Sulfuric acid. Little overlord.

  Pushing the door open, I saw a few thugs surrounding Edison in the middle. The leader, a horse-faced guy, was waving an iron rod and shouting, "If you don't hand over 3,000 taels today, we won't just smash your water jar, but also burn your thatched hut, overturn your stove, and you can't think you can cheat us! That broken glass lamp must have sold for more than 1,000 taels! Hand over the 3,000 taels quickly so we can settle this!"

  Liu Ziguang was in a good mood today and didn't plan to make a big fuss, so he took a step forward and snatched the iron rod from Ma Lian's hand, bending it into a U shape. "Get out of here! Before I get angry!"

  Seeing Liu Ziguang dressed in finery, with a sword at his waist and accompanied by a book boy, he must be either rich or noble. Moreover, he has such great strength, so Horse Face knows he's no match for him. He calls out to his underlings to leave quickly, and as they depart, he tosses off a remark: "You there, Han fellow! If you've got guts, don't run away! Wait till my Young Master Bao comes - then you'll be in for it!"

  Addison saw that the visitor was Liu Ziguo, and he hastily kowtowed to the ground: "Sir! It would have been enough to send someone to summon me, why bother to come in person to my humble abode, I'm truly flustered."

  "It doesn't matter. In those days, Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times, Mr. Ai's talent is worthy of Liu himself coming to invite him, what was going on just now?"

  "Some trivial matters have troubled you, sir. Those people are underlings of Xiao Ba Wang Sun Gang, specializing in extorting protection fees. They have quite a reputation around the South Gate area. You'd best be careful when returning to your mansion later."

  Liu Ziguang shrugged indifferently: "Mr. Ai, I came today to deliver the 100,000 taels of silver. You can still invent something as divine as the glass lamp in such a simple place, it's really rare and precious."

  Addison's eyes turned red and he was about to speak. A voice came from the thatched cottage, "Son, is it Mr. Yan who has come? Quickly help your mother out to thank Mr. Yan."

  Addison hastily made an excuse and went back to his room to help his mother out.

  A frail old woman, supported by her son, walked out of the house with trembling steps. As soon as she saw Liu Ziguang, she threw away her crutches and knelt down with difficulty to kowtow, "I, Ai Songshi, thank you for saving my life." Edison also followed suit and knelt down to kowtow.

  "Whatever you do, don't!" Liu Ziguang hastily supported the old woman. "Mrs. Ai, your illness is not yet cured, so hurry back to bed and rest, don't catch a cold."

  Four people entered the thatched hut, Addison busied himself making a fire and boiling water to borrow tea leaves. The old lady was also from a family of scholars and accompanied Liu Ziguang in conversation.

  Originally, Edison's father was a former Yunnan academician who was honest and clean in his official duties and did not accumulate much family property. Later, he resigned and returned to the capital, where Edison had been fond of tinkering with strange things since childhood. After his father's death, there was no one to restrain him, and gradually, all the fields and properties were pawned off as research funds, but nothing came of it. In the end, his wife ran away, and he moved into a thatched cottage with his mother. It turned out that Edison's uncle could often provide some assistance, but since his uncle took up an official post in another province, it was inconvenient to come and go, making life even more difficult. There wasn't even rice for breakfast, only a house full of jars and tools, all the results of Edison's years of research.

  "No one appreciated him, and he was ultimately just a pile of trash. Fortunately, he met a kind-hearted master who recognized his talent, and the young man could live on with hope." The old lady said to the bitter part, and couldn't help but shed tears.

  Liu Ziguang persuaded a few words, and his eyes involuntarily swept towards the pile of junk in the corner of the house, gears, rocker arms, chains, copper wires, files, hammers, saws, and against the wall in the cool place there was also a row of dark bottles.

  Ding Libin also followed Liu Ziguang's gaze, the young man was excited, ran over to pick up a bottle, pulled out the stopper and sniffed it under his nose, Edison who was burning fire shouted: "Don't move! It's poisonous!"

  Ding Libin was so frightened that he didn't dare to move, and gently put the bottle on the ground. Edison walked over and plugged the cork in, explaining to Liu Ziguang and Ding Libin: "This is a medicinal liquid I extracted from the poisonous water of Dianquan when I was in Yunnan. It can dissolve skin, flesh, bamboo, wood, and even copper and iron will bubble up if poured on it. Since it's useless, I've just left it here all this time, without even giving it a proper name."

  Isn't the dumb spring in Yunnan the kind of spring water mentioned by Zhuge Liang when he captured Meng Huo seven times? That's a natural copper sulfate solution, so this bottle of medicine is actually sulfuric acid.

  Sulfuric acid is an important industrial raw material, and this time I've struck gold. This Eddie is proficient in biochemistry and physics.

  "Mr. Ai, I have brought the 100,000 taels of silver notes as promised, please count them." Liu Ziguo gestured to Ding Libin to hand over a thick stack of silver notes to Edison.

  "No, no, no, I can't accept it. Last night, my mother and I discussed it, and your appreciation is already a great kindness to us. It allows me to fulfill my ambitions and achieve my goals. This money I absolutely cannot accept. Let's just consider it as the research funding you've provided for me. If I need to make withdrawals in the future, I'll speak up then. Usually, just being able to provide enough food for my mother and me is more than enough."

  "How can that be...". Liu Ziguang insisted for a while but still couldn't get past the mother and son, so he put the silver ticket away first.

  "Sir, this Huajiu is really unbearable to live in. How about this? I'll contribute the funds to help you redeem the mansion and estate that were sold out, it's also a way for Mr. Ai to make amends with his ancestors." Liu Ziguan proposed a compromise plan.

  This time, Mrs. Ai and her son did not decline resolutely again. After some discussion, they decided to redeem the fields and houses first, and then help Edison remarry a daughter-in-law, buy several maidservants, and serve the old lady in Nanjing for the rest of her life. Edison followed Liu Ziguang to Ligu Iron Factory to engage in invention research, with 1,000 taels of silver sent every month, 800 taels of which were sent by Nanjing Lianfeng Company to Ai's house every month. At first, Old Mrs. Ai still thought that 1,000 taels was too much and said that 50 taels would be enough. Liu Ziguang said it was his respect for the elderly, so they accepted.

  Just as they were getting into the excitement, suddenly outside there was a commotion with people shouting and dogs barking, and the wooden gate was kicked open. "Who dares to be reckless in my Little Overlord's territory?" The crowd looked up to see a young man walking in, wearing a snow-white silk shirt with intricate embroidery that seemed like "the phoenix tramples the jade linglong, the peacock slants through the flower patterns." His half-exposed arm, shoulder, and chest were all adorned with exquisite dragon and phoenix designs, and around his waist was wrapped a nine-section soft steel whip. Behind him followed Ma Lian and several other ruffians, each holding short knives, iron rulers, and other weapons.

  "Who is it? Come out and let me take a look, don't think that just because you have some strength, you can ignore my little overlord Sun Gang." It turned out to be the boss of the printing shop.

  "It's Grandpa me!" Liu Ziguang walked out of the thatched hut with his head held high, and at noon, the sunlight shone down, Sun Gang's eyes narrowed, and his right hand quietly touched the handle of the nine-section whip.

  "Watch the whip!" The nine-section steel whip flashed towards Liu Ziguang like lightning, but he stood still as iron, his hair barely touched by the whip. With a "zip" sound, a small sparrow on the eaves of the thatched hut behind him was whipped into a flurry of feathers and blood. What swift hands! Even the quick-witted sparrow couldn't dodge it. The thugs cheered loudly to boost their morale.

  Liu Ziguang nodded, walked to the edge of the courtyard's grinding disc with a normal expression, blew off the floating dust and sat down. If that whip was aimed at him just now, perhaps that little tyrant would have fallen dead by now. Today Liu Ziguang is in a good mood, planning to play along with them.

  "Have you seen this millstone? Is your head as hard as it is?" Liu Ziguang casually grabbed a handful on the millstone. Stone chips flew everywhere, and a stone block about the size of an infant's head was pried out effortlessly, like pinching tofu.

  What a powerful Eagle Claw Technique! Sun Gang was shocked, even the master of the Castle South Martial Arts Hall, Wang Lao, who had practiced Eagle Claw Technique for his whole life, couldn't reach this level. This young man, who looked like a wealthy young master, actually possessed such profound martial arts skills. It's unlikely that he could be his opponent in a fight.

  The Ppi's were also stunned and didn't dare make a big fuss anymore.

  "It's just a loan of 300 taels of silver, isn't it? The scientist is also contributing to society. You rascals can't even show some style. Forget about this money, consider it compensation for the water tank." Liu Ziguang said with a light tone, patting the stone dust off his hands.

  "Who do you think you are! I'm not running a charity!" Sun Gang's fiery temper was ignited by Liu Ziguang's words, and he didn't care how strong his opponent was. He took a step forward, grabbed Liu Ziguang's collar, and was about to explode.

  Liu Ziguang was wearing a blue satin robe with a large lapel and right slit today, which was pulled open by Sun Gang along with the white underclothes inside, revealing his chest. Liu Ziguang became enraged, his eyebrows standing on end, his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword. Ding Libin in the house knew that the general was about to draw his sword and kill someone, so he hastily signaled to Ai's mother and son to cover their eyes, lest they see heads flying wildly and blood flowing everywhere, which would give them nightmares tonight.

  Liu Ziguang's iron factory LOGO and the four digits 9527 on his chest looked extremely simple and ugly in front of Sun Gang, who was covered in golden dragon and phoenix patterns. However, when Sun Gang saw these, he was stunned as if struck by lightning.

  As soon as Liu Ziguo's fingers touched the spring, Sun Gang suddenly woke up and knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Benefactor, please accept my bow!"

  What's going on here? The thugs were stunned, the Ai family mother and son in the house, as well as Ding Libin, were also stunned. Even Liu Ziguang himself was baffled, he had always been happy to help others, when he was a child, he helped the five-guarantee households carry water, and even guided a blind uncle across the road, but he had never helped this tattooed underworld figure in front of him, let alone being his benefactor.

  "Get up! What's going on? When did Liu become your benefactor?" Liu Ziguang sat still, and after being bowed to by Sun Gang, he finally spoke.

  "Is the benefactor's name Liu Guang? Was he once a slave in the first team of the Ligu Iron Factory?" Sun Gang asked, still kneeling on the ground with reverence.

  "Really, you know me?" Liu Ziguang searched through his impressions in his mind, but there was no memory of this person.

  "That's right, you are the benefactor who saved my father's life. In those years, my father and your old man were mining together when they encountered an earthquake, it was your old man who saved more than a hundred people underground, including my father. Later, during the rebellion at the iron factory, at the critical moment, it was you again who single-handedly rescued the entire slave camp, leading everyone to break through the siege, and with great fanfare, defeated the Qing army's cavalry. My father was injured in the chaos of war, and your old man gave each wounded person a large sum of silver as severance pay, so my father returned home and reunited with us mother and child.

  Every time we talk about the benefactor's great kindness and bravery, my father is moved to tears. On his chest, there is also a symbol and four digits that are the same as yours, and your 9527 is often on my father's lips. So when I saw you, I recognized you as our benefactor." Sun Guan said with a smile.

  So it was, Liu Ziguang gradually remembered that there was an old slave over 40 years old who had some resemblance to Sun Gang's face. "Are you the son of 2046?" he asked tentatively.

  "It's true, benefactor still remembers my father's number, my father knows it must be a great honor. Our family is still offering the ancestral tablet of your esteemed family. Today is a misunderstanding, don't mention three hundred taels of silver, even if it were three thousand taels, thirty thousand taels, with just one word from benefactor, all would be forgiven. Benefactor's friend is my friend!" Sun Gang patted his chest and promised, "Xiao Ma, remember, Ai Cong is my friend, whoever dares to bully them in the future, I'll beat them to death!"

  Ma Lian and several others knew that the man in front of them was the hero who had defeated the Qing army's cavalry, and they were so excited that they all knelt down to pay their respects.

  Liu Ziguang hastily said: "Everyone please get up, I didn't expect to meet an old friend here. Since there's no wine house nearby, let's call your father over and have a drink together." This Sun Gang was the tyrant of the south city, and later on, he would naturally be useful at some point. The guy's skills were not bad either, and Liu Ziguang couldn't help but feel a desire to recruit him.

  Sun Gang heard that his benefactor was going to drink, and immediately ordered: "Little Ma, go to Taibai Building to book the best private room, want the best Niang Hong, the sweetest voice of the song girl, tell the boss, it's me Xiao Bawang treating my benefactor, he naturally knows how to do it."

  Ma Lian's face was flushed as he responded with a "yes" and ran off quickly. Sun Gang then got up from the ground, smiling and greeting Ai's mother and son, as well as Ding Libin. He put on his slanted clothes, revealing himself to be a handsome young man with snow-white teeth and curved eyebrows. No matter how you looked at him, he didn't seem like a local tyrant.