun family's relationship to help him get into the official career. However, things did not go as planned. Xiao Ru died in childbirth, and the Sun family also lost their former dignity because of avoiding war. With Xiao Ru's death, Sheng Nuo's relationship with the Sun family was severed. Just when he felt that his path to an official career was blocked, the court actually issued an official document to arrange jobs for scholars and those with official titles, which made him very happy.