If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

He bumped into Gu Xinyuan as he went out. When Gu Xinyuan saw Zhou Wu, he looked embarrassed, as if he had also remembered the absurd things that happened last night.

"Hmm, ah, Zhou, Xian, Brother Xian, have you had lunch yet?"

"Haha, big brother, breakfast is pretty good."

Their rambling, irrelevant pleasantries made both of them very uncomfortable.

"Brother, things are almost settled here, so I'm getting ready to head back to Niujia Town."

Zhou Wu couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer and was ready to run away, since things were pretty much settled anyway.

"Is it in such a hurry? Why not stay a couple more days?"

"There are still many things to do at home, and we really can't afford to delay any longer."

"Okay, when are you leaving?"

"Leave today."

. . . . . .

"Master, Master. His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."

Zhou Wu had finished packing and was preparing to leave when a servant from the Duke's mansion rushed over to report.

"Lord Duke, Zhou Wu."

The Crown Prince was beaming; it was hard to imagine that just two days ago he looked like he was on the verge of death.

"See His Highness the Crown Prince."

"No need for formalities. Zhou Wu, are you getting ready to leave?"

"Yes, Your Highness, we have already spent a lot of time in the capital, and there are still many things to attend to at home."

Gu Xinyuan immediately felt that Zhou Wu was capable and responsible. However, the Crown Prince had met Zhou Wu quite a few times and knew him to some extent. His ability was indeed unquestionable, but as for his sense of responsibility, it was hard to say. He estimated that among the officials of Dalong, there was no one lazier than him. Therefore, the Crown Prince did not believe Zhou Wu at all when he said that he left because he had too many things to do at home.

"I heard that you two became sworn brothers last night?"

Watching the Crown Prince's mockery all day, the two cursed inwardly. In just one night, the matter had spread throughout the city. Originally, they had planned to laugh it off, but now they had no choice but to accept it.

"Haha, Your Highness is right. It is a blessing for me, Gu Xinyuan, to have a virtuous brother like Zhou Wu."

"No, no, no, it is my good fortune to have Duke Gu as my elder brother."

It's another case of mutual likes between business partners; how embarrassing.

"By the way, let's get down to business. Zhou Wu, His Majesty has already instructed me on how to promote the new grain, but I need your help."

"Your Highness, please give your orders."

"You've been handling the grain seeds before, so we'll need your help to purchase them again this time."

"No problem, I'll contact them as soon as I get back and have them buy in bulk and deliver it over as soon as possible."

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you. This time, Father will have all the permanent farmland of civil and military officials plant this new grain, so the demand for seeds is huge, and you also need to help organize the planting methods."

"No problem, I'll compile the methods and precautions for planting potatoes and corn into a booklet when I get back."

. . . . . .

Upon returning to Niujia Town, Zhou Wu immediately sent someone to contact Hu Sai, asking him to purchase large quantities of potato and corn seeds, and also to collect some vegetable seeds that Da Long didn't have. Hu Sai said it was no problem at all, but also hoped that Zhou Wu could help him out.

"Does the Hussein need a lot of salt?"

In his reply, Hu Sai asked Zhou Wu to help him purchase a large amount of salt and briefly explained his current predicament.

The country where Hussein lives is called Stan. In fact, part of Stan's territory borders the Great Dragon. However, as a landlocked country, Stan does not have abundant resources and is extremely water-scarce, so it has few salt wells and has to import most of its salt.

Stan and the Great Dragon Kingdom have a good relationship, but the Great Dragon Kingdom itself does not produce much salt, so Stan has to import salt from other countries, even if the price they ask for is far higher than the market price, they still have to compromise.

Recently, countries that import salt from Stan have started making unreasonable demands on Stan, even threatening it with salt. Stan's king stood firm and directly rejected their unreasonable demands. Although it was satisfying and cathartic, the salt shortage is a very real problem.

"This request is indeed a bit difficult for me..."

Salt is a commodity controlled by powerful and wealthy families in Dalong. He dared not touch it, or he would be eaten up without a trace. However, Hu Sai had a good relationship with him and had helped by sending potatoes and corn before, so Zhou Wu wanted to repay the favor.

Zhou Wu has been racking his brains for days trying to come up with a good solution to Hu Sai's problem.

"Well, if all else fails, I'll just have to tell Hu Sai the truth. I believe he'll understand."

Zhou Wu was talking to himself, but Deng Yuanliang overheard him.

"Sir, we have encountered a problem."

Zhou Wu glanced at Deng Yuanliang beside him. So far, Deng Yuanliang was the only one in his team with a relatively high IQ, and he had spent several years abroad, so he might have some ideas.

"Yuanliang, I need your advice on something. The Hussein's country is currently..."

Zhou Wu told Deng Yuanliang everything about Hu Sai asking him to help buy salt. Deng Yuanliang immediately fell into deep thought and slowly said after a long while.

"My lord, we could actually report this matter to the imperial court."

"To submit a memorial to the imperial court?"

"That's right. First of all, you certainly can't get involved in the salt trade, because as far as I know, the Dalong Salt is controlled by powerful families. If you get involved, it will inevitably attract their attention, which is not a good thing. Secondly, you don't have any channels to buy salt."

“You’re right, that’s exactly what’s bothering me, but why did you suggest submitting a memorial to the imperial court?”

"My lord may not be fully aware of the current grand scheme of the Great Dragon Empire. Let me explain. The Great Dragon Empire has only been established for a little over ten years. Just two years ago, we only managed to quell the internal troubles. Externally, the Great Dragon Empire has been striving for recognition and alliances from various countries. Although Stan is a small and weak country, it is still a country and a friendly neighbor of our Great Dragon Empire. Now that they are in trouble, they have come to us. As for whether we help them or not, that depends on what the higher-ups think."

"If the higher-ups help, then we'll consider our matter settled. If they refuse, then we've done our best."

Zhou Wu immediately grasped the key point; Deng Yuanliang's intelligence was indeed on point.

"Yes, sir, that is exactly right."

"Then who do you think I should ask to pass this message on?"

"Prince."

Without hesitation, Deng Yuanliang decided that the Crown Prince was the best candidate.

"Why?"

"The people you know are nothing special. Magistrate An of Jinshan Prefecture may not be qualified, and Duke Gu Xinyuan is not suitable as a military officer. So the only option is the Crown Prince."

Although Deng Yuanliang's analysis made a lot of sense, Zhou Wu couldn't help but feel that his words were somewhat distasteful.