Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

"You're saying I'm not qualified to protect your sister?"

"So you're qualified?"

After saying this with a cold laugh, Lu Xiao threw the Mountain-Crushing Bow into Liu Wubing's arms, and said to his surprised and puzzled gaze:

"Since you're a renowned archer, then draw this bow and aim for the bullseye in the distance. Otherwise, don't boast about your exceptional archery skills in the future!"

"Heh, it's just an ordinary bow..."

Liu Wubing chuckled and picked up the Mountain-Crushing Bow to unleash his power.

At first, he thought he was applying force incorrectly, so he readjusted his position. But even when he used all his strength the second time, he still couldn't pull the Mountain-Shattering Bow open.

For a moment, his face turned red and his neck thickened.

After several times, Liu Wubing angrily said:

"This is simply a bow that can't be drawn!"

Are you sure?

Whizzing--

Lu Xiao walked over at this moment, took the Mountain-Shattering Bow from his hand, and shot several arrows in succession, all of which hit the bullseye on the opposite side.

This action made Liu Wubing so ashamed that he lowered his head.

However, he quickly looked up again and pestered Lu Xiao to teach him these two skills:

"Brother-in-law, you seem rather thin, but you're incredibly strong. How do you manage that?"

"There must be some amazing secret to it. Why don't you teach me?"

"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law..."

For the next period of time, Lu Xiao had a tagalong following him everywhere he went.

This scene caused the Liu family members to look at each other in bewilderment, but they dared not go up and ask.

Finally, it was the butler who said that it was a colleague from his army who came looking for him that pulled the person away.

However, before leaving, Liu Wubing shouted loudly at Lu Xiao:

"Brother-in-law, I happen to have a couple of days off, so tonight we absolutely have to drink until we drop!"

"This child..."

Lu Xiao smiled and shook his head.

He walked around the courtyard for a while, planning to call Liu Xianya later to go out for a stroll, enjoy the night view of the capital, and try some local delicacies.

Perhaps it was because the couple were of one mind, but just as he thought of this, a maidservant came looking for him from the direction of the inner quarters:

"Young master, young lady requests your presence!"

"Um?"

Lu Xiao paused, somewhat hesitant:

"The inner quarters are all occupied by women; it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go there..."

Although Liu Wubing is not very old, he has been married for two or three years and has more than one woman in his household.

"Miss said she has gathered the master's female relatives in one place, so they won't run into the son-in-law!"

A short while later, Lu Xiao remained silent throughout and, led by a maid, arrived at one of the courtyards.

After entering the house, Liu Xianya smiled and introduced him to the room:

"My lord, this is my childhood playmate. Now she travels between Dongshan County and Bei County to do some business to support the family."

"The reason I asked you to come here is to ask you to help me with something."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao quickly greeted the other party.

According to Liu Xianya, her childhood playmate was named Wang Qingqing.

This girl is indeed stunningly beautiful; words like "skin like jade" and "bright eyes and white teeth" are not an exaggeration to describe her, and even some of them might not be enough.

Therefore, Lu Xiao was surprised for a few moments, but after feeling Liu Xianya's small hand pinching his waist, he quickly came back to his senses:

"I wonder what kind of help Miss Wang needs from me?"

"Since you are Xianya's good friend, then you are my friend too. I will definitely help you if I can."

Wang Qingqing lives up to her name; her voice is clear and elegant, possessing a unique charm that soothes the listener and makes them feel as if a spring breeze is blowing across their face.

"To be honest, Brother Lu, both my husband's family and my own family are merchants. Therefore, I have been exposed to business from a young age and have learned a lot about it."

"After we got married, my husband suddenly fell seriously ill and died in his sickbed less than half a year later. Two or three months later, my parents-in-law encountered bandits on their way to do business."

Although they survived in the end, their injuries worsened, and they eventually passed away...

As she spoke, she lowered her head, covered her face with a handkerchief, and choked up every now and then:

"Since then, I have taken over the reins of my husband's family, and we have managed to get by these past few years."

"Two months ago, I transported 10,000 shi of grain to the capital, intending to sell it in batches. However, one day a sudden downpour caused all 10,000 shi of grain to become damp..."

Wang Qingqing said that after the grain got damp, she hired a large number of laborers to dry the grain.

Although the grain had long been dried again, the people of the capital were used to eating fine rice and flour and disdained the damp grain, which had been piling up and had not been sold until now!

Most of the 10,000 bushels of grain were taken from her husband's family inheritance.

"Since I joined the Zhao family, they have regarded me as a jinx. After this moldy incident, they took this opportunity to make trouble, demanding that I find someone to take over and take away the 10,000 shi of grain within three months."

"Otherwise, they will use clan laws to forcibly expel me from the Zhao family!"

Wang Qingqing's expression was incredibly firm as she said this:

"It's not that I'm afraid of them, but my late husband's greatest wish was to continue the family business. Before he passed away, my parents-in-law also told me that the main branch of the Zhao family should not fall into other hands."

"Brother Lu, I heard that your White Wolf outpost is short of food and clothing. Could you perhaps purchase these ten thousand shi of grain?"

"Don't worry, I will settle with you at the lowest possible price. This way, I can at least give the money to the Zhao family clan and more time to retaliate!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao frowned and pondered for a moment:

"One shi of grain weighs 120 jin, so if I'm not mistaken... 10,000 shi of grain would be 1.2 million jin!"

"Madam Wang, the White Wolf outpost is indeed short of food, but I wonder what exactly the lowest price you mentioned is?"

"Three coins!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao was momentarily surprised, somewhat unable to believe that the other party would offer such a low price.

It should be noted that in their Changyang County, the price of rice has remained around ten wen for many years, and at one point it even soared to twenty or thirty wen per jin.

He had thought that Hengdu, as the capital of a country, would be more expensive, but he didn't expect it to be so cheap!

If we really do as the other party says...

With the 3,500 taels of silver that Lu Xiao brought to the capital, plus a little more, he could secure 10,000 shi of rice and solve the soldiers' food problem!

Across from him, Wang Qingqing saw him deep in thought and assumed that the conditions she had set were too high and that the other party was unwilling to accept them.

She quickly said:

"Brother Lu, I know it's really not good to let the soldiers eat grain that has been soaked in the rain, but the grain merchants in the capital don't want it. They even spread the word that I have a batch of this grain, so be careful if you come across it."

"But Brother Lu, rest assured, I can guarantee that this batch of grain has only been damp. After treatment, there will be no problem with its quality. It's just that the taste is a little worse than ordinary grain."

"It's absolutely safe for people to eat!"