About half an hour later, a middle-aged man in brocade clothing walked in. He was the wealthy man of Xuanwu City, the owner of Jinxiu Pavilion, Ethan Clark.

“Do you two have a big business deal to discuss with me?” Ethan Clark asked.

He had no fear of Charles Grant; at his level of business, he had powerful backers as well. Moreover, his son had entered Tiannan Martial Academy and was doing very well. After passing the martial exam, he would become a military officer. So even when it came to Samuel Grant, he felt no fear—everyone just minded their own business.

Chad Sullivan said, “Yes, a big business! It can earn you, Manager Clark, at least five thousand more gold coins every year.”

Ethan Clark frowned. What he disliked most were these flashy young men, especially ones with such a pretty-boy look—he found them unreliable.

“Speak,” Ethan Clark said.

Chad Sullivan said, “I have a formula to sell you, Boss Clark, for two thousand gold coins.”

As soon as he said this, Ethan Clark's expression changed instantly. His face turned cold as he said, “Mr. Clark's time is precious. I have no time to waste with you, honored guest. See the guest out!”

With that, he picked up his tea, ready to send them away.

Even Charles Grant was stunned. One thousand gold coins was already outrageous, and yet Chad Sullivan was asking for two thousand right off the bat. This was sheer madness. He truly regretted bringing Chad Sullivan to Jinxiu Pavilion.

Ethan Clark got up to leave, not giving Chad Sullivan the slightest chance.

Charles Grant shot Chad Sullivan a cold glare and said icily, “Are you looking for death...”

Seeing that the money man was about to leave, Chad Sullivan quickly pulled out a piece of silk from his chest and placed it in front of Ethan Clark, saying, “Boss Clark, look at the color of this silk. Is it worth two thousand gold coins?”

Ethan Clark turned around, his gaze falling on the silk in Chad Sullivan's hand. It was only the size of a handkerchief.

Charles Grant glanced at it, thinking Chad Sullivan had lost his mind. Such a small piece of silk, and he wanted to sell it for two thousand gold coins?

However, the owner of Jinxiu Pavilion's eyes suddenly widened in disbelief. He strode over, grabbed the silk, and held it up to his eyes, his voice trembling: “This—how is this possible? It's actually golden yellow, how can this be?!”

Charles Grant was stunned. Only now did he notice that the silk Chad Sullivan had given was a dazzling golden yellow.

Chad Sullivan said, “How did the Xu family become prosperous? It's because their silk is supplied exclusively to the monarch, and because their silk is thoroughly yellow.”

In ancient China, yellow was reserved for the royal family. Only the emperor, empress, and imperial consorts could wear yellow garments.

It was much the same in this world. In the entire Yue Kingdom, only the royal family could use yellow silk.

But in this world, yellow silk was dyed with gardenia. The yellow was yellow enough, but the color was thin and not bright.

The piece of silk Chad Sullivan produced was dyed with a brand-new formula. The yellow from pagoda tree flower juice mixed with alum was extremely bright, giving a golden appearance.

In the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's dragon robes were dyed with this kind of dye. You can still see these dragon robes in the Palace Museum—how noble and magnificent they are!

Yesterday, when Chad Sullivan went to gather herbs, he also picked a lot of pagoda tree flowers. As for alum, it was a kind of Chinese medicine, and there was still some left at home.

Yesterday, while decocting medicine, he also made half a bowl of this golden yellow dye, then tore off a piece of colorless silk underwear and put it in to dye.

After dyeing, he let it dry overnight and then lightly baked it over a fire. This piece of golden yellow silk was more or less finished.

Immediately, Ethan Clark quickly took out another piece of yellow silk, which was dyed with gardenia by his family.

Without comparison, there is no harm. The silk on the left was too vulgar and plain in its yellow. The one on the right, Chad Sullivan's piece, was dazzlingly golden—there was no contest.

Chad Sullivan said, “This piece of silk was dyed by me overnight, and honestly, I'm not satisfied with the result. If there were enough time and materials, I could make an even brighter golden yellow. If the threads were dyed first and then woven into silk, the effect would be even better.”

Ethan Clark was astonished: “You made this in just one night, and it already has such an effect?”

Chad Sullivan said, “Yes, so if you get the formula, the silk you dye will only be even more golden and luxurious. If you present this golden yellow silk to the royal weaving bureau, what do you think will happen?”

Anyone could guess—the royal weaving bureau would immediately abandon the Xu family's silk and use the Lin family's instead.

At that point, the business of supplying silk exclusively to the monarch would fall to the Lin family.

How much money this business would make was a small matter; the key was reputation and political resources.

Chad Sullivan said, “Mr. Clark, can this business of mine earn your Lin family at least five thousand more gold coins a year?”

Ethan Clark shook his head. “More than that.”

Chad Sullivan said, “Then, is it expensive for me to sell you this golden yellow dye formula for two thousand gold coins?”

Ethan Clark said, “Not expensive, not at all.”

Charles Grant looked at Chad Sullivan in astonishment.

Clearly, the night before last, when Chad Sullivan agreed to pay Samuel Grant a thousand gold coins for his life, he had already thought of a way to make money—he was completely confident.

But what no one expected was that he actually wanted to make two thousand gold coins!

Even more unexpected, the way he made money would also strike back at the Xu family.

That's right, Chad Sullivan was just that vengeful. Making money wasn't enough—he had to make the Xu family suffer as well.