Hong’s Ironsmith Shop.

"Mr. Hong, I’m sorry to trouble you." Lin Miao brought the bottle containing the "gu" to his patient, Mr. Hong, the blacksmith.

The knife he had was forged by Mr. Hong and was very handy to use.

"Mr. Lin, you don’t have to be so polite with me. This illness, if it weren’t for you, no one would have thought it was heatstroke..."

Who would have thought of heatstroke in the middle of winter?

If not for his unique profession, he wouldn’t have thought of it either. Working long hours in a high-temperature environment, even when it’s extremely cold outside, there’s still a possibility of heatstroke.

Lin Miao threw the box made of zitan wood, along with the bottle inside, into the furnace that was burning at over a thousand degrees.

Not long after.

There was a cracking sound, the zitan wood box shattered, but the bottle of unknown material inside remained intact.

He instructed the apprentices to operate the bellows.

Instantly, the flames in the furnace roared, and a wave of heat rolled out.

"Mr. Hong, how long should this batch of molten iron be burned?"

"At least two hours."

"Then burn it for two hours, and if that thing doesn’t melt, don’t touch it with your hands, not even after it cools." Lin Miao instructed, "Let me know."

"Understood, Mr. Lin."

It’s better to be cautious with unknown objects. Who knows if this so-called "gu" could survive such terrifying high temperatures.

According to general knowledge, this is impossible.

Lin Miao stayed for a while, couldn’t stand the heat of the furnace, left after giving instructions.

...

The second day of Furong Garden’s opening was as bustling as the first, especially with the buy-three-get-one-free promotion at the start.

Plus, the delicious reputation spread; not only did the people of Xiuyue Square come to buy, but even those from other squares came over.

Especially the Qin Lou of Xiuyue Square and some other entertainment venues bought a lot.

When entertaining distinguished guests, serving a plate of Furong Garden’s pastries is a matter of great prestige because Furong Garden’s pastries use "tribute sugar."

"Tribute sugar" is crystal sugar, also known as white sugar.

White sugar is so precious that ordinary households can’t afford it, and even buying it might be difficult. The amount of crystal sugar distributed to Shandong Prefecture each year is limited, almost sold by quota, with no chance for ordinary folks.

And the crystal sugar or "tribute sugar" that can be sold is of ordinary quality; only the top-notch crystal sugar is enjoyed by high households and the royal family.

The annual trade of crystal sugar allows Yue Country to earn a significant sum from Da Li, especially if adding silk, porcelain, crystal sugar, and tea.

Yue Country earns a lot of silver coins from Da Li Dynasty every year.

Of course, Da Li Dynasty has silk, porcelain, and tea too, just that their quality isn’t as good as the other’s.

Only crystal sugar is unique.

Da Li Dynasty doesn’t produce it at all; it can only be purchased from Great Yue Country.

Da Li Dynasty produces salt and iron, which Great Yue Country needs. Da Li’s metal smelting technology is far superior to Yue Country’s, exporting a lot of iron ingots every year. Thus, Da Li and Yue Country have some trade complementarity.

Otherwise, Da Li, which always suffers from a trade deficit, would have sent troops to attack Yue Country long ago.

Walnut crisp, donkey rolls, and Furong Cake still occupy the top three spots in sales, with the second day’s sales up ten percent over the first.

"Sir, while we were in the shop today, we heard customers mention that our pastries are made with ’crystal sugar,’ but I’ve told everyone never to advertise that our pastries use crystal sugar, always to say it’s made with colored sugar..."

"Hmm, pastries made with white sugar taste completely different from those made with colored sugar, this can be tasted. This secret can’t be hidden for long, but it doesn’t matter; even if we use white sugar as an ingredient, so what, we haven’t violated any imperial laws!" Lin Miao had anticipated this. The pastries made by Furong Garden, in terms of quality and taste, are a cut above those on the Dongshan City market, and they use expensive white sugar, so they’re taking the high-end route, priced thirty percent higher than others.

Besides the cost issue, there’s also the consideration of leaving others room to survive.

Money can’t be earned entirely by one person or one family.

"The Medicinal Cuisine Workshop is currently without direction. I’d like Shi Yin to manage the accounts for me so I can focus on production. Sir, what do you think?" Luli requested.

"Okay, there are changes in the site selection for the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop, and we don’t have the personnel or energy at the moment, so focus on your side first." Lin Miao nodded.

He originally planned to wait until the house was renovated and move out of the inn, rebuild the inn as the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop.

But now, he changed his mind. Si Miaoxue plans to close down Huaye Tower, and it only needs a bit of refurbishment to operate as a Medicinal Cuisine Workshop.

As for the inn’s purpose, it can be used for something else.

"Keep the pastry recipes confidential. We plan to open branches in the future, so the special processes must be mastered by ourselves. You can also select reliable people, sign confidentiality agreements, and then teach them. In short, the secret must be controlled by our people." Lin Miao reminded.

"Understood, Sir, some sisters who left Huaye Tower wish to return?"

"Do you want to give them a chance?"

"Hmm, they were afraid the tower master would interfere before, so they didn’t dare..."

"You can give them a chance, but how to use it must be distinguished from those who followed you in the first batch. People need to understand that those willing to take risks with you can reap huge rewards, only then will it convince everyone."

"Also, I want to hand over the sugar crystal workshop to Mrs. Yun for management?"

"Hmm, that’s possible."

...

On this day, Lin Miao was preparing to leave the Convenient Medical Diagnosis Point and head home when suddenly a carriage stopped at the door of the diagnosis point.

A person got off the carriage.

Lin Miao looked somewhat familiar, like the advisor next to Pei Jian, the prefect of Dongshan Prefecture.

"Mr. Lin," Zhuo Qingfeng greeted with a bow.

"Mr. Zhuo, sorry, I’ve finished my appointments for today. Please come early tomorrow for a consultation." Lin Miao returned a small bow.

"No, I’m not here for a consultation. My master has something to discuss with you." Zhuo Qingfeng smiled slightly and pointed to the carriage outside the door.

Pei Jian suddenly coming to find me, what could this be about?

Lin Miao glanced at Zhuo Chunfeng: "Wait a moment."

He instructed Xia Zhu and Lianxin to accompany Sun Youwei back to the inn first.

He got onto the carriage, looked up, and saw that the seemingly ordinary carriage was luxuriously and exquisitely furnished inside. Pei Jian sat in casual attire within.

"Lin Miao pays respects to the esteemed prefect."

"Please take a seat, Mr. Lin, and try some fruits from the Yue Country. Even in Li Jing, these are hard to come by." Prefect Pei warmly invited Lin Miao.

Is this a banana?

This is indeed a rare item; it only grows in the tropics. Eating it during this season is certainly a rarity.

"Mr. Lin, this fruit must..." Pei Jian was about to explain how to eat a banana, but Lin Miao had already expertly peeled the skin and started eating.

Pei Jian smiled awkwardly, withdrew his hand, thinking that since the other was a physician, he might have read about it in some book and knew how to eat it, which wasn’t surprising.

"Not bad, Prefect Pei, are these bananas a specialty of the Southern Wilderness? Transported all the way to Dongshan City, one of these must be worth a tael of silver?"

"Bananas, the people of the Southern Wilderness call them yellow bananas, but Mr. Lin knows his goods. In the Southern Wilderness, they’re worthless, abundant everywhere, casually eaten. Yet here, even eating just one is difficult. Their shelf life is too short. Transported from the Southern Wilderness to the Yue Country, preserved with ice, sent quickly to Li Jing, it takes twenty days at best, a month at worst, and to Dongshan Prefecture, at least fifteen more days!"

"That cost isn’t small, there must be spoilage along the way?"

"Naturally, sometimes one-third, other times halfway." Pei Jian smiled, "There’s a box on the carriage, just delivered, take some back to eat later, Mr. Lin."

"Esteemed prefect, this is quite a gift. Please share what you have to say." Lin Miao set the banana peel aside and asked.

"Mr. Lin, is Furong Garden your enterprise?"

"Yes, esteemed prefect, surely you’re not interested in my little business?"

"No, no, Mr. Lin, you misunderstand, I’m not the kind of person who seizes through force." Pei Jian waved his hand quickly, "I’ve just heard that the pastries made at Furong Garden use crystal sugar, is that true?"

"Yes," Lin Miao did not deny it, this is a fact, it can’t be concealed.

"I’d like to know from where this crystal sugar came?"

"Prefect Pei, I don’t think I have to explain this to you, do I?" This is his business secret, and Pei Jian being an outsider, what right does he have to know?

"No, Mr. Lin, if you can’t explain it, someone might use this against you, and then I can’t help you." Pei Jian said seriously.

"For what reason?"

"Dongshan Prefecture’s annual intake of crystal sugar is fixed, even if a few slip in, it’s very minimal." Pei Jian explained, "Every pound of crystal sugar brought into the city is taxed. Mr. Lin, you understand what I mean, right?"

"You mean to say I’ve smuggled crystal sugar in without paying taxes after buying it outside?" Lin Miao understood Pei Jian’s point.

"Once they catch you evading taxes, they will use this reason to apply to seal Furong Garden. Even if you’re just the investor, you can’t escape responsibility!"

"Then let them catch me." Lin Miao chuckled, unconcerned, as his crystal sugar was refined from impure sugar.

In Dongshan City, as long as it’s purchased for personal use, there’s no need to pay taxes again, because when buying impure sugar, he already paid the tax once. There’s no reason to pay again unless he sells the refined crystal sugar separately, which might violate court business regulations, requiring another tax. But he purifies impure sugar for personal use, which can be considered part of the pastry-making process. Should each step of raw material processing in pastry making require a tax?

"Mr. Lin, tax evasion is a serious crime. Especially since you are on the ’Path to Sainthood’ trial, any stain in this regard, the court can cancel your trial qualification at any time. A physician must not have moral issues." Pei Jian stated sternly, "Tax evasion is not just a crime, it’s a moral issue."

"They need to find evidence of my tax evasion first." Lin Miao chuckled, "Esteemed prefect, Furong Garden operates with integrity, pays taxes according to law, fair to all, I can vouch with my reputation."

"Mr. Lin, are you sure there’s no problem with the crystal sugar used at Furong Garden?"

"No problem, rest assured, esteemed prefect." Lin Miao affirmed with certainty. He possessed the technology for refined white sugar, but wasn’t keen on sharing it with Pei Jian.

This fellow is self-serving and not a good partner. People in the officialdom are always ruthless, lacking in morality, driven only by interests.

Moreover, Pei Jian had always aimed to use him, so why should he be open-hearted with him? He’s not foolish.