Chapter 34: The Boy Who Changed the World

Faced with Su Ziye’s questions, Carlos merely smiled faintly.

“You set up this factory by the lake with an enormous initial investment, which doesn’t align with your principle of quickly accumulating capital. Furthermore, employing all these workers to mass-produce instant noodles isn’t a venture that yields high profits.”

“Your instant noodles’ greatest advantage lies in their low cost and quick preparation, but their flavor is hardly remarkable. This first point starkly contrasts with the ‘Joyful Drink,’ whose profit margins soar sky-high despite being much simpler to produce.”

“Lastly, you haven’t entrusted the entire procurement of raw materials and finished product sales outside of Ye Ye City to the Golden Flash Trade Guild. I don’t know what your reasoning is, but this also demands considerable effort and yields only minimal returns.”

Carlos calmly laid out his three points of critique.

For a moment, Su Ziye remained unusually composed.

“So, what’s your point?”

“That even without the wager of a million gold leaf herbs, you would still pursue this venture, right?” Carlos asked pointedly.

Su Ziye paused briefly, then smiled, “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because this is something that will change the world,” Su Ziye said calmly.

“What do you mean by changing the world?” Carlos pressed.

“This is changing the world,” Su Ziye replied.

Carlos chuckled. “I asked you to explain it.”

“How should I?”

“Explain it however you want—I just want to hear your explanation.”

“Changing the world is changing the world. When the first factory is established in this world and runs smoothly, the world will have changed,” Su Ziye said.

Carlos said nothing, as if suddenly lost in thought, momentarily dazed.

Su Ziye continued, “A factory requires a large workforce and must pay their wages to ensure their livelihoods.”

“They will soon realize that income from factory work far exceeds what they earn from farming at home.”

“Farming income depends on crop maturity, reliant on favorable weather. A bad harvest year could mean nothing at all—selling off children, leaving their homes. But factory work is almost a guaranteed income regardless of drought or flood. As long as the factory doesn’t collapse, they have stable wages.”

“Before this, I pondered deeply what kind of factory to open if needed. Even within light industry, there is a broad range of choices—essentially covering clothing, food, housing, and transportation.”

“Housing and transportation are a different matter; I have ideas about clothing, but that’s not for now.”

“The simplest approach, of course, is to start with food—something that can be mass-produced, cheaply made, and fresh enough to appeal to many.”

One by one, Su Ziye outlined his criteria, before revealing his answer: “After much thought, instant noodles are the most suitable.”

“So I chose to pursue this.”

“The first batch of skilled workers, with machines arriving and raw materials replenished, can produce more instant noodles for sale. As the factory grows, I can build flour mills, seasoning factories, and packaging plants around the noodle factory. With its price advantage, the noodles will sell easily. Even if common folk don’t buy, the military will be very interested. And if there’s an oversupply, these essentially food products remain hard currency anywhere.”

“Based on this, I will sign long-term planting contracts with surrounding villages—not only for wheat to make flour, but also various spices and even sugarcane for sugar production. All can take root by Starfall Lake, ultimately breaking free from the Golden Flash Trade Guild’s constraints and becoming a fully independent force.”

Su Ziye spoke with conviction.

“So within a year, I’m confident I can expand this instant noodle-centered industry to employ at least five thousand core industrial workers and involve over two hundred thousand farmers in the surrounding area—and this is just the beginning.”

Carlos listened intently.

He understood well that precisely because he was Carlos, Su Ziye was willing to confide such ambitions in him.

And these ambitions were truly inspiring.

This was indeed changing the world.

Even if it was only the start.

“I’m beginning to believe that if you sell these two ideas to the Golden Flash Trade Guild—your current assets and concepts—any rational person there would agree to buy them for a million gold leaf herbs,” Carlos said seriously, looking at Su Ziye. “Of course, the academy could do this too, but because of its longstanding way of operating, it never will.”

“Yes, the academy prefers to maintain a distance from the wider world, focusing on safeguarding Ye Ye City and consistently nurturing precious talents useful to this world. Without the academy, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have now.”

To say nothing of the lathe masters, whose skills are astonishing, or the elite builders led by Xie Gong—world-class talents indeed.

This was quite contrary to the original intentions of Saint Yue Yi, yet the academy has long been insular and stubborn in this path.

At its core, the academy is a very conservative force.

The Golden Flash Trade Guild, driven by commercial interests and profit, would have no hesitation in taking on Su Ziye’s venture.

Meanwhile, the more powerful Ye Ye Academy would likely hesitate and ultimately refuse.

“So, will you sell?” Carlos fixed his gaze on Su Ziye, posing the crucial question.

“Prince Xi Che, I didn’t understand before why you chose this moment to come to the academy to sell your sweetened water, but now I truly understand—you need the academy’s resources to conduct your social experiment here. That’s something even the Stert royal family can’t provide you.”

“But I also believe you want to do far more than this.”

“Are you going to continue?”

Carlos watched Su Ziye silently, awaiting his answer.

Su Ziye met Carlos’s gaze, his black hair and eyes unchanged, his true face always concealed beneath this guise.

“Yes,” he answered simply.