Courtyard House: My Time Travel is a Bit Too Strong

"Uncle, why don't you send some to the brothels in the city first—gift each courtesan a bottle of perfume and a bar of soap?" Zhong Guohong smiled.

Wang Zhenyuan exclaimed, "Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

A moment later, several trusted servants from the Prince's mansion, carrying brocade boxes, went to various brothels.

The next day, as dawn broke, the area outside the mansion was bustling with carriages and horses, as wealthy merchants, powerful figures, and their sons arrived one after another.

In just half a day, more than 500 bottles of perfume, each costing 100 taels of silver, were sold; more than 3,000 bars of soap, each costing 2 taels of silver, were sold; and even more than 100 jin of Hero Wine were sold.

Who goes to brothels for pleasure? Aren't they all rolling in money and squandering it all?

In order to sit and chat with the top courtesan, some people would offer thousands or even tens of thousands of taels of silver as a gift.

The Jiangnan region is fertile, with two rice harvests a year, and those families with substantial wealth far surpass those in the north.

When Du Mu moored his boat on the Qinhuai River, his line "The courtesans know not the sorrow of a fallen nation" served as a stark contrast to the bustling prosperity of the area, where music and song never ceased and the marketplace was teeming with activity.

In the present world, salt, iron, and grain are the three most profitable industries.

The Jiangnan region was dotted with salt fields, and its rice production was unparalleled in the Song Dynasty.

Salt merchants and grain merchants gathered here, and many civil officials also acquired land and operated shops in Jiangnan.

The Song Dynasty valued civil officials over military ones, and seven or eight out of ten civil officials in the court were connected to the Jiangnan region by blood.

The saying "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts" applies here. While martial arts training is extremely expensive, doesn't studying also cost money?

Since ancient times, talented people have come from Jiangnan. Local scholars already had an advantage in numbers; coupled with their wealthy families, they fostered a deeply rooted and influential group of civil officials who dominated the court and the country.

The imperial taxes were distributed through various levels of government, with the majority ultimately ending up in the pockets of wealthy households and civil officials in Jiangnan.

Don't even mention perfumes priced at a hundred taels—here, even if they sell for five hundred taels, people will still scramble to buy them.

After deducting expenses for raw materials, labor, porcelain bottles, etc., Zhong Guohong only spent a little over five hundred taels of silver to purchase various materials, and then shared the profits with Wang Zhenyuan.

The delicate porcelain bottle used to hold the perfume cost only a few coins; the dried flowers and spices used in the perfumery were also common and readily available.

"There are still 58,000 taels left." Wang Zhenyuan moved the abacus beads, his voice clear and crisp.

"My eldest uncle will receive 11,600 taels, and the remaining 46,400 taels will be mine," Zhong Guohong said calmly.

"Where did you get this number?" Wang Zhenyuan's pupils shrank. He had been in business for half his life and his mental arithmetic was so fast that even the accountant couldn't keep up. But the person in front of him hadn't even touched the abacus, and the result had already been blurted out.

"Fifty-eight thousand taels divided by ten equals five thousand eight hundred taels; then multiply by two..." Zhong Guohong casually grabbed a piece of paper, dipped his brush in ink, and quickly drew several winding symbols and the shapes of "0" to "9".

"What is this character?" Wang Zhenyuan stared at the paper, his brows furrowed.

Wang Zhenyuan remained silent for a moment, then picked up his wolf-hair brush and meticulously wrote Chinese characters in small regular script next to each symbol.

"Uncle, it would be better to give up the jade business. Dali to Suzhou is a long way, with rugged mountain roads and rampant bandits." Zhong Guohong's voice was not loud, but every word was clear and firm.

"Yes," Wang Zhenyuan replied readily. After a trip, dealing with the government, passing through checkpoints, and guarding against robbers, he was lucky to have earned a little over two thousand taels after deducting expenses. If he was unlucky, he would have lost all his capital.

"The security escort agency must be kept—when profit is the first instinct, human nature is the most unpredictable thing," Zhong Guohong added.

"That's true." Wang Zhenyuan nodded, a hint of lingering fear in his eyes.

"If you ever can't make up your mind, come find me at Mandala Manor."

"If I don't look for you, who else can I look for?" Wang Zhenyuan snorted, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

The silver was converted into gold ingots, and under the escort of the Wang Family Escort Agency, the ingots were carried one box after another onto the cargo ships at the dock.

Chung Kwok-hung boarded a ship and returned west, accompanied by gold, arriving directly at Mandala Manor.

One jin in the Song Dynasty was equivalent to 680 grams; more than 46,000 taels of silver, converted to today's value of about 6,300 taels; calculated at one tael of gold to ten taels of silver, the final amount of gold melted down and cast would be no more than 631 jin.

"There are so many?" Li Qingluo stood in front of the storeroom, her eyes bright, her waist slender and her long legs wrapped in a plain skirt, exuding natural charm.

Gold is nearly nineteen times denser than water, weighs over 600 jin (approximately 300 catties), and occupies only two-thirds of an ebony box.

"Of the fifty-eight thousand taels of silver, twenty percent will be given to my eldest uncle, and the rest will be worth forty-six thousand taels." Zhong Guohong's voice was as usual, without joy or surprise.

"Is all the stock sold out?"

"There are over 300 bottles of perfume left, over 1,000 bars of soap, and over 800 jin of Hero liquor left."

"I'll have the water boiled on the stove," Li Qingluo said with a slight smile.

"We'll have a tea later."

"What nonsense are you spouting in broad daylight?" She glanced at him sideways, her eyes sparkling with charm.

"With the lights off, how can we get a good look at the beauty?" he laughed.

Li Qingluo, Wang Yuyan, Mu Wanqing, Zhong Ling, A Zhu, and A Bi are making great progress.

His marksmanship has reached a level of perfection. Now, when he faces them, he is constantly on the defensive and often finds himself in a flurry of activity.

Having entered the world of Tianlong, Zhong Guohong never intended to stop after just a brief taste.

Even if I were to take a break, I would first have to acquire the four beauties: plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.

They are twin sisters, completely different from Teacher Jiang, Teacher Zhao, and others.

Each of those people in their past lives had three incarnations.

More than an hour later, hot soup gushed into the bluestone bath, creating a misty atmosphere and shadowy figures.

"I can barely hold on, but I'll need to train harder to take on real responsibilities."

After changing his clothes, Zhong Guohong strolled to the water's edge.

After sitting quietly and practicing breathing exercises for two hours, he finished his meal with everyone in the afternoon and then went into the forging room.

In the world of martial arts, it's ultimately unwise to be without a weapon.

Several years ago, Li Qingluo accidentally obtained a piece of black iron, which was dark and dull, weighing more than thirty pounds.

After careful examination, Chung Kwok-hung decided to forge a knife himself.

Through countless reincarnations and countless eras, the skills he had mastered were already etched into his very bones.

After seven days of working at his desk, with the furnace fire burning continuously, the black iron was finally forged into a long sword.

The blade is eight feet long, the handle is two feet long, and the net weight is eighteen catties.

It was completely black, without any sharp edges, and at first glance, it didn't even look like a kitchen knife.

It took another ten days or so to use up all the remaining materials, so another sheath was made.

"The knife weighs eighteen jin and the scabbard weighs twelve jin. It has a solid feel in the hand and the design is also pleasing to the eye."

After practicing the "Years of Sword Technique" a few times, he packed his belongings, boarded the ship, and left the village.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, it's time to buy some New Year's goods to take home.

Wang Zhenyuan was making a fortune every day, and he had long been closely watched by officials and businessmen.

He had extensive connections and deep-rooted influence, so officials and businessmen dared not act rashly for a time.

The most crucial point is that they still haven't figured out where this batch of goods came from.

As soon as the boat docked, Wu Hu, the leader of the Black Tiger Gang, led more than three hundred men to surround it.

Aside from major martial arts sects like Mingjiao, Emei, Tianshan, Shaolin, Xingxiu, and Lingjiu Palace, the rest—seven or eight out of ten—are henchmen kept by officials and merchants.

"Where did these things come from?" Wu Hu's voice was as rough as a broken gong.

"I did it," Chung Kwok-hung said calmly, without the slightest hint of emotion.

"Five hundred taels of silver, all mine." Wu Hu's words were an unequivocal order.

"Get out of the way." Chung Kwok-hung's three words were chillingly cold.

"Go!" Wu Hu raised his arm.

A flash of light, and heads rolled to the ground.