Business

As soon as the New Year passed, Gao Yuan summoned Gao Zhong back to meet with Wan Sanqian.

After several years away, Gao Zhong was no longer the timid, somewhat simple young man he once was.

His every move now carried the air of a successful businessman, and a hint of shrewdness gleamed in his eyes.

"Not bad, Gao Zhong. You've done well these past few years."

Gao Yuan patted Gao Zhong on the shoulder.

"Keep working hard and doing your job well. In the future, it's not impossible for you to be enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed as a minister."

Gao Zhong was ecstatic and hurried to pledge his loyalty.

"Rest assured, County Duke. Your subordinate will certainly devote himself entirely, until..."

"Alright, alright. Doing is better than saying."

Gao Yuan stopped Gao Zhong and pointed to Wan Sanqian.

"This man is Wan Sanqian. From now on, he will be your deputy, specifically responsible for the trade route from Nanzhou to Guangzhou."

"As for you, your future energy will be focused on opening up the trade route from Guangzhou to the Central Plains and building your own fleet."

"Remember, our future products will involve much more than just the ice business."

The two men looked at each other and bowed to Gao Yuan.

"Rest assured, County Duke. The two of us will certainly unite in good faith to raise funds and accumulate strength for your era name."

"Good. You may go. I will produce the new products and send them to you as soon as possible."

"Understood!"

Coming and going in a hurry, Gao Zhong only spent three days with Gao Fu before taking Wan Sanqian back to Guangzhou.

Because the business was expanding, Gao Yuan specifically allocated a hundred soldiers from the First Division to accompany them.

This gesture moved Gao Zhong to tears, and he silently swallowed the ambitious vision Gao Yuan had painted for him.

Once Gao Zhong left, Gao Yuan began to get busy.

Compared to papermaking and printing, which required a large number of craftsmen, solar salt production was the business that would yield the fastest results.

Originally, the Southwest region relied mainly on well salt. Even self-sufficiency was hard to guarantee, let alone selling it after purification.

But things were different now. Having conquered Coastal Defense and Guangning, Nanzhou now had its own coastline.

These two places weren't natural deep-water ports, so developing maritime trade would definitely not work.

However, opening salt pans for solar salt production would certainly be no problem.

Gao Yuan didn't know much about solar salt production from seawater; he only vaguely remembered seeing similar short videos before he transmigrated.

However, he remembered the purification of crude salt clearly. After all, it was an essential skill for a transmigrator, having read about it repeatedly in web novels.

He wrote down the general idea and handed it to Gao Fu.

"Uncle Fu, this is the salt-making method I've come up with. I call it the Salt Pan Method and Crude Salt Purification."

"You must select reliable people and produce refined salt as quickly as possible. A large portion of our future military funds will depend on this."

Gao Fu's hands trembled as he took the silk cloth with the salt-making method written on it, handling it as carefully as if he were holding a newborn baby.

He scanned it and then tucked it carefully into his robes.

"Rest assured, Family Head. Even if this old man loses his life, I will not let this secret method leak out."

"The Salt Pan Method is no secret and cannot be kept. It's better to release it to give the people of Coastal Defense and Guangning another livelihood."

Gao Yuan first waved his hand dismissively, then adopted a solemn tone.

"But the technique for Crude Salt Purification must be kept secret. This is the capital upon which our lives and livelihoods depend."

"This old man has committed it to memory."

"Alright, you may go."

After seeing off Gao Fu, Gao Yuan called for Mu Sheng.

As the saying goes, one shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket. Although he never doubted the loyalty of the Gao Fu and Gao Zhong father and son,

necessary precautions still had to be taken. Moreover, for the families that had sought refuge with him, he had to provide the appropriate incentives.

"Greetings, County Duke."

Mu Sheng bowed to Gao Yuan upon entering the study.

"Uncle Mu, you're being too formal. Please, have a seat."

Gao Yuan pointed to the chair across from his desk and personally brewed tea for Mu Sheng once he sat down.

"Uncle Mu, how has the family been lately? Is there enough money to spend?"

"Thank you for your concern, County Duke. Life at home is very comfortable. As for money..."

Mu Sheng gave a helpless smile.

"People are always prone to greed; once they can eat their fill, they naturally think about eating well. So, money is indeed a bit tight."

Gao Yuan smiled, naturally understanding Mu Sheng's meaning.

Since he had taken power and confiscated most of the land, a large number of people had been converted to civilian status, causing these Local Chieftains to lose most of their income.

Their lives certainly weren't miserable, but they were definitely not as extravagant as before.

"I have two new businesses here. To say the least, it won't be a problem for everyone to live a good life..."

As he spoke, Gao Yuan took out two pieces of silk and placed them on the desk.

Looking at the two pieces of silk on the desk, Mu Sheng's eyes involuntarily lit up.

He knew that just the ice-making business had filled the treasury to the brim.

Therefore, he was full of anticipation for the business Gao Yuan mentioned.

A flash of greed passed through his mind, but Mu Sheng quickly regained his composure.

"We are naturally interested, but I wonder what requirements the County Duke has."

Gao Yuan was very satisfied with his reaction and stopped holding back.

"First, I want all of your remaining farmland;"

"Second, I want half of the tenant farmers under you;"

"Third, for these two businesses, I will levy a tax of forty percent of the profits."

Stopping Mu Sheng from speaking, Gao Yuan continued,

"But rest assured, I will not give the same business to anyone else but you;"

"As for the products, besides the portion you keep for your own sales, I can purchase all the rest."

Mu Sheng fell into deep thought. Gao Yuan didn't rush him, just quietly brewed the tea.

He was very confident in the conditions he had offered.

As long as the products were made, there would be no shortage of buyers. Such a business was simply too tempting.

After a long time, Mu Sheng let out a long breath.

"Regardless of what the other families do, my Mu Family agrees."

"Good."

Gao Yuan showed a triumphant smile and then handed the Papermaking Technique and the White Sugar Decolorization Method to Mu Sheng.

For white sugar decolorization, Gao Yuan didn't use the yellow mud water method that only existed in legends.

That had been repeatedly proven by experiments to be a complete misconception.

Gao Yuan chose the Activated Carbon Decolorization Method. Although this method had a higher cost, its production efficiency was high.

The Southwest border did not lack wood or fruit, making the production of activated carbon very convenient.

The white sugar produced this way was slightly yellowish, but in this era, it was already a rare commodity.

With just one glance, Mu Sheng understood why Gao Yuan had made such harsh demands.

These two businesses were more than just generally profitable; they were simply exorbitant, the kind that was faster than robbing people.

The most crucial thing was that there was no worry about sales. As Gao Yuan's territory grew larger, the profits would become even more substantial.

Mu Sheng could see it, and the other families naturally could too.

One by one, they couldn't wait to run to the Prefectural Office, handing over their land deeds and the indentured contracts of their tenant farmers.

Then, each of them happily took the production and operation permits issued by the Prefectural Office and went back to build factories.

Soon, a dozen factories were erected in various places.

Without exception, these factories were heavily guarded and emitted steam all day long.

By May, large quantities of white sugar, refined salt, and paper produced in Nanzhou appeared at the port of Guangzhou.

These rare items didn't sell much in Guangzhou, but after being shipped to places like Jiangnan and Shandong, they instantly became highly sought-after.

Although the Great Qian had suffered continuous natural disasters in recent years, the wealthy would never lack money.

They wouldn't hesitate at all for these good things, directly opening their wallets to buy, buy, buy.

The Wanyong Trading Company, established by Gao Zhong and Wan Sanqian, made a fortune in Great Qian in just a few months.

They exchanged most of the money they earned for materials urgently needed in Nanzhou.

Grain, pig iron, ox hide, ox sinew, warhorses, and even craftsmen, able-bodied men, and women.