While they were procuring the supplies they needed, they happened to meet a caravan that traveled between the capital and Lanzhou and was returning to the capital. They asked them to deliver a message back. They thought it would cost some money and effort, but when the caravan leader heard that Yingkelou was the place, he said that he had eaten his last meal before leaving the capital at Yingkelou and that he would be entering the capital through Zhuque Street. So they had a drink together and he agreed to deliver the message back.
However, since they were not familiar caravans, the letter naturally did not mention anything important. It was just a report that they were safe, some simple greetings, and some observations along the way.
After reading the signature at the end, Meng Zhao calculated the days in his mind. The letter was written more than a month ago, so they should have already left Lanzhou and passed Liangzhou. They should be traveling at full speed along the oasis on the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains, because the caravan must reach Dunhuang before December, otherwise they will encounter the cold winter on the way.
It was their first trip, and there were bound to be many unexpected events along the way. Meng Zhao was worried for them, but even though she was worried, there was nothing she could do to help. She could only pray that they would return safely.
As for the shop where the Hundred Herbs Festival was held, it became the office and meeting place of the Meng Family Trading Company when there were no large-scale events.
The two merchants that Meng Dashan met a few days ago were newcomers to the pearl diving business. After some discussion, Meng Dashan acted as a go-between and introduced them to several well-known jewelry stores in the capital. However, because the order was too small, they only earned a few dozen taels of silver.
If Meng Zhao had sufficient funds, he could have bought all the pearls and sold them when the pearl market in the capital was booming. He could have made at least four or five hundred taels of profit. However, in that case, they would have to bear the financial burden of stockpiling the goods and have enough patience to wait for the market to improve.
At the beginning of the year, Meng Zhao had used all his cash to buy shops on Zhuque Street. Although he sold a few shops and became more financially secure, he then spent a lot more on building caravans, not to mention the dozens of carts of goods in the caravans. He had almost spent all his cash and could not stockpile the goods. He could only do some matchmaking business and earn some small profits and commissions. Meng Zhao could only lament about this.
As the year drew to a close, Meng Zhao finished taking stock of the accounts of several shops, raised the cash, loaded it onto a carriage, and left the Meng residence. When she arrived at her destination, snowflakes had already begun to fall from the sky. The manager of Chunfeng Tower saw her and hurriedly came forward to greet her: "Madam Meng, our master is in a private room on the third floor. Please go up directly."
Meng Zhao lifted the hem of her apricot-colored skirt and climbed the steps. She stopped in front of the carved wooden door, knocked gently a few times, and waited for a reply of "Come in" from inside before pushing the door open and entering.
The charcoal fire inside was burning brightly, and warmth wafted over. Xiao Youzhi was writing something with a pen when he saw her. His eyes lit up immediately. "Why didn't you let me know beforehand? I could have prepared some of your favorite tea and snacks." He stood up to greet her and took the cloak she had taken off.
Meng Zhao sat down at the table with a bitter face. "I just raised the money I owed you and sent it to you right away. If this money had stayed with me for a few more days, I'm afraid I would have been so heartbroken that I couldn't sleep."
Xiao Youzhi hung the cloak on the rack next to the fireplace. Seeing her looking like she was in a "borrowing money is fun for a moment, but repaying it will be a painful experience" mood, he chuckled and rubbed his forehead. "I didn't rush you, why are you in such a hurry?"
Meng Zhao shook his head and sighed, "I borrowed the money in January and promised to pay it back in a year. Now it's already December, how can I delay any longer?"
Xiao Youzhi poured a cup of hot tea and pushed it in front of her: "It's only a few thousand taels of silver. I know your trading company is in dire need of cash. You can take it and use it first."
Meng Zhao didn't drink it, but instead picked up the teacup to warm her hands. The rising steam blurred her features as she firmly shook her head. "Let's just forget about it. I'll keep thinking about this debt until it's paid off."
Xiao Youzhi's smile faltered slightly. "What, isn't it good to keep her thinking about me?" If he could keep her thinking about him, even ten thousand taels of gold would be worth it.
Meng Zhao didn't respond to the previous comment, but instead changed the subject to talk about Jiangnan. She planned to go to Jiangnan after the New Year to check out the market there, and then open a few branches of Zhenbaoge. The Xiao family had been deeply involved in Jiangnan for many years, and she could get a lot of information from them.
Seeing that she didn't want to say more, Xiao Youzhi didn't press her. Instead, he talked to her in detail about the customs and products of Jiangnan, from the best locations for shops in various prefectures to the comparison of the quality of different sources of goods; from the preferences of local officials and nobles to the fashion trends followed by ordinary people. He talked about everything in detail, and before they knew it, an hour had passed.
At noon, Xiao Youzhi looked out the window and said, "This snow isn't going to stop anytime soon. Why don't you stay for a simple meal? I'll send someone to take you home when the snow lightens up."
Meng Zhao thought for a moment and realized she had no other plans for the day, so she nodded in agreement. A hint of joy flashed in Xiao Youzhi's eyes. After leaving for a while, she returned and played chess with Meng Zhao to pass the time.
Meng Zhao taught him this game of Gomoku back then, and he lost miserably. He never expected that his Go skills would improve so much now. Sometimes he would set up a series of traps, and sometimes he would use feints to win a few games when she was not paying attention. However, he was still one move behind her and lost more than he won.
When the food was served, Meng Zhao glanced at it and found that all the dishes on the table were her favorites. Her heart stirred slightly, and she looked up at Xiao Youzhi, only to see that he was calm and composed, serving her food with his chopsticks: "A new chef has come to Chunfeng Restaurant. You are an expert in this field, so why don't you give your opinion and see if there is anything that can be improved?"
Meng Zhao suppressed the dryness in her heart and discussed with him the cooking time and seasoning of each dish. After the meal was finished, the snow outside had stopped at some point. She got up to leave, and Xiao Youzhi had no excuse to keep her. He could only take the cloak off the rack and was about to unfold it to put it on her when Meng Zhao reached out and took it.
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