The sweet potato candy had been dried in the shade and was very hard. Vice General Chen used a special tool to take out two small pieces of candy from the barrel and handed them to Mr. Hou and Qi Qige respectively.
Qi Qige raised the sweet potato candy and observed it. It was crystal clear and contained no impurities. Put it in your mouth and the sweet taste fills your mouth.
"Well, it's sweet but not greasy. It's really good stuff."
The old Marquis saw Qi Qige eating it, and then he put it in his mouth. Indeed, as Qi Qige said, the quality is still good.
"Is this what you adults came up with?" Old Marquis asked Banli.
"No, it was our wife who came up with it, but the sugar production was completed by us adults and General Zhang together." Banli answered truthfully.
"Oh, apart from fighting, Zhang Meng can also make sugar?" The old Marquis became more energetic when he mentioned his grandson.
Banli: "Well, General Zhang is following me the whole time."
Old Marquis: "Hahaha, this can be regarded as my grandson making sugar. Please leave me ten barrels."
Chestnut was surprised, "Ten barrels?" How many years would it take?
Seeing that Banli didn't reply, the old Marquis glared and raised his eyebrows, saying loudly: "Why do you still have any objections?".
Banli hurriedly leaned over to apologize, "Old Marquis, please calm down, wasn't I afraid that you wouldn't be able to finish the meal?".
"Who said I can't finish it? If I can't finish it, I can set up a stall to sell it." He had already thought about it. From now on, he would divide the stall in half, selling books in one half and sweets in the other. That's it.
............
Cao Xi's belly was getting bigger day by day, as if she had blown up a balloon. Qin Zhao wished he could stay with her every day, for fear that something would go wrong.
Qin Zhao leaned over Cao Xi's belly and listened to the little guy's movements.
"I'll go find the midwife today."
"There are still two months until the baby is born. Isn't it too early to look for it now?"
Qin Zhao: "It's not early. I'm afraid I won't be able to find him in a few days."
"Okay then", as soon as Cao Xi finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.
Xing'er whispered through the door: "Master and Madam, the meal is ready."
Qin Zhao stood up and helped Cao Xi stand up, and said, "Come in."
Xing'er walked in with a dinner plate and happened to see Qin Zhao holding a chair for Cao Xi. How could anyone not be envious of such emotion. She laid out the food.
"Is there anything else you need to give me, Madam?"
Qin Zhao: "No need here, you go down to eat first."
After Cao Xi sat down, Qin Zhao personally served him food. He now wished he could stick to Cao Xi every day, how could he let a maid be an eyesore in front of him.
Qin Zhao fed the food to Cao Xi's mouth.
"No need to feed me, I'm pregnant and not sick."
Cao Xi refused, but his actions were not slow and he ate every bite with relish.
Cao Xi ate his meal and said vaguely, "Team Sugar should be back in the next two days."
Qin Zhao: "We have received the news and will be able to enter the city tomorrow. They bought twenty carts of coarse grains, all of which were picked up from the Qiqige grain depot. The sugar was also sold to him."
"Did Qi Qige lower the price?"
Qi Qige is not a fool, and rarely shows affection when it comes to business.
Qin Zhao: "I pressed it, but Vice General Chen didn't agree and sold it for a thousand taels more." He raised the spoon and fed him another mouthful of rice.
"Ah, I didn't expect that Hei Tan could take advantage of Qi Qige."
Cao Xi was a little surprised, Qi Qi was as smart as a monkey.
"Our sugar is cheaper than the market, and the quality is good. It's just a pain, we have to distribute it. Qiqige's grain is also half sold and half given away."
Qin Zhao took a deep breath. He owed Qi Qige another debt of love.
"It's great to have a rich friend. When conditions improve in the future, we will sell all our products to him at a 20% discount." Cao Xi knew that friendship cannot be just asked for.
"Yeah", Qin Zhao said nothing more and gave Cao Xi a chopstick for each dish so that she could eat it all.
.....................
The next morning, as soon as Qin Zhao arrived at the government office, a government servant came to report that the sugar convoy had brought back a lot of food.
Qin Zhao hurriedly got up and walked out, "Has General Zhang notified you?"
"Someone has already informed me," the yamen servant grinned, wiping sweat from his hands.
When Qin Zhao walked out, the food convoy had already arrived at the gate of the government office, and the convoy was surrounded by people.
Each of them had a smile on their face, and when they saw Qin Zhao coming out, they automatically made way for Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao pressed hard on the grain, and said loudly to all the soldiers and people transporting grain: "You have worked hard, you are the heroes of the entire Luzhou City."
Zhang Meng, who came in a hurry, was also shocked by the load of food.
He excitedly walked around the various grain trucks, and finally slapped Deputy General Chen hard on the shoulder, causing Deputy General Chen to stumble and almost fall.
Zhang Meng: "Hahaha, good boy, since I have you, I know it is right to send you."
Vice General Chen grinned. Since he had a dark face, if you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't know he was blushing.
The grain was transported into the warehouse, and Qin Zhao and Zhang Meng entered the government office. Zhang Meng sat at the table, poured a cup of tea, drank it all in one gulp, and wiped the water stains from the corners of his mouth.
"I didn't expect this candy to be so valuable."
Qin Zhao also poured a cup of tea, which was not as bold as Zhang Meng drank.
"Master Qi is bleeding profusely."
After saying that, he seemed to have thought of something and laughed softly.
Zhang Meng was puzzled, "Master Qi? Who is he?".
Qin Zhao: "My classmate, Master of the Ministry of Rites, was also a student of your grandfather."
This made Zhang Meng even more confused, "Did he sell the candy for us?"
Seeing his ignorant state, Qin Zhao laughed.
"He bought it."
"Ah, how much does it cost for so much sugar?"
Zhang Meng was dumbfounded, why did his grandfather accept such a stupid disciple.
Qin Zhao smiled and said, "He was in business before he became an official." Qin Zhao didn't say anything more.
Qin Zhao: "I plan to divide the food into three parts this time. One part will be given to you to support the army, and the rest will be sold to the people at the purchase price."
"Can"
The two people discussed it, and Banli and Vice General Chen finished delivering the food and came back to report.
Zhang Meng sat up straight and asked Vice General Chen, who was standing in front of the table, "Did the journey go smoothly for you two?"
Vice General Chen: "The journey back to the general went smoothly. There were some little thieves who didn't dare to rob us because they were being escorted by the government."
"Well, you have worked hard on this journey. The old Marquis is in good health."
After asking about the business, Zhang Meng began to care about his grandfather's health.
Vice General Chen: "The old Marquis is in good health and full of energy. He even bought us ten barrels of candy."
"Ah, why did he buy so much?" Zhang Meng asked with his eyes wide open and a puzzled look on his face.
"The old Marquis said the candy is good, keep it and eat it."
Vice General Chen also knew that the old Marquis could not eat so much, and he probably felt sorry for his grandson.
He handed over the bill of goods and banknote, "Thanks to Mr. Qi for helping me this time."
Qin Zhao took it and said, "There are many people who can provide the icing on the cake, but few people who can provide help in times of need. From now on, all our new products will be sold to him at a 20% discount."
When Zhang Meng heard what Qin Zhao said, he hurriedly interrupted.
"Do we have new products?"
"Well, this time it is to solve the crisis in Luzhou City, so the sugar made is relatively simple. In the future, it will be more refined and there will be more sweet potato products." Only with a strong economy can we not be bullied by the outside world.
Qin Zhao took out three thousand taels of silver notes and handed them to Zhang Meng.
"Deduct the silver you invested and use the rest to buy bows and arrows and build a lookout.
The remaining two thousand taels, excluding my capital, were used to buy sweet potato seeds and build roads in Luzhou City."
"OK"
Zhang Meng happily put the money in his arms and patted his chest. He was relieved that his wife was back.
Just as he was told, Zhang Meng asked Deputy General Chen to find ten carpenters to collectively study the crossbow.
The prototype of the crossbow was drawn by Cao Xi, but she didn't know the specific structure.
Zhang Meng and a group of carpenters studied day and night, and after numerous failures, they finally made a crossbow.
With the first one, there will be countless crossbows. Zhang Meng increased his manpower and produced hundreds of crossbows in just one month. They were first used on watchtowers and soldiers patrolling the city.
