Despite Wang Dabing's glib tongue, he is always looking for ways to engage in speculation and profiteering.
But when it comes to actually doing something, they work incredibly hard.
Less than two days after returning, they had gathered seven or eight people to work, plus two older women who cooked and cleaned, and the group went to Wenjia Village with great enthusiasm.
The village that was slaughtered by the alien race was called Wenjia Village.
Although everyone is gone, a few houses remain, which can be renovated and are still habitable.
The farm tools they're using now are the advanced versions improved by Liu Yingying, and they estimate that all the fields will be plowed in less than half a month...
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the milk tea shop in the county town officially opened for business.
For the first three days of operation, they offered a buy-one-get-one-free deal, and "Sister Liu's Milk Tea" quickly became a hit throughout the county.
Even families with some assets from surrounding counties and towns would send their servants to Furong County to buy milk tea and take it back with them…
The seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
Liu Yingying delivered a cart full of snacks to Longfengxi Courtyard.
Ye Qingyuan happened to be there as well; his recent series of business setbacks had put him under a lot of pressure.
People who are not even forty years old can already see a lot of gray hair at their temples.
Compared to Ye Qingyuan's weathered appearance, Bai Mudan, who sat next to him, was radiant.
Since the new script came out, the theater business has been booming, and she opened two more branches in the neighboring county.
She recruited two popular actresses from the Dragon and Phoenix Theater, and she herself would perform two shows on the first and fifteenth of each month. Now, tickets for both theaters are in high demand...
“Yingying, it’s just in time that you’re here. Qingyuan is here too. I’ll have the cook prepare a few dishes, and we’ll have a few drinks?” Bai Mudan looked at her with a smile.
"OK!"
During the Lunar New Year, Liu Yingying naturally wouldn't refuse her kindness.
Before the main dishes were served, Bai Mudan took the initiative to start a conversation, "Yingying, what have you been busy with lately? I saw Xianglian at the milk tea shop last time, and she said you've been working like a spinning top!"
"I recently rented two hilltops and bought some farmland. I need to personally oversee the initial renovations, so I've been quite busy. Things should get easier after spring..."
There was no need for Liu Yingying to hide these things from her. As she spoke, she glanced at Ye Qingyuan, who was sitting to the side with a solemn expression throughout.
"How's business, Mr. Ye?"
"Don't even mention it!" Ye Qingyuan said with a wry smile, not knowing where to begin.
He had a lot of unspeakable suffering!
He took over the Ye Family Chamber of Commerce at the age of twenty. In his middle age, he was almost invincible in the business world before this, but this time he was bitten by a pack of wolves and couldn't shake them off no matter what!
Seeing that he was unwilling to talk, Liu Yingying did not press him further.
"Come, try my newly acquired Tianmu Cloud Mist tea!" Bai Mudan smiled and pushed the two cups of tea she had brewed in front of them.
Ye Qingyuan absentmindedly picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. The two women exchanged a smile but said nothing.
The air was slightly heavy, so Bai Mudan started a new topic and asked Liu Yingying.
"Yingying, I know you bought the farmland to grow crops, but what are you going to do with the mountain you bought?"
"It's quite a coincidence..." Liu Yingying recounted how she had accidentally discovered cotton.
When cotton was mentioned, Ye Qingyuan raised his eyes slightly. "As far as I know, cotton is a new species that came from overseas. However, the planting technology in Daxia is not yet mature. The cotton grown there is either black or yellow, and it is also prone to insects."
"Those cotton trees cover a large area, but less than one-tenth of the harvest is actually usable..."
He put it very tactfully, glanced at Liu Yingying, and finally said, "Lady Ning'an, this is really a losing proposition!"
Ye Qingyuan's concerns were not unfounded, but since Liu Yingying dared to rent that mountain, she must have her own way of dealing with it.
Liu Yingying: "I would like to ask Mr. Ye a question?"
Ye Qingyuan: "Please speak, Your Excellency."
Liu Yingying: "Up to now, what are the materials and coverings made of for people from all over the world, from monarchs to commoners?"
Without thinking, Ye Qingyuan replied casually, "Kings and nobles use furs such as tiger, bear, sable, and fox to keep warm in winter, and also use silk and satin to make bedding and clothing. However, ordinary people at the bottom of society are limited by their conditions and mostly use reeds, straw paper, and hemp cloth to weave bedding and clothing."
"Why does the county magistrate ask this?"
Liu Yingying lowered her head and chuckled softly; "Then let me ask Master Ye another question: how many ordinary people at the bottom of society freeze to death every year when they can only rely on reeds, rags, and straw paper for warmth in the dead of winter?"
"This..." Ye Qingyuan was stunned.
It wasn't that he couldn't answer the question, but rather that people in the upper class never cared about such questions.
Ordinary people can't afford good winter clothing, so even if they freeze to death, no one will care.
"As far as I know, in the Ningzhou area alone, at least several hundred poor people freeze to death every year during the Great Cold!"
This number may not seem like much to those in power, but it was shocking to Liu Yingying!
She took a deep breath and revealed her trump card.
"If I told you that the cotton I improved could be mass-produced and sold on the market, and that this cotton was much cheaper than fur and silk, yet provided better protection against the cold, making it affordable even for the most ordinary people, would you think there's a business opportunity, Mr. Ye?"
"This..." Ye Qingyuan's eyes darted around several times, and his mind raced.
He drew this conclusion based on his decades of experience in the business world.
If what Liu Yingying said is true, the yield of the originally black and yellow cotton was greatly increased after improvement, and it was then widely put on the market.
Then... perhaps she has the potential to become the richest woman in the Great Xia Kingdom!
No! Perhaps not just in Great Xia…
Liu Yingying added, "Actually, it's fortunate that Mr. Ye is here today, otherwise I would have made a special trip to visit you another day and have a proper talk with you!"
"Wh...what?" Ye Qingyuan looked very surprised when she said that.
Liu Yingying directly revealed her initial plan to cooperate with him in developing the cotton market.
Although it was just a brief explanation, it had already made Ye Qingyuan's blood boil!
Ye Qingyuan asked Bai Mudan to bring paper and pen, and sat facing Liu Yingying. The two talked and gestured.
The conversation lasted for an entire day.
The food in the kitchen had been prepared for several hours and was still warm on the stove.
Bai Mudan watched as the two of them talked about business for three days and three nights straight, completely forgetting that they still needed to eat.
However, she didn't interrupt the two of them, but simply sat in the middle and silently poured tea for them again and again.
"Lady Ning'an, you have truly broadened my horizons. I never imagined you had such a keen business sense. You are truly remarkable!" Ye Qingyuan praised Liu Yingying repeatedly.
Liu Yingying was indeed very modest, saying, "Not at all, I'm just a woman. If I were to do these plans by myself, the chances of success would be extremely slim. So, I'll have to trouble Master Ye from now on..."
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