Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Xie He carefully observed his surroundings before slowly speaking, "Young Master, your land is fertile and has easy access to irrigation. It's a shame we've already missed the ideal planting season. You know, peppers have very demanding growing conditions. They're vulnerable to flooding and drought. They struggle to take root and sprout in low temperatures, while high temperatures can easily burn the seedlings and leaves. Generally speaking, planting in late summer is the only way to expect a good harvest."

Zhang Jingwei nodded slightly, and said with admiration, "Well, you're quite good! I wonder if you can get some cold-resistant varieties?"

Sheikh patted his chest confidently and replied, "As long as you're willing to spend the money, there's no seed I can't get! No matter what exotic, precious or rare species, I'll find a way to get it for you!"

Hearing this, Zhang Jingwei nodded in satisfaction. He turned to look at Wang Ergou standing beside him and instructed, "Gouzi, go arrange for some capable people to assist Old Xie. Remember, make sure things are done properly!" He then pulled out a silver note from his pocket and handed it to Wang Ergou, adding, "Here's ten thousand strings of cash, which should be enough for you to run this business. If you need any other money, just come to me."

Xie He bowed and said, "The host is generous. Xie He will definitely do his best!"

In addition to the basic residence, there is also a yard surrounded by a fence. From a distance, there are some poultry raised in the yard. It can be seen that Sheikh takes good care of it.

Zhang Jingwei looked at Zhang Liu curiously and asked, "Uncle Liu, do you also know this Sheikh?"

Zhang Liu narrowed his eyes slightly, recalled, and said, "Well, I have met him a few times before. This manor is not very large, and I am usually busy with work, so I don't bother to come here to check on the situation. However, I have heard that the owner of this manor is a foreigner."

Zhang Jingwei nodded with interest and continued, "Haha, this foreigner is indeed quite interesting, but I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Six, to take care of him in the future."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liu immediately bowed and said, "Master, don't worry. Since you've given me the order, I will naturally do my best to carry it out. I will definitely not slack off in the slightest!"

After inspecting the village, Zhang Jingwei was in a good mood. The only thing on hold now was the expansion of the camp.

……

Time flies and it is already September. Ma Tianmao is estimated to be back soon. It is said that Yunzhou has produced several successful candidates in this provincial examination. Zhang Jingwei guessed that Ma Tianmao was among them.

The students' return home in September wasn't a big deal, except for Ma Tianmao, whose servants had been laying out hard blankets from outside the city all the way to the Ma residence, handing out red envelopes to everyone they met. Zhang Jingwei stared at the city gate, but there was no sign of Ma Tianmao for a long time. The city was already bustling with activity, with small vendors abandoning their stalls to join in the fun.

At this time, Ma Tianmao was sitting in an open carriage, with his hired guard of honor on both sides.

Behind the carriage were the officials who came to announce the candidates who had passed the imperial examination. Thanks to Young Master Ma, they originally only rode two post horses, but Young Master Ma generously asked them to serve as his carriage. They had been officials for half their lives and had never enjoyed such treatment. It was said that renting this carriage for one day would cost them half a year's salary.

The scene was so grand that even Lu Hui and Liu Yanzhi were alarmed. Ma Tianmao was helped down from the carriage by his servants. Lu Hui rolled his eyes at Ma Tianmao and said, "As far as I know, you, Ma Tianmao, are not on the list of successful candidates. Did I see it wrong?"

After hearing what the governor said, Ma Tianmao retorted, "There doesn't seem to be much connection between a student failing the exam and renting a carriage, right?"

At this point, the governor continued with a serious face, "As students of Yunzhou, you should uphold the virtues of frugality and simplicity. Such wanton extravagance and wastefulness are simply unbecoming! If such behavior is not stopped, how can you become pillars of the country in the future?"

Ma Tianmao listened to the governor's admonition and nodded repeatedly on the surface, but he didn't care about what he said in his heart.

Meanwhile, although Zhang Jingwei didn't hear the conversation between Ma Tianmao and the prefect himself, he noticed the notice posted by the prefectural clerk. He eagerly approached to examine the list, only to find three names: one of them was Zhang Jingwei, who had been awarded the title of Xiaolian (Xiaolian), while the other two were students from other counties.

As for Ma Tianmao and those young masters who lived a life of luxury, their names did not appear on the gold list.

Zhang Jingwei frowned, puzzled. How could this happen? Was there something wrong with the exam? Or was Tian Cao's level just not good enough?

After the incident was over, Zhang Jingwei immediately went to the Ma family.

When Ma Tianmao saw Zhang Jingwei, he asked in surprise, "Brother Jingwei? Why are you here so suddenly?"

Zhang Jingwei looked at him suspiciously and said anxiously, "How can you be so calm? Could it be that you didn't even bother to memorize the test? This shouldn't be the case. How could none of you be on the list?"

Ma Tianmao shook his head helplessly and replied with a sigh, "Oh, don't mention that exam paper anymore! It's not the same paper we got before!"

Zhang Jingwei's eyes widened, and he raised his voice, "What? You handed me that test paper yourself! We agreed beforehand that the money will never be refunded!"

Ma Tianmao quickly waved his hand and said, "I know, I know. Although I didn't pass the imperial examination this time, fortunately I made a small profit at the Daofu thanks to this set of exam questions. I've been so busy these past few days that I'm almost exhausted! Brother Jingwei, how about we go to the brothel tonight and ask two of the most popular girls to massage our shoulders and loosen up our muscles?"

After hearing this, Zhang Jingwei pointed at Ma Tianmao and started to scold him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Are you going to take the imperial examination, or are you going out here to make money? Never mind. I'm actually curious, how much silver did you make this time?"

Ma Tianmao chuckled, stretched out two fingers and shook them, then lowered his voice and said mysteriously: "Not much, not much, just a mere two million taels!"

Zhang Jingwei gasped and exclaimed, "Hiss! So many! How on earth did you do it?" He widened his eyes and looked at Ma Tianmao in front of him in disbelief.

Ma Tianmao laughed triumphantly and said, "Haha, this is no small feat! In addition to the eighteen prefectures and counties in Hedong, I even went to Hebei to study. I didn't expect the news to spread so quickly. Not only did students from all over the northern region hear about it, but even those from Huainan came here to study. In just over ten days, I've raised the price again and again, but even so, there are still thousands of people vying to buy the questions from me. If conditions allowed, I really want to run directly to Shuhang Tuolu to print a batch of books and sell them!"

Zhang Jingwei couldn't help but give a thumbs-up and praised him endlessly, "Oh my, is this the legendary God of Wealth chasing after you and feeding you? Ma, this is truly an eye-opener today. I've experienced it all!"

However, at this moment, Ma Tianmao suddenly put away his smile, revealed a hint of envy, and sighed: "Alas, you have now become a filial and honest official, but I am still just an ordinary student..." His words were full of loss and unwillingness.

Seeing this, Zhang Jingwei patted Ma Tianmao on the shoulder and said comfortingly, "Hey, you're actually envious of me? How about this? I'll trade my Xiaolian status for those millions of taels of silver with you."

Ma Tianmao quickly shook his head and said sternly, "Stop joking, let's get this straight. You said back then that you only needed the one million coins. People should be honest, especially businessmen like us. You must not go back on your word!"