"Hello, Miss Xie!"

Chen Yuan felt that Xie Wanwan looked familiar. If it weren't for that scar on her face, she would probably be an absolute beauty. What a pity.

"Young Master Shen, this chopped chili fish head is a new dish at our Fu Man Lou restaurant. Please try it."

"You're too kind, Madam Su."

Shen Yuan had eaten at Fu Man Lou in the capital, where the food was exceptional. He wondered if the food in this remote county town could replicate that flavor.

The same dishes taste better here, and the cooking is better.

"Indeed, it surpasses even those in the capital."

Since the man had come from a great distance, Su Luo waited until he had finished eating before starting to talk about serious matters.

“Young Master Shen, I have carefully measured that to make cotton clothes, a smaller size requires eight ounces of cotton, a normal-sized man needs one pound of cotton, and a very large man needs one pound and two ounces.”

I don't have much cotton; at this rate, it's only enough to make about 100,000 cotton-padded coats.

Her 90 mu of cotton fields had a high yield this year, with an estimated yield of 600 kilograms per mu.

She sells cotton for thirty wen per jin, and can earn more than three thousand taels of silver just from cotton.

If she and Shen Yuan were to make cotton-padded clothes together, they would only earn more.

“It doesn’t matter. We have enough to make 100,000 pieces, so we’ll make 100,000 pieces first.”

Su Luo frowned. Why wasn't this young master Shen in a hurry at all? The imperial court wanted to produce 300,000 pieces.

"But……"

Shen Yuan picked up the jade pendant in his hand; he knew what Su Luo was thinking.

“Madam Su, I know more about dealing with the imperial court than you do. There are many intricacies involved, both real and deceptive. If I hadn’t figured them out, my Shen family would have lost our position as imperial merchants long ago.”

Su Luo didn't understand the political situation and knew that cooperating with the court was not a simple matter, but earning money from the court was the fastest way.

"What does Young Master Shen mean?"

"Lady Su, did the imperial court specify a delivery date in the secret letter you received?"

Su Luo reached into her sleeve and took out a secret letter from her spatial storage.

It only says "make as soon as possible" but doesn't specify a delivery date.

"No!"

Shen Yuan took the letter from Su Luo's hand, glanced at it, and then smiled.

"This is the usual practice of the imperial court. But don't worry, these 300,000 cotton-padded coats will be made by the two of us. I might as well tell you some truly useful information."

I bribed a palace eunuch, who was His Majesty's close attendant, and heard some information from him, along with my own speculations about the political situation.

"We only need to produce 100,000 cotton-padded coats in the next two months, and then transport them to the border in batches. That will achieve the imperial court's objective."

Su Luo hadn't expected the twists and turns involved.

"Then what?"

Shen Yuan continued, "Since Madam Su owns two estates, she should know that the imperial court has recently been collecting taxes from the people."

At the same time, they also purchased large quantities of grain. If nothing unexpected happened, when buying the grain, someone would specifically say it was to be purchased for the soldiers on the border.

Last night, it seems that Butler Shi relayed Master Ma's words to her in this way: that this year's new rice should be bought for the soldiers fighting on the border.

In this way, combined with what Shen Yuan just said, Su Luo could probably guess some things.

"Young Master Shen, the imperial court is buying up large quantities of grain, and presumably the second crop of rice is being promoted for planting everywhere. We will make cotton-padded clothes."

One hundred thousand items were transported to the border in batches. The enemy thought we had abundant provisions and even cotton-padded clothes to keep warm. The political situation in the court will probably change this winter.

Shen Yuan laughed heartily, raised his wine cup, and said, "Talking to a smart person is so easy, no wonder the third..."

Stopping the conversation, she continued, "No wonder Nangong Qing always praises you as the smartest woman in the world."

"Come, Madam Su, Miss Xie, I, Shen, respectfully greet you both."

If that's the case, then she can produce 100,000 cotton-padded coats this year, and the remaining 200,000 can be made by growing cotton again next year.

Suddenly, Su Luo realized that two estates were not enough; she needed to buy several more.

After lunch, the two of them took Shen Yuan to the courtyard they had rented to store cotton.

Let Shen Yuan look at the cotton. There are a hundred workers here, some cleaning and removing the seeds from the cotton, and others carding the cotton. Each has their own workstation.

“Young Master Shen, Miss Xie is in charge of Wanxiu Pavilion. She will be in charge of all matters related to cotton from now on.”

Xie Wanwan bowed slightly, "Young Master Shen, I hope you will give me your guidance in the future."

"Miss Xie, you flatter me."

Shen Yuan picked up a handful of fluffed cotton; the fine fibers were clearly visible, making it a good thing to keep warm.

"Lady Su, you said in your letter that this cotton can be made into cloth?"

"Of course, but don't even think about weaving this year."

However, cotton fabric, woven from cotton, is soft and breathable, and while it's not yet available in Nanning, it will undoubtedly become a highly sought-after material in the future.

The three then discussed the making of cotton-padded clothes, something Xie Wanwan knew more about than Su Luo.

Wanxiu Pavilion will start making cotton-padded clothes tomorrow, and Shenyuan will also transport cotton to other embroidery workshops for production.

His family has businesses all over Nanning. With him around, it would take two months to produce 100,000 cotton-padded coats.

"Young Master Shen, now that we've reached an agreement, it's getting late. How about we head to Fu Man Lou for dinner first?"

Shen Yuan only brought two attendants with him this time. It's almost the end of the year, so he took the opportunity to inspect all of his family's businesses.

“Miss Su, besides checking on the cotton, I have another reason for coming here. Nangong Qing told me that the Changping soy sauce from your Changping Village is a really good condiment.”

"You are the largest shareholder of the soy sauce factory. Would you be interested in cooperating with our chamber of commerce?"

Yes, if the soy sauce company had partnered with the Shen's Chamber of Commerce, things would be very different now.

Their business spans the entire country. If you wholesale soy sauce to them, it will reach every household across the country within six months.

"In that case, the dishes prepared in my humble kitchen are quite good. Young Master Shen can stay here tonight."

"Please, Madam Su..."

She arrived at Changping Village with Shen Yuan and her two attendants.

Let's go visit the soy sauce factory together; the village chief and the others are there too.

After chatting for a while, they signed a contract with Shen Yuan.

He is now Changping Soy Sauce's biggest customer.

"Young Master Shen, with your deposit, we will definitely be able to make 100,000 jin of soy sauce for you by the beginning of next year."

This is a document from the Shen Clan Chamber of Commerce; it even has their official seal on it.

So far this year, Changping Village has three drying yards, and people in the vicinity know that Changping Village harvests soybeans, so they have planted a lot and brought them over to sell.

The soy sauce business is booming.

"Village Chief Li, this is our first time cooperating. We have a long road ahead of us."

"That's right, that's right. It's a blessing for our village to be able to cooperate with the Shen Clan Chamber of Commerce."

After securing another order, Su Luo took Shen Yuan back to the Chen residence. After dinner, she asked Su You to tidy up their rooms.

After a long day, let Shen Yuan get some rest.