“Making money?”
“Make money!”
“No way, old man. I came to you to learn cultivation, so why are you asking me to earn money?” Yang Hao disliked talking about money, especially at this school, filled with children of noble families. He might be the poorest student in the entire school, surviving only by saving every penny from the small allowance his family provided.
“Although our Alchemy Sect’s cultivation method is much simpler compared to others, it does have a slight drawback,” said Hun Yuanzi firmly. “The ingredients used for refining pills are all treasures. Whether gathering them or purchasing them, they cost an enormous amount of money. Therefore, the first and most important task for every disciple joining the Alchemy Sect is to earn money.” He continued, “Without money, there’s no discussion. You won’t be able to cultivate, and even more importantly, you won’t be able to keep your little life alive.”
“Make money! Make money! If only I knew how to make money!” Yang Hao scratched his head anxiously, beginning to feel worried.
However, Yuanzi was full of merits and proudly ordered the retreat with a gong strike: “Alright, you make sure to keep my ancient book safe. It’s a summary of my lifelong experience. The book records the ingredients and methods of refining pills required at each stage, as well as some by-products of pill-making. Altogether, there are roughly several thousand methods for concocting various kinds of love potions. Your master here has already tried half of them, and the remaining half is left for my precious disciple to experiment with. Hahaha!”
“I don’t want to!” Yang Hao said in a huff. “I don’t even have a girlfriend.”
When Yang Hao said these words, he had obviously forgotten about Esi. However, not long afterward, Esi began calling Yang Hao through the communicator.
The communicator is a wristwatch issued by the school to every student upon enrollment. While the official reason given is for convenient communication between students, in reality, it is mostly used for playing advertisements.
Elise tried to coax and trick Yang Hao into coming to her house to play. Yang Hao, who was in a terrible mood, decided to go over there as a way to clear his mind. Right now, Yang Hao didn’t dare to enter through the main gate—if the guards at Elise’s house caught him, he would surely be driven away. Therefore, he instinctively climbed over the wall and began climbing up layer by layer.
Aisha’s room was on the third floor. However, as Yang Hao climbed past the living room on the second floor, he paused for a moment because he suddenly heard someone inside the living room mention the words “aphrodisiac.”
This wasn’t related to Yang Hao in the past, but now he’s unfortunately become the sole senior disciple of the Love Potion Sect. He should contribute something to his sect, right?
There were two people sitting inside the living room. One was a man in his fifties, with slightly graying hair and wearing the uniform of an imperial official, exuding considerable dignity. Yang Hao recognized him immediately—it was Elsie’s father, the Empire’s ambassador stationed on the planet Remon. Although he was only an imperial official stationed on a colonial planet, in reality, his power was immense, even surpassing that of Remon’s royal family.
According to the history textbooks at school, ever since the beginning of the space navigation era hundreds of years ago, the Galactic Empire has gradually formed and expanded. Centered originally in the Milky Way Galaxy, the empire now spans thousands of galaxies and possesses tens of thousands of colonial planets. The primary methods the empire uses to control these colonies are stationing troops and dispatching ambassadors.
For a historically very loyal planet like Raymon Star, simply dispatching an ambassador is sufficient to maintain control. On Raymon Star, industries aren’t particularly developed; its main products are agricultural crops and plants. Another significant source of income comes from the tuition fees of the Raymon Star Advanced Academy, which serves as a financial goldmine for the royal family and nobility.
The other person in the living room was wearing a suit that only merchants wore in modern times. This kind of suit, popular during the medieval period, had long been abandoned in the age of space travel due to its inconvenience and lack of functionality. However, those traders who still followed medieval commercial practices insisted stubbornly on wearing this style of clothing.
The ambassador was looking at a single word, his brows knitted together: “What’s going on? The Senate is requesting another thousand ships of special crops. This is already the third time this year.”
“That’s right. Before I came here, the Chancellor of the Empire gave me specific instructions,” said the merchant politely. “The Chancellor said that the Senate’s demands must be met, as this is a matter of vital importance to the Empire’s future survival.”
Ambassador Yang Hao grunted in response, but his frown remained. “I naturally understand the Senate’s position. However, the quantities of special crops they’ve requested lately are excessive. What exactly are these plants and medicines being used for?”
“This is not something I should know,” the merchant maintained his politeness, but his tone clearly implied that it was equally something the ambassador should not know.
The ambassador’s lips twitched slightly, glancing sideways at the merchant with a sidelong glance from the corner of his eye. “These crops are all special products of Raymon Star. Of course, there would be no problem with them selling these goods, but this year Raymon Star has already generated a significant trade surplus with the Empire. I’m afraid this account might be rather difficult to balance.”
Just like the colonial wars on Earth thousands of years ago, the Galactic Empire demands a favorable trade balance with its colony planets. In other words, it must plunder resources from these colonies. Therefore, a situation in which vast wealth flows into Rayman Star, as is happening now, is absolutely unacceptable to the Empire.
The traveling merchant said confidently, “That’s exactly why the Speaker sent me here—we’ve already got a complete plan in place.”
“What kind of plan could you possibly have?” the ambassador scoffed. Generally, imperial officials held little regard for traveling merchants. Previous chancellors had even referred to these merchants as leeches riding shuttles. However, the current chancellor had grown surprisingly close to them. “Although the Empire is vast, many colony planets are now draining resources from the Empire itself, and it might already be too late to reverse this situation.”
The traveling merchant smiled and said: “During the medieval period, when the Earth’s empires were fragmented, there existed an ancient China that created a significant trade deficit for colonial England by exporting goods such as tea and porcelain. To reverse this situation, England began exporting a special commodity to China, resulting in a massive flow of wealth from China to England.”
As for this part of history, the ambassador must have been long familiar with it, as he immediately replied upon opening his mouth: “Opium.”
“That’s right. England exported opium to China, and the two countries even fought the Opium Wars over this very substance.” The merchant’s eyes sparkled, yet his expression seemed terrifying. “In order to address the trade deficit, the Empire plans to export items of a similar nature to the colony planets, and Rayman Planet will be the first stop in our entire plan.”
“Now, are there still opium poppies?” the ambassador questioned. “Even if there are, Raymond Star’s cultivation capabilities are among the best in the Empire. It’s highly likely they can produce it themselves.”
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