Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Magistrate Zheng led the two to Murong Zhe's residence. After Magistrate Zheng identified himself to the gatekeeper, the group was invited to sit in the flower hall in the front courtyard and have tea.

Less than ten minutes later, Xia Yu and the others saw a general dressed in full armor stride in from outside.

The group quickly stood up and bowed to Lord Murong.

"Haha, gentlemen, no need for such formalities. Lord, Lord, I have long admired your names! Please, have a seat."

After everyone was seated again, tea was served once more. Only then did Murong Zhe speak.

"I wonder why you all came together today? Is there something you need?"

“Lord Murong, it’s like this. Our ship has reached this point and found that the water is too shallow to pass further ahead. So our only option is to travel by land, but our ship is loaded with grain. I would like to ask if you could send a troop of soldiers to escort us to Ming’an County. Otherwise, I’m afraid there might be problems along the way.” Zhang Youtie briefly explained his predicament and request.

After listening to Zhang Youtie's words, Murong Zhe stroked his stubble and thought for a while before speaking.

"Yes, many places have suffered from drought this year, and there is a shortage of food. It is indeed unsafe for you to travel with food, my lord. How about this, I will send a team of twenty elite soldiers to escort you home. What do you think?"

"Sir, twenty men might not be enough. We have too much food. Could you give us another team?" Zhang Youtie said, though he was embarrassed.

"How many?" Murong Fu asked, his eyes filled with doubt.

"This time, we bought about a million jin (500,000 catties) of corn cobs and corn cobs," said Zhang Youtie.

Murong Zhe gasped upon hearing the number he mentioned; it was incredibly high. However, he immediately thought of something else and asked...

"Your Excellency just said that the corn you bought all had the cobs on?"

“Yes, they all have cores.” Zhang Youtie nodded in response.

"I wonder if you sell these corn cobs?" Murong Zhe asked again.

Zhang Youtie understood his meaning after a moment's thought and asked...

"Sir, do you intend to feed the horses corncobs?"

"Indeed, to be honest, Your Excellency, this year, due to poor harvests in many places, the food supply to the military camp has not been timely in the past two months, and there is a shortage of fodder for the warhorses. So I was thinking that your corn cobs would be used for firewood if you took them back. Do you think you could sell them to the military camp? Of course, you don't need to worry about the money. I will report this matter to the court, and there will be no shortage of money."

“My lord, you misunderstand. I’m not worried about the money. The corn is still on the cob. I need to take it back and thresh it before I can bring the corncobs back. I can’t accept the money either. I’ll just give the corncobs to the warhorses in the general’s camp.” Zhang Youtie waved his hand, and hundreds of thousands of kilograms of corncobs were sent out.

"Oh, it's too much trouble to take them back and thresh them again. I have 20,000 soldiers stationed here. Take them to the camp, and they can all be threshed in a day or two. What do you think of my idea, Your Excellency?" Murong Zhe asked Zhang Youtie with a smile.

"Huh? Wouldn't it be inappropriate to have the soldiers do this?" Zhang Youtie hesitated.

"How could it be bad? The soldiers were all conscripted from the farms. Didn't they do the same work at home? It's settled then. I'll send a cart to your boat to pick up the corn, thresh it for you, and then I'll send soldiers to escort you back. How does that sound?"

"Even so, I thank General Murong in advance." Zhang Youtie stood up and bowed to Murong Zhe.

"My lord, I should be thanking you. With your corncobs, I no longer have to worry about the rations for the warhorses in the camp. Hahaha, I should be thanking you!" Murong Zhe happily patted Zhang Youtie's shoulder a few times.

Seeing that he had nothing more to do, Magistrate Zheng made an excuse that he had official business to attend to and left. Zhang Youtie naturally thanked him again before letting him go.

After Magistrate Zheng left, Murong Zhe sent his deputy to the military camp to relay an order, commanding them to drive horse-drawn carts capable of carrying grain to the dock.

Then he looked at Zhang Youtie and Xia Yudao

"My lord, my lady, shall we go to the dock?"

"please"

"please"

Murong Zhe rode his horse, while Zhang Youtie and Xia Yu rode in the same carriage they had come in, and the group headed towards the dock in Ming'an County.

On the carriage, Xia Yu closed her eyes and began planting grain in her spatial dimension again. She wanted to take the opportunity to put some more corn on the ship. The soldiers in the military camp helped them thresh the million catties of corn; they couldn't just leave with the grain like that. They had to send some out.

Xia Yu sighed inwardly. Luckily, the grain in her house wasn't actually bought, otherwise she would have suffered a huge loss.

Upon arriving at the dock, Zhang Youtie kept Murong Zhe company while Xia Yu boarded a ship to inform the Zhang family of the situation. She then went to the ships carrying grain and recounted her father's discussion with Murong Zhe to the crew.

"You guys stay up here and keep watch, I'll go take a look inside the cabin," Xia Yu said to the people on the ship.

After Xia Yu went to the cabin, the ship's crew exchanged glances and then tacitly went to the deck to spread out around, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

They were all Captain Ding's men. Captain Ding had given them instructions before they arrived: if the village lord wanted to go into the cabin by himself, they were to disembark or stand on the deck to protect him. As for the rest, if they wanted to live, they shouldn't look at or think about it.

Xia Yu boarded all five boats one by one. This time, she didn't put too much in each cabin, so from the outside, the water level of the boats didn't appear to be a problem.

The soldiers from the military camp arrived quickly, bringing with them more than thirty horse-drawn carts carrying grain.