Gu Yuzhi's eyes darted around, wondering if he could ask his sister-in-law, Consort De, to help him make a match.
Confused, he asked, "What does 'connecting the dots' mean? Does opening a pharmacy require connecting the dots? But we didn't see any dots when we went into the pharmacy before." He scratched his head and continued to press, "And also, Consort De lives so far away from us, how could she help us connect the dots?"
Gu Yuzhi racked his brains but still couldn't figure it out.
Wen Xiuzhu and Shu Xiaohan exchanged a glance, both amused and exasperated by Gu Yuzhi's series of questions.
Wen Xiuzhu cleared his throat: "The connection I'm referring to isn't about actually connecting you with someone, but rather about getting Consort De to introduce us to the largest medicinal herb grower in Sang Dynasty. Of course, if the Zou family can offer us the lowest price, considering Your Highness's good relationship with Consort De, that would be ideal."
By controlling costs at the source and having their own escort agency handle the transport, it's like taking money from one pocket and putting it into another, thus drastically reducing costs.
At that time, all we need to do is keep the price of the medicinal herbs a few copper coins lower than that of Li Ji Trading Company, and we can quickly gain a foothold in Changzhou.
Then, taking Changzhou as the center, we can expand to other prefectures in the northern desert, and we won't have to worry about not being able to do business in medicinal herbs.
As for whether Li Ji Trading Company would engage in a price war with them or secretly cause trouble, Manager Wen said that the store hadn't even opened yet, so why bother thinking about such things?
Looking at Wen Xiuzhu's smiling face, Shu Xiaohan silently uttered two words: "A shrewd businessman!"
However, having spent time with Gu Yuzhi, Shu Xiaohan also realized that the young prince was really short of money. Although the treasury seemed to be full of silver now, it would all be spent like water once the land was reclaimed next year.
The escort agency did start taking orders, but they were all small ones. The truly powerful and influential people in the northern deserts would not easily trust a basically brand-new escort agency, and they were also wary of the owner behind Li Ji Trading Company, who dared not let Wen's Escort Agency handle escorts.
It cost a lot of money to take over the escort agency, and who knows when we'll break even...
Thinking of this, Shu Xiaohan put aside past grievances and spoke up for Wen Xiuzhu: "Your Highness, what Manager Wen said makes sense. Next spring when the snow melts, Xinliang will need money everywhere. Your Highness cannot make Xinliang a success with only the escort agency business."
Gu Yuzhi cupped her face in her hands and looked at the two of them for a while before saying dejectedly, "Here it comes again, here it comes again, this feeling of being broke is back..."
He pouted and jumped off the chair: "Let's rest for two days, let's rest for two days. Let Chief Secretary Xie get some rest these two days."
Since Physician Qin has already lost his temper, if he were to rush up to Chief Secretary Xie now and cause Xie any trouble, Physician Qin's attention would definitely be on him from now on...
To Gu Yuzhi's surprise, a sudden blizzard struck the northern desert that afternoon, and it showed no signs of abating when Gu Yuzhi woke up the next day. He stood in the corridor for a while and asked, "Granny, where is Chief Secretary Xie?"
Granny Xu said, "Last night there was a heavy snowfall, and many houses collapsed in the slums outside Changzhou City. Prefect Qi came to see Chief Secretary Xie early this morning to discuss disaster relief."
Although Gu Yuzhi was young, he knew that the consequences of a building collapsing were very serious.
His face tightened, his good mood completely gone: "What about the people outside the city? Are they alright?"
His mother once said that a year before he was born, a very serious snow disaster occurred in Hedong. It is said that many houses collapsed at that time, causing many people in Hedong to be injured or even lose their lives. His father sent many people to Hedong, and it took several months to bring the disaster under control.
Thinking about this, Gu Yuzhi became a little anxious, but he didn't understand anything and had no idea how to help the people outside the city.
Because of these things, Gu Yuzhi was somewhat absent-minded at school, which made Chen Dianyi look at him several times. Finally, he couldn't bear it any longer and asked, "Your Highness, where was I in the story?"
Gu Yuzhi looked at him blankly, shook his head and stood up, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry, Chen Dianyi, I didn't hear you just now..."
When Consort Chen arrived, she had already heard about this from Granny Xu, and asked softly, "Is Your Highness worried about the snow disaster outside the city?"
Gu Yuzhi looked up at him, nodding her head slightly: "The snow hasn't gotten any lighter. Chief Secretary Xie has been out for so long. Is the situation outside the city very serious?"
He tapped his fingers, his head drooping as he said in a frustrated voice, "I am a prince, I should do something, but I don't know how."
Chen Dianyi felt very gratified, and his expression softened considerably when he looked at Gu Yuzhi.
If His Highness were an adult prince, his appearance outside the city at this time would be the best opportunity to win people's hearts. However, His Highness is too young now, and it is really unsafe for him to go out in the wind and snow.
"Your Highness's love for the people is the greatest fortune for the people of the northern desert." Seeing Gu Yuzhi blinking at him with a hint of grievance, Chen Dianyi couldn't help but squat down. "Your Highness, don't worry. Chief Secretary Xie has gone with the people from the escort agency to help with disaster relief. Cailian and Caiyue from the manor have also gone to the outskirts of the city to help at the soup kitchen set up by Prefect Qi."
Gu Yuzhi, no longer able to think about himself, anxiously asked, "Did Sister Cailian go too? But wasn't she just recovering from a cold?"
Cailian and Caiyue were maids who accompanied Consort Taixian in her dowry. They were only eleven or twelve years old when they entered the palace. They had been with Gu Yuzhi since he was a child, so their relationship was naturally very deep.
When Gu Yuzhi was "exiled" to the northern desert, the two of them only discussed it briefly before voluntarily following her.
“It was Cailian’s own initiative,” Chen Dianyi said. “The disaster outside the city is quite severe. Many people’s houses have collapsed. People from the yamen and the escort agency are all rescuing people. Cailian and Caiyue discussed going to the soup kitchen to help distribute soup. In addition, Chief Secretary Xie donated a batch of medicine for treating colds to the yamen in the name of the Wen family. At the same time, Judge Qin went along as the yamen’s physician and set up a clinic at the city gate.”
The manor has plenty of medicine for treating colds. Gu Yuzhi naturally wouldn't mind if it helped the people. When he heard that Imperial Physician Qin had also gone, he smiled and said, "Chief Secretary Xie is really amazing. He arranged so many things in such a short time."
Although the medicine prepared by Imperial Physician Qin was difficult to drink, his medical skills were superb. With him outside the city, at least ordinary people could be protected from the cold.
Chen Dianyi smiled and said, "Yes, Chief Secretary Xie's actions are killing two birds with one stone. After taking over the Longchang Escort Agency, our Wen family is now quite well-known in Changzhou. Participating in disaster relief in the name of the Wen family can enhance our reputation, which is beneficial to both the escort agency and the Wen family."
Gu Yuzhi's voice was muffled: "But I didn't want to do disaster relief for personal gain."
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