Chapter 38: Redeeming the Blacksmith

Hearing this, Zhou Hao simply offered a slight smile before walking quickly toward Luo Xu's room. He couldn't sleep at such a critical juncture, and neither could Luo Xu; he had to wake up and help calculate the silver.

Initially, Luo Xu was somewhat reluctant. Even if one had to work early in the morning, shouldn't there be a limit to how early? The sky was only just beginning to pale, and even the morning court session did not start at such an hour. However, these grumblings vanished completely the moment he laid eyes on the mountain of silver.

Could all this silver really have come from the sales of Huazhijie? Luo Xu looked at Zhou Hao with suspicion, his excitement nearly impossible to conceal.

"Your Highness, where did all this silver come from?"

Zhou Hao nodded, picking up a piece of silver and tossing it back and forth. "You guessed right. Part of it is from the sales of Huazhijie, and part is from custom orders. You should know that Bi Ruxue set the price at one tael of silver for one tael of Huazhijie."

One tael of silver? Luo Xu’s eyes widened, unable to believe what he was hearing. One tael of silver for just that little bit of product? He had seen the production process; the raw materials didn't even cost a fraction of that. This profit margin wasn't just double; it was dozens, perhaps even hundreds of times the cost. This alone was enough for the First Prince to build a substantial fortune. Even if he didn't aim for great ambitions, he could live as a wealthy man within his fiefdom.

"Start calculating! Why are you just staring? Does this little bit of silver have you stunned? You truly haven't seen much of the world."

Zhou Hao’s words snapped Luo Xu back to reality. He quickly pulled out paper and began to categorize the orders and the silver. Zhou Hao and Bi Ruxue, meanwhile, returned to their room, ready to get some proper rest. At this hour, why stay up unless he wanted to wait for Luo Xu to finish the accounts?

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Zhou Hao climbed out of bed. Pushing open the door, he found Luo Xu staring at the ledgers with an expression of pure ecstasy. He hadn't expected the First Prince’s ability to generate wealth to be so terrifying. He had been worried about burning through their resources, but now, there was no need to worry at all. In fact, he now had to worry about whether the treasury could even hold all the silver.

"Luo Xu, the overnight success of Huazhijie is a good thing, but you must keep a close watch on the craftsmen who make it. They must not have contact with outsiders, nor with other servants. Guard them strictly."

If these craftsmen were poached by others, his entire plan would be a complete failure. While Huazhijie was profitable, it would never generate this much wealth again if the secret was lost.

Luo Xu naturally nodded. This was no longer just a hen that laid golden eggs; this hen was laying pure gold. "Your Highness, rest assured. I will guard them closely. None of them will have any opportunity to reach the outside world." At this point, the look in Luo Xu’s eyes became much sharper.

"Good. In that case, I will head to the Great General’s mansion, and you stay here to oversee the production of Huazhijie."

With that, Zhou Hao mounted his horse and rode to the Great General’s mansion, arriving just in time to catch the General returning from court.

"Good son-in-law, what brings you here today?" The General was a bit puzzled; his son-in-law had been tinkering with things at home for the past two days and hadn't shown his face until now.

"I was delayed by some profitable business. Now that things are on the right track, I naturally came over."

The General could tell at a glance that Zhou Hao was up to something, so he pulled him into the hall before daring to speak his mind. "Son-in-law, tell me the truth. How profitable is this business that it kept you at the First Prince’s mansion for so long?"

Zhou Hao held up one finger. The General pondered for a moment. "One thousand taels? That’s decent. What kind of business is it?"

Zhou Hao shook his head. "Ten thousand taels. And that is just today’s sales and the deposits for the next month. Once the full payments are delivered, it will be at least thirty thousand taels."

Thirty thousand taels? The General was stunned. This was the amount earned in just one month—whose treasury had he raided to make that much?

"This..." Zhou Hao understood what the General was thinking and quickly stepped in. "Father-in-law, rest assured. The source of this silver is legitimate. Even if the Emperor were to have it audited, he wouldn't find any faults."

Hearing this, the General felt much more at ease. As long as it could withstand scrutiny, the higher Zhou Hao’s ability to make money, the better. It would make life more comfortable for Bi Ruxue. But why come to him about it? As a Great General, he didn't deal with finances.

He wondered what he could possibly do for him—surely the boy wasn't asking him to provide military funding? That wouldn't be appropriate.

"Son-in-law, what exactly do you need from me today?" The General didn't dare to commit to anything without knowing the details.

Zhou Hao smiled and voiced his thoughts. "Do you have any retired weapons or armor? I need those."

Weapons and armor? If the General didn't know Zhou Hao was preparing for his own fiefdom, he would have thought he was planning a rebellion. What kind of sense did it make to hoard weapons and armor in the Imperial City?

"What do you need those for? I can just send a detachment of troops to escort you to your fiefdom when the time comes. As for blacksmiths, I can find you a few, and I can provide some weapons, but armor... that is absolutely out of the question."

He might have been able to negotiate if it were just the cotton-padded armor worn by his household servants, but armor for soldiers on the battlefield? The General didn't dare.

Zhou Hao nodded; cotton-padded armor would suffice. He wasn't a picky man. As long as it was armor, that was enough. He would start by arming a small group of men, and as for the rest, if he had blacksmiths, why worry about the lack of gear?

"Blacksmiths will do. If you are willing to part with them, I will send ten thousand taels of silver to you."

Blacksmiths were rare talents. A good blacksmith was either in the military or tightly controlled by the Ministry of Revenue, leaving no room for poaching. Since the General was willing to give him some, Zhou Hao naturally had to reciprocate. After all, this was his father-in-law. Money given to him would eventually be his own anyway.

This gesture naturally softened the General's expression. Look at that—a truly good son-in-law. Even before his daughter had married into the family, he was already planning to give gifts to his father-in-law.

"Forget the ten thousand taels. Just give me five thousand. We'll use part of it for military expenses, and the rest will be used to settle the legal status of those blacksmiths."