13: This business will drag the whole village down with it.

Su Yang was exhausted and fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Su Ming, however, lay awake, staring at the dark ceiling, completely sleepless.

Beside him lay his second elder brother.

A brother who dared to fight a wild boar just to get him an ounce of silver.

"I must get that spot," Su Ming said in his heart, his voice not loud, but firm as cast iron.

"Nonsense! Your two elder brothers almost lost their lives for this. If you don't get it, I'll be the first to refine you into the artifact spirit of a ring!" Lin Yu said grumpily. "You must learn something from this!"

"Learn what?"

"Learn the essence of 'The Way of Cautious Survival'!" Lin Yu's voice was deafening. "Why did they have to risk their lives? Because they had no other choice! They had no skills, no safer way to earn money! So, once this matter is settled, and you return from Qingshi Town, our first priority will be to launch 'Project No. 1: Family Poverty Alleviation and Prosperity'!"

"What project?"

"I need to think this through carefully, but it will definitely help your family escape poverty and become wealthy," Lin Yu's voice exuded the confidence of someone in control.

Su Ming's heart was stirred by Lin Yu's words, becoming lively.

Wealth? Poverty alleviation?

This thought, like a seed, fell into his heart.

"So," Lin Yu's tone softened, "now, put away your useless emotions and guilt. Your brother's investment is a 'sunk cost,' already paid. The only thing you can do is make this investment yield the greatest return."

"Sleep, and get enough rest. Starting tomorrow, you must let Master Zhou see a 'clumsy unpolished jade' who is doing his best to seize the opportunity. Play your part well, and get the spot. This is the best way to repay your brothers."

Su Ming slowly closed his eyes.

His second elder brother's even snores were right beside his ear, and the warm body temperature transmitted through his thin clothes gradually warmed his cold hands and feet.

He clenched his fists.

He knew that from this night on, the burden he carried was different.

As dawn broke, there was movement in the Su Family Small Courtyard.

It wasn't the usual unhurried pace of a farming family, but a busy atmosphere tinged with suppressed excitement.

Wang Chuntao was putting several black flour steamed buns into a cloth bag, muttering, "Father, Eldest Brother, eat these on the way, don't go hungry."

Madam Chen, meanwhile, repeatedly checked the hemp ropes binding the prey, fearing that the bumpy road might damage the fur and fetch a lower price.

Su Shan squatted in the center of the courtyard, puffing on his dry pipe, the smoke swirling, obscuring his expression.

Su Feng and Su Yang were carefully wiping the mud from the wild boar's tusks with a piece of rags. The small wild boar and the musk deer were placed side by side on the cart, like two silent trophies.

"Father, I'll go with you too," Su Ming walked out of the house, a hint of pleading in his eyes.

Su Shan lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, saying nothing, just shaking his head.

"Xiao Ming, don't just add to the trouble," Su Feng straightened up, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "The road to Qingshi Town is not easy, and your small body can't handle the bumps. Stay home and review your lessons; that's your main priority."

Su Yang also chimed in, "That's right, Xiao Ming, we'll be back before dark. Wait for our good news at home!"

Su Ming looked at them and didn't insist further.

He knew that in this family, everyone had their own battlefield.

His battlefield was in the private school, in books. His brothers' battlefield was in the mountains and forests, on the muddy path leading to Qingshi Town.

The creaking of the cart faded into the distance. Su Ming stood at the door until the three figures disappeared around the corner of the village entrance.

"Master, will they get a good price?"

"I don't know," Lin Yu's voice was lazy. "I'm not a market analyst. But according to the general principle of equivalent exchange, a small wild boar plus an adult musk deer should be more than enough to cover your initial investment for a child scholar."

He paused, his tone becoming somewhat playful: "What? Afraid they'll lose everything?"

Su Ming said nothing, turned, and went back to his small room, picking up the already dog-eared 'Three Character Classic'.

Su Ming spent the day distracted.

Master Zhou's lecture was a blur. He ignored Zhao Rui's provocative glances.

His mind was entirely with the creaking cart, flying to Qingshi Town, dozens of miles away.

He imagined his father haggling, his elder brothers carrying heavy prey, and the shrewd or harsh face of the butcher shop owner in Qingshi Town.

Finally, as the setting sun painted the sky a vibrant orange, the familiar footsteps and cart sounds echoed from the village entrance.

Su Ming was the first to rush out.

Su Shan walked at the front, his pipe already lit, his steps much lighter than when they left.

Su Feng and Su Yang followed behind, one pushing the empty cart, their faces showing unconcealed fatigue and smiles.

"You're back!" Madam Chen and Wang Chuntao also went to greet them.

"How was it? How much did you sell for?" Wang Chuntao's voice was the most eager.

Su Feng grinned, pulled a heavy cloth bag from his bosom, and handed it to Su Shan.

Su Shan didn't take it, just gestured towards Su Ming.

Su Feng understood, walked over, and placed the cloth bag into Su Ming's hand.

"Xiao Ming, take it. It's yours."

The cloth bag was surprisingly heavy.

Su Ming untied the opening; inside were two pieces of broken silver and a large string of heavy copper coins, glinting temptingly in the setting sun.

"The butcher shop owner was fair enough," Su Yang said excitedly. "The wild boar fetched eight hundred wen, and the musk deer five hundred wen, totaling thirteen hundred wen! That's more than an ounce of silver by three hundred coins!"

An ounce of silver!

This number instantly brought tears to Madam Chen's eyes.

Wang Chuntao was even more overjoyed, her voice rising by eight octaves: "My goodness! More than an ounce of silver! Now Xiao Ming's travel expenses to Qingshi Town are definitely enough!"

Su Ming clutched the cloth bag, his knuckles white from the force.

He could feel that the cloth bag contained not cold silver, but the sweat and blood of his elder brothers, the hope they had exchanged for fighting wild beasts.

The weight made his palms tingle.

That night, Su Ming lay on the kang, the money bag beside his pillow, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

"Do you feel it?" Lin Yu's voice drifted. "This is the primitive accumulation of capital. Bloody, violent, full of uncertainty. Your elder brothers were lucky; they returned with an ounce of silver unharmed. If they were unlucky, they might be the ones lying on the cart now."

Su Ming remained silent.

"An ounce of silver, thirteen hundred wen. Sounds like a lot, right?" Lin Yu's tone became like a shrewd accountant. "But how long can this money last? The tuition for your registration at the County School is fifty wen; round-trip travel expenses, at least a hundred wen; lodging and meals in Qingshi Town, even if it's thirty wen a day, that's three hundred wen for ten days; plus the consumption of brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, and gifts for social interactions... Kid, this ounce of silver will at most let you circle the 'newbie village' entrance; it won't even buy you a full ticket."

Su Ming's heart sank. He had never calculated such detailed accounts, only thinking an ounce of silver was an astronomical sum. Now, after his Master's analysis, he realized how tight it truly was.

"So, we can't let them risk their lives anymore," Lin Yu's tone became serious. "This kind of one-time business is too high-risk and too low-reward. What we need to do is a sustainable, low-risk, high-return industry!"

"Industry?" Su Ming was unfamiliar with this term.

"Yes, industry!" Lin Yu's voice had a commanding quality. "I ask you, what do you lack most in your studies?"

"...Paper," Su Ming answered immediately.

The few sheets of hemp paper on his desk were bought by Su Shan, who gritted his teeth, and he used them sparingly.

"Exactly! Paper!" Lin Yu seemed to snap his fingers. "For scholars, paper is like food, like weapons! And how expensive this stuff sells for in Qingshi Town, your father knows best. We're going to get into this business!"

"Papermaking?" Su Ming was so shocked he almost sat up. "Master, I... how would we know how to make paper?"

"You will, because I will," Lin Yu said confidently. "The bamboo forest on the back mountain is the best raw material. The plant ash by the river is natural alkali. As long as we Master the method, even making the coarsest straw paper and taking it to Qingshi Town can be exchanged for strings of copper coins!"

Su Ming's breathing quickened.

The bamboo on the back mountain, the plant ash by the river—these seemingly ordinary things, under his Master's description, transformed into a mountain of gold.

But he quickly calmed down: "Master, no. If our family suddenly starts making paper and selling it for money, what will the villagers think? What will the Village Head think? 'Do not show off your wealth,' I understand this principle. We'll be targeted."

"A teachable child!" Lin Yu exclaimed in praise. "You weren't blinded by the gold mountain after all, and you still considered the risks. Excellent! The first principle of 'The Way of Cautious Survival' is safety! So, of course, we can't do it alone!"

"Not alone?"

"Exactly! How can we hog such a good thing?" Lin Yu's laughter held a hint of cunning. "You have to drag the entire village into it!"

Su Ming was completely bewildered.

"Listen carefully, my plan is this," Lin Yu's voice lowered, like a strategist imparting a secret scheme.

"First step, source of technology. You'll say that during your trip to Qingshi Town, while browsing books in a bookstore, you accidentally found it on a torn piece of paper tucked inside an old book. This reason leaves no witnesses!"

"Second step, publicize the technology. You find your father, and then your father approaches the Village Head. Say that your Su Family is willing to offer this formula to lead the entire village to prosperity!"

Hearing this, Su Ming couldn't help but interject: "Offer it? Won't we have worked for nothing?"

"Silly boy, look at the big picture!" Lin Yu said, exasperated. "This is called technology investment! Think about it, the formula is ours, and the core technology is in our hands. The Village Head wants reputation and achievements, so he will definitely support it. The villagers want to earn money and have work, so they will treat your family like living Bodhisattvas!"

"At that time, establish a village-run papermaking Workshop. The Village Head will be the general manager, responsible for external sales and resolving problems. The villagers will provide labor, cut bamboo, burn lime, and earn hard-earned money. And your Su Family, as the technology provider, won't have to do anything but sit back and collect your share!"

"Share... how much?" Su Ming felt his heart rate accelerating.

"Thirty percent! Not a single percent less!" Lin Yu said decisively. "You must tell your father, this is the bottom line! We provided the pot that feeds the entire village, so it's only right that we get thirty percent of the broth! The Village Head takes twenty percent as compensation for management and risk. The remaining fifty percent is distributed among the villagers who contribute labor. No one can find fault with this distribution plan!"

Lin Yu's voice was full of magic, sketching a grand blueprint in Su Ming's mind.

"Imagine that scene. Your rival, Zhao Rui, and his father, Village Head, Zhao Dequan, will not only be unable to cause you trouble because of the Workshop's business, but they will also have to treat you like a treasure, fearing that you, the 'technical director,' might quit."

"The uncles and aunts in the village will no longer see you as 'that bookworm from the Su Family,' but as 'the Star of Literature who brought us wealth'."

"Your family will become the core of the entire Su Family Village. What is this called? This is called transferring risk to the collective, and binding interests and people's hearts to yourself! This is the ultimate Profound Truth of 'The Way of Cautious Survival'—the safest fortress is to make yourself a community of interest for everyone!"

Su Ming lay in the darkness, his eyes shining terrifyingly.

He could almost see the bamboo forest on the back mountain no longer as just a bamboo forest, but as rows of wealth waiting to be harvested.

The money bag in his hand was no longer just travel expenses for Qingshi Town, but the first stepping stone to launch this grand plan.