It's better to be an empress than a county magistrate

"Old man, don't you grow cotton to sell it? How can you not sell it?"

A middle-aged man said, "These cottons are not food that you can just leave for yourself."

"For a small village like yours, you can't even use one acre of cotton to make your own clothes."

"I took a look and there are several hundred acres of cotton."

"Young man, I won't sell it if I say so. Why don't you understand me?" The old man was a little angry.

Lu Xingchen still remembers this old man. At that time, they were being robbed by bandits and Lu Xingchen saved them.

This old man is the chief of this village.

This is Xiawa Village.

"Oh, Your Excellency the County Lord." The old man turned around to leave, but suddenly saw Lu Xingchen standing in the crowd. He screamed and hurriedly ran to Lu Xingchen and knelt down.

The villagers from other villages also followed the village chief and knelt before her.

"Old man, you have a very good eye. I was wearing men's clothes before, but now I'm wearing women's clothes." Lu Xingchen reached out and helped the old man up.

"Your Excellency, as long as I have met someone once, I will never forget him/her in my life..." the village chief said excitedly.

"I'm here to inspect the cotton and see how it's growing this year?" Lu Xingchen said.

"My Lord, let me tell you, I have never seen such good cotton in my life. It is really wonderful."

"In a few days, the cotton will mature and can be picked."

"It's so special to look at each of them blossom."

"This year's cotton harvest turned out to be a bumper season."

"This is all thanks to you. Thank you for your hard work." Lu Xingchen said.

"Everyone, rest assured, the contract I signed with you at the beginning of the year will definitely stand."

The people were very happy.

"Your Excellency, I am the manager of Furui Trading Company in Jizhou Prefecture." The middle-aged man stepped forward and said.

"My last name is Jiang Fangtu."

The man introduced himself.

"Hello, Manager Jiang, my name is Lu Xingchen." Lu Xingchen said.

Jiang Fangtu's legs went weak and he fell to his knees on the ground.

He was out on business and was not in Jizhou City during this period.

So I haven’t met Lu Xingchen.

However, someone would report to him all the major and minor events happening in Jizhou City.

Things have changed in Jizhou City recently.

A man named Lu Xingchen became the commander of the Jizhou army.

Because he defeated the Qiang siege of Jizhou.

Originally, he was wondering whether Jizhou’s business would still be able to continue if the Qiang people occupied Jizhou City.

He hurried back to Jizhou Prefecture after hearing that Jizhou City had blocked the attack of the Qiang tribe.

Unexpectedly, I saw fields of cotton along the way.

He just wanted to make this deal.

I didn't expect to meet Lu Xingchen here.

"I am blind and did not recognize you, the commander..."

Lu Xingchen signaled Jiang Fangtu to stand up.

She also needed a big businessman to open up trade routes to the south for her.

"I know about your Furui Company. Your main business is cloth business."

“But it seems that we also do some other business.”

Jiang Fangtu said admiringly, "The commander is really amazing. He has already thoroughly investigated our Furui Company."

"I saw this patch of cotton on my way back to Jizhou Prefecture and wanted to buy it, but the old man refused to sell it."

"Because this is my cotton, he has no right to sell it." Lu Xingchen said.

"Commander-in-chief..." Jiang Fangtu looked at Lu Xingchen with a puzzled look.

"Because in winter, the price of this cotton will increase."

“So I won’t sell it at this time.”

"Besides, Jizhou has taken in a large number of refugees, and this winter we need a lot of cotton cloth and cotton clothes."

"It is still unknown whether these thousands of acres of cotton will be enough for use."

Jiang Fangtu's mind worked quickly, "Commander-in-chief, can I have a word with you?"

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly and walked a little further away with Jiang Fangtu.

"Commander, we can do a deal. You know that refugees cannot use such good cotton."

"I can get you some inferior cotton wool and linen."

"Then you sell me some of the cotton."

"I have never seen such fine cotton."

Jiang Fangtu's thoughts made Lu Xingchen more certain that he was a smart man.

At this stage a person's talent is much more important than morality.

"Okay..." Lu Xingchen nodded.

Jiang Fangtu looked at her in disbelief. He didn't expect things to go so smoothly.

"However, I also have my conditions." Lu Xingchen's face was indifferent.

"Commander, please feel free to ask for anything you want."

Jiang Fangtu was excited. "Don't worry about the price. As long as I can make a profit, the price will definitely be the most fair."

"It's not about the price." Lu Xingchen shook his head. "My condition is that you, the Furui, must cooperate with me for a long time."

“This cooperation includes not only the buying and selling of cotton and cloth, but also the sale of other goods.”

"As long as it's something I need and you can get it on the Fury, you'll have to help me."

Jiang Fangtu's expression became a little more serious.

This completely tied the Furui and the government together.

If it were in times of peace, this would naturally be a great thing. This is the comprador of the government office.

But now is a time of war. If Lu Xingchen is an ambitious person, the things she wants to buy may not be legal or compliant.

The Fury and Lu Xingchen are tied together, which will definitely involve certain risks.

"As for the money, don't worry. I will never buy your products at a price lower than the market price." Lu Xingchen added.

"What if I don't agree to the commander-in-chief's request?" Jiang Fangtu asked tentatively.

"I will soon become the governor of Jizhou." Lu Xingchen's tone was calm, but the murderous intent contained in his words made Jiang Fangtu feel a chill on his back.

He naturally knew what being a military commander meant, which meant that the entire Jizhou was in the hands of her alone.

As the governor of Jizhou, he could not only manage the military and appoint generals, but also control all the officials in the Jizhou government office.

"I can promise that, General." Jiang Fangtu immediately changed the way he addressed Lu Xingchen.

"But I'm just a shopkeeper in Jizhou."

"If Lord Lu wants too many things, he will need our boss's approval."

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly, "I understand what you said. When you return to Jizhou, come to me again and we will discuss the next cooperation in detail."

Jiang Fangtu nodded in agreement.

Lu Xingchen spoke a few more words to Jiang Fangtu and then let him leave.

"Sister Xingchen, what did you say to him?" Lu Xingzhu was very curious about what Lu Xingchen would say to Jiang Fangtu.

It was a pity that they were too far away for her to hear.

"Just talk to him about how to buy cotton?" Lu Xingchen said.

"He is a businessman. He has channels and can buy goods from all over the place."

"I need Jiang Fangtu to bring all the goods from the southeast, northwest, and northeast to Jizhou."

"Let Jizhou's commerce flourish."

"Only in this way can more and more people know that Jizhou is a prosperous and peaceful place..."

"Once word of mouth spreads, more merchants will come to Jizhou to do business. There will also be more talented people coming to Jizhou to make a living."