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

"Don't rush, speak slowly," Lin Ping said leisurely, as if he had already guessed this outcome; he just hadn't expected it to be so incredibly boring.

Li Mingxuan took a breath and briefly explained the situation, outlining the recent predicament of the salt merchants.

Lin Ping nodded in satisfaction and muttered to himself, "Not bad. Looks like someone's going to be in trouble."

"Not bad? You've ruined all the salt merchants in Yingtian Prefecture. How can you describe it as just 'not bad'?" Li Mingxuan said in a low voice, admiring his abilities on one hand, and fearing his insidious methods on the other.

Especially the last sentence: Looks like someone's going to be in trouble.

Bored to death, how much more misfortune do the salt merchants need to suffer? Do they all have to hang themselves in front of you, Lin Ping?

Zhou Xiyin also heard Li Mingxuan shouting and asked him what was going on out of curiosity.

Her beautiful eyes were unpredictable, and she didn't know whether Lin Ping was right or wrong. No businessman is honest, so what he did was understandable, but the impact was too wide and he could easily become a public enemy.

"My lady, continue to increase investment in the weaving workshop and the garment workshop, and lower the price of the clothes, preferably to just charge the cost price," Lin Ping said excitedly.

Zhou Xiyin was a little puzzled. Wouldn't it be a waste of time to only charge the cost price?

"This is called a monopoly. Our clothes are not only beautiful, but also of high quality. If the price is also lower than other merchants, we will inevitably seize the entire market of Yingtianfu. Other weaving workshops and garment workshops will close down because they lose money. At that time, there will only be one garment workshop left in the entire Yingtianfu, and we can set the price as we please." Lin Ping succinctly explained the basic methods of monopoly to Zhou Xiyin.

These insights shocked Zhou Xiyin; they were absolutely unheard of and unseen before.

She roughly guessed Lin Ping's purpose and hurriedly went to the weaving workshop, presumably to expand production immediately.

Lin Ping didn't accompany her; he had more important things to do.

Inside the headquarters of Bafang Money Exchange, Lin Ping was treated as an honored guest and leisurely sipped tea at the Eight Immortals Table.

Before long, Ma Dayun arrived in a flurry. He never dared to neglect Lin Ping, this great figure, for there might be a new way to make money.

"What are your instructions, Young Master Lin?" Ma Dayun asked, cupping his hands in greeting. He knew that Lin Ping wouldn't come to the temple without a reason, and even if he looked relaxed, something important must have happened.

"Mr. Ma, don't lend out any cash recently, except for Mr. Duan from the brokerage firm. Give him any amount of money, no matter how much he asks for," Lin Ping said earnestly.

This is absolutely a bombshell.

If money shops don't lend money, how can they do business? It's no different from closing down.

Moreover, what is the purpose of lending money to Duan Xiu indefinitely?

Even though the other party is the owner of a brokerage firm and has a lot of assets, we can't just let him ask for an exorbitant amount, can we?

"The brokerage business is a lucrative one. Boss Duan only ever deposits money; he never actually borrows it." Ma Dayun smiled faintly, completely unaware of Lin Ping's intentions, as if he had anticipated that Duan Xiu would come to borrow money.

"Mr. Ma, just remember this is a rare opportunity. As long as you can overcome this hurdle, in Yingtian Prefecture, and even in the entire Yue Kingdom, only Bafang Money Shop will stand out," Lin Ping said meaningfully.

He didn't want to be too explicit, leaving it entirely to Ma Dayun to figure out.

Not long after he left, Duan Xiu hurriedly rushed into the gate of Bafang Money Shop.

"One hundred thousand taels of silver? Boss Duan is truly generous. I'll send someone to your residence to fetch the silver," said the manager of Bafang Money Exchange with a broad smile.

Duan Xiu was one of their big clients, coming to deposit money every few days, often tens of thousands of taels at a time. This time, the amount was increased to one hundred thousand taels, so he must have made a lot of money.

"No, no, no," Duan Xiu shook his head and said, "I want to borrow 100,000 taels of silver."

"You want to borrow money?" The shopkeeper was a little confused.

Brokerage is a highly profitable business; there's no way they'd borrow money from others.

Even if it's just working capital, there's no need to borrow 100,000 taels of silver all at once.

With such a large sum of money, the shopkeeper was really unsure what to do.

Just as he was worrying, Ma Dayun walked over in astonishment, thinking to himself: Young Master Lin is truly a prophet.

Since Lin Ping's prediction that Duan Xiu would come to borrow money has come true, his last statement will likely also come true.

Ma Dayun was immediately excited and almost burst out laughing.

Within the Wu Kingdom, Bafang Money Shop was originally just a second-rate money shop, but Lin Ping managed to elevate it to the level of a first-rate money shop. Now, he wants to make it the only money shop there, which is more exaggerated than a dream.

In just a few months, it has achieved leapfrog development, comparable to taking a flight.

"Get the money for Boss Duan." Ma Dayun ordered without hesitation, even holding Duan Xiu's hands and laughing, "Is this enough? If not, Bafang Money Shop has more."

Duan Xiu rummaged through his earrings, completely incredulous at how readily the other party had agreed, without even asking why he needed to borrow so much money.

Even a fool wouldn't complain about having too much money, let alone Duan Xiu, who was no fool. He bowed and scraped to Ma Dayun to thank him and took away several cartloads of silver.

"Boss Duan, come often." Ma Dayun waved goodbye.

"The brokerage firm is never short of money. It seems they've encountered some difficulties. You shouldn't have given them all of it," the manager of Bafang Money Exchange said, somewhat puzzled. He couldn't understand why Ma Dayun, who was usually cautious, had become so careless.

"What do you know? Boss Duan is our benefactor." Ma Dayun glanced at him and walked away, not forgetting to remind him, "From today onwards, Boss Duan will lend us whatever amount he wants."

The manager of Bafang Money Exchange shuddered. He never expected Ma Dayun to say such a thing. He was no longer the composed man he once was.

"Sigh..." The manager of Bafang Money Shop shook his head helplessly. He was just a high-level employee and couldn't change Ma Dayun's decision. He only hoped that Bafang Money Shop wouldn't have to close down and make him lose his job.

After receiving the silver, Duan Xiu did not immediately return to the brokerage firm, but instead wandered around the mansions of various salt merchants.

Clearly, most of these salt merchants have lost everything and are now selling off their shops and houses in large quantities.

They needed the money urgently and were selling in a hurry. In addition, it was a large-scale sale, so it was difficult to find suitable buyers. They could only sell the goods cheaply to the brokerage.

This is why Duan Xiu borrowed so much money; he wanted to buy low and sell high, making tens of thousands of taels of profit with each transaction.

Looking at the thick stack of house deeds and land deeds in his hand, Duan Xiu was overjoyed. He didn't care at all about the silver that was flowing out of the country, because he could earn it back in a few days anyway.

"I'm rich! I'm really rich this time! I really need to pay a proper visit to the city lord of Jiangcheng when I have some free time," Duan Xiu said with a smug look on her face.

In a sense, it was the city lord of Jiangcheng who caused the salt merchants to go bankrupt, thus giving him the opportunity to make large-scale acquisitions.

Therefore, he really needs to thank the Lord of Jiangcheng.

"Are you happy to acquire houses and shops? I'm afraid there will be a day when you won't be laughing anymore." Lin Ping observed from the shadows, a sinister smile on his lips.