Marrying a White Snake Wife is Super Cool-Chapter 91 - 79: Come On, Be Good

「The next day, early in the morning.」

Lu Yuan rode in a horse-drawn carriage, yawning, as he and the old steward arrived at the East City Gate.

Outside the East City Gate, the area was as bustling as ever.

Even though several hundred people from the East City Gate had been taken to the wastelands last night...

However, for a city like Taiping City, which saw a high volume of traffic on the main provincial highway, a few hundred people were utterly insignificant.

The area around the East City Gate was still exceptionally lively.

At the morning market lining both sides of the road, large pots billowed with white steam.

Travelers who had been on the road all night now slowed their pace to grab a flatbread to eat and a bowl of cornmeal porridge to drink.

After all, the same items had one price inside the city and another outside.

After passing through the East City Gate, Lu Yuan stepped out of the carriage and stood beside the driver, surveying his surroundings.

Before he could get a good look, someone nearby shouted in pleasant surprise:

"Brother-in-law, Brother-in-law!"

Lu Yuan turned and saw Su Changliang rushing over, a large bundle on his back and his hands full of things.

Seeing this, the old steward quickly sent a man over to help him with his things.

When Su Changliang ran up to him, Lu Yuan looked at all the things he was carrying and asked curiously:

"Why bring so much? You can get anything in the city."

Su Changliang smiled sheepishly.

"My ma had me bring it. A lot of this is food she packed for you."

Lu Yuan nodded and patted Su Changliang’s shoulder, saying,

"Quick, get in the carriage. You look frozen. Go get warm at the house."

Su Changliang nodded repeatedly, but after getting into the carriage, he noticed his brother-in-law wasn’t joining him and asked curiously,

"Brother-in-law, aren’t you getting in?"

Lu Yuan said with a smile,

"I’m not heading back just yet. I have some business to take care of out here. You go on. Your sister’s waiting for you at home."

Su Changliang nodded and didn’t say anything more.

Once Su Changliang was in the carriage, Lu Yuan walked over to a nearby stall and called out,

"One bowl of soft tofu pudding, no cilantro, extra spicy.

Two fried dough sticks, and make it quick!"

The stall owner immediately called back,

"You got it, sir! Have a seat, it’ll be out in a jiffy."

’Last night’s business dragged on a bit long.’

’Heh, had to wait for the red polish on my wife’s pretty feet to dry, you know?’

’That’s why I didn’t get up until after eight this morning.’

’Didn’t have time for breakfast, so I just grabbed my men and headed out.’

Su Changliang sat in the carriage, poking his head out to look.

When he saw his brother-in-law eating at a breakfast stall, he couldn’t help but grumble to himself.

’Why didn’t my sister make breakfast for him this morning?’

...

After finishing his breakfast, Lu Yuan led the old steward and his men to the empty plot of land outside Taiping City.

At this same time yesterday, the place had been a barren patch with nothing on it.

But today, there were at least several hundred people here.

There was an especially large number of ox-carts and horse-drawn carriages arriving from all directions, laden with building materials.

When Lu Yuan and his party arrived, the foreman immediately hurried over.

The group began to inspect the site.

The feeling was quite familiar to Lu Yuan.

In the past, however, Lu Yuan had just been one of the guys in a blue hard hat. When the big boss came to inspect, he could only trail at the very back of the entourage.

’But now... heh, I’ve leveled up to a white hard hat.’

’Hands clasped behind my back, people at my side reporting on all the progress...’

’Yeah, this is the life.’

What Lu Yuan was building wasn’t just a factory; to be precise, it was a whole factory complex.

After all, if it were just a large workshop,

there would be no need for several hundred people to be working on it.

You could just prop up a few wooden pillars, stretch some canvas over them, and wrap the outside with a layer of sheet metal.

Then cover the top with more sheet metal.

And there you have it—a perfectly functional workshop.

What Lu Yuan aimed to build, however, included a work zone, a living zone, and even—for when the workforce grew larger in the future—

an indispensable commercial zone.

For now, though, the priority was to get the workshops and living quarters built.

The workshops were easy enough—they would be those large, shed-like structures he’d just been thinking about.

The living quarters, too, would be simple sheds.

’After all, the factory is just getting started, and I haven’t earned a single damn cent. How could I possibly build proper wooden or stone houses for the workers to live in?’

It would have to be improved gradually. Rome wasn’t built in a day, after all.

’The most important thing now is figuring out what to make that will actually earn money!’

In reality, Lu Yuan, who possessed Craftsmanship, wasn’t worried about *what* he could make.

He could whip up just about anything.

The problem was how to *sell* what he made.

For example, he could probably build a car right now. There was no gasoline, but they had Spirit Stones.

It could be powered by Spirit Stones.

But if he built such a contraption, who besides wealthy people like Aunt Zhao could possibly afford it?

Besides having the right price, a product also had to be timely.

Selling summer clothes in the winter, for instance, was a guaranteed way to fail.

Lu Yuan mulled it over for a few days and eventually decided...

...that rather than wracking his brain to invent some blockbuster product, some ridiculously awesome thing that would be an instant hit and make him a massive fortune overnight,

it would be better to be practical and take a more stable, reliable path.

With Craftsmanship, he never had to worry about running out of things to make, anyway.

That being the case, he might as well make a small batch of many different things.

Then, whatever sold well, he would produce more of, and whatever sold poorly, he would cut back on.

There was no real need to gamble everything on one big hit.

After all, you might win a single bet, but you can’t build a life on gambling.

Remember, everyone: gambling and drugs are your mortal enemies.

"These are designs for a few improved lathe models. While the factory is under construction, we can gather all the blacksmiths in the city.

Have them modify the lathes according to these diagrams. If there’s anything they can’t do or don’t understand, have them come to me immediately. I’ll handle it."