Chapter 100: Setting a Trap for the Daoist Sect

The Temple of Lord Lao housed massive statues of the Three Pure Ones. Whether by design or coincidence, the statue of the Primordial Lord of Heaven stood quite close to that of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, making the Jade Pure Daoist appear somewhat lonely. Even the illustrious Master Tongtian suffered subtle, lingering discrimination before his own followers.

Naturally, this held Yun Hao’s attention for less than a second. Once his gaze landed on a pile of copper coins as tall as a man, it could no longer be moved. Amidst the gleaming yellow copper, silver-white coin fragments were interspersed. Yun Hao considered his ability to resist stuffing a handful into his pockets a direct result of his constantly improving moral cultivation over the years.

"You say you can make the fish in the Fen River return to life from the dead?" Longevity was the eternal, undying dream of the Daoist faith. Countless Daoists spent their days immersed in fantasies of ascending to the heavens in broad daylight. Though compared to the Golden Immortals and great sages, resurrection was merely a basic skill, to Yuan Tiangang, it held a fatal attraction.

"Of course. By noon tomorrow, the Fen River will be littered with dead fish. Before sunset, those fish will be revived. You can go and see for yourself. If you want to learn this skill, that is also negotiable. It requires..."

"If you can truly make dead fish revive, just name your conditions!" Yuan Tiangang immediately set this project as having an unlimited budget. To master the art of resurrection, he was willing to stake everything.

"Speaking with a smart man is truly a pleasure. My requirement is that the Daoist sect must cease using 'earth fire' as an excuse to throw infants into fire pits. Of course, such a great skill must have a price. I won’t ask for much—five hundred strings of cash. How about it?" Yun Hao immediately offered his price; business was all about striking while the iron was hot, leaving the other party little time to hesitate.

"Fine, it’s a deal! But what if you cannot make the fish return to life?"

"This young man happens to own an estate; I shall stake it on your Temple of Lord Lao. How is that?"

Yuan Tiangang remained silent, simply extending his fair, slender palm. Yun Hao’s conditions were enticing; if they couldn't throw infants, they could throw livestock instead. As for the five hundred strings of cash, in Yuan Tiangang's eyes, that was hardly a condition at all.

In this era, people relied on a handshake to swear an oath, whether the other party was a three-year-old child or an octogenarian. Once their hands slapped together, the covenant was formed. Even in the face of a thousand perils, one had to fulfill the promise. Many had gambled away their entire lives on a single handshake. Yun Hao loved this world with its intense sense of contract. He felt like a deeply unstable element in this harmonious society—the type that needed to be uprooted, suppressed, and stabilized!

Yuan Tiangang did not suspect for a moment that Yun Hao would break his word. His estate had "earth fire"—it was a lost cause, and no one would dare take it off his hands if he tried to sell. Handing it over to the Daoist sect might be a good idea. Perhaps his recent visit to the Buddhist temple was for this very purpose, though he hadn't succeeded. He would never believe that he, a young prodigy of the Daoist sect, could be bested by an eight-year-old brat who claimed to know the secret of resurrection.

"Farewell!"

"I shall not see you out!"

Yun Hao looked at Yuan Tiangang as if he were a mark, and Yuan Tiangang looked at Yun Hao as if he were a fool. Who was right and who was wrong remained to be seen; both sides had reason to categorize the other as an idiot.

"Why did you only ask for five hundred strings of cash?" Li Yuanba, having held his tongue for a long time, asked with confusion once they were outside the temple gates. Yun Hao had previously warned him with a sinister tone that if he dared to speak nonsense inside the Temple of Lord Lao, the goose would not be stewed.

Yun Hao glanced at Li Yuanba but said nothing. This was a true fool. The Daoist sect was powerful; five hundred strings of cash would be viewed as a joke, something they could laugh off to show their magnanimity. Five thousand strings, however, would incite their fury. Even if not for the money, they would view it as an insult. For an eight-year-old child to make an enemy of the entire Daoist world—one could guess the outcome with their eyes closed.

Returning to the Yun estate, the place was a scene of bustling labor. Liu Laoliu, sweat dripping from his brow, was directing a group of young men in building a furnace. This was a blast furnace used for producing coke. They would never dream that thousands of years later, such coke ovens would become the largest source of pollution in Jinyang. The sky-choking smog would become the nightmare of every person in Taiyuan.

To smelt iron, one needed coke. This was a type of coke derived from high-quality coal, producing enough heat to melt steel. Yun Hao had been fortunate enough to tour a coking plant, and the production process still lingered in his mind.

The Li family had already been persuaded; tomorrow they would send over skilled mold-makers. Once iron ore was acquired, they could produce high-quality iron stoves.

When Yun Hao first asked for blacksmiths, Li Jiancheng and Li Er had looked on with suspicion. Blacksmiths could forge farming tools, but they could just as easily forge weapons. And forging weapons in secret was little different from treason. The Li family only wanted to lie low for now; they dared not reveal such treacherous, head-chopping thoughts.

It wasn't until Yun Hao explained his full intentions that the brothers were relieved. Forging weapons meant execution, but forging stoves was no problem at all. Truth be told, they were also sick of the braziers used in winter. No matter how beautiful a lady was, waking up in the morning with two faint streaks of black soot under her nose was enough to dampen any desire.

According to Yun Hao, these stoves would have iron chimneys to vent the smoke outside, completely eliminating the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Anyone with a brain knew the massive market potential of such an item. They would test it in Jinyang for a year, and if successful, transport it to Chang'an and Luoyang—heaven only knew how much profit that would bring.

Furthermore, the profits would be continuous. As long as you used the stove, you had to buy his coal briquettes! Good heavens! Jinyang had nothing else, but it had coal in abundance. In many places, one didn't even need a shovel; the shiny black coal was exposed right on the surface. If that all turned into money, it would be a mountain of gold and a sea of silver.

"Old Liu, this isn't something that can be finished in a day or two. There's no need to rush like this!" Yun Hao acknowledged the workers' enthusiasm, but there was no need to go this far. Working in the dark could lead to injuries. They had so few strong laborers; each one was a treasure.

"Master, you said that everyone in our estate will depend on this for their livelihood in the future. How could we not give our all? This is a matter of securing a future for our descendants; we can't delay. You should go rest, Master; I’ll keep watch here. We will finish within five days!" Liu Laoliu, thinking Yun Hao was dissatisfied with their pace, pounded his chest like a warrior to guarantee the result.

"It's dark, light more torches. Be careful not to hurt anyone. Tell the kitchen to add an extra meal for everyone tonight. They’re all doing hard labor; have the kitchen boil an egg for each of them for nourishment." There was no suppressing their enthusiasm, and the eight-hour workday of the future had no place here. Yun Hao could only do his best to improve the workers' treatment.

Liu Laoliu was on the verge of tears. Having such a master was truly a blessing from the heavens—and by god, a blessing stuffed with beef at that! Flattery flowed from his mouth like a torrential river. No one knew how the usually inarticulate old man had accumulated such a vocabulary.

"Old Liu, there is one thing I need you to do. Find a few young fellows and bring them to my courtyard. I need to give them personal instructions!" Unable to stand the flattery, Yun Hao quickly brought up the real business.

"Wait a moment, Master. I’ll go fetch Liu San right now." Seeing Yun Hao’s demeanor, Liu Laoliu knew this was a matter of great importance. Without hesitation, he pushed his own son forward.