After finalizing the collaboration with Tang Yuan, Shen Yunyun left.
The Dowager Empress asked, "Why did you have to involve her? There are things you could handle yourself."
She couldn't quite understand her son anymore. He could clearly manage many matters on his own and overcome numerous difficulties. Yet he relied entirely on Shen Yunyun, as if he couldn't take a single step without her.
Tang Yuan smiled and said, "The more one invests, the harder it is to let go. The more one participates, the stronger the sense of belonging."
He had picked up the term "sense of belonging" from Shen Yunyun herself.
The Dowager Empress finally understood—her son was deliberately showing weakness to make Shen Yunyun invest more thought into him. His ultimate goal was to win her over as his daughter-in-law.
Her son was quite calculating.
Shen Yunyun had no idea Tang Yuan was scheming behind her back.
She initially planned to find a manufacturer to place an order, but not wanting to run around, she simply ordered from an online flagship store instead.
With such abundant productivity in this vast nation, many industries faced overcapacity. Some once-thriving enterprises were on the verge of bankruptcy because they couldn't keep up with the times. She was, in a way, carving out a lifeline for them.
Since she bought so many items, and large ones at that, the delivery guy frequently visited her home.
"Why are you buying so many sewing machines?" the delivery guy asked, unable to hold back as he delivered another batch.
"Do delivery services now require explaining the purpose of purchased items?" Shen Yunyun tilted her head and asked.
It wasn't exactly a polite question—it was a retort. But paired with her pretty face and a look that belied her actual age, it didn't come across as too aggressive.
"No, I was just curious and asked casually," the delivery guy said.
"Less prying into society's affairs—it's not good for you."
The delivery guy: "..."
He hadn't expected such a quiet, gentle-looking girl to have such a strong streak of playfulness.
Shen Yunyun waited until the sewing machines and bicycles all arrived before loading up her haul and heading to the Great Li Dynasty.
Tang Yuan was meeting with Zhou Zicong, the young master of the Zhou family, the imperial merchants.
The Zhou family was wealthier than the state, with businesses spanning the entire country, and had been imperial merchants since the previous dynasty. During the chaos of the realm's collapse, the former Zhou family patriarch hedged his bets by marrying one daughter to Southern Chu and another to Northern Yan, while his youngest legitimate son supported the late emperor. It was clear to everyone that the Zhou family was ready to abandon this youngest son.
Unexpectedly, the Great Li Dynasty managed to carve out a place between the tiger and the lion, so the Zhou family began to value him again. This youngest son also displayed remarkable talent, winning the struggle for the family head position. Young master Zhou Zicong, the current patriarch's eldest legitimate son, was held in high regard.
Zhou Zicong inherited his father's skills and even surpassed them.
When the legend of the Golden Dragon was spreading far and wide, he was still a child. He knew best the changes in the Great Li Dynasty over the years. In his view, it was nothing short of miraculous that the dynasty could hold its own between Northern Yan and Southern Chu.
The person he admired most in life was the Dowager Empress of the Great Li Dynasty—a capable woman who could stabilize the realm with her pen in civil matters and conquer it with her sword in military affairs.
The Great Li Dynasty had once been so weak, but under her governance, everything had been set on the right track. The population kept growing, and the common people no longer faced famine or gaunt faces. The court continuously issued new policies, encouraging women to attend school and learn to read, to study medicine, and even to participate in agricultural labor.