The Three Spirit Stones

Cao Wei and Cheng Yu were in the study room of Cao Mansion. Cao Wei put a little white sugar in his mouth and said in admiration, "Mm, so sweet. The quality of this frosting sugar is much better than those sold in the capital!"

In fact, white sugar was also sold in Bian Jing at that time. They called it frosted sugar. It was a by-product of the sugar-making process. The output was very small, so it was very expensive.

Cao Wei asked, "What is the yield of this frosting sugar?"

"As long as there is sugar cane, it can be made. One thousand kilograms of sugar cane can produce about one hundred to two hundred kilograms of frosting sugar," Cheng Yu replied.

"so much?"

Cao Wei was very surprised and continued to ask,

"...Then, how much does it cost per pound?"

"Well, ... we have to wait until the sugar cane is harvested in autumn and the sugar is produced. Then we can calculate all the costs to determine the exact amount. I estimate that it will be no more than one tael of silver per pound."

"what?"

Cao Wei stood up in shock.

"Salt costs eighty coins per pound, and this kind of good frosting sugar costs no more than one ounce of silver per pound?"

"Yes, uncle. The biggest cost of this frosted sugar is the logistics cost and the sugarcane itself. The production cost is not high. Our production equipment is relatively advanced and can produce 5,000 kilograms of sugarcane a day. If everything goes well, we can add ten more production lines and hire more people. It won't be difficult to produce 50,000 to 60,000 kilograms a day!"

Fifty to sixty thousand catties of sugar a day, that is, seven or eight thousand catties of sugar, and one catty is one tael of silver, so seven or eight thousand taels of silver a day.

Cao Wei’s calculations are working fine!

"But the biggest problem now is how much sugarcane can be harvested this year? I have signed a purchase contract with the sugarcane farmers there. They have all expanded their planting areas. Everything will depend on the autumn,"

"Another issue is transportation. Water transportation is necessary, but water transportation has dry seasons and flood seasons. It takes two or three months for a cargo ship to travel from Hangzhou to Bianjing. The transportation time is too long,"

"We are going to try to transport goods by land. On the way back, I subdued a few bandits and asked them to transport goods for us in the future."

When Cao Wei heard about the bandits, his eyes flickered. The guards had already told him the details of the situation.

"I have a small blast furnace ironmaking base on the mountainside a few miles away from the soap factory. Before I went to Linping, I had successfully tested a new type of iron material, which is much tougher and harder than today's iron materials. This material can be used to make knives, farm tools and the skeleton of cargo transport vehicles!"

Cheng Yu continued,

Cao Wei was really surprised to hear what he said!

It has only been over a year since he came back, but he has achieved so much!

I have seen this nephew grow up since he was a child. Where did he learn so many professional secrets?

These secret recipes involve all aspects and cannot be learned by simply reading the Four Books and Five Classics or passing the imperial examinations.

Cheng Yu seemed to see Cao Wei's confusion and took the initiative to ask, "Uncle, are you wondering how I did it?"

Cao Wei nodded and said, "Xu'er, I'll just speak frankly."

"Ever since you came back, I've always felt that you're not the same person as before, but I'm sure you're Xu'er, because I've been watching you since you were a child. There are some private things that only we know, and we can't lie to anyone about them. But you've learned so much in just three years, including making sugar and smelting iron. Many craftsmen may not know even a little bit of these things in their entire lives. How did you know all of this?"

If General Sun was there, he should be able to guess that it was Ah Cai, because Sun Yuechan would tell her father, but Cao Wei was not General Sun, and since Cheng Yu didn't say it, he didn't know the reason.

"Actually, I don't understand this. Ah Cai taught me all this."

"What? ...She?!!"

Cao Wei was very surprised. Could this troublesome little ancestor understand these things?

Isn't she just mischievous and destructive?

Cheng Yu suddenly laughed when he saw his uncle's unbelievable expression.

He said, "Hahaha..., Uncle, you don't think that I, Acai, am just a mischievous girl, do you?"

Cao Wei nodded, and continued with a smile, "Uncle! My Caibao is amazing! The soap recipe was written by her. The method of making frosted sugar and the design drawings of the production equipment were all given to me by her. The coke used for iron smelting was also her recipe. She also told me all the secret recipes for blast furnace manufacturing and the use of hydraulic blowers."

Then, he proudly said, "My Caibao was the top scorer in the college entrance examination there."

"The top scorer in the college entrance examination? ...She?"

Cao Wei couldn't believe it. He understood that the college entrance examination should be like the autumn examination of the Song Dynasty, but he couldn't understand how a woman could also take the top spot and win it!

It was really hard for him to connect this troublemaker who liked to misuse idioms with the top scorer in the imperial examination.

"She is only fifteen or sixteen years old. Can children from their immortal family be able to study from the moment they are born?"

Cao Wei asked him in an incredulous tone,

"Who said she was only fifteen or sixteen? She's already twenty-four this year!"

"what?"

"She started school at the age of six and studied for sixteen years. She has been here for two years, so she is twenty-four years old."

Cao Wei was shocked again!

This girl is actually 24 years old. Other people have a lot of children at the age of 24, but she still acts like a child.

But when you think about the fact that she is the descendant of a god, she must be different from mortals, so this is not surprising.

Then he asked about the bandit incident.

"Xu'er, when did your martial arts become so advanced? Did you practice in Xiandu?"

As for the martial arts, Cheng Yu had already made up a reason. He said, "Her father gave me all his life's skills, and then he died of exhaustion."

"what?!"

This surprised him even more. He saved you, married his daughter to you, and risked his life to give you his life's work.

There is no love or hate without reason in this world. There must be a reason why I am so nice to you!

"Perplexed, right?"

Cao Wei nodded.

"…It's for Ah Cai,…She has a serious disease and needs to come here to find medicine. Her father doesn't have many years left to live, so she has to find someone to find medicine for him. He chose me!"

"So he just passed on all his life's cultivation to me, because I must have his spiritual power to undertake the task of finding spiritual medicine."

This is actually the case!

Cao Wei really found it hard to imagine that Ah Cai, who was usually clever and mischievous, actually had a serious illness. He hurriedly asked,

"What is her illness? What is the elixir you are looking for?"

"She suffers from a fatal disease. Apart from being a little weak and sleeping a little longer, there is almost no impact on her daily life. However, as she gets older, she will sleep longer and longer until she can never wake up..."

At this point, Cheng Yu's tone became heavy.

"The elixir is an ancient spiritual stone. Is there a Taoist priest who knows where it is? I have been looking for this Taoist priest for the past year!"

After hearing this, Cao Wei understood. No wonder he had always heard that he was looking for a Taoist priest. He asked again, "So... have you made any progress?"

Cheng Yu shook his head and said, "I only know that his name is Lu Wuchen and he appeared in Hangzhou before."

"I will also send someone to help you find this person,"

"Thank you, uncle!"

Cao Wei waved his hands and sighed, "Parents think long and hard about their children! For the sake of their daughter's life, they would end their own life early. It's really hard for parents in the world to understand their feelings."

Then he advised his nephew,

"Xu'er, you just need to do your best in this matter. Man proposes, God disposes. It would be great if you can find it, but if you can't, you..., sigh!"

Cheng Yu certainly understood what he meant. He had never dared to imagine this result.

Now that his uncle mentioned it, he was overwhelmed with sadness, and his eyes reddened. He sniffed, changed the subject, and said, "Uncle, you are leaving Beijing next month, right?"

Cao Wei saw that he looked sad when he heard this, and he couldn't help scolding himself for bringing up such a topic. Seeing that he was asking him, he said, "Yes, the emperor should let me be the commander of the militia in Yingzhou, the governor of Qinzhou and the inspector of the border areas, and the pacification commissioner of Jingyuan, Yizhou, Weizhou, and Zhenrong Army."

"Congratulations, uncle!"

Cao Wei shook his head, sighed, and said, "At my age, I seem to be successful, but only I know the pain. You know the bitter cold in the northwest best. I have accumulated a lot of illnesses over the years, which are neither curable nor life-threatening. The doctor said it's best to return to Beijing and recuperate."

Then, he smiled bitterly and said, "Look, now we have to go back to guard the border again, right?"

"I know, so I want to help you take care of your body while you are away."

"Oh?! You also learned medical skills?"

"It's not a medical skill. I will use the spiritual power in my body to help you open up the meridians in your body, and then combine it with the medicinal effects of the herbs. As long as the meridians are unblocked, many of your illnesses will be cured without medicine!"

"Oh! Then we must try it! When will it start?"

Cao Wei was very surprised!

"Tomorrow! I'll write a prescription and you can have someone boil it and pour it into warm water."

The next day, the uncle and nephew sat in a large wooden barrel filled with potion. Cheng Yu pressed his palm on his back and began to guide the Yuanling Qi.

Cao Wei felt as if countless fine needles were drilling in and out of his body, causing him pain, soreness, and numbness. He felt indescribable pain and discomfort.

Cheng Yu had told him before that it would be a bit uncomfortable.

After trying it, it was more than just a little bit. It was basically torture! His eyes went dark and he passed out.

When he woke up, he found it was already the next morning. He got out of bed,

Hey!

I felt relaxed all over, my steps became lighter, and my vision became clearer.

The maid helped him change his clothes and went to the training ground, where several captains were practicing while waiting for him. They all shot arrows together, and he actually hit the bull's eye in all ten targets, causing everyone to cheer loudly and praise Cao Lashi for his outstanding skills!

After treating himself like this for a few times, he felt that his body was actually better than when he was young. He felt that he could even afford to take in a few more concubines!