Chapter 37: World Map, Selling Glass

Li Chenggan nodded, appearing to understand yet not quite grasping it.

Afterward, no matter how Li Chenggan questioned Su Liang, Su Liang merely instructed him to attend to his own duties and not to overthink other matters.

After a long while, Li Chenggan left, though he remained unwilling to let it go.

It seemed Li Chenggan still hadn't realized the true meaning behind Su Liang's words... Seeing this, Su Liang sighed softly and shook his head slightly.

Su Liang couldn't be bothered with that anymore; come to think of it, it was his own lack of foresight. He had intended to produce a globe and a world map before the new year, but it had been delayed by various affairs.

Even if Su Liang had made a globe back then, it wouldn't have been very detailed.

But things were different now. After Su Liang's grand wedding, the system had rewarded him with an encyclopedia search engine. The world map he produced now would be absolutely exquisite, leaving no room for dissatisfaction.

The only thing Su Liang regretted was that the system mall also contained globes and world maps, but they were all labeled with modern terminology. It wouldn't be easy for Su Liang to exchange for them directly; otherwise, it would be too shocking, and he wouldn't know how to explain it.

Sigh... in the end, he had to do it himself.

Su Liang sighed helplessly.

Su Liang planned to sketch out a simplified world map that very night. He only needed to mark the seven oceans and four continents, as well as the current Great Tang and a few neighboring countries. This was not a difficult task and required no outside help; Su Liang could easily handle it alone, and he already had a fairly good method in mind.

As for the globe... Su Liang still needed some time to ponder how best to construct it.

That evening, inside the study at Furong Garden.

Su Liang was sketching the world map on his desk when Changle walked over.

She stared at Su Liang for a long time, unable to understand what he was drawing. She only vaguely saw that there seemed to be other things beneath what Su Liang was drawing, so she immediately looked at Su Liang and asked, "Husband, what are you drawing? I've never seen you work on this before."

Hearing this, Su Liang smiled slightly, then took out the world map he had laid underneath and explained to Changle, "This is a world map."

"The entire world we inhabit is on this map."

Seeing Su Liang bring out the world map, Changle began to examine it closely...

"Eh... Husband, why does the 'China' on this look so much like the Great Tang? But the territory of the Great Tang isn't that large."

Faced with Changle's question, Su Liang didn't know how to explain it.

He had exchanged this map from the system for ten thousand prestige points; he couldn't very well tell Changle that this was a world map from the future.

If Su Liang were to tell the truth, not only would Changle not believe him, but no one else would either.

Sigh... wasn't he just digging a hole for himself? He had insisted on drawing the map in detail, which was why he had exchanged for the world map from the system in the first place.

Now it was a mess, and for a moment, Su Liang didn't know what to say. After all, he wasn't a person who liked to lie, especially to his own wife.

At this moment, Su Liang fell into deep contemplation...

A moment later, Su Liang coughed twice, cleared his throat, and said, "This... was given to me by an old immortal. This is a map of the future."

"Everything marked on it is the world as it will be in fourteen hundred years; it is exactly as you see it."

What Su Liang said wasn't a lie; after all, the system's "old man" persona was real. Su Liang naturally referred to the system as an old man, which was beyond reproach, even if it was just Su Liang's own wishful thinking.

At this moment, Changle recalled the bags, perfumes, and lipsticks that Su Liang had exchanged for them last time, which had seemed to appear out of thin air. Hearing Su Liang say this now, although Changle found it incredible, some things were indeed unexplainable—just like how some people could observe the celestial phenomena or practice divination.

As long as Su Liang treated her with sincerity, Changle didn't want to worry about so much.

"Then, was Husband's talent also taught by that old immortal?" Changle, having figured it out, asked immediately.

"Mm... counting it that way, that old immortal can be considered my Master," Su Liang admitted immediately.

Su Liang wasn't wrong; a portion of his abilities did indeed come from the system, and the system could indeed be considered his Master.

It was just that regarding this Master of his... Su Liang still couldn't figure out what was going on.

Why did he transmigrate for no reason? Could it be that Wang Mang in history had truly transmigrated as well?

If that were really the case, then Wang Mang's system must have been trash.

Although Su Liang was filled with doubts, he didn't want to dwell on them.

After all, he had thought about it enough over these years.

Since Heaven had given him a chance to be reborn, Su Liang had to accomplish something worthwhile.

It would be the only way to live up to the "Heavenly Pride System."

If Su Liang could choose his transmigration, he would still have preferred to transmigrate to the Sui Dynasty.

The population of the Great Tang had now been tallied at nearly twenty million. Although the noble clans had hidden quite a few, it was close enough. Compared to the Sui Dynasty, the only thing missing was the Tuyuhun.

Yet even so, due to war and other factors, the previous population of fifty million had dwindled to just over twenty million.

Yang Guang had been too eager for quick success; otherwise, he would surely have left behind the prestige of a Sui Martial Emperor.

Instead of being called the Sui Tyrant Emperor after his death.

Just as Su Liang was pondering these things...

The other women also arrived at the study one after another; Su Liang's actions today were truly different from the norm.

In the past, after finishing dinner, Su Liang would always chat with them.

Today, as soon as he finished eating, Su Liang had rushed to the study.

Seeing the women arrive, Su Liang began to explain the world map to them...

"Husband, this... isn't this the seventy-two islands of our foster father?" Li Xian'er pointed to a group of small islands on the east side of the Liaodong Peninsula and asked in surprise.

"And this, this is where we met..."

"And this, this is where we went fishing and catching shrimp with Xue Rengui..."

Li Xian'er said intermittently.

The other women saw Li Xian'er's excited appearance and were immediately filled with envy.

Su Liang felt the envious gazes of the other women and said to them on the spot, "Once the roads are built, Husband will take you all traveling together."

"Brother Su, I want to go too... I want to go too," little Sizi said in a sweet voice from the side.

By now, little Sizi had completely become Su Liang's child bride.

Regarding this matter, Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun Wugou were tacitly aware and had no objections, though it was against etiquette, which gave them quite a headache. The imperial family was not like common folk; since ancient times, there had been no precedent for two princesses serving the same husband.

They figured that when little Sizi grew up and was betrothed to Su Liang, there would be quite a bit of resistance. But that was a matter for the future; there were still three years until little Sizi reached the age of marriage, so it wasn't time to worry yet, and the two of them didn't want to overthink it.

However, in Su Liang's view, this wasn't an issue at all.

Precedents were made to be broken!

The next morning, the East Market of Changancheng.

Su Liang's glass shop had begun selling glass.

Long ago, Su Liang had prepared the shop for selling glass, just waiting for the right moment.

Just last night, Er Hu had already led men to transport some of the larger glass crafts from Taoyuan County.

As for the name of the glass shop, it wasn't like the Cooling Pavilion for selling ice, nor the Drunken Immortal Pavilion for dining. Su Liang had been busy until late yesterday and hadn't felt like overthinking it, so he simply used the three characters "Glass Shop."

At this moment, in front of the Glass Shop, many of Changancheng's dignitaries were already gathered to watch. They were already accustomed to Su Liang's appearance always signaling a major move, and they were currently ordering their servants to notify their friends and relatives to come.

Not only that, but the Four Young Masters of Changan, along with Fang Yi'ai and Du He, had all come as well.

This was because Su Liang had notified Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaiyu; after all, he hadn't seen them for a long time, and Su Liang had been busy with a mountain of affairs. Moreover, the two of them held shares in his business.

Su Liang was not at all surprised that the others had tagged along.

Ever since Fang Xuanling and Du Ru had played a trick on Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong last time, the Four Young Masters of Changan had started hanging out with Fang Yi'ai and Du He as well.

After all, Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaiyu were still somewhat in awe of their own fathers. Qin Huaiyu was a bit better off, as Qin Qiong was a refined man and at least wouldn't resort to physical punishment.

But Cheng Yaojin was different—a total brute. This had made life miserable for Cheng Chumo; if Cheng Chumo did anything improper, Cheng Yaojin would use family law, justifying it with the saying, "Spare the rod and spoil the child."

Not only that, but he would occasionally compete with the dark-skinned Yuchi Jingde to see who could hit harder...

The former Four Young Masters of Changan had likely become the Six Young Masters of Changan; at this, Su Liang only chuckled.

It seemed the number of people planning to go to Hokkaido would have to increase, but that was fine too—it would save these playboys from wreaking havoc on the young ladies of Pingkang Ward all day long.

Once they went to Hokkaido, they could do whatever they wanted...

By comparison, fewer people had come to Su Liang's side today. The women were not interested in business matters, and apart from Er Hu who had come to help, only little Sizi had come with Su Liang.

Su Liang was responsive to every request from little Sizi, except for going out.

Today, having finally found such an opportunity, little Sizi would certainly not let it pass.

In fact, Su Liang understood little Sizi's thoughts. Don't let her young age fool you; she was quite clever. Wanting to go out was a pretense; when they went out, Su Liang could carry her—that was what little Sizi really wanted.

One could tell by the happy look on little Sizi's face as she hugged Su Liang's neck.

That's right... at this moment, Su Liang was carrying little Sizi with one arm, just like holding a child.

Su Liang wouldn't care about anyone's gaze; if anyone dared to cause him trouble, Su Liang wouldn't let them off easily.

Meanwhile, the "Six Young Masters of Changan" saw that Su Liang was busy teasing little Sizi and didn't want to disturb him, so they gathered together to discuss the relevant matters for the shop's opening today.

About half an hour later.

Seeing that enough people had arrived, Su Liang signaled to Cheng Chumo that he could begin his performance.

"Ahem..." Cheng Chumo cleared his throat immediately and then said loudly, "Respected elders, brothers, and sisters of Changancheng, the shop opening today is the Glass Shop."

As Cheng Chumo's voice fell, the shop assistant lifted the red cloth from the shop's plaque.

Suddenly, three characters, vigorous and powerful, appeared before everyone's eyes: "Glass Shop."

When Cheng Chumo finished speaking, many people were already dumbfounded, and the scene fell into an extremely quiet, eerily silent state.

Among those who had come, there were many from noble clans who couldn't believe that Su Liang could even produce glass for sale.

One had to know that in the Tang Dynasty, glass was only available from the Western Regions, requiring foreign merchants to transport it over thousands of miles, and every glass product was worth a fortune upon reaching the Great Tang.

Regardless of size, they were all highly sought after by the dignitaries of Changan.

It wasn't just modern people who liked to compete; the ancients were no different.

The Five Surnames and Seven Clans were even more exaggerated; everyone wanted to vie for the reputation of being first, regardless of the size or value of the glass.

As long as exquisite glass appeared, they would compete to bid for it.

But... but now Su Liang had opened a shop!!

This... what did this mean? It meant that Su Liang had a large quantity of glass, and it was very likely that Su Liang knew the method for making glass.

Cheng Chumo could not be bothered with the shocked expressions of the crowd and immediately shouted, "The glass inside the shop is all clearly priced; everyone is welcome to enter and make a purchase."

At this moment, the onlookers came to their senses one after another and scrambled to head inside the shop.

Suddenly, Cheng Chumo’s voice fell once more.

"Ahem... everyone, listen to me for a moment. Today, there is a special piece of glass..." Cheng Chumo stopped mid-sentence and quietly looked at the nobles who were already swarming into the shop.

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately halted their steps. A special piece of glass? Wouldn't that be a one-of-a-kind item? If that were truly the case, they had to secure it!

The crowd could not help but fix their gazes intently on Cheng Chumo.

They all wanted to hear what Cheng Chumo would say next.

"Ahem..."

Cheng Chumo cleared his throat and continued, "This special piece of glass today is seven-colored glass..."

Before Cheng Chumo could finish his sentence, someone immediately asked, "Is that true? How could there be seven-colored glass?"

"You aren't lying to us, are you? How could there possibly be glass with seven colors in this world?"

"That's right, seeing is believing. Hurry up and bring it out for us to see."

Many scions of noble families clamored one after another.

At the same time, more and more commoners heard the news and gathered around; they all wanted to witness the seven-colored glass that Cheng Chumo spoke of.

"Bring it out quickly! Even if we can't afford to buy it, we can still look at it, right?"

"Yes, Young Duke Cheng, hurry up and bring it out..."

"Let us broaden our horizons as well..."

Many of the gathered commoners also clamored one after another.

Under Su Liang's signal, Cheng Chumo immediately made arrangements. The onlookers waited quietly, urging him on every now and then.

After waiting for a long time, the crowd finally saw the true appearance of the "seven-colored glass."