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

The red-robed woman took out a silver note from her purse and added, "This is a deposit!"

Zhang Jingwei widened his eyes and said in disbelief: "What? Why only five thousand strings of cash? Our industry has a rule of 'fix six and pay four'! This is a full twenty stones, four thousand catties, you should pay me thirteen thousand two hundred strings of cash!" As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to gesture an exaggerated number.

The red-clothed lady, however, remained calm and responded nonchalantly, "This is the exact amount of money, no negotiation. Just deliver the goods on time by the end of the month." Her tone was firm and resolute, with no intention of giving in.

Zhang Jingwei was so anxious that he stamped his feet and hurriedly explained: "Oh my God! Today is already the 22nd! Even if we ride non-stop all the way, it will take at least ten days to get from here to Wuzhou!" Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he was extremely anxious.

However, the lady in red remained unmoved and said coldly: "I said, the delivery will be at the end of the month, you go and find a way to solve it yourself!" After that, she turned around and was about to leave.

Seeing this, Zhang Jingwei hurriedly stopped her and threatened, "Hmph! Don't force me. Believe it or not, I will report it to the police right now."

Unexpectedly, the red-clothed heroine just sneered and said sarcastically: "Oh, if you really have the courage to report to the police, you would have done it long ago. Why bother to negotiate this deal with me here?" After that, she pushed Zhang Jingwei away and went downstairs without looking back.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Jingwei hurriedly quickened his pace and chased after her, shouting, "Hey, lady, please stay. Could you tell me your name?" The lady in red heard the shout and said without even turning her head, "Humph, my last name is not Wei!" As soon as she finished speaking, she got into the carriage with swift movements. The coachman waved the whip, the horse neighed, and the carriage galloped away, leaving only a cloud of dust flying along the way.

Looking at the departing carriage, Zhang Jingwei muttered, "This woman is so aloof and unkind. I don't like her at all!"

At this moment, Ma Tianmao was sitting leisurely in his office chair. Upon hearing Zhang Jingwei's complaints, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly and jokingly said, "Hehe, I'm afraid some people don't mean what they say!"

Zhang Jingwei turned his head abruptly, glared at Ma Tianmao, and asked with concern, "Tianmao, how are your injuries? Don't try to hold on."

Ma Tianmao replied with a relaxed expression: "Don't worry, my external injuries are no longer serious, but the trauma in my heart will probably be difficult to heal!"

Zhang Jingwei's eyes widened in disbelief. "How is this possible? You were so badly injured, yet you healed so quickly? Are you still human?"

Ma Tianmao rolled his eyes at him and said helplessly, "Oh, alright, alright, let me tell you the truth, I'm not injured at all."

Zhang Jingwei was immediately furious when he heard this and shouted, "What? I saw her stab you with my own eyes, how come you weren't hurt?"

Ma Tianmao grinned and explained, "Haha, that's all fake. The blood on my body is just pork and chicken blood. You're a scholar, but you can't even tell the difference between human blood and chicken blood."

Zhang Jingwei was completely stunned. He pointed at Ma Tianmao and shouted angrily, "Well, you guys, you actually teamed up to deceive me. Why on earth would you do this?"

Ma Tianmao crossed his arms, shrugged nonchalantly, and uttered two words casually: "Fun."

Zhang Jingwei was almost mad. He jumped up and down and cursed, "What a joke! Are you crazy?"

Just when Zhang Jingwei was getting furious, Gao Jiong was brought in by Manager He again.

Shopkeeper He walked up to Zhang Jingwei with a happy face and said respectfully, "Boss! Gao Jieyuan passed the second test successfully. This is a transcript of his answers in the second test. Please take a look." As he said that, he handed the carefully bound notebook in his hand to Zhang Jingwei.

Ma Tianmao, who was standing by, couldn't help but show a look of surprise when he heard the news, and blurted out: "Gao Jieyuan? I didn't expect that you could really attract such a juren!" His words could not hide his admiration for Zhang Jingwei.

Zhang Jingwei quickly introduced him to Gao Jiong with a smile: "Brother Gao, this is the master of our Yunzhou East Quarter - Ma Tianmao. He is also one of the major shareholders of our military bank!"

Gao Jiong bowed slightly and politely replied, "My name is Gao Jiong, nice to meet you, Master!"

Ma Tianmao also smiled and waved his hand, saying politely: "Gao Jieyuan, there is no need to be so polite. The future development of our army will still rely on you!"

At this time, Zhang Jingwei looked at Gao Jiong and asked, "Since Brother Gao has successfully passed the second test, I believe he must have unique insights into the ways of doing business. I wonder if Brother Tianmao has any questions for you?"

After a moment's thought, Ma Tianmao said bluntly, "Those old guys always only ask theoretical questions about business and the like during interviews. This time, I want to ask something more practical. Our military is just getting started, so what should we do next?"

Gao Jiong replied without hesitation, "In my opinion, the most urgent task is to start construction and expand the business as soon as possible! Only by expanding the scale can we attract more investment and businesses to settle in."

However, Ma Tianmao frowned and retorted, "That being said, the current financial situation of the military bank may not be able to support the successful completion of the entire expansion project."

Gao Jiong smiled faintly and explained confidently, "Although funds are currently limited, as long as we expand our camp and demonstrate potential, we will naturally attract investment from all parties. As the saying goes, 'slow and steady wins the race.' In the long run, this will be the mainstay of military operations."

Ma Tianmao still looked worried and asked, "But if not many businesses are willing to move in after the expansion, how can we achieve the so-called 'steady and long-term development'?"

A gleam of brilliance flashed in Gao Jiong's eyes, and he said firmly: "Then we will create a business!" His voice was not loud, but it seemed to carry an unquestionable power.

Ma Tianmao became interested upon hearing this and quickly urged, "Tell me about it in detail!"

Gao Jiong confidently explained, "We can have the army lend money to the people while on the march, and stipulate that the people only need to pay one-tenth of the interest on the money lent each year. This will greatly encourage the people to engage in commercial activities."

Zhang Jingwei, who was standing by, couldn't help but frown upon hearing this, and his eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably. He thought to himself that if he continued with this approach, things might develop in a direction that was out of control.

However, Ma Tianmao was quite satisfied with this proposal. He smiled and nodded in approval: "Well, not bad, I have no problem!"

At this time, Zhang Jingwei, who had been silent the entire time, spoke up. "I do have a problem I need to resolve. Young Master Ma previously brought in some shareholders from other counties, but these shareholders invested in silver. So far, I haven't given these investors a clear answer."

Gao Jiong paused for a moment before replying, "Master, you're probably referring to the rice merchants, right? As far as I know, in Yunzhou, one tael of silver can only exchange for two dan and six liters of grain; but in other counties, one tael of silver can exchange for three dan and two liters. So, these large grain merchants are actually trying to use the military bank's equity to stabilize the price."

Zhang Jingwei nodded slightly and looked at Gao Jiong with appreciation: "It seems that you have done some homework."

Facing Zhang Jingwei's praise, Gao Jiong remained expressionless and continued, "But I'm sorry, I can't answer this question."