Chapter 510

“White sugar? What is that?”

Some merchants who were about to leave abruptly stopped and returned to the display stand. After being shocked by the pendulum clock, their fragile nerves were once again strained.

They were ecstatic in their hearts. For them, today was truly a day worth celebrating, because the more goods Qingzhou launched, the more silver they would be able to earn.

Li Kaiyuan was beaming. He enjoyed the feeling of being looked up to by everyone. Compared to the pendulum clock, white sugar wasn’t as shocking to him. He said, “This white sugar is very sweet. According to His Highness, this white sugar, like salt, will become a cooking ingredient that all common people in the Great Yu Empire will buy. The prospects are very good.”

“Like salt.” The merchants looked at each other immediately. Salt had always been a government monopoly, which showed the huge profits from salt.

A merchant said in disbelief, “Vice President Li, aren’t you exaggerating a bit? This thing is very similar to salt, but can it really be compared to salt?”

Li Kaiyuan sneered, he didn’t explain much, and said to the questioning merchant, “If you don’t believe me, you can taste this white sugar. Although it’s not as essential as salt every day, it’s something that is in great demand among the common people. You’ve all eaten malt sugar, right? This is a hundred times better than malt sugar.”

No merchant is unintelligent. They would naturally not let their silver go to waste for nothing. So, the questioning merchant stepped forward, pinched some white sugar, and put it in his mouth.

As the sweet taste melted in his mouth, the merchant’s expression became increasingly fascinating.

“How is it?” Li Kaiyuan said lightly.

“Amazing, truly amazing!” The merchant gave a thumbs-up. He said, “I am impressed by Qingzhou’s products. Every single one is original.”

Other merchants, seeing this, swarmed over and tasted the white sugar, and exclamations of amazement immediately rose and fell in the Chamber of Commerce.

“Vice President Li, how will this white sugar be sold?” the merchant asked eagerly.

The more eager the merchants were, the calmer Li Kaiyuan became. He said unhurriedly, “This white sugar is not for sale. By His Highness’s grace, this white sugar can be produced independently by purchasing the technology, just like soap.”

As soon as Li Kaiyuan said this, the merchants immediately exploded.

After the Chamber of Commerce opened up soap production, soap workshops in Qingzhou sprang up like mushrooms. In just one year, there were over a hundred soap workshops outside Qingzhou city.

And after these soap workshops were established, the Chamber of Commerce even sold its own soap workshops, only providing lye to the soap factories. Now, another opportunity for wealth had clearly appeared before them.

No merchant in Qingzhou didn’t know that those who opened soap workshops now had vast fortunes, each one fat and rich.

“Vice President Li, I’ll buy it!” a merchant immediately shouted, afraid of being pushed ahead.

Another merchant pulled him back and said, “Brother Zhao, don’t join in the fun. Who doesn’t know you only have five hundred taels of silver on you? Can you afford this white sugar technology? The soap technology costs ten thousand taels, and I think this white sugar will cost even more.”

“Brother Li, you’re wrong. Now Qingzhou Bank can lend silver. At worst, I’ll borrow it. It’s not a problem to gather enough money, hehe. If I miss this opportunity to get rich, I’ll really be foolish.”

While the two were talking back and forth, other merchants suddenly reacted and squeezed towards Li Kaiyuan. Standing on the display stand, Li Kaiyuan was forcibly pushed back three or four meters by the crowd.

Facing the temptation of getting rich, these merchants went completely mad. Their eyes were red, and they screamed hoarsely.

“Vice President Li, please give me this opportunity! I’m willing to give you 20% of the profit.”

“I’ll give you 30%.”

“Vice President Li, my daughter is sixteen years old. If Vice President Li is willing, please take her.”

“…”

Wave after wave of shouts assailed him, and Li Kaiyuan felt almost dizzy. He immediately shouted, “Guards, guards!”

At his voice, the soldiers guarding the door immediately stepped forward to block the frenzied merchants. In front of the guards’ cold weapons, the merchants retreated to the platform below, each looking at Li Kaiyuan with eager eyes, waiting for his decision.

Li Kaiyuan looked flustered. He hadn’t expected the white sugar production technology to cause such a sensation. If he were to announce the pendulum clock technology, these merchants would probably just eat him alive.

Straightening his clothes, which had been ruffled by the merchants, Li Kaiyuan angrily said, “What’s wrong with all of you? If His Highness sees you being so undisciplined, none of you will get this technology.”

“Vice President Li, we are just anxious. Since His Highness said that the white sugar technology is for sale, there should be an opportunity to purchase it,” a merchant said.

Li Kaiyuan stopped beating around the bush and said to the merchants, “His Highness said that, like soap, this white sugar technology is only sold to members of the Chamber of Commerce. Those who are not members should not even think about it. In addition, there is no restriction on purchases within the Chamber of Commerce. As long as the silver is in place, you can get the technology. However, His Highness also asked me to remind you not to be too reckless, otherwise, if too much white sugar is produced and cannot be sold, our Chamber of Commerce will not bear any responsibility.”

“It was truly right to come to Qingzhou this time. Prince Qi indeed values merchants very much,” said a merchant who had just arrived from another region. He was considering settling in Qingzhou.

After stating this requirement, Li Kaiyuan said, “Those who wish to purchase from the Chamber of Commerce should go and register. Once you pay the silver, the Chamber of Commerce will organize you to go to the workshops for training.”

As soon as Li Kaiyuan finished speaking, the merchants immediately rushed to the registration desk, adhering to the first-come, first-served principle, as all of them wanted to seize this opportunity.

On this side, the merchants were incredibly eager, while at the same time, the merchant servants and attendants regularly stationed at the Chamber of Commerce to gather information were already on their way back to inform their masters.

As the news spread through Qingzhou city, more and more merchants impatiently flocked to the Chamber of Commerce. Thus, the people of Qingzhou witnessed an astonishing scene: shopkeepers selling cloth in their stores rushed out as if mad, not even bothering with the money for the cloth.

Butchers threw down their pig-slaughtering knives and ran off, and for a time, the merchants in Qingzhou city were in chaos.

The unusual activity in Qingzhou city naturally caught the attention of the government office. Upon learning that the Chamber of Commerce had launched two more products, Pang Yukun smiled helplessly. He reviewed the commercial taxes from the past few months, which totaled one hundred and six thousand taels of silver.

Looking in the direction of Prince Qi’s mansion, Pang Yukun exclaimed, “Your Highness truly has foresight. It seems it’s not impossible for commercial taxes to surpass agricultural taxes.”