Even if Governor Duan didn’t think of this issue initially, after a day and night, he also thought of it while envisioning the future.

This cat’s eye gemstone is indeed hard to sell, unless...

Bai Shan said, "Unless you don’t intend to sell it, but rather offer it to His Majesty or His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. However, the palace is not lacking such gemstones. As far as I know, His Royal Highness loves horses, not gemstones."

It is impossible for Governor Duan to offer it to the emperor because the emperor dislikes such sycophantic gestures. Really giving it to the emperor could not only draw impeachment from the censor, but also possible disgust from the emperor.

So it can only be given to the Crown Prince, and as he counts as one of the Crown Prince’s people, giving a gift to the Crown Prince can strengthen their relationship.

But when giving someone a gift, it must touch their heart, and the Crown Prince doesn’t like it.

Giving someone something they aren’t very interested in, and such a valuable item at that, causes Governor Duan heartache.

He’s reluctant; it would be better to exchange it for money.

Such a large cat’s eye gemstone is enough for the Liangzhou army’s expenses for two years.

And given his rank, he is likely to be stationed in Liangzhou for several more years. Every year, he submits numerous petitions to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue for military maintenance, to the point where his hair is almost falling out.

Governor Duan glanced at Bai Shan and asked, "How much is Young Master Bai willing to pay to buy it?"

Bai Shan replied, "A box of styrax and five hundred taels of silver."

"No, that’s too little," Governor Duan thought for a moment and said, "Styrax and a thousand taels of silver."

Bai Shan: "...Governor Duan, we don’t have that much silver."

"Don’t you have gold? Just exchange gold for it."

Bai Shan paused and then said, "Lord Duan, such a cat’s eye gemstone, if you want to sell it, not to mention the price, do you think you can sell it in a year or two?"

This struck Governor Duan.

Bai Shan continued, "If it cannot be converted into cash, it’s just a stone; only when exchanged for silver is it truly a gemstone. You have also stayed in the capital; you should know that although this cat’s eye is priceless, how many people would actually bring out money to buy it? And how many would really pay a thousand gold?"

This struck Governor Duan again, and after a while, he still took a step back, "Then eight hundred taels."

Bai Shan thought for a moment and said, "How about I add two more boxes of frankincense from my part?"

He said, "Gemstones are hard to sell, but spices are not worryingly unsellable, especially those from the Western Regions. They are welcomed not only in the capital but also in Xiazhou, or directly sent to the various states of Longxi, where some old aristocrats have masters and young masters in their families who like to use incense. Even if you have a few times more than what Lord Duan has, you can still sell all of it."

Governor Duan then mused, feeling that Bai Shan made sense, so after hesitating, he still nodded.

Bai Shan then smiled and said, "If Lord Duan is unfamiliar with Longxi, I can introduce you to a few people, or write a letter by hand. When the time comes, you can send someone with my letter to find these people, and they will introduce you to the masters and young masters of Longxi."

Governor Duan then asked, "Who would they be?"

Bai Shan said, "My family is in Longzhou. Although I left home early, I still have connections with some uncles and cousins in the clan. You can send someone with my letter to Longzhou to find the Bai Family."

He laughed again, "If it’s easier to go to the capital, my fourth brother-in-law, also known as Zhou SiLang, often travels between the capital and the grasslands. You can send someone to Xiashou to wait for him, and when he meets him, he can bring you back to the capital."

"My classmates from the Imperial Academy, my classmates from the Chongwen Pavilion, and Lord Zhou’s fellow colleagues are naturally known by him. Though deep introductions can’t be made, introducing one or two is possible."

Governor Duan’s eyes flickered, and he smiled, "The capital is full of hidden talents; if these spices can be sent to the capital, it would naturally be better."

Thus, Bai Shan gave him a letter and also ran to find Manbao, having her write two sheets for Zhou SiLang, then put them together and handed them to Governor Duan.

Governor Duan was very satisfied and agreed to such exchange terms.

Bai Erlang dazedly took out the styrax and then received the incomparably precious cat’s eye gemstone from Governor Duan.

He couldn’t help but take it out to look at it repeatedly, even looking at it in the sunlight, watching it change color under the sun. He couldn’t quite believe it, "Is this really exchanged? Why did Lord Duan agree?"

Bai Shan just glanced at him and said, "You owe us money."

He pointed at the circle of people and said, "Mr. Zhuang, Yin Huo, Liu Huan, Liru, and both Manbao and my silver you all owe, remember to pay back later."

Having been thoroughly swayed by his maneuvering, Bai Erlang asked, "How much do I owe?"

Bai Shan said, "Relax, it’s not a lot, just three hundred-something taels altogether."

Bai Erlang immediately said, "I have gold, I’ll use gold to exchange it."

"Coincidentally, we still have gold, but you don’t anymore because you’re short on silver, so I used your gold to exchange for silk and satin."

Bai Erlang then asked, "What do I need fabric for?"

"To exchange for money," he said, "Once we reach the Western Regions, this silk will be valuable."

Manbao then lowered her voice and said, "Dummy, we’re making money for you."

Bai Erlang then looked at Yin Huo and others, saying a bit embarrassedly, "How can I just use your capital?"

Yin Huo just chuckled and said, "It’s nothing, anyway, the gold and silver are useless in our hands. Lending it to you also saves us the trouble of transporting it."

Liu Huan, having a simpler thought process, nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Liru, however, having grown up witnessing things with her second sister, understood the nuances. If Bai Erlang didn’t have capital, then the money he was supposed to earn would naturally be theirs to earn.

However, she didn’t say anything, only stating, "When we return to the capital, you must treat us to a meal."

Bai Erlang then waved his hand and said, "I’ll treat you all to a meal at Primus Pavilion."

Hearing this, everyone became delighted and immediately started ordering their favorites.

It’s been quite a few days of rough meals, and even if Governor Duan bought sheep from the nearby herders for roasting, the oil wasn’t that great; it couldn’t match the exquisite food of the capital, so everyone ordered a few dishes each, covering everything they knew from Primus Pavilion.

While holding his cat’s eye gemstone, Bai Erlang generously waved and said, "Order, order for everyone!"

Mr. Zhuang, watching them create a ruckus on the side, smiled and shook his head.

Once they had made enough of a fuss, he waved Bai Shan and Manbao over and said, "Since you’ve exchanged the items, shall we set out tomorrow?"

Bai Shan, seeing the wishes of the young companions fulfilled, smiled and agreed, heading out to notify Assistant General Nie.

Manbao called Zhou Liru over to the medical tent, handing a small booklet to the military doctor, "Inside are some recipes, along with descriptions of symptoms. You can try treating them accordingly in the future."

She added, "You have learned about suturing. When you return, you can buy some pig’s feet to practice on."