The Main Rider Has a Place to Use Their Skills

Over the next two days, Zhuge Liang toured the Trade District and the Artisan District.

The Trade District was Guangzhou's liveliest area, with the greatest daily flow of people anywhere in the city. The group changed into plain clothes before entering, while Song Chen dispatched men to keep watch and protect them in secret.

Rows upon rows of streets, lane after lane, exquisitely decorated merchant houses, quaint and elegant little shops, bustling markets ringing with noise, and dazzling arrays of goods left visitors' eyes swimming. Fragrant scents drifted through the air, teasing the taste buds of passing merchants and travelers.

These scenes of prosperity painted a picture of flourishing commerce in Zhuge Liang's mind. Guangzhou's commercial prosperity truly left him tongue-tied.

After spending two hours strolling and eating in the Trade District, Lan Tian brought Zhuge Liang to Guangzhou's Trade Bureau and told him that this government office had been established specifically for the Trade District.

Shi Zhi, the Trade Bureau's chief, hurried out to greet Lan Tian upon hearing of his personal arrival. What shook him even more was Zhuge Liang's presence. That was the Chancellor of the King of Hanzhong. Having lived more than sixty years, Shi Zhi was seeing the head of the civil officials, the Chancellor, for the first time.

"Director, give the chancellor a thorough account of the Trade Bureau's affairs," Lan Tian instructed.

Shi Zhi did not dare be negligent. He hurriedly had the clerks bring over a stack of books. They contained regulations and policies still needing improvement in the Trade District, detailed information on merchants, the size of their staffs, catalogs of their goods, monthly transaction statistics, tax collection statistics, and more.

Zhuge Liang leafed through several volumes and found that Lan Tian had indeed been right. Commercial activity here was remarkably