Volume One: A Farmer at Dawn Chapter 29: Both a Cornucopia and a Harbinger of Misfortune

Winter passed and spring arrived; in the blink of an eye, the world was ablaze with blossoms and lush with greenery. Xie Shuxian had no leisure to appreciate the beauty of late spring, diligently studying at the private academy, while Su Laibao was tormented and restless over the matter of white sugar.

It really was a stroke of misfortune.

Scholar Li Yiyuan failed to buy white sugar for the first time; his steward, Wang Ping, brought home several pounds of brown sugar instead, only to be scolded furiously. The following month, Wang Ping rose early and witnessed a long line for white sugar, causing him much surprise. He mentioned this to Li Yiyuan in passing, but Li Yiyuan became deeply interested.

Li Yiyuan had business in the county, though it was managed by his subordinates. White sugar was a novelty, sure to be a lucrative trade, and he desired a share of the profits. He sent men to contact the Hu merchants in the town, only to be astonished when they confessed they had never seen white sugar before.

Li Yiyuan refused to believe them. White sugar was already being sold; it was impossible that the Western Regions had none. Clearly, these merchants were hiding something. He decided to act on both fronts: instructing Wang Ping to approach Su Laibao in hopes of discovering clues about his supply chain, while also sending others to probe the Hu merchants.

Wang Ping met with resistance, and the Hu merchants yielded no valuable information. Li Yiyuan then ordered men to secretly follow Su Laibao. If Su Laibao would not reveal his commercial secrets, they would investigate his Western Region partners in secret.

They soon discovered Su Laibao had not dispatched a merchant caravan to the Western Regions; the white sugar was simply brought out from his own home. Through persistent inquiry, Li Yiyuan finally realized that Su Laibao was manufacturing white sugar himself. The story about the Western Regions was merely a ploy to drive up the price.

That sly fox had deceived everyone.

Li Yiyuan hosted Su Laibao at the Eight Immortals Pavilion, sincerely seeking partnership, but Su Laibao refused. Li Yiyuan possessed considerable prestige in Xuanyi County; his cousin worked in the prefecture, and most would honor his requests. Upon being rejected, Li Yiyuan was infuriated, threatening Su Laibao with his cousin’s influence, vowing to destroy the Su family’s hopes in the imperial examinations and make them unwelcome in Xuanyi County.

This struck Su Laibao’s weakest point. He had intended to compromise, but Li Yiyuan pressed harder. Li Yiyuan demanded the exclusive rights to the sugar-making technique, forcing Su Laibao out of the business.

Today, he received an ultimatum: hand over the technique within three days, or Li Yiyuan’s cousin in the prefecture would intervene and ruin his son’s path to the imperial exams.

Su Laibao understood his predicament.

In the Great Yan Dynasty, merchants held low status and faced many restrictions. One of these was that the descendants of merchants could not participate in the imperial examinations.

Su Laibao had cultivated a close relationship with the magistrate, Chen Liangbin—a friendship built on generous gifts.

Chen Liangbin agreed that when Su Laibao’s son reached exam age, he could donate some grain, earn a merit, and receive special permission for his son to sit the exams.

Such special permission came with a time limit, ranging from one to ten years. Once the term expired, the privilege was revoked. Su Laibao was merely paving the way and had not requested a written order, fearing it might become worthless.

He understood that donating grain was just a pretext; Chen Liangbin’s real aim was to amass wealth.

Now, Su Laibao knew exactly what he needed to do.

...

“Master Su, allow me to toast you!”

“How could I dare let Your Excellency honor me with wine? I shall punish myself with three cups instead!”

Chen Liangbin knew Su Laibao’s invitation must come with a request, so he dismissed all his attendants.

He, too, considered himself unfortunate. After eight years as magistrate in Xuanyi County, he finally gained a promotion through bribery, only to have his sponsor fall from grace, and he was promptly sent back to Xuanyi County.

Since then, he had neither favor nor affection, languishing in Xuanyi for over a decade.

“Your Excellency, white sugar is in short supply and highly profitable. I claim the source to be the Western Regions, but in truth, a monk from the West sold me the technique, and I make the sugar myself...”

“What?”

Chen Liangbin was stunned, incredulous. “Master Su, are you drunk?”

“How could I deceive Your Excellency? The entire technique is recorded in this slim booklet, and I am willing to present it to you.”

Su Laibao offered the booklet detailing the method for refining white sugar.

After reading it, Chen Liangbin was overjoyed.

He tucked the booklet away and said, “Master Su, you have rendered a great service. I will grant you special permission for your son to take the imperial exams—three years... no, five years...”

“This is the profit from selling white sugar. Please accept it, Your Excellency.”

Chen Liangbin accepted five thousand taels in silver notes, beaming. “Master Su, your selfless gift of the sugar refining technique to the court is a tremendous merit. I grant your son ten years of eligibility for the exams…”

Having received the money, Chen Liangbin immediately extended the privilege to its maximum.

“Thank you for Your Excellency’s kindness. I am deeply grateful.”

While Su Laibao spoke words of gratitude, his heart was anxious.

Ten years sounded generous, but Su Biao was only nine; after nineteen, the privilege would expire.

He must ensure his son achieved academic honors before reaching nineteen, or all would be lost.

Chen Liangbin, too, had an idea.

He would present the technique to the imperial court, paving the way for his own advancement.

He dared not keep it for himself.

He knew all too well the saying: “A treasured jade invites disaster.”

This technique was a cornucopia—and a curse.

If superiors coveted it, he might not only lose his chance for promotion, but even his position as magistrate could be endangered.

...

“Sixth, there is something I must confess. I may not have acted honorably, but I was forced by circumstances to take such measures... I will bear all the losses myself, and only hope you won’t hold this matter against me…”

Su Laibao called him “Sixth” out of habit, though Xie Shuxian was his proper name.

Su Laibao explained the entire story in detail. After hearing it, Sixth smiled gently and said, “As for the white sugar, it was bound to come to this one day. Who can say whether loss is truly misfortune? If Su Biao gains the opportunity for the imperial examinations, that is a great blessing. Uncle Su should be glad.”

“There’s no need for compensation. I’ve already earned plenty with you, Uncle Su; to ask you for more would be unkind.”

“Don’t despair, Uncle Su. There are many ways to make money in this world, not only the refining of white sugar. We’ll have many opportunities to work together in the future. Whatever was lost can soon be regained...”

Seeing such generosity in Sixth, Su Laibao felt ashamed, as if his decades of living had been wasted.

...

“Manager Su, today is the last day. Are you going to hand over your technique, or will it be a case of mutual destruction?”

Wang Ping, emboldened by his patron’s power, believed he had Su Laibao cornered and spoke arrogantly.

Su Laibao smiled faintly. “Had you come a day earlier, I would have gladly given you the technique. But now... I have nothing left to hand over…”

Wang Ping was stunned, then barked sharply, “What do you mean?”

Su Laibao spread his hands. “Because the technique no longer belongs to me.”

“You’d rather sell it to someone else than to Master Li... Su Laibao, you’re playing with fire.”

Wang Ping fumed. “Tell me, who did you sell it to?”

He hoped Li Yiyuan could threaten the new owner, but Su Laibao replied, “I gave it to His Excellency the magistrate…”

“You—”

Wang Ping’s body shook violently, struck dumb on the spot.

Having a scholarly title did not equate to wielding power.

Scholar Li might not kneel before an official, but to demand the technique from the magistrate was pure folly.

“You just wait. You’ll regret this…”

Wang Ping spat out a threat and hurried away.

He went to seek counsel from Li Yiyuan.