Chapter One: Perplexity

  Others' special talents were also quickly discovered, some were good at control, some made rapid progress in martial arts, and some seemed to be born marksmen. In short, among the dozens of teenagers, except for a few particularly mediocre ones, each had their own little skills. As for these things, Gao Huairen did not dare to neglect them, recording their talents one by one and adjusting the training methods accordingly.

  Apart from daily compulsory training, martial arts practice and shooting drills, they are given some time to do things they like.

  For a few people who are particularly well-liked, Gao Huaiyuan also gave special attention to them, such as Jia Qi, Zhou Yi, and Jiang Peng. They need more time and a quiet environment to learn the things they like, and their rest schedule is different from others. Therefore, Gao Huaiyuan specially transferred these few people out of the big house and arranged a special room for them, allowing them to appropriately extend their nighttime rest time, so that they can get more space to develop their interests.

  Although this approach seems to have made some young people unhappy, there were some discussions and resistance from a few of them at the beginning. However, as soon as Gao Huaiyuan discovered this trend, he immediately gathered all the young people together, taught them a lesson, and told them that in Wohu Village, as long as you have ability, you can receive special care. Wohu Village does not talk about seniority, everything is based on ability, and it's unfair to complain secretly. In this world, only strength can speak, and there is no such thing as absolute fairness.

  After being taught a lesson, the crowd thought to themselves that they indeed didn't have the abilities of those who received special treatment. So, they could only put away their complaints and start working hard to discover their own strengths, hoping that one day their own talents would be discovered and they would receive special attention from Gao Huaiyuan.

  After this incident, Gao Huaiyuan simply re-adjusted the group leaders among the youths, appointing those with certain abilities and suitability to be group leaders, removing some unsuitable ones from their positions. Anyway, he was in charge here, and after a period of integration, there were no obvious gaps between the first and second batches of youths. This also allowed these young people to see that Gao Huaiyuan was a man of his word, with real abilities, and that those who didn't have what it took would be replaced. The Tiger's Lair valued strength, not seniority or hierarchy.

  As a result, a competitive training craze began to form among the young people in Wohu Village, with everyone unwilling to be left behind, wanting to speak out for themselves and compete for a good position, secretly forming a competition, which was indeed a good thing in Gao Huaiyuan's eyes.

  After adjusting these things, Gao Huaiyuan started having some headaches again, and the reason was because of money problems!

  Although the glass from Liuli Factory was supporting the operation of the mountain villa, after its completion, Gao Huaiyuan's purse had long been extremely embarrassed. Originally, Gao Huaiyuan still wanted to recruit another batch of orphans, but due to his embarrassed purse, he had to temporarily delay it.

  This situation also made Gao Huaiyuan feel a bit helpless. At first, he was a bit too greedy and wanted to do everything at once, buying land and building houses, which quickly depleted the wealth he had accumulated with great difficulty, almost to the point of not being able to afford food. Even Liu'er, the little housekeeper who never interfered with Gao Huaiyuan's affairs, couldn't help but mutter to herself as she watched the money she had saved for him being spent like flowing water. She asked Gao Huaiyuan to be more frugal with his spending, or else by summer harvest time, the old mansion of the Gao family would really not be able to afford food.

  Gao Huaiyuan burst out laughing after hearing Liu'er's words, and couldn't help but reach out to pinch her cheek, saying: "My little housekeeper, you don't have to worry about this matter. You should know that I'm your brilliant and mighty Third Young Master - could something like this possibly be difficult for me? Don't worry, I'll make sure your treasury is full again soon! Haha!"

  Liu'er was taken aback by Gao Huaiyuan's unintentional action, and her pretty face immediately flushed with a crimson glow. She felt both embarrassed and extremely delighted, for she liked it when Gao Huaiyuan treated her so freely and naturally. She truly hoped that in this lifetime, Gao Huaiyuan would always treat her like this.

  But Liu's words also made him understand another truth, that in this world there is never a shortage of money to spend, so after he finished examining the group of young people, he immediately shifted his attention back to the soap workshop, wanting to do something big, it seems like not having money really doesn't work!

  After a period of operation, Wang's family really sent the soap samples given by Gao Huaiyuan to the palace as tribute through their connections, and made this thing appear in the sight of the concubines in the harem.

  After being used once, the soap was quickly loved by these imperial concubines, but after all, the first batch of samples was limited in quantity and far from meeting their needs. Therefore, the imperial concubines ordered the eunuchs to search for this thing everywhere. When they learned that it was a tribute from the royal family, they ordered the royal family to continue supplying the palace.

  Of course, the Wang family would not do such a foolish thing, giving away soap for free to the palace for use, after slightly promoting it, they listed this product as one of the procurement goods in the palace, and soon the news was passed back to the Wang family in Daye County.

  Wang Jian was very satisfied with his son's operation after learning about it, and immediately sent someone to the Gao family's old house to urge Gao Huaiyuan for goods. Xue Yan naturally quickly sent the news to Gao Huaiyuan in Wotou Village.

  But Gao Huaiyuan was not happy at this time, because although the soap had been trial-produced, when he started mass production in Wohu Village, he found that the problem was not simple. After the first batch of materials was put down, for some reason, the things in the pot could not be saponified, and he struggled for two or three days without finding the reason, and finally had to give up, wasting a lot of raw materials.

  Fortunately, there were successful precedents for the experiment. Gao Huaiyuan and Jiang Peng carefully pondered in the workshop for a while before gradually finding the reason. After adjusting some techniques, the expected saponification phenomenon finally appeared in the iron pot, and only then did Gao Huaiyuan completely put his mind at ease.

  Watching the saponification phenomenon gradually appearing in the pot, Jiang Peng was so excited that he danced with joy, able to see such a magical thing generated in his hands, Jiang Peng didn't know what kind of happy expression he had.

  "Alright, Jiang Peng, one must not be overly joyful or sorrowful, you need to learn to control your emotions and not show them in front of others, this is what it means to be mature. From now on, the soap workshop's affairs will be handed over to you to manage, you must remember that the formula and manufacturing process for the soap can only forever be stored in your belly. Now we are relying on this thing to get rich, if we are slightly careless and leak out the formula and manufacturing process, it would be equivalent to cutting off our Tiger's Lair Village's source of wealth. You know how important this matter is, so every time you add ingredients, you must come and do it yourself, at least for now! Did you remember?" Gao Huaiyuan said with a smile as he looked at Jiang Peng who was dancing around the pot.

  Jiang Peng was deeply moved after hearing Xu Yi's words, and he thought to himself that the master had entrusted him with such an important matter, which showed great trust. He immediately knelt down in front of Gao Huaiyuan, wiped away his smile, and solemnly swore: "Young Master, rest assured! Today, I can make a vow here that only you and I know this formula and technique. If I reveal it, I am willing to suffer heavenly punishment and be tortured by ten thousand ants gnawing at my bones!"

  Gao Huaiyan patted Jiang Peng on the shoulder and said, "I know you're very loyal, that's enough. The soap workshop is just our starting point, we'll come up with more good things later. You focus on this for now, and you'll see more good things in your hands later! When our workshops increase in number, you can hand over this matter to someone trustworthy to manage it, no need to make such a heavy oath! I believe you won't betray me!"

  After they solved these problems, the soap workshop officially started production amidst a burst of firecrackers. As a result, the young people had one more thing to do and were busy in the backyard workshop with great enthusiasm.

  As for the backyard, it also became a forbidden place for the servants of Wòhǔ Zhuāng, except for the young people. Although they knew that something was being done in secret in the backyard, the servants who were familiar with Gāo Huáiyuǎn's temperament were only curious and did not dare to ask what it was, nor did anyone dare to sneak a peek. Therefore, Gāo Huáiyuǎn was completely at ease about the secrecy of the soap workshop.

  As the first batch of soap was mass-produced, excited young men stamped the Chinese character on each one and wrapped them in oilcloth, neatly packing them into small boxes. As for how to package them when they went on sale, it would be up to Wang's family to figure out; in any case, Gao Huairen wouldn't waste any more energy on this matter.

  Wang Zhanggui was getting anxious after waiting for several days, knowing that he had already mobilized a considerable amount of power to get the soap's reputation out. Now that those nobles in the palace were specifically asking for this thing, if Wang Huairen failed to deliver it and couldn't hand it over to the palace staff, then his family would never be able to do business again. The eunuch in charge of the palace affairs would dare to smash their signboard and even accuse them of deceiving the emperor.

  Just as he was worried about this and was about to send someone to urge again, Gao Huaiyuan's cargo mule cart appeared at the door of his house.

  After the small boxes filled with soap were unloaded from the mule cart and placed in the warehouse specially prepared by the Wang family, he casually opened one of them, took out a piece of yellowish soap emitting a faint scent of pine, and only then did Wang Jian's heart finally fall into his stomach. He let out a long sigh of relief, now he could finally be at ease. It seemed that this young master indeed had the ability.

  After seeing the quality and packaging of these soaps, Wang Jian was indeed dissatisfied with such packaging. In his opinion, such a rare and precious thing is only wrapped in a layer of oil paper and sold to those rich people and officials, which is really losing its identity. So he discussed with Gao Huaiyuan whether to change the packaging or not.

  "The young master isn't quite clear on how to handle this, so it's best if Manager Wang takes care of it himself. After all, our interests are the same, and I trust that Manager Wang will do what's right!" Gao Hua Yuan pushed 625 over to Wang Jian.

  Wang Jian thought to himself, this kid really knows how to take the easy way out, just like that and he's pushed this matter onto himself. But thinking about Gao Huaiyuan's words, it's true, a young man like him, how can he understand so much? It's still better for him to do this, and he's made up his mind to win over Gao Huaiyuan, no matter what, he cannot let Gao Huaiyuan give this good thing to another merchant to sell. If that happens, he won't be able to monopolize it. As the saying goes, "rare goods can be kept at home". Even if he takes a small loss on this, in the end, he'll gain a big advantage.

  So Wang Jian did not decline and immediately agreed that the packaging would be done by his family, ensuring that such good things would not fall into the wrong hands.

  Gao Hua yuan naturally knew that such a thing, which is essential for people in the future, would have great value in this era. Therefore, he firmly believed that soap could bring him substantial returns. Given his current situation, establishing a sales channel was an impossible task. Not to mention the amount of money needed to establish such a channel, it was a problem that one person alone couldn't solve. Moreover, doing business required interacting with all sorts of people from various places, and one or two individuals were absolutely unable to make it big or strong. If things went wrong, he might even encounter someone who coveted his product, which would bring him huge trouble.

  So for now, the only way is to cooperate and borrow a ship to go out to sea, using the sales channel of the Wang family, which is known for its integrity, to promote this thing, so that the profit will be more stable, and can continue to stay behind the Wang family, just producing things, but reducing a lot of trouble.

  After leaving the royal family, Gao Huaiyuan had a large stack of Jiaozi in his arms. This is actually the world's earliest paper money, and it's indeed more convenient to carry than those copper coins. However, Gao Huaiyuan doesn't plan on collecting this stuff. You see, Shi Miyuan is currently in power, and this guy has made many foolish decisions during his reign, especially in terms of economics. He's caused the value of Jiaozi to plummet repeatedly, making it almost worthless like scrap paper. If he were to hoard a batch of Jiaozi, he'd be waiting for bankruptcy.

  So Gao Huaiyuan immediately went to the money house after leaving the Wang family, exchanged these exchange children for copper coins, and opened an account, which was stored in the money house. With this kind of primary bank, it's convenient, anyway, it's more convenient than putting a large pile of copper coins at home.

  Now Gao Hua Yuan is no longer a rookie in this era's economy and culture, unlike when he first started. With the understanding of history from later generations, he knows very well how to preserve his assets.

  Look at the sky, it's not late yet. Gao Huaiyuan decided to go to the county government office in person to visit Liu Daren, the magistrate of Daye County. Although the Gao family didn't need to fawn over this Magistrate Liu, as someone who planned to take root and grow in Daye, it was necessary for him to maintain a good relationship with the local authorities. Who says county officials are not as good as current managers? In Daye, the county official is the current manager. Since Gao Huaiyuan arrived here, he had never put on the airs of a young master from an official family. He was always very respectful to Magistrate Liu and would send gifts to the county government office during festivals, regardless of their value, at least showing his attitude.

  So when Gao Huaiyuan arrived at the county government office, the runners here all showed a smile as soon as they saw him. These people are now all old acquaintances of Gao Huaiyuan's, and they treat this young master of the Gao family with great respect. As the son of an official, he would occasionally think of them, these small runners, and invite them to eat and drink together. This was a situation they had never seen before, so when discussing Gao Huaiyuan, they all spoke highly of him, saying behind his back that Gao Huaiyuan was a man who knew the rules of propriety.

  Today, Gao Huaiyan arrived at the county town and paid a visit to County Magistrate. He hastily reported to the inner court on behalf of Gao Huaiyan and invited him into the gatehouse of the county yamen. After offering tea and water, he asked him to sit down for a while. Later, Gao Huaiyan had to give them two strings of copper coins as a reward, asking them to buy wine and drink, and chatted with them for a while.

  During this period, Gao Huaiyu's main energy was focused on the Wohu Village side, busy training those young men and also busy with the production of soap, so for a while he didn't go to the county town, and the news was somewhat blocked. Today is just right to listen to what these so-called all-knowing runners in the county town have to say about recent events in Daye County.

  "Nothing else, just that recently, a group of bandits has appeared in our area and has been continuously raiding several large households. Not only have they looted, but they've also killed people, taken hostages, and done all sorts of evil things. The big households near the county town are all living in fear, and they're all begging the magistrate to find a way to deal with these bandits no matter what. It's really chaotic!"

  These days, County Magistrate Zhi is worried about this matter, and Captain Xing and his men have been running around outside every day, but they can't find those damned bandits! Otherwise, during this time, they would have come to bother you again, Master Gao!" A yamen runner sat on the threshold of the gatehouse, shaking his head as he spoke to Gao Hua Yuan.

  Gao Huai suddenly understood why he hadn't seen Xing the captain and his men at the Gao family's old mansion for some time, it turned out that something big had happened in the county and he didn't even know about it.

  "Master Gao! Lord Liu requests your presence in the rear courtyard. It's great that you've arrived, he's delighted!" A runner who had gone to inform him quickly ran out and said to Gao Huaiyuan.

  Gao Huaiyuan stood up and followed the bailiff towards the back yard of the county government office.