The war in Funan was raging, but Zhang Cheng set his sights on Sri Buddha at the southern end of Langyaxiu.

Mi Fang, Xia Houyuan and Cao Ang were ordered to go to find the Pearl of the South Seas, Shicheng Port, which their lord was longing for.

The Overlord was fully loaded, once again carrying eighteen artillery pieces, and more than twenty warships and supply ships, and headed south in a mighty manner.

At Xianglin Port, Cai He and Cao Wan watched the army set sail, with mixed feelings in their hearts.

Without Xianglin, I don’t know how far Nanyang is.

If you don’t go to Nanyang, you don’t know how vast the world is.

This time, the combined fleet will explore the westbound passage.

Once something is discovered, the entire Western Region will surely surrender under the Han's giant ships and artillery.

Cao Wan suddenly said: "Uncle Zhang, I want to go to Dongdu!"

Zhang Cheng smiled and said: "Why, why don't you wait until your brother opens the westbound channel to have a look?"

"I want to take Liu Shishu as my teacher, and when I return from my studies, I can travel around the world."

So ambitious!

Zhang Cheng readily agreed to this, and packed up the two great-grandsons of the Gao family and took them away together.

On the way back to the city, looking at the large tracts of yellowing rice fields, Cai He couldn't help but sigh: "There are three crops a year, and the people are not hungry. It is really a place with abundant resources and natural treasures."

Zhang Cheng also lamented: "If it weren't for holding Jin Wu to show the way, we would be no different from the frogs at the bottom of the well. How stupid would we be?"

When we walked to the sugarcane forest, we could see the smoke from cooking. The farmers poured the squeezed sugarcane juice into the pot and boiled it to make syrup, which was then put into various containers for cooling.

Zhang Cheng’s own sugar factory.

The foreman in charge saw the general manager coming and hurriedly came out to welcome him.

Zhang Cheng waved his hand and said: "You do your thing, don't worry about me, let's just take a look."

The foreman promised to do it well, but he followed him all the time. It was a rare opportunity to meet Xiang Lintu's boss, so he didn't dare to be careless.

Zhang Cheng also knew that people were afraid of being criticized for not serving well, so he stopped talking and went into the workshop on his own.

When the Cham farmers and workers saw the noble man in Hanfu coming in, the arrogant foreman turned into a docile pug, and they all knelt down to greet him respectfully.

"Everyone, get up. I'm just taking a look. Don't be afraid. Just keep doing your work."

Gao Zheng translated the words of the general manager and asked them to continue working. Only then did these farm workers get up timidly and continue to cook the syrup carefully.

Pour the red sugar cane juice into the pot, simmer over high heat, stir, spoon it out when thickened, and pour it into square vessels.

Just as a batch of sugar syrup was cooling and solidifying, the older worker knocked down a full bowl and asked half a boy to present it to Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng laughed, took out a small bunch of copper coins from his arms, and rewarded the child.

The child looked at the old man behind him and then at the foreman, but did not dare to reach out to pick it up.

The foreman urged in a rare and pleasant manner: "Just take what the general manager rewards you, why don't you thank me quickly?"

The child took the copper coins with both hands, lay on the ground and kowtowed a few times.

Zhang Cheng picked up the child with a smile and asked kindly: "What is your name? How old are you?"

With Gao Zheng as the interpreter, the communication between the two parties was basically smooth.

"My name is Shuwa, and I am nine years old."

Different from the Central Plains, the fields of Xianglin are fertile and the voles are fat. After being cooked and roasted, they are very delicious.

Therefore, being named after a rat is not shameful among the Cham people, and it is a good hope for poor people. After all, there are not many opportunities to eat meat.

"Rat boy, what are you doing here?"

"Wrapping candy bars."

According to the requirements of Mijia Trading Company, after the square candy bars are solidified, those in good condition must be wrapped in paper so that they can be sold at a high price when shipped to the Central Plains.

Because the Mi family was the first to collect sugar in batches, the sugar factories in Xianglin all process it according to the Mi family's requirements.

Zhang Cheng took the mouse baby's hand and saw that it was covered with wounds tied by twine, some were scabbed, and some places were even worn into calluses.

"It's really not easy!"

At this time, in order to please the foreman, he said: "The newly made candy bars are the most delicious. The chief steward might as well try them."

Zhang Cheng nodded with a smile and said: "It's rare for you to have such a heart, okay, give it a try."

As he spoke, he took out a piece from the bowl, suddenly caught a glimpse of the mouse child, and handed it to the child instead.

"You can make sugar at a young age, even if you have a little mouse, you can try it."

The foreman hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "General manager, it would be a waste for them to eat such expensive candy..."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Zhang Cheng was unhappy and said: "I have a saying in Zhijin: Those who turn their bodies to Luoqi are not sericulture people! Remember, your salary and salary are all the people's wealth!"

The foreman was so frightened that he immediately shrank back, not daring to say another word.

Zhang Cheng smiled and said to the mouse baby: "Eat it, you deserve it."

With encouragement, the mouse finally bit off a piece of candy and tasted it carefully in his mouth.

Soon, the taste of happiness filled my mouth, and a long-lost smile bloomed.

"So sweet! So delicious! Thank you, Chief Manager, for the reward!"

Zhang Cheng looked at the old man behind the mouse baby again, felt relieved, nodded slightly, and took out the candy.

Then he pointed at the big bowl and said to Cai He, Cao Wan, Gao Zheng and Gao Miaoniang: "Try them all. It is said that this sugar factory has the best quality."

Cai He looked at the mouse baby, and then at Zhang Cheng's harmless smile, and suddenly realized something in his heart.

No wonder it is said that people become better with age, it is really amazing, you have learned a lot!

Cai He's guess was right. Just now, Zhang Cheng was so humble that he let Shuwa be a guinea pig for a while.

As an occupier, surrounded by Cham people, you must always be careful.

If someone leaks the itinerary today and poisons the sugar factory in advance, then these people will definitely have a strange expression when the rat baby eats candy.

Be careful with your ship!

The big boss of SF Express never makes fun of his own life.

Everyone tasted the candy. Freshly made candy is indeed more delicious than those that have been left for a while.

However, there are still some impurities in the bright red candy, which slightly affects the taste.

Gao Miao Niang actually ate a grain of gravel from her piece, and she couldn't help but complain.

"The color is so heavy that you can't even tell there is sand in it. It would be better if it were snow candy."

Among the sugars produced by the Mi family, there is a type that is as white as snow, which is called "snow sugar". The price is extremely high, but no one knows the secret of the Mi family's sugar making.

Cao Wan studied a lot of things, and was especially fascinated by the monthly magazine "Nature" published by Yongzhou Public School.

Naturally, she came up with an idea to improve the sugar-making process.

Zhang Cheng was very interested and said to the foreman: "I bought this pot of sugar water and followed Miss Wan's instructions."

The foreman didn't dare to ask for money, so he immediately said with a smile: "It's our blessing that the general manager is here. There is a lot of sugar and water here. The general manager can only use it, but he cannot accept money."

Soon, the cauldron was painted smooth, the collected charcoal was cleaned, spread evenly on the gauze, and a layer of gauze was added to spread a layer of charcoal, a total of three layers.

When everything was ready, Cao Wan directed the workers to cover the pot with gauze, and then pour the sugarcane juice onto the gauze filter.

Very simply, I got a large pot of pure and clear sugarcane juice and boiled it over high heat.

The old masters of the sugar factory all looked at it straight. Can the sugar water drenched with charcoal ash be eaten? Will the cooked sugar cubes have a strange smell?

But he is a noble person, so he should do as he is told.

Remove the clear sugar syrup from the pot and pour it into a vessel to cool.

After a while, the sugar cube solidified, which surprised everyone. The sugar cube was now milky white, with no impurities at all.

Comparing the red and yellow brown sugar, everyone knows that the white candy looks better and the price is naturally higher.

Let me tell you, Miss Wan can turn stone into gold!

The general manager, who was born as a merchant, naturally knew the goods and immediately asked people to crush the candy into powder, which looked like a pile of holy snow.

Pick up a handful and put it in your mouth.

Pure, sweet, delicate, and melts in your mouth.

"Hahaha!" Zhang Cheng suddenly laughed loudly: "The best snow candy! What a good thing! You all should try it!"

Now, everyone in the workshop was lucky enough to have a taste, and the feeling was really wonderful.

Zhang Cheng was in a good mood, so he called the foreman and said, "Have you seen the whole process clearly?"

The foreman nodded. He paid special attention just now and kept every step in mind.

Zhang Cheng said: "Just make candy according to Miss Wan's method, and all the masters and workers will get an additional 10% of their wages. Do you understand?"

The foreman was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: "I understand, I understand, I will make the best snow candy from now on!"

Zhang Cheng nodded with satisfaction and said to Cao Wan: "Miss Wan, from now on, you will have 10% of the shares of this sugar factory."

The foreman was so frightened that he stuck out his tongue.

Be good, give me 10% of your sex, and Miss Wan will become a rich little woman immediately!

Cao Wan declined politely, but Zhang Cheng had many ideas, saying that this was the patent buyout fee.

If you have money, everyone can make it together for a long time. This is also a rule in the business circle. Anyway, if you don't accept it, you will send it to Hanzhong.

Cao Wan thought there was not much money, but Zhang Cheng told her that 10% of the sugar factory's dry shares would be worth no less than 30,000 taels of silver per year.

Three, thirty thousand taels of silver?!
Chapter completed!