A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

After a brief standoff, He Jinghui sighed, "I'm not trying to stop you from going."

"But now that you've left tonight, the whole capital knows. What will His Majesty think?"

"Qi Xiu, you've never been so impulsive before, what's wrong with you now?"

Mu Nanzhao's gaze was deep and serious. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

“I know exactly how I got to where I am today. Even if I lose my life and fortune, I have to take care of you.”

All those who risked their lives to follow him, his close friends and allies like He Jinghui and Huo Jiang, as well as Gu Xixi and Huachidu Village...

He Jinghui was taken aback. "So what do you want?"

Mu Nanzhao said, "I'm in a bad mood, so I'm planning to go run a few laps at the Jinwuwei's training ground."

He Jinghui breathed a sigh of relief, but was almost completely exhausted. He reached out to lean against the wall and exclaimed, "Oh my God!"

"I was thinking, what if you really went crazy and got stubborn, and I couldn't stop you or beat you in a fight? Luckily, thankfully."

Mu Nanzhao led his horse toward the side gate.

He Jinghui asked weakly, "What are you doing now?"

Mu Nanzhao: "Go home and sleep."

He Jinghui hurriedly chased after him, "Wait a minute! It's curfew, I need to sleep at your place for the night!"

……

During the Spring Festival, Gu Xixi's whole family enjoyed tea every day.

In the end, three of the best flavors were selected. They were slightly inferior to the Fu brick tea that Gu Xixi had bought from the tea merchant before, but they should be about the same after being stored and fermented for a while longer.

Anqing had long been eyeing the tea business, but now that they had found the right tea-making method, they lacked raw materials.

He asked Gu Xixi, "So, is your next step to plant more tea trees?"

Gu Xixi nodded, "If you want to do this business, having control over the raw materials will greatly reduce costs."

"Let's stick to what we're both good at. I'll grow the tea, and you can handle the processing and sales."

An Qinghe was very happy. "Yes, that's what I thought too."

“But to develop large tea plantations, site selection and land purchase are probably not easy.”

“The seedling association has enough financial resources, but I don’t want them to participate. I’m afraid that you will be hindered by the association in everything you do in the future.”

Gu Xixi thought of what Jiang Mingyuan had said before and pondered, "If we can persuade the government to support us in acquiring wasteland, and with our investment, it might be feasible."

"At that time, tea traders can directly obtain the tea permits issued by the government."

"If we go further in the future and acquire the status of official tea, we can naturally participate in the selection of tribute tea."

An Qinghe was a businessman, so he naturally knew that dealing with the government was not easy.

But once you get through to that point, it's like getting a license to do business.

An Qinghe asked, "Do you have anyone in mind to recruit?"

Gu Xixi said, "Jiang Mingyuan."

She looked directly at An Qinghe and said, "If there is any progress on this matter, I will go to the capital after spring."

"The capital?" An Qinghe frowned, then understood. "The capital has the most prosperous trade routes and gathers the best goods of the Daye Dynasty. Do you want to go there to take a look, compare, and determine the true quality of our Fu brick tea?"

Gu Xixi said seriously, "That's right, I can only decide which varieties of tea trees to plant in the tea garden after the inspection."

"Only then can you consider how to choose future tea trade routes."

An Qinghe said excitedly, "I will go with you. Firstly, I can protect you on the way, and secondly, I also want to understand the tea-drinking habits and tastes of people in the capital."

"If the people in the Northwest need tea bricks that are strong in flavor, inexpensive, and can withstand prolonged brewing, what are the needs of the people in the capital?"

Gu Xixi had no reason to refuse, so she agreed, "Okay, I'll write to you in the spring to arrange a time."

She stood up and sighed, "It seems my holiday season is coming to an end."

The next morning, An Qinghe set off back to Yunling.

Thinking about the important matters to come, he had to take care of his current tasks, organize all his assets, and wait for Gu Xixi's summons.

Gu Xixi then went to Qingtian County alone on this day.

Jiang Mingyuan, who was serving as the county magistrate at the time, heard that Gu Xixi had arrived, so he immediately came out from the back hall to personally greet her.

"Hey Xixi, you were looking for me?"

Gu Xixi nodded. "Yes, I do have something to discuss with Brother Zichu."

Jiang Mingyuan, with his gentle and refined manner, said, "Please come in."

In the back hall of the county government office, Jiang Mingyuan listened to Gu Xixi's idea of ​​developing a tea garden and pondered for a long time.

"The Northwest is a barren region, and the imperial court has exempted it from taxes for two years, so the county government's public funds are already somewhat insufficient."

"If the county government can generate some revenue, and at the same time establish local tea gardens, promote tea trade, and open up trade routes, it will also have a positive impact on the local economy."

"But this matter..."

Gu Xixi asked, "Brother Zichu, please feel free to speak frankly about your concerns."

Jiang Mingyuan said, "I can mediate between the two sides in front of the county magistrate, but Boss Gu needs to present something convincing."

Gu Xixi said, "That's easy. I have a small tea garden right here in the farm you visited last time."

"If Your Excellency is interested, you may come and see for yourself. This will prove that I can grow tea trees in the Northwest."

“In addition,” she said, taking out a tea cake, “I would like to ask the County Magistrate to invite him to taste and evaluate it together.”

Jiang Mingyuan laughed, "You really did think of a way to convince me; you came prepared."

Gu Xixi joked, "Giving homemade tea to my own brother shouldn't be considered bribery, right?"

Jiang Mingyuan smiled and said, "Of course not!"

Farmland outside the city.

Chen Dafu was holding a draft ox, smiling more happily than if it were Chinese New Year.

"From now on, it will be our good buddy!"

Chen Dafu had previously introduced Widow Wu, Madam Wu, and their two daughters to Gutianzhuang. They were looking at the ox with great interest. "Such a big ox, and it's in its prime. It must be worth a lot of money, right? Our boss is really generous!"

Chen Dafu's wife, surnamed Tao, also came to the farm with her husband to work.

Chen Dafu's eyes remained fixed on the ox, and he stroked its firm muscles with great affection, saying with a smile, "The master says this is called 'you have to give to receive.'"

"If it weren't for our boss's foresight, how could the three of us be sharing 21 acres of land? We simply couldn't manage it!"

"You'll just have to wait and see if the landlord uses the wheat sown in the spring this year!"

In addition to the farm and the six acres of land nearby, Gu Xixi specially spent a large sum of money to buy a draft ox.

He even drew up his own blueprints and paid someone to build several labor-saving farm tools.

These were all things she planned to accomplish before going to the capital.

Each person who subcontracts the land takes turns using oxen, and with the addition of various labor-saving farm tools, farming efficiency can be greatly improved while saving manpower.

Therefore, Gu Xixi appropriately reduced the share of each mu of land.

Nevertheless, because there was more land available, the three employees ultimately benefited more than before, so they naturally had no objections.

Gu Xixi, as the owner, also benefited more.

Just then, Gu Xixi arrived and asked with a smile from afar, "Has Uncle Chen brought the oxen back yet?"

The group looked in the direction of the sound and were all pleasantly surprised.

Wu Niangzi's two little maids excitedly ran over first, shouting, "Aunt Xixi is here!!"