Chapter 81: Even the Wind Has a Place to Rest

Using brown sugar to make white granulated sugar is a process with very little technical difficulty, the principle itself is remarkably simple, yet to people in ancient times, it seemed utterly magical!

Boil the brown sugar into a thick paste, place it into a funnel whose outlet has been plugged with clean straw, and then pour in yellow clay water.

Zhao Hengyi knew that the entire process of making white granulated sugar was simple. As long as one wasn’t a fool, watching it once was enough to learn. That’s why he shrouded the affair in mystery, ensuring that even the assistants were all members of the Daughters’ Army.

But no one else knew what he was up to. When they saw him pouring yellow clay water onto the thickened brown sugar paste, they thought he was wasting precious goods!

Yet, as the dark water continued to flow from the funnel’s mouth, the red sugar paste slowly began to reveal itself within the muddy water...

“How could it be like this?!”

Not just Miao Xiaoyu and Sun Xiuying, even the well-traveled Wei Linglan was stunned!

The originally red sugar paste transformed into crystalline, translucent granules—looking just like the expensive sugar frost!

“This is white granulated sugar. The paste below can be used again; the loss in weight should not be significant,” Zhao Hengyi said calmly. After all, he had witnessed such wonders in his previous life, though he hadn’t expected his first experiment to be so successful.

“I’m asking you, how did you do this?” Wei Linglan’s mind was awash with confusion. “Are you some kind of magician?”

“Wow, brother-in-law can do magic!”

“Brother-in-law is amazing! So much sugar frost—we can make so many tasty treats!”

The six little girls cheered and laughed excitedly, unaware of the significance of the scene they had just witnessed.

“This isn’t magic; anyone can do it the same way,” Zhao Hengyi found it difficult to explain the principle to Wei Linglan. “I don’t really know the underlying reason myself. Just follow my method, and you’ll get white granulated sugar.”

Wei Linglan, still incredulous, gently pinched a bit of the white granulated sugar and tasted it—sweet!

“Of course it’s sweet—it’s sugar!” Zhao Hengyi said, watching the crowd of women, both young and old, sampling the freshly made white granulated sugar, and feeling a pang in his teeth. “Ruochang, Ruoyi, don’t eat too much or your teeth will rot.

It’s actually very simple. Think of it as removing impurities from brown sugar; just use my method to purify it. This sparkling, crystalline appearance is what sugar is meant to be!”

The more Zhao Hengyi explained, the stranger the looks he received.

At last, after Wei Linglan, Miao Xiaoyu, Sun Xiuying, the six little girls, Wang Erhu, and all the Daughters’ Army maids had each tried it themselves, the excitement finally settled.

“With this business, no one can say I’m taking advantage of the little girls anymore,” Zhao Hengyi said proudly. Judging by the outrageous price of sugar frost, the white granulated sugar, which looked even more refined and suited the tastes of the wealthy, would surely fetch a good price. Moreover, in terms of sweetness, white granulated sugar far outstripped sugar frost!

“This is truly a hen that lays golden eggs!” Wei Linglan exclaimed after personally testing it. “This time, I admit defeat!”

Even with the evidence before her, Wei Linglan refused to believe that Zhao Hengyi had prepared this method for turning brown sugar into white beforehand. Judging from their time on the painted boat, it must have been invented because she provoked him. When the magistrate and those young gentlemen cornered him, he spun a story about a shabby Daoist to save face, but when Wei Linglan herself made things difficult, he produced this miracle of turning stone into gold... Zhao Hengyi, Zhao Hengyi, how unwilling are you to lose in front of me!

No matter how independent, a woman is still a woman; even after witnessing the miraculous transformation of brown sugar into white, Wei Linglan felt a trace of dissatisfaction. She believed that Zhao Hengyi, that little rascal, only liked to compete with her.

Miao Xiaoyu, meticulous as ever, weighed the white granulated sugar and calculated a surprising conversion rate: five pounds of brown sugar produced more than two pounds of white granulated sugar!

And this was only a trial batch. With large-scale production, the process and efficiency would surely improve, yielding an even higher conversion rate.

“This business, I’ll do it together with my six sisters!” Wei Linglan declared, unwilling to break her promise in front of the six little girls who were excitedly circling her. “My sisters needn’t worry about anything; just wait for dividends. Each will hold a ten percent share, and I’ll take a bit more—forty percent for myself.”

Wei Linglan spoke lightly, but in truth, she was spending sixty percent of the shares to buy Zhao Hengyi’s secret method.

Production and sales would all be handled by Wei Linglan. She’d cover every cost—raw materials, labor, even the expenses for opening sales channels—while the six little girls did nothing but wait for dividends. No secret recipe had ever been sold at such a high price!

The six little girls, naive as they were, felt they could finally earn silver and were thrilled, clapping their hands and cheering like grownups.

Miao Xiaoyu thought her family had gotten an incredible deal and wanted to decline, but Wei Linglan would not hear of it, insisting it was to help her sisters save up dowry money.

Zhao Hengyi could only smile wryly. Given the snowy, sand-like look of white granulated sugar, it would undoubtedly become a trend. With Wei Linglan's prowess in running the Everlasting Commerce, she would surely market white granulated sugar as a luxury item. At this rate, the six girls’ dowries would be overwhelmingly rich!

Wei Linglan showed rare dominance in this matter; the shares were decided just like that.

To celebrate the new business, Wei Linglan planned a banquet in the villa—ladies only.

After a busy day filled with nothing but tea and pastries, Zhao Hengyi slunk away with Wang Erhu, heading back to the inn.

On the way, Wang Erhu seemed lost, his face slack, smiling to himself every now and then. Zhao Hengyi could only sigh—this silly boy was hopeless!

A youth like the wind, upon meeting a girl who captivated him, perhaps the wind itself found a place to rest.

“Don’t worry about him, boss. He’s just a nobody, while she’s a noble. How could he ever hope to reach her?” Wang Dahua, the elder brother, poured cold water on his sibling’s daydreams. “I think the boy’s gone mad!”

Wang Erhu was struck as if by lightning. The thought of the county princess’s luxurious painted boat, her ornate villa, the fine garments and jewelry worn by Miss Peach—all at once, his proud head hung low.

“Wang Dahua, you’re a scoundrel!” Zhao Hengyi, who had often teased Wang Erhu about Miss Peach, now became the defender of the boy’s dreams. “How can you say that about your own brother? Why shouldn’t my Erhu be worthy of Miss Peach? As long as she herself doesn’t dislike him, I’ll guarantee this marriage myself!”

The youth, who could face blades without flinching, was moved to tears by his boss’s words.