Anger, Formulas, and Mind Games
After the loan sharks left, the atmosphere in the house didn’t calm down at all—
a storm erupted.
Li Tian’s father, Li Hua—a man who was usually calm—had completely lost control today.
“Do you even realize what you just said?” Li Hua shouted angrily.
“Three days! You think we can repay the loan in three days? Do you think this is a joke?”
There was fear in his eyes, but anger in his voice.
Li Tian listened silently. When Li Hua finally stopped, he spoke—calm, but firm.
“Father… I need two days.”
Li Hua laughed bitterly.
“Two days? Do you think money grows on trees?”
Li Tian looked straight into his eyes.
“If I don’t bring the money in two days… I’ll take full responsibility myself.”
After a few moments of silence, Li Hua let out a deep breath.
“How much money do you need?”
“Five silver coins.”
Everyone in the house was shocked.
But left with no choice, Li Hua took out five silver coins from an old wooden chest and handed them over.
“This is our last reserve,” he said.
“There’s nothing left beyond this.”
Li Tian lowered his head.
“This is enough.”
---
For the next two days, Li Tian’s world became nothing but process and calculation.
He bought sugarcane.
He did not follow the traditional method at all.
First—proper crushing for maximum juice extraction.
Then controlled heating—exact temperature, no burning.
Separating impurities—simple filtration, but highly effective.
And finally, slow crystallization.
This wasn’t magic—
it was an accurate formula combined with a scientific approach.
Two days later, placed before him was—
10 kilograms of pure sugar.
White. Clean. Shining.
Li Tian picked up a crystal and examined it.
“Quality sells itself,” he thought.
---
He took the sugar to the bazaar.
There was a large shopkeeper—an experienced player in the market.
His eyes immediately fell on the sugar.
“Hmm… looks good,” the shopkeeper said,
“But at most, sugar sells for 1 silver per 400 grams. Your product is new… there’s risk.”
Li Tian understood—he was trying to cheat him.
He smiled.
“Risk?”
Then he pointed toward the sugar kept in the corner of the shop.
“That sugar has a yellow color, a bitter taste, and high moisture.”
The shopkeeper became alert.
Li Tian continued,
“My sugar—200 grams for 1 silver coin.
If you feel the quality is lacking… I’ll take it back for free.”
People around them stopped to watch.
The shopkeeper calculated—
double the quantity, same price… but better quality?
“You’re sure?” he asked.
Li Tian replied calmly,
“If customers don’t come back… I won’t return tomorrow.”
That was the mind game.
The shopkeeper realized—he couldn’t lose.
“Fine. 200 grams for 1 silver.”
Li Tian smiled inwardly.
The entire 10 kilograms of sugar was sold—
and for the first time in a long while,
the Tian family tasted something sweet:
hope.