Even if you ramble on about business, the capital, and countless other things, there will always come a time when you run out of things to say.

He Youyou glanced at the sky, patted her bottom, and left.

"Minzhi, you're busy, I need to go find Matthew Yuan."

A hurried figure flashed in the doorway and disappeared.

There was still half a cup of tea left in the bamboo tea tray, not yet cooled.

His slender fingers picked up the teacup, then put it down.

The person is gone...

I no longer feel like drinking tea.

He Youyou arrived at the Ma residence in a carriage, and suddenly slapped her forehead as she reached the entrance.

Oh no, I was in such a rush that I completely forgot Matthew Yuan was a street urchin.

She came in such a hurry, she didn't even know if she could catch him.

The coachman went to the gatekeeper to ask, and sure enough, the man wasn't there.

Searching for Ma Xiuyuan in the entire city of Jizhou was like finding a needle in a haystack.

You don't even know where to fish it out.

Theater? Teahouse? Restaurant? Brothel?

Anything is possible.

However, He Youyou didn't want to make a wasted trip.

She got off the carriage and ran to ask the gatekeeper herself.

"Was your Master Ma dressed in a scholar's robe or casual clothes when he went out today?"

The doorman replied respectfully, "Master Ma is not wearing a scholar's long gown today, but he is not in ordinary casual clothes either."

"oh?"

"It's the most fashionable look in the city this year, the most expensive brocade robe, even the boots on her feet are newly made, and there are flowers in her hair."

What flower?

"These are the peonies in season, just bought from Luoyang yesterday."

hehe.

He Youyou said to the gatekeeper, "Tell a servant to go and look around the alley near Shen's Dyehouse. If you see your master, tell him to come back to see me immediately. I have something urgent to discuss with him."

"What if... we can't see him?"

"If you can't see him, that's fine. Just leave a message for him: when he comes back, he can come to my house to find me."

"yes."

He Youyou didn't stand on ceremony and went straight in to wait in his courtyard.

The gatekeeper informed the steward, who knew that Madam Han and the master were close friends and frequent visitors, so he dared not neglect her.

While instructing the maid to serve him tea properly, he sent a messenger to find Ma Xiuyuan near the Shen family's dye shop.

Sure enough, Matthew returned in less than half an hour.

He met He Youyou's teasing gaze, looking somewhat embarrassed.

His gaze wandered aimlessly, drifting into the teacup.

"These servants... they really don't know any better... why did they serve you this tea? Why didn't they bring out my treasured jasmine dragon pearl tea?"

He Youyou was just laughing at him, but when she heard him mention tea, she quickly raised her hand to stop him.

"Stop, stop, stop. I already drank a lot of tea at Cheng Tingrui's place, and if I drink any more, I'll have to go to the toilet. Hurry up and get down to business."

When Ma Xiuyuan heard that she was going to get down to business and had no intention of making fun of him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He quickly sat down opposite her: "Mrs. Han, is there something important that you've come today?"

He Youyou isn't the type to gossip or be unreliable; she always prioritizes her career and work.

Making money is the priority; we can talk about laughing at Matthew Yuan and such later when we have time.

She briefly explained the government's plan to encourage land reclamation and the leasing of oxen.

Matthew Yuan was indeed interested.

"Okay, that's easy!"

He made the decision on the spot.

"Master Ma, won't you think about this more carefully? How much will it cost to raise a cow? How much profit will it generate after it grows up? And what if you can't sell it? Will it become a burden on your hands?"

"Madam, you may not know this, but in the past, because the price was low, the profit from cattle was not as high as that from horses, and there were no merchants buying them in large quantities. I also found it troublesome to raise them in small quantities, so I didn't raise them. Now that there is a big business deal with the government, I naturally want to take a chance. Even if I can't sell them, hehe... I won't be stuck with them."

What do you mean?

"If we can't sell them alive, we'll just slaughter them and sell them as meat."

He Youyou glared at him: "You're really bold. It's illegal to slaughter cattle for farming."

Matthew Yuan chuckled: "Breaking the law is breaking the law, but have you ever seen people eating less? Not to mention that there are braised beef vendors everywhere in remote villages and shops, even restaurants in the capital have plenty. The law doesn't punish the masses, so officials turn a blind eye to this."

"...But there are risks too." He Youyou, a modern person who abides by social rules, is still quite sensitive to legal risks.

"Madam, you may not know this, but it is illegal for private butchers to slaughter animals. However, there are ways to eat that are not illegal."

"How so?"

"Do you know that there was a poem by a prime minister of the previous dynasty called 'The General's Song'? One of the lines is 'A hundred fat cattle and ten thousand bushels of wine, a day of unbridled revelry.'"

(Note: This poem is by Sima Guang. Eating beef was very popular in the Song Dynasty, and the Su family, known for their love of food, left behind many poems and essays about eating beef. Emperor Zhenzong of Song was once very troubled by the fact that people were eating beef, but because there were too many people to arrest, he could not arrest them all. In the end, he could only issue an edict saying: "In the prefectures of Liangzhe, if there is slaughtering of cattle for food, unless it is done with the consent of the authorities, no one will be punished.")

Upon hearing this, He Youyou's mind raced.

General... Fatty Beef...

"army?"

Matthew gave her a thumbs up: "Madam is truly intelligent! You understand what I mean without me saying it outright. I was referring to the army, where eating beef is very common."

Why can soldiers eat whatever they want?

"That's because cattle are very useful in the army. Cowhide is used to make helmets, armor, and war drums; sinew is used to make bows and crossbows; and horns are used to make bugles. For example, each cow yields four ounces of sinew, and five thousand catties of sinew are used to make bows and crossbows every year, which means more than ten thousand cows. After removing the sinews from more than ten thousand cows, what do you do with the remaining meat? You can only eat it."

He Youyou suddenly remembered that she had eaten cooked beef in Zhao Changqing's military camp.

Both braised beef and dried meat are available.

"Hey!" He Youyou couldn't help but clap her hands and say, "So... you don't have to worry about selling your cattle! Even if the government can't buy them all, we can still sell them to the Ordnance Department."

Yes, cowhide, cow horn, and cow tendons are all things the Ordnance Department needs to buy.

Beef is just a byproduct.

It's military rations.

How carefree and happy he is!

We have people in the military camp.

hey-hey……

Governor Zhao, I've missed you so much.

Zhao Changqing, the "tool guy," suddenly sneezed...

"It's settled! I'll take part in the cattle farming business. Mr. Ma, let's sign a partnership agreement when we have time."

Matthew Yuan had no objection to this, and he highly recognized He Youyou's skills and abilities.

only……

“Madam Han, please stop calling me Master Ma. It's too formal. From now on, just call me by my courtesy name—Zicheng.”

"Alright, Zicheng, you don't need to be so polite as to call me Madam Han. Just call me Youyou."

Matthew hesitated for a moment after hearing what she said.

Youyou? Calling her by her given name?

She truly is a heroine, unconcerned with trivialities.

admire.

However, if I just call it out in private, no one else will hear me, so it doesn't matter.

"Alright, Youyou, wait for my message. I'll arrange everything and then inform you to sign the contract."