I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 141 The silly son of the landlord

Gu Ci asked, "So?"

"So this is a great opportunity for me to make money!" Tang Zhao clenched his fist. "How much a man loves a woman is not measured by how much money he spends on her, but by how much he spends on her after marriage."

The deeper the love, the more money you spend!

Gu Ci seemed to be deep in thought.

The motivation to make money was immense, and Tang Zhao's headache instantly disappeared. After washing up and having breakfast, he instructed, "Send a message back to Liuli Workshop to expedite the production of five hundred portable mirrors and ensure they are delivered to Xiakou Pass within three days."

Dongmei worried, "Miss, Liulifang still has orders from Shuzhou and goods from Luoyang to catch up on. I'm afraid it won't be enough time."

"Hold back the goods from Luoyang, and prioritize supplying the relics and elixirs first." Money can be earned again, but once the horse is gone, it's truly gone.

Tang Zhao instructed, "Also, tell Wu Shier to have the Liuli Workshop send over a full-length mirror, one with exquisite carvings, as I want to give it as a gift."

Dongmei nodded and went down to send someone to deliver the message.

After finishing his breakfast, Tang Zhao and Gu Ci went to the tea and horse trade market again.

Gu Ci didn't understand, "Why did you still come?"

"We haven't found any partners from Tibet yet," Tang Zhao said, looking around. "Since we're already here, we should at least try to make some progress."

Gu Ci hummed in agreement and then asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Tang Zhao replied, "The landlord's foolish son."

Although Gu Ci had never heard of it before, he immediately understood and helped search around, "How about that one?"

Tang Zhao looked over and saw a man dressed in Tibetan attire with a red Shu brocade tube-shaped turban on his head, and a deep blue headband with a jade stone the size of a longan in the center. He also had a long curved knife hanging at his waist.

Tang Zhao praised, "Very good, very landlord-like, but where's the silliness?"

Gu Ci remained silent. "Judging from appearances alone, you shouldn't be able to tell whether someone is stupid or not."

"Who said that?" Tang Zhao retorted. "The landlord's son I found was six feet tall, fat all over, with a full forehead, a sunken nose, and a lisp when he spoke. Most importantly, he had such a big black mole under his eye." Tang Zhao finished speaking and sighed, "He's practically the textbook look of a fool."

Gu Ci said confidently, "You've already investigated this."

Tang Zhao laughed loudly, "Of course, do you think we'd really search the whole street?"

Gu Ci pursed his lips.

Tang Zhao leaned closer, "Oh, are you angry?"

Gu Ci turned his head away and remained silent.

"Alright, don't be angry," Tang Zhao coaxed. "In war, you need to know yourself and your enemy. The same applies to doing business."

Gu Ci didn't reply and walked forward on his own, but he kept an eye on Tang Zhao out of the corner of his eye.

Tang Zhao laughed loudly and jogged after him, grabbing Gu Ci's sleeve and refusing to let go.

The two spent the whole day wandering around the tea-horse trade market, but they couldn't find the textbook example of the landlord's foolish son, so they had to return home disappointed.

The next day, Tang Zhao planned to go again, but Gu Ci stopped him, saying, "Baal sent us an invitation to visit."

Tang Zhao took a step back. "This 'door' shouldn't include me, right?"

“Including,” Gu Ci grabbed Tang Zhao, who was trying to run away, and dragged him to the Guli Mansion.

Dili happily served tea to her guest, but seeing Tang Zhao's worried expression, she asked with concern, "Is sister-in-law ill?"

Tang Zhao shook his head and then nodded, "It's a mental illness. Being bullied and unable to fight back is painful."

Dili angrily put down the tea tray. "Who dares to bully my sister-in-law?" she shouted, rolling up her sleeves. "I'll beat him to death!"

Tang Zhao silently turned his head away.

Dili lowered her sleeves, which she had only rolled up halfway, and advised, "Sister-in-law, please be magnanimous and don't hold it against my brother."

Tang Zhao: You really know how to read the situation.

Dili gave him an apologetic look, then dashed out, "I'm going to see if Grandpa's here yet!" Tang Zhao rolled his eyes and slumped in his chair, utterly dejected.

Gu Ci reminded him, "Sit properly."

Tang Zhao shook her head; she felt no joy in life unless she saw the landlord's foolish son.

Gu Ci reluctantly revealed, "The Bone Force Clan might be interested in the Pot Mirror."

Tang Zhao perked up. "What do you mean?"

Gu Ci's expression was complicated. "The post specifically asked you to come. Whether I come or not is irrelevant."

Tang Zhao chuckled, "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Seeing that the person finally smiled, Gu Ci's expression relaxed a bit. "It's just a guess, and it might not be true," Gu Ci said, lowering his head. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

Tang Zhao looked at Gu Ci quietly for a long time, then said softly, "Gu Ci, I have a gift for you when we return to Wuwei."

Gu Ci looked up. "It's not my birthday yet."

"Who says you can only give gifts on birthdays?" Tang Zhao said with a smile. "I can give them whenever I want."

Gu Ci lowered his eyes and said, "Thank you."

Chief Bone Force stood outside the door for a long time. Seeing that the two people inside had not noticed him, he cleared his throat and entered, saying, "I apologize for keeping our distinguished guests waiting."

Gu Ci stood up and bowed, "Clan Chief."

Tang Zhao cupped his hands and said sweetly, "Greetings, Grandpa Clan Chief."

The chief of the Bone Force Clan laughed as he sat in the main seat, saying, "I am but a commoner, and I am not worthy of being called 'Grandpa' by Princess Zhaoshan."

The Guli tribe occupied half of Zhangye, establishing their own independent regime, free from the jurisdiction of the three kingdoms.

In other words, the land occupied by the Bone Force is a country, and the Bone Force chieftain can be considered the emperor of this land.

Of course, neither the Dayu Turks, the Tibetans, nor even the Guli tribe recognized this claim.

"Come on, come on," Tang Zhao's smile was more flattering and less distant. "I hit it off with Dili at first sight, and Dili's grandfather is naturally my grandfather too."

Guli Tulan admired the culture of Dayu from a young age and often traveled around Dayu in his youth, making many friends. He greatly approved of his granddaughter-in-law's friendship with women from Dayu.

He stroked his gray beard and said, "Then I shall shamelessly accept."

Guli Tulan was a straightforward person. Without even exchanging pleasantries, she said directly, "I invited the princess here rashly because I want to do a long-term business deal with her."

Dili carefully took out a portable mirror from her purse and placed it in Guli Tulan's hand.

"I've heard that this was made by the princess?"

"Yes, Tang Zhao happened to obtain the recipe for making glass, and this 'Gourd Mirror' was made of glass."

This was the same information he had gathered. Guli Tulan nodded, “I have a son-in-law who is a Tibetan merchant. He manages three caravans that travel between Tibet and the Tea Horse Road, transporting precious goods from Dayu to Tibet. He is quite influential among Tibetan nobles.”

"If the princess does not mind, may she sell this mirror pot to her son-in-law?"

"Naturally, I won't abandon you," Tang Zhao said, easy to talk to. Selling to whomever he wanted was the same to him. But, "Could I please meet your son-in-law first?"

Tang Zhao is selective about his partners; he absolutely cannot afford to find a terrible teammate.

“Of course!” Guli Tulan nodded, then reminded her, “My son-in-law is not very good-looking, please forgive him, Princess.”

Tang Zhao prepared himself mentally.

Guli Tulan shouted loudly from outside, "Dorje, come in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a square figure walked in.

Tang Zhao squinted and looked: Oh! Isn't this the landlord's foolish son that she had been searching for yesterday?

Zhao Zhao: It's all fate!

Author's Note: It's the end of the month, let's go!