He Youyou even specially commissioned someone to make wooden plaques, one for each of the front and back doors.
Only two words were written on it—
"He Zhai".
When Butler Qian saw the plaque, he was stunned for a long time, and felt a slight headache coming on.
After everything was settled, He Youyou went to Qingxian Tea House again to tell the manager her new address and asked him to pass it on to Cheng Tingrui.
Two days later, Cheng Tingrui came to visit.
He walked through the secluded alley, quietly entered through the back door, and went into the corner tower where He Youyou worked.
Inside the corner tower, He Youyou had tidied it up completely.
The upstairs area is divided into two parts—an office area and a reception area.
A large desk was placed in the office area.
In the reception area, in accordance with modern living habits, several large armchairs were modified by sawing off their legs and adding thick cushions to resemble single sofas.
Cheng Tingrui was still wearing the same fox fur cloak and plain sky-blue robe. He looked upright and serene, like a piece of unadorned jade.
He Youyou invited him to sit down, took a narrow-spouted earthenware pot from the red clay stove, picked it up, and poured him a cup of milk tea herself.
Fresh milk with tea and some brown sugar, boiled, releases a wonderfully fragrant milky aroma.
"Have some milk tea to warm yourself up." He Youyou pushed the teacup in front of him.
Cheng Tingrui tried taking a sip.
The milk tea was very fragrant and rich, which masked much of the astringency of the tea leaves.
The sweetness was just right.
"What kind of tea is this?"
“It’s aged black tea,” He Youyou replied. “The milk flavor is too strong and can easily mask the aroma of new tea. Aged black tea has a rich flavor and is more suitable for this method.”
"Exquisite."
Cheng Tingrui didn't seem like someone who valued food and drink; no matter how fine the tea was, he would only take a couple of sips before putting it down.
"Did you need something from me?" He Youyou got straight to the point.
Cheng Tingrui twirled his teacup in his hand: "I'm considering opening a new trade route."
"I've said before, I won't interfere with the management of the caravan. If you're absolutely sure, then go ahead and do it. I won't interfere." He Youyou leaned back on the sofa cushions, sipping her milk tea.
Cheng Tingrui shook his head, his gaze as calm as a still lake: "However, I am not entirely confident this time."
"Oh?" He Youyou looked up from her milk tea cup. "If you're not absolutely certain, but still insist on doing it, then you're asking for a huge profit?"
Cheng Tingrui raised his head slightly, looking at the rafters in the corner of the room, his eyes becoming hazy and unclear: "Perhaps, twenty points."
VOCAL!
This piqued even He Youyou's interest.
Which one are you referring to?
"Go to the border."
"border?"
Cheng Tingrui picked up the teacup on the table and drank it all in one gulp.
“Silk from the south can be sold in the north with a profit of 10 parts; if it is sold in the north, it can be sold with a profit of 20 parts. Similarly, goods from the north can be transported to the south with a profit of 20 parts.”
"But isn't the border quite chaotic right now? I've heard that the Wuhuan people often come to rob us. Aren't you afraid of being robbed by bandits?"
"As far as I know, our army is currently in a superior position, and the Wuhuan people have not gained much advantage. In recent days, we have even repelled several small-scale incursions by the Wuhuan people. Moreover, this time, I will only go to the border trading areas and will not go deep into the heartland."
He Youyou keenly grasped a few key words: "You're going? What do you mean?"
"I will personally lead the team."
Cheng Tingrui is a madman.
"Won't the Cheng family find out that you're leading a team to such a far place?" He Youyou pondered.
Cheng Tingrui's sudden disappearance for so long must have alerted the Cheng family.
"Therefore, I will lead two caravans. My caravan will be on one side, and the Youruitang caravan will be on the other, departing one after the other. The Cheng family will only know that it is another caravan, and will not know that it is also my caravan."
"But you are the head of the Cheng family. You shouldn't put yourself in such danger. Won't the Cheng family stop you?"
Cheng Tingrui smiled and said, "Guess which is more important to them, money or my safety?"
"..." He Youyou remained silent.
That's... hard to say.
“I’ll go too.” He Youyou put down her teacup.
Cheng Tingrui looked somewhat surprised: "You?"
"You don't need to worry about taking care of me; I have ways to protect myself."
Anyway, she has a spatial dimension, so she can simply escape into it if she encounters danger.
The black wings of a falcon swept across the sky, its swift and agile form breaking the tranquility of the camp.
A moment later, a bamboo tube appeared on Zhao Changqing's desk.
Zhao Changqing reached out and took the bamboo tube in his hand, opened it, and poured out the letter inside.
There wasn't much information inside, just a short sentence.
"The mistress went to the northern border with Cheng Tingrui's caravan."
Zhao Changqing frowned as he read this line of text.
He Youyou has come to the border, together with Cheng Tingrui...
What is she doing here?
If you're coming, why did you come with the Cheng family's caravan?
Zhao Changqing only knew that the two had been in contact, but he did not know that He Youyou had invested in and was involved in long-distance trafficking with Cheng Tingrui.
Three days later.
Inside the Youbei camp, Zhao Changqing was looking at a map with several generals.
Suddenly, a soldier came to report.
"Reporting to the General! Scouts from the southeast have reported that a small group of Wuhuan troops have appeared. They are following a caravan at a distance, seemingly intending to ambush and rob them."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Changqing's forehead suddenly twitched: "Which caravan is it?"
"It seems to be a merchant caravan from the Cheng family in the capital."
The Cheng family...
"General Sun, why are there Wuhuan troops nearby? Weren't they driven back?"
General Sun, a burly man with a square face, who was standing to the side, quickly replied when he heard the question: "We repelled them, but we didn't annihilate them all. The brothers were still unwilling to give up, so they came up with a plan. In the past few days, we deliberately relaxed our patrols and left an opening for them to sneak in. When they thought they had succeeded and were careless, we suddenly appeared and gave them a fatal blow, annihilating the enemy."
Zhao Changqing slammed his fist on the table with a loud bang.
"Stop them! We must not let them harm innocent people!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Also, take the caravan back to Youzhou City and settle it properly."
The mountains are cold and desolate, the vegetation withered and barren.
On the vast official road, the sound of horses' hooves echoed, and a caravan could be seen in the distance, with dozens of horse-drawn carriages carrying goods in a grand procession.
It was the caravan of the Cheng family's trading company, "Shengyuanxiang".
Suddenly, the caravan drivers heard a commotion of hooves ahead, as if hundreds of riders were approaching from afar.
Upon hearing the sound, the leader of the Cheng family caravan immediately became alert.
It is said that bandits are rampant on the border and foreign thieves disturb the people. Could it be that we have encountered robbers here?
He was hesitating whether to report to his master when he saw a heavily armored and armed team appear ahead.
A banner stood at the front of the procession, with the large character "干" (gān, meaning "do" or "to do") written on it.
It turned out to be their own country's army.
The team leader was finally relieved.
The leader of the group spurred his horse forward and called out, "Hey! Is that the Cheng family's caravan ahead?"
Upon hearing this, the leader quickly instructed the driver to rein in the horses, dismounted from the carriage, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Reporting to the general, we are indeed the Cheng family's merchant caravan."
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