Chapter 10: The Trump Card for Establishing Oneself and Securing a Livelihood

  "Oh, I see, young master!" Lin Shuang'er smiled and quickly walked out with small steps!

  This little girl! Huo was muttering to himself, wondering how her voice could be so good-sounding. The only flaw is that the protective measures during bath time are not in place, I'll go to the department store tomorrow to buy her a bathtub!

  Is there a department store here? I'm in the Tang Dynasty! Huo Hai couldn't help but shake his head, every morning he gets up to find a toilet in his bedroom, only to discover that toilets are not popular in this era, they all use outhouses!

  "Master, the vanilla has arrived!" Lin Shuang'er returned in a moment, holding a wooden basin with purple-black colored vanilla inside.

  "Is that all?" Huo was dismayed. The grand Huo family had such a large estate, but only this little bit of fragrant grass, how could it be enough?

  "The housekeeper said, all the grass is here!" Lin Shuang'er tightly hugged the grass in her arms, guessing that the grass was also expensive in this era, and ordinary people couldn't afford it!

  Huo Qi slapped his own head, originally thinking that the Huo family was a big merchant like the Qiao family in "Qiao Family Compound", but now it seems that they are just a small potato after all!

  "Let it go! By the way, go and get Xiaoshengzi for me!" Huo Hai felt that he had to rely on himself to live a better life in this era, not relying on the thin foundation of the Huo family or his reputation as a talented scholar.

  Nonsense! When have I ever relied on others?! He couldn't help but curse, from kindergarten days Chairman Mao taught us to be self-reliant and work hard for food and clothing!

  The grass in front of him was indeed the same as tobacco, only with a slightly different color and a too strong flavor. He had already felt this when he took his first puff!

  In this era, it was impossible to manufacture filter tips, so he thought that in order to make cigarettes that wouldn't be too harsh, they had to work on the thickness of the tobacco.

  He decided to roll a batch of thin cigarettes first, on the one hand to prevent the Tang people from choking when they smoked for the first time, and on the other hand, the amount of fragrant grass was limited, and it was estimated that only about ten could be rolled!

  Huo found some rough but clean paper in the study, the rougher the paper, the longer it would burn, and the less likely the person smoking would be choked!

  "Master, master wants to find Xiaoshengzi for what instructions?" The queen mother came in with a swaying big butt, and there was still a faint scent of rouge on her body, a complete sissy!

  "This young master is looking for you, naturally there's something he wants you to do!" Huo He muttered to himself, what would I look for this dead man for if nothing's up, why not go and have a good time with Meng Die and Lin Shuang Er instead?

  "Young master, just give the order, Xiao Shengzi is already yours, you can do whatever you want with him!" Xiao Shengzi lowered his head in a shy manner!

  Xiao Shengzi's words couldn't help but make Huo Qi shiver, hey, isn't this the legendary backbreaker? It seems that Xiao Shengzi has no interest in women for the rest of his life!

  "Cut the nonsense, I'm asking you, why is there only this little bit of tobacco at home? And where did these tobaccos come from?" Huo Lie knew that to mass-produce cigarettes, he must understand the places and channels for purchasing tobacco. As a person who had passed through the 21st century, he naturally had some business sense!

  "Oh, young master, you're talking about sandalwood! Since sandalwood is expensive, the old master said that only the Zhìlín Temple's sandalwood incense can be used, and all other places are exempt from using it!" Xiaoshengzi pondered for half a day before realizing what Huo Lie was saying when he saw the incense grass on the table!

  "Damn it, reacting so slowly! Where can I buy these agarwood then?" Huo Hai cursed in his heart. The Huo family was a merchant family, yet they couldn't even afford to use fragrant grasses. How did he end up in such a poor household? If he had transmigrated into a prince's body, wouldn't that be great? He would have no worries about food and clothing, and every day would just be eating, drinking, gaming, and smoking!

  Of course, the young masters of this era probably can't enjoy the soul-stirring tobacco yet, but it doesn't matter. Huo Hai smiled secretly, and the genius is about to let them know that tobacco is a more refreshing taste than piáo!

  "Our family's sandalwood is actually not sandalwood..." Xiaoshengzi spoke with an air of mystery, but soon let it go. "But it doesn't matter if I tell you, Young Master. Young Master, Xiaoshengzi will tell you a secret about sandalwood. Do you want to hear?"

  "Cut the crap, get to the point! And next time you bother me, can you please be more straightforward and quick about it? You're exhausting me with all this beating around the bush! I'm not tired, but even I'm getting tired of listening to you!" Huo Hai was starting to lose his patience with the nagging woman.

  "Oh, once Xiao Shengzi followed Master and Father out on a business trip, they passed by an estate where this fragrant grass was grown everywhere. Master discovered that the fragrance of this grass was similar to sandalwood, so every time he would have us buy some with silver coins..." Xiao Shengzi spoke quickly this time, talking for over an hour!

  Huo Jie finally understood, it turned out that the sandalwood incense of the Huo family was not real sandalwood. In fact, when he first smelled this scent, he had some doubts. The scent of sandalwood should be similar to the scent of temple incense burners, how could it have a nicotine smell?

  Even if the technology for making sandalwood in this era is not mature enough, the basic flavor of sandalwood will not be much different from modern sandalwood, right?

  It turned out that the Huo family's incense was not sandalwood, but tobacco! Huo Xiao felt that the fragrant grasses in front of him and all the fragrant grasses in the villa mentioned by Xiao Shengzi should be the precursors to tobacco!

  He's made it! He's a bit excited, if he can buy that manor, he thinks he'll have the capital to make a fortune in this era! In the future, having a wealthy family, being rich and powerful, and having many wives and concubines is not impossible!

  "Xiao Shengzi, does anyone else in the manor know about this?" Huo Lie decided to relax a bit, he slowly walked over to the chair, stretched his waist, and then sat down comfortably.

  He originally thought that in this era, he could only rely on his talent to make a living, but now it seems that there is no need for that. A talented person who can't recite poetry will eventually be exposed, and now he has found a trump card to secure his life, which is producing cigarettes, and he is extremely delighted in his heart!

  "No, the old master is afraid that the owner of the estate will raise the price because many people are buying sandalwood, so he blocked the news and trade routes along the way!" Little Shengzi was still panting, having just spoken for an hour without dying from exhaustion, which was already a blessing from his ancestors!

  Hearing this, Huo Qi's heart was also delighted. He didn't expect that this Huo Qing would have some business acumen and even know how to monopolize. If he were alive in the 21st century, Li Ka-shing might not be China's richest man!

  "Huh, why didn't I see that little girl Meng Die today? Quickly go and get her to give me a massage!" Huo Lie seemed to have already gotten used to Meng Die's massages, her massage techniques were far more superior than those of the nightclub girls from before!