I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 225 Road Construction
"Reporting to the Princess, last year the tofu shop and its sixteen branches had a total revenue of 27,583 taels, and total expenses including raw materials, wages, year-end bonuses, and performance bonuses amounted to 12,345 taels, resulting in a profit of 15,238 taels."

After Song Sheng finished reporting the accounts, he made a work plan for the next year. "This year, I plan to open more tofu shops in Ningzhou, Jiuquanfu, Jiayuguan and other places, spreading from north to south."

Tang Zhao nodded, "Okay, next one."

Qian Yuzhi, who had traveled a long way from Jiangnan, rose to greet him and respectfully presented the account book, saying, "Last year, Hualufang sold a total of 360 bottles of various flower dews, generating a total revenue of 360,000 taels. Ten bottles of peony flower dew were auctioned off, yielding 130,000 taels, for a total revenue of 490,000 taels."

The shopkeepers gasped in shock, and even Tang Zhao couldn't help but be astonished: the noble families of Jiangnan are truly wealthy!
Qian Yuzhi was proud of this, but then changed the subject, "Last year's total expenditure was about 85,000 taels, of which 60,000 taels were used to purchase precious flowers, and the remaining 25,000 taels were used to hire workers to pick and sort the flowers, etc. The net profit was 405,000 taels!"

"I have set aside 100,000 taels for the working capital of Hualufang this year. The remaining money has been sent to the Protector General's Mansion. It will be put into the treasury after the Princess has reviewed the accounts and found them to be correct."

"In your opinion, should we open a branch?" Tang Zhao asked while flipping through the account books.

“In my humble opinion, we should not open a branch,” Qian Yuzhi said, mustering her courage. “Hua Lu Fang is different from other shops. It is exclusively for high-ranking officials and wealthy families, focusing on luxury and uniqueness. If it produces too much, it will lose its uniqueness.”

You should know that the scions of noble families love uniqueness the most, wishing that they could be the only ones in the world who own it. Therefore, the flower dew produced by Flower Dew Workshop, such as Peony Flower Dew, although the raw material is the same peony, the different varieties and processes result in different fragrances.

If two bottles of the same floral dew are sold, even in two completely different places, the uniqueness of the floral dew shop will be greatly diminished.

“You’re right,” Tang Zhao said after looking at the accounts. “Hua Lu Fang’s current income is already quite impressive. If we were to open another branch, it would only attract more attention. It would be better to maintain the status quo.”

"Yes!"

"You've done very well. Keep up the good work this year. I'll take five thousand taels of silver from the public treasury later. Go back and decide how to reward them," Tang Zhao instructed. "Especially those craftsmen who develop flower dews, you must not treat them harshly."

Qian Yuzhi was overjoyed, "On behalf of everyone at Hualufang, I thank the Princess for her generous gift!"

"Next!"

Zhong Kang, the manager of the Zhong family winery, stood up and reported, "Reporting to the Princess, last year..."

Inside the Wuwei Prefecture government office, Shen Jiawen was drawing the landscapes and roads of Gansu and Ningxia prefectures and surrounding counties and towns onto a huge piece of kraft paper. After finishing the last stroke, he stood up from the kraft paper, rubbed his wrist, and said, "Sir, the drawing is finished."

"Really?" Lu Ying, who was engrossed in his work, looked over with delight. He strode over and examined the document carefully, and was extremely satisfied. "Lord Shen truly lives up to his reputation as a master of both calligraphy and painting."

He was a master of both calligraphy and painting, but he was better at painting figures and landscapes than topographical maps.

Heaven knows how many sheets of Xuan paper he used up in the past six months to paint this picture well!

For the 108th time, the tormented Shen Jiawen asked, "Sir, why do we need to draw maps of the mountains and rivers of the two states?"

It should be understood that a map of a prefecture is not allowed in the palace, the military, or the prefectural government; subordinate government offices are not permitted to possess such maps. If discovered, it would be a capital offense!

What's more, this map even marks the mountain paths!
“It will certainly be of great use!” Lu Ying stroked his newly grown beard, and under Shen Jiawen’s resentful gaze, Lu Ying, still with a conscience, revealed a little, “The Princess wants to repair the road.”

Road construction?! Shen Jiawen's heart pounded as he recalled the wide, flat cement roads in Wuwei City. "Does Your Excellency mean that the Princess intends to build cement roads on all the main roads in both prefectures?"

"Not only the main roads, but also the country lanes need to be repaired!" Lu Ying's heart was filled with excitement when he mentioned this. "If this really comes to fruition, it will benefit the people of Gansu and Ningxia prefectures!"

Shen Jiawen asked the pointed question, "Who paid for the road repairs?" "The Prince Xuan's Mansion and Princess Zhaoshan," Lu Ying looked around and whispered, "It's said to be the Prince Xuan's Mansion, but in reality, it was Princess Zhaoshan who paid for it."

Shen Jiawen asked a question that came from the depths of her soul, "Where did Princess Zhaoshan get so much money?"

"This," Lu Ying didn't know, "Princess Zhaoshan will take care of the money herself, so you and I don't need to worry about it!"

Shen Jiawen: . . . .

You really know how to eat well and are quite the big spender.

After listening to his managers' account, the wealthy Tang Zhao prepared a lavish banquet. While the managers went to eat, Tang Zhao got up to stretch his limbs and then went directly to the Wuwei Prefecture government office.

"Your Highness, it is an honor to have you here. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly!" Lu Ying greeted Tang Zhao with the same level of hospitality one would show to the God of Wealth. "Your Highness, has the money for the road repairs arrived?"

“That’s right. I currently have nearly a million taels of silver in hand. After deducting the daily expenses of the General’s Mansion, I can set aside 800,000 taels for road repairs.”

Lu Ying wanted to ask how many people were in the General's Mansion and why the daily expenses amounted to as much as 200,000 taels of silver. However, when she turned her head and saw the guards standing to the side, she remembered the thousands of personal guards in the General's Mansion and silently swallowed her words.

Lu Ying pondered, "Eight hundred thousand taels is a lot, but I estimate it can only repair half of the main road in Ganzhou. Should we lower the road construction standards?"

Tang Zhao shook his head, "If we're going to repair it, we should repair it properly. Otherwise, it's better not to repair it at all. We should repair the main road connecting Gansu and Ningxia first, and we can repair the remaining smaller roads when we have more money later."

"My father has ordered the prefectures of Gansu and Ningzhou to fully cooperate with the road construction. Anyone who is passive or negligent will be stripped of their official position!"

Lu Ying bowed respectfully, "Your humble servant obeys!"

The following day, six months later, the government posted notices again. Unlike before, this time the notices were not only posted in Wuwei City, but throughout the two prefectures of Gansu and Ningxia.

"...If anyone is interested in working, they should register at the nearest government office. First come, first served."

Before the constable had even finished reading, the people who heard this ran off to the government office to register.

Sixty coins a day!

Not signing up is foolish!

Lured by the generous wages, tens of thousands of people answered the call to repair the road. Three days later, the government divided the workers into batches and teams according to their duties, and they began to repair the road in great enthusiasm.

Not to be outdone, the soldiers of the Northwest Army also set off. Half a month later, King Xuan looked at the cement road that had been built from the west gate of Wuwei City all the way to the gate of the Northwest Army's garrison, a road wide enough for four carriages to drive side by side. He took a deep breath and said to Gu Ci, "I don't care what methods you use, whether you throw a tantrum or threaten to kill yourself, you must keep Zhaozhao as my wife!"

"If Zhaozhao ever abandons you, then I'll sever all ties with you and adopt Zhaozhao as my daughter!"

Gu Ci: ...

Gu Ci glanced at the unreasonable King Xuan, nodded solemnly after a long while, and told Tang Zhao about the matter.

Our Zhao Zhao is just so lovable.