I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 134 Encounter
Inside the General of the Nation's mansion, Tang Zhao sneezed three times in a row, startling Chunfeng into quickly closing the window. Meanwhile, Granny Song went to the kitchen to brew ginger soup.

Tang Zhao stirred the large bowl with a spoon, scooped out a huge piece of ginger, and said with a bitter face, "There's no need to eat the ginger."

Granny Song stood aside to supervise, saying, "You must eat it; ginger is the best for dispelling cold."

Tang Zhao couldn't resist her, so he closed his eyes, stuffed the ginger into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it, hissing and gasping for breath from the spiciness.

Granny Song felt sorry for her, "Miss, quickly drink some ginger soup to relieve the spiciness."

Tang Zhao was almost in tears. What normal person would use gasoline to put out a fire? But under the death stare of Granny Song, Tang Zhao cowardly picked up the large bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

With satisfaction, Granny Song took the empty bowl, carefully tucked the blanket around Tang Zhao, and then went to attend to her own business.

Qiu Yu saw Song Mama off at the gate, then lifted her skirt and ran back, "Miss, Song Mama has left the mansion!"

Tang Zhao suddenly threw off the covers and sat up. "Quick, get me some new clothes."

Chunfeng helped Tang Zhao change her soaked undergarments and then forced her to open all the windows. She pouted and said, "Miss, if your cold gets worse, the old woman will skin me alive."

"I didn't catch a cold. I just got caught in a light rain, took a hot shower and changed my clothes when I got back, and I was fine," Tang Zhao rolled her eyes. "If you guys hadn't made such a fuss, I wouldn't have had to be forced by the nanny to drink ginger soup for three days!"

Spring Breeze weakly retorted, "But the young lady just sneezed."

"I'm not sneezing because of a cold, it's because someone is cursing me," Tang Zhao thought to herself, wondering which villain was cursing her behind her back. Then Dongmei came to report that Wu Jiliu was requesting an audience.

Tang Zhao went to the front courtyard, exempted Wu Jiliu from formalities, and asked, "How is it?"

"Miss, the 'Huguang Mirror' is selling like hotcakes in Chengdu!" Wu Jiliu said excitedly. "In less than half an hour after the opening of Liuli Pavilion, all two hundred 'Huguang Mirrors' were sold out. Those who couldn't buy one surrounded Liuli Pavilion, constantly asking when they would be back in stock."

"As instructed by the young lady, I told the customers that they could place an order," Wu Jiliu said, pulling out a thick stack of contracts from his pocket. "These are all orders from prominent families in Chengdu Prefecture."

Tang Zhao took the order and saw that all the famous families in Chengdu had made reservations, with the Li family being the most generous, ordering three hundred noodles.

"As instructed by the young lady, I have exchanged all the received payment for grain," Wu Jiliu said, taking out an account book from his pocket. "It is harvest time in Shuzhou, and the price of grain is very cheap, especially old grain, which is as low as eight coins per catty."

“I also brought back a few grain merchants who are willing to exchange grain for the mirror,” Wu Jiliu said, handing over the account book. “The grain merchants are waiting outside the mansion now. I wonder if you would like to see them?”

Tang Zhao nodded as she flipped through the account books. Wu Jiliu personally invited her in, knelt down and bowed, "Greetings, Princess Zhaoshan!"

"No gifts, please give me a seat!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" The grain merchants stood up and sat awkwardly in their chairs, as if they had nails under their buttocks.

Tang Zhao ordered tea to be served, "I heard that you are willing to exchange grain for the 'Huguang Mirror' produced by Liuli Workshop?"

The grain merchants held the crystal-clear glass cups, their hands trembling as if they had Parkinson's disease: they originally wanted to exchange them for the mirror, but now they wanted the glass cups as well.

"May I ask, Your Highness, what is the price of this treasure?"

“That depends on what level you all want,” Tang Zhao said, taking the teacup Chunfeng offered him. He gently blew on it to cool it down and took a sip. The grain merchants stared at the glass cup in Tang Zhao’s hand with shining eyes. The cup was translucent red, and the pattern of galloping horses made it look even more noble and gorgeous. The red halo projected onto the table under the sunlight was so dazzling that it blurred their vision.

Overwhelmed by the beauty of the glass cup, He Wei blurted out, "If it were a glass cup of the same caliber as the Princess's, it would be worth a thousand gold pieces."

Other grain merchants:
That makes sense, but have you forgotten that you are the buyer?

The other grain merchants' gazes were fixed on He Wei as if they were solid objects, and He Wei suddenly came to his senses and sat there awkwardly.

“Worth a thousand gold pieces? That’s a good price,” Tang Zhao chuckled. “I would like to sell it to you all for a thousand gold pieces, but I think it’s better to do business in the long term.”

"Good in the long run, good in the long run," the grain merchants nodded in agreement, listening intently as Tang Zhao said, "This glass cup is made of glass. I'm not afraid to tell you all that I have the recipe for making glass, so I can make as much glass as I want."

He Wei gasped: This Princess Zhaoshan is truly sincere.

"However, glassmaking is complicated and not easy to preserve. The glass cup in my hand, for example, requires extremely high skill from the craftsmen. Therefore, the glass workshop has only produced fifty sets of glass cups since it started operating."

Tang Zhao glanced at it, and Chunfeng Qiuyu understood. She went to the back room and brought back a wooden box. When she opened it, she found a complete set of glass teacups inside.

"The set on the left is the Four Seasons Tea Cup, with spring orchids, summer bamboo, autumn chrysanthemums, and winter plum blossoms corresponding to the four seasons," Chunfeng explained. "The set on the right is the Three Immortals of Fortune, Longevity, and Prosperity Tea Cup, symbolizing good fortune and long life."

"These two teacups are the latest creations from Liulifang. The colors, styles, and quality are all top-notch," Tang Zhao casually picked one up and played with it. "They are truly worth a fortune."

He Wei and other grain merchants were dazzled by the choices.

"I, the princess, will sell this set to you for three hundred taels of silver. However, I do not want silver, only grain, whether it is old or new grain."

Grain? The grain merchants were overjoyed; they had plenty of everything but grain!
In Shuzhou, grain was cheap. New rice cost 12 wen per jin, while old rice cost 8 wen per jin. A set of teacups required 250 dan of grain.

This price is acceptable!

He Wei asked first, "May I ask how many sets of glass cups Your Highness has?"

"I can only give each of you fifty sets," Tang Zhao said, his expression turning somber as he saw their dissatisfaction. "If you don't want them, please leave."

Wu Jiliu immediately drew his sword. How dare he tease the girl?

The grain merchants were shocked. "Your Highness, please calm down!" They only felt that there was too little to go around, not that they didn't want it!
He Wei was very perceptive. "My grain transport convoy will arrive in Ganzhou soon. Please wait a moment, Your Highness. Once the convoy arrives, I will immediately come to your door to purchase the glass cups."

Tang Zhao was pleased with his pragmatism. "I'll give you the glass cup first."

The other grain merchants were dumbfounded and tried to curry favor with him. Tang Zhao had to put on airs before he reluctantly agreed to give them more grain if Ruo Hewei didn't want so much.

He Wei:
Other grain merchants:
Your Highness, could you be any more blatant in your attempt to sow discord?
Tang Zhaocai didn't care what the grain merchants thought. As long as the glass in her hands was a rare commodity in this world, she would be the boss!

A few days later, a caravan of grain carts stretching as far as the eye could see entered through the west gate. At the same time, Wu Ding led tens of thousands of refugees through the east gate. The two groups met in front of the Protector General's Mansion.