Kays Translations

Chapter 25: There is Piracy

"Everyone's become a class leader or a researcher," He Lin said with a happy and proud smile.

"That's good," Li Xian nodded in satisfaction. Everything was now on the fast track, and the power of industry was about to roar in this world.

Unfortunately, He Lin interrupted Li Xian's reverie with a single sentence, "But young master, we have the textile machines, but the raw materials are insufficient. I've searched all over An Yang and found only enough fabric for 2,000 pieces; there's still a shortage of 8,000 pieces."

"Uh... it will be resolved soon," Li Xian immediately thought of asking Shangguan Yong, Zhang Quan, and Yuan Zhao to collect the textile materials before he left.

Seeing that everything was going smoothly here, Li Xian found Song Xing and said, "Song Xing, take my token and ride swiftly to Wuyang City. Find Shangguan Yong, Zhang Quan, and Yuan Zhao and have them send all the textile materials they've collected as quickly as possible. The faster, the better."

"Yes," Song Xing shouted happily, and with a few of his brothers, set off that very night. Recently, Song Xing was very excited; from being a fleeing constable to becoming one of Li Xian's trusted aides, it was like a dream come true.

Song Xing and his brothers, all at the Qi Refining stage levels 5 or 6 and 6 or 7, rode hard and returned to the imperial capital Wuyang City by the next evening.

"Hey, quickly tell me, what did Young Master Xian say?" Yuan Zhao, who was concerned about the "Young Master Xian" who was six months older than him, asked eagerly.

Song Xing and his men tried not to laugh, "Young Master only asked you to deliver all the textile materials to An Yang as quickly as possible. There were no further details; you should find everything in the letter."

"Oh, just wait a moment; we'll take a look."

The three letters were labeled with Shangguan, Zhang, and Yuan respectively. Each person took their own letter to read.

Yuan Zhao exclaimed, "Ah, Young Master Xian is so ambitious, asking us to prepare raw materials for 20,000 pieces of fabric and sales channels before the New Year. He won't be enforcing textile production across An Yang, will he? That would be disastrous for An Yang."

Zhang Quan squinted and calculated, "20,000 pieces of fabric require about 2,000 stones of raw material. I’ve collected 800 stones. What about you?"

Yuan Zhao laughed heartily, "I collected 1,100 stones! Haha, according to the amount of raw material, I win!"

Shangguan Yong laughed awkwardly, "Well... I only collected 600 stones. The money was used for... ahem... Qinglou, hehe..."

Zhang Quan, noticing the slight contempt in Shangguan Yong’s eyes, said, "Fortunately, this should be enough to keep Young Master Xian busy."

After saying that, Zhang Quan looked at Song Xing and said, "Go back and tell your young master that we can deliver all 2,500 stones of textile raw materials within three days at most. We will personally escort them. Mainly cotton, linen, and silk. Also, all the dyes and other materials are ready."

"Yes, I'll take my leave," Song Xing and his men, not taking a rest, quickly returned to the Li residence to switch to fresh horses and headed back overnight. For cultivators at Qi Refining Stage level 5 and above, going without sleep for three to five days is manageable; they would just be a bit tired. The most important thing was to inform the young master as soon as possible.

After completing their mission, Song Xing and his men finally had the chance to observe Wuyang City—after several weeks, the city had completely transformed. The streets were adorned with all kinds of colorful lanterns, and Wuyang City at night resembled a splendid, dazzling spectacle.

"Wait a minute, those lanterns aren't ours!" Song Xing's keen eyes immediately spotted a difference in one of the lanterns compared to their own production—unlike their bright and radiant lanterns, these lacked the transparent glass casing, which made them less brilliant.

Song Xing dismounted and, seeing a young man at the shop entrance, immediately took out ten copper coins and asked, "Young man, where did you get these lanterns?"

The young man happily accepted the coins and replied, "Sir, if you go 30 zhang ahead, you'll find a neon lantern store. That's where they come from."

"Thanks."

Song Xing led the way forward and soon saw a more dazzling, three-story building; it lacked the bold decorations of their own bright lanterns—such as floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

Although their store, Brilliant Stars, also sold large floor-to-ceiling glass windows at reasonable prices, they couldn’t afford to show any weakness against direct competitors, which was understandable.

However, one shouldn’t underestimate others' ingenuity. Despite the lack of large glass windows, they had used white jade to create a mural of clouds and decorated it with many colorful lanterns, giving it a bit of an "immortal" vibe.

As they approached, it was indeed the "Neon Lantern Store." Next to the store hung a palm-sized jade plaque with the characters: Wang Family.

"The Wang Family's business?" Song Xing’s eyes shifted, suddenly coming up with an idea. "Wait here; I'll go inside and take a look."

"Be careful, Song Xing," Chen Jinbing said with concern. Their young master had killed the Wang family's young master, making their families sworn enemies. If Song Xing’s identity were discovered, he might not come out alive.

"Don't worry, don't worry. I'm just a customer," Song Xing said confidently as he walked in. 

Once inside, Song Xing began to observe carefully. The staff wore uniform attire, were courteous and polite, and there were elegant seating areas set up inside the store. The lanterns on the shelves were categorized and clearly priced. It was evident that Li Xian had permanently altered the commercial atmosphere in the Immortal Domain—at least, the commercial atmosphere of the Great Xia Kingdom had begun to change.

As Song Xing was enjoying the observation, a young attendant followed him around, providing explanations.

"You also made switches?" Song Xing was particularly interested in this. Having been with Li Xian every day, Song Xing knew what was crucial. Li Xian didn't care much about glass or formations; what he cared about was this seemingly insignificant switch.

"Of course, switches are not very difficult to make. As long as you have a deep understanding of formations and conduct thorough research, you can develop this small switch."

"Mm, not bad." Song Xing naturally said something insincere while walking, observing, and picking out a few representative lanterns that were easy to carry.

After examining all the lanterns on the first floor, Song Xing casually asked, "What is the lifespan of your lanterns?"

"One year."

"Why don't you have those... um, those with glass casings?"

"They will be available soon. We have already mastered some methods for producing glass."

Song Xing had asked about "glass," but the attendant responded with "琉璃" (liuli, a type of colored glass). There is a significant difference. Under Li Xian's influence, people began to refer to clear and transparent glass as "glass," while the colorful, less clear type was referred to as "琉璃" (liuli).

The term "glass" evokes thoughts of crystal-clear, pure, and bright items, while "liuli" brings to mind a variety of colors and a more vulgar appearance. This is a commercial concept promoted by Li Xian.

So, Song Xing immediately asked with a tone that seemed slightly displeased, "I asked about glass, not liuli."

The attendant remained calm, "Sir, we currently do not have the methods to produce glass, but our existing lanterns are still quite splendid, and the price is 20% lower than those from Brilliant Stars."

"Alright, wrap these up for me. How much do I owe?" After gathering the information, Song Xing prepared to leave.

"Sure, that will be 48 taels of silver."

Without hesitation, Song Xing took out a small gold ingot worth five taels. The attendant respectfully returned two taels of silver.

After leaving, Song Xing and his men quickly mounted their horses and left Wuyang City before the city gates closed.

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