Chapter 588 – Wasteful Women, Where Did the Money Go? (5)
The chief steward fainted in anger, completely unaware that Gu Xin also wanted to explode on the spot.
With deep guilt, he knelt before Jiang Pengji, carrying a bundle of thorny branches on his back, seeking her forgiveness.
Jiang Pengji assertively helped him up, her expression calm, “Uncle Gu, what are you doing? Get up! Are you trying to shorten my lifespan?”
Gu Xin seemed to have aged significantly overnight. Unable to refuse Jiang Pengji’s insistence, he could only sit down, his face filled with remorse.
Feng Jin and the others soon arrived; most had seen Gu Xin before and knew how much he had contributed to Xiangyang. They respected him greatly.
“Mr. Gu, what exactly happened on the way? Why did you…”
He directly sought forgiveness with the thorny branches, looking disheveled as if he hadn’t washed in days. Where was the steady demeanor he previously had?
Gu Xin sighed, “I failed to live up to the master’s trust. I mishandled the instructions given by the master.”
“Mishandled?”
Jiang Pengji furrowed her brows and said calmly, “Uncle Gu, what exactly happened?”
Gu Xin pressed his brows together, “According to the master’s instructions, I took various glass items to Zhong Zhao looking for new business. Initially, things went well, but after a while, it was like a demonic wind swept through Zhong Zhao, and glass items filled every street. What were once sold at extremely high prices, suddenly plummeted from tens of thousands to just a few hundred coins…”
Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically, and Xu Ke was so shocked he bit his own tongue.
Wasn’t Feng Yi County’s wealth reliant on the “rare” glass?
Now that the price dropped from tens of thousands to mere hundreds, and with further declines likely, there was no profit left!
Xu Ke, who managed Jiang Pengji’s private treasury, knew this best, and others knew as well that Feng Yi County’s fortune was closely linked to glass.
The audience in the livestream went into an uproar, as Gu Xin’s description hinted at significant intricacies.
【Little Angel is the Cutest】：OMG—what is going on here?
【520】：#Nose Picking, what else could it be? An internal traitor! So far, only the streamer has mastered the glass-making technique. How could Zhong Zhao, so distant and elusive, suddenly produce so many glass items?
【I Love You All】：Internal traitor? But haven’t you seen how strictly the streamer protects the glass-making technique? Inside and out, tight and secure, the streamer has keen eyes. After safely purchasing a whole year’s worth of glass, how could there suddenly be a leak?
【Two Updates Today】：The likelihood of an internal traitor is quite high, but I think the possibility of another time-traveling woman is even greater. You’ve seen it! It’s Zhong Zhao again! Earlier there was a female four-book text that matched exactly with our ancient Hua Kingdom’s female four-book text, plagiarism at its finest. Now they’ve come up with glass? I wouldn’t believe there are no traces of a time-traveling woman!
【Genius Guo Fengxiao】：According to Jia’s analysis, aside from the internal traitor and the time-traveling woman, there’s one less likely possibility—perhaps someone accidentally made glass while firing ceramics. But that possibility is too low; even if it happened, the technique wouldn’t be so mature.
【Musician Zhuge Qin Mo】: Hey, do you have no shame? You call yourself “Jia”? Why not call yourself “Cao”?
The livestream audience was buzzing with discussion, not only curious about the truth behind this matter but also concerned for Jiang Pengji.
Cutting off someone’s source of income is akin to killing their parents!
Jiang Pengji had already made over twenty million coins from glass products in Beijiang. Without this incident, she could potentially rake in several million in Zhong Zhao too. With her financial source suddenly cut off, how could she not be furious?
In reality, Jiang Pengji hadn’t shipped much yet.
Compared to their panic, she wore a calm expression that seemed to say, “Oh, I see.”
She chuckled lightly and spoke with resignation.
“This isn’t Uncle Gu’s fault. Did you think the glass-making secret was leaked because of you?”
Gu Xin was taken aback, while everyone present pondered a possibility—an internal traitor!
Glass was incredibly profitable; who wouldn’t be envious?
Just burning a bit of sand could turn into tens of thousands of coins. The profit was astonishing.
As Gu Xin mulled over who the traitor might be, he felt deeply ashamed.
“There might be a traitor, but it shouldn’t have been her.”
Because the timing didn’t match.
Jiang Pengji was completely confident and didn’t suspect this angle at all.
Even without evidence, she understood what was happening.
There were people capable of making glass besides Jiang Pengji.
Her?
Everyone exchanged glances; did the master mean that she already knew there was a traitor but was just pretending not to?
“Well, my lord…”
Without the glass business, what would they do?
“It’s fine. This incident shows how foolish the person behind this truly is. There’s nothing to fear!”
Jiang Pengji sneered, not putting the so-called enemy in her sights at all.
Gu Xin was a merchant. Once he calmed down and thought about the glass flood in Zhong Zhao, he couldn’t help but shake his head—indeed quite foolish.
“The master is right. While the cost of glass is low, rarity adds value. Very few know how to make it, and if production and sales are strictly controlled, even with just one kiln, one could easily become the richest in the world, wealthy enough to rival nations. That person’s vision was short-sighted; rather than protecting the glass-making method carefully, they allowed kilns to sprout everywhere… it’s truly absurd.”
Gu Xin witnessed the price of glass in Zhong Zhao fall from tens of thousands to an unprecedented drop.
It was clear that the initial person trying to profit had the same desires but lacked foresight and didn’t understand the greed inherent in merchants.
With such massive profits, it was enough to bet their lives on it.
Driven by profit, Zhong Zhao descended into glass overproduction, now a complete chaotic mess.
Fortunately, upon seeing the signs, Gu Xin had early on sold all the glass in his possession at prices below market value and hastened back to Xiangyang with the money, looking disheveled, yet actually earning over three million coins, actively scamming the major traders in Zhong Zhao.
Compared to market players like Gu Xin, those opportunists were no match for him!
Having sold off his inventory quickly, Gu Xin managed to pocket the last haul, leaving the buyers thinking they had struck it rich only to be hit with reality later.
Xu Ke and the others looked at Jiang Pengji with admiration.
Upon reflection, if they had their sources of income cut off like that, they wouldn’t faint, but they would absolutely rage.
Yet their own lord remained calm and collected, even finding time to mock the hidden enemy behind this mess.
“But my lord, without this source of income…”
As the steward, Xu Ke was the most distressed.
“It’s okay; we have enough silver in the private treasury. If the public treasury runs low, just take whatever you need.” The public treasury didn’t hold much; she usually supplemented it from her personal pocket. Jiang Pengji smiled and continued, “Instead, Zhong Zhao is now likely nearing its end.”
On a national scale, glass production was desperately chasing profit.
The more glass there was, the lower the price.
The first ones to feast on this cake became full, but those who followed suit were bound for disaster.
Zhong Zhao’s situation was already unstable, and the turmoil from the Party’s persecution grew fierce, making life even more difficult for the common people.
Many viewed glass as a golden opportunity to get rich or escape poverty, leading to frenzied emulation.
Although glass production seemed simple and inexpensive, firing the kilns required precise temperatures, and fuel cost money. If ordinary people rushed in without understanding, the final outcome was sure to be them sinking their savings into a pit, earning not even a penny…
