"Come, brother Lin, have a drink." Sima Long offered Lin Xuan Qi a cup of tea when he came into the tentage.

"Thanks." Lin Xuan Qi took the cup of tea from Sima Long and sat down on a seat.

One of the servants from the Sima Family quickly came over and fanned him with their fans.

He was surprised at the treatment but kept quiet when he saw that Sima Long, Zhang Jie, and Liu Shao were having the same treatment.

"You seem to have a pretty close relationship with your servant girls." Zhang Jie put down her teacup and said.

"I don't have family with me, and they were the ones that were with me through difficult times." He gave her a smile and said.

"I understand," Zhang Jie said with a nod.

She was trying to see if it was possible to arrange a marriage for him.

Now that they were together in business, it would be even better if they were related through marriage.

That's how the big families and clans got to become powerful and rich together.

But it seemed like Lin Xuan Qi wasn't that interested in getting married. At least for now.

She went on and asked about business.

"Now that the first batch of sales was successful, when would the second batch be available?" Zhang Jie asked.

"The second batch would be available three days later, and this time it shall be double the price." Lin Xuan Qi replied.

"Double the price? That's great." Zhang Jie's eyes opened wide and she was happy with his response.

Twenty taels of silver were a blip compared to the business of the Sima and Zhang Family.

If he could fetch a tael of silver for a piece of soap, it would make it worthwhile for more investments into the business.

Lin Xuan Qi nodded his head and said, "With the lure of the poems, and the scarcity, the demand would be greater than the supply.

"Don't worry about the price they are willing to pay.

"In fact, I'm thinking of expanding the retail stores inside Hong Feng City or even to the capital city if possible."

He said and glanced over at Sima Long.

Zhang Jie nudged Sima Long and whispered into her husband's ears, "Don't hesitate, here's our chance."

Sima Long nodded and said, "The Sima Family is willing to invest together in the expansion."

"Thanks!" Lin Xuan Qi stood up and lifted the teacup in his hand and said, "Here's a toast to our soap business!"

Sima Long, Zhang Jie and Liu Shao stood up and did the same.

After downing the tea he had, Sima Long sat down and said, "Lee Zhen Ren's birthday celebration is tomorrow, I would like to invite you.

"Too bad that we can't be seated with the cultivators like Uncle Sima Ye."

"It's alright. I'm already invited by my other business partner." Lin Xuan Qi replied.

"I'm so sorry brother Lin, I got the invitation at the last moment, after all, I'm not one of the favored sons..." Sima Long said and Lin Xuan Qi stopped him.

"It's fine." He understood Sima Long's difficulties.

The mention of Sima Ye, however, reminded him of something.

"If you see Uncle Sima Ye when you get home, please let him know that when I visited someone in the prison, the robbers that were caught seemed unusually calm and determined."

He recalled how the robbers sitting in their cells were different from the other prisoners.

Something was up but he couldn't figure it out.

"I shall pass your message to Uncle Sima Ye when I get back." Sima Long nodded and said.

He knew that Uncle Sima Ye was busy with some mission for the Qing Feng Sect and it had something to do with the robbers.

Maybe the information from Lin Xuan Qi might help.

Liu Shao shook his head with a wary look.

"I think it's best to be prepared for the worst... There are whispers about the Dark Lord."

"The Dark Lord?" Lin Xuan Qi was curious and asked.

"I don't know why it had to happen while my father is in secluded cultivation." Liu Shao frowned and said, "The Dark Lord came out of nowhere with slogans of trying to overturn the emperor's rule.

"He had been willing to make use of any methods and ways to achieve his objective.

"Can you imagine that his followers are all deranged folks wanting equal rights for everyone?"

Lin Xuan Qi nodded his head silently.

Despite what Liu Shao had said, he could imagine that, people asking for equal rights.

"Master Lin! The food is ready." Xue Cong's voice boomed in the air and stopped their conversation.

He glanced over at Sima Long and Liu Shao, and said, "Come with me, the food tastes nicer by the fire."

Sima Long glanced at Zhang Jie, and she nudged him to go.

Liu Shao felt it might be good for him to be out in the sun, and he agreed.

They could smell the aroma of the swamp eel being roasted over the fire.

The river clams and river crabs had also been cooked with water.

Xue Cong and Yue Jie came over with plates in their hands.

Sima Long took two plates and returned to the tentage to be with his wife.

"Let me see how good your culinary skills are." Lin Xuan Qi picked up a river clam and put it into his mouth.

The sweetness of the meat permeated his mouth immediately after he chewed on it.

He gave Xue Cong an approving nod and proceeded to start on the river crab.

The crab meat was tight, with the strands of meat at the right tenderness.

The sweetness of the meat was even better than the river clam.

"That was great." He exclaimed and went on to put the swamp eel meat into his mouth.

When he chewed onto the meat, it was bouncier and chewier than other fish meat.

The sweetness of the swamp eel meat was also much more than other fish.

"Brother Liu, eat while it's hot." Lin Xuan Qi saw Liu Shao holding onto his plate and reminded him.

Liu Shao took a bite from the river crab, and his eyes beamed with happiness from the taste of the river crab.

"This is... nice!"

"Glad you like it. Have more!" Lin Xuan Qi said, being happy to see Liu Shao in a better mood for once.

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