Chapter 61 The First Pot of Gold

"No matter what, thank you."

"I never imagined that after knowing each other for such a short time, you would be so generous and helpful."

Xu An cupped his fists and smiled.

In truth, he had already prepared himself for rejection.

"Oh, it's just a small matter," Tao Qianqian waved her hand, "Though come to think of it, what do you need so much silver for?"

Twenty taels of silver was not a small sum, even for Tao Qianqian. After all, her father was an upright and honest official.

"To start a bit of business, I have a small funding gap," Xu An replied honestly.

"Aren't you a scholar? How did you end up thinking about doing business?" Tao Qianqian frowned.

"Being a scholar and doing business do not conflict with each other!"

Xu An smiled faintly and suddenly asked, "Miss Qianqian, in your opinion, what do scholars across the world study for?"

Tao Qianqian thought for a moment and said, "For all living beings in the world, to serve the country, or to realize their ideals and ambitions?"

Xu An shook his head. "Those are only pursued by a tiny fraction of people. For the overwhelming majority, people study to rise in officialdom and get rich!"

"Since it's all about getting rich, why not put your mind into making money instead of taking a detour?"

"That makes sense!"

Tao Qianqian nodded in agreement.

Then she slanted her gaze at him and asked, "Can you guarantee that you'll make money instead of losing your entire fortune?"

"Naturally, I am confident."

Xu An wore a proud expression.

The white sugar business was merely his starting phase in this world, but even so, the prospects were exceptionally promising. With such advanced technology at his disposal, if he still managed to lose money, he might as well just drown himself in a cesspool.

"Then let me wish you success in advance."

Tao Qianqian said with a smile.

After the two strolled through several more streets, it was already noon.

Tao Qianqian looked at Xu An and asked, "Would you like to come to my house for lunch?"

"No, I have things to attend to later. I'll meet you at the yamen later!" Xu An said.

"Let's just pick a place to rendezvous instead. How about the entrance of the Drunken Moon Pavilion?" Tao Qianqian asked.

"Alright, that works."

Xu An nodded.

The two waved goodbye.

Xu An randomly found a noodle stall, quickly finished a bowl of noodles, and headed straight for the Song Family's Sugar Shop.

When he arrived at the sugar shop once more, Song Ziyan had already arrived as well.

After inviting Xu An to be seated, Shopkeeper Qin withdrew from the private room.

"I heard Young Master Xu has matters to discuss with me. I wonder what it is about?"

Song Ziyan personally poured a cup of tea for Xu An and spoke with a smile.

Her face was still veiled, and her demeanor remained gentle and dignified; every slight movement and smile radiated elegance. The only difference was that today she wore a light purple dress, which lent her an air of tranquility and introversion.

"Coming here today, I wanted to tell Miss Song that I have expanded my production capacity, far exceeding what it was previously."

"Therefore, I wish to confirm with Miss Song your current sales plan and your estimated demand for the foreseeable future."

"Only then can I make subsequent preparations."

"After all, the process of supplying white sugar is tedious, complex, and has a long cycle. If I don't prepare in advance, there is no way I can meet your demands."

"Besides, our cooperation is an exclusive authorization."

Instead of making direct demands, Xu An proactively threw out the problem to seek an entry point.

Mu Ziyan nodded. "I hadn't considered that Young Master Xu could continuously increase production capacity on your end."

"We will calculate this matter and come up with a corresponding demand quantity. However, in the short term, Young Master Xu, you can rest assured: whatever amount you have, we can sell."

Mu Ziyan said, "Even if your production capacity increases, it's impossible for it to suddenly shoot up to hundreds of thousands of catties, or even millions of catties a month, right?"

"That is natural."

Xu An smiled and nodded.

"Since we have already reached a consensus, let's set the initial volume at one thousand catties. To show our sincerity, we will pay a fifty percent deposit upfront."

Mu Ziyan was no fool; since things had progressed to this point, she had roughly guessed the purpose of Xu An's visit.

"Regarding that, I would prefer the full amount in silver."

Xu An stated, "Expanding our production scale also requires substantial costs. If your funds are not in place, we won't be able to boost productivity in the short term, which will harm the interests of both parties."

"Therefore, I believe that since we have formed a partnership, our two sides share a bond of mutual prosperity and ruin, and we should assist each other with all our might."

"When the time comes, I will be exclusively responsible for sugar production, and you will be exclusively responsible for sales. With clear division of labor, won't it be much more efficient?"

Mu Ziyan chuckled softly. "It seems that Young Master Xu is determined to make my Song family bleed today."

"Not at all, not at all, it's all for the sake of our cooperation."

Xu An gave an awkward laugh.

"Very well. Since the young master has made his request, my Song family will comply."

Song Ziyan spoke quite decisively—much more decisively than Xu An had imagined.

Of course, what surprised him the most was that Song Ziyan immediately ordered one thousand catties of white sugar.

Viewed this way, Song Ziyan truly was an excellent cooperation partner. Xu An decided that when he developed other industries in the future, he would bring her along.

When he stepped out of the sugar shop, he had an extra eight hundred taels of silver banknotes on his person.

This was the first time since coming to this world that he had touched so much money, and his heart could not help but surge with excitement.

Eight hundred taels of silver!

Deducting the cost of raw sugar which was about two hundred and eighty taels, and carriage and labor expenses totaling around one hundred taels, he would still net four hundred and twenty taels.

Of course, this meant he would have to increase production capacity, which would further raise additional costs, and he also had to account for depreciation, wear and tear, and so on.

However, after a rough calculation, Xu An was certain he could pocket four hundred taels. After all, he still held a twenty percent profit-sharing stake.

One thousand catties of white sugar would net him four hundred taels. Then wouldn't ten thousand catties earn him four thousand taels?

What about one million catties?

Just thinking about it was thrilling!

"Sigh, the money I lent to Tao Qianqian was lent in vain," Xu An sighed. Had he known Song Ziyan would be so straightforward, he would have just asked her directly.

Along the way, Xu An's mood was exceptionally bright and cheerful.

Yet right at that moment, two sturdy figures suddenly blocked his path.

Xu An frowned. "Why are the two of you blocking my way?"

The two big men said nothing.

Xu An thought for a moment and was about to walk around them when the two hulking men suddenly stepped aside.

Walking toward him was a chubby man with narrowed eyes, slanted eyebrows, and a beaming smile.

It was Kou Ann, the manager of the loan shark den from earlier!

Upon seeing this person, Xu An's expression sank instantly.

Kou Ann walked up to Xu An with a smiling face and said, "Young Master Xu, our boss would like to invite you for a drink. Please come with us!"

Though framed as an invitation, his tone carried an undeniable, forceful dominance.

Xu An shook his head and said, "I am not acquainted with your boss, kindly make way!"

"Hehe."

Kou Ann smiled as he said, "Young Master Xu, the money you owe us hasn't been repaid yet. You signed that contract in black and white."

"Our men may have been hauled off to the yamen by you, but as far as I know, you haven't brought their debt money back with you, have you?"

Xu An's heart sank.

He had been furious at the time and hadn't thought things through deeply, completely overlooking this detail.

The contract explicitly stated that if repayment was overdue by two days, the penalty would be a hundredfold compensation. He had borrowed one tael of silver initially; if it really came to compensation, he would now owe one hundred taels.

Moreover, even if this matter were taken to the yamen, it would be of no use.

"What do you want?"

Xu An asked with a cold expression.

"Hehe, that depends on whether Young Master Xu is willing to give us face." Kou Ann's smile remained radiant.

"Sigh!"

Xu An pondered for a moment, then suddenly sighed and said, "This matter is indeed my fault. I shouldn't have broken the contract, and I feel deeply remorseful about it."

"How about this? To express my apology, I have decided to host a table at the Drunken Moon Pavilion myself to apologize to your boss."

"So don't say anything more, hurry back and invite your boss to the Drunken Moon Pavilion! I'll be waiting for him right there!"

With that, Xu An turned and walked away.

Naturally, he had no intention of accompanying Kou Ann and his men. Once he went with them, the initiative would be entirely in their hands, and he would be at their absolute mercy.

No one was protecting him right now!

Therefore, he decided to turn passivity into initiative.

At the Drunken Moon Pavilion, he at least knew Manager Wang; even if he needed to find someone for help, options would be available. Furthermore, he had an appointment to meet Tao Qianqian at the Drunken Moon Pavilion anyway.

However, just as Xu An had taken a few steps, Kou Ann caught up and grabbed his sleeve.

Smiling from ear to ear, Kou Ann said, "Young Master Xu, what a coincidence. Our boss is right there at the Drunken Moon Pavilion at this very moment. Shall we escort you over?"

"Hehe, what a coincidence indeed. Since that's the case, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Xu An smiled.

With that, he strode forward.

Knowing they were heading to the Drunken Moon Pavilion put him much more at ease.

Soon, the group arrived at the Drunken Moon Pavilion.

Just as he stepped through the front doors, Xu An suddenly clutched his stomach, looking thoroughly miserable as he said, "Oh dear, Manager Kou, you all go ahead. I need to relieve myself and I'll be right there."

With that, he grabbed a tavern errand boy nearby and asked him to lead the way to the latrine.

Kou Ann's expression remained calm as he cast a glance at the two thugs beside him.

The two big men nodded slightly and followed after him.

Ahead, Xu An pulled the errand boy aside, secretly slipped him ten copper coins, and whispered in a low voice, "Brother, run over to the Song Family's Sugar Shop, find Shopkeeper Qin or Manager Song, and tell them that Xu An invites them to the Drunken Moon Pavilion. Sorry to trouble you."

"Understood, Young Master, I'm on it."

The errand boy replied and hurriedly departed.

Xu An glanced behind him and spotted the two burly men trailing him.

He stopped right at the entrance of the latrine, flashed a row of bright white teeth, and asked, "What brings the two big brothers here..."

The two men exchanged glances; they hadn't expected Xu An to take the initiative to speak to them.

One of them hesitated for a moment and replied, "We need to use the latrine too."

"Oh, you two really have a close bond, acting just like a pair of sisters—even going to the latrine together. Such deep affection is truly enviable."

Xu An said with a smile.

The two thugs turned dark with anger.

This fellow was practically insulting them, comparing them to women. Worse still, there seemed to be an even deeper implication behind his words.

"Aren't you going to use the latrine? Go ahead."

One of the big men stared at Xu An and spoke in a cold voice.

Xu An thought for a moment. "Seeing the two of you has suddenly made it impossible for me to go."

With that, Xu An turned around and walked away.

The two big men: "..."