When Meng Zhao was a child, she always had a question: how did the pigeons in TV dramas know who their owners were going to deliver messages to? Did they have some kind of telepathic ability? When she grew up, she realized that pigeons don't have any special abilities, but rather two talents: excellent navigation skills and an innate homing instinct.
No matter how far they are from home, pigeons can use various methods such as the sun's position, the Earth's magnetic field, and landmarks to navigate and ensure a safe return to their nests.
Therefore, in ancient armies, many soldiers who went out on missions would carry one or more carrier pigeons with them. After the mission was completed, they would release the pigeons to send the information back to the outside world.
Moreover, pigeons are extremely fast, with common speeds reaching 80 to 90 kilometers per hour, and special breeds can even reach 150 kilometers per hour, far exceeding the speed of horses. Furthermore, homing pigeons can fly continuously for many hours, surpassing horses by a significant margin.
The reason for carrying multiple carrier pigeons at once is that the success rate of carrier pigeons in delivering messages is not that high. Pigeons have natural enemies and may be discovered and eaten by peregrine falcons, sparrowhawks, hawks, or humans on their way home. They may also get lost or wander off to other places because they are playing.
This is extremely demanding of a person's taming ability. Such talents are rare. I didn't expect Xiao Youzhi to act so quickly, already sending the person over and raising him.
Meng Zhao looked at the cage of carrier pigeons and really liked them. Although the cost of training these pigeons was high and the success rate was not 100%, the faster information transmission could save lives in dangerous situations, so the money was well spent.
After arranging for Gu Changwu to stay, Meng Zhao began to think about writing back to her parents. Looking at the stacks of letters that had been brought over, Meng Zhao knew that if she wrote everything down clearly, even a pigeon would be exhausted and still not reach its destination, so she could only try to be as concise as possible.
As for the matters concerning the franchise of the braised pork shop, she would let her mother and Aunt Feng'e discuss and decide. She was not in a hurry about the new products of Zhenbaoge. After all, the previous products had always been in short supply, and constantly introducing new products would only increase the production pressure. It would be better to slow down for now.
The most important thing is that the mining permit for Niutou Mountain has been issued. Previously, she had led people to mine a small amount of limestone in order to make fertilizer. However, the reserves of Niutou Mountain are too large. If the amount of mining is too large, Meng Zhao is worried that people will be jealous and report her. Therefore, she ordered the work to stop and began to apply to the imperial court. It has been several months, and the procedures have finally been completed. Although it cost a lot of money, with the approval of the imperial court, she will not have to be so careful in doing things in the future.
After writing the letter, she carefully copied it twice to ensure the handwriting was clear. Then, she called Huang Cui over, brought two carrier pigeons, and placed the letter into the letterbox on their feet. The pigeons fluttered their wings a few times in her hands before she released them.
They first circled a few times above the yard, as if confirming their direction, and then flapped their wings in one direction.
Huang Cui ran into the yard, staring at the direction they flew off in, her face full of worry: "Shopkeeper, why do I feel like they're flying in the wrong direction? Will they be able to fly home?"
"Tsk, I don't know either, but if it's trained well, even if it goes astray at first, it will eventually get back on the right track. Besides, the letter didn't say anything particularly important, so even if it can't fly, it won't have much of an impact."
She'll have to discuss it with her parents later and make a codebook. This way, she can not only reduce the number of words but also write more content. And if the carrier pigeon falls into someone else's hands, it won't leak any secrets.
Watching the carrier pigeons gradually disappear into the horizon, Huang Cui suddenly felt a little sad. "Shopkeeper, we've been out for so long, when are we going home?"
Meng Zhao turned her head and looked at Huang Cui, "What's wrong, missing home?"
Huang Cui nodded, "A little." Although they had said before they left that they probably wouldn't be able to go home for a long time, and they were mentally prepared, how could they not miss home at all once they were actually away?
Meng Zhao looked up into the distance, a sense of melancholy washing over her. She missed home too. The letter she'd just received had barely touched on business matters; instead, it was filled with her longing for her parents. After recovering, she patted Huang Cui on the shoulder.
"Then let's hurry up and get things settled, and then go home as soon as possible."
Huang Cui nodded vigorously. Although she missed home terribly, making money was more important!
Meng Zhaoxin's newly signed franchise stores have all begun preparations for opening. The stores are scattered in various surrounding areas, so how to deliver goods to them has become a difficult task. Just then, Gu Changwu came and took over the task. Recently, he has been in charge of planning routes and organizing manpower.
At the same time, Meng Zhao also arranged for him to handle some relationships that needed to be cultivated, saving himself a lot of time.
Currently, Shen Yun and Xiao Chuan are mainly in charge of the braised pork shop in the city. Huang Cui and Yin Chun, who work for Meng Zhao, were initially illiterate. They only started to learn some common characters by following her, but they still don't know many.
Because the greenhouses outside the city required recording various changes every day, Meng Zhao was too busy to handle it herself, so she called Wei Jinglan to help. Wei Jinglan, a lady from a respectable family, felt a little guilty for following her around in those damp and dark shacks all day.
Now that she had some free time, she went out of town to buy some snacks to take back as a treat.
Wei Jinglan picked up a pastry, took a small bite, and nodded happily. "It's delicious. It tastes just like the ones I had when I was a child."
Meng Zhao also took a piece of pear cake to try. It was soft and chewy, with a sweet taste and a hint of sourness, making it very refreshing. After finishing it, she glanced at the table and saw many boxes on it. Meng Zhao was slightly taken aback and asked, "What, has your mother come to see you again?"
Wei Jinglan paused, the pastry in her hand hanging in mid-air. After a moment, she nodded and gave a soft "hmm".
She already knew about Wei Jinglan's situation. She never expected that Wei Jinglan's belief that she had a sexually transmitted disease was not just her overthinking, but rather something her father had deliberately done. Meng Zhao felt heartbroken for her because of this cruel truth.
However, regarding the relationship between the father and daughter, Meng Zhao would neither advise Wei Jinglan to forgive them nor speak ill of her parents in front of her. After all, blood ties are like an invisible bond, which is difficult to sever even if there are countless grudges mixed in between.
She could only try her best to comfort her, "Jinglan, once things in Quyang are settled, why don't you come with me to do business? The world is so big, don't you want to see more of it?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
