Xu Rao nodded and said, "That's true. We can rest assured about the old lady. Your mother and I can make decisions for you. But if the Marquis and his wife insist on interfering, we can't make things too ugly. Otherwise, they'll label us as unfilial, and that would be a real problem for us."

Xu Di sighed and said, "I really don't know what's wrong with people. These kids are only a few years old, and they're already in a hurry to get engaged. Teenagers are not even adults yet, and they're already expected to get married and have children. Wouldn't it be better to do something else with that kind of energy?"

Xu Rao smiled and said, "Settling down and starting a career is all about starting a family first, then building a career."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "If you classmates who are busy in the lab until they are thirty years old and still not married were put here, you would be weirdos. Xu Di, if you meet a suitable girl, it would be better to settle down as soon as possible. Even if you don't get married yet, you can find someone seven or eight years younger than you and marry her when she comes of age. That would be just right."

Xu Di said, "Let's not talk about that for now. I don't even know what kind of person I'm looking for. Let me help my father figure out what these grains and vegetables are first."

Xu Rao said, "This is the real business. You two don't know how much pressure I've been under to promote this wheat. I even made a pledge to Li, the registrar, and Qian, the county magistrate. Now I'm just hoping that God will be kind to me this year and that the weather will be good so that the people can harvest more grain."

Xu Di said, "I don't think we can rely solely on the weather. We need to focus on the county's economy, and we also need to build basic farmland infrastructure in the villages. Let's see what rivers or lakes are nearby. Should we find a suitable place to build a reservoir? It doesn't need to be too big. If there is a drought, we can release some water to irrigate the crops downstream."

Xu Rao said, "I've discussed this matter with Clerk Li and the others, but we don't have any money, so we can't do anything."

Xu Di said, "Father, can you tell me the details? What are your plans for Hexi County?"

Xu Rao took a sip of tea and said, "I asked your third uncle to transport a large quantity of tea here so that the border trade can be reopened. Also, I asked the Crown Prince to get some salt permits for your third uncle so that salt can be transported here in the future. These are all things that the grasslands urgently need. The Northern Di royal court has been recuperating for the past few years, and only small groups of bandits have come to raid the border each year. The Crown Prince and I both estimate that there will be a big move later. Our Hexi is the county closest to the Northern Di royal court. In any case, we must keep enough food, weapons and medicine in reserve."

Xu Di said, "Father, reopening the trade market is a good thing, but you also need to have enough things that will make the people of the grasslands willingly come to exchange with you."

Xu Rao said, "These two things are good. The young master wants to trade with some small tribes for warhorses, and I want to trade for some wool and cashmere. We can spin them into thread, weave them into blankets, and sell them in the south. Isn't that money?"

Zhang Zhaoci thought of those lightweight and warm cashmere sweaters and said, "That's good. There will definitely be a market for these in the capital. Otherwise, we can use these wool or cashmere yarns to make clothes and sell them. And those gloves and hats, if we make them nice-looking, will we have to worry about not having buyers?"

Xu Rao smiled and said, "The ideas are all good ideas, but it's not easy to find skilled craftsmen to spin yarn. Wool and cashmere are not easy to turn into yarn of various colors. They have to be washed and dyed. The prince and I have found several craftsmen and have been studying it for more than a year, but we still haven't come to a conclusion."

Xu Di looked at his parents, whose eyes were burning with anticipation, and sighed, saying, "Dad, Mom, I'm just a bioengineering researcher. The reason I can help you grow crops and vegetables is because I was interested in this back then and spent a few days in someone's experimental field with a senior from the agricultural college. I'm really not omnipotent."

Zhang Zhaoci sighed and said, "If I had known we were coming here, I would have memorized the methods for making cement and glass first. I could have put everything else aside for now, at least we could have used them at home."

Xu Rao said, "You can't buy hindsight. If I had known I would be coming here, I would have talked more with the leaders who came to our school for further studies, and talked about what they usually do when they are in charge of a region. Unlike now, my values ​​are already set. If I want to realize my ambitions, I have to accept some ideas that I don't agree with, and at the very least, I have to be able to get along with my colleagues. I am already over fifty years old, and it is really difficult."

Xu Di chuckled and said, "Dad, you're not even thirty years old yet, you're nowhere near fifty."

Xu Rao said, "Don't you know how old I am? Sigh, this is really a headache."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "I also feel that it's a bit difficult for you, Lao Xu, but we can't really help you with anything."

Xu Rao said, "You have already helped me a lot. Without you, I really wouldn't know where to go. It's good that we came here, Your Highness."

Xu Di said, "So it really is because of my mom that we came here?"

Xu Rao nodded and said, "When Eunuch Zhao brought his men last time, there was a man from the Ministry of Personnel whom I knew before. He secretly told me that I was originally going to stay in the capital, but it was the people from the Marquis of Jingbei's mansion who helped me come here. Actually, not many of us from this batch went to wealthy places to become local officials. Some went to better places to become assistant prefects, and some even became county magistrates or registrars. These are all Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations)."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "Actually, I think we're doing quite well here. Although we're only separated from the grasslands by Yanmen Pass, Yanmen Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack. We also have the Weijia Army stationed here. If any battle breaks out, we can just hide in the mountains to the east and we'll be fine."

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