Two old foxes came calling at once, and the sickly prince's wives urged him to take his medicine

evening.

There weren't enough tables in the main hall of the old prince's mansion.

Su Yao put the two benches together, spread a cloth on them, and covered the entire surface with the account book.

The price list for Yi Prefecture is on the left.

Bamboo, wood, lime, tung oil, molasses, fresh milk, Shu brocade, tea.

The right side shows the shop location selection.

In the afternoon, Liu Ruyan had the people from the Flower-Between Pavilion run around the four main streets of the city, marking all the vacant shops, rents, and foot traffic on paper.

In the very center is the actual number of years of mold damage to the Yi Prefecture granary, which Xie Wanqing found in the local chronicles.

Su Yao fiddled with the abacus with her fingertips. "If we follow Your Highness's method to raise the level of the state granaries, even if we only retain 30%, we can still save 400 shi (a unit of dry measure) a year."

"How much silver can four hundred shi be exchanged for?" Murong Xue leaned closer.

Su Yao flicked her wrist, and the beads made two soft "snap" sounds.

" Shu Region has been expensive in Sichuan these past few years; according to the current price in Yi Prefecture, it costs between one hundred and one hundred and twenty taels."

Murong Xue frowned. "After all that trouble, this is all you get?"

"This is the amount for one warehouse, for one year." Su Yao looked up at her. "If you include the military camps, civilian warehouses, and the salt shops below, it would be five times that."

Lin Qingdai leaned against the doorframe, twirling the short dagger between her fingers. "Who gets the saved grain?"

"Guizhou Prefecture," Xie Wanqing replied.

"So what are we after?"

"Image title."

In the corner, Gu Moran was frowning at a bowl of cold, dark medicine soup. Upon hearing this, he quietly put down the bowl he had just picked up.

Xie Wanqing's eyes crinkled with a smile, "The Prince's Mansion will devise a solution, and the Prefectural Government will provide the funds and manpower to repair it. Once it's repaired, the grain will still Si Renyou and his people. But the entire city will know that the solution that saved their food supply was provided by Prince Yi."

Liu Ruyan added softly from the side, "Ordinary people are the most pragmatic. They'll support whoever helps them avoid going hungry."

Su Yao put down her pen.

"Therefore, our first step in Yi Prefecture is not just about making money."

"Husband, why don't you tell me?"

Six pairs of eyes simultaneously swept towards Gu Moran in the corner.

Gu Moran touched his nose guiltily. "You all chat, I'm frail, I'll just listen."

Su Yao ignored him.

First: Send the moisture-proof blueprints to the governor's mansion.

"Second: Open a teahouse in the west of the city. Use the old recipe from the previous book to sell fruit and honey drinks. Keep the prices as low as possible so that even street vendors can afford them. Use the snow milk tea to attract distinguished customers."

Third: Sister Xie sent someone to talk to the bookstores in the city, asking to borrow our teahouse tables to sell their storybooks.

Xie Wanqing nodded. "I've checked all three major bookstores in Yi Prefecture. The owners all recognize the Xie Clan. Books about talented scholars and beautiful women sell the best. Paired with sweet tea, we have no shortage of customers."

"Plus, if I adapt the domineering and fantastical books I saw from my husband these past few days into something more manageable, and have my maid read them to them, they'll definitely be happy."

Shen Ling'er suddenly spoke up, "There's also medicinal cuisine."

Su Yao looked at her. "You want to get involved?"

"I've verified the prescription in that old booklet." Shen Ling'er patted her medicine box. "We'll tell everyone it's from a reclusive old doctor, and the ladies of wealthy families in the city will definitely be scrambling to buy it."

"Okay." Su Yao added a line. "The medicinal cuisine is yours; you decide."

Shen Ling'er hummed in agreement and lowered her head to flip through the book " Old Palace Cuisine Recipes ".

Liu Ruyan said gently, "Over there at the Shu brocade shop, there are two old-established embroidery workshops in the city. They have excellent craftsmanship but don't take on casual work."

But they happen to be relatives of the Su Clan, so we can use them to our advantage.

Murong Xue's eyes widened. "How do I borrow it?"

"We, who live off the people, must not compete with them for profit. We can let them provide needlework, and we'll be the bosses behind the scenes."

Su Yao explained for her.

Murong Xue suddenly perked up. "Then can I draw patterns for clothes? I've drawn sheepskin coats from our Northern Territory before."

"No!" Five mouths spoke in unison, accompanied by a dry cough from Gu Moran.

Murong Xue pouted. "Why should I?"

Gu Moran suppressed a laugh and said soothingly, "You should save your skills for when they're really needed. The shop's sourcing is your responsibility."

What's the point of escorting a vehicle?

"What if someone robs us?"

Murong Xue's eyes lit up instantly, and her hand had already reached for the riding whip at her waist.

Lin Qingdai tucked the dagger back into her boot. "With the shop opening, the local thugs will definitely come to investigate. This is my job; if any of them come, I'll break both their legs."

Su Yao turned to the last page of the ledger and assigned tasks.

She paused, pen in hand, and looked at Gu Moran.

"Your Highness, after listening for so long, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Gu Moran looked at the paper, then at the mountain of price lists and topographic maps piled on the table.

"That's all, I'll just take my medicine."

Shen Ling'er, unusually, didn't urge him, but stood by with her arms crossed, watching.

Gu Moran a large mouthful, his face immediately contorting in a bitter expression.

" Ling'er..."

"Um?"

"You mentioned our medicinal sweet soup... Could you perhaps make my medicine less bitter too?"

Shen Ling'er looked at him and thought about it seriously.

"Yes, but yours won't."

"Why?"

"Because this medicine is meant to teach the patient a lesson."

Gu Moran, holding the bowl, froze. "What kind of memory do you have?"

"Learn from this mistake of not sleeping properly at night."

Su Yao's fingers, which were flipping through the ledger, suddenly stopped, and the pages ripped with a "sizzle".

Xie Wanqing, who had been reading local chronicles, blushed deeply.

Night falls.

Three lanterns were still lit in the old prince's mansion.

In the main hall, Su Yao was still calculating the preliminary budget.

In the storeroom, Xie Wanqing is organizing local chronicles.

In the backyard, Lin Qingdai was inspecting the newly patched gap in the wall.

Gu Moran leaned back in the recliner in the main hall, her eyes half-closed.

He didn't sleep.

Drainage, moisture-proofing, and ventilation fall under the category of infrastructure, making them easy to implement.

The joint sale of tea drinks, desserts, ready-made clothing, and storybooks falls under the business category and requires a shop, manpower, and initial capital.

Yi Prefecture had already figured out his first step: send a moisture-proof law to the state government to improve his reputation.

Open another shop and make money...

Footsteps sounded at the courtyard gate.

Uncle Fu trotted back from the front door and whispered in Gu Moran's ear.

"Young Master, Prefect Si and Commandant Zhen... have arrived."

Gu Moran opened her eyes.

"Together?"

"We didn't come together." Uncle Fu's expression was a little subtle. "We arrived at the door one after the other, and then... we bumped into each other."

"And now?"

They stood at the doorway, glaring at each other.

Gu Moran sat up and put on his outer robe.

"Let them in."

"Together?"

"Let them sit in the main hall. I'll go change my clothes."

He said he was changing clothes, but actually he went to Shen Ling'er's room and knocked twice.

The door opened.

Shen Ling'er is still awake.

"What's wrong now?"

"A guest has arrived. Bring me a bowl of medicine."

Shen Ling'er blinked.

"What? You've gotten addicted to it?"

"For acting."

Inside the main hall.

Si Renyou sat in the chair on the left, his back straight, holding the hot tea that Uncle Fu had handed him, but he didn't touch it.

Zhen Daijin sat on the right chair with his legs apart, an old knife resting on his knees, his fingers constantly rubbing the hilt.

The two were three steps apart, and the empty chair in between looked like a battlefield.

Neither of them spoke first.

Until footsteps were heard in the courtyard.