The Martial Doctor

Chapter 356: Chapter 322: Taking Stock of the Family Assets

"Miaoxue, please continue."

"Over at Yingfeng Valley, we’re still working on laying the foundation. The main tasks now are quarrying stone, building the walls, and firing bricks..."

"So, does that mean the actual construction of the houses will start next spring?" Lin Miao nodded.

"Yes, according to your vision, Yingfeng Valley will be the place where you’ll retire and live in seclusion; naturally, it should be built to the highest standards, no matter the cost," Si Miaoxue said. This will also be the future home for her and Yue Mei’Er, so how could she not be attentive? As long as a basic structure can be established within two years, it would be considered good enough.

A true century-old mansion requires many years of refinement.

Construction is not difficult; what is difficult is the decoration. Every grass and tree inside requires careful thought.

Currently, it seems that the 500,000 taels of silver Lin Miao set aside may not be enough. It might need to double; who knows by how many times?

However, he genuinely likes Yingfeng Valley. When he’s older and no longer concerns himself with worldly affairs, having a comfortable place to live and enjoy his later years is worth it.

Earning money is just for spending it.

Only the money spent is truly yours.

As for timber, there are lumberyards in the Longchuan Canyon. However, the nearby resources have been mostly exhausted, leaving only trees less than ten years old.

To build a century-old mansion, materials should be at least fifty years old. Some timbers, like redwood and huanghuali used for building a home, may not be available in the canyon and must be sourced from Jiangnan.

This time, Su Chen is going to Jinling to help him purchase timber from Jiangnan and hire craftsmen skilled in making Jiangnan-style furniture and garden designers.

With streams and bridges, flowing water, and lavish spending, the project aims to achieve the best results.

The money earned in the Great Yue Country is spent here, so no one should object. After all, what he needs are talent and lumber.

The first batch of craftsmen and timber will arrive before the end of the year.

Therefore, many houses and workshops need to be built in Yingfeng Valley to accommodate these people, and within a few months, Yingfeng Valley has already developed into a small town with a basic scale.

There are even taverns, grocery stores, and clothing shops now.

Of course, these places exist because of Yingfeng Valley.

Fortunately, prior planning allowed for space reservation, or else, with more people, any random encroachment on land to open roads would be difficult to change later.

On the estate side, the sugar refining keeps a steady production to maintain market prices, though it’s subject to the supply of raw materials.

Aside from supplying themselves and selling in Li Hen City, Lin Miao also collaborated with the Snow Mountain Sect to sell to the Yue Country.

With the endorsement of the Snow Mountain Sect, no one in the Yue Country dares to mess with them.

This partnership allows the Snow Mountain Sect to earn several thousand taels of silver monthly.

Lin Miao naturally did not worry about his refined sugar attracting unwanted attention, especially since he wasn’t selling in Dongshan City.

As for Li Hen City’s shop, the Da Li Dynasty couldn’t meddle even if it wanted to.

"The embroidery house is recruiting marriage partners this time also for survival purposes. Its embroidery products can only be sold within Li Hen City. Though the quality is excellent, the sales channels are blocked. While it does well within Lanzhou, outside Lanzhou, its products have difficulty selling. It’s not a quality issue, but rather the lack of their sales channels, with the prices being suppressed by local merchants, making it hard for the embroidery house members to step out of Li Hen City. Although they have quality products, the prices aren’t cheap, yet the profits remain very limited..."

"Does the Yun Tianjun intend to break through this predicament and find new partners?" Lin Miao understood.

"Yes, she wants to use this opportunity to find local factions willing to cooperate with the embroidery house, break the local price alliance, and raise the prices of the embroidery house’s products."

"Why don’t you use a divide-and-conquer strategy?"

"Useless, they’ve formed an attacking and defending alliance. Anyone privately cooperating with the embroidery house would be attacked by others, ultimately leading to bankruptcy, family ruin, and even death," Si Miaoxue said.

"Then someone must be manipulating everything from behind the scenes; otherwise, as soon as a breach opens, it will inevitably fall apart over time."

"Yes, this organization is called the Silk Alliance, led by the Shen Clan of Haining, the Xu Clan of Danyang, the Hu Clan of Gusu, and the Ning Clan of Haiyang, controlling over half the silk and fabric industry globally; each is as wealthy as a nation," Yue Mei’Er said.

"Actually, the Silk Alliance targets not just the embroidery house but any business related to silk; they use their power to exploit smaller entities for maximum profit," Si Miaoxue said. "The embroidery house still has some bargaining rights; many small merchants can only exist under their influence."

"In Lanzhou, the embroidery house still retains a certain level of autonomy. Embroidery houses of significant scale like it must expand elsewhere. They considered opening their shops, but without exception, they failed. Compared to the Silk Alliance, the embroidery house cannot withstand the price war. If the embroidery house refuses to yield, their adversaries will strike at the raw materials, forcing them to submit."

"But this time, this method may not necessarily succeed..."

"Baili Bingyun’s advancement to Tianyuan changes everything; the Silk Alliance must now show restraint. If they truly push a Tianyuan-level expert, can these four families bear the resultant losses?" Si Miaoxue said.

"Are there experts within the Silk Alliance?"

"Of course, but deploying a Tianyuan expert for a bit of profit is not worthwhile. Hence, this time the Silk Alliance tolerates the embroidery house’s actions because the embroidery house is seeking cooperation through marriage alliances, which the Silk Alliance can’t oppose. Otherwise, they’d thoroughly provoke a Tianyuan-level expert!"

"But if this is the motive of Yun Tianjun, why involve me?" Lin Miao remained puzzled. If this was her goal, what did she need from him?

"Because you have not risen yet, compared to those great forces, you are easier to negotiate with," Yue Mei’Er stated bluntly.

"If the Xiu House wants to break through its current boundaries, it needs a partner outside. If this partner is too strong, it won’t be easy to control, and the Silk Alliance might make a move prematurely," Si Miaoxue added.

Lin Miao suddenly understood.

To the Xiu House, his strength is formidable but not too large, making him easy to negotiate with. Meanwhile, to the Silk Alliance, he is a stranger. Whether through temptation or cooperation, they might not be able to pin him down immediately.

Baili Bingyun wants to control him, but that’s impossible—Lin Miao knew this in his heart, but it may not be so clear for others.

The Xiu House needs the Silk Alliance to supply raw materials, so they can’t afford to fall out, unless they have their own source of materials.

How could the Xiu House source silk and silk cloth without raising silkworms themselves?

Moreover, the silk dyeing techniques are not what the Xiu House excels at; all silk threads of various colors are purchased from outside.

These are all controlled by the Silk Alliance.

This is why they are tightly grasped by others, no wonder the Xiu House cannot compete with the Silk Alliance.

Actually, as long as the Xiu House can find high-quality raw material suppliers, they won’t need to fear the Silk Alliance. But in this world, the best silk isn’t found outside the southeastern coast and Jiangnan region, leaving only Nanzhao.

Although Nanzhao produces silk, it’s difficult to transport, and its quality and dyeing techniques are inferior to those of the Silk Alliance...

The formulas and techniques for dyeing silk, Lin Miao had some ideas about, but they weren’t his area of expertise.

As for raising silkworms and reeling silk, his family did it when he was young, but those memories had long faded.

"Though I have a small silk store under my hands, it was to get into the Dongshan Medicine Market, a bit of a trojan horse, and the management situation is average. It could be changed to exclusively sell Xiu House products..." As he spoke, Lin Miao suddenly had an idea.

Exclusive store?

Embroidery isn’t something the average person can afford, especially high-end embroidery, which can often be considered artwork.

What if the Xiu House’s products were categorized into different grades, like low, medium, and high?

The low and medium-grade products can be sold through partners like the Silk Alliance, while high-end products could be exclusively sold by himself, creating two different brands.

Now that’s a way to break the deadlock.

Moreover, high-end goods must be sold at a high price. As long as they can endure at first, once the brand is established, the Silk Alliance will have to compete with commercial tactics.

The issue of raw materials still needs to be resolved. High-end products naturally require the best silk and silk threads.

But the higher the quality of raw materials, the scarcer they may be, and this matter needs careful planning first.

"You don’t want me to actually marry Baili Yuyao, do you?"

"Why? Haven’t you already agreed with Yuntian Jun?"

"When did I agree? I only said I’d consider it, it was just a temporary measure!" Lin Miao said awkwardly.

"Anyway, this matter is almost settled. I got the third place in the martial competition under the identity of Lin Bei, and though this news hasn’t been announced publicly, it’s practically been determined," Si Miaoxue said.

"Miaoxue’s skills only ranked third?"

"If I gave it my all, I’d naturally get first place, but then it would be too conspicuous and risk exposing my identity. Third place is just right, and the Xiu House’s criteria for choosing a husband stated they would pick one from the top three as the next Xiu Daughter’s husband, which could be the first, second, or even the third," Si Miaoxue explained.

"Who came in first?"

"Zhuang Cheng."

"The son of Mr. Zhuang from the Xiu House?"

"Yes, that kid took some medicine and managed to defeat Green Blade Sect leader Shen Yidao’s son, Shen An, at the last moment, claiming first place," Si Miaoxue said.

"So, Shan An from the Green Blade Sect came in second?"

"During the final rounds, when five participants were reduced to three, I had some luck to get a bye, facing Shen An in the first match and deliberately losing half a move to him," Si Miaoxue said, "My goal was to stay in the top three, the ranking didn’t matter to me."

"Now that Zhuang Cheng took first place, he might gain more support within the Xiu House. If Yuntian Jun doesn’t choose Zhuang Cheng, the Xiu House might split internally," Lin Miao analyzed.

"Yes, when I returned, I heard Mr. Zhuang was uniting several Xiu House veterans to pressure Baili Bingyun; Zhuang Cheng’s victory in the martial competition gives them a legitimate excuse!" Si Miaoxue remarked with a smile.

"Was it intentional?"

"Well, somewhat. Even if Baili Yuyao came to our family, we can’t let the Xiu House gain too much advantage, and they have to solve these troubles themselves. They think they can pawn them off on you? Do they really think it’s that easy to bully us?" Si Miaoxue said.