Outside the city, at the foot of a certain mining mountain, Song Jinzhao emerged from the mine shaft covered in grime.
Qingsuang bent down to brush the coal dust off Song Jinzhao’s skirt, but only smeared it worse. She finally straightened up with a resigned sigh and wiped her hands clean.
She shouldn’t have gone down there earlier—the stench was so thick she almost couldn’t breathe.
Seeing that Song Jinzhao’s complexion had returned to normal, the coal mine owner hastily put on a flattering expression. “My mine is the biggest in the entire Suining Prefecture. If you, miss, want to buy it, I can knock off another twenty percent.”
A sucker had finally shown up—he had to unload this burden fast.
Song Jinzhao took a couple of deep breaths to clear the coal smell from her nostrils.
If she bought it, she’d have to renovate it. Digging coal in a shaft like this was far too dangerous. Even if the tunnel didn’t collapse, over time, the workers would develop black lung disease, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic poisoning, and eye problems. They were literally risking their lives for money.
Worse, the wages were low, so in the end, they couldn’t afford treatment and would be slowly tortured to death by illness.
“Twenty percent off is still too high. The fact is, my pottery factory doesn’t need that much coal—buying more would just be wasteful.”
Master Li’s face twisted in distress. “These two mines are connected underground—I can’t sell just half. If your kiln doesn’t need it all, you can sell the rest to the locals or to blacksmiths.”
“Now that the Prefect and County Princess Linghui have wiped out the bandits on the road to Songzhou City, shipping it out would only take a few days.”
Qingshuang deliberately pinched her nose to sound disdainful. “Master Li, you’re not trying to fool us, are you? Coal of this quality, when used for forging iron, makes it brittle and prone to cracking. Few people want to buy it.”
“Even if you ship it far away, the price is low, and with transport and labor costs, you’d barely make anything.”
Seeing him hesitate, Lanxi deliberately leaned close to Song Jinzhao.
He lowered his voice, but just loud enough for Master Li to overhear.
“Miss, there’s another coal mine to the west. It’s smaller, but the quality is higher than this one. Maybe we should check it out first?”
At that, Master Li panicked.
He knew about that western mine—it was his biggest competitor. Its output was only a third of his, but the quality was slightly better.
If they went over there, they’d never come back.
“I can lower it by another ten percent at most. I’m practically selling at a loss.”
Song Jinzhao replied coolly, “You bought this mine for a thousand silver taels. After digging for three years, you’re still trying to sell it to me for fourteen hundred? Do you take me for a fool? Five hundred taels is the max. Any more, and I’ll walk.”
Master Li’s heart jolted. He hadn’t expected his lie to be so easily exposed.
He glanced at Song Jinzhao’s face and saw impatience creeping into her expression. His gut twisted.
Taking a step back, his tone softened. “I spent a lot of silver digging the shafts in the first year—those are all costs. You’ve got to let me make a little profit.”
Song Jinzhao said bluntly, “The shafts are too narrow, ventilation is terrible, and there’s no reinforcement inside. They’re completely substandard.”
“Even if I buy it, I’ll have to rebuild from scratch. If five hundred doesn’t work for you, I’ll find another seller.”
With that, she turned as if to leave.
Master Li hurried after her, looking like he was carving flesh from his own heart. “Five hundred it is. If the profits weren’t so slow, I really wouldn’t want to sell.”
He’d made just over seven hundred taels in three years. Now that the bandits were gone, good-quality coal from outside Suining City would start flooding in.
He couldn’t compete at those prices and would only have to keep lowering them. Better to take the cash and start a business inside the city—with all the traveling merchants coming through now, that would surely bring in more money.
Once he agreed, Lanxi immediately ordered someone to take him to the government office to finalize the paperwork.
The clerk at the office was polite and efficient. They were in and out in less than half the time it takes to finish a cup of tea.
Master Li smiled and asked, “Does your miss know people in the office?”
The guard folded the deed and tucked it into his chest. “Let’s just say she has connections. The mine will be taken over today. You’d better head back.”
By the time all thirty-two coal mines around Suining City had changed hands, Master Li, curious, started making inquiries and realized the buyer might be just one group.
This wasn’t about having too much coal—it was clearly being too little.
Amazed, his curiosity grew even stronger.
Why buy so many coal mines? They wouldn’t sell out in ten years.
