"Yes, I understand. Skills that families have guarded for generations aren’t easily shared. Especially the top-tier porcelain and tea—those techniques are only passed down to their own sons," Su Li said, showing her understanding. "Anyway, we just need to do business with them. As long as we can buy their goods, that’s enough. As for local industries, let me first increase the grain yield. Only when people have enough to eat will they have the energy for side businesses. Otherwise, if there isn’t enough food and everyone’s hungry, who’s going to care about those fancy things?"
This is also why Su Li hasn’t promoted large-scale spice cultivation in Qin.
Spices are profitable, but what Qin needs most right now is grain.
If spices were introduced now, the people would see the profits and all switch to growing spices, leaving no one to farm grain.
In the short term, they could make some money from spices, but in the long run: first, scarcity drives value—if spice production increases too much, prices will drop and profits will dry up in a few years;
Second, if local farmers stop growing grain, the kingdom will have to buy food from elsewhere, putting their fate in foreign hands. Su Li would never let that happen.
That’s why, since Su Li arrived in Qin, she hasn’t mentioned spice cultivation at all—she just expanded the two existing spice plantations a bit and left everything else as it was.
After settling the next batch of orders with Yuan Jie and Mrs. Chen, it was time for Fourth Uncle and his wife to get busy.
Su Li insisted on quality for exported goods—only then could they build a reputation and make more money.
Fourth Uncle and his wife understood the importance of honesty and reputation in business, so they didn’t dare slack off. As soon as they left the study, they started preparing to purchase the goods.
Edward’s fleet was scheduled to rest in Charleston for a month before setting sail, so Fourth Uncle and his wife needed to have all the goods ready in time to avoid holding up the journey.
Recently, Lily Evans had stirred up a whirlwind of gossip throughout Charleston with her bold moves.
Most of the townsfolk were just there for the spectacle, but plenty of others had their own hidden agendas.
Lily Evans knew that spies from Jin and Chu were definitely lurking in Charleston, tracking her every move, and the three southeastern clans were no easy opponents either.
There were plenty of unfriendly eyes locked onto her every step.
Still, Lily Evans remained calm and collected—everything had to be tackled one step at a time.
Sean Hayes quickly gathered a team of craftsmen in secret and set up a base in the nearby mountains. Armed with translated assembly instructions, they began tinkering with building and replicating the machines.
Instructions and guides for using pesticides and fertilizers were all set, and booths had popped up at several eye-catching spots around Charleston.
But the booths drew crowds, not customers.
Every day, the entrance was packed to the brim, but hardly anyone actually made a purchase.
Everyone was just there for the show.
The booths ran for days, but not a single bag of goods left the shelves.
Lola was in charge of the whole affair. Watching the pesticide rollout stall, she was running herself ragged with worry. By the third day, she couldn’t take it anymore and went straight to Lily Evans to report.
"Prime Minister Lily Evans, the people are just here to gawk—no one’s buying. Even if we gave it away, they wouldn’t dare use it. They say their families rely on those fields to eat, so they’re scared to mess with anything new in case the harvest fails and everyone goes hungry," Lola reported, wringing her hands.
"Oh?" Lily Evans lifted an eyebrow, rubbing her forehead with a mischievous smile. "So no one’s biting? Is that how it is…"