Lin Xuan Qi expected a flavorful experience, but he was disappointed.

The noodles were hand-pulled and they were chewy and springy enough.

But the soup was rather lacking.

It tasted bland for his taste.

Slurp.

As he pondered, Lee He Song was happily enjoying the bowl of beef noodles.

He sighed and tasted a mouthful of the soup.

The soup in his mouth tasted like plain water cooked with some salt and bones.

Something was missing.

Maybe he should really think of coming up with MSG after he was done with the soap.

"Master Lin, the noodles aren't to your liking?" Lee He Song stopped and asked him when he saw Lin Xuan Qi's expression.

"It's good. Must be the weather." Lin Xuan Qi said and glanced out of the window.

It was still summer, and the sun was shining brightly at noon.

Making it a little uncomfortable for anyone to have a bowl of hot beef noodle soup.

"You should try this." Lee He Song grinned and downed the cup of wine.

Lin Xuan Qi shook his head and picked up his teacup, "This is more suitable for me."

The experience of having a hangover was still fresh in his mind, so he didn't want to try and experience it again.

"Life is short and you shouldn't miss out on the good things in life." Lee He Song sighed and gave him a chuckle.

"Don't worry, Master Lee. I will when I get the chance to." He replied.

After he gets things up and running, he would definitely want to explore and enjoy life more.

"As you wish." Lee He Song shrugged and poured another cup of wine for himself.

Amidst the chatter and bustling surroundings, they enjoyed their meal.

When they were done, they left for their next destination.

...

"Long time no see. How may I help you this time? Your master is looking for more young servant girls?" Fei Luo stood up and greeted Lin Xuan Qi when he saw him enter the slave brokerage.

"I'm not looking for young servant girls this time." Lin Xuan Qi replied.

Fei Luo's hands stopped rubbing against each other, and he raised his eyebrows when he heard Lin Xuan Qi.

Does he want to return the servant girls he bought previously? Fei Luo thought to himself.

"We don't do refunds for goods sold, especially when we can't check if they were... used." Fei Luo said, and he sat back down onto his seat.

Lin Xuan Qi shook his head and said, "I need forty hardworking men and women to do hard labor."

"What? Forty?" Fei Luo's eyes opened wide at what he heard.

He quickly poured a cup of tea for Lin Xuan Qi.

As he did so, he glanced at Lin Xuan Qi and said, "I might not be able to find so many in such short notice. Give me a few days to do so."

"A few days? Then, I can only afford thirty taels of silver for them." Lin Xuan Qi said.

Fei Luo frowned and glanced at Lin Xuan Qi.

His gaze moved on to Lee He Song who was standing beside him.

He could see that Lee He Song was holding a sword and the knuckles of Lee He Song were rough and hard.

The old man was someone that's best not to be trifled with.

Such a fine young man and he had already picked up bad habits like bargaining so soon. Fei Luo thought and cursed silently to himself.

"I can try my best and find the forty men and women for you in... two days." Fei Luo frowned and said.

It was a big deal for him with forty slaves.

Lin Xuan Qi nodded his head and changed his offer, "That would be thirty-five taels of silver."

Fei Luo hesitated and thought for a moment.

Thud.

Ten taels of silver were placed onto the tea table by Fei Luo's side by Lee He Song.

"That would be the deposit." Lin Xuan Qi said.

The shiny silver glare from the silver shone onto the face of Fei Luo.

It helped Fei Luo make his decision.

"Fine. It's a deal. Wait for me to draft a contract." He said and glanced at his men standing in the hall.

His men quickly went and brought out the ink, brush and paper.

Fei Luo drafted two copies of the contract within a few moments and handed it over to Lin Xuan Qi.

Lin Xuan Qi read the contract and agreed to it.

They pressed their thumbprints onto the copies of the contract.

"Come back two days later to get your men and women." Fei Luo said.

Lin Xuan Qi kept his copy of the contract and nodded at Fei Luo.

"Master Lee, let's go back home." He said and turned around.

It always was an unpleasant feeling inside the slave brokerage.

He couldn't wait to get out of it.

"All of you, get ready to go to the rural areas! Make sure that everything is ready!"

Lin Xuan Qi heard the voice of Fei Luo booming in the air as he got further away.

If he had a choice, he would slowly recruit the personnel that he needed.

But that's not how it works in Da Qian Dynasty.

A day of being weak is a day of risk where someone more powerful would attempt to eat you alive.

And the fastest way for him to get the clan seemingly powerful was to get more people into it.

He would allocate twenty of the men and women to the factories.

The rest of them would be allocated to the shop and the mansion evenly.

That would make his clan look more like one.

Before they got back to the mansion, Lin Xuan Qi also fixed a deal with the fishmongers for delivery of the clamshells, farmers for the sesame seeds and the butchers for the lard.

Lastly, he also arranged a deal with the salt merchants for delivery of salt.

What's left for him was the equipment to process the ingredients and packaging for the soap.

"It's great to be back." Lin Xuan Qi gave out a sigh when he entered the mansion.

"Welcome back, Master Lin." The familiar voice of Xue Cong, Yue Jie and Yue Xin greeting him made him feel comfortable immediately.

Even Liu Shi Shi's smug look at him was a pleasant sight to him now.

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