Aside from cultivating and practicing techniques as a hobby, Shao Ai starts to implement the grand business idea he had to produce sugar in the land.

To begin, he needs a tool to press sugarcanes and a mould to make sugar cubes.

Hmm. He is starting from nothing and don’t have money for it. He tried to imagine how to make a sugarcane juicer or presser in the simplest way possible.

Well, the simplest one is to use a lever mechanism to smash the sugarcane. He had this idea to stick a long cylindrical into some hole and use it as a fulcrum.

He looks at the orphanage building wall. He can smash a hole in it with his punch. As a cultivator, it would be easy.

Of course, he won’t smash the wall instead he chooses a tree on the backyard.

He circulates his chi and condense it onto his fist. He punched the tree over and over again until it pierces through in the middle, creating a hole. Now he just needs a long cylindrical stick.

“Ouch. That still hurts”.

…

Hold up. He could use his own hands to squeeze the juice out, he realised.

He tried and he manage to squeeze out the juices with his bare hands. Being a cultivator is really beneficial.

He pressed enough sugarcanes to get 3 gallons of juice. But it’s too inefficient…

Hmm.

He made up his mind to just use his hands until he gets enough money to buy a proper equipment.

He shared the juice with everyone.

“So sweet!”. Ling Ling enjoyed it so much. Half of it was consumed by everyone.

“Mother Su, let’s boil this and make candy”.

Mother Su don’t really understand but did so anyways.

Eventually it becomes a very thick syrup.

‘Pour it on the tray and let it cool down’. Shao Ai instructed.

She drops a spoonful of the thick syrup on the tray. After an hour, it solidified completely and become a candy, or the most traditional kind of brown sugar!

The kids enjoyed it a lot especially.

3 piece of candy is kept.

“Mother Su, add this to make bread! It will taste better!”.

She followed his wimps and make them. Shao Ai poured some hot water to melt the brown sugar block. He poured it onto the dough she’s making. Once it done, everyone had their share.

“So delicious!”. It is sweeter than plain bread. Everyone loves it.

The following days, Shao Ai decides to open a stall in the marketplace to get some money. Sugarcane juices and candies are made. Few others also helped Shao Ai to set a stall there.

His stall is a success as the products are new and its delicious! Many flock to the stall each time they put it up. Their living condition improved, but mother su does feel bad that the children are working to get money for everyone.

It’s worth mentioning people do find it more likely to buy when they see bunch of kids selling stuffs, and that they know these people are orphans, and that Shao Ai appearance is like a mascot attracting attention with his black and white hair and heterochromia eyes. Everyone in town knows him because of his appearance.

They are a few who asked what is the recipe and how it’s made. But its trade secret. Thankfully it doesn’t cause any issue. Mr Ko who had a restaurant selling dumpling begged mother su to buy the ingredient used to make the bread sweeter.

Because Mr Ko had sent them some dumplings here and there as a treat and charity, Mother Su feels she wanted to pay him back. She told him about the brown sugars and give him a few.

Mr Ko special sweet dumpling become a hit and sensation in town in few days.

With enough money, Shao Ai decides to expand the business. That is, to make a traditional sugarcane presser device.

The design is simple. The sugarcane would be inserted between two cylindrical rollers. As for how to spin the roller, Shao Ai can use his own hands.

But that’s too tiring. He planned to buy a cow for this purpose later on. He will use his own hand for starter though. He would need to get a mould made too to get proper sugar cubes.

With Mother Su permission, he went to see the carpenter. The carpenter is astonished seeing how he draw and design the screw and gear mechanism on the roller. Of course, screws and gears aren’t anything new but for independent commoner carpenter in a small town, it’s something new he would need to make.

In a week, the device is crafted!

Shao Ai use his strength to spin the rollers while others put in the sugarcanes in between the roller. The efficiency becomes really high. Mother Su is responsible to boil the juices and pour them into the moulds. Shao Ai had bought parchment papers to be used as packaging for the sugar cubes prior.

Now they are selling sugar cubes, along with juice and candies when they open their stalls.

The sugar cubes become a sensation.

Shao Ai starts promoting and selling the sugar cubes to a store owner aside from Mr Ko to get a people to buy in bulk.

With increased popularity and enough money, he bought a strong looking cow. Now he doesn’t need to spin the roller himself finally. He felt like his arms might become disproportionally big if he had to keep spinning it.

The waste sugarcane fibre becomes the cow food and become a fertiliser that Shao Ai use to decompose.

Since they are rolling it high, Shao Ai decides to get another presser and another cow.

Mother Su hesitated at first because they aren’t supposed to be a business but Shao Ai manage to convince her.

Money flowed in and their living condition improved a lot, as well as their popularity.

Thankfully there’s no bandit or whatsoever coming at them for now.

But one day, the town lord visited them to inquire about their business and to collect business tax and want to remind them they need a business permit because they are making a lot of money.

Of course, Shao Ai already set it aside prior and give him extra too, and some sugar cubes for his whole family. The town lord is happy and let them continue their business.

The town also benefited as Shao Ai is selling sugar cubes like it’s something common. The volume of sale is very large as restaurant owners are always racing to buy them first. It’s a first come first serve basis of course.

Some gourmet even heard news of it and come to visit. Guiyang town become a travel spot for foodie especially as restaurants start to make dessert and food with sugar.

Even with increased production. Demand eventually surpassed supply.

"Sorry! We are running out". Shao Ai and others had to shoo people away again. They no longer open a stall at the market since people would come looking for them. He had 4 store owners in contract with their orphanage so they needed to keep them in stock for those.

Shao Ai expects the business to succeed and he managed it well. He does feel anxious that some bandit would come to rob them one day and practiced his martial technique in his free time each day.

He had a thought, is this considered a black company because he technically used free child labour (including himself)? Well, they can eat meat frequently now and everyone is happy.

In fact, no one in the orphanage is interested in getting adopted because they are getting by so well. Mother Su still takes in children here and there and hired Aunty Meng to help her in taking care of the small ones. She also decides to hire an actual worker to process the juice to sugar cubes since she still needs to take care of the children. The orphanage is even expended.

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Mother Su felt teary thinking Shao Ai had made everything so much better for everyone. Oh. How useless is herself that she had to let a small child make money for them she thought.

As precaution, Shao Ai secretly planted and cultivated more sugarcane in rarely visited areas around the river streams. Because he needs an explanation on how he gets so much sugarcanes from since its supposed to be a foreign plant.

Eventually the province Lord heard news of it and went to visit.

Shao Ai felt nervous when Lord Shen visited accompanied by 2 guards.

"Good evening, Mother Su".

'Lord Shen, welcome to our humble place. Thank you for your patronage all these years’.

"It's my responsibility. Don't mention it. May I know how you come up with the sugar?".

'It's, one of the children. Shao Ai, come over here'.

Shao Ai nervously bowed to him.

"So it's you who made it?".

'Yes Lord Shen”.

"Do you mind sharing your methods? I will buy the method from you of course".

He didn’t want to offend such a powerful lord and in reality this lord can just copy his methods without permission or seize their property. But Lord Shen come and even ask permission from him; and that means the Lord is not evil in Shao Ai’s mind.

'Yes Lord. It's very simple. Let me show you'.

Shao Ai shows the sugarcanes, and along with all the processes and the device used.

"I see. This foreign plant is from the eastern land you say... How did you procure a lot of them".

'Emm... A lot of sugarcane happens to grow at the nearby river'.

"I see. One of you, check the surrounding river".

One of the soldiers accompanying him nodded and went ahead.

"Thank you for sharing the method. I will provide adequate reward for your hard work and to buy your method".

‘Thank you Lord Shen’.

Mother Su felt it should have been a business secret but since Shao Ai decides to share the method she doesn't complain. No one want to take the risk of offending powerful people.

Soon the plentiful sugarcane that he had purposely cultivated here and there discovered. Although it's still a small amount relatively speaking.

Lord Shen sees the direction to further strengthen the economy of the province under him. Due to multiple rivers and streams, he sees how his province can be made into the first local sugar producer in the country. Importing them is expensive and only nobles and very rich merchants can get hands on them once in a while. This is heaven’s blessing, he thought.

After a month, the town lord visited mother su to pass on the gratitude and give them a lot of money enough to sustain 3 years for all of them as a price to buy the methods.

The lord put a lot of effort into this sugar production. In just 1 year from the very first harvest, his effort paid off as the province became the first producer of sugar in the country. It's sold at an extraordinary sky-high price and becomes a speciality product of the province but it is still cheaper than imported sugar.

Lord Shen has a different vision. He had banned the orphanage from selling sugar at a cheap price and must sell it at the price he dictated. He also monopolised the sugar industry by banning anyone from producing or selling them without a permit.

Of course, there's a lot of complaints to Lord Shen especially from Guiyang town. The townspeople had been able to eat sweet food and get sugar cheaply from Mother Su orphanage but now they can’t even see any shadow of it anymore.

Many called him a greedy and evil person behind his back. But Lord Shen doesn’t care. He really is serious about his vision. He believes this is for the better of his people.

Over the years, although sugar industry basically is monopolised by Lord Shen but due to the immense income and work opportunities in the province the commoner life is improved by another level. Lord Shen starts to lower variety of taxes. As the one who hold the monopoly, he become very rich and perhaps is only second the Emperor in terms of wealth.

What he does with that kind of money? He makes policies where every child will be sponsored to go to school. Also, to provide subsidies to those who work as farmers or fishermen and other production jobs that are important but have lesser pay. He reduced different kind of taxes here and there. And he pays high wages to workers who work in the sugar industry under his monopoly. Because of this, many business owners followed Lord Shen standard of wages and the people under his province is mostly well off.

The townsfolk that complained and trash-talked him went quiet as they see how Lord Shen truly is doing what he did to benefit the people eventually and used his wealth for good.

Mother Su still secretly sells sugar cubes at an affordable price to trusted people.

But ultimately, they had to admit lord Shen's policy on the sugar price caused the orphanage to be really rich as they become one of the legitimate suppliers and sell them to merchant groups for trade nowadays.

Over the years, Shao Ai lived peacefully like he wanted. He started to attend the middle school equivalent. It's too easy and boring though. In a year he already finished his study as he takes the final exam with flying colours.

He did feel a bit contemplated that sugar becomes a rare commodity only for nobles and the rich for now. That wasn't his initial plan.

But he knows one day it would be commercialised as sugar price slowly decrease with its production rate and more people would be able to access them.

Although the policies makes them rich, he felt bad when uncle Ko who sold dumplings nearby can't make his special caramel onion dumpling meat anymore.

Shao Ai, at the age of 13 enters higher education and even passed the civil service examination with the highest degree at 15. He was bored so he went to further his studies and even thought of being a scholar to share knowledge he knew especially in pharmacy and medicines. He was a pharmacy graduate after all, and pharmacy is not as developed due to magic property of spiritual herbs. Normal herbs are mostly overlooked.

Lord Shen invited him to be one of his advisors as he heard about his genius and how he passed with close to perfect score in the examination and he studied only for 2 years.

The lord of course still had some issues he want to discuss even if his province is extremely rich.

While the lord is discussing about food problem, since they had to import food from other region due to insufficient production, Shao Ai introduced the use of crop rotation. Although the territory is rich enough to import food from outside, that still counts as unnecessary expense. They have their own land, why did they have to buy food from outside?

Lord Shen is a smart lord so he wants to make his territory richer and able to sustain itself and avoid future problem in case the other region won’t sell them food anymore for reasons like draught or floods.

Many scholars are unconvinced with the 15 years old teen scholar giving this idea of merely switching crops can increase the production.

Shao Ai calmly discuss about the different elements in the soil depleting as its used by plants. He summarised there were major and minor elements in the soil that needed time or fertiliser to be replenished. And each plant uses a different part of the elements in the soil.

Using crop rotation, it allows the ground to naturally recover the lost elements.

Many scholars start to search through research journals. There are some hints of it but it's not confirmed.

Shao Ai explanation is only half convincing. Scholars under Lord Shen start to research the different elements of the soil using the different composition of fertilisers and start to test the crop rotation method.

After months of study, it can be confirmed there are 3 major elements in the soul that are used as food by plants but there are also minor elements that are consumed. Crop rotation is important to recover the minor elements. The research shows it is truly able to increase crop production by a significant amount.

Now every scholar starts to respect him since he had proven himself to be right.

In the next year, a plague hit the mortal world causing deaths. When the news reached the country, they went on a state of panic and discussed for countermeasure. The usual measures include isolating villages with infection, quarantining them and even…killing them.

Shao Ai humbly shared his view and the effort needed to prevent the plague from spreading. From washing hands, keeping their distance and discovering non-spiritual herbs to use as medicine. It’s also important to exterminate rodents as they may carry the plague.

Scholars starts to doubt him again.

"Every sickness comes from heaven and earth. And every sickness also has a cure from heaven and earth".

Shao Ai said it in a stylish way just because he's used to these scholars saying such things and copied them.

How could normal herbs in the mortal realm cure a plague?

Shao Ai explains how the elements in the plants have effect to counteract certain diseases and sickness symptom. He used the most popular example of how a certain herb can reduce fever, and a certain bark can be used to reduce pain. And a certain plant becomes poisonous to snake but not to other animals.

To accelerate medicine and convince them about this, he proposed the concept of microorganisms and introduce microscope that can be used to see small living beings invincible to the naked eye.

Many scholars are interested at this new idea while a few is doubtful of the existence of small living beings that can’t be seen. Even Lord Shen is interested and asks the best craftsman to make it based on his description as quickly as possible. And behold, bacteria are discovered! Medicine advanced rapidly as the knowledge is passed on even reaching the ears of the Emperor. Lord Shen also began to hire people to exterminate every rodents in sight to prevent plague from spreading.

Although the cure to the plague wasn't found, due to countermeasures that Shao Ai suggested the plague is restricted within lord Shen territory. Lord Shen can't count how many times he praised Shao Ai already from his mind-blowing new knowledge. He also is forever grateful to him for discovering how to produce sugar. He felt like his territory is truly blessed by heaven by giving birth to such a genius.

Antibiotics were also discovered in just a year as few people actively search for the blue fungi mentioned by Shao Ai. It was discovered on a red fruit imported from eastern land.

Shao Ai gave them an early warning and taught them about the adaptability of the microorganisms. And how you must take the antibiotics adequately to prevent survival of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Shao Ai is hailed as the Wisdom of Mortal Realm, a title given by the Emperor in another year. Shao Ai went to give speeches all over the Empire. Eventually the Emperor ask him to be a part of his personal advisor.

Shao Ai wanted to refuse but he’s the damn Emperor so of course he’s quite afraid of refusing. Well, at least he gets his own residence in the Gold Dragon Palace.

Mother Su is very proud and always boasts about him to the children in an orphanage, asking them to be successful like him.

At 17, Shao Ai departed to head to the Capital City. Mother Su cried out tears as Shao Ai had become an adult and is departing to live his own life far away.

Brother Wu Hai on the other hand has successfully become a cultivator. Thanks to early exposure, he can already gather Chi when he enters the martial art school. After he broke through to Chi Gathering stage, he was scouted by a middle-sized sect, the Dragon Flame Sect who are interested in taking him as a disciple due to his deep flame root talent.

The speed that Wu Hai cultivated is fast. Usually, it takes normal people with good root to cultivate for 20 years to broke through to Foundation Establishment stage. But in just 10 years Wu Hai had broken through.

But of course, compared to Shao Ai who's now at Late Core Formation stage Wu Hai is not even comparable.

To break through from Chi Gathering to Foundation establishment requires 20 years. While Foundation Establishment to Core formation would requires 200 years of cultivation in average; it’s really exaggerated how Shao Ai is close to breaking through to Late Core Formation stage already in just 10 years.

In few more months, he estimates he can breakthrough. Also remember that Shao Ai doesn’t need to do anything to cultivate as Chi is absorbed into him 24/7 even when he’s asleep.