Jiang Qinyu tightened her grip on the chopsticks, wanting to refuse outright, but thinking of the soldiers and the people of the city, she pursed her lips.

The mall sells cotton. Whether you're a soldier or a commoner, you can make cotton-padded clothes by piecing together old clothes and stuffing them with cotton.

But how do we explain the origin of cotton?

Seeing her hesitation, Lu Yanzheng spoke again solemnly, "No matter what you do, I'll take care of everything. If you're short of money, I can find a way..."

“I have a way,” Jiang Qinyu interrupted him, looking at him seriously, “but I hope no one will ask any more questions.”

Lu Yanzheng nodded, "Okay, you just do it, leave the rest to me."

Jiang Qinyu pursed her lips, then pointed to his clothes and said, "Your clothes have a filling called cotton. This material is soft, absorbent, and warm. Most importantly, it is very lightweight. As long as you fill your clothes with cotton, the warmth will be multiplied."

Lu Yanzheng thought for a moment before asking, "But when I held the clothes just now, I found they weren't light."

The garment he's wearing must weigh at least ten pounds.

Jiang Qinyu smiled and said, "Because I made the warmest one for you, with a lot of cotton filling."

“Soldiers need to train in peacetime and are also running around in battle, so they don’t need such heavy clothes. Reducing them by half should be just right,” Lu Yanzheng pondered.

Even without using his internal energy, he would be sweating profusely while wearing these clothes; an ordinary soldier would probably be in a similar situation.

If you reduce the weight of the cotton by half, plus running around and having your own clothes underneath, you should be able to withstand the cold.

Jiang Qinyu said, "Each garment should be filled with about four catties of cotton, but you need to find someone to make it and work overtime to get the soldiers dressed as soon as possible."

“You don’t need to worry about that. There are soldiers in the army who are specifically responsible for making clothes,” Lu Yanzheng said immediately.

Jiang Qinyu was shocked. "You even have soldiers who make clothes?"

Did men in ancient times still use needles and thread?

“Yes,” Lu Yanzheng nodded, “The soldiers that Marshal Qin led all know a little needlework. Because we are often away from home, our clothes always need to be mended when they are torn. There are no women in the army, so we can only learn to do it ourselves.”

Jiang Qinyu understood; it was all due to the influence of the environment. If she didn't learn it, she wouldn't be able to go out and meet people.

“In that case,” Jiang Qinyu pondered, “why not just distribute the cotton and let them make their own cotton-padded clothes?”

Lu Yanzheng shook his head and said, "That's not appropriate. Some soldiers might leave the cotton for their families because they're worried about them getting cold."

It is highly likely that most of the people living in the border town are family members of military personnel.

"Then... let's distribute them to all the people!" Jiang Qinyu hesitated for a moment, then said with a pained expression.

Buying cotton increases the number of transactions, and the system also rewards points. She can then use the newly earned points to continue buying cotton, and with the points she earns from completing tasks to unlock the store, she should have enough.

Lu Yanzheng looked at her intently, and then said gently, "I can't let you give in vain. Consider these things as money I bought for you."

"Cotton is a rare commodity. How are you going to buy such a large quantity?" Jiang Qinyu rolled her eyes at him. "Besides, I didn't intend to give it to you for free!"

Lu Yanzheng chuckled, "So what do you want?"

“Simple,” Jiang Qinyu said with a smile. “You can figure out a way for the soldiers, and for the civilians, let them work hard to earn money.”

Lu Yanzheng frowned, looking at her with confusion, "But this still won't do you any good."

“Who said that? I haven’t finished speaking yet,” Jiang Qinyu said with a sly smile, “I want ten percent of the grain tax from the border town for the next three years!”

She has decided to promote various high-yield crops in the border town. So, the grain output in the border town will definitely not be low in the next three years. When she takes 10% of the grain tax to exchange for silver, won't she be counting money until her hands cramp?

Border Town is a special city. Due to years of war, officials sent by the imperial court often resigned, so all the administrative power of Border Town fell into the hands of the border town's garrison commanders.

Because the military pay of 100,000 troops on the border was a huge sum, the imperial court did not want to pay so much, so it directly allowed the border cities to reward the emperor for collecting taxes there, and the imperial court would make up the shortfall every year.

Simply put, the border town is somewhat like an independent government, and the current governor of this region is Lu Yanzheng, who calls the shots.

Hearing her words, Lu Yanzheng was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a wry smile, "Okay, I promise you, but not 10%, but 20%."

This idea is actually quite reasonable. If it were in the past, he would definitely not have agreed, because the border town's food supply was already difficult enough to feed the people and the border troops. How could he let Jiang Qinyu take away another 10%?

But things are different now. Jiang Qinyu brought sweet potatoes, which is what she deserves.

Now that Jiang Qinyu is distributing cotton to all the people and soldiers in the city, let's just say they are buying it on credit from Jiang Qinyu.

Sweet potatoes are worth 10%, and cotton is worth another 10%.

Jiang Qinyu's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Really? You can give me 20%?"

She was afraid Lu Yanzheng wouldn't agree when she said 10%, but he actually said he would give her 20%.

"Of course it's true. I'll draft a contract and stamp it for you tomorrow," Lu Yanzheng nodded with a smile.

Jiang Qinyu was so happy she almost jumped for joy.

That's great! She'll soon be a rich woman in ancient times!

It seems we need to think of more ways to increase grain production and improve the living standards of the people in the border town.

Only when the people here are doing well will she receive more silver.

Seeing the woman who didn't even have time to eat and was counting on her fingers how she could earn more money, Lu Yanzheng's lips curled up into a smile.

As for where she got so much cotton... does it matter? No, it doesn't matter.

...

"Did Uncle Chen really say that?" Ru Hua looked at Yu Hanyan in astonishment. "To tell you to prepare early, young lady?"

Yu Hanyan nodded. "That's what he said."

"Oh my god, girl, he's trying to kick you out!" Ruhua paced anxiously around the room.

Yu Hanyan was slightly taken aback. "How could that be? The general didn't give any orders!"

"My silly girl! Isn't Uncle Chen's meaning very clear? The general has a wife, so there's no room for you in the mansion!" Ruhua was almost frantic with worry.

If they leave the general's mansion, how can the two of them, as weak women, establish themselves in the border town?

Yu Hanyan shook her head, "No, the general wouldn't do that! He promised Vice General Ling he would take good care of me, he won't break his promise..."

“Girl, how could you really take these words seriously? The general only said he would take good care of you, he didn’t say what status he would use. If he doesn’t want you to live in the general’s mansion, he can just rent a house for you outside!” Ruhua said this in a somewhat exasperated tone.

Yu Hanyan was stunned upon hearing this. "Would he really do that?"

“Why not? If Madam doesn’t want the young lady to stay, even if the general disagrees at first, he will definitely give in to Madam in time. After all, they are husband and wife, and Madam can also help the general…” Ruhua kept talking.

Yu Hanyan stared at her blankly and asked softly, "Then what should we do?"