Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"Hahaha... I knew it! How could a spendthrift like him know how to refine salt? It was pure luck!"

Jiang Xiuwen's heart finally settled down, and he laughed twice before leaving.

If Lin Ping really has great abilities, wouldn't he be embarrassed?

He didn't want Lin Ping to become a useful person.

The city lord looked at Lin Ping with a complicated expression, feeling that he was not as simple as he seemed.

Perhaps this was Lin Ping's wise move, which neither embarrassed Jiang Xiuwen nor cemented his reputation as a spendthrift.

So, did Lin Ping just get lucky by sheer chance?

of course not!

Before he traveled through time, he greatly admired the science and technology of ancient China. He could recite the book "Tiangong Kaiwu" from memory, and he clearly remembered that Song Zi wrote about it in the chapter "Zuoxian".

“If the brine does not solidify immediately after boiling, crush the soapberry and mix it with millet bran. Add the mixture to the boiling brine and stir. The salt will solidify instantly.”

Although Song Zi could not explain the scientific reasons behind it, it was enough to illustrate the advanced level of handicrafts in ancient times.

Lin Ping naturally knew that this was the common ion effect; the addition of soapberry could reduce the solubility of salt in water, thereby causing particles to precipitate out.

Since Lin Ping was unwilling to seize this opportunity to show off, the city lord did not force him, but was secretly pleased.

What is the ideal son-in-law like? Not someone who is good for nothing but squandering money, but someone who is wise in appearance but foolish in reality, intelligent yet without ambition.

Lin Ping perfectly fit this description, and the city lord left thoughtfully.

Jiang Yunyu slipped away, dissatisfied, to avoid being the one who would end up getting beaten up.

Jiang Yunying brought Qin Diaohui back to the military camp in a menacing manner. The salt refinery was temporarily taken over by Master Yan. Anyway, with two squad leaders guarding it, there shouldn't be any trouble.

Lin Ping returned in triumph with Li Mingxuan and the others. He wasn't angry about their disloyal behavior earlier, since no one could stop Jiang Xiuwen from being furious.

Li Mingxuan and the others were indeed his servants, but they had no obligation to die for him.

After returning to his room, Lin Ping didn't rest. He sent all five of them out to search for the items he needed.

Around dusk, Li Mingxuan excitedly knocked on the door, holding a gleaming silver knife, several silver needles, and a lot of cotton cloth.

Da Niu was carrying two jugs of strong liquor, while Er Niu was carrying an earthenware pot and a hollow short bamboo pole.

Dali and Erli were carrying bags of herbs.

In short, the five of them barely completed the task and prepared all the items that Lin Ping had asked them to prepare.

"Little Li, send Wang Xiao'e to the young master later. Xiao Hui won't need to serve you tonight."

Lin Ping said earnestly.

Upon hearing this, the five men all grinned mischievously, knowing exactly what Lin Ping meant. Li Mingxuan nodded knowingly, "Don't worry, son-in-law, I guarantee there will be meat tonight!"

After receiving the order, the five men withdrew in unison. Da Niu asked, puzzled, "Why does the son-in-law want to buy wine?"

"Fool!"

Li Mingxuan slapped Da Niu's head hard, looking like he knew everything: "Of course it's to bolster courage. If the princess finds out about this, things will get complicated."

"Then why buy herbs?"

Erniu asked.

"Medicinal tonic...it seems to be a tonic called Bilian."

Li Mingxuan answered without hesitation, then shut his mouth after a moment, not daring to let Lin Ping hear him say that his son-in-law was incompetent.

"Hehe, it seems that Granny Wu was not lying. The young master has taken Bi Lian tonic!"

Dali chuckled slyly, naturally thinking of a matter that had been making headlines in the manor recently.

"What use are daggers and silver needles?"

Erli felt equally puzzled.

Li Mingxuan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and replied, "Holy crap... the son-in-law is too ruthless! This can't be told to anyone!"

Lin Ping was engrossed in his research inside the room and paid no attention to what Li Mingxuan and the others were discussing outside the door.

Lin Ping first poured two jars of strong liquor into an earthenware pot, then heated it from below with firewood. A hollow bamboo pole was attached to the top of the pot, and the other end was reattached to the liquor jar.

In ancient times, people drank pure grain liquor, which did not exceed 20 degrees. In order to obtain high-concentration alcohol, it was necessary to distill it.

While distilling the alcohol, Lin Ping mixed the six herbs in proportion and then ground them into powder little by little.

These medicinal materials include Rhododendron molle, Aconitum carmichaelii, Angelica dahurica, Angelica sinensis, and Ligusticum chuanxiong, which are also the raw materials used by Hua Tuo to make Mafeisan (a type of anesthetic).

Before Lin Ping could get ready, Li Mingxuan and the others had already eagerly brought Wang Xiao'e over.

"Miss Xiao'e, don't be afraid. My son-in-law is very gentle. He drank some wine and took the tonic Bi Lian today, so his abilities must be greatly enhanced. As for those silver needles and daggers, don't be afraid..."

As Li Mingxuan helped Wang Xiao'e into the room, he kept muttering in her ear.

Wang Xiao'e already knew that Lin Ping was a bad person, and upon hearing these words, she was so frightened that she trembled all over and almost burst into tears.

"Son-in-law, the person has been delivered to you. Enjoy!"

Li Mingxuan shouted earnestly, and then all that could be heard was the sound of the door closing.

Through a thin screen, and with the help of the flickering candlelight, Lin Ping could vaguely see a thin figure.

To prevent Wang Xiao'e from falling due to her blindness, Lin Ping quickly stepped over the screen. When he saw her panicked little face, Lin Ping cursed inwardly, "Li Mingxuan, you beast, you know she's timid and you still exaggerate."

At this moment, Wang Xiao'e was dressed in a light pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her freshly washed hair cascading over her shoulders, and she exuded a faint fragrance. Coupled with her fair skin and delicate features, she was truly captivating, though her lifeless eyes greatly diminished her allure.

Lin Ping stared at the other person's slender neck for a long time, swallowing his saliva repeatedly.

Even though she was blind, Wang Xiao'e could guess Lin Ping's lewd appearance. So, while shedding tears and unbuttoning her clothes, she pleaded with tear-streaked eyes, "After tonight, young master, can you let Xiao'e go home to see my father one last time?"

A woman's innocence is more important than her life. Wang Xiao'e knew she was powerless to resist. Rather than die tragically in the struggle, she would rather keep her life to say goodbye to her father and then throw herself into the Huai River to cleanse her unclean body.

"Here we go again..."

Lin Ping was speechless. This was even more resolute than Xiao Hui's behavior that night, and he even felt a little guilty.

"Don't worry, Miss Xiao'e, everything will be alright after tonight!"

Lin Ping, supporting Wang Xiao'e's arm, slowly walked across the screen.

"It's about to begin, the son-in-law is about to begin!"

Li Mingxuan and the others outside the door pressed their ears against the window paper, wishing they could crawl in and see what was going on.

Seeing that Lin Ping was about to make another move, Wang Xiao'e stopped crying. She couldn't let her father see her looking so haggard.

"Little Miss, you should lie down."

Lin Ping said softly.

"As expected of the son-in-law, he won this young lady over with just a few words, and she actually lay down on her own!"

Li Mingxuan gave Lin Ping a thumbs-up from outside the window, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets in his anxiety. However, he couldn't see what was happening inside because of the window paper and screen in between.

Wang Xiao'e lay quietly on the bed, expressionless, just like a corpse.

"It's clearly a good thing, so why is it being made into something like a heinous crime?"

Lin Ping shook his head helplessly and stared at Wang Xiao'e's eyes carefully for a long time with the help of his X-ray vision. He had no disrespectful thoughts at all, and looked more like a doctor examining a patient.

After a series of investigations, Lin Ping finally concluded that he had extremely high myopia!