Chapter 52

Fu Minghui, with his formidable Golden Core cultivation, arrived at the front of the group in a flash.

"Li Xian, His Majesty said that we must complete 100,000 textile machines for the state before we can sell them to the public."

Li Xian was puzzled, "Minister of Health, the textile machine is quite simple. Can't the state produce them on its own?"

Fu Minghui laughed, "Li Xian, don't pretend to be naive. We need 100,000 sets of three items: Sea Soul Silk, bearings, and main shafts.

Sea Soul Silk costs three taels of gold per meter, one tael of silver per bearing, and one tael of silver for five main shafts. What do you think?"

"The bearings and main shafts are fine, but the Sea Soul Silk is not acceptable. If His Majesty really wants cheaper Sea Soul Silk, Li Xian cannot provide it. Please have His Majesty negotiate with the Sea Clan." Li Xian's tone was quite blunt; he would not budge on this matter.

Even the lowest-grade Sea Soul Silk, which is just the leftover scraps, costs three taels of gold per meter. To meet the requirements of the engine array, qualified Sea Soul Silk costs at least five taels of gold per meter.

This price is indeed high. In fact, Li Xian's cost to obtain Sea Soul Silk from the Sea Clan is about five taels of silver per meter. He is selling it at ten times the cost. But to lower the price? No way!

First, Li Xian has long proclaimed a 'fixed price' policy. How can he change it casually? That would severely damage the fledgling 'Brilliant Stars' trading company. In this world of cultivation, where oaths are highly valued, breaking one's word is a despised act.

Second, the reason he was so generous in publicly sharing the engine and machinery theories, apart from other factors, was to sell Sea Soul Silk! Now that the prospects for the conductive wire are promising, Li Xian naturally wants to expand the Sea Soul Silk business. It's a cash cow.

Third, emperors are always insatiable. If you give in today, they will demand more tomorrow! Therefore, Li Xian firmly closed the door to further negotiation. As for offending the emperor, there's no need to worry—so long as he remains useful and irreplaceable, the emperor will court him.

Seeing Li Xian's firm stance, Fu Minghui lowered his tone, "I remember your 'Brilliant Stars' trading company offers discounts for bulk purchases. The more you buy, the greater the discount. I calculated that with your set discounts, a 100,000-unit order at a 60% discount is very reasonable."

Upon hearing this, not only Li Xian but even the surrounding guards twitched their mouths. This was clearly unreasonable! If we were to order a million, would you pay us to take them?

Li Xian was truly at a loss, "Minister of Health, 80% discount, at most 80%. At 60%, we can't even cover our costs."

"Alright, alright, then 80%. No going back on this." Fu Minghui's tone was light—originally, the emperor had not instructed him to negotiate the price; this was Fu Minghui's own decision. If he succeeded, he would receive a reward upon return. The royal rewards are never stingy. Despite the decline of the Daxia Imperial Family, they still have their own medicinal fields and century-old herbs.

"I won't go back on it," Li Xian affirmed.

Fu Minghui suddenly became serious, "Li Xian, even commoners give dowries for weddings. Don't forget the princess's dowry."

With that, Fu Minghui turned and disappeared in a flash.

"I..." Li Xian pointed at Fu Minghui's rapidly vanishing back, utterly speechless. One shouldn't be so shameless.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Li Xian shouted now, it was useless.

When Li Xian and his group continued on their journey, Fu Minghui had already received his desired reward from the emperor—three palm-sized century-old purple lingzhi mushrooms. These three mushrooms were enough to increase Fu Minghui's foundation by over thirty years.

After three and a half days of leisurely travel, Li Xian and his group finally returned to Anyang. Li Xian then introduced Xia Qingqing to his elder brother and sister-in-law. Upon seeing Xia Qingqing, his sister-in-law stopped promoting her own sister, and Li Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief. His sister-in-law was too powerful, controlling his brother so that he didn't dare to have a mistress, which Li Xian could not agree with.

Besides, finding a wife should be based on mutual affection. After all, this isn't just for a few decades but for several centuries.

After meeting his elder brother and sister-in-law, Li Xian and Xia Qingqing changed out of their wedding attire and into new clothes. They then returned to their private land ten miles away—Qingyun Valley, which was now Li Xian's base.

Upon returning, Li Xian, of course, celebrated. The entire Qingyun Valley held a grand banquet, and Xia Qingqing officially took up residence as the lady of the valley.

That night, Li Xian finally had the opportunity to truly consummate his marriage with Xia Qingqing.

In the morning, as Li Xian caressed Xia Qingqing's smooth body, he suddenly froze.

"What's wrong?" Sensing Li Xian's sudden stiffness, Xia Qingqing quickly sat up, the thin blanket slipping to reveal her alluring figure.

After a moment of shock, Li Xian burst into joy, hugging Xia Qingqing and shouting, "I've actually reached the tenth level of the Qi Condensation stage! The tenth level! My lady, let's do it again."

"No, it's already morning!" Xia Qingqing carefully pulled the blanket over her body, blushing as she lay back in bed.

But Li Xian was too excited to care. He insisted on another round, and they didn't get up until noon. Xia Qingqing practiced the Nine Yin White Bone Claw on Li Xian several times and didn't get out of bed until the afternoon.

"Madam, let me show you our estate." In the afternoon, after resting, Li Xian, still blushing, took Xia Qingqing, along with Xu Ren, Bei Chen Yuqing, Fang Shijing, and Ling Zhifeng, to tour the estate.

First, they visited the textile factory. Seeing Li Xian's more advanced combined textile machines, Xia Qingqing, Bei Chen Yuqing, Fang Shijing, and Ling Zhifeng all "praised" Li Xian as a cunning merchant.

Next, they toured the machine tool department, which truly amazed the four of them.

"Machine tools, machines that produce other machines!" This simple and effective introduction left everyone speechless.

Then they visited the lamp factory, where they saw the standardization of production. Molten glass flowed into molds, cooled slightly, and then poured out as clear prisms, crystal trays, and lampshades.

After that, they entered the smelting workshop, witnessing the bustling smelting industry.

Finally, they arrived at the research department, which was responsible for various projects, especially engines and conductive wires.

Upon entering the research department, Xia Qingqing, Bei Chen Yuqing, Fang Shijing, and Ling Zhifeng were initially confused, as the research room had many different rooms, each looking messy at first glance.

As they were about to ask Xu Ren for an explanation, Tang Hui, seeing Li Xian, immediately shouted excitedly, "Young Master, the generator is now fully mature. It can now provide a stable and continuous 500 volts and 300 amperes.

Moreover, up to nine generators can be connected in series. Due to internal resistance, nine in series can provide over 4,200 volts and a maximum of 280 amperes.

The corresponding voltmeters, ammeters, and resistors have all been made."

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