Seeing this scene, Zhao Cheng was somewhat bewildered.

What does that mean?

Merchants came out of the city to welcome them.

This scene gave Zhao Cheng the feeling that he was figuring out how to conquer the city in front of him, but before he could even come up with a strategy, the city surrendered on its own initiative.

Recalling the resistance and hostility he faced in Hannan City and Jiangcheng, and looking at the warm and welcoming atmosphere before him, Zhao Cheng was actually quite moved.

It seems Yunmeng City is bringing me good fortune!

But having learned his lesson from Han Nancheng, Zhao Cheng, after his initial excitement, became wary of the merchants before him.

Could it be like Han Nancheng's Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, that they're setting a trap?

So Zhao Cheng became cautious and his expression turned cold.

After the merchants finished introducing themselves, they noticed that Zhao Cheng's smile suddenly disappeared. They were all puzzled and began to worry.

What's going on?

Does the young prime minister dislike crowds?

Or do you think our entourage is too small?

Among the merchants, the oldest, Boss Mu, stepped forward first, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Young Prime Minister, Young Marquis, we have arranged a welcome banquet for you and prepared some wine. Although it cannot compare to the currently popular Immortal Wine, it is definitely the most delicious wine in Yun Jing County. We hope that the Young Prime Minister and Young Marquis will do us the honor of attending!"

Zhao Cheng's face remained expressionless, but he said, "Having traveled all over the country, how can we refuse a welcoming banquet? We brought our own immortal wine with us. At the welcoming banquet later, we will follow local customs and drink the fine wine of Yun Jing County. How about you all enjoy the immortal wine?"

Boss Mu laughed and said, "In our Yun Jing County, this immortal wine is extremely rare! How delightful it would be to drink it thanks to the young prime minister!"

Zhao Cheng finally smiled, politely raised his hand, and said, "Mr. Mu, please!"

Boss Mu quickly stepped back, gesturing, "Young Prime Minister, you are a guest from afar, please go first!"

After an hour of welcoming banquet, Zhao Cheng still couldn't see anything wrong with the group of merchants. Everyone's expression and words were sincere, expressing their willingness to cooperate with Zhao Cheng.

These dozen or so big merchants unanimously stated that none of them intended to monopolize the business. Instead, they hoped that Zhao Cheng would give each of them a share, distributing the Immortal Wine and the Chamber of Commerce's goods equally among them, so that they could then distribute them to other smaller merchants.

Zhao Cheng was utterly stunned; things had gone far more smoothly than he had imagined.

Before we've even started working together, you've already planned to directly use your market channels and sales network. Does that mean I only need to be responsible for supplying goods?

Isn't this money something you can earn while lying down?

The smoother things went, the more uneasy Zhao Cheng became. He told Xu An to deal with them for a while, while he took the opportunity of going to the outhouse to observe the merchants from a distance.

"When things don't go well, there's distress. When things go well, there's doubt. Businessmen truly suffer the most hardships and doubt the most doubts." Suddenly, a man who looked to be in his early thirties began reciting poetry behind Zhao Cheng.

The poem was clearly pointed, and Zhao Cheng frowned, asking, "And who are you, sir?"

"Jia Shen Shen".

The man smiled slightly, pointed to the table where Xu An and Boss Mu were, and said, "Jia Zhong is my father."

"So you're Mr. Jia's son. It's a pleasure to meet you." Zhao Cheng nodded deeply to Jia Zhong. The people sitting at his and Xu An's table were the biggest businessmen in Yunmeng City, and Jia Zhong was one of them. Moreover, judging from Jia Zhong's status, he seemed to be only slightly less important than Mr. Mu, who was at the head of the table.

Jia Shen Shen's eyes lacked the shrewdness of those of wealthy merchants, but a trace of melancholy lingered in them.

"Does the young prime minister not believe in these people's sincerity?"

Since he had been seen through, Zhao Cheng felt there was no point in hiding it anymore and said, "You should have heard that my journey south was not easy."

Jia Shen smiled and said, "The reason why my father and these people treat you, Young Prime Minister, in this way is because they have heard about the hardships you faced on your journey south."

Despite Jia Shen's somewhat convoluted words, Zhao Cheng understood them more and more as he listened.

Could it be... that they were afraid?

Are you afraid that something like what happened to the Tu and Lu families will happen again?

"The little snake fears the big dragon, and the kitten fears the tiger. Since we won't fight, then let's offer our blood and bones."

Jia Shen read aloud in a rhythmic tone, like a half-baked poet: "The young prime minister first outwitted the three brothers of Liu Da, the Earl of Moling, in Hannan City, and later used swift and decisive means to bring down Qi Bainian in Jiangcheng. He also plotted a bloody upheaval in the Tu and Lu families. Such methods and such ruthlessness are something my father has never seen in his entire life."

Jia chuckled softly, then continued, "Young Prime Minister, you didn't see the look of fear on these people's faces when the news came that you were going to continue south to Yunjing County. It was like a banana leaf slapping someone's face while their face was shining, and dark clouds were streaming through the hall..."

Zhao Cheng interrupted, "Dude, can we make a deal? Can we speak properly instead of reciting poetry?"

Jia Shensheng exclaimed in surprise, "I've always heard that the young prime minister is on very good terms with great literary figures like Jin Yong and Pu Songling. I thought the young prime minister was just someone who enjoys poetry."

Zhao Cheng's lips twitched slightly, thinking to himself, "I do like poetry, but not this kind of indescribable stuff!"

Zhao Cheng said, "When I'm talking, a sudden line of poetry can easily interrupt my train of thought. Let's continue. Are you saying that these merchants from Yunmeng City are afraid of retaliating against me if they don't cooperate with me?"

Jia nodded deeply and said, "It's obvious."

Zhao Cheng frowned and said, "Why think like that? Whether it's the immortal wine I have or the products of the Eastern Chamber of Commerce, selling them in Yun Jing County will definitely make a lot of money. You are all businessmen, why don't you think about profits first? As long as you put profits first, cooperating with me will be a natural thing!"

“I’ve got it.” Jia Shen smiled slightly and said, “It was my idea to have them come out of the city to welcome us.”

Zhao Cheng asked suspiciously, "Then why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I want to get closer to the young prime minister and then ask him for a favor."

"I like this kind of direct conversation."

Zhao Cheng smiled and asked, "What do you want me to help you with?"

Jia's eyes darkened with worry again as she said, "I'm the eldest son in the family, and from a young age, my father and grandfather have designated me as the family successor, to manage all the family businesses. But I'm really not cut out for business..."

“You are,” Zhao Cheng interrupted him again, “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have thought of profit first.”

"Whether I am or not is not important. What is important is that I don't want to be like them. I've already seen the end of the road for merchants through them."

Jia looked at Zhao Cheng earnestly and said, "Therefore, I hope that when the young prime minister decides to cooperate with my father, he will propose a condition: I am not allowed to interfere in the business between the Jia family and the young prime minister."

Zhao Cheng understood Jia Shen's feelings, just like the Xiao brothers, Xiao Luofeng and Xiao Luomu. As the eldest son, Xiao Luofeng also did not want to become a merchant.

Xiao Luofeng's dream is to become a famous general, but what about Jia Shen Shen?

Zhao Cheng asked earnestly, "Jia Shengsheng, what is your dream?"

Jia Shen said with a hint of shyness, "Poet."