Mi Fang had been a merchant, after all, and he cared a great deal about profit. He understood that although this stretch of road wasn't particularly long or short, if it was managed well, the annual profits could easily cover several months' worth of provisions for an army of thirty thousand.
Jiangling was a major transportation hub, after all. Traffic from every direction—north, south, east, and west—had to pass through it. With this plan, even shipments heading north would be entirely feasible.
Thinking of this, Mi Fang smiled and said, "Since my eldest niece put it that way, I'll shamelessly take you up on the offer."
Seeing that Mi Fang had agreed, Guan Yinping was delighted. She still wasn't sure whether Mi Fang had truly been neglecting his duties, but she decided to press on. Putting on a regretful expression, she hurriedly said, "Uncle Mi, there's no need to be so polite. I'd also like to apologize to you on my father's behalf!
"Uncle Mi, you know what my father's like. He doesn't understand business at all, and he can't tolerate the slightest wrongdoing. He doesn't realize that Jingzhou's powerful families are deeply entrenched, making it very difficult to obtain provisions from grain grown by ordinary people.
"Otherwise, my father wouldn't have met my eldest uncle and Third Uncle over that business selling beans.
"If my father has treated you unfairly, please be patient with him. Even if you won't do it for my father's sake, you should at least do it for my eldest uncle. We've known each other for so many years; our relationship shouldn't fall apart over a few words."
Mi Fang knew that in this era, children weren't supposed to speak ill of their fathers. But Guan Yinping had said all this to him, which meant