I played as an assistant in ancient times

"Thank you so much." Shen Changshou clasped his fists repeatedly.

Master Wu Qi glanced at the uncle and nephew and smiled cunningly: "If you really want to thank me, then give me something real."

"Fifty taels?" Shen Xiaoye asked playfully.

Wu Qiye was so angry that he said, "Do I need your fifty taels?

It was my eldest nephew who never gave up and was reluctant to leave Buyuan.

It just so happened that I had returned from Liaodong and it was not convenient for me to manage the affairs of Jizhou anymore. I had not been in Suning for many times, so he asked me to think of a way to let the Wu family gain a foothold in the cloth industry in Suning."

While drinking the hot soup, he quietly observed the reactions of the two people, and saw that Shen Changshou frowned slightly, while Shen Xiaoye looked as if he understood everything, and immediately put down the bowl and said, "Let's cooperate.

Times have changed and people forget things easily. The prosperity of Hexi Village is all thanks to Manager Shen.

This time, under the suggestion of County Magistrate Tan, I am planning to open a large one, and I have also invited Zhu's Cloth Shop in the northwest to come here to select cloth."

"That Boss Zhu?" Shen Xiaoye had a good impression of Boss Zhu, who was kind and caring towards his juniors.

Master Wu Qi nodded slightly: "He looked at the samples of cloth and cotton I sent and thought there is great potential here.

Moreover, because of your public rating and announcement, not only the price has become transparent, but it has also broken the delusion of the broker who specializes in this in the county to dominate the market. After he comes, he no longer has to compete with the locals in wits and courage.

How about we form a three-party partnership, using your reputation among farmers, the Wu family's knowledge of the fertility of each cotton field, and the Zhu family's unlimited purchasing power, to form a powerful alliance."

Shen Xiaoye lowered his head in thought. Shen Changshou said, "The locals are still rejecting the Wu family, right? And County Magistrate Tan includes the local weaving workshop. Would he be willing to allow a weaving workshop composed entirely of outsiders to occupy a large amount of land?"

"We don't occupy land, we just collect cotton and weave it ourselves." In the past two or three months, Wu Qiye has actually participated in the work in the cotton fields. Pests should not be underestimated. Planting 300 to 200 acres is feasible, but 3,000 to 2,000 acres will be difficult to manage with too much investment.

Moreover, cotton fields must be stopped and replaced with new crops after a few years to preserve the original soil fertility, otherwise the land will be wasted.

Collecting cotton from farmers is relatively simple and easy. As long as the price is not too low, they are happy to sell it.

He said: "All the people of the Wu family are new faces, and they are led by the shopkeeper Shen. How about that?

As for Magistrate Tan, I have convinced him that he would be willing for us and the farmers in the villages to purchase cotton in large quantities at a fair price.

Of course, we also accept cloth, as the border areas have a large demand for it.”

“This time when I was delivering goods to the border city, I met Mr. Zhu. His business is very extensive, and it is normal for him to deliver hundreds of thousands of pieces of cloth a year.

And he has been awarded the horse market permit several times in a row, so he must have some very strong connections. Does he still need to be a partner with my small cloth shop?

What's more, we are all outsiders to Suining." Shen Changshou looked at him suspiciously. He didn't have the strength to run a workshop here, but it was feasible to invest and cooperate.

Master Wu Qi said: “The trade route from Suning to Ganlong is too long, and his family can’t handle it.

We can't go north to Datong every time and then turn west to the road they are familiar with. It takes too much time."

Shen Xiaoye suddenly thought of something, "Uncle, what was Boss Zhu's attitude when you were delivering the goods outside the horse market?"

"Very good, just as you said, easy to deal with, speaks gently and sincerely, and has the demeanor of an elder.

He even took time out to take me to various trading areas in the horse market and showed me a lot of things. "Shen Changshou talked about this at home when he just came back, and he didn't mention this in vain.

After hearing this, Shen Xiaoye looked at Wu Qiye meaningfully, and the latter responded with a smile.

"Before I left, you two had already exchanged letters?" Shen Changshou finally realized it later. "So, what is it about the Shen family that you value?"

The last time Manager Wu approached Xiao Ye to discuss a partnership, he had no other choice and was anxious to keep the Hexi cotton fields.

But now that the Wu family’s land has been sold to a local wealthy family, there must be a deeper reason for them to discuss cooperation.

But he thought very quickly, and he looked at his niece and said, "A convoy composed of disabled veterans from the Beijing Camp?"

"Yes, Mr. Lu's motorcade is currently traveling unimpeded within a 500-mile radius of the capital." Master Wu Qi was quite envious of the Shen family for having such a helper.

In just one year, the group expanded from dozens of people to hundreds of people. Although many of them were missing limbs or fingers, they made a name for themselves in that year and no bandits or bullies dared to confront them again.

I heard that His Majesty also praised his caravan for clearing out the banditry in northern Zhili, and he should receive a share of the wages and food silver from the county governments.

"Why not, wait until Boss Zhu arrives in Beijing, then we can meet and discuss in detail. After all, the convoy belongs to Mr. Lu." After exchanging glances with his uncle, Shen Xiaoye decided to say goodbye first.

Lu Guan originally wanted to open an escort agency, but because the old soldiers received such generous monthly salaries, word spread and more wounded soldiers who could no longer fight on the battlefield came to join.

Hundreds of brave soldiers who had fought tough battles with the emperor gathered around him, and Lu Guan hurriedly went to Shen Changsui to discuss the matter.

These are the emperor's soldiers, even if they are disabled, what do you want to do by gathering so many veterans during the monarchy era?

After some discussion, the two of them reported to the emperor, and at the same time attached the initial proposal for the resettlement of the disabled soldiers in the Beijing camp, which was also reported through the channel of the commander of the Beijing camp.

The emperor was very interested after seeing it, and with a wave of his hand, he gave Lu Guan a batch of carriages and horses, allowing him to open up long and short-distance transportation services from the capital to various prefectures and counties in Zhili.

For this reason, the escort agency was changed to the Beijing-Tong Caravan without ever being registered, and the emperor was to take half of the profits.

Lu Guan was unwilling to do so at the time, saying that since the formation, the convoy and the veterans all belonged to His Majesty, His Majesty would have to send someone to take over. He was a boy who was still taking the examination for the title of Tongsheng and had limited abilities, so he would not be able to manage it well.

The emperor was very smart. He immediately understood that he thought half was too much. But if he really let him start the task of taking care of disabled veterans in the royal family, he would surely collect more and more in the future, and the expenditure would soon exceed the income.

Therefore, in the end, Lu Guan was let go and only 20% of the profit was taken every month, but the convoy could not accommodate more than 300 disabled veterans.

Shen Xiaoye felt that if he had any money-making ideas in the future, he must not present them to the emperor, otherwise there was a 99% chance that he would use them as a slush fund, as he was very good at intercepting them.

But the good thing is that the caravan is tax-free in any city it enters and can also stay in the post station.

Master Wu Qi must have known the inside story, which is why he got in touch with the convoy through his own family.

This is definitely a royal sign that can be used unimpeded from north to south.

So when Shen Xiaoye said they would meet in Beijing, he immediately said, "Whenever you leave, we'll go together."

Very enthusiastic! Shen Xiaoye was secretly happy. This attitude was beneficial to his side. "Tomorrow at 15:00, North Gate."

It is said that they returned to Linghe County after more than ten days, but did not wait for the expected Boss Zhu. Instead, they happened to meet General Cheng who came with his three sons.

Shen Xiaoye knew why he came, so she focused more on her second cousin Lu Guan, the elusive scholar.

But the eldest uncle Shen Changshou didn't know. When he heard General Lu coming to propose marriage, he couldn't help but said, "No, my Xiaoye must find someone with all the qualities."