Upon hearing this, Lord Wang's face immediately brightened. He casually picked up a "Thousand-Thread Shrimp," chewed it a few times, and exclaimed, "As expected of Chunfenglou's craftsmanship, this shrimp is absolutely superb. It's crispy on the outside and fresh on the inside, with an excellent taste. Every bite is unforgettable."

Seeing that his wine glass was empty, Meng Zhao stepped forward to refill it. Noticing a sticky gaze on him, Meng Zhao couldn't help but raise his head slightly.

When Lord Wang saw her face, he frowned immediately, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. He impatiently took the wine pot from her hand and poured himself some wine.

After the meal, Mr. Li and Steward Sun, with smiles on their faces, respectfully saw Lord Wang off. The other maids also left, leaving only Meng Zhao and Xiao Youzhi in the private room.

Meng Zhao, disregarding formalities, simply found a nearby stool and plopped down. "Young Master Xiao, was Lord Wang just demanding a bribe from you?"

"That's right, they're really insatiable. They don't even want to hide it, and you can tell just by listening."

Meng Zhao's curiosity grew stronger, and she couldn't wait to ask, "How much silver did you give?"

"One hundred taels of gold are already waiting for him at the post station," Xiao Youzhi said calmly and unhurriedly.

One hundred taels of gold is roughly equivalent to one thousand taels of silver. Meng Zhao's shop only makes a daily profit of seven or eight taels. How much braised meat would she have to sell to earn that much silver?

She was aware of these corrupt practices in officialdom, but she never expected that the disaster relief minister personally appointed by the imperial court would be so shameless.

If I were to give him the cement formula, I would be handing him a money tree, from which he could potentially make a fortune.